Sloppy Joes

I actually can’t remember the last time I had a sloppy joe, and I very rarely crave them.  I kept seeing commercials for sloppy joes while I was pregnant and they really looked appealing to me, I never got a sloppy joe while I was pregnant and I’ve continued to crave them.  It seemed like as more time went by I kept seeing more and more things pertaining to sloppy joes; commercials and cooking shows, and they were calling out to me to make some.  I felt like a kid when I was eating this, it’s just something about certain things that just bring out the kid in you.  This was so good, and it really didn’t take that long to put together so it’s great for a weeknight meal.  All of the flavors came together and it really tasted great, and another plus is that you really do get quite a bit of vegetables in this one dish.  We really enjoyed these and I’m sure this recipe will become quite a popular one in our rotation of meals. 

 

Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

2 Pounds ground beef

1/2 Small onion, chopped

2 Ribs celery with leaves, chopped

3 Tbsp shredded carrots

1 Can stewed tomatoes

1/4 Cup ketchup

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp steak sauce (I used A1)

1/2 Tsp garlic salt

1/4 Tsp spicey mustard

1/4 Tsp paprika

1 Tbsp hot sauce

Directions:

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat and add beef, onion, celery and carrots.  Cook until meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender and then drain.

Return meat and vegetables to the skillet and then add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix together and then simmer for 30 minutes. 

Serve hot on a toasted bun.

Recipe Source: adapted from Taste of Home 

Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars

 

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca. 

I was pretty excited when I read this challenge for many reasons, but mainly because it called for a lot of products that I wasn’t familiar with.  It is always interesting to learn about how other areas of the world cook and what they use to cook, one of the many things I like about the daring bakers is that it has members from all over the world.  It’s easy to get in a routine cooking with ingredients that we’re accustom to using and never challenge ourselves with using or working with new ingredients.  I really liked this challenge because it challenged me to find the ingredients that weren’t a common staple in my kitchen and also because I had to make crackers, which I had never done before.  I really learned a lot in this challenge and really enjoyed working on the wafers and bars, it was fun but it was definitely a challenge!

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
Ingredients
1 cup Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup Sorghum Flour
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons Whole Milk
2 tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients:

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Additional Information:

These bars freeze very well, so don’t be afraid to pop some into the freezer.

The graham wafers may be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Mine lasted about that long.

If making the graham crackers with wheat, replace the gluten-free flours (tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, and sorghum flour) with 2 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp of all-purpose wheat flour, or wheat pastry flour. Watch the wheat-based graham wafers very closely in the oven, as they bake faster than the gluten-free ones, sometimes only 12 minutes.

For the Nanaimo Bars, if making with wheat, replace the gluten-free graham wafer crumbs with equal parts wheat graham wafer crumbs.

Lemon Pasta with Roasted Shrimp

I have always loved shrimp.  There are many ways to prepare it and I’ve never had them prepared a way I didn’t like them.  I think my favorite type of shrimp is boiled shrimp, but after having roasted shrimp I think I now have two favorites.  There wasn’t a whole lot added to the roasted shrimp; just olive oil, salt and pepper but it had tons of flavor and tasted amazing.  I’m so glad this recipe didn’t have a heavy sauce to overpower or cover up the flavor of the shrimp, it’s definitely the star of this dish.  All the ingredients accented the flavor of the shrimp and complimented each other so well. 

This lemon pasta with roasted shrimp was incredible!  I saw this on Barefoot Contessa and I knew I had to make this.  Although it’s a quick meal it’s one that is very elegant and can be served for a special occasion; but it can also be made during the week just to change up your routine and to have something a little different.  You really don’t need much to go with this meal; it was perfect for us with fresh garlic knots and a salad.    

Lemon Pasta with Roasted Shrimp

Ingredients:

2 Pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

Olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1 Pound angel hair pasta

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 Lemons, zested and juiced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Toss the shrimp until they are well coated, spread them on the pan in a single layer and roast for 6-8 minutes, just until they’re pink and cooked through.

Fill a large pot with water and season well with salt and bring to boil.  Once the water reaches a boil drizzle in some olive oil and add the angel hair pasta.  Cook the pasta for about 3 minutes, until it’s al dente.  Drain the pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid.  Quickly toss the pasta in the melted butter, 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the reserved water.  Add the shrimp and serve while hot. 

 

Recipe Source: Barefoot Contessa 

Garlic Knots

Fresh baked is one of my favorite things, there are som any different types that can be made and so many things that can be done to it.  It is also the perfect accompaniment to many different foods; salads, pasta, soup and so much more.  I made them to go with a pasta dish but the day after I made sandwiches with them and they were great as well.  I have seen these rolls on multiple blogs and from the moment I saw them I knew I had to try them.  These rolls tasted just as good, if not better, than rolls I’ve had in a restaraunt and they definitely exceeded my expectations.  The taste and texture were perfect and the glaze gave it just the right amount of garlic and butter flavor.  This recipe was also very easy to follow; the only problem I had was that the dough didn’t get to the right consistency so to fix the problem I just added a little more flour.  After I got the dough to the right consistency it was pretty easy to form the rolls.  At first, I have to admit, I was a little intimidated of making the knots but after I made the first one I realized how easy it was.  This is the first bread that I have made that was formed in some type of shape, other than a loaf or a drop biscuit, and I really enjoyed making them and it has definitely inspired me to make more breads that have to be shaped or braided.  If you are interested in making yeast breads but intimidated by them this would be a great recipe to try for your first time.  They are incredible and I can’t wait to make them again!

Garlic Knotts

Ingredients:

For the dough:

3 Cups bread flour

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tsp instant yeast

1 1/4 Tsp salt

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 Cup milk

1 Cup + 2 Tbsp lukewarm water

 

For the glaze:

2 Cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 Tsp. Italian seasong, optional

Directions:

To make the dough, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer and mix the ingredients together with the paddle attachment.  Add in the water and olive oil, mix until the ingredients have formed a ball.  Remove the paddle attachment and attach the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 8 minutes; or until dough is smooth and elastic.  Lightly oil another bowl and transfer dough to that bowl, turn dough once to lightly coat and then cover with a towel and let dough rise until it’s double in size or about an hour.

Divide the dough into 10 pieces of the same size.  Roll each piece into a rope that is about 10 inches long and then tie in a knot.  Take the end lying under the knot and bring over the top, tucking it into the center.  Take the end lying over the knot and bring it underneath, tucking it into the center. 

                                              

                                           

 

 

 

  

 

To make the glaze, melt the butter and then stir in garlic. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, brush rolls with glaze, place rolls in oven and bake until lightly brown about 15-18 minutes. 

Recipe Source: Annies Eats originally from Amber’s Delectable Delights 

 

 

     

Cranberry Sauce

For me, cranberry sauce is a staple of any Thanksgiving and Christmas meal.  The meal just doesn’t seem complete without cranberry sauce.  I love the taste of cranberries; they are sweet and tart at the same time and it seems to compliment every part of the holiday meals.  Growing up we just had the the regular jellied cranberry sauce out of the can, which I have absolutely no problem with, but when Spencer and I started dating and I attended his families Thanksgiving for the first time I tasted some of the best cranberry sauce I ever had.  This wasn’t the regular jellied cranberry sauce I was accustomed to; this sauce had so many different textures in it including pecans and pineapples.  This was definitely one of my favorite things at the meal that year; and it stayed in my mind for quite some time.  

One of Spencer’s aunts made this sauce, and she isn’t from here so they are only around for Thanksgiving and they stay in their hometown to do Christmas with their family.  Since they are only around for Thanksgiving we only had this sauce once a year.  Finally after quite a few years of not having this at Christmas I finally decided to ask her for the recipe, why I didn’t do this sooner I don’t know, and she kindly gave it to me.  So this year we were able to have this awesome cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving as well as Christmas.  This sauce is not only great as a side but also as a spread on sandwiches.  It adds so much flavor but doesn’t overpower the meat or other condiments used.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

 

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Bags fresh cranberries (2 pounds)

2 Cups sugar

1 Can crushed pineapple

1 Cup pecans, chopped

2 Small boxes raspberry jello

Directions:

Prepare jello as directed on the box.  Let the jello mixture cool.

While the jello mixture is cooling rinse the cranberries and chop them using a food processor. 

Once the jello is cooled combined all the ingredients. 

Cover the mixture and refrigerate overnight. 

  

And since this is a post about Christmas, here is Tucker on his first Christmas!

Recipe from Aunt Sue

After Baking for Nine Months…

our little man finally made his first appearance!  Tucker arrived at 1:56 p.m. on December 14th.  The labor and delivery went quickly and very well.  We both made it through everything safely and we are so happy.  Spencer and I could not have asked for a better Christmas present; this was definitely by far the best Christmas and present we could have ever asked for.  We have been home a few weeks now and we are pretty much adjusted to life with our new bundle of joy!  Our lives are forever changed; I just can’t describe how amazing it is.   

My blog has been neglected the past few months but I’ve had a few things going on.  We were getting ready for the arrival of Tucker as well as doing some remodeling to our home.  Things are getting back in order now and I’m getting back in my groove of cooking so hopefully I will be better about updating my blog.  I’ve definitely missed being in the kitchen on a regular basis and I’ve missed having things to post on here.  So as the new year begins hopefully I will be able to post on a more regular basis.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a picture of our newest addition…so here you go!

Daring Bakers November Challenge

 

I know I’m a little late getting the November challenge posted, but there’s been a lot going on and I guess it’s better late than never.  For the month of November we were challenged to make canoli.  I was pretty excited about this challenge because I’ve never made canoli before but it’s always been one of those dishes that fascinated me.  There was a lot of flexibility with this challenge as we could fill it with the filling of our choice.  This challenge was quite interesting and definitley challenging for me, everything didn’t really work out.  I’m not really sure what went wrong with the process but the canoli shells didn’t turn out like the should have.  I really enjoyed attempting this challenge and I definitely want to try this again when I get the time.

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

Lidisano’s Cannoli
Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

RECIPE NOTE: THE EQUIVALENTS FROM THIS RECIPE WERE PREPARED USING THIS CONVERSION SITE: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/index.asp.

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar

Note – If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

CANNOLI FILLING
2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Pasta Machine method:
1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through

2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 – 190 °C).

2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.

PUMPKIN FILLING
1/2 cup (123 grams/4.34 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1/2 cup (113 grams/4.04 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (122.5 grams/4.32 ounces) canned pumpkin, drained like ricotta
3/4 cup (75 grams/2.65 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 to 1 teaspoon (approx. 1.7 grams/approx. 0.06 ounces) pumpkin pie spice (taste)
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams/approx. 0.08 ounces) pure vanilla extract
6-8 cannoli shells

1. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta and mascarpone until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl, cover and chill until it firms up a bit. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

2. Fill the shells as directed above. I dipped the ends of the shells in caramelized sugar and rolled them in toasted, chopped pecans.

TIPS AND NOTES:
- Dough must be stiff and well kneaded

- Rolling the dough to paper thinness, using either a rolling pin or pasta machine, is very important. If the dough is not rolled thin enough, it will not blister, and good cannoli should have a blistered surface.

- Initially, this dough is VERY stubborn, but keep rolling, it eventually gives in. Before cutting the shapes, let the dough rest a bit, covered, as it tends to spring back into a smaller shapes once cut. Then again, you can also roll circles larger after they’re cut, and/or into ovals, which gives you more space for filling.

- Your basic set of round cutters usually doesn’t contain a 5-inch cutter. Try a plastic container top, bowl etc, or just roll each circle to 5 inches. There will always be something in your kitchen that’s round and 5-inches if you want large cannoli.

- Oil should be at least 3 inches deep and hot – 360°F-375°F, or you’ll end up with greasy shells. I prefer 350°F – 360°F because I felt the shells darkened too quickly at 375°F.

- If using the cannoli forms, when you drop the dough on the form into the oil, they tend to sink to the bottom, resulting in one side darkening more. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to gently lift and roll them while frying.

- DO NOT crowd the pan. Cannoli should be fried 2-4 at a time, depending on the width of your saucepan or deep fryer. Turn them once, and lift them out gently with a slotted spoon/wire skimmer and tongs. Just use a wire strainer or slotted spoon for flat cannoli shapes.

- When the cannoli turns light brown – uniform in color, watch it closely or remove it. If it’s already a deep brown when you remove it, you might end up with a really dark or slightly burnt shell.

- Depending on how much scrap you have left after cutting out all of your cannoli shapes, you can either fry them up and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar for a crispy treat, or let the scraps rest under plastic wrap and a towel, then re-roll and cut more cannoli shapes.

- Push forms out of cannoli very gently, being careful not to break the shells as they are very delicate. DO NOT let the cannoli cool on the form, or you may never get it off without it breaking. Try to take it off while still hot. Hold it with a cloth in the center, and push the form out with a butter knife or the back of a spoon.

- When adding the confectioner’s sugar to the filling..TASTE. You may like it sweeter than what the recipe calls for, or less sweet, so add in increments.

- Fill cannoli right before serving! If you fill them an hour or so prior, you’ll end up with soggy cannoli shells.

- If you want to prepare the shells ahead of time, store them in an airtight container, then re-crisp in a 350°F (176 °C) oven for a few minutes, before filling.

- Practice makes perfect. My first batch of shells came out less than spectacular, and that’s an understatement. As you go along, you’ll see what will make them more aesthetically pleasing, and adjust accordingly when rolling. My next several batches turned out great. Don’t give up!!

Links:

Alternative:
Gluten free cannoli recipe that looks great –
http://evilcakelady.blogspot.com/2009/02/annmaries-gf-birthday-cannoli.h…
Vegan cannoli –
http://www.godairyfree.org/Alisa-s-Blog/Alisa-s-Milk-Free-Blog/Vegan-Can…
http://community.livejournal.com/vegancooking/2307428.html#cutid1

Online resources:
http://www.pastrysampler.com/Questions_and_Answers/cannoli.htm
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/01/hey-jerzeeeeeee-i-want-to-make-c…

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cannoli&search_type=&aq=f – scroll through, loads of videos on the making of the shells. filling, etc. Mario Batali’s are particularly good.

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=cannoli&m=text – Loads of beautiful and unique cannoli photos along with the traditional. Great way to get some ideas for fillings and décor.

Online retailers for cannoli forms
http://www.fantes.com/cannoli.html#small
https://www.pastrychef.com/CANNOLI-TUBES_p_36-1202.html – If you want to buy a lot of them for one set price.
http://www.consiglios.ca/ProductCart/pc/viewCat_h.aspidCategory=408&gcli…
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=…

German Chocolate Cake

I have never attempted German Chocolate cake before, partially because Spencer has never been a big fan of coconut so I didn’t want this huge cake to go to waste after I making it.  While I was looking at different cake recipes I came across a German Chocolate cake recipe and showed Spencer and he said “that’s one of my favorite cakes” and I just looked at him in shock.  After telling me that I asked if he wanted me to make this and he immediately said yes.  I just couldn’t believe we had been together this long and I never knew that this was one of his favorite cakes.  He’s eaten a few things with coconut in but not a whole lot and I never thought he would be a fan of this recipe since there is quite a bit of coconut in it.  Once I found out that he was a fan, I knew I had to make this cake.  The recipe that I decided to use was  David Lebovitz’s.  I’ve previously tried one of his recipes and loved it and I’ve heard tons of good things about his other recipes so I figured this would be a safe one to go with. 

Spencer’s birthday was last week, so I decided I would make this for him for his birthday cake.  I wanted him to be surprised by this, so while he was out with the guys one night I made it.  He absolutely loved it.  It turned out so good, and I was very pleased with the end result.  Everyone that tried it went on and on about it.  The cake was very moist, the filling was great as well as the icing.  It was definitely a hit, to say the least.

Everything came together pretty easily.  Since this is a layered cake it is a little involved, but it’s not overwhelming at all.  The recipe for the syrup makes a lot, I added generous portions to all of the layers and even brushed the sides with it but there was still tons left over so you could half the syrup recipe and still have plenty.  If you like a lot of filling you may consider doubling the recipe, I spread it on the layers fairly thin but if you would rather have a thicker filling it would be best to double the filling recipe.  The only problem that I encountered was with the icing.  I’m not really sure what happened, but it never thickened up.  I let it chill for a few hours and it was still as runny as it started out, then I let it chill over night and it was still the same as it started out.  After that I let it chill for a few more hours and when there was no improvement I started looking for other frosting recipes.  Most of the German Chocolate frosting recipes I cam across were basically the same as the filling recipe, since I wanted to stick with the chocolate on the outside (like the original recipe) I looked for chocolate frosting recipes.  The recipe I finally decided on was  Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Frosting.  I’ve heard so many good things about this frosting so I figured I wouldn’t be disappointed in it, and I wasn’t, it turned out great.  I will try to attempt the original frosting again, but I did love the cake exactly the way it was. 

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 Ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped
2 Ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 Tablespoons water
8 Ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¼ Cup + ¼ Cup sugar
4 Large eggs, separated
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon baking soda
½ Teaspoon salt
1 Cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

1 Cup heavy cream
1 Cup sugar
3 Large egg yolks
3 Ounces butter, cut into small pieces
½ Teaspoon salt
1 Cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1 1/3 Cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

Syrup:

1 Cup water
¾ Cup sugar
2 Tablespoons dark rum

Icing:

8 Ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 ½ Ounces unsalted butter
1 Cup heavy cream

Directions:

Butter two 9 inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment (or wax) paper and preheat oven to 350.

Place both chocolates and 6 tablespoons of water in either a double boiler or microwave safe dish.  Melt chocolates and stir frequently to ensure it doesn’t burn.  Once it’s melted and smooth, set aside to let cool to room temperature.

With a mixer beat butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in chocolate and then egg yolks one at a time. 

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. 

Mix half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then mix in the buttermilk and vanilla and then finish adding the dry ingredients. 

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Beat in 1/4 cup of sugar until the mixture is stiff.

Fold 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the batter, then fold the remaining egg whites in until no whites can be seen.

Divide the batter evenly and pour into the two 9-inch, greased cake pans.  Bake for about 45 minutes, until toothpick can be inserted in the center and come out clean. 

Cool layers completely.

While the cakes are baking and cooling prepare frosting, filling and syrup.

To make filling:

In a medium saucepan mix the cream, sugar and egg yolks.  In a separate bowl put three ounces of butter, salt, toasted coconuts, and pecan pieces.

Heat the cream mixture and stir constantly.  Heat until mixture thickens and coats spoon. 

Pour the hot custard immediatly into the coconut mixture.  Mix and stir until the butter is completely melted.  Set aside and let cool completely.

For the Syrup:

In a small saucepan heat the sugar and water until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and add the rum, stir well.

For the icing:

Place 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl with corn syrup and 1 1/2 ounces butter.  

Heat the cream until it just begins to boil.  Remove from heat and pour over chocolate.  Let the mixture sit for 1 minute and then stir together.  Let sit until room temperature.

***Like I said earlier, I couldn’t ever get this icing to come to the right consistency for me so I used  Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Frosting.  It turned out great, so if you don’t want to attempt the original frosting this one works just fine.  

To assemble the cake:

Remove cakes from the pans and cut both cakes in half, horizontally with a sharp knife.

Place the first cake layer on a plate, brush with syrup, spread 3/4 cup of the coconut filling over the layer.  Be sure the filling is spread over the entire layer.  Set another layer on top of the cake.

Repeat process using the syrup to brush on each layer, spread thin layer of filling-3/4 cup of filling over each layer, including the top layer.  

Ice the sides with the chocolate icing.  Use a decorative tip and pipe the top of the cake around the coconut filling mixture.  

 

Recipe Source: David Lebovitz 

Frosting: Hershey’s

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

 

Spencer loves cinnamon raisin bread.  It seems like he gets a loaf almost every time we go do our major grocery shopping.  I don’t know why but I’ve never really thought about trying to make it before.  The idea came to me one day while I was looking at some food blogs I saw on Le Petit Pierogi where she had made some homemade raisin bread.  I thought that was a great idea, I mean we buy it quite often and since it seems to be one of Spencer’s favorite things I might as well give it a shot and see if the homemade version turns out any good.  I’m so glad I attempted this recipe, it was so good and it definitely hit the spot.  Spencer loved the bread, it definitely met his expectations as well as mine.

This recipe was very tasty and very easy to follow.   This recipe makes three loaves of dough, so keep that in mind while mixing it.  Be sure the bowls that you use to mix in and let the dough rise in are large, you’ll definitely need room to maneuver while mixing and the dough will need plenty of room to expand and rise.  If you have a sturdy mixer with a dough hook I definitely suggest using that; if you attempt to use a handheld mixer it won’t be strong enough once the flour starts being added and if you knead it by hand your arms and hands will be worn out by the time you’re finished and you’ll be up to your elbows in dough.  Be sure you allow ample room for both mixing and letting the dough rise.  The dough rose perfectly, and the consistency was perfect, it was light and fluffy.  It was very easy to work with too.

I definitely recommend making this recipe if you are a fan of cinnamon raisin bread, you won’t be disappointed.  This would be great for breakfast, with a cup of coffee or for a snack.  It will hit the spot no matter when you eat it.  We loved it, and I know I will be making this again.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

 

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups milk

1 Cup warm water

1 (1/4 ounce) packages active dry yeast

3 Eggs

1 1/2 Cups white sugar, divided

1 Teaspoon salt

1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened

1 Cup raisins

8 Cups all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons milk

5 Tablespoons cinnamon, divided

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Place raisin in a small bowl and in warm water while mixing the dough.  This will allow the raisins to become nice and plump. 

Warm the dough in a saucepan over medium heat until it just starts to bubble, stir occassionally.  Remove from heat and let cool until lukewarm.

Pour yeast packets in a large mixing bowl and then add warm water.  Let yeast dissolve in the water and set aside until frothy (about 10 minutes). 

Once yeast has dissolved mix in eggs, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 32 tablespoons cinnamon and salt.  Gradually add the flour to form a stiff dough.  Once flour is mixed, place the dough on a floured surface, add raisins, and begin to knead for a few minutes until the dough becomes smooth.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat all of the dough.  Place a towel over the dough and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove dough from the bowl and roll on a floured surface.  Roll the dough into a rectangle that is about 1/2 an inch thick. 

Pour the two tablespoons of milk on the rolled dough and moisten.  Spread the milk over all of the dough with hands. 

Mix 1 cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon together.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the moistened dough.  

Tightly roll the dough, long ways.

Cut the dough into three equal pieces.  Place pieces in 3 greased loaf pans.  Let the dough rise for another hour, uncovered.  

Bake dough at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from oven, let cool for just a moment.  Melt butter and spread over the top of the loaves.  Remove loaves from pan, place on rack and let cool.  Let cool before slicing.

       

 

Recipe Source:  Seen on: Le Petit Pierogi 

                               Originally from: Recipe Zaar

Chili

As much as I hate to see summer go, I’m so glad fall is here.  Fall is the start of so many things, including food, and it also opens the door for a lot of different types of food that aren’t craved so much during the warmer months.  Sometimes there is just nothing better than a big bowl of hot soup or chili on a cool fall evening.  There is just something about a warm bowl of chili that says comfort and makes you feel so good.

Last night we had our first batch of chili for the fall.  Spencer has been asking me to make some for quite some time but we kept having stuff come up and I just never got around to making it until now.  He had been away for the day, so I decided to do some housework and surprise him with some chili.  When he got home he had the mindset that we would go out, since I had been working around the house, and to his surprise I had started making the chili.  He was so excited about finally getting his chili and I was looking forward to curling up on the couch with a big bowl myself.  I have made a couple of traditional chili recipes in the past but I have to say that this recipe is by far my favorite.  This had the right amount of spice, it wasn’t too spicy but wasn’t to bland either, it definitely had a kick to it.  If you’re not a fan of spice reduce the amount of red pepper flakes and hot sauce.  The combination of all of the flavors was so good, and there wasn’t one ingredient that overpowered the rest, it was a perfect blend of everything.

Chili

 

Ingredients:

1 Pound ground beef

1 Pound sausage (I used regular mild)

1 Medium bell pepper, chopped

1 Medium onion, chopped

2 Cans kidney beans, drained

1 Can black beans

2 Cans stewed tomatoes

1 Can Rotel

1 Can tomato paste

1 Tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tsp garlic salt

1 1/2 Tsp chili powder

Pepper to taste

1/4 Cup hot sauce (I use Louisiana Hot Sauce)

1 Tbs butter

1/2 Cup water

Directions:

In a large skillet brown the ground beef and sausage.  Once cooked drain the meat and set aside.

In the same skillet add onions, bell pepper, and butter.  Saute the veggies until onions begin to turn clear.  Remove from heat. 

Place meat and onions in crock pot or large pot and mix.  Add the beans, tomatoes, rotel, red pepper flakes, garlic salt, pepper, chili powder, water, hot sauce and tomato paste and mix together.  Once ingredients are incorporated turn crock pot on high (Or stove on low-medium) and let cook. 

If you are using a crock pot; cook on high for about 1 1/2 -2 hours stirring occasionally.  For stove top, cook on low-medium heat for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Recipe Source: A Lynsey original