Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies revisited

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies - made December 14, 2013 from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

I've pretty much been baking almost nonstop all weekend. I think I took a break for showers, church, an emergency run to Costco for more eggs and a little sleep. Although I'm somewhat loopy from lack of sleep so it really was just a little sleep.  But I got all the baking done for gifts I gave away to folks at church this morning and now, at the end of a long afternoon and evening of baking, I have 3 care packages of baked goods to mail out as well as baked gifts for my coworkers tomorrow, a friend I'm meeting for lunch (plus one extra goodie bag for her to take to a mutual friend back at their office) and another friend I'm meeting for dinner.

As part of some of the baked gifts, I made these Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies. I've had this on my pinterest board for awhile and I thought I was testing out a new recipe but it appears I made these just over a year ago and simply forgot. Easy to do when I bake so much. But I'm glad to have resurfaced them again as these turned out pretty well.  I only had a sliver half the size of my pinky but it was enough to confirm they're good.  And I don't even like cheesecake.  But the brownies were a perfect foil for the cheesecake portion and they're suitably Christmas-y in all their red velvet glory.  The search function on blogger hasn't been working the last couple of days and I don't know when it'll be fixed so I'll save you the trouble of searching for it - just click on the post title link and it'll take you to the recipe.  Enjoy.

And in case you're wondering what I've been up to, besides these brownies, here's what I've made in the last 48 hours:
Lemon Chip Cookies
Lemon Doodles
Sour Cream Fudge Cake (recipe to follow in a future post)
Lemon Bars
Peanut Butter Brookies
Browned Butter Crinkles (recipe to follow in a future post)
Kahlua Fudge

I made enough of the above to give to 23 people and package them up in Christmas splendor in all the treat bags and boxes I bought on sale after Christmas last year. And clean up my kitchen back to a presentable state. Eek, no wonder I'm tired. But in a good way. I didn't take a picture of everything because I'm too tired. And my camera doesn't have a wide angle lens, haha.

Restaurant Review: Kotetsu Ramen

Kotetsu Ramen - lunch on December 5, 2013

Is it cold where you live?  We generally have mild weather but we've been experiencing a cold snap lately. And there's something about chilly weather that puts hot soup or, in this case, hot ramen, at the top of my comfort food list.

When my coworker and I went to Thaibodia for lunch last month, we noticed a line of people waiting outside of Kotetsu which is located in the same strip mall.  Naturally, when you see a bunch of people waiting to get into a restaurant, you figure there's something there worth eating. We agreed we needed to check it out so the next time we both had an available lunch hour, we headed to Kotetsu. Since we didn't have the luxury of time to wait to be seated, we deliberately went early and were fortunate to get a table right away as the restaurant wasn't full yet.

Sea Salt based Kotetsu Ramen

We each got the standard Kotetsu ramen since this was our first visit and we "had" to get the restaurant's namesake order. They offer ramen in two types of broth: sea salt based and soy sauce based. I went with the soy sauce base and my coworker ordered the sea salt base. Although it's hard to tell from the pictures, each bowl of ramen comes with a whole, soft-boiled egg along with the noodles, a few slices of meat (typically chicken or turkey), and some greenery that, being me, I usually set aside.  For the egg, the white is fully cooked and the yolk is still soft and a little runny but continues cooking in the hot broth.

Soy Sauce based Kotetsu Ramen

What made this a good bowl of ramen were the noodles.  They were the perfect texture with a nice chewiness. When you think "ramen", generally those cheap Top Ramen packs come to mind but that would be an insult to Kotetsu.  Their ramen was satisfying chewy, not too hard but not mushy soft either. My soy-sauce based broth was also good.  But have you ever noticed that the first few sips of broth are the best? By the time I forked up the last bit of noodles and the broth was getting low in the bowl, it had become a little too salty for me. But for less than $10, this was a decent place for lunch.  I do advise getting there before noon though.  By the time we left, the tables were all full and there were at least a dozen people milling around outside waiting to be seated.

Sweet and Sour Chicken from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Sweet and Sour Chicken - made December 7, 2013 from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

I'm deep in the throes of the holidays and baking.  We're also incredibly busy at work so I have to fit everything in after my day job.  Normally at this time of year, because of the time crunch, I virtually live on takeout or eating out with friends out of both sociability and sheer survival.

But I did manage to fit in making this quick and easy sweet and sour chicken recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  It's very similar to one I've made in the past in terms of ingredients and preparation so it was no surprise that it also tasted the same. I like both versions. Served over brown rice, it's perfect for the times I'm too busy to do more than throw something in the microwave for lunch or dinner and eat on the run. (Um, that would be every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.)

Chicken
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.

Almond Nutella Fudge

Almond Nutella Fudge - made December 7, 2013, recipe adapted from Jez

Remember my epic fudge fail? I told myself I would try that recipe again and make it right but it's been two years and the trauma hasn't faded so I never did give it another shot. Truth be told, I don't think I've even made any kind of fudge since then. Not sure if I was really that traumatized or just risk averse and wanted to make other things  that had a higher chance of success.

But I got this recipe from one of the ladies on my online fitness board who's also a baker so I was willing to give making fudge from scratch another chance. I modified her original recipe which called for peanut butter and instead substituted in the same amount of nutella. I also added whole toasted almonds for additional flavor and texture.

Thankfully, my fudge curse may have been broken as I thought this turned out really well. There was a hold-my-breath moment when it seemed like the fudge was going to be dry and not creamy once it had lost its initial gloss after I melted and beat in the chocolate chips and nutella but the moment passed and I could exhale. The fudge was a trifle more firm than creamy but it wasn't dry or crumbly. I think the firmness might've been due to the nutella substitution as it was also cold in my kitchen when I was making this (I'm notoriously cheap about not turning on my heater until I'm practically blue from frostbite) so the fudge mixture cooled more quickly than I anticipated before I was able to get the chips fully melted and the nutella incorporated. Despite the marshmallow creme, this wasn't too sweet. You can't really taste the nutella either though so I think it was more to add creaminess than flavor to the fudge. I will have to try the peanut butter version shortly and see how the flavor turns out.  Plus I need more fudge for my holiday gifts as I took this batch of fudge into work today and it's all gone. Jez says this freezes well so it's a good do-ahead recipe; it's definitely a keeper.

1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole almonds, toasted, optional

1. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with foil and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow creme, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and pour in the chocolate chips and nutella. Stir until the chocolate is melted, the nutella is combined and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Add toasted almonds if desired. Pour into prepared pan and smooth. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours or until firm.

Restaurant Review: Steins Beer Garden

Steins Beer Garden - dinner on December 3, 2013

I don't drink so it might seem odd that I'd go to a restaurant called a beer garden but I was meeting my friends Todd and Jenny for dinner and that was one of the choices Todd suggested. I had never been there before but I looked up the menu, saw "burger" as one of the choices and wanted to try it.  This would be Chocolate Chip Cookie Todd for anyone keeping track of the friends I bake for, not to be confused with Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Rick or one I haven't talked much about, Lemon Bar Bryan. I don't actually call my friends by these names, at least not to their faces, just for my blog so you know who I'm talking about and what I'm baking when I meet them.

Inside Steins

Anyway, Steins Beer Garden. It's one of many restaurants around Castro St in Mountain View, also home to Xanh, one of my go-to places for good food.  Steins is rather large with both indoor and outdoor seating. It was a cold night when we went so we opted for indoor seating. The restaurant offers pretty straightforward food: mostly burgers, sandwiches, salads and a few meat, chicken and fish entrees. I opted for the burger with my usual stripped-down modifications: hold the aioli, tomato and onions.  The lettuce is fine.  Add the cheese. It was served on a brioche bun and was delicious.  A bit juicy/greasy but honestly, that's what makes a burger good, right?  As for the brioche bun that the burger came on, well, while my brain knows it adds that many more calories, my taste buds don't care. It might actually even be a better burger than the one I've had at Birk's. Birk's burger is good too but different.  Steins' burger wasn't as "spread out" as Birk's and was more compact but thicker. Todd and Jenny also approved of their orders, the salad and the Herb Marinated Grilled Flank Steak sandwich respectively.

My burger (and yes, I took the pickles off)

Todd's salad

Jenny's flank steak sandwich

And of course we ordered dessert.  Their dessert menu isn't posted online so I suspect they change it up to reflect the seasons.  Jenny ordered the pumpkin cheesecake and I got the fried apple pies with vanilla ice cream (remember fall is the best time to order anything with apples since they're in season then). I forgot the official name of the cake Todd ordered (I really must remember to write these things down at the time if I want to blog about it later) but it was a multi-layer vanilla cake filled with hazelnut filling, covered with chocolate frosting and garnished with hazelnuts. I think it had Prince or Regent in the title. That was good too when I tried a bite but I stayed loyal to my fried apple pies.  If you're ever nostalgic about those flaky apple pies from McDonalds, this is the upscale version of them.  Served warm and dusted with cinnamon sugar, paired with vanilla ice cream....yum. There were only two little pies but since the burger was pretty filling, I can't complain about the serving size since it was just right.

Fried Apple Pies a la mode

Multi-layer Hazelnut Cake

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Even beyond the food, this is a perfect happy hour place. Aside from the fact that they have a plethora of beer selections (none of which I looked at since I don't drink), it's got a very open floor plan and gives off a cozy vibe.  Todd is the king of happy hours and I instantly thought it was his kind of place. He agreed.

Todd's beer

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles - made dough December 1, 2013 from A Bitchin' Kitchen

I feel like I've made all sorts of snickerdoodle recipes in my baking life so how is it that I've never made Pumpkin Snickerdoodles before? Do you know what I was missing?? That's my overly dramatic way of saying these were really good cookies.

They don't spread much so if you don't want them to look like little puff balls, make them the size you want and flatten them to the thickness you prefer (they'll still puff a little in the oven though).  The first batch I baked, I kept them as dough balls and they were rather craggy-looking puffs. For the second cookie sheet, I flattened them into thick discs and they emerged looking more like cookies and less like golf balls that had seen a hard day on the course.  However you shape them, they taste good.  The pumpkin flavor isn't overwhelming and they still retain their snickerdoodle-y-ness, especially with the coating. These are hard to tell when they're done so you might want to time them.  I underbaked the first batch and they were a bit gooey. Still good but would've benefited from another minute or two in the oven.

3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the coating:
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of allspice

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk together to blend. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars on medium speed until well combined. Next, still on medium speed, beat in pumpkin. Then, add the egg and vanilla extract. Lastly, add in the dry ingredients. Beat until combined, but do not over mix. Cover the dough, and refrigerate for one hour, until firm. (I make them as dough balls first before chilling.)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and spices for the sugar coating. If you haven't already done so, scoop dough (approximately 2 1/2 tablespoons) and roll into a ball. Roll the dough ball in the sugar mixture, and place on the lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Take a drinking glass with a flat bottom and moisten with water. Dip the glass in the sugar mixture, and use it to flatten the dough balls. Re-sugar the glass as needed.
4. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Remove when the centers of the cookies have set. Let cool on the baking pan for approximately 5 minutes, and then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

Mrs. Fields' Super Fudge Brownies

Mrs. Fields' Super Fudge Brownies - made December 1, 2013, adapted from Mrs. Fields' Cookie Book by Debbi Fields

It's holiday baking season so I'm falling back to my baking standby of brownies.  Since I like to give a variety of sweets in the treat bags I give out when I see my friends, brownies are a given.  They're easy to mass produce, I can bake them ahead of time, portion them out and put them in the freezer until they're needed. Plus, they're chocolate.  Nothing else needs to be said after "chocolate", right?

Since I don't have time for failures, I went with a standard brownie recipe from Mrs. Fields and of course had to add chopped up Hershey caramel kisses because they were there. Literally, there, in my pantry, perched at attention, waiting to be sacrificed atop the next brownie to come out of the oven. As the name implies, these were super fudgy brownies.  Helped to that super fudgy status by underbaking and letting them set.  I took the pictures when they were still a little warm so they look a bit mushy but once they had cooled completely and set, they were just fudgy goodness.

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips
Caramel-filled Hershey kisses, cut in half, optional for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 x 8" baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine unsweetened chocolate and butter in the top half of a double boiler set over hot water.  Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until melted and smooth. Cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs until light in color.  Add sugar and blend on low until thoroughly combined.
4. Add vanilla and melted chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture.  Blend on low speed until smooth. Add flour and mix thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into greased pan.  Smooth surface with a spatula and bake on center rack of oven for 45-55 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes of baking, turn off oven and sprinkle top of brownie with chopped caramel Hershey kisses if desired.  Let the residual heat from the oven melt the Hershey kisses over the top of the brownie.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Cut and serve.

Restaurant Review: Back A Yard Caribbean Grill

Back A Yard Caribbean Grill - dinner on December 2, 2013, 4.5-star rating on yelp based on 1182 reviews

I was meeting one of my closest friends from business school for dinner and, as always, I like to look up restaurants on yelp to find something locally owned, small business, highly rated, with good food and in a good location for us to meet at since we were coming from different directions and trying to meet somewhere in the middle.

I had never heard of Back a Yard Caribbean Grill before but it met all my criteria, including having an astonishing 1182 ratings that averaged to 4.5 stars. I label it astonishing because it's the most unassuming, modest restaurant I've been to in awhile and is in an unlikely location set in a mostly residential neighborhood but on a frontage road right near the freeway. It's not like they had a ton of signage either or ample parking but fortunately I was somewhat prepared by reading the yelp reviews on how to find it or else I might've missed it.

Caribbean Cobb Salad

Back a Yard is perfect if you want good food at fairly cheap prices and don't mind a modest place to eat it.  It also appeared quite popular for takeout.  When my friend and I got there at 6:30 on a Monday night, it was fairly empty which was just as well because it was also pretty small and there weren't that many tables.  I'm not sure if it could have seated more than 16-20 people at the same time, i.e. I wouldn't come here with a large party. But for the two of us, it was fine and before we left, nearly every table (there were only a handful of them) was taken. While we were there, I think more people came in and ordered takeout than actually sat down to eat there.  Either way, they did a pretty brisk business for a Monday night.  There was never a line but there was a decent stream of people coming in at regular intervals.

My friend Karen got the Caribbean Cobb Salad with jerk chicken, bacon, hard-boiled egg, cheese, tomatoes, avocado and Ranch dressing for $8.75.  We each placed our orders with the very nice guy behind the counter, seated ourselves and he brought our food out shortly from the kitchen. No complaints about the service.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Since it was a Caribbean place, I went with the jerk chicken.  It came with fried plantains, rice and beans and tossed salad for $9.50.  The portions were quite generous and the food was great.  The chicken was very tasty and not too spicy for my bland taste buds, although that may have been because I deliberately didn't use the sauce that came with it.  But the spice rub in the jerk chicken was perfect enough and I didn't feel the need for any more flavor.

All in all, Back a Yard was a nice little find and another place I can recommend for anyone in the area and/or looking for Caribbean food.  I don't know how authentic it is compared to food in the Caribbean itself but it tasted pretty good to me. And for less than $10 in the Bay Area? Priceless.

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake - made December 1, 2013 from Macaroni and Cheesecake

I made this cake on the first day of December so it seems fitting that I also include a snapshot of my tree this year.  For most years, I would call it "one of my trees" since I usually put up multiple trees throughout my house.  Yeah, I'm a little bit over the top, obsessive, fanatical of a Christmas freak.  Last year I put up 4 full-size trees, multiple counts of smaller trees, wreaths, garland, decorations on every conceivable flat surface of my house, stairwells, doorways, and pretty much anything that didn't move.  But it's a huge 4-6 week effort to put all that up so I tend to do Christmas threw up all over my house type of decorating only every other year.  2013 is the scaled down version, hence only 1 tree.  And, being me, it had to be a food tree.

And, it being now December, what better cake to mark the last month of the year than red velvet?  First, I always give an honest assessment of the food I make. My scale of "wouldn't make again" to "it's okay" to "wow, couldn't get enough of this" might be different than most people's but I tell it like it is.  Even when I classify something as just "okay" but my friends roll their eyes at me and think I'm too picky because to them it's more than okay (hey, all of our taste buds are different). The advantage of being "too picky" though is when I really do like something, you know it has to be good.  At least to me.

Second, get that bundt pan ready because this is one of those recipes. The pictures don't do it justice but it's good.  I mean seriously good.  I love most things red velvet anyway but not all red velvet baked goods are created equal.  Some are no more than red-colored edibles that have no flavor while others are not just chocolate but they really are red velvet. If you've ever had good red velvet, you know what I'm trying to say.  If you haven't, make this cake.

Even better, it's just in time for Christmas so it fits right in with the holidays.  Make it in a bundt pan so you can lay a bow at the top of it and decorate it like a wreath like my very creative niece did one Christmas.  Or frost it with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with red and green sprinkles for your Christmas table. I can't even tell you what made this so good other than the texture was moist and that perfect bundt cake/pound cake texture while the flavor was delicious. One of my coworkers even told me she doesn't really like red velvet but she loved this cake. Another one called it AMAZING (caps are hers).  So you don't have just my word for it.

If you've ever had the red velvet bundt cake at Nothing Bundt Cakes, this one is very similar. Dare I even say better? Macaroni and Cheesecake makes the same claim and it's no lie.  The only modification I would make for next time (and rest assured there will be a next time) is I would use mini chocolate chips instead of regular size chocolate chips.  But that's a personal preference since I don't like anything "chunky" to stand out from the texture of the cake.  I think mini chocolate chips would blend in better and add more chocolate flavor without interfering with the cake's texture.

2 eggs
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 ounce “no taste” red food coloring
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a bundt pan liberally with cooking spray, set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, add eggs and whisk until beaten.  Add in the vegetable oil, vinegar, vanilla, buttermilk and red food coloring. Whisk together until fully incorporated, set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.  Mix briefly on low to combine. With the mixer on low, slowly, pour in the wet ingredients.  Increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated. Remove bowl from stand and stir in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
4. Pour batter into your prepared bundt pan.  Bake for approximately 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.  Keeping cake in the pan, place pan on top of a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. While cake cools, prepare your frosting.  Once cake is completely cool, turn pan out onto your serving dish. Frost with frosting of your choice if desired.

Ferrero Rocher Brownies

Ferrero Rocher Brownies - made November 26, 2013

I'm no stranger to adding candy to brownies and it's par for the course after Halloween for me to add Twix, Snickers, Midnight Milky Ways, peanut butter cups, Rolos, Almond Joys and Milky Way Caramels to brownies and sometimes cookies.  But for some reason, it never occurred to me to add Ferrero Rochers. Maybe because I don't buy Ferrero Rocher that often because, unlike the other "grocery store" candy, I would actually eat Ferreros as is. So it's better for me not to have them in the house at all.

But I saw these on pinterest (where else?) and thought "why not?" Nothing like adding more decadence to a decadent brownie.  The pinterest recipe used the brownie recipe from Tartine which I have but the picture showed brownies with a crust so I decided not to go with that one. I'm not big on filmy crust on my brownies, especially since it reminds me of box mixes.

Instead, I used one of my favorite brownie recipes for doing candy add ins and that's this one from Tish Boyle's The Good Cookie. It's dense, moist, fudgy and holds add-ins very well.  Tish's original recipe calls for tucking peanut butter cups in the brownie and that's the "surprise" part when you bite into it.  Ferrero Rochers are a bit more prominent than peanut butter cups so they sit there, bold as brass, atop the brownie.  Which makes cutting them into neat squares and keeping the candy intact much easier since you can see exactly where they are and can cut accordingly.

I must say, I like this add-in better than any of the others I've used.  But again, that's because I like Ferrero Rochers. Using only a 4 x 4 pattern did make for large brownie squares though so next time I would arrange them as 4 x 5 to have smaller pieces.