Citrus Salad with Mint Sugar

Is there anything quite so refreshing as some juicy citrus first thing in the morning??  

 I found a recipe for a citrus salad on epicurious.com. It was a little heavy on the grapefruit, so I reduced the amount of grapefruit and added some clementines and blood oranges. The assembled salad was bright & happy and was quickly gobbled up by the citrus-loving Mr.Mango.

Citrus Salad with Mint Sugar (adapted from recipe originally published in Bon Appetit)

• 1 pink grapefruits
• 2 blood oranges
• 4 clementines
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/8 cup sugar
• Seeds from 1 pomegranate

Cut peel and white pith from grapefruits and oranges. Slice or segment the grapefruit and oranges. Combine fruit in large shallow bowl. (Fruit can be segmented 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Place mint and sugar in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until mint is finely chopped, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Sprinkle mint sugar and pomegranate seeds over fruit; serve.

Easy Sticky Buns

I have fond memories of my paternal grandmother’s pecan sticky buns.  She used to make huge batches of them around the holidays so that there were enough for others to take home. I’ve never made my own sticky buns from scratch, and while these Easy Sticky Buns from Ina Garten were not quite from scratch they were super easy (as advertised) and quick to make.

Instead of making your own dough, you start with frozen pastry dough and spread it with brown sugar, raisins and cinnamon.  You roll them up and put them in muffin cups that have a layer of pecans, butter and brown sugar.  And once they are baked and you invert the rolls onto a plate, they are topped with a buttery sweet caramel sauce. This Barefoot Blogger selection was made by Melissa of Made by Melissa. Melissa selected this recipe after seeing Ina Garten make them on the Today Show and several other programs.

Easy Sticky Buns

Makes 12

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
• 1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted for the filling
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.
3. Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.
4. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon), and cool completely.

 

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

 After reading the novel Last Night at the Lobster, which is about the closing day of a Red Lobster restaurant, I decided to bake up a batch of the biscuits that so many folks rave about. I’ve only been to one Red Lobster and that was when I was around 10 years old and I don’t remember the biscuits, but word on the street is that the Cheddar Bay biscuits are the best thing about Red Lobster.

I found the following recipe and tried it out. As I don’t know how the real Red Lobster biscuits taste, I can’t comment on how close to the real thing these biscuits are. I found them to be a bit too heavy in the garlic department.  The garlic flavor overpowered the cheese flavor. I rarely use garlic powder and this recipe called for it in both the dough and the “glaze”.  We like garlic but we usually use fresh garlic. Next time I make these, I would either use crushed fresh garlic or reduce the amount of garlic powder.

I used white cheddar so the cheese isn’t quite visible in the biscuits, but its in there!

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

From the Cookbook: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 

(6-8 biscuits)

• 1 1/4 cups Bisquick mix
• 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons cold whole milk
• 2 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork . You don’t want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and 1/8 teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don’t over mix.
3. Drop approximately 1/4-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 1 tablespoons butter in a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter.

Fried Sauerkraut Cakes with Kielbasa

 I had some leftover turkey kielbasa from when I made the Caribbean Rice & Peasand searched epicurious.com for a recipe to use with the rest of it.  What I found was a dish that featured kielbasa and something that sounded different from anyway that I’ve ever eaten sauerkraut…fried up into little cakes. I’ve made plenty of other savory cakes before including Indian spiced potato cakes, Chive Risotto Cakes and more… this recipe sounded too good to pass up on.

 

End Result: I really liked them. The pickling from the sauerkraut gave them a slightly tangy flavor and the crispiness of the cakes was went perfectly with the juicy grilled kielbasa. These sauerkraut cakes will go into my rotation as a side dish to kielbasa or hot dogs.

Fried Sauerkraut Cakes with Kielbasa (from Gourmet Magazine)

makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (1-pound) package sauerkraut (not canned), (2 3/4 cups)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped scallion greens
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 pound turkey kielbasa, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

Accompaniment: warm chunky applesauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Pat sauerkraut dry between paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible, then transfer to a bowl and stir in eggs, flour, scallion greens, salt, and pepper until combined.
2. Heat 1/4 inch oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Fill a 1/4-cup measure three-fourths full with sauerkraut mixture, then turn out into oil, using a fork to release, and flatten to 3 1/2 inches in diameter with fork. Form 2 more cakes in skillet, then fry, turning over once, until golden, about 4 minutes total. Transfer cakes with a slotted spatula to paper towels to drain.  Fry more cakes in same manner with remaining mixture.
3. While cakes are cooking, brown kielbasa in oil in 2 batches in another  skillet over moderate heat, turning, 2 minutes per batch, then transfer to paper towels to drain.
4. Serve cakes topped with kielbasa.

Caribbean Rice & Peas

I’ve recently returned from a trip to Anguilla and St. Martin. The other day when it was really cold and blustery here in Massachusetts, I longed to be back in the sunshine of the Caribbean. The closest I could come was to cook up a Caribbean influenced dish for dinner. I found this one for Rice & black eyed peas with turkey kielbasa in the premiere issue of Food Network Magazine. It was easy to make and thanks to the brown rice and collard greens, relatively healthy.  I found the end results to be full of Caribbean spice and flavor. Now, where’s my rum punch???

Caribbean Rice & Peas (from Food Network Magazine)

• 10 ounces frozen black-eyed peas, thawed
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces turkey kielbasa (or other smoked sausage), thinly sliced
• 1 large bunch scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
• 2 small ribes celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons jerk seasoning
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups stemmed and chopped collard greens (or turnip greens)

1. Combine the black-eyed peas, 3 cups water and a pinch of salt in a small pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the kielbasa and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the scallion whites, celery, garlic, jalapeno, jerk seasoning and a generous pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables are brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the thyme and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste turns brick red, about 2 more minutes. Add the rice, bay leaves and the black-eyed peas with their liquid to the skillet and bring to a boil; do not stir.
4. Add the greens; cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer undisturbed until most of the liquid is absorbed about 50-60 minutes; set aside for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
5. Just before serving, add the scallion greens and fluff with a fork.

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

Now I’ve previously made banana pancakes and I’ve also made sour cream pancakes…but I had yet to make Banana Sour Cream pancakes. Now I have, thanks to Karen of Something Sweet by Karen.  Karen selected this week’s Barefoot Bloggers recipe from Ina Garten’s cookbook Barefoot Contessa Family.  The recipe was really quick and easy and totally worked for a weekday breakfast. The pancake batter has sour cream in it and once you’ve spooned the batter onto the griddle, you drop some chopped bananas on each pancake.  I also added chopped walnuts to half of the pancakes at the request of Mr. Mango. The pancakes were thick and fluffy, just like me! (although I usually am not filled with chopped bananas so this comparison can only go so far.)

I served up the pancakes with a pat of butter, more chopped bananas and some real Vermont maple syrup. Mmmmm!  They totally hit the spot as we listened to the sleet clicking against our dining room window. The pancakes were true comfort food in the middle of the ice & snow.

 

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes (from the cookbook Barefoot Contessa Family )

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• Unsalted butter
• 2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving

• Pure maple syrup

Directions

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.
4. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned.
5. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned.
6. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used.
7. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

A Very Cheesy (and Tasty) New Year!

These past few days I just may have single-handedly kept the dairy/cheese counter at my supermarket in business.  Between making the Tall & Creamy Cheesecake, and the two following appetizers I’ve purchased my fair share of cheese.

 For this month’s Recipes to Rival we were charged to make 2 out of 3 appetizers. I selected to make the Gruyere Cheese Gougeres and the Bleu Cheese Walnut & Pear Crostinis.

The Gruyere Cheese Gougeres were from a recipe from one of my cooking idols, Thomas Keller of French Laundry.  I had a few techincal issues on these. My 3/8″ plain piping tip was M.I.A. so I tried using a smaller one, but my puffs were looking a little weird, so I changed over to using the good old school, bare bones method– put the dough in a baggy and snip off one of the corners… Perfect!  So my gougeres ended up being all sorts of shapes and sizes depending upon which method I used to pipe them.

 

When folks at the party asked what they were I referred to them as Cheesy Poofs (a homage to Cartman from South Park I guess…although I spared them my Cartman impersonation). These little bites were cheesy AND poofy. The platter quickly became half empty. I liked these a lot, although I thought there was perhaps a bit too much salt. The 1 tablespoon of salt that the recipe called for sounded like a lot to me. I would definitely make them again, perhaps cutting down on the salt a bit.

I assembled the crostinis at the party. Yes, I was THAT person… the person that shows up and demands usage of the oven while the busy hostess tries to put the finishing touches on the meal.

For the crostini, I brushed the sliced baguette with butter instead of olive oil. I spread the toasted bread with a smear of mascarpone cheese and then topped it with pasteurized bleu cheese crumbles (went with a pasteurized variety since a few of the women at this NYE party were pregnant) and a piece of walnut.  Once the cheese had melted a bit, I took the crostinis out of the oven and added some cubed pear.  Next time, I think I will cut the pear into small, thin slices to put on top. I think this will make a better presentation and result in a more stable crostini — sometimes when picking up one of the crostinis, the pear cube would tumble off.

The crostinis were also a big hit. I loved the flavor combo of the bleu cheese, walnut, and pear. They were pretty easy to make with most of the time spent in topping the bread with the assorted toppings.

 

The recipes are after the jump. Definitely try out these 2 if you are a cheese lover!

Savory Palmiers

Ina Garten’s Savory Palmiers from her Back to Basics cookbook were easy to make and were a big hit at my Christmas party. Even my super fussy brother ate them and believe me, he rarely eats any of the dishes I bring to holiday parties. *cough* It’s more a comment on his finicky eating habits than it is on my cooking, really…

Palmiers (sometimes called Palm leaves) are puff pastry dough sprinkled with fillings that is then folded several times and then cut into slices before baking.  Palmiers are traditionally of the sweet variety. These savory palmiers from Ina’s recipe are filled with pesto, goat cheese, toasted pine nuts, and sun-dried tomatoes.  With their red, white, and green fillings, these little bites were spilling over with festive Xmas colors.

Another winner to go in my permanent recipe repetoire!  Big thanks to Becky of Random Musings of a Deco Lady for selecting this as a Barefoot Bloggers bonus recipe this month!

Savory Palmiers

• 1 package frozen Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, defrosted
• 1/4 cup prepared pesto, store-bought or homemade
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese, such as Montrachet
• 1/4 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• Kosher salt

1. Lightly flour a board and carefully unfold one sheet of puff pastry. Roll the pastry lightly with a rolling pin until it’s 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches. Spread the sheet of puff pastry with half the pesto, then sprinkle with half the goat cheese, half the sun-dried tomatoes, and half the pine nuts. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt.
2. Working from the short ends, fold each end halfway to the center. Then fold each side again toward the center until the folded edges almost touch. Fold one side over the other and press lightly. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat for the second sheet of puff pastry using the remaining ingredients. Cover both rolls with plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Cut the prepared rolls of puff pastry into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place them faceup 2 inches apart on sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Bake for 14 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps

I was looking for an easy cookie to fill out my 800-pound (slight exaggeration) cookie tray that I was taking to my family’s Christmas celebration.  I flipped through my cookbooks and old magazines and one cookie recipe in particular seemed to suit my needs, AND I already had all the ingredients at home and wouldn’t need to run out and battle the mobs at the store. The recipe was for Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps and was from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Cookie Edition.

The batter for these cookies came together in a few minutes then had a nice 45 minute winter’s nap in the freezer.  The final step before baking is to roll the chilled dough into 1″ balls and coat them in powdered sugar. Yay!  More messy stuff for me to clean up (I feel like I am on a non-stop cycle of messing up and cleaning up my kitchen this month).

The final verdict: these cookies looked really tasty and were cakey with a rich chocolately flavor with undertones of coffee. They were a bigger hit with the adults than they were with the little kids, probably due to the coffee flavoring.  I will definitely be making these puppies again!

 

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Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps (from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Collectible Cookie Edition)

Makes about 18 cookies

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, for coating

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well combined; mix in cooled chocolate. With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients; beat in milk just until combined. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl; working in batches, roll balls in sugar twice.
3. Place balls on prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies have spread and coating is cracked, 12 to 14 minutes; cookies will still be soft to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Roll Out Cookies

For this month’s Cookie Carnival we were given two options for cookies: chocolate roll out cookies or vanilla/sugar roll out cookies. I opted for the chocolate ones since I had recently made sugar cookies. It struck fear in my heart when Kate also announced that there will be a cookie decorating portion to this month’s cookie pageant. I can bake, sure…but, my cookie decorating skills are very, very, very lackluster. They look about the same as a 5 year old could do.

I made several different shapes: trees, stars, hearts, houses, and little men. I thought I had more holiday cookie cutters than that but there wasn’t a candy cane or snowflake cookie cutter in sight… And I had grand deluded plans of pretty little snowflake cookies. Color me disappointed.  

Despite my sub-par decorating skills, I loved the way these cookies tasted and loved their texture. My little cousins (who range in age from 1-4) were impressed with the cookies and were begging their moms for some before we even had Christmas dinner. Glad to know my decorating skills have some fans.

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Chocolate Roll Out Cookies

Recipe from Dorie Greenspan

Makes about 60 small or 20 large cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Sprinkles or other sugar decorations (optional)
• Royal Icing (optional)

1. Sift first 5 ingredients and cinnamon, if desired, into medium bowl. Stir chocolate in metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Set aside.
2. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and beat in vanilla and chocolate. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed just to blend.
3. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Form each half into ball and flatten into disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic and chill until firm, at least 4 hours.
4. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before rolling out.
5. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to 1/8-inch thickness for smaller (2-inch) cookies and 1/4-inch thickness for larger (3- to 4-inch) cookies. Using waxed paper prevents you from adding too much flour, which will make the cookies tough.
7. Using decorative cookie cutters, cut out cookies. Cold dough is much easier to work with. If it gets warm as you’re cutting out the cookies, place the dough—waxed paper and all—in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
8. Use an offset spatula to peel away the excess dough and transfer the cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather scraps, roll out dough, and cut more cookies, repeating until all dough is used. If not icing cookies, decorate with sprinkles or other sugar toppings, if desired.
9. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are firm on top and slightly darker around edges, about 9 minutes for smaller cookies and up to 12 minutes for larger cookies. Line baking sheets with fresh parchment as needed. Cool completely on rack.
10. Decorate cookies with royal icing if desired.
11. DO AHEAD: Cookies can be made 4 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in airtight containers.