Easy Roasted Potatoes March 31, 2009

I make these potatoes all the time, they are a Sunday Brunch  or a night after shenanigans must have. Adjust the seasonings to taste but I gave you my two favorites. Happy munching!

Roasted potatoes made with the original seasoning

Roasted Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400F.

Oil a large baking sheet with 1-2 tsp of olive oil.

Wash 3-5  medium sized potatoes making sure to remove any imperfections.

Leave skin on and cut into 1 inch pieces or wedges if you like, bigger sizes require longer cooking time.

Place in a medium to large sized bowl and coat with 2 tbspn olive oil and toss well.

Add spices to potatoes making sure they are well coated then turn onto oiled pan.

Bake in the oven for 15 minuted then turn and cook for about 10-20 minutes longer. They should be golden brown, crispy on the outside but soft on the inside of when pierced with a fork.

Seasoning

• a liberal amount of freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt to taste

Cajun Seasoning

• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of paprika (smoked paprika is nice if you have it)
• 1/8 tsp cayanne
• 1 tsp of chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Doughnuts from Scratch March 29, 2009

Ok so my Mother and I officially have a new Christmas Tradition, making doughnuts.  It pretty fun and easy but I’d recommend making them with a friend, they seem to fry fast and you need a designated cutter, fryer and sugar-coater (which can be done by 2 people). This is my Grandmothers recipe and really needs no improvement( in my opinion). Happy frying.

Grandma Lois’ Doughnuts

1 cup of sugar
2 eggs beaten
3 tbsp melted butter
1 cup of milk at room temperature
3 1/2 cups of flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg

Mix and chill in the refridgerator  atleast 2 hours or overnight.

Heat oil to 380F in deep fryer, electric frying pan of on top of the stove.

Roll out and cut with a doughnut cutter (you can find these at most kitchen supply shops). Fry until golden brown flipping half way through.

frying doughnuts

When doughnuts are cooked place on paper towel and then directly into  cinnamon sugar. Once coated well, place on wire racks to cool.

deep fried sugary goodness

I suggest if you have never had a fresh doughnut eating one while they are still warm and crispy…yummmm

Homemade Oreos March 29, 2009

I am kind of a food blog addict, and a Stumble addict as well, so when I “stumbled ” the food blog SmittenKitchen (listed in my blog roll) I died and went to baking heaven.  If you get a chance to visit and love cookies prepare to browse for a while as the homepage is quite drool-worthy, however the first thing to catch my eye was the stack of homemade “Oreos”.

I’ve never been an Oreo girl, opting for their more chocolately  brother the Fudgee-O, the homade version kicks boxed cookie bum. Theyare also easily changed depending on your taste by adding different extract or cocoa. I will copy and paste directing from her site  but the way I prefer them is by using the less sugar option and adding 1-2 drops of green food coloring as well as 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract to the icing.

Homemade Oreos
Retro Desserts, Wayne Brachman

Let’s talk about the sugar for a minute, shall we? This is a sweet cookie. A good, sweet cookie. Yet, if you think of an actual Oreos, the wafers are fairly un-sweet and actually on the slightly salty side, which contrasts with the super-sweetness of the filling bringing harmony, happiness, yada yada. If you want your cookie closer to that original, you can take out a full half-cup of the sugar. If you want to make the cookie by itself (as I did a while back for ice cream sandwiches), go ahead and use the full amount.

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Coconut Lover’s Cake March 29, 2009

Coconut is one of those things you either love or hate, and I feel like if you love it you should indulge to the max. When I have been searching for a cake recipes, looking up and down and throw a couple of recipes together. I found through the research there were some pretty lovely variations including lime or lemon curd as filling which I have a great recipe for on my blog (search Lemon Curd). Another variation I’d love to try is either dark chocolate ganache or white chocolate icing. Under the cake recipe I’ll provide a simple, very basic coconut icing. I hope all the coconut lovers get to try and love it as much as I do.

P.S  If any vegans out there have tried this with egg substitute and margarine please let me know.

Coconut cake filled with coconut buttercream and topped with chocolate ganache

Coconut Lover’s Cake

1 cup of canned coconut milk
3 large free run eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups of cake flour
4  teaspoons baking powder
1 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup of  unsweetened coconut ground, I actually found coconut for macaroons that had the right texture if you like a sweeter cake use half of each unsweetened and sweetened

Preheat oven to 350F

In a medium bowl sift flour with baking powder.

In a separate smaller bowl whisk coconut milk with eggs and vanilla until combined.

In a large bowl beat butter with salt and slowly stream in sugar until mixture is well combined and fluffy.

To the large bowl add 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the coconut milk mixture to the butter mixture and combine well.  Scrape down sides of the bowl and repeat.

To the last 1/3 of the flour mixture add 1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut.  Finally add the remainder of the coconut milk  and the flour mixture  to the batter and mix on medium until smooth.

Cake mix should be thick but  spreadable. Pour into two small 8 or 9 inch round cake tins or a large 12 inch one. Bake until a tooth pick or cake tester comes out clean from the middle of the cake approximately  35-50 minutes.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing. When cake is cooled split cake in halves or thirds and fill with lemon or lime curd or the following icing. Top with lots of coconut, toasted or un-toasted.

Coconut Icing

1 cup butter (room temperature)
6 (to 8, if needed)cups icing sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup of unsweetened coconut(optional, you can just cover it with it but when I fill the cakes I find the coconut helps it keep it’s shape)
1 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)

Cream butter with a mixer until smooth and creamy. With mixer on low, slowly add  6 cups of sugar,  coconut milk and coconut extract until blended well. Only add the extra 2 cups if needed. The recipe yields a large amount of icing I would cut it in half if you are making these cupcakes, but if you are making a 2 tiered cake you will need the full recipe.

Chocolate Topping or Filling

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate broken into pieces (chip size)
1/2 cup of coconut milk ( I used 1 cup in the cake, 1/4 in the icing and 1/2 for the chocolate so it works out to use a full can)

Slowly melt chocolate with coconut milk over a double boiler, when just melted and combined pour over finished iced cake or use to fill the middle, let cool completely before icing.