*M*WEEK*3: Espresso Biscotti

This week I decided that I would make biscotti! I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com. There are several variations to choose from. I chose the espresso biscotti

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/4 cups pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Stir in the espresso powder, orange zest, chocolate chips, dried apricots, dried cranberries and almonds.
4. Shape dough into two equal logs approximately 12 inches long by 2 inches diameter. Place logs on baking sheet, and flatten out to about 1 inch thickness. Brush the log with egg wash.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden and the center is firm, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven to cool on the pans. When loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to slice the loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Bake until they start turning light 
7. brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Mine didn't turn out as dry as the kind you would buy but it still tastes pretty good! 

D ~ Wk 3: Ghirardelli® Flourless Mocha Torte

This week was dessert week! So, for Dad's birthday I made a flourless mocha torte. We found the recipe at allrecipes.com.  This is what they show it to look like.... hmmm

I followed the recipe just as they said. It was good but a bit of a let down. The cake fell - a lot - it was maybe half an inch thick. The frosting made a ton! And it wasn't very chocolaty, it tasted more like coffee. If I were to make it again I would reduce the amount of coffee and increase the amount of chocolate. 

Ingredients

• Torte:
• 6 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate baking bar, broken or chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon instant freeze-dried coffee
• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
•  
• Frosting:
• 4 ounces Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate baking bar, broken or chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon instant freeze-dried coffee
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 ounce Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate baking bar, for shavings

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper.
2. To make the torte, melt the bittersweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Set aside. Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, and increase the mixing speed to high and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
4. In another large bowl, whip the yolks, the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, and the salt with an electric mixer on medium speed until thick, about 5 minutes. Slowly add the chocolate mixture and coffee; beat until well blended. Fold one-quarter of the egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten. Then fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
5. Bake on the center oven rack for 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside for 5 minutes. Invert and transfer the pans to a wire rack (the centers will fall). Remove the waxed paper and cool completely.
6. To make the frosting, melt the milk chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water; add all at once to the chocolate, stirring continually until smooth. Cool completely.
7. In a large bowl, beat the cream at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream.
8. To assemble the torte, level the top of each layer by cutting off the raised edges with a long serrated knife. Place one layer on a serving plate. Spread the layer with 1 cup of the chocolate whipped cream. Top with the remaining cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the torte with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with bittersweet chocolate shavings.

Dad said it was excellent! Always a good thing.

*M*WEEK*2: Homemade Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza! 

Crust Recipe: 
1T yeast 
2T sugar
1C water 
Let stand for 5 mins 
Then add:
1.5 t salt 
2T oil
3C flour

Bake for 10 mins alone before adding toppings 

Add what ever toppings you fancy! Then, bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly (approx. 10+ mins) :)

*M*WEEK*1: CHICKEN STIR FRY

For a long time I was convinced I didn't like rice. When I tried stir fry, I realized I kind of liked rice.
I'm not an advanced chef, so I decided to start my cooking year off pretty simple!

I didn't follow a particular recipe. I just threw some stuff together!

What ya need:

• Variety of veggies 
• White rice 
• Some sort of Chinese Marinade

C :: Week 2 :: Chicken Pot Pie

Yesterday I made a Chicken Pot Pie.  I'm not really sure why.


It's never really been one of my favorite foods to eat.


Actually I don't really like it.


The ones that you buy at the store are always too salty for me.  And honestly they have no flavor.  And I think it tastes weird if there are peas in it. :)


So I set out to make mine taste a bit different.  And this is how it went...


Ingredient list ::
3 chicken breasts - cooked & diced up
1 cup chopped/chunked carrots :: I think mine was a bit more
1 cup chopped celery :: seriously you don't need more than a cup
1 chopped potato
1 chopped onion :: whatever color you want
1/4 cup melted butter/margarine
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk :: or if you have half & half or whipping cream, you can use that.  I live in Mexico, and those are not found anywhere, so I just used milk
2 cups chicken broth :: I used 2 cups hot water + a chicken bouillon cube - Mexico has awesome moist ones :)
minced garlic
2 chopped green chiles :: only if you want a different non-bland flavor
salt...pepper...sage...thyme...or whatever spice you want
pie crust :: store-bought or homemade.  I live in Mexico, so homemade pie crust it is.


Here's how mine came together ::

So I cooked up the chicken, almost all the way, then I diced it up.  But I really hate cutting raw chicken, so I cook it up and then I don't get grossed out. :)

Here's the veggies.  Next time if I make this I think I would like to make it using some frozen veggies.

So I sautéed the veggies in the butter in the cast iron.  Next time I would sautee the onions & carrots together first.  Then add the minced garlic, and then add in the potatoes & celery.

After I got the veggies sautéed, I added the flour to coat the little fellows.

Then I added those green chiles.  They are already cooked, so they don't need to be sautéed.

Then add in the milk & chicken broth.  Get it bubbling, to thicken up.  Add some spices, more garlic, pepper, salt, thyme, sage, or whatever you want.  But seriously Chicken Pot Pies always need some extra flavor!

And then go get the pie crusts * or in my case, make them. :)

So my dilemma was going to be, what do I cook it in.  I seriously was considering just throwing a pie crust on top of the jazz in the cast iron skillet & cook it up....  Or my other option was making two pie crusts, and making it in my pie plate.  But I'm not super fond of the bottom crusts of Chicken pot Pies.  I think they are too soggy, and hardly ever cooked well.  So I went with my third option when I realized that my neighbors could use a meal.  So I made theirs in a 2 quart casserole dish, and a little one for me in my amazing Corelle bowl that can go in the oven. 

Here is the neighbors version.  Make sure to cut some slits in  the top.

And this was my version.  Small and perfect for me.  Super good.  And I do believe that I will make this one again.  But next time I'll add an extra chile or two and some extra spices. :)  Sorry folks, I just don't like bland food!

Until next week....

C

C :: Week 1 :: Slow Cooker Chicken Soup

It's C here, and I'm working on my blog post.  First one this year!  I made it back to Mexico on Saturday, so I made my first weeks meal on Sunday afternoon.  And surprisingly it turned out pretty good. :)

I kind of made it up.  I knew what I was looking for :: an easy slow cooker soup, that cooked the chicken, and tasted super amazing!  And that's just what I got. :)

So here's how I made my soup, including pictures & all ::

So here is the ingredient list ::

2 cups chicken broth

2 tomatoes :: diced

2 Tablespoons taco seasoning (I have a homemade one that I use)

1 can of corn *not drained

1 can pinto beans :: drained & rinsed

1 can black beans :: drained & rinsed

1 can of tomato sauce

1 onion :: diced

2 green chiles (( mine look super different because I live in Mexico and for like 75 cents I can get 10 fire roasted chiles at the grocery store :) ))

3-4 chicken breasts * they go on top last

Basically you put it all in the crock pot (mine's a 5 qt. one) and then you stir it, and place the chicken breasts on top.

This is what mine looked like ::

Then I cooked it for 6 hours on low.

But I didn't eat mine until the next day because I wasn't hungry.  But I served the soup with cilantro, cheese, limes, and avocados.  And it was super good!  :)  I enjoyed it a lot, and my lunch guests devoured it & asked for seconds!  Definitely a keeper recipe.

:: C