Honey-Lime Marinated London Broil

Honey-Lime Marinated London Broil - made March 8, 2010 from The Most Decadent Diet Ever by Devin Alexander

This is probably one of the easiest recipes from Devin Alexander’s The Most Decadent Diet Ever which makes it just right for me. I took a few liberties with it though. First I didn’t have limes but had plenty of lemons so I substituted that ingredient. Second, I couldn’t find London broil at Trader Joe’s last weekend so I got NY tenderloin instead. Third, I don’t have a grill so I ended up pan-frying it. Overall, it was pretty flavorful. I’m ignorant about most cuts of meat other than instinctually recognizing that the more expensive it is, the more tender it’s likely to be. The tenderloin wasn’t as tender as the name would imply but it was fine. I didn’t feel like I was chewing leather or anything. The hard part for me when it comes to frying steaks is I don’t like them bloody rare but it’s hard to tell how done they are without cutting into them and letting all the juices run out. This ended up a bit more rare than I would like but that was okay since when I reheat it as leftovers, it cooks a bit more. The marinade gave it some nice flavor as well.

Next time I make this, I’m going to slice the beef into strips before hand, tenderize them with a few whacks of the meat mallet, then marinade them overnight. Then it’s more a matter of a quick stir fry.

¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ pounds trimmed London broil (top round steak)

1. Whisk the lime juice, olive oil, and honey in a small bowl. Stir in the garlic and salt.
2. Place the steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and rotate it so the steak is covered with the marinade. Place the bag in the refrigerator and marinate the steak for at least 6 hours or overnight, rotating it occasionally, if possible.
3. Preheat a grill to high.
4. Remove the steak from the marinade and place it on the grill. Grill for 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare or until the desired doneness is reached. Place the steak on a plate or cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Slice into thin slices against the grain and serve immediately or refrigerate the uncut steak in an airtight container and slice it just before serving.

Serves 4

Rosie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rosie's Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough February 27, 2010, baked at random times, from All-Butter, Fresh-Cream, Sugar-Packed Baking Book by Rosie's Bakery

One of my top comfort foods is a warm chocolate chip cookie, 10 minutes out of the oven, preferably eaten with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over it. Last week I needed all the comfort I could get so it was no surprise that I chose to try yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is from Rosie’s Bakery book so I figured it would be pretty decent. It was, although it really is just another variation to the standard Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe. I made the dough and froze it into rather generous-sized cookie dough balls for baking later. The cookies spread more than I would consider successful and their taste was the typical chocolate chip cookie taste. Nothing against it but it’s not a standout. I’d file this under “ramekin” cookie, meaning I’d bake future batches one dough ball at a time in a small, individual-size ramekin and have for dessert whenever I needed one.

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (lightly packed) light brown sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease them lightly with butter or vegetable oil.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together into a small bowl and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter, both sugars, and the vanilla together in a medium-size bowl until light and fluffy, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Stop the mixer twice to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Add the eggs and beat on medium speed until they are blended, about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 15 seconds. Scrape the bowl.
6. Add the chocolate chips and blend until they are mixed in, 5 to 8 seconds.
7. Drop the dough by generously rounded tablespoonfuls (the equivalent of 3 level teaspoons) 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
8. Bake the cookies until the edges are dark golden and the center is light and slightly puffed up, 11 to 12 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheets. These are best eaten the same day they are baked.

Makes 24 large cookies.

Rhondalyn's Italian Cream Cake

Rhondalyn's Italian Cream Cake - made March 2, 2010 from Rhondalyn (pugw)

One of my fitness friends, Rhondalyn, shared this recipe with me for Italian Cream Cake. The traditional Italian Cream Cake is apparently generally a three-layer cake with cream cheese frosting, unlike the version I posted earlier baked in a Bundt pan. I still don’t know what the difference is between an Italian Cream Cake and a coconut layer cake with cream cheese frosting. Perhaps it’s a regional nomenclature thing?

In any case, I tried out Rhondalyn’s recipe and it came out pretty well. The cake itself has a nice texture – more dense than a sponge cake but not as dense as a pound cake. I adore coconut so I loved the taste.

I made this on a day I was heavily distracted by my uncle’s situation (this was after we’d been told by the doctors that he was likely so brain damaged that he wouldn’t wake up or respond to anything and would need life support and before he woke up when they took him off life support later that same day). So I can be excused for mixing up this batter and was about to pour it into the pans when I realized I’d forgotten to add the coconut. Sigh. I did leave out the nuts but that was deliberate. I also did a bit of a whack job on the frosting as you can tell from the picture so I didn’t make this on a good baking day. Despite my neglect though, this came out well.

Note that Rhondalyn’s ingredient list calls for oil but the directions mention shortening, not oil. I asked her which one it was supposed to be and she said it could be either but that she prefers the shortening version. I made this one with shortening but am interested in trying it with oil to see if/how that would affect the taste and texture. This is actually similar to my Coconut Cake recipe from the Mrs. Fields' baking book.

Cake
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup oil
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup nuts

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese
½ cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp vanilla
16 oz powdered sugar

Cake
1. Beat butter and shortening on medium until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add vanilla, beating until blended.
2. Combine flour and soda. Add to mixture alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat on low until blended and stir in coconut and nuts.
3. Beat egg whites until stiff peak forms and fold in batter.
4. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350˚F for 25 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla a medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Beat frosting at high speed until smooth.

Butterscotch Lemon Cookies

Butterscotch Lemon Cookies - made February 28, 2010 from The Nestle Tollhouse Recipe Collection

We'd had some bad news about my uncle this past weekend and were visiting him and his family in the hospital so I baked a batch of these cookies to take to them. Fortunately I had made the dough for this a week ago and had it in the freezer so all I had to do was bake them off. Otherwise I was pretty much a wreck, baking-wise, as I proved with other attempts. I always maintain that baking helps me cope with things and de-stress from work and life. I found that's only true if I'm not on complete emotional overload. When I am, I'm too distracted to bake properly because I'm literally not paying attention to what I'm doing. I tried to use baking as a coping mechanism this time and it just wasn't working. I forgot to put chocolate chips in red velvet cookies that I made, I added too much cinnamon to an apple cobbler recipe that didn't even call for cinnamon at all and when I made a coconut cake, I didn't remember that I hadn't added coconut until I was about to pour the batter into the cake pans. Ugh.

These cookies survived my distraction because the dough was already made and I was careful to pay attention to the baking time since I didn't want the cookies messed up since I was taking them to my aunt and my cousin while we visited my uncle in the hospital. Not that they were really eating but I couldn't offer them raw or burnt cookies. This recipe is pretty easy to make and turned out pretty well. They didn't spread too much and the butterscotch and lemon flavors make a nice combination. The only change I would make next time is to cut back on the butterscotch morsels or use mini butterscotch morsels so they don't compete so much with the lemon flavor.

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
¾ of 12-ounce package (1 ½ cups) butterscotch-flavored morsels

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In large bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat well.
2. Add egg, milk, lemon juice and lemon rind; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in butterscotch-flavored morsels.
3. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375˚F for 8-10 minutes. Allow to stand 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets. Cool completely on wire racks.

Gooey Caramel Butter Bars

Gooey Caramel Butter Bars - made February 26, 2010 from Sticky, Messy, Chewy, Gooey

I haven't blogged for a bit because I've been dealing with some traumatic events. I'm hoping things are better now and continue to be. Before the trauma happened, I had made this recipe which is essentially a butter shortbread sandwiched with pecans and caramel. And yes, it's as sweet and gooey as it sounds. It's always promising to have the words "gooey", "caramel" and "butter" in the same title. I toasted the pecans for this and brought out their flavor. Next time I think I'll try with macadamia nuts though. Nothing goes better with a buttery shortbread than toasted macadamia nuts.

I baked the bottom crust a little longer than called for as it still seemed too pale and underdone at 20 minutes. I think I left it in for about 30 minutes although that might've been too long since you continue to still bake the bottom layer once you add the nuts, caramel and top layer. Overall this is pretty good but like most of the recipes I post, not for the calorie conscious.

For the crust
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

For the filling
1 bag (14 ounces) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels) unwrapped
1/3 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
Pinch of salt
1 cup pecans, walnuts or cashews (optional)
Confectioners; sugar for dusting (optional)

1. To make the crust: in a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Using an electric mixer set at medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla and salt and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth, soft dough forms.
2. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Press one third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust. Pat the remaining dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
3. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325˚F. Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
4. While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place the unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream, vanilla, rum (if using), and salt. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval until smooth.
5. Sprinkle the nuts (if using) over the bottom crust. Pour the caramel filling over the nuts, using a small metal spatula to nudge the filling evenly over the crust. Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
6. Use a sharp knife to cut the bars evenly into 15 large squares. Remove the bars from the pan with a metal spatula and, if desired, cut in half on the diagonal to form 30 triangular bars. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
7. The bars will keep, covered tightly at room temperature, for about 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Beef Teriyaki

Beef Teriyaki - made February 22, 2010 from Quick Recipe magazine

Despite my plethora of baking posts lately, I'm actually still doing "real cooking". Matter of fact, I haven't had to fall back on a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner even once so far this year. That must be a record for me. Even if I am doing cooking a bit half-assed lately. For instance, I meant to stop off at the grocery store on my way home and get fresh ginger, garlic and scallions since I had everything but those for this recipe. Except I'd already put in a 12-hour day, I was tired, it was late and I couldn't face doing even one errand on the way home.

So I substituted instead - garlic powder and ground ginger instead of fresh ginger and garlic. Did without the scallions entirely and skipped the sesame seeds too. Sliced up the beef I'd had thawing in the fridge for the past couple of days, whacked the pieces with the meat mallet, fried them and threw the sauce in the pan. After a long Monday, it was good enough. This is a pretty simple recipe which means it suited my cooking skills, such as they are.

2 pounds top blade steaks, 1 inch thick, sliced against the grain into ¼”-thick strips, gristle discarded
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated fine
2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a press
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ cup mirin (Japanese rice wine)
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon cornstarch
½ cup water
2 teaspoons peanut or vegetable oil
Sticky White Rice
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 medium scallions, sliced thin on the bias

1. Toss the meat slices with the ginger, garlic and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a medium bowl and marinate for at least 10 minutes. Whisk together the remaining ¼ cup soy sauce, mirin, sugar, cornstarch and ½ cup water in a small bowl.
2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Using tongs, place the meat in a single layer in the pan (using the sloping sides, if necessary); cook without moving until browned, 2 to 2 ½ minutes. Starting with the first strips placed in the pan, flip the meat and cook until the second side is browned, about 2 minutes. Use tongs to transfer the meat to a clean bowl.
3. Add the sauce mixture to the skillet, scraping with a wooden spoon to release any browned bits. Cook until the sauce reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and return the meat to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, until the sauce reduces to a syrupy glaze and the meal is well coated, about 2 minutes.
4. Divide the rice among individual plates. Place the meat and sauce over the rice and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve immediately.

Glazed Lemon Cake

Glazed Lemon Cake - made February 21, 2010 from The Silver Palate Cookbook


Whenever I have lemons and buttermilk to use up, I always fall back onto a lemon pound cake recipe. They hardly ever go wrong and they're so easy to make. This recipe is no exception. The cake is easy to make and has a nice, typical pound cake texture. I wouldn't say it's the best lemon pound cake I've ever made but it's still pretty decent. I made the lemon glaze to go over it and at first it seemed like a lot of glaze for the one cake. The recipe calls for pouring the glaze over the cake while it's still hot. Obviously when you do that, the glaze will melt right over the cake since the glaze has butter. That's actually the point because it moistens the cake and forms a nice crust. However, I only poured half the glaze over the hot cake, let it melt over it, and when the cake was still lukewarm, I poured the rest of the glaze over it. That way, the whole thing didn't melt in a puddle over the cake. I covered it with enough glaze to form the first coating and when that had hardened a bit, I covered it with the rest of the glaze, most of which didn't melt but hardened to make a thicker glaze once cool. Pretty tasty and lemony too.




½ pound (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 tightly packed tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
3. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Add lemon zest and juice.
4. Pour batter into prepared tube pan. Set on middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until cake pulls away from sides of pan and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool cake in the pan, set on a rack, for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and spread on icing at once, while cake is still hot.

8 to 10 portions

Lemon Icing
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter, softened
3 tightly packed tablespoons grated lemon zest
½ cup fresh lemon juice

Cream sugar and butter thoroughly. Mix in lemon zest and juice; spread on warm cake.