Vegan...say what???

So, this might be hard to believe...but Nathan and I are attempting to go vegan...for a week. We vowed to eat a vegan diet for a week and then evaluate how we felt about it. I want to see if I feel healthier, more energized, not as sluggish, etc. I will have to post the results, I am a little nervous about making a big commitment, but if we feel much better eating this way, we would be silly not to!

This all started this weekend when we went to our friends house for dinner. I had been noticing that my friend Lindsay had been pinning vegan recipes on pinterest, so when we made plans for dinner, I asked her if she had "converted" and if we needed to make a vegan meal. She said that if we wanted to try to eat vegan that would work, but they were fine with eating "normal" every once in a while also. I agreed to give it a shot, I was curious to see how hard it really would be to come up with a yummy meal that was vegan-approved. When we got there, she offered us some vegan peanut butter cups and cookie dough dip that were SO yummy. It was weird though, because after we ate them, we didn't get that all-too-familiar lethargic feeling that comes after eating mass quanities of sugar...because there wasn't added sugar! The peanut butter cups were using natural peanut butter, and the cookie dough dip was made out of chickpeas (and yes, it actually was delicious). For dinner, we had macaroni and "cheese" (the cheese was made from veggies & cashews bleneded together) and sweet potato fries with pumpkin spice ice cream (made with coconut and almond milk) for dessert. I promise you that had I had the vegan macaroni and cheese side-by-side with the regular stuff, I could hardly have told a difference! Lindsay said that since eating vegan she has felt more energized, is running 6 miles (wow!), and has even lost weight! With a testimonial like that, how could I not try it?!?

When we got home, I asked Nathan how he would feel about going vegan. We both agreed that we would try it for a week - I mean really commit to following it, no cheats allowed, and then decide. Even if we do decide to eat vegan...we won't be pretentious about it, I promise. In social situations where it would be awkward to say "we don't eat animal products" we will probably cheat a little, and of course on special occassions. I suggested maybe doing one "normal" day a week...or even one "normal" meal a week...but we will make up our mind once we decide on if we want to really pursue this or not.

I have been reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone that Lindsay let me borrow and I have really learned a lot about nutrition and even (Nathan told me not to talk to people about this because I would seem like a nut) animal cruelty. Right now, the vegan decision is based primarily on my health, but if I can help animals in the meantime...great!

To be honest with you, the thing that is holding me back from really committing is my love of cooking and my dream of having a catering business. I think that I just need to have the attitude that if I eat 90% healthy and then sample my treats 10% of the time...I will be doing good. Did I tell you guys that I am in week two of the Gourmet Cooking & Catering Management program at Ashworth College? Well, I am, and I'm loving it!

Anyways, here is today's vegan menu - maybe this will help you realize that it really can be enjoyable and delicious!

Breakfast: Mom's Best Oat & Honey Blend Naturals Cereal with 1 cup of Silk Original Pure Almond Milk
Snack: Pear
Lunch: Boca Spicy "Chicken" Patty and 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
Snack: Banana Bread flavor Lara Bar
Dinner: Black Bean and Butternut Squash Burritos
Snack: Peanut Butter Babies

I'll keep you posted on how the week assessment goes!

Fall Food - Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle



It has been WAY too long since I last blogged - so to all two of you, sorry! Anyways, it is finally official - fall is here. With fall comes some of my favorite things...football, boots, sweaters, pumpkins, cool weather, lattes, and fall foods! When I think fall foods, I think about pumpkin primarily (one of my favorite flavors for anything), soups, breads, and pretty much anything warm and hearty. Unfortunately most of those foods are also associated with weight gain...but this post isn't about feeling bad about weight gain, I would advise to just deal with it because the fall foods are worth it (Jillian Michaels would be screaming in my face right now).
We had a work party today, and the theme was "September Spectacular" - I decided to make a Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle that I saw on Pinterest awhile back. My new plan is to go through all of my hundreds of pins and favorites in Food Gawker and actually make what I have intended to make.
The trifle turned out great - I wouldn't change a thing, but be aware that some of the layers might need to be made bigger or smaller depending on the size of your trifle dish. Mine was smaller so I ended up only needing 1 1/2 cakes and 1 tub of Cool Whip.
Try this for yourself and see what you think, I thought it was simple to make and everyone at work seemed pleased with the taste!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Recipe from: Taste of Home

 



Directions

• Prepare and bake gingerbread according to package directions, using two greased 9-in. round baking pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
• Meanwhile, for pudding, in a large saucepan, combine pudding mix and milk; stir until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes longer or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Combine pumpkin and brown sugar; stir into pudding.
• In a 4-qt. glass serving bowl, crumble one gingerbread cake; gently press down. Top with half of pudding mixture and whipped topping. Repeat layers. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Yield: 25 servings (1 cup each).

Ingredients

• 2 packages (14-1/2 ounces each) gingerbread cake mix
• 1 package (4.6 ounces) cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 1 can (29 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

A Sandwich for Supper



I noticed that a lot of times when we go somewhere casual for dinner, Nathan orders a French Dip. So in wanting to prepare a weekly dinner menu that he would enjoy, I put them on the menu. These turned out so much better than either of us expected, and I would take this over the ones in the restaurants any day. As you can tell in the picture, we like lots of the au jus, kind of at a 2:1 ratio of jus to sandwich. The seasoning on the roast was great, and the best part was that you can put it all in the crock pot in the morning, come home after work and slap it on some sandwich bread with provolone and voila a simple, delicious dinner.

French Dip Sandwiches

Adapted from: http://blogchef.net/?s=french+dip

Ingredients:

Ingredients:1 boneless beef roast
½ cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 tsp. pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Sub rolls (we used wheat hoagie rolls from Kroger)
Provolone cheese
We also spread some Marzetti Chipotle Ranch on half of the bread - totally optional

Instructions:

Remove any visible fat from the roast and discard the fat. Place the roast into a slow cooker. In a medium bowl combine soy sauce, beef bouillon cube, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder. Pour the mixture over the roast. Add enough water to almost cover the roast. Cook on low for 8 hours
Remove the roast from the broth (reserving the broth). Shred the roast with two forks. Place the reserved broth into cups or small bowls for dipping.
We cut our hoagies open, put the provolone on, and broiled them for about 3 minutes at 425 to get them toasted and the cheese melted
Place shredded beef onto sandwiches.
Serve with the au jus sauce for dipping!

Pizza Goes Gourmet



I have been craving pizza for a while now, but have felt too guilty about eating such a greasy, fatty food on a week night. (Didn't you know, calories don't count on weekends?) So, I decided to go with a pizza that was homemade, and made with fresh, quality ingredients. I stumbled across a fig and prosciutto pizza that looked amazing. Right now, Nathan and I are weirdly obsessed with fig - dried as a salad topping, pureed as a salad dressing, spread on crostini, the list goes on.
This pizza was adapted from the Pioneer Woman - Ree Drummond - and if you have ever checked out her blog or any of her cookbooks, you know that we are already set up for success here. We absolutely loved this pizza - the homemade dough, the sweetness of the fig paired with the bitterness of the arugula, the fresh mozzerella...the list goes on. I would highly recommend that you branch out from your usual cheese and pepperoni and take the time to make a homemade dough topped with these fresh ingredients.

Fig-Prosciutto Pizza

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

Pizza Crust

• 1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup Olive Oil

For the Pizza:

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 4 Tablespoons Fig Preserves
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• 12 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced Thin
• 6 ounces, weight Thinly Sliced Prosciutto
• 1 handful arugula
• Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup Shaved Parmesan (we didn't have this and it was fine without but probably would be great with it!)

Directions:

Note - the pizza dough is enough for 3 pizzas, so only use 1/3rd of the dough for this recipe - or play around to make the pizza whatever size you want - ours took up a cookie sheet

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour.
Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Roll out 1/3 of the pizza dough as thinly as possible. Place on a large baking sheet.
Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Spread fig spread all over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
Lay sliced of mozzarella all over the surface. Sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. (Ours was ready at 12 minutes)
Remove from oven and immediately lay prosciutto over hot pizza. Just before serving, sprinkle on arugula and Parmesan shavings.
Cut and serve immediately!

Fiesta!

Stock Photo since I forgot to take one!

Over the weekend, Nathan and I went to a mexican-themed party at a friend's house. We had SUCH a great time, everyone is always so great about chipping in and we always end up with a ton of great food. I decided to bring mexican cornbread, churros & chocolate, and sopapilla cheesecake. The cornbread was ok, but I overcooked it a little so it was sort of dry. The desserts, however, turned out great! There is something about fried dough dipped in Nutella that is sort of magical, and then cheesecake with cinnamon sugar dough isn't too bad either!

Churros and Nutella Sauce

Idea from Forgiving Martha

These churros are great because they are so simple and they aren't fried - which while this dish isn't remotely healthy - at least cuts out some of the fat.

Ingredients:

One Package of frozen Puff Pastry Sheet (Pepperidge Farm comes with two sheets)

1/4 cup of melted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup of sugar (mix with the tsp. of cinnamon)

Nutella

1/3 cup of milk (I used 2%)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450

Cut thawed puff pastry into 1" strips and put on parchment paper on a baking sheet

Spread melted butter onto strips

Bake strips at 450 for 8-10 minutes or until the strips are golden-colored

Take the strips out of the oven, spread with butter again, and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture

Nutella Sauce:

On low-medium heat combine 1 jar of nutella with 1/3 cup of milk and stir until "dippable" - you may want less or more milk based on your preference. I would recommend adding a small amount at a time until you reached the desired consistency. Pour the sauce into a sealable container - I used Corningware.

Dip the churros into the warm nutella sauce. Yum!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Recipe from CopyKat Recipes

Ingredients:

2 can of crescent rolls (I used Pillsbury)

2 eight-oz. packages of cream cheese

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. lemon juice (I didn't use this - it might be good, but it was good without too!)

1/2 tsp lemon zest (I didn't use this - it might be good, but it was good without too!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Line the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with 1 can of the crescent rolls. I rolled out the dough a little bit with a rolling pin to get the perforated crescent roll marks out of it. Whip cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of the sugar (reserve the other 1/2 cup for the topping), the vanilla, and the optional lemon juice and zest. Spread this mixture over the bottom layer of crescent rolls. Top this layer with the second can of crescent rolls. Melt the butter and pour this over the top (it's going to seem like A LOT of butter - which it kind of is) and then sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.



Slow-Cooker Success

So I realize the picture doesn't look great (thanks in part to me thinking it was a good idea to put a dollop of salsa on my already sad looking black beans) - but the flavor in these tacos was amazing. Pulled pork tacos sounds a little weird - but we aren't talking about barbecue pork here, we are talking about pork slow cooked in salsa and spices and even cocoa - yum! I actually have to thank Nathan for getting this together because while crock pot recipes are great, I always forget to assemble everything the night before - so I had to call him all panicky and instruct him over the phone on getting everything in the crock pot before he left for work. We serve them with corn on the cob and black beans. This leaves you with lots of leftovers, but it's one of those recipes that actually gets better the longer it sits as the flavors really soak into the meat. So if you make this, you will probably be having lots of tacos - but it also lends itself well to pork sandwiches which we had yesterday with mexican cornbread.

Slow-Cooked Pork Tacos

Adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients:

2 cups salsa

2 tbsp. chili powder

2 tbsp. dried oregano

2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Salt

2 1/2 pound boneless pork butt or shoulder trimmed of excess fat (we used pork shoulder - cheaper)

Corn or flour tortillas (I like corn, Nathan likes flour)

Cilantro

3/4 cup sour cream (we used non-fat plain yogurt instead to save calories - you should give it a try - we actually like this better than sour cream)

1 lime cut into wedges (optional)

Directions:

In your slow-cooker (needs to be at least 4-6 quarts) combine the meat and the seasonings (salsa,chili powder, oregano, cocoa, and 1 tsp. salt). Add the pork and coat it in the seasoning.

Cook, covered, until the meat can easily be pulled apart - high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours

To warm the tortillas before serving, put them in a 350 degrees oven wrapped in foil for about 15 minutes

While the tortillas are warming up, shred the pork with two forks and the stir the meat into the cooking liquid.

Serve with tortillas, cilantro, sour cream (or yogurt in our case), lime, and extra salsa.

Easy Seafood

During the summer especially, we like to eat some type of seafood once a week. Usually we have tilapia or another type of white fish. Why? Well to be honest with you, because it's cheap - and we like it too! I should probably branch out more and start marinating and grilling some salmon, or splurging on some red snapper - but I found a way to jazz up tilapia that was pretty darn good. For dinner the other night, we made Cooking Light's version of almond-crusted tilapia and served it with some french bread and fresh green beans from my in-laws garden. The crust made the tilapia surprising filling and gave it some crunch, which I tend to think fish needs to compensate for it's floppy texture. This recipe was so simple, quick (ready within 15 minutes), and healthy as well!

Almond-Crusted Tilapia

Adapted this recipe from: Cooking Light

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of almonds

2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

1 tsp seasoning (I used Adobo) - Cooking Light recommends Mrs. Dash garlic & herb

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon dijon mustard  or 1 egg white (Nathan doesn't like dijon, so we instead coated his in egg white before dredging it in the almond mixture)

2 (6-ounce) tilapia filets

Parsley for a garnish

Directions:

Place the almonds, breadcrumbs, seasoning, and pepper in a food processor or a blender and process until the mixture is finely ground. Put this mixture in a shallow dish for dredging the fish in.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat and brush the mustard or egg whites over the fish. Dredge the fish in the crumb mixture. Add fish to pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Be SURE to have enough oil in the pan, otherwise your crumb topping will burn. When it's ready, the fish will flake easily and be warm all the way through. Remove it from the pan and sprinkle with parsley if you choose to!

Forgot to Make Dinner!

So last night, I forgot to put the pork in the slow-cooker for our slow-cooked pork tacos (which we will be enjoying tonight by the way) - so, I was in the predicament of having to scrounge around for something to make. Now, I'm a week-to-week shopper. I have the most organized shopping list you have ever seen - every single meal planned out, and we only buy the groceries that we will be eating for that week. The pros to this are that it's great for the budget, and we don't have a lot of junk or impulse purchases around the house. The con is when you don't feel like cooking, or simply forget to make something in advance, and you don't have a whole lot of options.
One of our favorite options on a night like this is breakfast for dinner. We usually have some Bisquick around for quick waffles, and eggs and veggies for an omelette. However, coming off of my great cooking class-filled-weekend, I didn't want to settle with Bisquick. As soon as Nathan called and said he was bringing home some blackberries that he had picked at the farm, a great idea popped into my head. We decided to amp up our waffles and eggs, and went with lemon pancakes with blackberry syrup and a broccolli and feta frittata. For being a last minute idea, this was the best meal we had all week. This meal is perfect for summer time, it's light yet filling - and the fresh fruit flavors, and the smells coming out of your kitchen from the lemon and simmering blackberries are beautiful!

He liked it...I promise

Lemon Panckes with Blackberry Syrup

This recipe was too perfect to adapt - I made it precisely from Greedy Gourmand

Makes 7 small pancakes.

Lemon pancakes:
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tbs sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Blackberry syrup:
1 cup frozen blackberries
1/4cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest and salt. Add the egg and buttermilk. 
Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat with a little butter.  Add 1/3 cup of batter to the pan and cook a few minutes on both sides, until just lightly golden brown. 

Meanwhile, combine blackberries, sugar, lemon juice and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, cook until syrup reduces to desired consistency. Syrup will thicken upon cooling.

 

Long Time, No Post

I haven't posted in a while - but I've definitely been cooking! Over the weekend, Nathan and I went to a bed & breakfast (The Inn at Meander) for "Weekends in the Kitchen" - which featured gourment meals and two wonderful cooking classes. In our classes we made everything from corn soup to pots de creme - and it was all delicious! We plan to use some of our new recipes this coming weekend!

Anyways, since we have been back - Nathan and I have started a new tradition. When we get home from work we like to sit on our back deck with a drink in hand and an easy, but delicious snack. This week we have alternated between crostini topped with goat cheese and fig preserve and sourdough crostini and sheepsmilk cheese dipped in an olive oil and herb blend. To make this, simply slice a baguette or french-style bread of your choice into about 1" pieces, brush with olive oil, and broil at 400 degrees until the bread is golden. Then top with the goat cheese (for option one) and put back in the oven for about 2-3 minutes for the cheese to get bubbly and melty (technical terms). Finally, drop on some fig preserve. For our second snack, the herb mixture was a little more complex - not hard to make, just lots of ingredients. However, once you make it, you can store it in a glass jar in the fridge, and whip it out whenever you want to impress your friends with a delicious snack. We like to serve ours with baguette and a good-quality hard cheese (we are currently using a peppered sheepsmilk cheese).

Olive Oil and Herb Dip

Adapted from food.com

http://www.food.com/recipe/carrabbas-bread-dipping-spice-53876

For this recipe, if you use fresh herbs - they will need to be combined in a food processor to get to be the same size. I just used the ones from my spice rack, and they could just be combined with a spoon or whisk. 

 

• 1 tablespoon minced basil 
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary 
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil 
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Combine all of the dry ingredients (not the olive oil and lemon juice...yet)

Stir in oil and lemon juice

When ready to serve - mix with about 1 tsp of herbs to every 3 tbsp of olive oil

Tastes great on crusty breads, and drizzled over cheeses.

Salad for Supper

Marinated Steak Salad

In order to convince Nathan to eat a salad as his dinner, I had to make sure that it was going to be big, filling, and most importantly, good. If you are trying to eat more vegetables, a salad is the perfect solution. A half cup equals a serving, and an entree salad can easily have four to five servings of vegetables. In order to make it filling though, it is going to need some sort of protein, whether that be meat, beans, or something else...tofu maybe? (blech). Anyways, I took some inventory of what we had around the house and whipped up a dinner salad that ended up being one of our favorite go-to dinner options. It's inexpensive, quick, healthy, and really yummy!

Ingredients:

Half of a bottle of Lawry's 30 Minute Marinade (flavor of your choice - we used a peppercorn blend)
Grocery store package of flank steak
Head of romaine lettuce
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
1/3 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup of pecans
Salad Dressing of your choice - we used Marzetti's Light - Ancho Chipotle Ranch (only 70 calories for 2 tablespoons!)

Directions:

Put flank steak into a resealable plastic bag with half of a bottle of 30-minute marinade. Marinade the steak for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Cook the steak either on a grill or in a pan on the stove with some non-stick cooking spray. The steak will cook through quickly, usually about 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat on the stove on each side does the trick.
While the steak is cooking, chop up the romaine and put it on two dinner plates.
When the steak is finished, layer pieces of steak on top of the salad, and divide the craisins, feta, and pecans on top of each salad.
Serve with dressing and any other toppings that you like!

Our Favorite Summer Dinner

Toppings for the Tacos!

One of our favorite places to travel that is somewhat closeby is Washington D.C. After seeing all of the historic sites, we now just like to go there for the shopping and dining - some of the best of which is found in Georgetown. The first time we tried fish tacos was at J. Paul's in Georgetown, and we were eager to make our own version when we got home. The tacos are light, fresh, summery, and easy to make. One of the most fun parts about making them is getting to choose whatever toppings you like. I like to chop up lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for ours. Our usual toppings include: chopped romaine, salsa, lime juice, chopped tomatos, red onions, jalapenos, avacado, and mango. To add an interesting flavor, we use crumbled feta cheese rather than more traditional shredded cheeses, and to save some calories, use plain yogurt rather than sour cream. We have used these same toppings and cooking methods for different types of fish, but our favorites have been tilapia and shrimp. For the tilapia, we season it with salt, pepper, and some of Emeril's Essence and then saute the fish in olive oil until it is cooked through and the inside flakes. For the shrimp, we peel and devein it, and then saute it in olive oil with some smashed garlic gloves and grated ginger. I prefer corn tortillas, and Nathan prefers flour tortillas, but we cook those for a few seconds on each side in some olive oil to make them a little crispy. It might sound weird, but give these tacos a try, they are healthy and delicious! We like to serve them with a side of black beans and corn.

Tilapia Tacos

(Serves 2)

One pound of fresh tilapia (use fresh - much tastier than frozen)

4-6 Corn or flour tortillas

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Seasoning: Sprinkle on salt, pepper, Emeril's Essence (combination of garlic, paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme)

Toppings (choose what you like): Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Feta, Plain Yogurt, Mango, Jalapeno, Salsa, Lime, Avacado, Black Beans, Corn, Cilantro

Directions:

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat until it is hot (you can test this by dropping a drop of water in it and seeing if it sizzles). While it is heating, season each filet of fish with the salt, pepper, and essence. When the oil is ready, drop the fish into the pan and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until the outside of the fish is crispy, and the inside flakes - you can test it with a fork - it's ok to cut into it, you will be shredding it up anyways.

While the fish is cooking you can work on chopping up the toppings.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a separate skillet on high heat. Once the oil is hot, drop the tortillas in individually for about 15 seconds on each side, or until they have a slight crispiness to them.

Remove the fish from the skillet and shred into small pieces. Place into tortillas, and then serve with the toppings.

My Favorite Cookie Recipe

Ok this is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe ever - and I have had lots of chocolate chip cookies in my 23 years of life, so that's really saying something. One morning when I was watching the Today show, they featured these cookies. They are the creation of pastry chef Richard Ruskell, and he won the Food Network Challenge "best cookie" episode with this recipe - deservingly so.

From my limited baking experience, I have picked up several cookie-making tips that are essential for making great cookies.

• Use real vanilla - not the imitation vanilla extract
• Use real butter - not margarine, not "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" (what is it actually?), not anything else...just deal with the extra calories, they are well worth it
• Let the ingredients (especially the eggs and butter) sit out at room temperature for several hours before baking, otherwise it affects the consistency and texture of the cookies
• Depending on how you like the cookies (I like mine slightly doughy in the middle) bake them for a minute less than the instructed baking time
• Put wax paper on the cookie sheet to keep the bottoms from burning
• When making chocolate chip cookies, splurge on the good chocolate - I like the Ghiradelli chips personally

Ok, so those are my tips for making good cookies - and now I am pleased to say (maybe I should be ashamed actually) that I can give the recipe for these cookies from memory. Thank you Richard Ruskell for this recipe! Just to make sure he gets proper credit I will cite the recipe - but I promise, I am quoting from memory here.

Richard Ruskell's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

 

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups the best chocolate chips you can find

*It's really important for this recipe that all of your ingredients are at room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl (or even better, in a Kitchenaid stand mixer) cream together the two sticks of butter (room temp) and both sugars
After this has reached a smooth consistency, add in the 2 (room temp) eggs and the 2 tsp (real) vanilla extract until combined.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Once mixed thoroughly, add this into the liquid mixture...slowly so you don't end up with a huge mess.
After this has been combined, add your 2 cups of chocolate chips.
Drop on the cookie sheet in rounded scoops and you are ready to bake! The recipe says to bake at 350 for 10 minutes, but I always bake them for 9...just a personal preference.
Enjoy with a glass of milk.

What's for Dinner - 6/20/2011

Puerto Rican Pork with Cannellini Beans and Squash (try and ignore the chip on the plate)

Sort of a boring title - but I figure this can sort of be a reoccuring theme...you know, since dinner is a reoccuring thing. Anyways, last night I tried out a new recipe, and it was a success! I made Puerto Rican shredded pork (adapted from Gina's WW Recipes) and served it with cannellini beans sauteed in olive oil with some crushed garlic cloves and some squash from the garden (I love saying that) roasted in olive oil and topped with some parmesan cheese. That might seem like a weird pairing, but I wasn't sure what else to pair with Puerto Rican pork - I would be welcome to suggestions though. Until I get a nice camera, my pictures might not look great, in fact some of them might look kind of gross (i.e. this picture) - but I promise it was so flavorful and good. A plus side too is that the entire meal was only 402 calories - not bad for a filling dinner! The pork is made in the crock pot, which I love. I got the marinade ready the night before and stuck everything in the crock pot and refrigerated it, then in the morning, all I had to do was stick it on the crockpot on low for 8 hours. When I got home from work it was ready to go! I will post the recipe for the pork below. For a while, I was just making meat and vegetables for dinner, but Nathan and I realized that we still feel hungry if there isn't some type of carbohydrate, so I have been trying to be creative with the carbohydrates that I choose, and keep them somewhat healthy. Beans are a great carbohydrate side, they are full of fiber, protein, and can be cooked in a variety of ways. For the cannellini beans, I just heated about a tablespoon of good quality olive oil (I use the spanish olive oil from Trader Joes) and then threw in about four crushed cloves of garlic. Then I threw in the drained and rinsed cannellinni beans and let it cook up for about six or seven minutes. In the words of Barefoot Contessa, "How easy is that?!" The squash was easy too - I sliced up two squash, and threw them in a mixing bowl with about two tablespoons of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. After they were coated, I put them on a baking sheet and sprinkled them with some parmesan cheese. They baked on 350 for about 20 minutes - until the parmesan had formed a crust on top. The pork made for nice leftovers, and we will use it tonight for some sandwiches!

Puerto Rican Pork 

Adapted from Ginas Skinny Recipes

Original Recipe found here

• 3 lb pork roast
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp crushed black pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (fresh really does make a difference)
• Juice of 2 limes

Directions:

Cut slits into the pork and stuff holes with small pieces of the crushed garlic. I cut each crushed piece in half and stuffed half in and kept the other half out to put into the marinade. Mix up the remaining ingredients and pour over pork. Place into the bowl of the crock pot, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the crock pot and cook on low, 8 hours.

Remove pork and it will shred easily. You can shred it using two forks. We ate it at this point, but Gina suggests to: "Remove liquid from crock pot and add pork back to crock. Add about 1 cup of the liquid back and adjust salt, pepper and cumin (you will probably need to add more). Let it cook another 15-30 minutes."

Coconut Tiki Cake

Nathan and I were asked to bring a dessert to a cookout tonight, so last night I was flipping through my Food Network magazines to look for a recipe that would be appropriate for the summery occassion. We came across a "Tiki Cocktail Cake" that looked perfect. Nathan went with me to the store to pick up the ingredients. We had no idea how long it was going to take us searching for cocktail umbrellas. Although his tone was indicative of "Is it that important?", Nathan was a trooper and approached various salespeople to inquire about where they could be - all of whom gave us a different answer: "party supplies", "paper products", "daquiri mixes". We didn't end up finding them - I was told to go to a liquor store, so I will have to get over there today - I mean what Tiki Cocktail Cake is complete without the cocktail umbrella? Right? After getting the supplies we got home and dove right in to making the cake. The recipe called for us to use a 6" cake pan and two 1-quart bowls. On hand we had a 8" cake pan and two 2.5-quart bowls, so we improvised. Since we knew that would make for shallower cakes, our cake would be much shorter and rounder than the one pictured in the magazine. I convinced myself that it would be fine because rather than a pineapple-shaped tiki cake, a coconut one (round shape) would be even more appropriate! Overall I was very pleased with how it turned out. It wasn't nearly as labor-intensive as I thought it would have been, the only part that took a while was toasting several batches of coconut, we assumed that what the recipe called for wouldn't provide enough...we were wrong...we now have an abundance of toasted coconut in ziploc bags in our baking cabinet. I hate to waste. Anyways, it's hard to try and sneak a taste of a cake in such a precise shape, so I can't comment on the taste, but overall the cake turned out looking good and once I stick that cocktail umbrella in it, I will be proud of our finalized creation!

Tiki Cocktail Cake

Recipe taken from Food Network Magazine

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/tiki-cocktail-cake-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 18.25-ounce box chocolate cake mix
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 16-ounce tub milk chocolate frosting
• 3/4 cup vanilla frosting
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray one 6-inch cake pan (we used an 8-inch for the coconut shape) and two 1-quart ovenproof bowls (we used two 2.5-quart bowls to make a coconut shape) with cooking spray. Beat the cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil with a mixer.

Divide the batter evenly among the pan and bowls; bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes for the pan and 35 minutes for the bowls. Cool; unmold.

Trim all 3 cakes to make them level. Hollow out the smaller end of one of the bowl cakes, carving about 1 inch deep. (Leave a thick rim around the edge.)

Put the uncut bowl cake, wider side up, on a cake board or plate. Spread with a layer of chocolate frosting, then position the round cake on top.

Spread the round cake with frosting, then put the other bowl cake on top, carved part up. Freeze the cake about 1 hour (this will make it easier to frost).

Frost the outer rim and inside of the hole with vanilla frosting. Put the remaining vanilla frosting in a resealable plastic bag.

Spread the remaining chocolate frosting over the outside of the cake. Press handfuls of
toasted coconut into the frosting, covering the cake completely.

Microwave the bag of vanilla frosting for 5 seconds (the bag will not melt). Snip off a corner and squeeze the frosting into the top of the cake so it looks like liquid.
Add a cocktail umbrella and straw.