SMS: Fresh Peach Muffins

This week's SMS was chosen by JoVonn of The Givens Chronicles: fresh peach muffins! I was actually on the ball this week and made these on Wednesday yet here I am still writing my post on Sunday morning...procrastination at its finest!

The only change I made to the recipe this week was to substitute white whole wheat flour for a little less than half of the all-purpose. I was excited to try the muffins with the bits of peach when they came out of the oven, but sadly, I wasn't a huge fan of these. They weren't very sweet and the peach flavor was quite subtle. My main issue with them was the texture though. Mine wound up quite dense and heavy. I don't know if my peaches weren't very juicy so maybe I shouldn't have reduced the cream quite as much. I'll definitely make these again and try fiddling with the recipe a bit.

Thanks to JoVonn for hosting this week! Please stop by her blog for the recipe or pick up Melissa's wonderful book.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Over the past few weeks, we've been working on emptying our fridge/freezer again before making a trip to go grocery shopping. I actually like the challenge of trying to make meals with only what I have on hand. However, when it comes to ice cream, egg yolks are a critical component of many recipes and there was only a lone egg in our fridge. So when Shane requested chocolate ice cream, I turned to The Perfect Scoop hoping for a Philadelphia-style chocolate ice cream recipe - and found one! The ice cream was not too sweet, just very rich and chocolaty. The base was quite thick and it churned a smooth and dense ice cream. Shane loved it and I know I'll be making it again soon!

Chocolate Ice Cream

from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

2 1/4 cups heavy cream

6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

pinch of salt

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, whisk the cream, cocoa powder, sugar and salt together. Whisking frequently, heat until the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate melts completely, then add the milk and vanilla. (If the chocolate doesn't melt completely, you can pour the mixture into a blender and blend for 30 seconds, until smooth. I skipped this step because my chocolate melted without a problem.)

Chill the mixture thoroughly and then churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Better-than-Brownie Chocolate Cookies

These cookies have been making the rounds on quite a few blogs lately but I'd originally seen them over on Michelle's site, Brown Eyed Baker. I knew they'd be perfect for Shane so I bookmarked them. About 90% of the treats I make don't appeal to him at all, but a decadent, unadulterated chocolate cookie is sure to make him smile.

I finally set out to make the cookies last weekend and, as I suspected, they were a huge hit with Shane! They really are a lot like fudgy brownies - gooey in the center with a crispy chocolate crust on the outside. In fact, if given a choice between making these cookies or a fudgy brownie recipe, I'd choose the cookies because I think they're faster and easier and I hate trying to cut brownies into individual portions. I halved this recipe and got 12 cookies. Shane ate a few the day I made them but since I asked him to save me a couple so I could photograph them, he hasn't had any all week. I just got around to shooting them today so I know he'll be psyched to come home and dig in to the remaining cookies!

Better-than-Brownies Chocolate Cookies

from Brown Eyed Baker

2 2/3 cups (about 16 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 eggs

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

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

Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth.

In the meantime, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.

Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir to combine well. Slowly add the dry ingredients, folding them into the batter. Once all of the flour is incorporated, fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough (a medium cookie scoop’s worth) onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are firm on the outside. Like brownies, do not overbake! Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets.

Makes about 24 cookies

TWD: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

Getting my post in just under the wire this week, so I'll try to keep it short and sweet :)

This week's TWD was chosen by Linda of Tender Crumb: creamiest lime cream meringue pie! I bought a big bag of limes a few weeks ago intending to make a summery lime pie and never got around to it, so I was thrilled to have an opportunity to use my limes before it was too late!

The pie has 3 components: crust, lime filling and meringue topping. Dorie offered two options for the crust - a traditional pie crust or a graham cracker crust. I went with the latter to use up some graham crackers and, frankly, because it was easier. I crushed my graham crackers by hand and didn't make the crumbs small enough so my crust was a bit fragile but delicious nonetheless! The filling was without a doubt my favorite part of the pie - it was smooth and velvety and just perfect. I did have some trouble getting it up to 180 F as the recipe indicates (even using a metal bowl the highest I got was about 165 F) but it didn't seem to impact the outcome. Finally, the meringue topping. There's something about meringue that I just find really cool. I love the simplicity of taking egg whites and sugar and creating something so fluffy. I just used my torch to brown the top of the meringue instead of sticking it under the broiler. When I cut into my pie I realized that my meringue layer was crazy tall so I'll scale back a bit next time.

Many thanks to Linda for her selection this week! I think it's a perfect summer pie and will definitely make it again. You can find the recipe on Linda's site (along with some wonderful photos of her pie) if you still haven't picked up Dorie's book. Also, be sure to check out the TWD blogroll to see how everyone else fared.

Tortellini with Balsamic Brown Butter

I still haven't taken the plunge and tried making my own pasta from scratch yet. It's on my to-do list but I'm a bit intimidated, especially because I don't have a pasta roller. So, for now, I occasionally indulge in one of my favorite guilty pleasures - store bought tortellini and ravioli. They have so many wonderful varieties available but my favorite is probably just a basic cheese filling. Recently, I watched an episode of Everyday Italian on which Giada made a balsamic brown butter for store bought ravioli and I knew I'd try it and boy am I glad I did! The combination of the butter and the balsamic vinegar is amazing! I skipped the walnuts this time, and I think the sauce is perfect without them, but I might give them a shot when I make this again. This would make a perfect weeknight meal as the tortellini (or ravioli) cooks in just a few minutes and while it's cooking you can throw the sauce together in no time.

Tortellini with Balsamic Brown Butter

from Giada De Laurentiis (via FoodNetwork.com)

18 to 20 ounces store-bought tortellini (or ravioli)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the tortellini and cook according to the instructions on the package (until tender but still firm to the bit), stirring occasionally. Drain the tortellini.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan cook the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the foam subsides, and the butter begins to turn a golden brown, about 3 minutes, turn off the heat. Let cool for about 1 minute. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Transfer the ravioli to the saucepan with the balsamic brown butter. Sprinkle walnuts and Parmesan over the top before serving.

SMS: Mom's Banana Apple Bread!

This week's SMS recipe was chosen by Joy of Hot Oven, Warm Heart: Mom's Banana Apple Bread! A few weeks ago I picked up a ton of bananas at the store from the marked-down, day old produce section and immediately stuck them in my freezer so I'd be prepared when recipes like this popped up. I did have to run out to pick up the Granny Smith apples and wow, did they ever look sad. I wasn't too worried since I knew I'd be sauteing them up with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, but I am so ready to head to our local orchard and get some gorgeous apples next month!

Melissa bakes her bread in a 1 1/2-quart loaf pan, but I opted to make muffins instead (mainly because I started baking at midnight on Friday and muffins bake much more quickly than bread!). I also substituted white whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour in the recipe. The sauteed apples did make it into the batter, but just barely. I could easily have stood by the stove eating each and every last bite of those sugary apples with my wooden spoon!

I got 18 muffins from the recipe; they baked in just over 20 minutes and smelled fantastic when they came out of the oven. So, of course, I found the runt of the batch and sampled it almost immediately, while it was still warm. It tasted just as good as it smelled! The caramelized apple bits add sweetness and texture to the muffin and I loved the warmth from the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. The muffins were also moister than any banana bread recipe I can recall having tried. Bonus: I couldn't tell I'd used any whole wheat flour so I would almost certainly use it again when I make this recipe! Many thanks to Joy for choosing such a delicious recipe! You can find the recipe on her site and be sure to visit the SMS site to see how everyone else fared this week.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

Earlier this week, I joined forces with Kayte, Mary Ann and Margaret via Twitter to churn some ice cream. Kayte asked me to choose the flavor and as I flipped through The Perfect Scoop, the roasted banana ice cream caught my eye. It was about 95 degrees out on this particular day, so I wasn't thrilled about the idea of roasting bananas at 400 F for 40 minutes, but in the end I deemed it a small price to pay to try banana ice cream :)

Aside from roasting the bananas, this recipe is quick and easy - no egg yolks to temper or custard to cook - just toss the bananas with milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, chill and churn! After churning, I stuck the ice cream in the freezer for a few hours and then tried it. The flavor was quite intense! I suppose this goes without saying, but if you don't love bananas, this is probably not the ice cream for you. I like bananas a lot and I still found the banana flavor just a bit too strong. I threw some cinnamon chips in for texture with the serving in these photos, but I really long to make a yummy peanut butter sauce to serve on top of this ice cream. I think the combination of banana and peanut butter wold be terrific, I just haven't found a great recipe for peanut butter topping. If you have one, I'd love to hear about it!

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

3 medium ripe bananas, peeled

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter, salted or unsalted, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until bananas are browned and cooked through.

Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the baking dish into a food processor (or blender). Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt and process until smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge and then churn it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into the ice cream maker, whisking will thin it out.

Makes 1 quart.

Green Beans with Sweet-and-Sour Red Onions

On our way home from Shane's triathlon last weekend, we passed a farmer's market I'd never visited and he was nice enough to stop so I could browse. I picked up lots of great produce, including these green beans. I wanted to do something other than simply steam them, which is what I'd typically do, so I flipped through The Bon Appetit: Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook looking for ideas. I love red onions, so choosing this recipe was a no-brainer. It came together quickly with just a few ingredients and the result was fantastic! I loved the colors and the flavor combination - this would definitely make a great side dish for any occasion!

Green Beans with Sweet-and-Sour Red Onions

from The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh by Barbara Fairchild

1 pound slender green beans, trimmed

3 tablespoons butter

1 very large (14-16 oz) red onion, peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced lengthwise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram (I used dried oregano instead)

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

Steam beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Melt butter in large heavy skillet over high heat. Add onion, marjoram and crushed red pepper. Saute until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Stir until sauce thickens, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add beans; toss to coat and heat through, about 1 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

TWD: Applesauce Spice Bars!

This week's TWD was chosen by Karen of Something Sweet by Karen: applesauce spice bars! These bars scream fall to me with their combination of apples and warm spices. I love summer but I can't wait for crisp fall days (football games, fall foods, the changing colors of the leaves, apple picking - I love it all!) so this recipe was a terrific reminder of all that is to come in just a few months!

I've been baking up a storm around here the past few days and I've got piles of dishes on my counter and in my sink to prove it so I was psyched that this recipe is put together almost entirely in one saucepan. There are all kinds of goodies in the bars - applesauce, diced apple, raisins, and pecans. The smell as they baked was intoxicating and made me eager to taste one but first I had to make the luscious brown sugar glaze - can't skip that, right? I started with a single batch of the glaze but it wasn't enough to cover the bars entirely so I whipped up a second batch and had the perfect amount. I didn't wait long at all to snack on one of the bars and I wasn't disappointed. It was cake-like and moist and so good! The glaze was amazing - very sweet, almost like caramel sitting on top of the bars - something I would definitely include again when I make these bars!

Many thanks to Karen for hosting this week! You can find the recipe here. Be sure to stop by the TWD site to see how everyone else fared with this week's recipe!

Vanilla Ice Cream to End One Sentence Blogging Week

For the past week, I've been writing one sentence posts in an effort to avoid blogging burnout. There were actually several of us participating in this one-sentence challenge and the effort was spearheaded by my friend Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs, who explained the challenged and listed the participants here. I know I'm not the only one who thought one-sentence blogging rocked! as several of us have been tweeting about this fabulous experience today. It was liberating but also challenging - how best to convey everything you want to say with so few words? Blogging will resume as usual tomorrow but I think there's a good likelihood that one-sentence week may be reprised at some point in the future :)

I thought a simple recipe for perfect vanilla ice cream would be a great way to end one-sentence blogging week. This recipe comes from David's Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. It's a Philadelphia-style ice cream, which means it's not made with an egg-yolk custard base, just some milk, cream, sugar and vanilla. Though I've gotten pretty good at tempering eggs and heating custards, sometimes it's nice not to have to go to all that trouble for homemade ice cream. The only change I made to the recipe was to substitute vanilla extract for the vanilla bean since I didn't have any on hand. The verdict? This is terrific vanilla ice cream! The texture was very creamy and I loved that the ice cream didn't freeze to the point of being rock-hard. I think our favorite vanilla is still the Sweet Melissa brown sugar vanilla, but this one is definitely another go-to vanilla recipe!

Vanilla Ice Cream

from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

3 cups heavy cream, or 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour 1 cup of the cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from the heat and add the remaining 2 cups cream (or the remaining 1 cup cream and the milk) and the vanilla extract.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

SMS: Almond Truffles!

Many thanks to Annie of Living Life Foodcariously for selecting hazelnut truffles for this week's SMS (find the recipe here if you haven't yet picked up the book); I spent the morning watching Shane compete in a triathlon so I was grateful for the quick, easy recipe, (I scaled way back to yield only 4 truffles, subbed almonds for hazelnuts and almond extract for the hazelnut liqueur) which did not disappoint - the results were very rich but seriously tasty!

(Thanks to Shane's dad for the triathlon shot!)

MSC: Chocolate Salted-Caramel Cupcakes

It was an easy decision for me to join this new group baking its way through Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, started (and hosted this week) by Betty of Eat My Cupcake, because I love cupcakes and believed I could keep up with the once a month posting schedule (look for us on the 15th!); this week we started with chocolate salted-caramel mini cupcakes: chocolate cupcakes filled with homemade caramel (into which a bit of sea salt was mixed) and topped with the most magnificent chocolate frosting - easy to pipe and so shiny, the cupcakes were incredibly rich but oh so delicious and worth the huge sink of dirty dishes I created making them :)

Micro Brewery Honey Wheat Bread

This recipe, the first one I've tried from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking book and my first attempt at making bread with white whole wheat flour, was quite delicious - a tad sweet with a wonderful light texture, in spite of the fact that I neglected the dough a bit causing it to over-rise slightly during the second rise and, as a result, collapse in the center during baking (if you look closely you can see the collapsed, wrinkly center in the photos - fortunately, it didn't develop too much of the sour flavor often associated with over-risen dough!).

Micro Brewery Honey Wheat Bread

from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking by King Arthur Flour

3/4 cup (6 ounces) amber ale or mild-flavored beer

1/4 cup (2 ounces) orange juice

3 tablespoons (2 1/4 ounces) honey

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

1 3/4 cups (7 ounces) traditional whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)

1/2 cup (1 3/4 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead them—by hand, mixer or bread machine—until you have a soft, smooth dough. Cover and allow the dough to rise until it is puffy and nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Lightly grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place it in the prepared pan. Cover it gently with lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise until it has crowned about 1 1/2 inches over the rim of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Near the end of the bread's rising time, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Uncover and bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, tenting it with foil after 15 minutes. The bread is done when it is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 190 F. Remove it from the oven, and after a minute or so turn it out onto a rack. Brush with melted butter, if desired; this will keep the crust soft. Cool the bread for 30 minutes before slicing.

Pan-Seared Shrimp with Chipotle-Lime Glaze

Sometimes making dinner is a matter of finding a recipe to accommodate the miscellaneous leftover ingredients I have on hand, like a stack of limes and a few chipotle chiles in adobo that I used to make the glaze for these shrimp, which were absolutely fantastic (and healthy too!), starting off with a hint of sweetness and finishing with just the right kick of heat in the back of your throat!

Pan-Seared Shrimp with Chipotle-Lime Glaze

from Cook’s Illustrated (as seen on Ezra Pound Cake)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 pounds 21/25 shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used 31/40 shrimp)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon sugar

Glaze:

1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced

2 teaspoons adobo sauce

4 teaspoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (I omitted - only b/c I didn't have it on hand)

To make the glaze: Stir together chipotle chile, adobo sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, and cilantro in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking. Meanwhile, toss shrimp, salt, pepper, and sugar in medium bowl. Add half of shrimp to the pan in single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; using tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand until all but very center is opaque, about 30 seconds. Transfer shrimp to large plate. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and shrimp; after second batch has stood off heat, return first batch to skillet, add chipotle mixture, and toss to combine. Cover skillet and let stand until shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

TWD: Brownie Buttons!

This week's TWD recipe, brownie buttons, selected by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen (thanks Jayma!), was baked at the last minute (as usual) on Monday afternoon (minus the optional orange zest/sugar mixture), topped with a white chocolate glaze that I wound up having to spread like frosting on the buttons because it never achieved a "dipable" (if that's even a word) consistency, and will hopefully be enjoyed by Shane's coworkers tomorrow as much as I enjoyed the one button I snagged for a taste test!

One Sentence Blog Post Challenge

You may have noticed this morning's post was shorter than usual and now I'm back to explain why. Actually, I'm going to let my friend Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs do the explaining because she's far more eloquent than I could ever hope to be. Learn more about our challenge here.

Grilled Lemon-Oregano Chicken Drumsticks

This recipe is all about letting simple, fresh flavors shine through and we were huge fans; it's definitely going into the dinner rotation and I'm looking forward to trying the lemon-oregano combination with chicken thighs, breasts and maybe even pork or shrimp!

Grilled Lemon-Oregano Chicken Drumsticks

adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2009

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest

4 chicken drumsticks

Whisk lemon juice, oregano, garlic, olive oil, salt and lemon zest in a small bowl. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Pour marinade into 1-gallon resealable plastic bag; add chicken and seal. Turn bag to coat chicken. Marinate at room temperature 30 minutes or in refrigerator up to 2 days, turning occasionally (I marinated for about 2 hours).

Prepare grill by heading to medium-high heat. Place chicken, with some marinade still clinging, on the grill rack. Grill chicken until cooked through and golden brown on all sides, turning frequently, about 30 minutes.

SMS: Snickerdoodles!

This week's SMS was chosen by Spike of Spike Bakes: snickerdoodles! It's been a while since I've made snickerdoodles and I like them a lot, so I was happy to make them again. Plus, you can't really beat the portability of cookies so I knew these would be easy to share!

In my ongoing quest to avoid baking the recipes for my baking groups at the last minute, I planned to make these on Friday - two whole days in advance. It must be some kind of record for me! I read through the recipe and saw that, like most (all?) of the other cookie recipes we've tried from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, this one calls for chilling the dough for an hour before baking. No problem - I threw the dough together (it's a simple recipe) and stuck it in the fridge before Shane and I headed out to see Julie and Julia!!

(As an aside, if you haven't seen Julie and Julia, I highly recommend it. I truly enjoyed it, particularly the storyline involving Meryl Streep as Julia Child. I thought Meryl did an amazing job portraying Julia, so good that I found it easy to forget I wasn't actually watching Julia. The movie inspired me to learn more about Julia. I'd borrowed her book, My Life in France, from my library recently and now I can't wait to curl up and dig in! The storyline about Julie was fun too. I found her very relatable, though just not as charming as Julia. This is one movie I'm looking forward to seeing again when it comes to DVD!)

When we got back from the movie, I removed the cookie dough from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a while until it softened enough that I could work with it. Forming the dough into balls and rolling them in the cinnamon sugar mixture was fun and it made me happy to know that my cookies would have a cinnamon sugar coating when they emerged from the oven because in my world everything is better with more sugar :) By the time I finished getting the cookies onto the baking sheets, the dough was pretty soft but I was too impatient to chill them again before baking. I wasn't sure if they'd retain their shape or would spread a ton in the oven.

Luckily, after 12 minutes in the oven, they were perfect - wonderfully chewy and delicious! I shared some with our neighbors, who also enjoyed them! Thanks to Spike for a terrific pick this week! You can find the recipe on her blog and you can see all of this week's cookies by visiting the SMS site.

Cheesecake Ice Cream

One of my favorite things about being able to make ice cream at home is trying new flavors I wouldn't normally order if we went out for ice cream. I can make a really small batch at home so if I don't like it there's not much to throw out and I don't feel as guilty. Recently I tried this cheesecake ice cream from The Perfect Scoop. The recipe is super simple - it's not custard-based so no egg yolks to temper and cook and thus no worries about scrambled eggs! The only change I made to the recipe was to fold some crumbled graham crackers into the ice cream after I churned it. I thought the ice cream was just ok on the first day I made it. It was a bit too tangy for me. However, over the course of the next few days, the flavor seemed to mellow out and I really began to enjoy the cheesecake ice cream. I was glad I added the graham crackers because those were definitely my favorite bites! I will be making this again and perhaps trying the idea from the book to pair it with blueberry sauce - yum!

Cheesecake Ice Cream

adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

8 ounces cream cheese

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup half and half

2/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

4 graham crackers (1 sheet), coarsely crushed (optional)

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and transfer to a food processor or blender. Add the lemon zest, sour cream, half and half, sugar and salt to the machine and puree until smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If using the graham crackers, gently fold them into the ice cream after it finishes churning.

Makes about 3 cups.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Seven Minute Frosting

I was reading this post tonight and it got me thinking. Whenever we're invited to a party or get together, I always try to ask what I can bring. I usually volunteer to bake something since I love making treats and sharing them with others. At the time (usually weeks or at least one week in advance of the event), I'm really excited. Fast forward a few days and I start stressing about exactly what type of baked good I should make. Does the event call for cake, cupcakes, pie, tarts, cookies, etc.? I spend so much time thinking about all of the options, and failing to make any decisions, that I wind up leaving myself very little time to actually bake. It's a ridiculously bad habit and one I've recognized for a while now. I'm a procrastinator in general, though, so I don't know how much hope there is for me to change my ways.

I made these cupcakes to take to a party last weekend and of course found myself baking them just a few hours before we needed to leave the house. Fortunately, the recipe is pretty much foolproof. No butter to bring to room temperature and just one bowl to mix all of the ingredients. My only complaint about the batter is that it's fairly runny, which made it difficult to transfer to the tins. Once baked though, the cupcakes are incredibly moist and quite delicious!

I'd originally planned to make buttercream frosting for the cupcakes but when I saw the seven minute frosting in the book and remembered all of the egg whites in my freezer, I changed gears. I love that this frosting doesn't contain a pound of butter and yet is still tasty. The marshmallow frosting is just sweet enough and paired wonderfully with the cupcakes. I loved the contrast of the dark cupcakes with the bright white frosting. Please note that the recipe below makes a TON of frosting. I frosted all 24 of my cupcakes and didn't even make a dent in it. I could probably have made 1/4 of the recipe and I still would have had leftovers.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Seven Minute Frosting

from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup warm water

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Reduce speed to low and add the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract and water. Beat until all ingredients are combined and smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes before turning the cupcakes out onto the racks to cool completely.

Makes 18-24 cupcakes (the recipe says it yields 18 but I got 24)

Frosting

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2/3 cup water

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

6 large egg whites, at room temperature

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, water and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 F.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, beating to combine.

As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 F, remove from heat. With mixer on medium-low, pour the syrup down the side of the mixer bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high and whisk until mixture is completely cool and stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.

Makes 8 cups

TWD: Banana Bundt Cake!

This week's TWD was chosen by the fabulous Mary of The Food Librarian: banana bundt cake! To be honest, I'm not sure I'd ever noticed this recipe on my many flips through Dorie's book. I wasn't surprised at all that Mary chose it though because she's sort of known for her love of bundt cakes :) I definitely recommend you visit her site and check out all the gorgeous photos and the many bundt cakes she's tried!

I rarely buy bananas so I didn't have any hanging around to make this cake. Lucky for me, my neighbor buys tons of bananas for her toddler and always offers them to me when they become overripe (in exchange, I generally share whatever I make with them with her family). The timing couldn't have been more perfect when she gave me 2 very ripe bananas late last week! I decided to halve the recipe and use my mini bundt pan.

The recipe for the cake is both easy and familiar - cream the butter and sugar, add egg/vanilla, and alternate dry ingredients with wet. The "wet" ingredient in the recipe is sour cream, which I really love using in baking. As I distributed the batter among the wells of the pan, I made a real effort not to overfill them because I knew exactly what would happen if I did! A few minutes into baking I turned on the oven light and saw this:

Panic ensued, but I'm happy to report that's about as bad as things got. All six mini bundts were successfully baked (in about 22 minutes) and removed from the pan. I decided to just dust them with some confectioner's sugar instead of doing a glaze. This is a terrific cake! It's incredibly moist and soft. That said, I think I might have enjoyed the batter just as much (if not more!) than the cake. After filling my mini bundt pan I had some batter left over and while I could probably have made a mini loaf with it, I found myself eating a ton of it straight from the bowl! Yum!

Many thanks to Mary for hosting this week! She'll post the recipe on her site if you want to give it a shot and, as always, head over to TWD to see how the others bakers fared.

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Kebabs

Happy Monday! I thought I'd start this week off by posting a quick and easy summer dinner recipe. I am growing a number of herbs on my back deck this summer and my rosemary plant is thriving so I've had to search out lots of recipes to make use of all of the delicious rosemary! (On that note, my basil has started to look quite sickly lately - the plant has a ton of leaves but they are very small and have turned from green to almost yellow. Thoughts? The plant gets tons of sun so I know that isn't the problem.)

I just picked up a few nonstick skewers so I was excited to test them out with this recipe for chicken kebabs. The chicken is marinated in a combination of lemon juice/zest, water, rosemary and salt for 20 minutes then tossed with some oil, garlic and pepper before grilling. I made these kebabs on a rainy day so I cooked them inside on a grill pan. I'm sure they would have developed even more smoky flavor had I made them outside, but they were still terrific! The chicken was juicy and best of all, cooked very quickly because the pieces were nice and small. I threaded some red onion on the skewers with the chicken and served it all over couscous.

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Kebabs

from goodLife {eats} (as seen on Ezra Pound Cake)

Juice of 1 large lemon plus water to equal 2 cups liquid

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1/4 cup fresh, chopped rosemary

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the lemon juice, water, lemon zest, rosemary, and kosher salt. Bring mixture to a boil in the microwave, about 1-2 minutes on full power. Stir mixture until salt is dissolved, and allow it to steep for 20 minutes.

Cut chicken into 1 1/2-inch chunks. Place it in a bowl or baking dish, and add the lemon juice mixture, letting the chicken soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare skewers by soaking in water for 30 minutes (if using wooden skewers), and preheat grill.

Remove chicken from lemon mixture (discard the mixture), and toss with olive oil, garlic and pepper. Thread skewers with the chicken. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary. Grill over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through. Remove from skewers and serve over a bed of wild rice or couscous.

Sweet Melissa Sundays: Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies!

This week's SMS was chosen by Stephanie of Ice Cream Before Dinner: chewy peanut butter cookies! I don't make peanut butter cookies all that often, but I really enjoy them. I'd actually tried this recipe back in March when I made these cookies to bring to one of Shane's races. They were a big hit then so I figured I'd make them again this weekend.

There were two things that stuck out in my mind from my experience making them in March. First, the dough was pretty sticky so I had trouble flattening it and using the fork to make the trademark peanut butter cookie crosshatch. This time, I had the most success by dusting the top of each cookie with a little flour before flattening and making the crosshatch. Melissa suggests dipping the fork in flour but that didn't work for me.

Second, the recipe calls for baking the cookies 10 minutes. I found that was nowhere near enough time - at 10 minutes, the cookies were bordering on raw in the middle. Having learned my lesson last time, I baked the cookies for 14-15 minutes this time and they were perfect! They were still very chewy and soft with just the right amount of peanut butter flavor.

Thanks to Stephanie for choosing a delicious recipe this week! If you'd like to try the cookies, you can find the recipe here and you can see how everyone else's cookies turned out by visiting the SMS site.