The Corner Kitchen

Olive Oil Granola

2012-02-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

Are Monday mornings as tough for you as they are for me? Today felt like an especially tough morning. The only thing that stopped my from hitting the snooze button one more time was my growling stomach & a large jar of freshly made Olive Oil Granola.

If my day started with granola, Greek yogurt and fruit for the rest of my days, I'd be a happy gal. Sure, I like to change things up and I love variety, but I'm also very much a creature of habit. Especially when I reeealllly like something. And I reeealllly like granola. And now, I reeealllly, reeealllly ~~like~~ love this Olive Oil Granola.

I was trying to think of the last time I bought granola at the store. It's been so long I really can't remember. From the first time I made granola at home, I knew this was one item I would never be purchasing at the store ever again. It's quick and easy to make, and the best part about making your own granola, is that you know every single ingredient that's going in your mouth. There's no preservatives, no ingredients you can't pronounce and, unlike many store-bought granolas, it's not likely to contain a zillion grams of sugar (unless, of course, you want it to). You get to control all the ingredients included (or not) in your granola.

The first time I tried this recipe, I think I plowed through the whole batch in a week. It's delicious and addictive - don't say I didn't warn you! The taste of the olive oil is ever so slight, almost undetectable. But right before your mouth is filled with the sweetness of maple and brown sugar, you just barely catch a glimpse of the olive oil's bitter scent. It happens so quick, you wonder if your taste buds fooled you. And it leaves you going back for spoonful after spoonful.

Print Recipe

Olive Oil Granola

(Adapted from Melissa Clark, The New York Times, July 10, 2009)

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups raw pistachios

3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine oats, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, ground flax, salt, cinnamon and cardamom, and mix together. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, maple syrup and sugar, and whisk until fully combined. Add wet mixture to the oat mixture, and stir to fully coat.

Spread the granola mixture in an even, single layer on rimmed, parchment-lined baking sheets, working in batches if necessary.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Stir the coconut into the mixture prior to the final 10 minutes of baking.

Remove from the oven and fully cool before serving.

Store in an air tight container.

Enjoy!

FCI Graduation

2012-02-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

My class

As the days go by, it's getting harder and harder to believe it was just a little more than one week ago I was sitting in front of a jury (in part, that included Andre Soltner and a Top Chef contestant) listening to a critique on my final dishes. Going into the final exam, I was soooo nervous. But, the second I walked into the kitchen & got settled at my station, my nerves were long gone and the only thing on my mind was moving through my task list. My combination of dishes for the final (which were picked at random), were exactly what I'd hoped for since the first day of Level 6 - handmade tagliolini with roasted mushrooms & fennel cream and lamb chops with goat cheese sauce & braised artichokes. I won't take you through the entire play by play of the night, but I will happily say it was a much better night than the midterm - I was completely focused, I felt as if nothing could break my confidence, I stayed ahead of the game and I cooked with love. In hindsight, there are a couple small things I wish I'd done differently (but, isn't that always the case). But all in all, I was so proud of my work and the night could not have gone any better.

Level 6 teammates & I

After the final exam, there celebration and many well-deserved beers!

For nine months, I spent my Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights in the kitchen. I learned more during this journey than I ever expected! When I think about this experience, I have moments of absolute amazement, joy and happiness. And, what's truly amazing (and truth be told a little scary, sometimes) to me, is that culinary school was just the tip of the iceberg - my journey is just beginning!

Classmates & I before graduation

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, "so, what's next?" or "what're your plans for after graduation?", or some variation of that question, I'd be a billionaire right now. (Ahhh, and in my dream world, if I was a billionaire, I'd be writing this post from a tropical beach with stunning blue water, and sipping on a mojito.) That's the big question now - what exactly is next. For right now I don't have an answer. I really wish I did, and I'm working everyday to change that.

While I complain about it and it's not what I want to be doing, I am fortunate that I have a full time job that pays my bills, while I figure out the next step of my culinary journey. I don't want to just take a job, to take a job, or take the first thing that comes along. It's really important to me, that I find a job that's the right fit for me, and hopefully it's working for someone/doing something that I really believe in.

With Chef Alain - our Level 1 & 2 Chef

With one of my favorite chefs - Chef Janet

Before I started culinary school, I had little to no interest in working the line in a restaurant. During the past nine months, my stance on that wavered back and forth a little, but ultimately I still feel the same way. This has been met with a variety of opinions along the way. Most often, I hear something to the effect, "if you don't want to work in a restaurant, why did you go to culinary school?". You might be surprised to know that there are actually a lot of different job options, outside of working in a restaurant. While I was at FCI, I did some freelance work here and there - some catering & private chef work, and my favorite of all, working in a couple school kitchens. I was lucky to work in schools that truly value preparing fresh, nutritious, amazing meals for kids everyday, and in the interim teaching these kids about food, nutrition and healthy choices. I can't begin to tell you how awesome and inspiring it is to see kids (and adults) get excited about food - good, real, wholesome food; excited about eating vegetables and trying new foods. Now, if only all kids were eating this way....but that's a whole other discussion. This is something I feel really passionate about, and would absolutely love to work in such an environment. I'll keep you posted on the next step of my culinary journey!

Fennel & Grapefruit Salad with Orange-Cumin Vinaigrette

2012-02-21T15:15:00.000-05:00

It's been a little while hasn't it?!! I began the year with a plan to blog more frequently and more consistently. I'm not exactly off to a strong start, but I have a feeling things are about to turn around. This year has been off to a really busy start, and the past week was hands down the busiest week of the year. Definitely good busy, though! Remember my 33 before 33 list? I've been crossing off items left and right!

I'm beyond excited to tell you that the first item on the list, graduate from culinary school, has been crossed off! I graduated from the Classic Culinary Arts program at the French Culinary Institute, last week. Culinary school has been an amazing journey, to say the least, and it deserves a lot more mention than a few sentences. I'll have another post soon about my final exam and graduation, complete with lots of photos.

Two days after graduation, I hopped on a plane bound for Tampa to cross off number 11 on the list. My visit to Florida was simply amazing and exactly what I needed! I spent four days with two of my favorite gals - shopping, spending a day on the beach (cross off #26!), eating & drinking more than our fair share, getting in a couple solid runs, including a trail race (cross off #10), having some good laughs and catching up with each other.

During the past couple busy weeks, grocery shopping was the last thing on my mind. As you can guess, this left my refrigerator in a pretty pathetic state. I always have my usual staples on hand - Greek yogurt, cheese, coffee, cereal/homemade granola, milk, seltzer and there is always an assortment of fruits and veggies. I may or may not have the makings for a "proper" meal, but on any given day I can always whip up a salad. Some days the pickings are slim and my salads are, well, very "creative", and other days, like today, my random assortment of ingredients turn into something wonderful and delicious.

I've been eating a couple variations of this salad over the past couple months, and I decided it's high time I share it with you. To me, this salad calls out "winter salad". I could easily add grapefruit to my salad in July, but I wouldn't. It just wouldn't be the same as grapefruit in my salad in January or February. What I really love about this salad is variety of textures and flavors - soft & crisp, and tart and sweet and aromatic and slightly spicy.

If I could add one more thing to this salad it would be a few soft, plump chunks of ripe avocado. You should try it, and let me know what you think!

Print Recipe

Fennel & Grapefruit Salad with Orange-Cumin Vinaigrette

Serves 2

Baby spinach

1 large grapefruit, sectioned

1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

1 ripe avocado, in chunks (optional)

Vinaigrette

1 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 clove garlic, finely minced

Salt

Ground pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

To make Vinaigrette:
In a small bowl, combine grapefruit juice, orange juice & zest, garlic, salt and pepper, and whisk together. Let stand 10 minutes. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

Arrange a bed of spinach on each plate. Top with sectioned grapefruit, fennel and sunflower seeds. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

Enjoy!

Final Days at FCI & Menu Project

2012-02-08T11:33:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by, my ~~days~~ nights at FCI are winding down and coming to what feels like (although it's not) an abrupt end. My first night at FCI felt surreal, I dreamed of going to culinary school for years, and there I was. What I remember most about that night was that (1) our Chef was nothing like the intimidating person I was expecting and (2) it was complete and utter information overload. I drew a map of the kitchen so I'd remember where everything was stored...haha. I didn't need it for every long. Some days it feels like that night was just yesterday, and other days it feels like I've spent waaay more than nine months in culinary school. I've come a really long way since that first night, and looking back I'm amazed at how much I've learned and how far I've come.

In less than a week, everything I've learned, and everything I've worked on during the past 6 weeks in L'Ecole, will be put to the test in our final exam. Our final (much like the mid-term) presents to task of preparing two of the eight dishes we've been preparing during Level 6, either an appetizer and a meat dish or a fish dish and a dessert. As for the combination of which specific recipes we'll make, that will be determined by drawing a paper from a hat on the night of the final. I have a lot of studying and prep ahead of me! I'm determined to have a much more successful night then the midterm. What makes the final tough is the tight timeline we're working against!

One of the highlights during school was our Level 5 Menu Project. The premise was create a minimum of a 4-course dinner menu for eight people, with a wine pairing for at least one course, all centered around a specific theme. Awesome, right?!! I had so many ideas bouncing around my head from the get go, but when it came to actually settling on a theme, I was stumped. It was really frustrating. My very first idea was autumn seasonal cooking from the farmers market - my very favorite season for cooking, the time for some of my favorite seasonal produce and the project was due right around Thanksgiving. As much as I liked this idea, I wanted something so much more creative. But my creative juices just weren't flowing, nothing came to me. I toyed around with a couple different themes and menu items, but time and time again I reverted to my autumnal theme (and the project was turned in, in late fall, so it was quite fitting), so I went with it. I couldn't have been more thrilled with the final product!

Amuse Bouche

Balsamic Glazed Mushroom & Goat Cheese Crostini
(recipe)

Appetizer

Curried Pumpkin Soup
(recipe)

Pasta

Caramelized Butternut Squash Risotto with Fresh Sage
(recipe)

Entree

Cranberry-Pecan Stuffed Pork Chop with Parsnip-Apple Puree
(recipe)

Dessert

Salted Caramel Apple Pie with Creme Chantilly
(recipe)

Orange Cranberry Pancakes

2012-02-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

This winter I've been having some crazy citrus cravings. Crazy like, I've been eating citrus multiple times a day, every single day for the past couple months. This week my thing has been clementines. So far today, I'm up to four. Last week it was grapefruits. There's also been an ongoing trade-off between blood oranges, mineolas and navels. And I can't forget the dozen lemons sitting in a bowl on my kitchen table (because now in my new apartment I finally have a proper table, where I can put things, like a bowl of lemons....hurrah!).....half of which are wonderfully sweet Meyer lemons waiting to be baked into a cake.

Hopefully I won't jinx myself by saying this, but so far this winter I haven't been sick once! Not even the slightest hint of a cold! It might not be related, but I still want to think my citrus binge & vitamin C boost has ha a little something to do with it.

The other weekend, I combined my two favorite winter fruits, orange and cranberry for a delightful pancake breakfast. I ~~adapted~~ butchered this recipe, and ended up with slightly sweet orange pancakes dotted with flecks of zest. It was exactly what I envisioned. Keep the maple syrup stashed away. Instead, top (or smother) you pancakes with some tart cranberry compote.

Print Recipe

Orange Cranberry Pancakes

Pancakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups plain Greek yogurt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the pan

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons orange zest (approx. 1 large orange)

confectioners sugar, for garnish

Cranberry Compote:

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the Pancakes:

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add eggs, yogurt, orange juice, zest and 4 tablespoons of melted butter; whisk to combine. Add a little more orange, as necessary, if the batter feels too thick. The batter will have some small lumps....it's ok, don't over beat the batter to get rid of them.

Heat a large pan over medium heat, and coat with butter.

Ladle pancake batter into the hot pan, about 2 inches apart. When pancakes bubble on top and start to dry around edges, flip over. Cook until golden.

Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven.

For the Cranberry Compote:

While the pancakes are cooking, mix the cranberries, orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally as the cranberries start to pop. Cook until the cranberries are soft and the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes.

Top warm pancakes with confectioners sugar and a big spoonful (or two or three) of cranberry compote.

Enjoy!

Arctic Char with Orange Pistachio Vinaigrette

2012-01-27T13:34:00.002-05:00

I'm back! It's already January 27th and this is only my second post of the month...so, so sad! It's a far cry from my marathon of posting last month. Until now, this month has been consumed with looking for a new apartment and moving. Despite having moved a fair amount of times, I somehow managed to forget how tedious this process can be. Looking for an apartment, packing, moving, unpacking and getting settled. It certainly hasn't left much time for cooking or blogging. Now, I'm happily settled in my lovely, new apartment, in a new (or old, depending on how you look at it) neighborhood and I couldn't be happier! Of all the apartments I've lived in (and there have been quite a few), I think this one is by far my favorite.

I have a funny story about my apartment. Well, now it's funny, at the time maybe not so much. The day before I moved in, I took my friend M to see my new home. I stood in the middle of the living room, marveling at my high ceilings, white brick wall and abundance of closet space, with a smile from ear to ear. M was in the kitchen, and gave me a puzzled look and said how shocked she was that I was ok with having a kitchen with just a mini fridge that sat under the counter. WHAT?!?!?!?! A mini fridge? I thought there must be some kind of confusion....and then I saw it. My eyes went wide as saucers, my jaw nearly hit the floor and I was in total shock! When I first looked at the apartment, I was so excited about the space that I somehow (and for the rest of time I will never know how this happened!) managed to overlook the fact that my kitchen did not contain a "real" refrigerator. Of all things to not notice, and of any room, this was the thing I didn't notice.....oh, the irony. I couldn't understand how I let this happen. I didn't cry and I didn't curse, I couldn't even speak. Luckily, M is one of the most calm and rational people I know, and she assured me that this was something that could be easily remedied. And it was. The next day, I made what is likely my most "grown up" purchase to date - a "real", full size refrigerator. The mini fridge is coming out of its nook under the counter, and in its place I'll have a lovely cabinet for baking sheets and cooling racks and cutting boards. As you can imagine, I've gotten a lot of jokes about having 1.5 refrigerators, and I have a feeling they'll continue to roll in for some time to come.

Arctic char is one of the menu items that I've been cooking up at L'Ecole during Level 6. To be totally honest with you, the first time I'd ever heard of or tasted char was just a couple months ago. I'm sure some of you wondering, "what exactly is Arctic char?". Maybe you noticed this fish looks pretty similar to salmon. Arctic char is part of the salmon family, so it looks & tastes very much like salmon, and like salmon it's a fatty fish, full of omega-3's and loaded with protein. If you like salmon,then Arctic char is right up your alley.

Print Recipe

Arctic Char with Orange-Pistachio Vinaigrette

(Adapted from Gourmet, October 2007)

4 - 6 ounces arctic char fillets, skin on

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 navel orange, zest and juice

2 scallions, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons pistachios, toasted

Salt & fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place fish, skin side down, on a foil-lined baking sheets. Season with fillets with salt and pepper, then brush with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon total).

Cook fish (without flipping) until just cooked through, about 6-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

While the fish cooks, grate zest from the orange and squeeze 1/4 cup of juice.

Whisk together zest, orange juice and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the remaining olive oil, adding more if necessary. Stir on scallions.

Remove fish from the oven. The char skin will stick to the foil. Gently transfer fish to plates. Top with vinaigrette and toasted pistachios.

Enjoy!

Lamb Ragout

2012-01-11T15:22:00.002-05:00

Happy (very belated) New Year!!! I hope you all had a really wonderful holiday season. While my blogging certainly hasn't gotten off to the strongest start this year, the first week and a half of 2012 has been fantastic.

It's finally starting to feel like winter around here, and it's about time! Don't get me wrong, the 50+ degree days were a real treat, but I just got an awesome new winter coat complete with a furry hood & cute belt, and I'd like to wear it more than twice this season. Aside from enjoying the new coat, the chilly days have also been inspiring me in the kitchen. While most people are on some sort of New Year's cleanse, I've been enjoying hearty, comforting meal after hearty, comforting meal. And one of my new favorites is Lamb Ragout.

The start of 2012 also marked the beginning of my last level (Level 6) at FCI, and my last 6 weeks of working in the kitchen at L'Ecole. Just as in Level 5, I'll spend this level rotating through the various stations of the kitchen, but with a new set of recipes for each station. I started my rotation on saucier (meat station) making killer lamb chops and some awesome short ribs. I've loved every second of my time at this station. There were nights we were short a person in our group and it was crazy & rushed, and it was ridiculously hot, and there were more than a few burns and some yelling, but all of that somehow felt a little easier now than it did in Level 5.

Every so often I get lucky and leave school with leftover food. Such was the case recently when I went home with a lot of lamb. Score! One of the first things on my agenda was Lamb Ragout. I made a few batches and it certainly hasn't disappointed! Serve it over polenta, mixed with pasta, stuffed inside raviolis, over rice or eat it straight from the pot.....any way you eat it, it's going to be delicious!

Print Recipe

Lamb Ragout

7 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 lb. lamb

2 carrots, peeled & finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry red wine

1 - 28oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, quartered

1 cup chicken stock

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a large saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add lamb to the pan, cook to brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan, and set aside to hold for later.

Add the remaining oil to the pan. Add the carrots, onion and shallots, and sweat until soft without obtaining any color on the vegetables, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan, and cook 1 minute. Season lightly with salt & pepper.

Add the wine to the pan and deglaze, scraping up the brown bits (sucs) from the bottom of the pan (these bits are delicious and full of flavor, and you absolutely want them in your ragout). Reduce the wine until fully evaporated.

Add the chopped canned tomatoes (and sauce), chicken stock, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes and salt & pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves, thyme and rosemary stems. Taste and adjust seasoning, as necessary.

Enjoy!

My Top 10 Favorite Recipes of 2011

2011-12-28T15:58:00.001-05:00

The end of 2011 is getting awfully close. This time of year always makes me get really nostalgic and reflective on everything that happened during the year. As I get older it feels like time goes by faster and faster (dislike!), but it also feels like more and more exciting things happen every year (like!). 2011 was definitely not an exception.

During the final days of the year, I also get excited thinking about all the things I want to accomplish during the new year. I say this every year, I'm not one for resolutions, but I do love myself a good to-do list. Maybe it's the same thing, but I feel better calling it something else :) Last week I made a list of 33 things I plan to do before my 33rd birthday (next December), so I'm gonna go ahead and also use this as my 2012 list. What do you want to do in 2012?

I've talked about my love of lists more than a few times this year, so what better way to close out 2011 than with some lists! Here's my Top 10 Favorite Recipes of 2011:

10. Spaghetti Vongole

9. Vegetable Fried Rice with Tofu

8. Raspberry Big Crumb Coffee Cake

7. Mushroom Quinoa Soup

6. Caramelized Sea Scallops with White Wine & Ribboned Asparagus

5. Strawberry & Goat Cheese Bruschetta

4. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

3. Salted Caramel Apple Pie

2. Poached Eggs with Polenta, Braised Kale & Pancetta

1. Peanut Butter & Fleur de Sel Brownies

There were so many delicious things to come out of the kitchen this year that it was sooo hard to narrow this list down! It's not going to get posted until January, but last night I made an amazing Lamb Ragout....easily in my Top 5 favorites of the year. Not photos yet, so it didn't make the official list, but I figured it at least deserved some honorable mention. And, on that note, some other stellar honorable mentions of the year.... Fennel-Leek Soup, Maple Almond Granola, Milk Chocolate Pudding, Pineapple-Mango Chili Popsicles and Bacon Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese.

Sweet Fingers

2011-12-28T11:39:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with family & friends, and lots of hugs, and an over-indulgence of good food & wine & cookies, and presents! In a nutshell, that pretty much sums up my Christmas. It was grand, and it was one of the best Christmases I've had in a while. This year for the first time in years and years and years, all of us were together on my Dad's side of the family....it was the highlight of my day. I feel so lucky & blessed to have such an amazing bunch of family and friends! The second highlight of the day was the addition of a beautiful, shiny KitchenAid Stand Mixer to my kitchen!

If you feel like I've bombarded you with cookies over the past few weeks, I apologize. And, you'll be thrilled to know this is my last post about cookies for 2011....and maybe for a bit into the New Year.

Apparently, I was on a bit of an almond kick with my Christmas cookies this year...Greek Almond-Anise Cookies, Orange-Almond Drops and now these almond-y, chocolate-y Sweet Fingers. Totally unintentional, yet all really delicious. I love these cookies because they're buttery, not too sweet (which is where the chocolate coating makes an awesome addition) and they're full of nutty, almond flavor.

Print Recipe

Sweet Fingers

(Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Cookies, 2003)

Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, for dipping

1/2 cup shredded coconut, for garnish (optional)

1/2 cup chopped almonds, for garnish (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract, and beat until completely combined. Mix in flour in three additions. Fold in chocolate pieces and chopped almonds. Refrigerate dough at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop a tablespoon of dough and form into a log. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake 12 - 15 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies just turn golden. Move cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Melt 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave, stirring occasionally. Lightly dip the top third of the cookie in chocolate, then sprinkle with coconut, chopped almonds or your topping of choice.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter & Fleur de Sel Brownies and My 33 Before 33

2011-12-22T16:40:00.000-05:00

Some days call for dessert for breakfast.....like birthdays! But before we talk about birthdays, we should talk about Peanut Butter & Fleur de Sel Brownies. I think the name of these scrumptious little squares and the photos pretty much speak for themselves, but just to be on the safe side, I want to tell you that these are the best, the most amazing brownies I've ever had in my 32 years of existence! They're the perfect blend of sweet and rich and peanut buttery goodness with the tiniest hint of salt. I had ~~one~~, ok I actually had two (and it's more than possible I'll have another one before lunchtime) for breakfast today. Being that it's my birthday I feel like I have free reign to do pretty much anything I please today....and sometimes that includes having brownies for breakfast and lunch.

I've seen something similar posted on a few other blogs, and I really, really love the idea, so I'm snatching it! I've always been one for making lists and setting goals, so this is right up my alley. So, here is my "33 before 33". A list of 33 things I plan to accomplish before turning 33 (1 year from today). Believe it or not, putting this list together was more difficult than I imagined. About halfway through I hit a wall and my mind went blank. Certainly there are more than 15 things I hope to do in the coming year, so I let it go and came back to the list a few days later. This time I had the opposite problem....it was so hard to cap the list at 33!

1. Graduate from culinary school

2. Change my career
3. Visit Colorado

4. Get new pillows
5. Run another half marathon

6. Do another triathlon

7. Read at least 20 books

8. Create a blog page that conveniently lists all my recipes (long overdue!)

9. Take a photography class

10. Run a trail race

11. Visit Tampa....or more accurately, visit my friend L who moved to Tampa :)

12. Go to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden
13. Blog at least twice a week
14. Make homemade jam
15. Learn to crochet
16. Successfully use my camera in manual mode
17. Go kayaking
18. Make marshmallows
19. Instead of email, send cards & letters, just because
20. Learn a few good Thai recipes
21. Visit the Guggenheim
22. Buy coffee for the person in line behind me
23. Hit 100 blog followers.....this one is a little bit out of my hands, so maybe you can help me out a little...
24. Visit the Brooklyn Museum
25. Run across the George Washington Bridge
26. Spend a day at the beach
27. Plant an herb garden
28. Make cake pops
29. Watch the sun rise
30. Write a short story
31. Meet a fellow food blogger
32. Do 100 push ups in a row
33. Find my perfect lipstick color

I'll keep you posted on my progress over the coming 12 months!

What do you want to do before your next birthday?

Print Recipe

Peanut Butter & Fleur de Sel Brownies

(From Love & Olive Oil)

For Brownies:
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus

2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For Frosting:
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) softened butter
3/4 cup peanut butter (I prefer chunky)
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Line an 8-inch square pan with foil.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a heat-proof bowl and place over a large pot of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl should rest in the pot but not touch the water.

Stir over medium heat. When the butter is just about melted, remove the bowl and let the residual heat continue do the rest. Stir until smooth. At this point the mixture should feel warm, not hot to the touch. If hot, wait until warm to add the eggs.

Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour, and stir about 40 times until the flour is completely incorporated and the batter is smooth and shiny.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare the frosting, cream the butter and the peanut butter until combined. Slowly stir in the powdered sugar until completely incorporated. Spread over cooled brownies and sprinkle with Fleur De Sel. (I like to chill the brownies in the fridge for a while....makes cutting them much easier and less messy). Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Orange-Almond Drops

2011-12-20T14:10:00.000-05:00

I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news first....I you came over here today hoping to find a post about ideas for Christmas dinner, possibly something savory and hearty, perhaps something healthy, I'm sorry to say you're out of luck. Which brings me straight to the good news.....MORE COOKIES! And that's pretty much what you'll be finding over here straight on through Christmas. Cookies, cookies, cookies and more cookies....and maybe some brownies, too.

I found this recipe in Better Homes & Gardens waaaay back in 2003, I dog-eared the page with plans to make these that year. Leading up to Christmas that year I concocted a crazy plan to make all of the holiday cookies in the magazine. I truly though this was viable plan. I bet you're not surprised to know that my plan didn't quite work out. As the years went by the Orange-Almond Drops got lost in the shuffle.....until now. I'm so glad I found this recipe again, these cookies are so delicious! They're soft and sweet, and the orange and almond flavors bounce off each other perfectly.

One of my favorite parts of making these cookies was using my Microplane Zester! Seriously, I love this thing! Sometimes I wonder if I seek out recipes just to use this wonderful tool....it's possible.

Print Recipe

Orange-Almond Drops

(Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Cookies, 2003)

Makes approx. 3 dozen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

1/2 cup orange juice

3/4 cup almonds, finely chopped

Orange Frosting

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Finely grated orange zest (aprrox. 1 large orange), for garnish (optional)

To make cookies:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, fully combining with each addition. Mix in the grated orange peel and orange juice (the mixture may looked curdled, which is fine). Mix in the flour, until just combined. Fold in the chopped almonds.

Refrigerate dough at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Drop a tablespoon of dough on parchment-lined baking sheets, about one inch apart. Baking 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack, and fully cool.

To make frosting:
In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together until frosting is smooth. Add more orange juice for thinner consistency. Spread frosting over cooled cookies and top with orange zest.

Enjoy!

Candy Cane Thumbpints

2011-12-19T10:34:00.000-05:00

I ate myself into cookie oblivion this weekend. It wasn't pretty. At least the aftermath wasn't pretty....the rest of it wasn't pretty darn spectacular. Aside from small bits of "proper food" here and there, my diet this weekend more or less consisted of cookies and brownies.

These Candy Cane Thumbprints were some of my favorite cookies this Holiday season! It boils down to two things...chocolate and peppermint. Mmmm!

Despite my sugar coma, this weekend was hugely productive! Holiday baking is done! I didn't do a good job of keeping track, but if I had to guess, somewhere around 17 dozens cookies, 2 batches of fleur de sel brownies (de-lish!) and 3 batches of granola came out of my oven in the past couple weeks. Phew! Holiday shopping is close to done! Almost there, just 2 more gifts to go. Packages of tasty treats for my not so local family and friends are in the mail (the post office is out of control in the week leading up to Christmas!).

Print Recipe

Candy Cane Thumbprints

(Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies)

Makes about 2 dozen

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in egg yolk, vanilla and chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Refrigerate dough at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Scoop out about a tablespoon of dough and form into a ball. Roll dough in granulated sugar to fully coat. Place 1-inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies just start to crack.

Remove from the oven. Move cookies to a wire cooling rack and immediately place (and press down) a Hershey's Kiss at the center of the cookie.

Enjoy!

A Very Foodie Christmas

2011-12-15T16:09:00.001-05:00

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? Or maybe, for some of you, I should ask, have you started your shopping yet? The clock is ticking and just 9 shopping days remain until Christmas.

I usually like to have all of my shopping done by early December. I hate the last minute rush of scrambling to find gifts. I'd much rather be spending my time sipping eggnog, baking cookies and going to holiday parties. I'm a little behind this year, and I was starting to get a little nervous until I hit up the Union Square Holiday Market during lunch today. It was a major success! I wish I could tell you all about my purchases and show you photos, but some of the recipients are likely to be reading this, and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

If you're stumped on ideas for what to get your favorite foodie, I have a few (ok, maybe more than a few) ideas for you! These are all a combination of my favorite kitchen items, as well as things I'd love to add to my kitchen (are you reading, Santa?).

You can never go wrong with cookbooks!! I love giving cookbooks, just as much as I love receiving them.

Here's some of my favorite kitchen items, along with a few I'd love to find under my tree (hi again, Santa!)....

How about a pretty set of measuring cups?

I LOVE aprons, and Anthropologie has a great, super cute selection!! You definitely couldn't go wrong with an adorable apron and matching oven mit! I have this set at home, and it's one of my favorites!

I'm still rocking with a hand-held electric mixer. It's cool, it gets the job done....but oh, how I'd love a KitchenAid Pro Series Stand Mixer

Le Creuset French Ovens are pretty lovely

Grill pans are awesome!

Whether it's 10 degrees or 100 degrees, you'll find me eating ice cream.....it's even better when it's made at home

I bet one of these bright-colored Bodum French Press Coffee Makers would liven up your morning!

Laduree Macarons....mmmm, de-lish!

The Mini Chopper is a kitchen must-have!

Don't forget about stocking stuffers! Here are some of my favorites....

I LOVE these peelers!!

You can never have too many mini spatulas

I'm in love with OXO cookie scoops....perfect cookies every time!

I bet your foodie would be thrilled to find a Puegeot pepper mill in their stocking!

How about a Microplane Zester?!

I think you should sneak in a container of Fleur de Sel

Happy shopping!!

FCI Update & Working on the Line at L'Ecole

2011-12-13T11:56:00.000-05:00

So, it's been a reeeallllly long time since I've given you any sort of update on my adventures in culinary school. And by "a while", that's to say it's been almost three months since my last update! Oops, sorry about that. While I haven't been talking about it, I am still in culinary school and it's going really well! I had good intentions for more frequent updates, but time just kept getting away from me. My last FCI update, was at the end of Level 3 and just days after the stressful night that was the midterm. Wow, thinking back, it feels like the midterm was so much longer than 3 months ago, and what seemed stressful back then, doesn't quite so bad these days.

Over the past 3 months, I completed Level 4 (hooray!) and I'll be finishing Level 5 next week. Looking back, Level 4 felt like a complete vacation compared to the hectic evenings in the kitchen during Level 3. I spent the first half of Level 4 cooking family meal. Each class my group and I prepared dinner for the rest of the students and chefs in the school, upwards of maybe 150 people. Cooking for the masses was a nice change of pace, but the last three weeks of Level 4, working on two buffets was certainly the highlight for me!

Our first buffet was on charcuterie (yum!). We got a half pig (sliced straight down the middle from head to tail) and the pig's head, and with the help of our Chef got to work with saws, cleavers and boning knives to portion out the various cuts of me. Butchering the pig was the highlight of Level 4 for me, no question! We used the meat from our pig to make a few different kinds of sausage, smoked bacon, pressed ham, a wonderful stuffed pork loin and last but not least, my favorite, head cheese.

The theme of our second buffet was a fall wedding, which morphed into a Halloween wedding since our presentation fell just a couple days prior to Halloween. There was so.much.food.

The "carving station" included dried fruit stuffed pork loin with cranberry demi-glace, lamb chops, lamb curry

Half of the dessert line with an assorted cookie tray, nougat, bon bons and a floating island (yum!). Aside from cooking, I also got busy carving some pumpkins.

Cheesecloth makes an excellent spiderweb decoration.

More dessert....candy apples and pear sorbet.

A Halloween wedding wouldn't be complete without a haunted house wedding cake!

Now, I'm nearly throughLevel 5, just five more classes to go. I have been looking forward to Levels 5 and 6 since my first day at FCI, and now actually being here feels exciting and sometimes a little surreal. During these levels (the last 3 months of our program), we spend our "class time" working in the kitchen at L'Ecole. My class is now divided into small group of 3-5 people. We rotate through each station of the kitchen - appetizer (garde manger), fish (poissoiner), meat (saucier), production & veg (entremetier) & pastry (patissier), spending 4 nights at each station. With the exception of the entremetier station, each station has 4 dishes, two Level 5 dishes and two Level 6 dishes. During Level 6, we'll complete another rotation through the same stations, with a new set of recipes.

I spent my first rotation in garde manger, preparing savory, rich Smoked Duck Tatin and creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Quail Confit.

My second station was poisoinnier, preparing Monkfish Osso Bucco with Risotto Milanese and Steamed Halibut with Watercress Sauce & Seared Oysters

For my third rotation I moved on to saucier, preparing Truffled Poussin with Pommes Mousseline & Haricot Vert and Pork Loin with Braised Cabbage and Cranberry Demiglace

Simply amazing....Pistachio Macaroons and Earl Gray Macaroons with Salted Caramel Filling

I lost count along the way, but I ate no less than 10 macaroons last night....I like to think of it as quality control

I'm finishing up my rotation on patissier, preparing Pumpkin Souffle with Eggnog Creme Anglaise (yes, it's just as delicious as it sounds) and Chocolate Walnut Cake with Grand Marnier Caviar.

Since the beginning of Level 1 our chefs have stressed working clean and organized. While I've always understood the importance of this, now that we're working on the line, where space is at a real premium, I really understand the value of this. While there are ups and downs working on each station, the absolute highlight of Level 5 was a surprise visit at the restaurant (thanks again for making my night!)!!!

Eggnog Pancakes

2011-12-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm...'tis the season for all things eggnog! Remember that pumpkin and butternut squash binge I went on during the fall? Well, eggnog is about to take over. Don't say I didn't warn you. And, I'm at it, one other warning....do yourself a favor and do not read the nutrition label on the eggnog carton. Just ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. That's what I like to do....especially when I drink an entire carton of eggnog in one weekend. A little excessive, I know, but I did also use it to make these awesome pancakes and I've been swapping the half & half for eggnog in my morning coffee (delicious no brainer!).

As I started cooking up these pancakes the smell of eggnog and nutmeg filled my kitchen, and it was wonderful! These pancakes are thick and fluffy, and taste even better than they smell.

Turns out, last week, the folks over at The Kitchn also had eggnog on their mind and listed a few delicious ideas on Eggnog for Breakfast. One of those recipes just happened to be my Eggnog Oatmeal. Awesome, right? I was pretty stoked to find that!

Print Recipe

Eggnog Pancakes

(Adapted from Joy the Baker)

Serves 4

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of ground allspice

6 tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs

2 cups eggnog

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with the eggnog and vanilla. Stir in the melted butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Don’t overmix. They might be a few small lumps....that's ok, you don't have to work them all out.

Let the batter rest for a few minutes. Add a tablespoon of butter to a hot skillet. Drop a big spoonful (or two) of batter into the heated pan and cook until the bottom is golden brown, flip and cook til golden.

Serve with warm maple syrup.

Enjoy!

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap: Greek Almond-Anise Cookies

2011-12-12T23:21:00.000-05:00

And, the holiday baking continues!! The only thing better than holiday baking, is holiday baking for a cookie swap. Last week I participated in the 1st annual Great Blogger Cookie Swap, hosted by Lindsay from Love & Olive Oil and Julie from The Little Kitchen. (Thanks so much for organizing such a awesome event ladies!) Here's how it worked....I got the name of three other food bloggers and sent them each a dozen of my cookies, and in return I received a dozen cookies each from three secret food bloggers. Making someones day with a box of homemade cookies, coming home from a long day of work to find boxes of fresh cookies on my doorstep and finding six new cooking blogs....that's a win-win, if you ask me!

Over 600 bloggers joined in this year's cookie swap, which means over 22,000 cookies passing through the mail last week. That's a lot of cookies! Last Monday I packed up these tasty cookies in festive boxes and sent them off to Table for Two, A Chronic Venture and Food Beautiful. Shortly thereafter the cookies started rolling in! I was lucky enough to get, Dried Cranberry & White Chocolate Cookies from Monique at I Are the Food Snob, minty Peppermint Swirl Sugar Cookies from Katherine at Red Rover and color & festive Lemon Cookies AND an awesome red spatula from Heather at Levavi Spatulas. These cookies were sooo delicious, thanks so much ladies!!

If you're interested in participating in next year's Cookie Swap (I know I am!), sign up here for email updates!

I had a hard time deciding which to cookies to make. Since the cookies were being shipped and wouldn't be eaten for at least a few days, I knew I needed something that would hold up well, and wouldn't dry out too quickly. That narrowed the field a little bit. When I spotted this recipe, it was a no brainer. While I was traveling in Greece quite a few years ago I fell in love with these cookies! It was a cookie love affair like no other. I must have brought dozens and dozens of cookies home with me.....I couldn't get enough. It was a sad day when my cookie stash ran out. I went on a mission to replicate these cookies. I tried a handful of different recipes. They were all good, but none of them were quite the same as what I brought home from Greece. I eventually stopped trying to recreate these cookies, and after a while forgot about them all together.....until I saw this recipe. The second I saw this recipe, I was flooded with flashbacks of my travels in Greece.....and each bite of these cookies brings back the same wonderful memories.

Print Recipe

Greek Almond-Anise Cookies

(Adapted from Martha Stewart Holiday, 2009)

Makes approx. 4 dozen

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound (4 sticks) butter, softened

2 2/3 cups confectioners sugar

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup almonds, finely chopped

2 teaspoons anise seed

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking power and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 2/3 cup confectioners sugar, egg yolks and vanilla, and beat until combined. Beat in flour until just combined, then fold in almonds and anise seed.

Chill dough at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll a tablespoon-size piece of dough between your palms to form a ball. Press gently to flatten the ball into a disc. Place cookies on the parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake til lightly golden on the bottom, about 12-14 minutes.

Transfer baking sheets to wire racks to cool cookies completely.

Place remaining 2 cups of confectioners sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, drop a few cookies in at a time, turning to coat thoroughly with sugar. Repeat if necessary.

Enjoy!

Poached Eggs with Polenta, Braised Kale & Pancetta

2011-12-09T13:49:00.000-05:00

This week I set out on a mission to get myself out of bed early (think, still dark outside kinda early) and get to the gym before work. I'm disappointed to report that I'm 0-4. I really love early morning workouts, they're such a great way to start the day. Getting out of bed when it's cold and still dark outside, on the other hand, doesn't feel quite as great. After the first two failed attempts, I resorted to bribing myself....go to the gym and on the way to work make a stop at one of my favorite coffee shops. Good bribe, huh? I certainly thought so. One small problem though, I was in a near coma when the alarm went off (all four times), so I didn't even remember the bribe. Hopefully I'll have a better track record next week.

Another great way to start the day....brunch! Mmmm. Hands down, best meal of the week, and often one of the highlights of my weekend! Sweet food, savory food, breakfast food, lunch food, coffee and cocktails....mmmm. While my track record for getting to the gym hasn't been so good, my track record for good brunch has been stellar the past couple weeks! Last weekend, with the help of some friends I discovered Trestle on Tenth, a wonderful gem, with some of the best chicken liver pate I've tasted. I didn't realize it until now, but I've fallen into a pattern of poached eggs. I might consider a few other menu options, but I end up with poached eggs, and last weekend was no different. If you find yourself at Trestle on Tenth for brunch I highly recommend the poached eggs with duck confit hash.

Now, if you find yourself in the kitchen making brunch (or breakfast, lunch of dinner, for that mater), I have another delicious suggestion for you - Poached Eggs with Polenta, Braised Kale and Pancetta. This dish pretty much started the stellar track record for brunch. And for good reason! How could you go wrong with warm, creamy polenta, hearty kale, lightly crisped pancetta (hello, bacon!) and yolky poached eggs.

There's lots of talk on how to make poached eggs, and people have different methods that work for them. When it comes down to it, there's really no "right" of "wrong" way to make poached eggs. Last year I talked about my method of making poached eggs, using the "whirlpool method", and forgoing vinegar. Let's just say I've made a lot of poached eggs in the past few months, tried some different methods, and found a method that works better, at least for me. Now, I add a fair amount of salt and about a teaspoon of vinegar to the water, right before it gets to a boil. These two additions really help with egg white to stick together and form a nice shape. Give it a try sometime.

Print Recipe

Poached Eggs with Polenta, Braised Kale & Pancetta

Serves 2

3/4 cup course ground cornmeal

3 cups water

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups kale

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup pancetta

1 teaspoon white vinegar

4 eggs

Combine cold water, cornmeal and salt in a medium pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until polenta thickens and pulls away from the bottom and sides of the pot, about 30-40 minutes.

While the polenta simmers, heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add kale and mix to fully coat with oil, and cook for a few minutes to slightly soften the kale. Add chicken stock to the pan, bring to a simmer and stir occasionally. Cook until the stock is completely absorbed.

While the kale is braising, heat small saute pan over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until lightly crisped on the outside, tossing frequently. Set aside.

Time to make your eggs! Crack eggs into individual ramekins or small bowls. Keep a small bowl of ice water on hand. Heat a pot of salted water, bringing to the point right before it reaches a rolling boil. Add vinegar. Gently add one egg to the water and cook 3-4 minutes (depending how runny you like your eggs....I like mine very runny!). Using a slotted spoon remove the egg from the pot and dip into the bowl of ice water (this will immediately stop the cooking process and remove and taste of vinegar from the egg). Hold the egg on a papertowl-lined plate. Cook the remainder of the eggs, following the same process.

Add the pancetta to the pan with the kale and mix together. Reheat, if necessary, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

When polenta finishes cooking, add parmesan cheese and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Add a few spoonfuls of polenta to your bowl, line the perimeter with the kale and pancetta mixture and top with two poached eggs.

Enjoy!

Rosemary Shortbread

2011-12-06T14:26:00.001-05:00

December is here (already!), and you know what that means....it's time for a holiday baking bonanza! I love this time of year! Last weekend I stocked up on flour, sugar, a heck of a lot of pounds of butter and of course, some chocolate. I'm off to a strong start and it's only going to ramp up from here.

Every year around this time I always debate whether to bake some of my classic Christmas favorites, or try out new cookie recipes. Decisions, decisions. Last year I went with all traditional favorites...

Fig & Almond Biscotti

Jam Thumprints (yum...these are my absolute favorite!)

Cheery Cherry Macaroons

Peppermint Snowballs

This year I'm going with all new cookies. I paged through holiday magazines, cookbooks and blogs to find a good selection. I had no idea how hard it was going to be to narrow down my selection, everything I found looked soo delicious. I wish I could forget about work and spend the whole month baking cookies, and pies, and cakes and wonderful holiday treats....sigh....maybe one of these days.

Print Recipe

Rosemary Shortbread

(Adapted from Gourmet, December 2002)

Makes 16 cookies

2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and rosemary.

In a large bowl, combine butter, honey and confectioners sugar with an electric mixer at low speed, then add flour mixture and mix until dough resembles course meal with some small (think pea-size) butter lumps. Gather dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until it comes together.

Transfer dough to the prepared pan. Use a fork or piece of wax paper (my preference) or plastic wrap to press dough evenly into the pan. use a fork to score the dough into wedges. Sprinkle with remaining granulated sugar.

Bake until golden brown, about 18 to 24 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Bread

2011-11-30T16:43:00.000-05:00

After four lovely days off from work and school it sure was hard to get going this week. Somehow I bet I wasn't alone on Monday morning. The only thing that helped pull me out of bed (aside from a 9am meeting) was the smell of coffee wafting in from the kitchen and remembering the fresh loaf of Butternut Squash Bread that awaited me. Even if you're not a morning person, this bread is worth getting out of bed for...even on a Monday morning before the sun has come up.

Remember that butternut squash puree I told you about last week? I certainly haven't forgotten about it....or how I tried to lick the blender clean. It was that good! Aside from being an excellent side dish, this puree makes a fantastic bread! 'Tis the season for winter squash....you should give it a try.

I kept my bread plain (which is rare for me), but you could add raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, walnuts, pecans, coconut, chocolate chips, maybe a streusel topping....get creative and have fun with it.

Print Recipe

Butternut Squash Bread

(From My Baking Addiction)

1 cup butternut squash purée
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with foil.

In a large bowl, combine butternut squash puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.

Stir the dry ingredients into the butternut squash mixture. Combine until just incorporated; do not over mix. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Turkey Leftovers

2011-11-27T13:05:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine certainly did not disappoint this year, it was fantastic! Over the past few days I've eaten way more than my fair share of turkey & all the trimmings, and pie. I spent a few wonderful days catching up with family, and I even braved the mall on Black Friday.

If you can believe it, I still have leftover turkey in my refrigerator! I think I've officially reached my limited for an extended version of Thanksgiving dinner and turkey sandwiches. Looking for some ideas on what to do with your turkey leftovers? Look no further....how about one of these delicious ideas....

Thanksgiving is never complete without a "Leftover Sandwich"....turkey with cranberry relish & stuffing.

How about some tasty Turkey Enchiladas!

You can never go wrong with soup, especially Sweet Potato& Turkey Chowder

Use you favorite Chicken (Noodle) Soup recipe, and swap the chicken for turkey....this is always my favorite!

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Puree

2011-11-22T14:17:00.000-05:00

Just two days to go! I'm sure most of you already have your menus planned out and your grocery shopping done, but you can never have too many side dishes (who doesn't love leftovers?!?!) Maybe you're looking for something else to add to your Thanksgiving table on Thursday. Maybe you want to try something new, maybe you want to add something different to change it up or maybe you just need another side dish.

I have the answer! Butternut squash puree! I've been on a huge butternut squash kick lately. There's been butternut squash soup, caramelized butternut squash pasta and risotto, roasted butternut squash, butternut squash puree and butternut squash bread. You'd think I'd be tired of it at the rate I'm going, but I'm not quite there yet.

I'm lucky no one came into the kitchen while I was making this puree. If they had it would have been quite a sight. I dipped my spoon into the blender to taste the finished product and was instantly in squash heaven.....so de-licious! I managed to show some restraint and refrained from repeatedly dipping my spoon into the blender for taste after taste. I was pretty proud of myself.....until I tried to lick the blender clean. Yep, I did and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Trust me, once you taste this puree you'll know exactly why I did it.

Print Recipe

Butternut Squash Puree

Makes approx. 1 cup of puree

1 2 pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise

6 tablespoons butter, diced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

sea salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons butter, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and place squash flesh-side up on the baking sheet. Dot each half with cubed butter and sprinkle with brown sugar. Cook in the oven for 45-50 minutes (longer if your squash is larger), until the squash is tender.

Remove squash from the oven and let it cool. Be sure to save the melted butter and sugar that's resting in the well of the squash.

Scoop out the flesh and add it a food processor or blender. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper and additional butter. *Depending on the size of your squash, adjust the amount of seasoning accordingly. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

2011-11-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

In just a few short days, one of the best days of the year will be upon us. Thanksgiving! It is hands down my favorite holiday of the year! I love it! I can't wait to spend the day with my family, and fill my plate(s) with turkey and stuffing and sweet potatoes and turnips and cranberry sauce....just to name a few things.

Last year I celebrated Thanksgiving in a much different way. I didn't partake in the typical Thanksgiving Day festivities. I was in the midst of traveling around the South Island of New Zealand. So, instead of cooking, watching football and eating obscene amounts of turkey and apple pie, I spent the day hiking up Franz Josef Glacier and later enjoying an amazing rack of lamb. I can't believe it's already been a year since my kiwi adventure!

I spent this past weekend testing out some new recipes for this year's feast. It was quite productive, to say the least.

I can't wait any longer, so before I started rambling on I have to tell you one thing. It's about this pie. It's AMAZING! This is quite possibly one of the best apple pies I've ever tasted. So, if there is just one thing you make this Thanksgiving, make this pie! You won't be disappointed and your Thanksgiving guests will love you forever.

There's one key component to pie that I think we should talk about - the crust. Before I started FCI, I think I made my own pie crust once. That one time was enough to let me know that when it came to pie crust, I was happy to purchase mine from the freezer section. I'm singing a different tune these days. Now, there's no chance of me buying pie crust ever again.

Making pie crust isn't nearly as terrible as you might think, and it's totally worth the effort.

Here are a few key things I think are important when making pie dough:

* Use cold, cubed butter

* A pastry blender makes this job much easier

* Do not over work the dough

* Give you dough time to chill

* Use ice cold water, and use just a little bit at a time

* It's always helpful to keep some extra flour on hand to use on your work surface

This is a great, basic go-to, buttery, flaky pie crust, from Smitten Kitchen, that makes enough for 1 double or 2 single pie crusts.

Print Recipe

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1/2 - 3/4 cup ice cold water

Fill a liquid measuring cup with water and several ice cubes, and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture, and work together with a pastry blender. Work until the mixture looks sandy and the butter is about the size of peas. The mixture will look uneven, which is ok.

Pour 1/2 cup of the ice water (no ice cubes) in the flour-butter mixture. Use a rubber spatula, or your hands (I find it easier to use my hands at this point) to gather and mix the dough together. Dip your fingers in the ice water and continue to work the dough until the mixture was fully come together. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour.

Near my neighborhood in Brooklyn is an amazing pie shop called Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Seriously, it's awesome! They make some of the best pies. If you live nearby should should check it out. And if you don't live nearby, you should make the trek to Brooklyn and check it out....it's worth the trip. I'd give you a recommendation on what to order, but it's all delicious...you can't go wrong with anything you order. Anyway, I sampled the Salted Caramel Apple pie there a few weeks ago, and was determined to re-create it at home.

Print Recipe

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

(Adapted from Four and Twenty Blackbirds)

Makes one, thick 10-inch pie

Salted Caramel

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel

Apple Filling & Seasoning

4 to 6 lemons

6 large apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Assembly

1 egg, beaten

granulated sugar

1 teaspoon fleur de sel

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the salted caramel:

Cook the sugar and water together over low heat, until just dissolved. Add the butter and bring to a slow boil. Continue cooking at a low boil until the mixture turns a deep, golden brown color, almost copper (this will take a while). Once the mixture has turned a copper color, remove from the heat immediately and add the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble rapidly and steam. Whisk the mixture together well over low heat, and sprinkle in the sea salt.

To make the apple filling:

While the sugar mixture is boiling, begin to work on the apple filling. Juice the lemons into a large bowl. Peel, core and very thinly slice the apples. Coat the sliced apples in the lemon juice - this will prevent the apples from browning and will add flavor. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, and mix together. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples, and use your hands to gently mix and coat the apple slices.

To assemble:

Roll your pie crusts, cut your lattice and fit the bottom crust to the pie dish. Layer 1/3 of the apples in the bottom on the crust, and move to adjust so that there are minimal gaps. Pour 1/3 of the caramel mixture of the apples. Add 1/3 of the apples and another 1/3 of the caramel for the second layer, then add the third layer of apples and all but a small bit of the remaining caramel. Note: save a small portion of the caramel to pour on top of the lattice once it's assembled.

Patiently assemble the lattice crust on top and flute the edges of the crust. Pour the last bit of caramel on top. Brush the crust with beaten egg and lightly sprinkle with granulated (or turbinado) sugar and sea salt.

Place pie on a baking sheet (the caramel will bubble over during baking). Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees F. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and make 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the pie is golden brown and apples are soft.

Remove pie from the oven and cool fully.

Enjoy!

Spicy Toasted Pepitas

2011-11-15T10:48:00.000-05:00

Just as I was settling in to my fall groove, enjoying the crisp fall air (forget the the day it snowed and the 70 degree days) & bright colored leaves scattered across the sidewalks, and chowing down on all things pumpkin, squash and spice, I strolled into Macy's last week to the sound of Christmas music. Christmas music!!! It's not even Thanksgiving, it's just the middle of November and Christmas music is playing already. I was partially annoyed, partially excited, and before I knew what I was doing I was humming along. I willed myself to wait until Thanksgiving to fall into the holiday spirit, but the lights and music and decorations were all too much. And if that didn't do it, seeing those red Starbucks holiday cups certainly would have done me in.

But, before I get started on a holiday baking marathon, there are still plenty of fall goodies not to be missed.....like these awesome salty and spicy Toasted Pepitas.

Print Recipe

Spicy Toasted Pepitas

1 cup pepitas

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, paprika, cayenne & salt and mix together.

In a medium bowl, toss pumpkin seeds with oil to fully coat. Add spice mixture and mix to coat pepitas.

Spread pepitas in a single layer, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes, stirring seeds occasionally.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins

2011-11-10T15:04:00.000-05:00

I've been making these pumpkin muffins (or sometimes in the form of bread), for more years than I can remember. By now, these muffins have become a fall tradition, and fall doesn't quite feel complete until these muffins have made an appearance. Fall "officially" made its way to my kitchen a couple weeks ago, and I welcomed its arrival with open arms. The pumpkin-spice aroma that filled my kitchen and wafted through the rest of the apartment was irresistable.

I got this recipe from my mom years and years ago. It was back in the day when in my family started having an annual holiday cookie swap....before cookie swaps became cool. I'm not entirely sure where my mom pulled the recipe from, and for all I know, it came from the label on a Libby's can. But I never think about it that way. To me, this is my mom's recipe, and it's amazing.

Earlier this fall I had a hard time finding canned pumpkin. I went to a handful of local grocery stores and left each one empty-handed. After each failed attempt I felt more and more determined to track down pumpkin. It took a little while, but I was eventually successful! Fearing a potential pumpkin shortage, I may have gone slightly overboard in stocking up....which is my way of telling you there will be a lot more pumpkin recipes on the way.

Print Recipe

Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12

1 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raisins, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin, or fill with liners.

Spread pumpkin seeds, in a single layer, on a baking sheet and toast seeds in the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, set aside and cool the seeds.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, until pale yellow and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk & vanilla....dry-wet-dry-wet-dry. Don't over mix.

Fold in the pumpkin seeds and raisins.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake 16-18 minutes, or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Remove muffins from the pan and let them fully cool on a wire rack.

* Note: Alternatively, you can bake this in a 9x5 loaf pan for 60-75 minutes.

Enjoy!

Carbo-Loading Time

2011-11-03T16:27:00.000-04:00

We are quickly approaching one of my most favorite weekends of the entire year.....NYC Marathon weekend! Even if you're not a runner, coming out & watching the marathon is so uplifting and inspiring and motivating, and the cheering is utterly contagious. It is such a FUN day!

For years I swore I'd never run a marathon, I had no interest. But then Marathon Sunday would roll around, and I could feel myself living vicariously through the thousands of runners out there that day. It made me wonder if maybe I actually did want to run a marathon. Then, some time would pass, and I'd go back to declaring my lack of interest. In the back of my mind I think I knew I'd eventually give in. In 2009, I decided to try my chances and entered the lottery for the NYC Marathon, but it was not meant to be that year and my name didn't get selected. I entered the lottery again last year, much to my dismay got in and ran my first marathon. It was a long and somewhat painful day, and a day that I still remember so, so vividly, and all the highs and lows of the day still feel palpable.

This year work and culinary school have kept me pretty busy, leaving little time for anything other than casual running. But, the trade off has been worth it, and I think my body has been enjoying the break. While I'm not running the marathon this year, I'm just as excited to be joining my running club at mile 19 for a day of cheering and noise-making.

And, it wouldn't be marathon weekend without carbo-loading! Here are some of my absolute favorite pasta dishes to get you fueled up:

Pasta with Caramelized Butternut Squash & Fresh Herbs

Linguine with Goat Cheese, Spinach & Grape Tomatoes

Pasta Carbonara with Duck Proscuitto

Pasta with Basil Pesto

Tomato & Sausage Risotto

Enjoy!

Fennel-Leek Soup

2011-11-01T13:58:00.001-04:00

I ~~learned~~ re-learned some important lessons over the past couple weeks. Life throws you lots of curveballs. Rather than fight it, it's easier to let things go & just go with it. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I'm a planner, through and through. I love planning and organizing and list-making. When I know that my i's are dotted and my t's crossed, I feel just a little bit more relaxed. But, I was also reminded that sometimes even the best laid plans are meant to be broken, and that you can't plan for everything.

I was getting the ball rolling with some big and exciting plans....then I got sick. I've generally always been really healthy, and I'd like to think my body is fairly strong. The past couple weeks were a huge exception; I was knocked down pretty hard and spent about 5 days in bed. I was out of work, out of school, out of the kitchen and most days barely eating. When I wasn't sleeping (which is how the majority of my days were spent), I had a cable tv marathon that rotated between TLC, The Food Network and E!. I feel like a new person these days....amazing with a ~~little~~ lot of rest will do. Needless to say, my plans got thrown way off track. At least for now, anyway. But, rather than worry and dwell on it, I'm ok with it. I'm taking it in stride and re-working my plan.

And speaking of plans getting riled up, I don't think anyone over here expected snow and freezing temperatures before Halloween. I've been embracing the cold weather with fuzzy sweaters, scarves and many bowls of steamy Fennel-Leek Soup.

Print Recipe

Fennel-Leek Soup

Serves 4-6

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 leeks, white part only, halved & thinly sliced

2 fennel bulbs, diced

2 cups chicken/vegetable stock*

3 cups water

2 starchy potatoes (Idaho, Yukon Gold), cubed & very thinly sliced

salt & pepper, to taste

Prepare all vegetables.

Melt butter & heat olive oil, together, in a medium stock pot. Add leeks and fennel to the pot, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to mix with the butter and olive, and sweat the vegetables over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until very soft, and stirring occasionally. Keep the heat low to avoid obtaining any color on the leeks or fennel.

Add the stock and water to the pot. Gradually raise the heat and bring the soup to a boil. When the soup reaches a boil add the potatoes, season again and stir to combine. Let the soup boil for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You'll notice the potatoes will break down and the soup will thicken. Lower the heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Taste, and season as needed.

* This soup can also be made with all water and no stock. Keep in mind, if you forgo the stock you will need to use more seasoning (salt & pepper) for added flavor.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2011-10-18T14:37:00.000-04:00

WHOOPIE PIES! Whoopie pies are such a fun dessert. I love them...although, let's be honest, there aren't too many desserts that I don't love...but, I especially love this dessert, and I especially love them in the fall. It's fun to say whoopie pie. Whooooppppppie Pie! And as fun as it is to say whoopie pie, it's even more fun to eat a whoopie pie. Two soft, thick cookies sandwiching a thick, rich, sweet layer of cream cheese filling, what's not to love! Mmmmmm.

This was my first pumpkin dessert of the season, and I must say I started off strong. These whoppie pies are nothing short of amazing. I feel obligated to give you a warning, be prepared for these whoopie pies to disappear really fast. Also, be prepared be stuff yourself with more pumpkin-cream-cheesy goodness than is necessary or appropriate. I didn't think I would, I thought my will power was stronger than that, but as soon as these come out of the fridge, your will power will go right out the window. Don't say I didn't warn you.

A few words of wisdom on this recipe....follow the directions. When you're making the filling, be sure the butter and cream cheese are actually soft. If you have to question if it's soft enough, it's probably not. I get it if you're in a hurry, we've all been there at one time or another. But, making buttercream when your butter is still a little hard leads to lumps and it's a pain to work them out, and no one likes to find lumps of butter in their buttercream. Also, the recipe calls for chilled pumpkin puree, so be sure to chill the pumpkin. Until now, I've never made a recipe that called for chilled pumpkin puree, but according to the book, the chilled puree makes the whoopies easier to scoop and gives them a domed top. Interesting stuff. The guys at Baked have one of the best bakeries in Brooklyn and two awesome cookbooks, so I'm more than happy to go along with what they say.

Print Recipe

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

(From Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)

For the Cookies:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon ginger

1 tablespoon cloves

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola oil)

3 cups chilled pumpkin puree

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the cookies...

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves together, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar and oil together until combined. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a small ice cream scoop (or, cookie dough scooper!) with a release mechanism to drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling.

To make the cream cheese filling...

Sift the conectioners' sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or, if you're like me and without a countertop mixer, use a large bowl and a handheld electric mixer), beat the butter until it's completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure. (The filling can be made one day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put in the refrigerator. Let the filling soften at room temperature before using.)

To assemble the whoopies...

Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down (flat side facing up).

Use an ice cream scooper or tablespoon (or, cookie dough scooper!) to drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving (you'll start to notice the filling gets a little soft).

The whoopie pies will keep for up to 3 days, on a parchment-lined baking sheet covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Apple-Ricotta Pita Bites

2011-10-15T15:30:00.001-04:00

Aaand, I'm back! It's been a while. I know. I'm sorry. The past month has been busy, busy, busy. I've been hard at work at school, figuring my plans post-culinary school and trying to fit in some fun stuff in my free time. I'll spare you a long stories and give you an update with photos, instead.....that's more fun anyway.

A few days after my last post I joined 7 of my running buddies for the Ocean to Sound Relay in Long Island. We ran in costume as Tetris pieces...complete with theme music. We were robbed of the best costume award. Probably not so surprising, but it was a whole lot less comfortable running in a box than I anticipated.

I ran as a "z" piece.

I joined one of my culinary school friends for a tasty lunch at Chelsea Market and a taping of the Martha Stewart Show. The show's set was unreal, and the kitchen was awesome!

One of the show's guests was Marja Vongerichten. We all went home with her new cookbook, The Kimchi Chronicles. And that's not all! We also went home with some cool gardening tools (I miss having a garden) and a cool crafting tool.

Last weekend I helped out & took at a class at FCI about New Directions in School Meal Planning. As greater emphasis falls on health and childhood obesity, school lunches have come under scrutiny. And, for good reason. This course focused on creating healthy, nutritious and sustainable lunch plans that work to satisfy students, parents, teachers and administrators. I was really excited to learn more about this topic, and this class turned out to be more interesting, eye-opening and informative than I ever could have hoped. There are a number of schools in New York that have brought chefs in the run lunch programs, eliminating frozen pre-packaged meals full of preservatives and ingredients that no one can pronounce. It's a great movement and I really hope this catches on in many more schools and districts across the country. Who knows what will happen after school, but I'd love to be involved with this.

I'm trying to catch up on blogging as quickly as possible. When I think about fall cooking and baking, three things come to mind - apple, pumpkin and squash. You'll be seeing a lot of recipes involving these awesome fall ingredients, soon!

Let's get the ball rolling with some apples! I just picked up some crisp, delicious cameo apples and crispin apples at the farmers market this morning. I made it about 2 blocks before I dove into the bag.

This is a quick, simple, delicious nibble you can put together in 10 minutes. Trader Joe's Multigrain Pita Bite Crackers are awesome. They've become one of my favorite snacks. As an alternative to using crackers for this recipe, you can also toast some mini pitas, or cut up a full-size pita and toast it.

Print Recipe

Apple-Ricotta Pita Bites

Multigrain Pita Bite Crackers/Mini pitas, toasted

Ricotta cheese

Honey

Apple, thinly sliced

If you're using mini pita bread, toast the pieces and let them fully cool.

Top pita bites with a spoonful of ricotta cheese, a small dollop of honey and a thinly sliced piece of apple.

Enjoy!

Maple Almond Granola

2011-09-22T15:08:00.000-04:00

Have I ever told you about my love for yogurt and granola? No? Well, I'm telling you now. Love, pure love! I love them together. I love them separately. I love them at any time of day, for a meal or a snack. I love yogurt and granola!

While I whole-heartedly believe in a diet based on balance and variety, my weekday breakfast is the one exception...it pretty much rotates between Greek yogurt & granola and oatmeal. (The weekend however is a totally different and delicious story, that often involves eggs and biscuits and pancakes and french toast and waffles).

At any give time you're likely to find the back of my refrigerator lined and stack with Greek yogurt. I'm not talking about the single serve containers, I'm talking about the 17+ ounce containers. I eat a lot of yogurt....so delicious and so much protein. The very first time I tried Greek yogurt (which coincidentally happened to be in Greece), about 10 years ago, that first thick, tart spoonful was not at all what I was expecting. You know that feeling when you eat something, and expect to taste one thing, but actually taste something totally different? Yea, that's what happened. It was nothing like the Dannon Fruit on the Bottom I was accustomed to eating at home. I was intrigued. I found myself curiously diving back into the bowl for bite after bite, trying to determine if I liked this "foreign" yogurt. Before I knew it my bowl was empty. I went through the same ritual for the next couple days. By the end of my trip I was head over heals for Greek yogurt. Imagine my delight a few years later when the dairy section of my supermarket was finally stocked with this wonderful yogurt.

As of late my kitchen could possibly be confused with a granola factory. It was getting a little out of hand. Last week I finally scaled back granola production to one day a week

I've tried a lot of different granola recipes, and a lot of different variations. There have been some delightful surprised, and some total flops. This one, right here, tops the charts, hands down! This granola has a great crunch-factor, some different textures, it's sweet without tasting like it's overloaded with sugar, and best of all, has an amazing flavor combination.

Print Recipe

Maple Almond Granola

(Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, add oats, ground flax seed, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and mix together.

In a medium bowl, combine oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, almond & vanilla extracts. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the wet mixture over the oat mixture and use a spatula or your hands to combine them. (If you like big chunks in your granola, gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the wet mixture.)

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a spatula to lift & flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds and coconut over the granola, mix together.

Return the baking sheet to the oven, and bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until the coconut is just golden.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool.

Store granola in an air tight container, and it should last 7-10 days.

Other tasty add-ins: pepitas, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, pistachios, dried cranberries, dried cherries, raisins (if you include dried fruit, be sure to add after the granola has been removed from the oven & cooled)....and the list goes on and on.

Enjoy!

FCI Midterm

2011-09-19T16:14:00.000-04:00

Despite what it looks like around here as of late, I have actually been cooking outside of school, and I have some great things (like, the best brunch dish I've had in a long time, pumpkin whoopie pies and some amazing granola) to share with you really, really soon. Preparing for my midterm just happened to take precedence over blogging & posting delicious recipes recently.

So, the midterm (otherwise known as the Level 3 final, and 50% of my grade). It happened this past Saturday. Instead of getting stressed and feeling anxious, and wracking my brain over the exam, with its tight time limit and panel of judges who would taste my food, I tried to tell myself it would be no different than any other day of class. That was a nice idea; it didn't work.

We would be preparing either an appetizer & meat dish, or a fish and a dessert, from the 16 recipes we'd worked on over the past 6 weeks. Some chefs will tell you the recipes on the exam beforehand, ours did not. And, since Level 3 focuses heavily on speed & timing, you are up against the clock for this exam. We had 2 hours 45 minutes to produce & deliver the first dish, with the second dish due exactly 45 minutes later. As long as you're organized, focused, work clean and of course, know the recipes, this is no problem. To determine the dishes we'd make and the time we'd be due to present, we picked a folded slip of paper from a bowl.

I walked into the kitchen to see that our four dishes for the evening were Consomme & Beef Bourguinon, and Baramundi Americaine & Pots de Creme. I crossed my fingers and prayed for the Baramundi. This dish has a lot of moving parts, but I felt absolutely confident I could nail it. Not only did I make this 3 times during this level, but I made it well each time and I made it blindly, meaning I never tasted the sauce once when I made this dish. That pretty much goes against everything I've learned, but I have a serious allergy to crustaceans & this sauce uses both lobster & shrimp. Instead I knew exactly how the sauce should look, it's ideal consistency, the way it should smell and how to season it.

I drew my paper from the bowl, but it would only determine my time slot for the evening. Since I wouldn't be able to taste the sauce for the Baramundi, Chef decided I'd be making the Consomme & Bourguinon. I felt dread creep into my stomach and up into my throat. The Bourguinon is the one dish I hoped I wouldn't see on the midterm; it was the one I felt least confident with. As for my time slot, no extra time here, I was in the first group to present, with my Consomme due at 8:45pm and the Bourguinon to follow at 9:27.

As I gathered my ingredients and set up my station, I felt off kilter and unfocused. I tried to forget about everyone else around me, and what they were/weren't doing, and I tried to forget about the ticking clock behind me. I hoped nobody around me noticed how nervous I was, but at the very second that thought crossed my mind, Chef appeared behind me. I felt his presence before I saw him. Apparently my nerves were obvious, and he tersely advised I pull my shit together, and fast.

I went through the tasks to be done, toggling back and forth all night between the Consomme and the Beef. I started with the Beef, as it would take the longest to prepare....I seasoned and seared and singered, added flavoring and marinade and stock, and right on time, my stew went into the oven. I moved on to the Consomme, and once the raft was formed & with a hole in the center, I prepared the garnish of macedoine vegetables, cut to the size of petite peas. Next I was on to making pasta dough & preparing the garnish for the Bourguinon...the pearl onions were well on their way to glace, the lardons were sauteeing, the mushrooms were on standby, the croutons were shaped like hearts and the parsley was finely chopped. Deep breath. Everything was happening, and I was on schedule but I still felt frazzled. 8:35pm, my bowls were in the oven (hot food, hot plate), the vegetable garnish was reheating and my Consomme had been strained and degreased (over and over and over again). In my final few minutes, I plated my Consomme, cleaned my station and went through a mental list of the remaining tasks to be done for my second dish. Just as the clock clicked to 8:45pm I entered the room across with hall, and greeted the judges with 4 bowls of clear, hot Consomme.

In a flash I was back in the kitchen, and back to work. My sauce for the Bourguinon was reducing (albeit, not quickly enough) and I found an empty space to roll out the dough for the egg noodles that accompany the dish. All of a sudden it felt like the clock was moving at warp speed. My dough was so gummy, and would not roll properly! Nooo, this can't be happening now! It broke again, and again, and again. As I started to cut the dough, I looked at the clock to see 9:11pm. I was due to present in 16 minutes! I think that was the moment I stopped breathing and went from cursing in my head to cursing out loud. I moved as fast as I could, but it didn't feel fast enough. My bowls were in the oven, I seasoned the stew one last time (hoping its flavor would make up for it's slightly less than nappant consistency) I plucked my clumpy noodles from the boiling water & dropped them into a buttery bowl. 9:25pm and I was plating faster than I've ever plated in my life. Two minutes and I was cutting it close. All I could think was "not enough time, not enough time!" and "I can't be late, I can't be late!". In those last minutes I did my best to make sure the bowls were evenly garnished and well sauced. 9:27pm, my presentation time, came and went. 9:28pm, Chef was yelling and I needed to choose the lesser of two evils - serve slightly messy bowls at 1 minute late or clean the bowls and present 2 minutes late.

As I delivered my tray of Bourguinon, I felt completely & utterly defeated. I couldn't look at my Chef, and I could barely look at the judges. This was the first time I'd ever been late to present my food, and I was sure my Beef Bourguinon left something to be desired. This was not my finest night in the kitchen.

I went back to my station feeling like I wanted to cry. I received a hug & encouragement from some classmates, a mise cup of unused brandy and a wise reminder that I likely did better than I was giving myself credit. What a night!

At 2:30am, after commiserating & laughing over cocktails with my classmates, I logged on to the FCI website to check my grade. I was happy and pleasantly surprised with the number I saw glowing on the screen. I passed the midterm & Level 3, and in the end did much better than I'd expected. And, so tomorrow night I will start Level 4 (family meal & buffet).

FCI Level 3 Recap

2011-09-11T18:35:00.000-04:00

In an instant I felt my stomach drop out and shear panic shoot through my entire body. I glanced up at the clock and realized that I was due to present my consomme in 2 minutes. 2 minutes!?! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod...how could that be?! Where had all the time gone? My consomme was still on the fire, not yet strained! My bowls weren't heated yet! I hadn't started to plate the garnish yet! I didn't even have a tray! Oh my god, I didn't know what to do. There was no way it was going to happen, there was no possibility my food going out on time. How could I lose track of time like this?!?! I was overwhelmed with panic and anxiety. So much so that I could feel it in my fingertips. And then I had one more realization....I was not at FCI and it was not the day of my Level 3 final, it was 5:48am and I was under the covers in my bed. I woke up feeling like my heart was going to pound out of my chest. I guess this means I'm starting to get nervous about my Level 3 final, which is now less than 1 week away. I have two hopes for this exam (aside, of course, from passing with flying colors), one, that my heart in no way starts pounding like it did this morning and two, that I will be preparing consomme and pork as I was in my dream this morning.

Before entering Level 3, I heard rumors from other students that this was the hardest of the six levels at FCI. From my experience thus far, they were right. On top of that, our new Chef was rumored to be the toughest chef in the school. I have a feeling this rumor also stands to be true. But he is also one of the best, and the rules he lays out and the high standard he's held us to have produced great results. I'm here to learn as much as I possibly can, and become stronger, more refined and more confident in the kitchen, so I want someone to be tough on me day in and day out.

In hindsight, I can see that during this level we've been broken down and built back up. It took me a while to realize this (or, at least this is my take on what's been going on). I spent most every class for at least the first half of Level 3, convinced that I must be failing. I second guessed myself all the time. I wanted more than anything to be at FCI, but I really questioned if I actually belonged, and if I had what it takes to be successful. And then one day something changed. I can't pinpoint the event or moment that prompted this, but in the course of one class my entire mindset did a 180. I've always felt focused and on top of things, but this felt different; I felt a new sense of confidence.

Level 3 at FCI is all about speed, timing and refining your cooking. We started off in this level rotating through a different kitchen station each class - Garde Manger (appetizer), Poissonier (fish), Saucier (meat) & Patissier (dessert) - and were required to produce one dish each night, due a specific time. We learned pretty fast how important speed & timing would dominate this level. Every night our dishes were due at a set time....30 seconds late and we might as well throw our food in the compost bin because Chef wouldn't taste it and we received a zero for the night. Over the past 6 weeks we went from producing 1 dish a night, to 2 dishes a night, sometimes 2 dishes from the same station & sometimes dishes from 2 different stations, sometimes working solo and sometimes with a partner.

I do not have one photo from Level 3. There was absolutely no time for photos during Level 3. Nor, do I think Chef would have appreciated me whipping out my camera during class. What fun is a post without photos though!

Night out with my classmates

Next Saturday is my Level 3 final and FCI midterm. (I can't believe I'm just about halfway through the program so far!) This exam is 50% of my grade for this level, which is slightly terrifying. The final consists of preparing 2 dishes from the 16 recipes we've worked on during this Level - either an appetizer & meat or a fish & dessert. Here's the catch....we don't know which recipes will be on the exam, nor do we know which combination of recipes we'll be cooking. We find out the night of the exam by drawing a folded slip of paper from a bowl. There's a bit more work I can do, but at this point I'm about as prepared as I can be. There are some recipes with which I have complete confidence, and a few I pray not to see next Saturday. What really makes this exam tough is the time limit, especially because it's tighter than what we've had to work with during the past month and a half. In order to be successful, you need to be absolutely organized, focused, at the top of your game and you have to hustle.

Deep breath and fingers crossed.....

Culinary School Update

2011-09-11T18:17:00.000-04:00

I had great intentions, and I tried really, really hard, but updates on the fun I've been having at FCI have really fallen behind. Like really behind! I'm not entirely sure how this happened and where the time has gone. Even when I was a couple weeks behind on my updates, catching up seemed so manageable. My updates are months behind, and don't feel quite so manageable anymore. In all honesty, I should admit that as the lapse in my updates grew wider and wider, the task of cathing up grew equally as daunting, and I started procrastinating just a little.

Good news....I'm bring you up to speed right on the remainder of Level 1 and a very quick recap of Level 2.

In my last update, I told you about my fun with filleting fish. From there we moved on to shellfish.....my nemesis.

Most of my classmates were thrilled to be cooking up shrimp & lobster. But with a serious allergy to crustaceans, I didn't quite share in their enthusiasm.

Making Sauce Americaine

We quartered chickens (a skill, I'm happy to report, at which I've gotten much faster), and made two of my favorite chicken dishes - Poulet Saute Chasseur and Poulet Roti Grand-Mere.

It was hard to pick a favorite dish from Level 1, but one that still stands out in my mind is Roast Quail with Sausage and Rice Stuffing.

We worked with pork and beef and veal and lamb (yum!). We roasted, sauteed, briased, boiled and seared.

Braised Lamb Shank

Level 2 picked up right where we left off. One of our first dishes was a Navarin, a delicious, traditional lamb stew, full of tourneed spring vegetables.

I can't to cook this up at home come springtime!

Navarin Printanier

We worked our way through game meats, like vension and rabbit.

I've always said I'll try anything at least twice, and I firmly stand by that. Well, that was put to the test the night we work with organ meats. There was liver and sweetbreads and kidneys and tongue. I've never tasted or worked with any type of organ meat before. I felt curious & adventurous, yet timid and a little unsure all at the same time. I don't know if this is something I'll be making at home anytime soon, but I'm certainly open to eating each of these items again.

After a few weeks we moved on to the section of our cirriculum that I'd been looking forward to since the beginning of the program....pastry and desserts. Yum!

Tarte au Pommes

Throughout most of Level 2, I forgot about my camera tucked away in my pocket, and instead was more focused on sampling everything my classmates and I were making. But with dessert like sorbet, ice cream, chocolate mousse, souffle, pate a choux, genoise and a puff pastry fruit tart, can you really blame me...

ATK Banana Bread

2011-09-09T13:15:00.001-04:00

I'm a creature of habit. I ~~like~~ love having a routine. I like familiarity. ~~Sometimes~~, err most of the time I get pretty set in my ways. I understand that change is necessary. I get it. I'm not opposed to it. Sometimes it just takes me a little while to get on board. I can be stubborn...I know it, I admit it.

I've been using the same banana bread recipe for years. Years! It's been my favorite, and my go-to. I used to force myself to try other recipes, but nothing ever seemed to live up to my go-to. So, I stuck with that I loved. I stopped trying new recipes for a long time. Why mess with what works, right? Hmmm....I eventually started to second guess this and wondered if I might be missing out. And more than falling out of my routine, I hate missing out on things.

Last year for my birthday, one of my lovely friends got me this awesome America's Test Kitchen Cookbook. I love America's Test Kitchen! Every recipe I've tried from this book has been a complete win. Clearly, no surprise that this banana bread is also a complete win!

Print Recipe

ATK Banana Bread

(Adapted from The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2011)

2 cups flour

1/2 cup ground flax seed

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 ripe bananas, mashed (the more brown & ugly looking, the better)

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease & flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan (or line it with foil, my preference).

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, ground flax, sugar, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, beaten eggs, melted butter & vanilla. Gently fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients, until just combine. Fold in the walnuts. Add batter to the prepared loaf pan.

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Mac & Cheese and the End of Summer

2011-09-07T20:56:00.001-04:00

While Labor Day signals the unofficial end of summer, my memories of September are filled with mild mornings & evenings and warm, sunny days that extend through the majority of the month. Based on the past couple days here in New York, I wonder if my memories might be a little hazy, and maybe they're more wishful thinking that anything else. As Labor Day weekend came to an end earlier this week, it feels like the last days of summer left along with it. Face-warming, sunny, 80-degree days have been quickly been replaced with a few dreary, rainy days with the temperature barely climbing to 65.

I didn't expect this to happen to fast! Does summer usually up and leave so suddenly? I can't remember. What's more unexpected though, is how much I love this change! Instead of pining for a few more summer days, my excitement for all things autumn has been growing by the minute. In fact, it feels like autumn can't get here fast enough.

I'm looking forward to pushing my flip flops to the back of the closet and dusting off my boots, packing away my shorts and returning to my staple "uniform" of leggings, tunics, long sweaters and tall boots....ahhhh. I look forward to grabbing a scarf off the back of the door as I rush out of the apartment in the morning. I love the cool, crisp air, the smell of falling leaves and of course all things apple and pumpkin (especially these!). I can't wait to start my mornings with pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin oatmeal. Maybe this year I'll add pupmpkin scones to the line up...yum.

Way back, when I started this blog, I promised one of my faithful readers (also a fellow triathlete and sweet-tooth) a good mac & cheese recipe. It might take a while sometimes, but ask and you shall receive. A cool, rainy day, like today, feels like a great time to dive into a rich, gooey bowl of mac & cheese.

This mac & cheese starts off with a classic bechamel sauce recipe, to which a generous amount of cheese is added, making it a creamy mornay sauce....mmmm. Toss it with your pasta, bake in the oven until it's bubbly and golden and you have yourself a velvety, rich, delicious, French-inspired mac & cheese.

Print Recipe

Mac & Cheese

Serves 2 as an entree

1/2 pound (1/2 box) pasta

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups whole milk, at room temperature

pinch of cayenne pepper

pinch of nutmeg

salt & pepper, to taste

1/2 cup gruyere

1/2 cup white cheddar

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and set aside.

To start to the sauce, make a roux, by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. When the butter is fully melted, add the flour and stir thoroughly to combine. Cook the roux for 1-2 minutes, until it resembles wet sand. The mixture should not obtain any color. Remove from the heat.

Slowly add the milk to the roux, whisking well. Return the pan to the heat and bring to a boil (this will thicken the mixture). Once the mixture has come to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring often. Season with cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt & pepper.

Stir in the cheese, and whisk until melted.

Combine the pasta and cheese in a heavy bottom ceramic dish. Top with panko breadcrumbs. Bake, uncovered, until the top s golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Black Bean & Mango Quinoa Salad

2011-09-02T10:17:00.000-04:00

Dear August,

Let's have a little chat, shall we? You really had a way of stirring things up this year....and that's not even taking into account an earthquake and hurricane in the same week. You left me feeling a little out of sorts. You showed up so quietly, so unexpectedly, so gently. Your days ticked by so quickly at first, and then all of a sudden it felt like time came to a stand-still. I know I should relish the days when time slows down, and normally I do, but not this time.

August, you took me all over the map in your four and a half weeks. You made life hectic and a little stressful, and you managed to frazzle my nerves a little bit. But, to your credit, you also showed me warmth and caring and friendship and love. Thank you. And, you brought me some wonderful surprises...like, a lovely moonlit picnic, an impromptu day at the beach, a near-perfect lemon tart and moments of uncontrollable, belly-aching laughter. I have to be honest with you, though, I'm glad our time is has come to an end for now.

I spent August eating lots and lots of salads. There were orzo salads, and egg salad and chicken salad, many leafy green salads and this wonderful quinoa salad. It would be a shame if I didn't share this gem with you. So, here you have it, one of my favorite salads of August.

Print Recipe

Black Bean & Mango Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

1 cup water

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups black beans

1 cup mango, diced

1 cup red pepper, diced

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt & pepper

1 avocado, chopped

Add quinoa, water and a pinch of salt to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer until the water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. When quinoa has finished cooking, add it to a large bowl and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, chili powder, cayenne pepper and a dash of salt & pepper.

Add the black beans, mango, red pepper and cilantro to the quinoa, and stir together. Top with the lime dressing and stir to fully combine. (The dressing is simply meant to add a hint of flavor to the quinoa, not to add additional liquid).

To serve, top with chopped avocado.

Enjoy!

Pineapple-Mango Chili Popsicles

2011-08-20T09:23:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else feel like the middle of August appeared out of nowhere?!?!?! Certainly, I can't be the only person that feels like this.

In the middle of July my roommate told me over and over that not only would the summer be over before we knew it, but that it was practically already over. Huh? How could it be almost over already, it just started. I felt pretty sure she was pushing the envelope a little bit. But, as she explained, it was the middle of July, and August would quickly be here before we knew it, and as it has a tendency to do, this month would fly by as well and next thing you know we'd be sitting at a Labor Day bbq (Labor Day weekend being her marker for the end of summer). The following week (when it was still pushing 90 degrees) she came home announcing she had just purchased a sweater. I very likely looked at her with an expression of pure shock & horror. After that I prayed she wouldn't come home newly purchased Christmas paraphanalia. While my roommate was setting her sights on fall, I was hanging onto summer with everything I had in me.

I don't think I've ever experiernced a faster summer in my life! Luckily, I still had a solid couple weeks left to go.

If there is just one thing you do before summer comes to an end, do yourself a giant favor and make these popsicles! I promise you'll thank me for it later. Your summer isn't complete without having these popsicles in your life.

It's not like there's a rule saying you can only have popsicles in the summer, but it's just not the same during the rest of the year. There's a small chance I may have started on a popsicle binge.

I'm sure some of you see the word "Chili" up there and you're shaking your head, wondering what on earth I'm thinking with this combination. I totally get it. I was in your shoes once too.

You see, I love layered food profiles - sweet & salty, sweet & spicy, sweet & sour, (you get the picture), so it should have been no surprise that this combo would be a home run in my book. The hint of spice (and that's all it really is, is a hint) is subtle, yet a perfect, sharp contrast to the super sweet fruits you taste when your first bite into this pop.

Print Recipe

Pineapple-Mango Chili Popsicles

Makes 6 popsicles

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup mango, chopped

1 cup pineapple, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Start off by making simple syrup - bring water to a boil, add sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Add mango and pineapple to a blender or food processor and puree. Mix in simple syrup, chili powder and cayenne pepper.

Pass the mixture through a strainer, and discard all solids.

Pour into popsicle molds, and wait patiently while the freezer works its magic.

Enjoy!

Day 12 at FCI and Learning that Filleting Fish Isn't So Scary After All

2011-08-17T15:22:00.000-04:00

I actually wrote the post below quite some time ago. I can't help but laugh a little as I read this over again now. At the time I'm sure it did seem like the time was flying. If life was still going according to that time scale, I'm moving at warp speed now. But, it's all relative. In my last post about FCI I talked about my first exam...I passed with flying colors. While I continued along much the same path through Level 1, it's gotten much more intense and a little harder since then.

Here's a flashback to the 12th day of Level 1, May 28, 2011.....

The time has been flying by! I knew the time in school was bound to go by fairly quickly, but it feels like we're going at warp speed. I didn't quite expect that. Two classes ago marked the halfway point for Level 1. I feel like I was just at orientation, picking up my uniforms and getting my photo taken for a school I.D. If the first few weeks have gone by this fast, I'm a little nervous about the pace at which the next 8 months will fly by.

I was nervous going in to tonight's class. It was the first of 2 lessons focusing on various methods of preparing and cooking fish. In reviewing the lesson before class, there was a good portion focused on cleaning & filleting fish. Hmmm. Now, I love fish....I eat fish fairly often, and I've cooked fish in a variety of ways but never, ever have I attempted to fillet a fish. Going into class, I hoped & prayed we wouldn't have to fillet fish ourselves. It wasn't cutting up a dead fish that bothered me. The flesh of the fish seems so delicate, and I had awful visions of myself mangling the fillets. Even as Chef demo'd his technique for filleting fish, I kept my fingers crossed our fish would already be filleted. They weren't. Clearly!

I stood at my station with a shiny, glassy-eyed trout staring up at me from the cutting board, took a deep breath and got to work. I cut off the fins, pushed off the scales, removed the head, starting slicing open the body, and before I knew it, I had produced 2 perfect-looking, unmangled trout fillets. Not only was filleting easier than I ever expected, it was fun!

My new partner, filleted our second fish for the evening, a black bass. Ahhh, the black bass. This was the highlight of my night....my week...and maybe my first month of school. With the bass we made Poisson en Papillote...that's Fish in Parchment, and it was absolutely, completely delicious (nearly halfway through school, this still remains one of my favorites)! The bass fillets sit on a bed of tomato fondue and mushrooms duxelles, and are topped with a lightly cooked julienne of carrots, celery and leeks, and a splash of white wine & fish fumet. The whole mixture is wrapped in parchment and sealed tight, then placed in the oven, where the parchments inflates like a balloon. The best part of all is cutting through the still-puffed up parchments after removing the package from the oven....the warm, aroma that wafts out is wonderful! The fish is cooked through a combination of baking in the oven and steaming from the liquids sealed inside the parchments, and the result is absolutely delicious!

Everyday Lemonade

2011-08-09T13:01:00.000-04:00

Right now life is hectic and a little stressful & confusing, and there are a lot of balls in the air. Sometimes I wish life had a remote control. I'd like to pause perfect moments, even just for a few seconds, rewind, fast forward a little, or skip a scene.

I've been finding solice in this perfect, sweet lemonade...especially when it's served in a mason jar. There's something very calming and soothing about it.

And, let's be honest, is there anything quite as refreshing as a tall, cool glass of lemonade on a hot summer day? I didn't think so.

I like my lemonade to be sweet and just a little bit tart.....so it makes my mouth pucker a little. Sometimes a little splash of bourbon is nice too.....just saying.

Print Recipe

Everyday Lemonade

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 cup fresh lemon juice (6-8 lemons)

3-4 cups cold water

ice cubes
1 lemon for garnish

Start off by making simple syrup - bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add sugar and stir until it's completely dissolved. Set aside and let the simple syrup cool. (The hot water allows the sugar to fully dissolve. If you try to mix the sugar into cold water it won't dissolve, and you'll be left with a grainy layer of sugar at the bottom of your glass....ick).

Juice the lemons. Add lemon juice and simple syrup to a pitcher. Add in cold water, starting with 3 cups and add more til the taste is just right.

Fill your glass with ice cubes, fresh lemonade & garnish with sliced lemon.

Stay hydrated and enjoy!