Chocolate Chip Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was selected by Peggy of Pantry Revisited: brown sugar bundt cake.  Dorie's version included fruit (pears and prunes) as well as ground nuts in lieu of additional all-purpose flour and that probably would have sounded lovely to me in the fall.  Here in May, though, I wanted something more basic and something I could count on Shane to help me eat.  I decided to turn the cake into one big chocolate chip cookie.  No nuts and no fruit here - instead, I added a heaping handful of chocolate chips.  I halved the recipe and baked it in a 6-cup bundt pan for about 30-32 minutes.

 

My favorite chocolate chip cookies are soft and cakey and honestly, I'm all about the dough/cookie portion.  Just one or two chocolate chips per cookie would be totally fine with me.  A slice of this cake was pretty much the chocolate chip cookie of my dreams.  The cake is incredibly tender and fluffy, sweet but not too sweet, with the perfect ratio of cake to chips.  Like the best cookies, I couldn't stop eating the dough and once the cake was baked, I couldn't walk through my kitchen without sneaking a bite.  I left it in the spot last night before I went to bed so Shane would bring it to work today but when I woke up, it was still on the counter.  I'm in trouble; I might have to hide it from myself today.  My one minor complaint about the cake - a lot of the chips sank to the bottom of the batter, so next time I'd try tossing them with a little bit of the flour mixture before adding them. 



Many thanks to Peggy for hosting this week!  You can find the recipe for the bundt cake on her blog or on page 179 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Mini Quiches

As we have for several years now, Shane and I hosted a Mother's Day brunch yesterday for our families. It's one of the few times each year that we entertain and it gives us a chance to celebrate our moms and thank them for all that they do. I've heard so many people say that it's smart to have tried and true recipes you can turn to when entertaining, but I can never resist the urge to attempt something new. And by something, I mean the entire menu.  I'm a pretty high-stress person by nature so there's a fair amount of anxiety involved in not knowing whether the dishes are going to turn out until about 5 minutes before company arrives, but in the end, it usually works out.  So far, anyway.



(I'd convinced myself there was no need to iron the tablecloth, but I'm ready to admit I was wrong after seeing this photo.)

I resolved to choose recipes that could be prepped ahead of time for this year's brunch so that was the first selling point for these bacon, leek and cheddar mini quiches.  They're perfect for entertaining because they can be completely assembled and frozen for up to a month, then baked directly from the freezer when you need them.  The second selling point?  Bacon.  Our Mother's Day brunch is one of the two times a year we eat bacon (Thanksgiving morning being the other) so I'm happy to include it in a few dishes if possible.  It's really easy to leave the bacon out of some of the quiches too, if you happen to be serving vegetarians.  Simply mix up the filling, adding only the leeks and cheese and reserving the bacon until you've assembled as many non-bacon quiches as you intend to make.  Then you can add it and fill the remaining quiches.  I also reserved a few pieces of bacon to sprinkle on the tops of those with bacon in the filling so there wouldn't be any doubts about which were vegetarian and which weren't.



Instead of pie crust, which I think is more traditional for quiche, these minis are wrapped in puff pastry.  The assembly is a bit tedious, but goes pretty quickly once you get in the groove.  Also worth noting: there's no need to make the edges look pretty when you line the muffin tins with the puff pastry.  As long as the pastry extends to the top of the well, you'll be fine.  I snapped a quick shot to show you how messy mine were, and honestly, I don't think you could tell at all once the quiches were baked.



The mini quiches were a hit at brunch; even Shane enjoyed them, which is saying something since I didn't omit the leeks from his.  I loved the way they baked up - both the pastry and the filling puff in the oven and turn golden in color.  Everything is cuter in mini form in my book, and I think their size makes these quiches perfect finger food.  They'd be great appetizers for any party, not just brunch.



Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Mini Quiches
from Fine Cooking

3/4 lb bacon, cut into medium dice
3 cups medium-diced leeks, washed and drained (about 3 leeks, white and light green parts only)
1 1/4 cups half and half
1 cup (4 oz) grated extra-sharp Cheddar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1.1-lb packages frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed (homemade puff pastry would work too)

Set a skillet over medium to medium-high heat and cook the bacon until crisp.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.  Drain the bacon fat from the pan, reserving about 1 tablespoon in the skillet.  Return the pan to medium heat and add the leeks.  Cook until softened, stirring occasionally, then set aside to allow the leeks to cool a bit.

Meanwhile, add the half and half, cheese, eggs, egg yolks, thyme, salt, pepper and nutmeg to a medium bowl.  Use a fork to break up the eggs and yolks and mix the ingredients.  Add the bacon and leeks (both of which should be cooled) and toss to distribute evenly.  Set the filling aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray your mini muffin pans with cooking spray.

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the sheet into a rectangle approximately 10x18 inches big. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut 12 circles from the sheet of puff pastry. Fit each round into one well of the prepared mini muffin pan, making sure that the dough extends to the top of well. Fill each well with about 1 tablespoon of filling (it's fine to fill it just about to the top). Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling puffs and the crust is golden brown. Remove the quiches from the pans and serve.

Alternatively, you can prep the quiches ahead of time and freeze them (for up to a month). After assembling them, pop the mini muffin pans in your freezer for a few hours, until the quiches are set, then transfer them to resealable freezer bags. When you are ready to bake, transfer the frozen quiches from the bags to the mini muffin pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes.

Makes approximately 4 dozen mini quiches

Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars

This was the first week in ages that we haven't had all kinds of sweet treats hanging around the house.  I've baked very little recently and the things that have been made have all been wrapped up and out the door almost immediately.  We keep a secret stash of Reese's for these dire dessert situations but they weren't cutting it.  It was a situation that needed to be remedied, and for once, I didn't waffle for hours over the decision about what to make.  I'd flagged these caramel cheesecake bars a while ago and thanks to a recent trip to BJ's and an impulse purchase of several pounds of cream cheese, I was good to go.     



These salted caramel cheesecake bars were the perfect dessert to end the drought.  The base is a crisp, buttery shortbread which is topped with a vanilla cheesecake batter marbled with salted caramel sauce. The bars satisfy just about every craving you might have - salty? check. sweet? check. creamy? check.  What more could you ask for?  Despite having several components they're actually pretty easy to put together too.  I recommend making the caramel sauce before you get started on the crust or the filling  so you won't be standing over a bowl of steaming hot caramel impatiently waiting for it cool enough to use in the filling (which definitely never happened here :) ).  You could even make it a few days ahead of time that way and stick it in the fridge so it's ready to go when you are.  Then the only thing you have to worry about is resisting the temptation to grab a spoonful every time you walk through the kitchen.  An added bonus: the cheesecake bars improve as they age so no rush to eat them all the day they're made.  Whip them up over the weekend and you've got dessert for the week!



Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars
adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich

Crust
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/2 cup (3.5 oz) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour

Filling
1/2 cup caramel sauce (recipe below) (or use store bought)
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (1.75 oz) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 F with a rack in the lower third of the oven.  Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang so you can lift the bars out after they've baked.  Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir in the flour until just incorporated - the mixture will be soft, that's fine.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and press into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.  Let cool completely.  Turn the oven down to 325 F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl in between.  Transfer 2 tablespoons of this batter to the 1/2 cup of caramel sauce and stir to incorporate.  Pour the remaining cheesecake batter over the cooled crust and spread evenly.

Dollop the caramel sauce mixture over the filling (I didn't end up using all of the caramel).  Use a toothpick to gently marble the caramel - be careful not to scrape the crust while you are doing it.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are puffed and the center is just barely set.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let come to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably 24.  Use the foil sling to lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut into squares with a long sharp knife.  The bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Salted Caramel Sauce
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 teaspoon grey sea salt

Add 1 cup of water to a 2-qt saucepan.  Gently add the sugar to the center of the pot - it will mound, that's fine.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once boiling, uncover the pot and insert a candy thermometer.  Continue cooking until the mixture registers 300 F and is just starting to develop some color, about 15 minutes.  Reduce heat under the pot to medium and cook until the syrup is amber and registers 350 F on the thermometer, about another 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.  If it simmers before the syrup is ready, just take it off the heat and set aside. 

Remove the caramel from the heat and add about 1/4 of the warm cream to the pot.  It will bubble furiously so be careful.  Once the bubbling subsides, add the remaining cream.  When it stops bubbling, whisk gently to incorporate fully.  Add the butter and the salt and whisk to combine.

Set aside 1/2 cup of the salted caramel sauce for the cheesecake bars.  The remainder can be refrigerated for up to 1 month. 

Makes about 2 cups

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  As you may have gathered by now due to the lack of related recipes appearing on the site this week, we don't do much to celebrate here.  I'm not entirely sure why as we love any excuse to eat Mexican food; in fact, I just made our favorite chicken taquitos last night.  But for whatever reason, dinner tonight probably won't involve Mexican food or Coronas or margaritas.  I don't even remember celebrating Cinco de Mayo in college, and if ever there were a time I would have, surely that would be it. 

My one nod to the holiday was to finally gather enough courage to get in my kitchen and try my hand at homemade flour tortillas earlier this week.  These tortillas were one of the first things I ever pinned on Pinterest and I haven't been able to stop thinking about them since - it was just a matter of working up the nerve to try them.  I've also become hopelessly addicted to Pinterest in that time, but that's another story for another time...



At first glance, these tortillas seem really easy - just 4 ingredients in the dough, and only about a minute to cook each one.  But I've been lulled into a false sense of security by recipes like this in the past so I was nervous.  My biggest fear was that I wouldn't be able to roll the dough thin enough and wound wind up with thick, rubbery tortillas.  I was so pleasantly surprised when the dough handled beautifully - it's not very sticky and is silky smooth in consistency.  Even when rolled paper thin, it didn't tear or spring back.  The cooking process proved to be the trickiest part of the process and only because it took a few tortillas to find the right temperature for my cast iron pan (similar to the way the first pancake or crepe never comes out quite as good as the later ones).  I referred to this post from Our Best Bites for visual clues on cooking the tortillas and recommend checking it out if you have any problems.



If you've never had warm, fresh flour tortillas I can assure you they are leaps and bounds better than the ones available at your grocery store.  There simply isn't any basis for comparison.  So far I've been content to eat a few tortillas as is, but next up I've got my eye on these fish tacos from Shawnda.  With the minimal effort required to make this recipe, I think we'll be stashing these in our freezer from now on!

Homemade Flour Tortillas
from Rick Bayless 

12 oz (about 2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
5 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening (or a mixture of the two)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup very warm water

Add the flour and shortening (or lard) to a large bowl.  Use a pastry cutter (or your fingers) to work the fat into the flour - you want it incorporated completely.  Combine the salt and water in a measuring cup and pour about 3/4 of the water over the flour/shortening mixture.  Use a fork to stir to stir together until all of the dry ingredients are moistened, adding the rest of the water (and even a little more), if needed.  Turn the dough onto your work surface and knead until smooth - it'll only take a minute or two.  The dough shouldn't be very sticky, but if it is, add a tiny bit of flour to your hands so you can work with it.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball.  Put them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes.  This rest time helps the dough relax so it'll be easier to roll.

Set a heavy skillet (I used cast iron) over medium to medium-high heat.  Working with one piece of dough at a time, set on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 7-inch circle.  Add only enough flour so you can work with the dough - it will be quite thin by the time it reaches 7 inches in diameter.

Transfer to the preheated pan - you should hear a sizzle when you place the dough in the pan and should see bubbles forming across the surface almost immediately.  Cook for 30-45 seconds on the first side, then flip and cook 30-45 seconds on the other side.  The tortilla should be golden brown and might have a few dark spots, but you don't want to overcook it or it will be crisp rather than pliable.  Transfer to a plate and cover with a kitchen towel.

Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, and continue stacking them under the towel.  Serve warm, or let cool then wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature for a few days, or pop in the freezer.  Reheat in the microwave wrapped in damp paper towels.

Makes 12 tortillas

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

It's only the first week of May and already I've lost count of the number of burgers we've grilled.  What can I say, when the weather gets warm they become our go-to "it's 6 pm and we don't have a plan for dinner" meal.  They're so quick and easy, and of course, juicy and delicious!  That said, a steady diet of hamburgers isn't exactly healthy and I was starting to crave some variety so I went in search of an alternative.  I loved the idea of these chicken Parmesan burgers when I saw them - all the flavors of traditional chicken parm but in the fun summer-friendly burger form we crave! 

This recipe is super simple, definitely a good weeknight option.  I have to confess that I've never made burgers with ground chicken before so I stumbled a bit through the cooking process, unsure of exactly how long it would take to cook the burgers through completely.  I wound up cutting a burger open to be completely sure I wasn't serving poor Shane raw chicken.  Now that I've done it once I'll be more confident to just trust my instant read thermometer next time.  We weren't having great weather when I made the burgers so I cooked them under the broiler but I think they'd be delicious grilled outside too.  We really enjoyed this meal, it's bound to be a repeat soon.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers
from Elly Says Opa

1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

pasta sauce
mozzarella or provolone cheese (sliced or shredded)
hamburger rolls

Place the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic, shallot, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and stir to combine.  Add the ground chicken and gently mix until everything is evenly distributed.  Form the mixture into 4 patties and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Preheat your broiler and set a rack about 6 inches from the heating element.  Spray a broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Broil the burgers for 5-6 minutes on the first side, then flip and broil for 4-5 minutes on the second side, or until golden and completely cooked through.  Remove the pan from the oven and top each burger with tomato sauce and cheese.  Return to the oven and broil for about 1 minute, or until the cheese has melted.  If you want to toast the rolls, you can pop them under the broiler briefly as well before serving. 

Makes 4 burgers

TWD: Peppermint Marble Loaf Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was selected by Carol of The Bake More: basic marbled loaf cake.  The idea was simple - make the batter for a classic pound cake then divide it in half, flavor each half as you like and swirl the two batters together in the pan.  Dorie provided several options for flavor variations, but she noted that the peppermint marble loaf was her favorite.  Several of the TWD bakers who made the recipe early in the week tried that version and loved it and since I'm a big fan of the chocolate/mint combo it was an easy decision to go that route.

In the peppermint marble loaf, white chocolate and peppermint extract are added to half of the batter and bittersweet chocolate to the other half.  I'd purchased Trader Joe's white chocolate on a whim a few weeks ago and decided to use it here.  I happen to love white chocolate, and this bar with its high cocoa butter content (45%) was delicious which made it nearly impossible not to snack on as I chopped it up for melting.  The recipe called for 4 oz of chocolate but my 3.5 oz bar worked fine.   



In the hopes of achieving a nice pattern with my marbling, I transferred the batters to piping bags and piped alternating rows of color into the pan.  Getting the batter into the bags proved to be a bit messy, which gave me plenty of opportunities to sample the batter.  It was really tasty, which was the first indication this cake would be loved here; the second was the intoxicating aroma of chocolate and peppermint as the cake baked - I couldn't wait to dig in.  But, since I finished baking around dinner, I wrapped the cake in plastic and then somehow proceeded to forget about it for 3 days.  I think it worked to my advantage because when I finally got around to trying it, the cake was perfectly moist and tender.  The white chocolate all but disappeared, leaving just the right amount of peppermint flavor in the light part of the cake.  I was pleased with my marbling efforts (for probably the first time ever) so this cake was definitely an all-around winner.  

Many thanks to Carol for hosting this week!  You can find the recipe on her blog or on pages 230-231 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Blueberry Oatmeal Parfait

{Many thanks to Shane for writing the bulk of this post after I put together the photos and layout.  From time to time, writer's block strikes and today was definitely one of those days!}

My, it has certainly been a busy few days around here!  Between last week's all-nighter to watch all of the royal wedding coverage, yard work on Saturday, and Shane's marathon yesterday, it's been lots of go and little rest.  Fortunately, Shane took today off of work to rest up, so we've got a nice relaxing day ahead!  I decided that a treat was in order for breakfast, and immediately thought of this parfait that I saw recently on an episode of Mad Hungry. 



The parfait was easy to put together and was a great way to start the day.  I don't usually get excited about granola or yogurt on their own, but when you add them together with some blueberries they're more than meets the eye!  I made the granola using this recipe, substituting all raisins for the combo of raisins and cherries called for, and sliced almonds for the whole almonds and hazelnuts.  I sweetened the Greek yogurt with a few teaspoons of honey and for the fruit, used frozen blueberries cooked down just slightly.  I used the recipe as a guide but didn't strictly adhere to the quantities in each layer as I think it's a matter of personal preference.  This would be a nice dish for a Mother's Day brunch if you happen to be hosting one this coming weekend!

The rest of this post is a photo heavy recap of the marathon Shane ran yesterday down in Providence.  My favorite thing about this particular race is that it's super spectator friendly.  The course is set up in such a way that it's easy to drive around and cheer/take pictures at numerous points.  I'm sure it's nice for the runners to have the support and on a beautiful day like yesterday, Shane's dad and I had fun taking it all in. 

Pre-Race:







And....they're off!







Along the Course:












"Why are all these people chasing me?!?"



Home Stretch:


"Am I going to make it in time?"





Shane's official finishing time was 3:58:44; about 3 minutes slower than his October marathon but almost a half-hour faster than his race on this same course last year.  He would have liked to set a new personal record, but was still satisfied with his finish!

Post-Race:





After the race, Shane suggested lunch at Harry's Bar and Burger, which was just a few blocks from the finish line. Shane had eaten there before with some coworkers but it was all new to me and Shane's dad.  They have a great selection of burgers (all served as a pair of sliders), as well as an ample selection of craft beers (very important to the thirsty runner!).  The burgers were fantastic (Shane loves the pastrami burger - a cheeseburger with pastrami on top), and I especially loved the sweet potato fries.  I know we'll definitely be going back there again!