Creamy Shrimp Pasta

Creamy Shrimp Pasta - made December 3, 2019, modified from Kevin and Amanda

This could have been seen as basically a fettuccine alfredo recipe: cream, butter and noodles. Shrimp for protein. But thanks to not having the cajun seasoning in the original recipe, I googled what spices make up cajun seasoning and discovered I actually had them all in my trusty Penzey's spice drawer (yes, I have one).

So I made up my own "cajun seasoning". The original recipe called for only 1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning but I wasn't about to measure out kernels of 5 different spices to make up 1/2 teaspoon so I ended up doing pinches and dashes of each. I know, I know, I'm getting so bold with this cooking and flavoring thing, right?

But I'm glad I did it as I liked the flavor of how this turned out. I like fettuccine alfredo anyway but let's face it, the flavor comes mostly from butter and cream. Nothing wrong with that but the added spices in this one kicks the taste buds up a notch. It isn't spicy unless you go heavy handed with the cayenne pepper (you can also sprinkle with red pepper flakes) but has a nice flavor beyond the cream.

4 ounces fettuccine pasta
3/4 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
up to 1/4 teaspoon each of paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and oregano)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Season shrimp with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over the shrimp and toss to coat. Sprinkle 1 more tablespoon flour and toss to evenly coat shrimp.
3. Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add the shrimp in a single layer and cook on each side, flipping once until pink and golden brown, approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Remove to plate.
4. Pour chicken broth into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, whisking the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium and pour in cream; whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium heat until bubbly and the cream starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
5. Season sauce with spices to taste. Add the drained pasta and shrimp; toss to combine.

Cookie Butter Jammers

Jammers - made dough December 5, 2019, modified from Dorie's Cookies by Dorie Greenspan

I'm going to move this up in the blogging roster so I can get it up in time for anyone who wants an amazingly excellent cookie to bring to a holiday party or a cookie swap. Unfortunately, these are a bit fragile to ship so you're just going to have to eat them yourself. Uh, bummer?

You start with a butter cookie crust. Don't be intimidated by the fancy name of French sables. It just means cookie. I gotchu. In layman's terms, this is a butter cookie with a cookie butter center and a streusel topping along the edges. Or, if you want really plain speaking, a damn good cookie.

This genius was the brainchild of Dorie Greenspan. I took some liberties with her rendition but only to suit my flavor preferences and didn't compromise the integrity of her brilliance. She called these jammers because the center filling was supposed to be some kind of jam. I don't like jam so cookie butter or hazelnut spread are my fillings of choice. Hence Cookie Butter "Jammers".

I also made these smaller than her suggestion of 2" round cookies baked in regular-size muffin tins. I went with mini muffin tins for smaller cookies. I'm a believer in small cookies for holiday parties and cookie swaps. You can fit more cookies in your waistline cookie plate and sample more varieties when the offerings are small.

You make the dough, roll it out, chill it, cut into small rounds, place each round in a mini muffin cavity, put a dollop of cookie butter filling in the center then sprinkle the streusel filling around the edge of the cookie, leaving the cookie butter filling uncovered. If I'd been working with larger cookies, my streusel sprinkling might've been a bit neater to avoid covering the filling with random sprinkles but at least that doesn't detract from the taste.

These were delicious. The butter cookie bottom is light and airy and the streusel gives the cookies both a bit of a crunch and some sweetness. But not overly so. These are also a bit different than the norm so I think they're perfect for a cookie swap or party. Just be warned: it's unlikely you can only eat one. Ask me how I know.

French Vanilla Sables
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (30 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups (272 grams) all-purpose flour

Streusel
3/4 cup (102 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons (2 3/4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cookie butter, hazelnut spread or - if you really want - the jam of your choice for the filling

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar and salt on medium speed for about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
2. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in the yolks, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
3. Turn off the mixer, add the flour all at once and pulse the mixer until risk of flying flour has passed. Beat on low speed just until combined. Turn the dough onto a work surface and divide in half. Gather each piece into a ball and shape into a disk.
4. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough 1/4 inch thick between pieces of parchment paper. Slide the parchment-sandwiched dough onto a baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour or refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
5. Make the streusel: whisk the flour, both sugars, cinnamon and salt together. Drop in the cubes of cold butter and toss all the ingredients together with your fingers until the butter is coated.
6. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on medium-low speed until the ingredients form moist, clumpy crumbs. Squeeze the streusel and it will hold together. Sprinkle over the vanilla and mix until blended.Pack the streusel into a container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (preferably 3 hours) before using.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray a regular muffin tin. Have 2-inch diameter round cookie cutter.
8. Cut cookie dough with cookie cutter and drop each piece into a muffin cavity.
9. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon cookie butter or nutella onto the center of each cookie. Spoon or sprinkle streusel around the edges of each cookie, leaving the center exposed.
10. Bake the cookies for 20-22 minutes, rotating the tins after 11 minutes, or until the streusel and the edges of the cookie are golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes before removing cookies from the muffin tins.

Browned Butter Red Velvet Brownies

Browned Butter Red Velvet Brownies - made November 27, 2019 from Something Swanky

Tis the season for red velvet. I was sending my December care packages to deployed soldiers and wanted something holiday-ish to send. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm not a big fan of the typical flavors of the Christmas season. Eggnog? No. Gingerbread? Meh. Peppermint by itself is okay but not with chocolate. It's also inadvisable to send peppermint-flavored things that'll be in an enclosed box for long periods of time as that flavor will permeate everything else around it.

However, I can and do get behind red velvet anything but particularly either cakes or brownies. Brownies fare better and last longer in a care package than cake so I went with this red velvet brownie recipe from Something Swanky.

And it delivered. Sturdy, fudgy, moist. I kept them plain since I was mailing them but as always, if you want to fancy them up, dust with tops with powdered sugar. You can also frost or glaze with a cream cheese frosting or a vanilla glaze then garnish with red and green M&Ms. But I can attest they're also excellent plain. I've now made 2 batches of this brownie and sent them in multiple care packages. They've delivered each time.

1 1/4 cups butter
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
powdered sugar for dusting, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat, stirring constantly until butter has reached a light brown color and browned bits are at the bottom.
3. Pour browned butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add sugar and cocoa powder and beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each addition until almost creamy.
4. Add the salt, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla.
5. Add the flour and mix to combine. Batter will be thick.
6. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

Flourless Chocolate Torte

Flourless Chocolate Torte - made November 20, 2019 from Well Plated

With all the emphasis on things being gluten-free, I laugh whenever I see a flourless chocolate cake being touted as "gluten free". Well, yes, by definition, a flourless chocolate cake IS gluten free. It's the same laugh I got when a restaurant server asked if I wanted their "vegan coconut". Uh, there are non-vegan coconuts out there?

Anyway, the reason for the chuckle is gluten free typically signifies something healthier for you. If you can overlook the butter, sugar and chocolate (but no flour) in this recipe, sure, healthy it is (not).

But if you want an amazing, rich flourless chocolate torte, head to the kitchen. Flourless chocolate tortes (or cakes, however you want to call them) are actually pretty easy to make. Mixing them is no problem. Baking them isn't difficult either but you do have to make sure you take them out at the right time.

Because there's no flour in the batter, you can't rely on the typical cake structure where you can just poke a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, it's done. Instead, with this, you have to check the "jiggle" in the center of the cake. Which means moving it slightly to see how set the middle is. If too much of the middle jiggles, it isn't done yet. If the middle doesn't jiggle at all, it's overbaked. If you overbake it, you won't get the fudgy dense texture of a good flourless chocolate torte. I bake until maybe a 2- to 3-inch diameter in the center still has a bit of jiggle.

The good news is, it's pretty hard to overbake this torte. Look for a drier crust around the edges while the middle still looks moist and has some jiggle. Do not bake until all of the center looks dry; that's when it'll be overbaked.

Once you do take it out, let it cool to room temperature or even chill it if you want to ensure a firm but creamy texture. A good flourless chocolate cake will be a cross between a lighter-textured fudge and a more dense textured mousse. But better.

And I will unabashedly sound like my usual broken record of "use the good chocolate!" I used Valrhona bittersweet which you can get at Trader Joe's for a reasonable price. If you use the cheap, chalky chocolate, it just won't taste the same.

I kept this plain as it was going into my December Angel Baker care packages to deployed service members and I didn't know how long it would be in the mail but if you're serving at a dinner or dessert party, feel free to dust with confectioners' sugar, drizzle with caramel and/or garnish with fresh raspberries or strawberries.

9 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, 65% or higher, finely chopped
9 ounces unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
7 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Kahlua, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease again.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in the top half of a double boiler over hot water. Whisk until smooth and combined. Stir in the sugar then let cool for a few minutes.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully combining between each addition. When all the eggs are added, continue to stir until the batter becomes thick and glossy. Stir in the vanilla extract and Kahlua, if using.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes, until the torte jiggles slightly in the middle but is not completely set. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then unmold. Dust with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges. Serve with whipped cream, berries, or caramel sauce as desired.

Beef Teriyaki Noodles

Beef Teriyaki Noodles - made November 25, 2019, modified from Chef Savvy

I got the original recipe from Chef Savvy's blog but there's a note on the page that asks for the recipe not to be published. That's always a little surprising as I think recipes should be shared (and due credit given, of course). But I respect the request and she has every right to make it. So I made some changes. I could probably have just made her recipe as is but since I couldn't post it here, I thought I might as well change it up and do my own thing. So I'm not sure how her original recipe would've tasted but I've linked to it in the post title so feel free to check it out.

This is another easy dish to make. You just have to prep the individual elements then they come together in a simple dish very quickly. I didn't have green onions and I couldn't find the jar of sesame seeds I know I have somewhere so mine looks a little plain. But, fortunately, I have very plain taste buds so beef, udon noodles and a tasty sauce is all I need to be happy with my cooking efforts.

I rarely get the noodles to sauce ratio right so this ended up with a little more sauce than noodles but that's preferable to a dry dish of too many noodles and not enough sauce. This reminded me of beef with oyster sauce and, to be honest, in a blind taste test, I probably couldn't have distinguished between the two. But the sauce was creamy and had flavor plus I love udon noodles so it worked for me. This isn't spicy at all but if you want a little heat, feel free to sprinkle with some crushed red pepper flakes.

1 pound sirloin steak, cut into strips
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 pound udon noodles
2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup mirin
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
green onions and sesame seeds for garnish

1. Toss together beef and cornstarch; let sit, covered, for 15 minutes.
2. Thaw udon noodles and soak in hot water for 10 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, sesame oil and fish sauce; set aside.
4. Heat oil in large skillet. Stir in garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add beef and quick fry until browned on both sides, 2-3 minutes; do not overcook. Add ginger and stir to combine.
5. Add the soy sauce mixture and bring to a simmer, 2-3 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Slowly add to the simmer mixture and whisk to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until sauce has thickened. Add udon noodles and toss to combine. Cook, stirring, until udon noodles is desired consistency. Serve hot with green onions and sesame seeds.

Maida Heatter's Brownies

Brownies - made November 19, 2019, modified from Happiness is Baking by Maida Heatter

You'll probably see me posting more brownie recipes in the coming months. Now that I'm sending care packages to deployed service members and because I don't have a food sealer (yet) I'm falling back on brownies to put in the care packages since they ship well and have a longer shelf life.

I'm also (again) trying to use the baking books I have. This one from Maida Heatter isn't how I normally make brownies. Her recipe calls for beating the eggs and sugar for 15 minutes - eeek. I never beat the batter that long after the eggs are added as that's what forms the meringue-like crust on top of brownies. I don't like crusty brownies so it was strikingly hard to follow the recipe directions and have the mixer on for so long.

But I confess, I only held out for 10 minutes then I couldn't stand it any long and stopped it there. I cheated the mixing process by 5 minutes. Not sure what difference it made, if any. The brownies came out okay, if a bit thinner than I like my brownies. And that's even after I made them in a 9 x 13 pan instead of a jelly roll pan. For the add-ins, I chopped up the last of my Halloween candy which were Hershey's cookies ' creme bars. These were okay. Can't say I loved them. They make a good, standard brownie but I think I'd prefer some of my other recipes for thicker, richer, more fudgy brownies. Like Ultimate Fudge Brownies, Essence of Chocolate Squares or Forever Brownies.

5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon instant espresso or coffee powder
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I used vanilla extract)
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
10 ounces walnut halves or pieces, optional

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top half of a double boiler set over hot water, whisking until smooth, melted and combined. Add instant coffee or espresso powder and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs and salt until slightly fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and beat at medium high speed for 15 minutes, until the mixture forms a ribbon when the beater is raised. Add the vanilla and almond extract to the melted chocolate mixture.
4. On low speed, add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, beating only until just combined.
5. On low speed, add the flour and beat until just combined. Fold in the nuts, handling the mixture as little as possible.
6. Pour into prepared pan and spread smooth. Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 21 to 22 minutes. Test with a toothpick; it should come out with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake.

Oven Baked Korean Fried Chicken

Oven Baked Korean Fried Chicken - made November 14, 2019 from Girl in the Little Red Kitchen

I was so enamoured of my first attempt at Korean Fried Chicken that I had to make it again. Only this time I wanted to avoid the mess of deep frying and try out this oven-baked version.

This one didn't turn out quite as well but I think that was more user error than anything to do with the actual recipe. Ideally, this recipe would work best with chicken wings. Except when I was at Costco, the chicken wings seemed way more expensive than they should've been. The chicken drumsticks were cheaper so my thrifty little soul went with that.

I dutifully went through all the breading instructions: coat in flour, dip in egg, roll in bread crumbs, dip in flour then egg again, dredge in panko crumbs. It was a bit messy but not the same mess if I had been deep frying.

And once you put them in the oven, you can forget about them until they're done. Which makes oven-"fried" an appealing alternative. Except the breading was heavier than the deep fried version and I have to admit, it wasn't as light and crunchy as the first KFC I made. So there are trade offs.

Because the drumsticks were so much bigger than chicken wings and drummettes and because I didn't make any alterations to the sauce recipe, I ended up with too much chicken and not enough sauce.

What sauce there was though was pretty good. Probably would've been a bit better with deep fried chicken but that would've defeated the purpose of oven-fried. So if you don't want the mess of deep frying, this is a good option. Not sure I would bill them as that much healthier than deep fried though, given all the breading. I'm going to have to try an air fryer version and see which works best.

2 lbs chicken wings and drummettes (I used drumsticks)
3 cups flour
3 cups plain bread crumbs
4 cups panko crumbs
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
5 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup gochujang (Korean chili paste)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
sesame seeds for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top.
2. Place flour, eggs, bread crumbs and panko in separate shallow bowls. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs with 4 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons water. Mix the panko with the oil.
3. Thoroughly dry the chicken with paper towels. Coat each piece with flour then dip in egg wash then bread crumbs. Dip the chicken back in flour, again in egg wash then in panko. Transfer the coated chicken to the wire rack.
4. Once all the chicken is fully breaded, bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. The chicken should be golden brown at this point. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Remove from oven.
5. Meanwhile, make the sauce: in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine ginger, garlic, gochujang, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and pour over the chicken. Toss to coat completely. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.

Chocolate Whoppers

Chocolate Whoppers - made dough November 19, 2019 from Happiness is Baking by Maida Heatter

Whenever I make chocolate cookies, I wish I was a better food photographer. No matter what I do, I can't make the pictures of the cookies come out as well as they taste. I've even had someone insult how a past chocolate cookie looked in a picture I posted a few years ago. Sigh.

This cookie is very rich. And you know I have a high tolerance for chocolate richness so if *I* say they're rich, trust me, they're rich. But that's not a bad thing when it comes to chocolate anything, particularly chocolate cookies. But I do advise making these a little small. Or be like me and take an hour to eat a cookie, pausing for sips of water in between. Chocoholics, rejoice, this is your cookie.

The only baking caution is to time these and take them out at 15-17 minutes, no more. No, they won't look "done" and the middles will look raw. Never mind. Take them out anyway and let them cool completely. The chocolate will set and you'll get that fudgy middle. They're just fragile though so I wouldn't suggest mailing these in a care package.

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
3 ounces (3/4 stick or 6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/4 cup sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate morsels
4 ounces (generous 1 cup) walnuts, chopped or broken into large pieces (I left them out)
4 ounces (generous 1 cup) toasted pecans, chopped or broken into large pieces (I left them out)

1. Place the unsweetened chocolate, semisweet chocolate and butter in the top half of a double boiler set over hot water on moderate heat. Cook, covered, for a few minutes. Then stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside, uncovered, to cool slightly.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, coffee or espresso and vanilla at high speed for 1-2 minutes.
4. Beat in the melted chocolate and butter on low speed just to mix. Add the sifted dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined. Stir in the chocolate morsels, walnuts and pecans.
5. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, portion out the dough into mounds. Cover, chill or freeze for several hours or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Evenly space chilled or frozen dough balls on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15-17 minutes, no longer. Let set on baking sheets for several minutes before removing to wire cooling racks to cool completely.