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  • About Me
  • Recipe Box
    • Appetizers >
      • Buffalo Chicken Dip
      • Cream Cheese Appetizer
      • Sweet and Salty Nuts
      • Thai Peanut Sauce
    • Beverages >
      • Blueberry Lemonade
      • Cosmopolitan
    • Breakfast >
      • Apple Pancake
      • Homemade Granola
      • Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie
      • Stick-to-your-ribs smoothie
      • Veggie Omelet
      • Yeasted Waffles
    • Main Dishes >
      • Beef Stew
      • Chicken Fajitas
      • Choley
      • Grilled Chicken
      • Low and Slow Chicken Breasts
      • Roast Turkey
      • Rub for Pulled Pork (and other meats too!)
      • Salmon Burgers
      • Simple Homemade Mac & Cheese
      • Simple Red Sauce
      • Steak and Potato Salad
    • Sides >
      • Bacon-Roasted Brussel Sprouts
      • Creamy Polenta
      • Homemade Potato Chips
      • "Magic" Salad Recipe
    • Soup >
      • Apple Cheddar Soup
      • Butternut Squash Soup
      • Chicken Noodle Soup
      • Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
      • Smokey Beef Chili
    • Sweets and Treats >
      • Almond Cake
      • Apple Crisp
      • Bruna Kakor
      • Butterscotch Pecan Sandies
      • Chocolate Fudge Brownies
      • Chocolate Mousse
      • Compost Cookies
      • New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
      • Pumpkin Pie
      • Salted Caramel Sauce
  • Classes
  • Contact Me
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A Tale of Stale

1/27/2016

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During a Halloween party several years ago, a lovely friend brought a package of frosted cookies from a local grocery store. They looked delicious, but with a LOT of food on hand, I quickly put them in the cabinet above my refrigerator for "later". For some reason, "later" didn't come until the following August, when I pulled them out while looking for my grandmother's china. It was just before dinner and I was hungry so I did the thing I was told in college chemistry to NEVER do: I tasted the experiment.

That little nibble was actually delicious! So much so that I quickly finished the cookie, and then was horrified by the implications of what I'd done. I waited for a full 24 hours, expecting symptoms like vomiting, stomach pains and shortness of breath...but nothing happened. That cookie was still edible (quite tasty even) nearly 10 months after purchase. In spite of their deliciousness, I quickly disposed of the remaining treats, afraid I might succumb to temptation again.
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Here is a label for cookies very similar to those I so foolishly ate. Not to overstate the obvious, but there are a lot of ingredients listed that you and I don't cook with.

When we make our own desserts, we don't use chemicals that keep our treats fresh for 10+ months, so the desserts need to be made just before we eat them in order to taste great. Preparing a dessert the day before is fine, and for something like a tiramisu or cheesecake where the flavors need to blend, two days before can be even better. But when you make something a week early and "pop it in the freezer" (even homemade ice cream) it will simply not be as good.

I became convinced of this when I took a platter of tiny cupcakes to an event at my church. The cupcakes had been in the freezer for a couple of months, but had been made from scratch and well-wrapped and frozen as soon as they'd cooled. I'd topped them with my daughter's fresh homemade strawberry buttercream, which is a topic for it's own post - it's unbelievably good. But after the event, several of my cupcakes had gone uneaten, and many more were in the trash (most with the buttercream licked off). I might have had a different result had I brushed the tops of the cupcakes with simple syrup before frosting them, but once I tasted the leftovers, I knew: their time in the freezer had left them with an off-putting, stale flavor.

I would hate for anyone to feel bad about taking a homemade dessert to a party or event, but you might consider making a simple dessert rather than concocting something complex in advance and freezing it. Alternatively, prepping the ingredients - toasting the nuts, combining the dry ingredients, etc. in advance will make quick work of the actual recipe when you do make it. Since the cupcake incident, I've learned that freezing leftover cake batter (instead of a baked cake) can work well: seal in a ziploc, squeeze the air out and freeze flat. Once it thaws (about 4 hours at room temperature for sandwich-sized ziplocs), you can clip off one corner of the bag and quickly fill cupcake pans. In the case of my sad little cupcakes, preparing new cupcakes from a boxed cake mix would have also been a substantial improvement.

Here are a few quick and simple desserts:
​Almond Cake (15 minutes plus cooking time)
Apple Crisp (20 minutes, including peeling the apples, plus cooking time)
Chocolate Fudge Brownies (5-10 minutes  plus cooking time, allow 3 hours to chill)
​Chocolate Mousse (10 minutes plus 1 hour to chill)

A plate of fresh-made chocolate chip cookies are always a hit, and will taste amazingly better than purchased cookies or those made from pre-made dough. My favorite recipe uses butter flavored Crisco - hardly a health food - but because the butter-flavored Crisco is actually dairy-free it can be made vegan by using vegan chocolate chips (Trader Joe's chocolate chips for example) and substituting almond milk for the milk. For extra deliciousness, sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of kosher salt before baking.

Dessert has only one purpose: to taste fabulous. If it fails at that one thing, it's not worth eating.

Sweet dreams,

Chris

If you would like to hear about all my recipes, tips and adventures in cooking, go to www.ucancook.net and enter your email on the right side. Alternatively, email me at [email protected] and I will set you up!

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Adventures in Cooking: The Perfect Waffle

1/18/2016

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When I was about 9 or 10, I discovered the wonders of Bisquick. Amazing stuff, it could be used to make biscuits, dumplings, oven-fried chicken, pancakes, muffins and best of all waffles. Hot, fresh and drowning in 2% maple syrup and real butter (I'm from Wisconsin), they were everything my little carb-loving heart could desire. My family was of like mind, and tucked into them right along side of me, praising my delicious creations.

Fast forward to a 2013 vacation on Nantucket with my family. My brother and sister-in-law, foodies (among many other delightful characteristics) from Seattle, prepared waffles one morning. Their recipe was not Bisquick, but a throwback recipe, "Marion Cunningham's Yeasted Waffles", the winner of a best-of-breed waffle contest on the Blog Orangette which is run by a Seattle restaurateur. Drenched in real maple syrup, not only did they taste fabulous, but the process of making a simple batter at night and cooking it in the morning was appealing as well.

The only problem with these delicious waffles is that the recipe, which dates from the early 1900's, was designed to be made in an old-school waffle iron, producing a rather flat waffle, and like almost anyone who has purchased a waffle iron in the last 20 years, I have a Belgian waffle iron, which makes tall, fluffy waffles. So my delicious yeasted waffles were coming out all flat on one side. Now it's simple enough to turn them over before serving (who among you hasn't given your kid a grilled cheese sandwich burnt side down??), but I wanted to completely fill the waffle iron with fluffy deliciousness.

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Surely, it couldn't be that hard.

The basic ingredients are few: butter, flour, yeast, milk, sugar, salt, eggs and baking soda. 

Given that this is a very runny batter, I started by simply adding more flour. The result? A bisquick-style waffle, that looked really good and tasted, well, kind of like it's Bisquick predecessor. Adding less milk gave the same result.

Next, I tried doubling the number of eggs (more protein, yay!). The resulting waffle was quite delicious, but just as flat as his less-eggy cousin.

The next add was more baking soda. Unfortunately, instead of creating a "recipe", I concocted more of a "science experiment" by adding 1/2 tsp. baking soda to a 1/2 c. of waffle batter. The resulting waffle was still flat as a pancake, as well as being completely inedible. So they were good for dieting (it is January after all) but not so good to actually eat.

It was my 15 year old daughter who finally solved the puzzle. She makes light, airy pancakes out of -- wait for it -- Bisquick -- by separating the eggs, whipping the egg whites and folding them back into the batter. When she pours the batter into a hot skillet, they rise up faster than a pancake in an ihop commercial. And they actually taste really good.
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So here is the secret to the best waffle you will ever eat, without having to serve it bad-side-down: whip up the egg whites and fold them in.

One note: to me, one of the things that make this recipe so attractive is that you prepare it the night before with a minimum of effort and expend even less effort to add two eggs in the morning and make fresh waffles. If you prefer less effort, you should absolutely make the original recipe - it's fabulous. And if you are a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed morning person who wants an adventure in cooking, by all means, separate the eggs, whip the egg whites and fold them back in. You will be delightfully rewarded for your extra work.

Tastefully yours,
Chris
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The 70's are calling and they want you to try fondue!

1/11/2016

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On a bitter cold night, there is nothing better than sharing some serious comfort food with a group of friends. The problem with much comfort food however is that it takes a good deal of time and planning to prepare. Now, I have no problem spending two days to make a couple of loaves of sourdough bread or a really intricate chocolate torte, but we are all looking for simpler ways to entertain. For that, I'd like to raise up a child of the 70's, the humble fondue.

I'll bet that most of you could - either by asking your parents or visiting a well-stocked antique store - lay your hands on a fondue pot. If those sources fail you, Amazon will provide. The question is, what can you do with it? I want to share two fondue recipes that will have you swapping stories over bubbling pots of cheese and chocolate in less time than it take to text your friends and invite them over.

A word about fondue forks: you can make do without them. For cheese fondue, you can substitute long toothpicks or thin italian breadsticks, and for chocolate, marshmallows speared on tiny pretzels sticks work much better than a fork, and the long toothpicks work well for dried fruit or poundcake. That said, if you get your hands on some of the wooden handled, color-tipped forks, go wild! Just don't put them in the dishwasher - the 70s were all about hand-washing.

To start your fondue party, serve a salad following my "magic salad" rule of one fruit, one nut and one cheese (suggested combinations are with the recipe). Serve with a simple vinaigrette - given the main course and dessert, you will want to start on a lighter note.
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The main course is of course cheese fondue. While there are many ways to make cheese fondue, I prefer to keep it simple: use a bag of good quality pre-grated cheese, a bit of chopped onion, some beer and a couple of tablespoons of flour. The recipe comes together in under five minutes, and - bonus - your guests can help you prepare it!

The next question is what to dip? Start with sliced apples (Granny Smith work well) and cubed french bread, and if you like, include thin italian breadsticks, par-cooked broccoli or even lightly microwaved mushrooms (dry well before serving). This is not an exhaustive list - after all, what doesn't taste great with a bit of cheese?

For dessert, clean your fondue pot of any leftover cheese and pile in chopped dark chocolate. Add cream and stir until melted; then stir in a few tablespoons of liqueur. The recipe for chocolate fondue has many permutations; I'm sure you can think of several just while reading!

For a dessert fondue, consider dipping mini-marshmallows speared on thin pretzels, fruit that has been washed and well dried, pound cake, or animal crackers for kids. For the more adventurous, chunks of cheesecake, thin crisp cookies, dried fruits, or even a toasted nut or two or two are delicious. Like cheese, what doesn't taste good dipped in chocolate?

One more thing about fondue: it's not considered good form to drop things into the fondue pot, in fact, if you do this, you are supposed to kiss the person to your left. So do take care when planning your seating arrangements...we've heard some stories about those wild 70's, and who knows if fondue played a role?

Happy dipping,

​Chris

If you would like to hear about all my recipes, tips and adventures in cooking, go to www.ucancook.net and enter your email on the right side. Alternatively, email me at [email protected] and I will set you up!

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Back Pocket Dessert: Quick, Simple and Tasty

1/4/2016

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​Now that the holiday rush is over and the decorations put away, isn't it wonderful to spend an evening with friends? I mean seriously, what else is there to do this month? You really don't need a reason; last fall, I invited friends over and we shared a bottle of good wine to celebrate one's job loss, another's awful job and the third quitting her job. It was fabulous.

But when such lovely occasions arise, the question - if you're hosting - is what to serve? My main housekeeping strategy is one I call "lowering my standards" (I got this good advice from my mother), but even I need to clean the place when people are showing up, and this all takes time. This is where a "back pocket dessert" really comes in handy. A true back pocket dessert should be able to be produced in 15 minutes or less including hands-on time and cleanup, made with stuff you already have in the house and taste fabulous. Now my staples may be different than yours, but I'd like to share one of my favorites: Almond Cake. This delicious cake has only 7 ingredients: almond flour, butter, eggs, sugar, almonds, almond extract and flour. Obviously this is not good for anyone with a tree nut allergy, but for the rest of us, it's great! The ingredients mix in one bowl, and aside from the chore of cutting a circle of parchment to put in the bottom of your cake pan, the cake is in the oven in about the time it takes to preheat it - and your friends will swoon over this dessert. It tastes like marzipan made into a crispy, buttery cake; you can even add some liqueur or top it with sliced almonds and sugar (as in the photo above) if you want to take it to the next level.

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A couple of words about almond flour. This ingredient (I buy the Bob's Red Mill brand at the grocery) is simply ground up nuts, but is the key to several other great recipes including a flourless queen of sheeba torte and french macarons. If you celebrate Passover, this flour will allow you to make amazing flourless desserts for the holiday. Because almond flour is just ground almonds, it's kind of expensive, but you don't use a lot at one time and it keeps for a solid year in the freezer. My only caution is that people who are allergic might not expect ground nuts in a cake or cookies, so make sure you let everyone know. Anaphylactic shock is a terrible way to end a friendly gathering.

Besides quick preparation time and amazing flavor, another advantage to this back pocket dessert is that it's super portable. Since it's baked and transported in a cake pan, you could just about punt it over a goal post and it would still look and taste great. Several years ago, I brought a torte that I had spent a couple of hours glazing in three colors of chocolate to a holiday party. I had made the torte in a springform pan, removed the rim to glaze the torte and then placed the glazed torte on a plate for transport. I drove to the party with my seat all the way back, the plate with the torte between my legs. Everything was fine until I realized I had almost missed a turn, so I banked the torte with my knees and made a right...but then realized a quick left immediately followed! As the car lurched up the steep driveway, the torte skidded off the plate, flying towards the (vacant) passenger seat. I reached out my hand and palmed it right back onto the plate. After parking the car, I looked down. My hand was clean, but my beautiful, 3-color, watermarked chocolate torte had a giant handprint covering the entire top! I quickly went into the party, and when the hostess asked me what I'd brought, I told her "flying chocolate torte". We still laugh about that, but thankfully once the first couple of pieces were cut, you really couldn't tell. With this almond cake, you turn it out to remove the parchment but can return it to the pan for transport; safe in the pan, it could go to a party under the seat of your car and as long as it didn't get dirty, it would be perfectly good! So ideal.

So rather than think too much about the long nights, brutal cold or massive piles of snow, call a couple of friends, give your house a cursory cleaning, and make yourself an almond cake. It goes well with coffee, fresh berries, whipping cream or all three, and is good at any time of day your friends can join you. Please do this; you will have a wonderful time! 

Chris

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    Chris, cooking instructor, disability advocate and mom. Food geek and passionate believer in fresh, simple and homemade.

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    The typeface at the top of this page is Goudy Old Style, the same typeface used in my first copy of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook. My copy is a successor of The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, first published by Fanny Farmer in 1896. It was one of the first cookbooks to use the standard measures that are common today.