Annie’s Eats

Here is another fall-ish recipe that I have been waiting to try. This recipe is very simple…it is actually one of the Williams Sonoma “kid-friendly” recipes I guess I’m just a kid at heart because I thought these were great. They were easy to assemble and require no baking which is nice. I also served these at my get-together this evening and people seemed to really enjoy them. I even liked them and I’m usually not a huge fan of marshmallows.

S’more Bars
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into chunks
6 whole graham crackers
¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
1 cup miniature marshmallows
2 whole graham crackers or 1 cup mini-graham cracker shapes

Directions:
Line an 8-inch square baking dish with aluminum foil so that the foil hangs over the sides. Grease the foil with butter.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the 3 tablespoons butter. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Put the 6 whole graham crackers into a zippered plastic bag. Press out the air and seal the bag. Using a rolling pin or your hands, crush the cookies to make tiny crumbs. You should have about 1 cup. (Alternatively, use your food processor to crush the cookies into crumbs.) Add the crumbs to the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until blended. Scrape the crumbs into the baking pan.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap loosely over the crumbs. Use your hand over the plastic wrap to spread the crumbs to coat the bottom of the pan. Press down firmly to make a solid even layer.

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the condensed milk and chocolate chips. Heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and salt until blended. Pour the filling over the graham cracker crust and spread evenly with the spoon.

Scatter the marshmallows evenly over the chocolate filling and press them in gently. Break the 2 whole graham crackers into little pieces and stick the broken crackers or mini-cracker shapes into the filling among the marshmallows.

Cover and refrigerate the bars until they are firm, about 4 hours. To serve, lift the foil from the pan and set the smore square on a cutting board. Peel the foil away from the sides and cut the square into rectangles. Keep refrigerated until just before serving. Serves 12.

Source: Williams Sonoma

Yes, that’s right, it’s another pumpkin recipe. It’s an obsession and I can’t help it. I have been dying to try this recipe for some time but I knew it would be a dangerous idea to have a bowl of pumpkin mixed with cream cheese and powdered sugar and only me to eat it. Tonight I had a end-of-rotation get together for my OB/GYN classmates so I thought that would be a good opportunity to taste this dip and still have other people to help eat it. I made it with honey wheat bread warm out of the oven. The combination was delicious and the dip was definitely a hit. This recipe is just irresistible because it is so simple to make (only 4 ingredients!) and it tastes soooo good.

Spiced Pumpkin Dip
Ingredients:
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine canned pumpkin, cream cheese, powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well. Spoon into a decorative bowl.

Source: The Fresh Market

This morning I came home from my fifth and final night of being on call for my OB/GYN rotation. Apparently I was meant to go out with a bang because we did 7, yes 7, C-sections during my shift (plus one regular delivery). I was pretty tired this morning but I always like to eat a good breakfast before I go pass out for a few hours so Ben and I decided to make these delicious waffles. I’ve been wanting to make them forever and we are really glad we finally did. These are a great breakfast treat.

The recipe with original dimensions is below but we just made a half-batch since there were only two of us. I made some very minor changes of my own which are reflected below but you can scroll down for the link to the original recipe. Also, I have never seen a recipe that specifies the need for double-baking powder. In case you are curious about the difference between single- and double-baking powder, this page from Joy of Baking explains it well. You learn something new everyday!

Pumpkin Pie Waffles
Ingredients:
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs. double-acting baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 cup milk
½ cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat a waffle iron. If you want to hold the finished waffles until serving time, preheat an oven to 200° F.

Melt the butter; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, brown and granulated sugar, and spices. Using a rubber spatula or electric mixer, mix together well. Stir in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. The mixture will be thick and a little lumpy. Don’t try to smooth it out; just mix until the ingredients are incorporated.

In another bowl, beat together the milk, sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the melted butter.

Whether or not your irons grids are well seasoned or made of a nonstick material, it is best to lightly butter or spray the grids for these waffles because the batter is quite sticky. Brush or spray the grids again only if subsequent waffles stick.

Pour batter into waffle iron and cook according to waffle iron instructions. Cook until golden. Serve immediately or keep the waffles, in a single layer, on a rack in the preheated oven while you make the rest.

Source: Williams Sonoma

Ben has been having a bit of a rocky start to this school year so far, and unfortunately his classroom is no exception. He has brought home quite a number of horror stories from his own class, but on Friday he came home and told me that another first grade teacher had her finger broken by a student pushing a desk over on purpose (she tried to catch it). I felt so bad about the whole situation and I wanted to do something to make her feel better. Since I can’t really send Ben to school with a round of stiff drinks for everyone, I thought these margarita cupcakes might be the next best thing

I was so happy with the way these turned out. I was a little hesitant about the lime buttercream icing, but it really pairs well with the cupcake. I added Wilton leaf green coloring to the frosting and then used my mechanical pastry bag to frost a few. However, I decided to frost the rest normally with a knife because I thought that although they looked really pretty, they just had too much icing. Ben ate one and confirmed that thought. I topped them all by sprinkling with granulated sugar to look like salt. I thought that was a fun touch. Cheers!

Margarita Cupcakes
Ingredients:
9 oz. margarita mix
3 oz. tequila
¾ oz. Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
white cake mix
3 egg whites
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. lime zest
1 recipe lime buttercream frosting (recipe below)

Directions:
Mix together the margarita mix, tequila and Grand Marnier in a large glass or spouted bowl. Reserve 1 ¼ cups of this for the cupcake batter and drink the rest as a treat while you are baking.

In a stand mixer, add the margarita mixture (1 ¼ cups), cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, and lime zest. Mix on low for about 30 seconds and then increase to medium speed for 2 minutes (the batter will still be a bit lumpy).

Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan and fill cups 2/3 to ¾ full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Place the cupcakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Once the cupcakes have cooled, make the frosting for the cupcakes.

Lime Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. lime juice
green food coloring (optional)

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low until combined. Turn the speed to medium-high until the icing is light and fluffy. Use water to thin the frosting if necessary (I used about 2 tbsp). Add the icing to a pastry bag or use a spatula/knife to frost the cupcakes.

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride by Shawnda

I originally saw this recipe on Beth’s blog and I immediately thought it would be perfect for a nice Sunday afternoon, grilling and watching the Colts. Also, I know that Ben loves the idea of having a whole chicken so I knew he would be a big fan. This afternoon seemed like a great opportunity to try this recipe out, and I have to say it was awesome! (And the Colts won - YAY!!!) I have basically no experience with grilling, so I was thrilled with how this turned out. The chicken had great flavor and was very moist. I served this with oven fries, and it was a great combo.

We had to cook our chicken lying down because our grill wouldn’t close if it was standing up, but it worked out fine. If you decide to go this route, just test your can before inserting it into the bird to make sure that it won’t spill over when it is sideways. When checking the chicken during the first hour, there was basically no juice for basting so we used a trick we learned from my dad (quite the grill master) and sprayed the chicken with beer in a spray bottle to keep it moist. This worked well until there were enough juices in the pan to baste with.

Beer Can Chicken
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, 4-5 lbs. (giblets removed)
1 can beer
disposable baking pan for the grill
2 sprigs rosemary
2 cloves garlic, chopped
spice rub (see below)
½ stick butter, cut into thin slices

For the spice rub:
kosher salt (approx. 1/3 cup)
black pepper (approx. 1/3 cup)
onion powder (approx. ¼ cup)
garlic powder (approx. ¼ cup)
cayenne pepper (approx. ¼ cup)

Directions:
Crack open the beer and drink half of it! (Yay!) Heat the grill to low heat.

Rinse the chicken. Pat dry with paper towels and place on a plate. Mix all the ingredients for the spice rub in a bowl. Use a spoon to spoon spice rub onto the chicken and rub in until completely covered. Add garlic, rosemary and a spoonful of the spice rub to the beer can. Insert the beer can in the backside of the chicken. Place the chicken in the baking pan, either upright or very carefully laying down (if laying down, test the can before inserting to be sure the beer doesn’t pour out).

Put the chicken on the grill and roast for 3 hours. While the chicken is cooking, continue basting and placing pats of butter on top. Baste every 25-30 minutes for the first hour, every 15-20 minutes for the second hour, and every 10 minutes for the last hour. (Tip: if the chicken has not produced enough juice for basting during the first hour, spray with some beer in a spray bottle to keep moist.)

Remove the chicken from the grill and let sit for 5 minutes. Very carefully, remove the can from the chicken (it will be very hot!) Carve chicken as desired and serve immediately.

Source: Our Sweet Life by Beth

This was is the second risotto recipe I have tried at home, and it was another success. I just don’t understand why I never like risotto in restaurants, but I always enjoy it when I make it. Regardless, this is a very tasty dish. Like most risotto, it takes some time to prepare, but it is not difficult.

I halved the recipe since I was only cooking for the two of us (my dimensions are below - scroll down for a link to the original recipe). For the cooked chicken, I wanted something with more flavor than just poached chicken so I marinated a chicken breast for about 4 hours before cooking it in a skillet on medium heat. I was unable to find a leek in any of the grocery stores where I looked, so I just left it out. I also couldn’t find Madeira wine so I just used a soft red from a local winery. I think that I ended up using a bit more chicken stock than the recipe called for because the rice hadn’t quite reached the right texture. I just continued to add chicken stock and taste every few minutes until the rice was creamy enough.

Risotto with Chicken and Carmelized Onions
Ingredients:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 sweet white or yellow onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ leek, white portion only, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup Madeira wine, at room temperature
4 ½ - 5 cups chicken stock
1 ½ cups Arborio (medium grain) rice
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, warm 1/8 cup of the olive oil. Add the onions and leek and sauté until the onions turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the Madeira and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, bring the stock to a gentle simmer and maintain over low heat. Add ½ cup of the simmering stock to the onion mixture and continue to cook over medium-high heat until the liquid has reduced and the mixture is quite thick, about 15 minutes more. Set aside.

While the onions simmer, in another large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the remaining 1/8 cup olive oil. Add the rice and stir until each grain is well coated with oil and translucent with a white dot in the center, about 3 minutes.

Add the simmering stock a half-ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed (but the rice is never dry on top) before adding the next spoonful. Reserve 1/4 cup stock to add at the end.

When the rice is tender to the bite but slightly firm in the center and looks creamy, after about 20 minutes, stir in the chicken. Cook to heat through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, caramelized onion mixture and reserved 1/4 cup stock. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Source: Williams Sonoma

I don’t know how it is possible that I have never tried chicken marsala before, but until tonight that was the case. I always consider it at restaurants but then end up choosing something else. I have read many, many raves about this particular recipe on the cooking message board I frequent so I finally gave it a shot. It was delicious! Ben and I both really enjoyed it. It definitely has a unique flavor to it and it will be a great addition to my ever-growing list of dinners.

This recipe comes from Laura’s blog, and is her adaptation of the original recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. I really appreciate the detailed instructions in this recipe. I think I am going to have to investigate Cook’s Illustrated further, because people who cook from it really seem to love it. I chose to use turkey bacon rather than pancetta. I only made two chicken breasts (pounded thin) but the regular amount of sauce which worked out well.

Chicken Marsala
Ingredients:
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
kosher salt
ground black pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 slices of bacon or pancetta, chopped
2 cups white or cremini mushrooms
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. minced shallot
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 ½ cups Marsala wine (sweet)
1 ½ tbsp. fresh lemon juice (1 small lemon)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Place a large heatproof dinner plate on the oven rack, and heat oven to 200° F. Heat a 12” heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 3 minutes. Pat chicken breasts dry. Meanwhile, place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken cutlets with salt and pepper; working one piece at a time, coat both sides with flour. Lift breast from tapered end and shake to remove excess flour; set aside.

Add oil to hot skillet and heat until shimmering. Place floured cutlets in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets and cook on second side until golden brown and meat feels firm when pressed with finger, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to heated plate and return to oven.

Return skillet to low heat and pancetta; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits until pancetta is brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper-towel lined plate. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until liquid released by mushrooms evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and shallot; sauté for 1 minute.

Add cooked pancetta and tomato paste. Stir while sautéing, until tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute. Off heat, add Marsala; return pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from pan bottom until sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 ¼ cups, about 5 minutes. Off heat, add lemon juice and any accumulated juices from the chicken. Whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Source: A La Carte by Laura

So any dessert that starts out with “1 lb. chocolate” has to be good, right? Right! Tonight my best friend Amanda and her husband Travis came over for dinner and I decided to give this dessert a shot. I think it is safe to say that everyone really enjoyed it. I was concerned before serving it that it wouldn’t be sweet enough, but the raspberry sauce is a perfect accompaniment to this not-so-sweet chocolate cake. I think the sauce was my favorite part of the whole thing, but that’s probably just because I love raspberries so much.

I used bittersweet chocolate for the cake, and opted not to use the raspberry liqueur in the sauce but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I did run my sauce through a mesh sieve to remove the seeds for a smoother and prettier result. Delicious!

Chocolate Decadence
Ingredients:
For the raspberry sauce:
2 ½ cups fresh or thawed frozen unsweetened raspberries
½ cup superfine sugar
¼ cup framboise or other raspberry-flavored liqueur

For the cake:
1 lb. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 Tbs. (1 ¼ stick) unsalted butter
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
whipped cream, for serving

Directions:
To make the raspberry sauce, place the raspberries, sugar and framboise, if using, in a blender or in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Puree until smooth. If you prefer a seedless sauce, pass the puree through a sieve.

To make the cake, position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 425ºF. Butter an 8 or 9-inch springform pan or a layer cake pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper or waxed paper cut to fit precisely. Butter the paper and dust with flour; tap out any excess.

Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl or the top pan of a double boiler. Set over a pan of gently simmering water but not touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted and combined completely. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until light, fluffy and tripled in volume, 5 to 10 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg mixture into the chocolate to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg mixture, taking care not to deflate the batter. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for exactly 15 minutes. Let cool completely to room temperature. Do not refrigerate or the cake will stick to the pan. Invert the cake onto a flat serving plate and peel off the paper.

Cut into small wedges and serve each wedge atop some of the raspberry sauce. Top with whipped cream. Makes one 8 or 9-inch cake.

Source: Williams Sonoma

I’ve always loved strawberry banana-flavored yogurt, so when I saw this muffin recipe I knew I had to try it. These turned out really well! This is not a very sweet muffin but has a good combination of flavors. One of these with a handful of leftover strawberries can make a great breakfast.

One cool tip I learned from this recipe is that if you have overripe bananas and don’t want to use them for baking immediately, you can mash them up as you normally would and then freeze them until you are ready to use them. Just thaw in the microwave before use. I did just that for this batch of muffins and they still had a strong, delicious banana flavor and I didn’t notice a difference. I followed this recipe exactly and wouldn’t change a thing. Very tasty!

Strawberry Banana Muffins
Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries (cut into small pieces)
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter to the brown sugar mixture and stir to combine.

In another large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gently fold in the strawberries, making sure they are coated with flour. This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Fill each muffin cup about ¾ full of batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Fill any unused muffin cups halfway with water to prevent warping of the pan and/or overbrowning of the muffins. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

Source: Joy of Baking

Happy birthday to Ben, part 2! Yesterday evening we had birthday cookout for Ben at my dad’s house, and lots of Ben’s family was able to be there. It was a really great time and I’m so glad his family was able to celebrate with us. The whole cookout was great, but for me the highlight was definitely the cake. I was so proud of how this turned out because I used a few different recipes and a bit of my own creativity to come up with the end result, and it turned out exactly as I imagined. My original inspiration was this cake from Ashleigh’s blog. My final product isn’t that different from hers, but I did use a few of my own ideas to make it what I wanted.

I made a classic yellow cake recipe, but instead of making two layers I measured the batter out into three equal parts (approx. 2 1/4 cups each) and baked three layers instead. Between the layers I spread approximately 1/3 cup of cream cheese frosting, covered with sliced strawberries, and then topped the strawberries with a bit more frosting to help the next layer stick. One recipe of the frosting ended up being the perfect amount to fill between the three layers and frost the outside of the cake.

Some tips I think were helpful in assembling: first, I patted down the strawberry slices with paper towels before putting them on the cake. I think this helped to minimize the berries releasing juices and making the frosting watery or less sticky. Next, I worked in stages in order to allow the frosting to “set” some in the refrigerator. I refrigerated between adding both layers and several times while frosting the outside of the cake. I think this really helped keep things together. Finally, I didn’t add the strawberries on top until an hour or so before serving in order to prevent them from oozing and messing up the appearance of the cake.

Yellow Cake
Ingredients:
¾ cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1 ¼ cups milk

Directions:
Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and lightly flour two 8” or 9” round cake pans or one 9×13” cake pan. Set pans aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about ¼ cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined and scraping sides of bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter into the prepared pan(s).

Bake in a 375° oven for 20-25 minutes for 9” pans, 30-35” for 8” pans, 25-30 minutes for a 9×13” pan or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans; cool thoroughly on racks. Frost with desired frosting.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, Meredith Books, 2002

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until well combined. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Source: Allrecipes