Chicken in Creamy Orange Sauce

Chicken in Creamy Orange Sauce - made January 7, 2012 from Cook’s Encyclopedia 30-Minute Cooking (book #180)

I was housebound last weekend and had a hard time just "resting" to get over this cold.  Lying down was actually not restful since I had a harder time breathing when I'm horizontal.  Sitting on my couch in front of the TV gets old after several episodes of Criminal Minds, NCIS and Law and Order, all of which I've already seen multiple times.  So I spent time in the kitchen, not only baking but also cooking.  Anything to further my baking/cooking challenge to make at least one recipe from every cookbook I own.  I can't even remember how long I've had this book or why I bought it.  It was probably during one of my more optimistic moments when I thought I was going to learn how to cook.  Umpteenth years later, this is the first recipe I've made from this book.

While this recipe was easy to make, it also reinforced to me that I'm NOT a cook.  I bake.  I don't cook.  Any real cook will tell you that following a recipe doesn't make you a cook.  It might lead you to make something edible (or not) but that's not necessarily "cooking".  And the reason I came to this conclusion is the comedy of errors I experienced in making this dish.  It seemed straightforward enough: brown the chicken, throw the ingredients together for the sauce, let boil, serve.  Ha!  First, I apparently can't tell the difference between a scallion and a shallot.  Scallions are also known as green onions.  I call them green onions.  I know what a green onion is.  I've even cooked with green onions.  But apparently my befuddled mind mixed up the two and I used a shallot instead.  Shallots are a small, brown form of an onion.  They are not scallions.  Just so you know.

Second, I didn't have brandy in the house since I don't drink but I do have rum because I've used it in past baking recipes.  So I used rum instead of brandy.  Third, I also didn't have fromage frais and didn't even know what it was until I googled it.  Apparently you can get it in Europe.  I don't live in Europe.  And they don't sell it at Target.  Some sites said you can substitude low-fat cream cheese for fromage frais so that's what I did.  Except I didn't have the low-fat version so I used full-fat cream cheese.  So let's review this so far: I don't like the taste of rum, I don't like the tang of cream cheese and shallots aren't high on my list of things to taste or flavor food with.  Why did I make this recipe then?  Not just because it looked simple but it was also supposed to be an orange sauce.  Strike three.  Despite using 1 1/4 cups of orange juice (freshly squeezed from real oranges, mind you), I could barely taste the orange flavor in the sauce.  Probably because it was overwhelmed by the shallots, the rum and the full-fat cream cheese.  Sigh.  For the final insult to my cooking injury, I forgot to salt and pepper the darn thing "to taste". 
This is not my finest moment - "it's edible" is the kindest thing I can say about my cooking efforts.  Made properly, this might actually be a good dish.  The texture itself was sinfully rich and creamy, it was just the taste I wasn't wild about.  If I venture to make it again, I would skip the rum or brandy entirely, cut back on the cream cheese (and actually use the low-fat version), jack up the orange juice and use honest-to-goodness green onions (scallions!).  And not forget the salt and pepper. 

8 skinless chicken thighs or drumsticks

3 tablespoons brandy (I used rum)

1 ¼ cups orange juice

3 scallions, chopped

2 teaspoons cornstarch

6 tablespoons low-fat fromage frais (substitute low-fat cream cheese)

Salt and ground black pepper

1.    Cook the chicken pieces without fat in a nonstick or heavy pan, turning until they are evenly browned.

2.    Stir in the brandy, orange juice and scallions.  Bring to a boil, then cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and fully cooked.

3.    Blend the cornstarch with a little water, then stir the paste into the fromage frais.  Stir this into the sauce and stir over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens.

4.    Adjust the seasoning and serve with boiled rice or pasta and green salad.

Chewy Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies

Chewy Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies.....with a layer of dulce de leche - made January 6, 2012 from Cook's Country Chocolate Desserts

This was the final thing that went into the care package I sent out last weekend.  It's also from Cook's Country Chocolate Desserts because I'm like a kid with a new toy when I get a new baking book.  It's all I want to play with and make recipes from.  The picture in the booklet led me to try these because the browneis looked so dark and fudgy.  I added a layer of dulce de leche in the middle to jazz it up a bit.  This was a dark chocolate brownie so I thought the dulce de leche would give it a nice sweetness contrast.  For the most part, it worked.  The brownies were dark chocolate fudgy goodness and would probably have been fine as is if you want an indulgent chocolate treat.  The dulce de leche also worked although I would probably use half the amount next time so it's more a ribbon of sweetness than a competing layer.  It made slicing a little messy.  Fortunately the dulce de leche layer was in the middle rather than on top so it was still doable to packaged them up in plastic wrap (2 squares to a package) and put them in the care package.

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

3 tablespoons cocoa
3 large eggs

1 ¼ cups (8 ¾ ounces) sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1.    Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350°F.  Spray 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil spray.  Make foil sling by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so that they are as wide as the pan.  Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to one another, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan.  Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.  Spray foil with vegetable oil spray.

2.    In medium heatproof bowl set over pan of almost-simmering water, melt chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth.  Whisk in cocoa until smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.

3.    Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds.  Whisk warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture; then stir in flour with wooden spoon until just combined.  Pour mixture into prepared pan, spread into corners, and level surface with rubber spatula; bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35 to 40 minutes.  Let cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan using foil handles.  Cut into 1-inch squares and serve.  Do not cut brownies until ready to serve; brownies can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 5 days.


 

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - made January 7, 2012 from Cook’s Country Chocolate Desserts (book #179)

No matter how many different recipes for chocolate chip cookies I've tried and even though I've already found two I liked (Alton Brown's Chocolate Chip Cookies and Ultimate Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies), a potentially good chocolate chip cookie recipe always catches my eye.  I'm usually sucked in when the picture accompanying the recipe is absolutely mouthwatering and shows a moist, thick cookie that makes me salivate.  Plus putting "thick and chewy" in the title is a baking magnet.  This was one of those recipes from this booklet/magazine.  My cousin Christine gave it to me for Christmas and although it's not as thick as a book, I already want to try nearly all of the recipes in it.  And I probably will.  The first one out of the gate is this recipe.

Because you melt the butter, this is really easy to put together in a short amount of time.  I didn't bother with using my stand mixer but mixed it all by hand.  Remember when making chocolate chip cookies, don't add the chocolate chips all at once.  Hold back a handful to add to the last scoop of dough when, almost inevitably, all the chips are gone and you're just left with the remaining (chipless) spoonful of dough.  I chilled these for an hour before I made them.  Normally I would've made these the night before I needed them but I was still sickly and didn't have anything left in me after making the honeybun cake.  But I needed these for a thank you care package so I mixed up the dough the morning before I mailed the package.

Because the recipe gave weight measurements of the ingredients, I used my food scale to measure everything out for the greatest accuracy.  I got results similar to what the write up in the booklet promised: crisp edges, moist and chewy middles and the inside looked like  the original picture that lured me into trying the recipe.  Good, right? Unfortunately though, I thought these cookies were way too sweet.  Maybe it's my sickly taste buds that lowered my sugar tolerance; perish the thought as I can usually ingest a lot of sugar without blinking.  But I think these truly were genuinely too sweet.  I prefer my chocolate chip cookies to have more of a buttery taste rather than a sugary one and for the sugar not to compete with the chocolate chips so forcefully.  Which is too bad as I like everything else about the cookie - texture, spread, ease of preparation.  But not all the sugar flavor.  So it's really unfortunate that I packed these in the care package I sent before I realized how sweet the cookies were.  Oops.

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup packed (7 ounces) brown sugar
½ cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 ½ cups chocolate chips

1.     Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325°F.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.    Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.  Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix butter and sugars on medium speed until thoroughly blended.  Beat in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until combined.  Stir in chips to taste.
3.     Roll scant ¼ cup of dough into balls.  Hold dough ball with fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves.  Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join halves together at base, again forming single ball, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface.  Place formed dough balls on prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 ½ inches apart.
4.    Bake until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft, 15 to 18 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking.  Let cookies cool on sheets.  Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets with wide metal spatula and serve.

Honeybun Cake

Honeybun Cake - made January 6, 2012 from Eat Cake for Dinner blog

First baking experiment of the new year!  I've been sick all week and normally I don't bake when I'm sick.  It's kind of gross to be in the kitchen, coughing and sneezing, and possibly contaminating whatever I'm baking (ewwww).  So I just don't do it.  But my cold seems to have "progressed" to the point that I can control the coughing fits and, while the dull pounding in my head hasn't abated, I miss baking enough that it's almost a manic impulse to drag myself into the kitchen and bake something just to make myself feel better.  I needed something that seemed easy though because there's only so much pounding in my skull that I can work through.  This recipe fit the bill since I had sour cream to use up and a lone box of cake mix sitting in the pantry.  I did modify it slightly by adding 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter and an extra teaspoon of cinnamon to the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture.  Guess I just can't help tinkering and I wanted a little more vanilla and cinnamon flavor.  Or at least I figured the additions couldn't hurt.

This was really easy to mix up.  I did worry a bit that there didn't seem to be enough batter for a 9 x 13 pan and that the cake would be too thin.  I also don't know if I did a very good job of swirling since it was a little difficult to swirl properly.  But once this went into the oven and started baking, it smelled heavenly, even through my stuffed-up nose.  It turns out my worries were unfounded because the cake rose properly to be a good thickness and there's really no wrong way to swirl cinnamon-brown sugar into anything.  I did modify the glaze from Jenn's original recipe and ended up using both more milk and vanilla to make the glaze a nice runny consistency.  In hindsight, I should've used even more milk to make the glaze more runny.  Once it cooled and set, it firmed up like royal icing but I think a little more milk would've kept it softer.

Of course I had to try the taste test piece warm.  Because that was the point of pouring the glaze over the hot cake right out of the oven, right?  I did have the decency to wait until the cake had cooled enough to still be warm but not so hot that I'd burn my taste buds.  I had that much self control.....barely.  This was a great cake. The cake portion was the perfect light, airy/cakey consistency, the brown sugar-cinnamon in the middle melted inside the cake and the brown sugar-cinnamon sprinkled on top and swirled provided a slightly crunchy contrast.  The glaze was the perfect topping and provided a nice sweetness.

My adapted version (please click on post title to go to the original recipe on Jenn's blog)

1 yellow cake mix (I used Pillsbury but you can use any standard yellow cake mix)

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling & topping

1 cup light brown sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

5-6 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream and oil until well blended; set aside. 
2. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.  Spread half of the cake batter into a 9x13 cake pan.  Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar and cinnamon, covering the entire cake.  Spread the rest of the cake batter over layer and top with remaining sugar and cinnamon.  Use a knife and swirl the batter.  
3. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  
4. Make the glaze: combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth and pour over the hot cake right when it comes out of the oven.  Let set.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Alfajores

Alfajores - made December 31, 2011 from Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy by Alice Medrich

The last thing I made in 2011

When my parents and later my friend Jenny went to South America, they each brought me back some alfajores, which, according to Alice Medrich, are "the fancy sandwich cookies of Spain and Latin America."  There are many variations of alfajores but they're essentially vanilla butter cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche.  Some are coated in chocolate, some are rolled in coconut, some are plain.  The alfajores given to me were individually wrapped in foil and they were soft because the dulce de leche filling softens the cookies.  So I was eager to make my own alfajores to try them as the fresh, crunchy version with the dulce de leche filling.

I don't own this cookbook but it's another one I checked out of my local library in an effort to keep my acquisitive nature under control.  I like Alice Medrich's cookbooks though so I can see owning this down the road (cough).  For now, the library copy will suffice.  Actually, I've promised myself that once I thin out my recipe books of the ones I don't really use or plan to use, then and only then can I add to it with the ones I want the most.  After my baking challenge is done.

In any case, since this is a sandwich cookie, I made them small, using a small ice cream scoop for reasonably similar-sized cookies.  I thought that would make them small enough.  The dough was a dream to work with, a bit stiff but not sticky and it was easy to shape.  For once I didn't freeze them first.  The recipe calls for flattening the cookie dough balls to a 1-inch thickness before baking.  Although I started with fairly small cookies, they did puff slightly and spread a bit so the cookies turned out a little larger than I had expected.  For the filling, I used the jar of dulce de leche from Williams Sonoma; it's good quality and tastes great.

These cookies turned out really well.  They were crunchy the day they're made and are really tasty, especially with the more high-end dulce de leche as the filling.  I had been a little apprehensive about adding the rum to the dough since I don't like alcohol but it was the perfect touch and upscaled it from "just" a butter cookie.  The rum taste isn't strong at all but gives it more flavor.  Definite thumbs up.  The cookies do soften a little the next day because of the filling but they're still quite good.  The only thing I would do differently next time I make these (and there will be a next time) is to make them even smaller and flatten them a little more to make them a little more dainty.

2 ¼ cups (10.125 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft

1 cup (7 ounces) sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons brandy or rum

1 cup dulce de leche

1.   Preheat the oven to 325⁰F.  Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

2.   Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or fork.

3.   With a large spoon in a medium mixing bowl or with a mixer, mix the butter with the sugar until smooth and well blended but not fluffy.  Add the egg and brandy and mix until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and mix until completely incorporated.

4.   Shape heaping teaspoons of dough into 1-inch balls.  Place the cookies 2 inches apart on lined or ungreased pans and flatten to about ½" thick.  Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.  Rotate the pans from top to bottom and from front to back, halfway through the baking time.  Transfer the cookies to racks and cool completely before storing or filling.

5.   Sandwich the cookies with a generous dab of dulce de leche.  The cookies will soften as they stand.  They are good crunchy or soft.  May be stored in an airtight container for at least 1 week.




Crazy for Crust Sweet Tuesday
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday

My sister's after-Christmas party

Still catching up from last week: My sister threw an informal dinner party the day after Christmas and besides the pineapple teriyaki meatballs and the lumpia I've already blogged about, she had quite a spread.  Because I love taking pictures of food, here you go:

Freshly fried tortilla chips - totally addicting

Guacamole/salsa dip

Vegetarian version of pancit

Two types of shrimp in hollowed-out pineapple shells

Lechon (roast pork)

The lechon, cut up

Gotta have rice :)

My other niece got clever with the Kahlua Cake and made it to be like a wreath

And dessert, also a must have

We also had the veggie version of lumpia but I don't eat it so I must not have taken a picture of it, lol.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Sheet Cake

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Sheet Cake - made December 22, 2011 from Chocolate Chocolate by Lisa Yockelson

I'm a bit behind on a couple of blog posts so this is a catch up from before Christmas.  Despite my earlier claims about keeping it conservative when it comes to recipe experimentation during the holidays, I have to admit I get a little twitchy if I go too long without trying a new recipe.  There's only so much of baking the same tried-and-true recipes I can do without feeling like my baking soul is being stifled.  There are so many recipes out there!  I can't imagine sticking to the same ones all the time.  But I do compromise around the holidays and take very few risks.

So when I do try a new recipe, I go with one that's almost certainly guaranteed to turn out.  As I've mentioned over and over, Lisa Yockelson's recipes typically fit that bill.  I needed a few more baked gifts for the last of my holiday lunches before Christmas and something to put in the freezer for my post-Christmas baked-goods gift giving so this was almost a no-brainer to try out.  A chocolate sheet cake that can be frosted, sliced, wrapped and stored is ideal for what I needed. 

The cake itself turned out great.  The flavor was nice and chocolaty, the texture was soft and moist.  Overall, this is a good chocolate cake recipe.  The only failure though is the frosting recipe I used.  It set too much too quickly, likely because I either used too much powdered sugar or too little milk (because I ran out) so it hardened to be more like a thin fudge layer rather than a creamy chocolate frosting.  Not that that is necessarily bad but I would've preferred a more traditional soft frosting.

2 cups bleached cake flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1 2/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons superfine sugar

3 large eggs

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups milk

1.   Preheat the oven to 350⁰F.  Lightly grease the inside of a 9 x 13 x 2” baking pan with shortening and dust with flour. 

2.   Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.

3.   Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 3 minutes.  Add the sugar in 3 additions, beating on moderate speed for 1 minute after each portion is added.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.  Blend in the melted chocolate and vanilla extract.  On low speed, add the sifted mixture in 3 additions alternately with the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently to keep the batter even-textured.  The batter will be velvety.

4.   Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

5.   Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until risen, set, and a toothpick inserted in the center withdraws clean (or with a few crumbs attached).  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.  Spread the frosting on the cake, swirling it as you go.  Let the cake stand for 1 hour before, cutting into squares for serving.

Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs

Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs - made by my niece on December 26, 2011, recipe adapted from Food Network

Here's another good appetizer to serve at a party if you've got one coming up.  My niece made these for my sister's after-Christmas party earlier this week and they turned out beautifully.  Everyone loved them and they were gone before the end of the night. She made a few changes from the original recipe - noted below.

Flash fry to brown the meatballs for color

After frying, line on a baking sheet to prep for baking in the oven

She used Lawry's teriyaki sauce for the glaze 

After baking, spear with a toothpick and pineapple on top, squeeze fresh lime over all

1 slice white sandwich bread

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon soy sauce (teriyaki)

5 scallions

1 1/4 pounds ground pork

3 large cloves garlic, finely grated

1 tablespoon finely grated peeled ginger (about a 2-inch piece)

1/3 cup water chestnuts, drained, rinsed and chopped

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 to 4 teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce

Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying

Pineapple chunks (halved)

Lime

Toothpicks

1. Tear the sandwich bread into small pieces, then toss with the milk and soy sauce in a large bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mince the scallions.
3. Add the scallions, pork, garlic, ginger, water chestnuts, egg, cilantro, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the bowl with the bread; mix until combined. Gently form into golf ball-size meatballs. Put the meatballs on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.
4. Teriyaki sauce: Stir the hoisin sauce, mayonnaise, 11/2 tablespoons lime juice, the chili-garlic sauce and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Instead of making the teriyaki sauce, my niece used Lawry's pineapple teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice.)
5. Heat about 1 1/2 inches peanut oil in a large, wide saucepan over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Add the meatballs in batches and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. (She flash-fried the meatballs in hot oil , brushed with glaze then finished cooking them by baking in a 400 degree oven.)

Pictorial guide to making lumpia

Lumpia are Filipino egg rolls and I've posted a recipe for them previously but my mom and my nieces made them again for my sister's Christmas party so I took the opportunity to take step by step pictures in case anyone wants to see how to make them.  I think the recipe my mom uses varies slightly from the one I posted, mostly because she doesn't actually use a recipe but it'll get you close.  These are great appetizers to serve at New Year's Eve parties or any other kind of party as a crowd pleaser.

Make the filling mixture

Cut the original won ton wrappers into 4 squares

Place a small amount of filling in a log shape at one corner of the square

Bring up the bottom tip over the filling

Fold the bottom tip over the filling

Fold the left and right corners in like you're making an envelope

Roll the lumpia into a small log and seal the edges with a mixture of cornstarch and water

Line them up and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate until you're ready to fry them

Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown all over

Drain in a paper-towel-lined colander to absorb excess grease

Enjoy (and workout before and after to offset fried foods :))

Florida Brownies

Florida Brownies with Nutella Crunch Topping - made December 17, 2011, brownie from Nick Malgieri's Bake! book

This is an easy post since I had already posted the recipe as the brownie base for the Almond Joy Brownie Bombshells.  I had a lot of batter leftover after making the mini brownie rounds for the base so I poured the rest into a 9 x 9 baking pan and baked it as a normal brownie.  I couldn't imagine giving it away plain though so I did add the nutella crunch topping to give it some depth and texture.  Once these set, just cut into squares, wrap the squares in plastic (I wrap two squares together to make one wrapped package) and put in freezer storage bags for freezing if you're not eating or giving away immediately.

Merry Christmas Eve!