Blair cooks . . . and eats!

Biscuits and Gravy

2008-10-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago we had biscuits and gravy for dinner. I feel like that is a little on the white-trash side, but for some reason I love/crave biscuits and gravy so I decided to give it a try! (By the way, Sam declared it "not white-trash" to eat this for dinner, so I feel a bit better.) I used turkey sasauge and it turned out really well actually. We'll definitely be having it again soon!

Biscuits
from Bride & Groom: First and Forever Cookbook

1 cup + 2 T flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t sugar
3/4 t salt
1 cup cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix dry ingredients together, then mix in cream. If dough feels dry (it should be sticky) add more cream until it is the right consistency. Drop biscuits onto cookie sheet (there should be about 6) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden (be careful not to let the bottoms burn --it happens quickly!).

Gravy
adapted from various internet recipes

10 oz. turkey sausage (I used the italian variety)
2 T butter
2 T flour
salt and pepper
1 2/3 c milk

Cook turkey until no longer pink, then remove from pan to drain. In the same pan melt butter, then whisk in flour and salt and pepper. When that is smooth, slowly stir in milk, whisking constantly. When milk is well combined, bring mixture to a boil for 2 minutes, or until it is desired consistency. Stir turkey back in and serve over biscuits.

Note: I make these biscuits as often as I can think of an excuse to make them --they are SO good. If you want to jazz them up a bit (probably not to serve with the gravy) add a little extra flour, as much cheese as you want, and about a teaspoon of dried dill.

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

2008-09-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

Sorry it has been so long. I actually have tried a few new recipes lately and I will post them as soon as I can get photos. In the meantime, I decided to put a link to this recipe on Martha Stewart's website. I followed the recipe exactly (thus, I won't post it on here) and they were REALLY good. They are also super easy and come together quickly.

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

Cookie of the (Last) Week: An attempt at the "Neiman Marcus" Cookie

2008-07-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

There is this urban legend out there about a woman being charged $250 for a cookie recipe from Neiman Marcus. Of course, this is not true, but I have heard that the cookies were amazing nevertheless, most recently from Katie. I decided to take a stab at this recipe, but the directions were a little spotty, so I had to improvise a bit. I am not wildly impressed with the final results especially because I am pretty satisfied with my current chocolate chip cookie recipe, but they were decent, and you might be able to do something better with them. Also, here is the actual Neiman Marcus cookie recipe (just in case you were wondering) from the store itself.

Neiman Marcus Cookies
adapted from various websites

1 14/ c. oatmeal
1/2 c. butter (1 stick) softened
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 c. flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 Hershey bar, grated (I used the Special Dark one)
1 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (my oven runs hot, so you may want a higher temp.). Measure oatmeal into a food processor and blend until fine. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add dry ingredients (including oatmeal) and mix until just combined. Mix in Hershey bar, nuts, and chocolate chips. Put scoops of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Move off of cookie sheet onto a cooling rack about two minutes after they are out of the oven. Makes a little over 2 dozen cookies, depending on how big your scoops are.

Update: I took these cookies camping this past weekend with Jess and Andrew, and they loved them. I liked them better on the second try, and because they are pretty sturdy and packed with all kinds of stuff (oatmeal, chocolate, nuts), they were great for a camping trip.

DARK Chocolate Sorbet

2008-07-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

(By the way, I am sorry that I take the worst pictures of food ever! You'll just have to trust me that it tastes good . . .)

Well, it is pretty obvious at this point that I love chocolate. In fact, I don't just love chocolate . . . I LOVE chocolate. Actually, I think it is safe to say that I am addicted to chocolate. I have to eat it every day. One summer I tried to go without chocolate for a while and the results were disastrous, as can be attested to by my sister Tiffany. And my preference in chocolate is the real deal: dark chocolate. I will eat milk chocolate in a pinch, but let's not even pretend that white chocolate is in any way a legitimate fix.

There is this cool recipe/food blog that I have been following for over a year now called Chocolate and Zucchini (Ironic? I think not.), and a little while ago the author, Clotilde, posted a recipe for Sorbet Chocolat Noir (No, I'm not snobby, she's French, ok?). It sounded interesting, and with the weather in Portland hovering in the high 80's and low 90's, I thought this would be the perfect time to try her recipe.

The moral of the story is, I just about licked up the drops I spilled off the counter. It was so dang good. Sam says it tastes like a dark chocolate fudgsicle, which is true, but consider yourselves warned: it is one of the most intensely chocolate creations I have ever eaten. It is not for the fair-weather chocolate lover. Even I couldn't eat very much of it without feeling overwhelmed (and that is saying a lot for a girl who downed pints of Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk nightly in college).

Dark Chocolate Sorbet adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini

2 1/4 c. water
2/3 c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 t. vanilla
a generous pinch of salt

In a small sauce pan bring water, cocoa, and sugar to a boil, whisking frequently. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, letting it rest for 30 seconds (or so) while the chocolate melts. Add vanilla and salt and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool in refrigerator, then freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Makes about 4 servings.

Spicy Chicken Alfredo

2008-07-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, remember how I started this food blog, then completely abandoned it? I am going to try to be better from now on . . . promise.
Now, back to the food. If you have been to the restaurant on top of the WILK at BYU (the Skyroom) maybe you tried the Four Corners Alfredo. Well, this is a much easier version of the same recipe. Sam and I eat it at least once a week (Sam would probably eat it even more often if I was willing to make it --it is always the first thing he suggests when I ask what we should eat for dinner). It seems sort of exotic but is deceptively easy to make.

Spicy Chicken Alfredo

1 T oil
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 of a medium onion, diced
1 chicken breast, diced
1 cup prepared alfredo sauce (you could make your own)
1 cup milk
1 chipotle pepper, diced, with 1 T adobo sauce (you can buy these in a can at most grocery stores)
1 T maple syrup

2 1/2 cups cooked penne (you can use whatever pasta you want)
cilantro for a garnish

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, adding garlic and onions. Saute until translucent, then add chicken and brown. Reduce heat and add alfredo sauce and milk. Add chipotle, adobo, and maple syrup. Reduce sauce until it is the consistency that you prefer. Serve over pasta and garnish with cilantro.

Cookie of the Week: Pecan-Chocolate Macaroons

2008-06-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

Until last year sometime, the only type of macaroons I had ever heard of were of the coconut variety (you know, the sugary globs of sticky coconut --Moogie shapes them into hearts and dips one end into chocolate). Then, when I got addicted to food blogs, I found out about French macaroons. I don't remember where I heard about them, but it might have been here or here. In fact, the number one reason I want to go to Paris is to try this guy's macaroons, which are apparently life-changing (they better be, as he is charging 48 Euros for a box of 24!).

Fast forward to this morning: I had four egg whites left over from making ice cream last night (more about that later) and some chocolate ganache from Jessica's birthday cake. As macaroons are essentially meringues filled with ganache, I thought I would give them a shot. Well, it turns out that they are indeed actually pretty dang amazing. I NEVER expected them to be as good as they are. They completely melt in your mouth. Give them a try!

Pecan-Chocolate Macaroons:
adapted from Sunset Cookies

2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/3 c. pecans (I think you could use just about any unsalted nut)
1/3 c. granulated sugar
4 large egg whites
Chocolate ganache (see Jessica's cake recipe, or try your own)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grind the powdered sugar and pecans in a food processor until fine. In a medium pan, bring 2-3 inches of water to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Mix egg whites and granulated sugar in a metal mixing bowl and set over boiling water, whisking constantly until sugar dissolves and the mixture feels warm. With an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg white mixture into stiff peaks. Fold in pecan mixture gently. Spoon into a pastry bag and pipe two inch rounds onto two parchment or silpat lined cookie sheets (keep them about an inch apart). Bake for 15 minutes until tops are dry and shiny and edges are cracked (rotate pans halfway through if baking two at a time) Let them sit for about one and a half hours until completely cool. Sandwich two cookies together using ganache.

Notes: I wish I would have smoothed the cookies down a little after I piped them onto the sheet because they would stand a little easier when sandwiched. Also, a thicker ganache would have probably worked better. Other than that, no complaints!

Fish Tacos

2008-06-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

(picture from CookingLight.com)

I had these amazing fish tacos about a year and a half ago at my Aunt Katherine's house for Christmas. I craved them for over a year until I finally found the recipe again and started making them regularly. Tonight we had them with fruit salad in an attempt to channel some summer here in freezing/wet Portland (not so successful). But, despite the weather the tacos are SO good, and not too bad for you either!

Crema:
adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

2 T sliced green onions (add more or less depending on your taste)
2 T chopped fresh cilantro (add more or less depending on your taste)
1 1/2 T reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 1/2 T reduced-fat sour cream
zest and juice of one lime
1/4 t salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine ingredients and refrigerate until using.

Tacos (for two):
adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

1 t cumin
1 t coriander
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t ground red pepper (same thing as cayenne pepper)
1/8 t salt
1/8 t garlic powder
2 tilapia fillets (I use the frozen ones from Costco)
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
shredded cabbage

Combine spices and coat both sides of the frozen fish. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Shred fish and place on heated corn tortilla with cabbage and crema.

Jessica's Birthday Cake (two days later)

2008-06-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jessica's birthday on Sunday with her family, and I got to make the cake! I have been dying to make a cake for months now, and this one turned out pretty well.

Cake:
adapted from Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook
3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2/3 c. cocoa
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 c. chocolate chips
2 c. water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 T vinegar
1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add chocolate chips. Add wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Bake in two 9in. round pans, that are oiled and floured, with parchment paper for 25-30 minutes.

Frosting:
from Bride & Groom: First and Forever Cookbook
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. sugar
2/3 c. milk
1 c. butter (2 sticks) cut into pieces
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla

Put chocolate chips in the bowl of a stand mixer. In a medium sauce pan bring sugar, milk, butter, and salt to a boil and let boil for exactly one minute. Pour into stand mixer and add vanilla. Mix with whisk attachment until spreadable, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Raspberry Filling:
1 bag frozen raspberries (10 oz. I think)
3 T sugar
1 T cornstarch

Puree thawed raspberries in a food processor, then strain out the seeds. In a small sauce pan bring puree, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil. Refrigerate until spreadable, about 2 hours.

Chocolate Ganache:
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
1 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bring cream to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, stirring until combined. Refrigerate until spreadable, about four hours.

Assembling the Cake:
Cut cake layers horizontally into two pieces. Place first layer on serving platter and top with half of the raspberry filling. Add another layer and top with chocolate ganache. Add another layer and top with raspberry, then add final layer and frost top and sides of cake.

Notes: Overall, I liked this cake, but the chocolate ganache did not turn out the way I wanted. The frosting was amazing, and I will definitely use the recipe again. The cake itself is great, as usual --it is Moogie's favorite recipe and the chocolate cake I grew up on. Also, I had too much frosting and WAY too much ganache (I'll have to find something to do with the leftovers). Sam didn't like the raspberry filling but I thought it was pretty good. The cake looked nice frosted, but didn't hold up that beautifully when cut (as you can see from the picture) . . . not sure how to mitigate that problem.