Wild Rice Chicken Salad

So I just got this AWESOME recipe from one of my dearest friends and a great cook, Kathy Bushong.  She made this for my fabulous wedding shower...almost 10 years ago.  I've made it today for a potluck lunch for our ladies bible study tomorrow.  Here's my version with a few additions:

Kathy Bushong's Wild Rice Chicken Salad
1 box long grain and wild rice (Zatarain's is best for this, Jewel carries it); prepared and cooled
1 cup low fat Hellmen's mayo
2 cups champagne grapes (or red grapes, halved)
3 cups shredded and/or chopped rotisserie chicken with the juice from half a lemon squeezed over it
4 stalks celery, diced small
1 cup chopped toasted, salted pecans (Trader Joe's has good ones)
1/4 cup italian parsley, minced
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Combine everything the day before you intend to serve, the salad should be nicely chilled.  One recipe feeds about seven people, you can put a serving in a little Boston lettuce leaf and throw a mini fresh croissant (also from Trader Joes) on the side for a lovely lunch!

Also, with this you can add or subtract more of anything...more celery to stretch it further, less or a different kind of nut, dried cranberries or currants instead of grapes....the possibilities are just about endless!

Golden Corn Salad with Fresh Basil

This is one of those recipes that symbolizes this particular summer to me.  I had it first at a graduation party in June, then stole the recipe from Kathy who got it from Karla and made it many times myself the remainder of the summer.  Here goes:

For the salad:
8 oz. small yellow potatoes or small red potatoes
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
2 cups assorted tear drop cherry tomatoes, halved
1 & 1/2 cups chopped red pepper
6 cups arugula (or mixed spring lettuce, I like the latter better I think)
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves (the more the better)
2 oz. goat/blue/feta cheese

For the dressing:
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 TB. white balsamic vinegar (I used an awesome cranberry pear white balsamic from this great store in our town, The Bleu Olive)
1 TB. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 TB. extra virgin olive oil

Place potatoes in a small saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to a boil, cook 11 minutes or until tender.  Drain and chill.  Cut potatoes in half lengthwise.  Combine potatoes, corn, tomatoes and bell pepper in a large bowl.

Combine shallots and the next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Slowly pour oil into shallot mixture, stirring constantly.  Drizzle over corn mixture, toss well.  Add lettuce, toss.  Sprinkle with basil, top evenly with cheese.

Fresh Corn Salad with Lime and Nectarines

This was one of those recipes that I attempted to throw together based on the memory of a salad I had long ago, at a party catered by A Movable Feast in Geneva.  It was fresh corn, diced cantaloupe (in theirs), basil I think and lots of fresh lime juice.  The combination of flavors at the height of summer was over the top with deliciousness.

Our salad last night easily rivaled it, enough so that I wanted to share.  You can add or subtract ingredients based on what you have on hand and what is ripe.  Here's what we used:

-4 ears of sweet corn, cooked but still crunchy, cut off the cob

-2 ripe nectarines, chopped small (I also had a ripe apricot that I threw in there, yum)

-1 red bell pepper, chopped small

-about 8 basil leaves, chiffonaded, more or less to taste

-salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

-the juice of one lime, or two if you want a stronger flavor, taste it before adding more

-a handful of feta cheese, to taste

-you could also add a splash of fruity olive oil, although I did not  

This would be the perfect dish to bring to a 4th of July barbecue, just about everything can be bought at Saturday's farmer's market, and it'll stand at room temperature really well.  Hope you enjoy!

Strawberry Muffins

Organic Strawberries for $1.99, today only at the Wheaton Whole Foods!  And they are gorgeous, so sweet!

Time to make these muffins again...

Succulent Strawberry Muffins

1/4 lb. softened unsalted butter

1 & 1/2 cups sugar, divided

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt, scant

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tsp. good vanilla

18-20 medium to large strawberries, hulled and chopped

Cream butter and 1 & 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla.  Blend well but do not overbeat.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.  Add alternately with cream to butter, starting and ending with flour mixture.  Fold in strawberries.

Fill 16 large muffin tins with papers.  Fill them almost full with batter, then sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar over top.  Bake in 375 degree oven for 25-30 min, or until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on rack.

Great Aunt Florence's Easter Orange Roll

Happy Almost Easter everyone!  Eating these orange rolls warm out of the oven on Easter morning has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember.

Basically it takes the idea of monkey bread and replaces brown sugar and cinnamon with white sugar and orange peel.  I use this homemade dough recipe for the bread, but you could easily just use a package of Rhodes unbaked dinner rolls.  My dough can be completely formed and finished the day before, you can wait 24 hours before you finally bake it, a nice plus for a busy morning.

4 & 1/2 cups flour (you may need closer to 5 cups)
4 tsp. active yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk, warmed to about 125 degrees F
6 TB. butter, room temp
3 large eggs, room temp
Pam for greasing the bundt pan

1 cup white sugar, in a small bowl
1 stick butter, melted, in another small bowl
the zest from a large orange

In a heavy duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 2 cups flour, the yeast, the 1/3 cup sugar and salt.  Add the hot milk and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.  Add the butter, eggs, and 1/4 cup of the flour; beat for 1 minute.  Switch to a dough hook.  Beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl's sides.  Knead on low speed until soft, smooth, and springy, about 5 minutes.

Scrap the dough away from the sides of the mixing bowl, cover with a dish towel and allow to rise at room temp until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.

Melt the butter in the bowl.  Add the orange zest to the sugar and mix well, until thoroughly combined and the sugar smells deliciously orange-y.  Spray a bundt pan well with Pam or grease well with butter.

Tear off walnut sized pieces of dough, roll it into a ball and roll it quickly through the butter, then the orange sugar.  Layer the round pieces evenly throughout the pan until you run out of dough.  Cover really well with plastic wrap and allow it to finish rising in the fridge, up to 24 hours.  Or, if you want it the same day, let it finish rising at room temp for another hour or two, until doubled yet again in size.

Pull it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking and allow the dough to come to room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 25-30 min.  Keep a close eye on it and cover with tin foil if it browns too fast.

Loosen the rolls from the mold when done and flip gently onto a plate, rounded side up.  Serve with butter or the good old Betty Crocker orange frosting.  (1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3 TB. softened butter, 2 TB. fresh orange juice, 1 TB. orange zest, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt-- cream together until smooth)

Amy from our Bible Study gives them two thumbs up!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

So we've been fighting off colds and sinus infections for the past month or so, really since Christmas now that I think about it.  No wonder I haven't posted.  I broke down and made this for a friend who was also sick, and left some for our own family.  It is a GREAT recipe, based off my brother in law's, Matt.  This is not the quick and easy one, it's a soup that's purely a bowl full of simple love.  Everything is from scratch, and using homemade stock really raises it to something special.

If you are thinking ahead, throw together a loaf of Jim Lahey's 18 hour No Knead Bread to serve alongside.  It's the easiest bread I've ever made, and the best.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

4 quarts of warmed chicken stock (homemade is best, I used 2 quarts Whole Foods 365 organic broth, 2 quarts of my own homemade because that was all I had)
8 stalks celery, diced (a note about the chopping, you want everything small enough to fit nicely on a spoon, a large dice is about right)
8 carrots, sliced small or diced
1 large onion, small diced
1 TB olive oil
meat from a roasted chicken, or roast four, bone in, skin on, breasts yourself in olive oil, salt and pepper
noodles (recipe following)
1 tsp. dried thyme, or 1 TB. fresh thyme leaves
1 dried bay leaf
At least 2 tsp. kosher salt, and 2 tsp. freshly ground pepper.  More, to your taste, at the end
1 & 1/4 cup whole milk (or whatever you have)
3 TB corn starch
the juice from half a lemon, or more, see what you think at the end
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Warm the stock.  Cut all your veggies.  Prep the chicken meat.  Make the noodles.  Then, saute the onions in olive oil until translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the carrots and celery, saute for about 5 minutes.  Add in the warmed stock, salt and pepper, bay leaf and dried thyme (don't add the fresh thyme until the end, if you're using that instead).  Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer.  Simmer for 15 minutes, until carrots are crisp-tender.  Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of the milk in a separate small bowl.  Add that to the soup when the carrots etc. are finished, followed by the remaining 1 cup of milk.  Raise heat to medium and bring soup to a boil, add the noodles and cook them for about five minutes.  Add the chicken pieces, lemon juice, and minced parsley (and the fresh thyme, if you used it).  Taste for salt and add more, it will probably need it.  Keep adding salt until all the flavors come into focus, you should taste the veggies and a little lemon.

Homemade Egg Noodles
 2 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 tsp. table salt
2 cups flour

In a kitchen aid mixer (or by hand, but it'll be a PAIN) beat the eggs.  Slowly add cream and salt.  Add the flour in about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing on low until it is completely incorporated.  Divide the dough into two balls.  Roll each ball out on a floured surface until it is very thin.  Slice the dough into tiny strips with a pizza cutter, no longer then 1 inch, as narrow as you can make it.  Keep in mind you want the noodles to sit on a spoon, they will get really fat as they cook.

Sprinkle the noodles on a piece of wax paper and let them dry for about 30 minutes.  I make the noodles before I start the soup, after prepping the veggies and meat.  That way it all comes together pretty quickly once you actually start cooking.

New Favorite Discoveries

...this year.  The following items have brought my family and I (as well as a few friends) much joy.  I thought I'd make a list to share with some others.  Credit goes to Alison Chino for the FANTASTIC recommendation of item #1.

1. Slugs and Bugs Lullabies CD
Don't question this, just buy it if you have children under the age of 12 in your home.  I cannot think of another music CD where I both laughed out loud, spitting my coffee all over the car, (Tractor, Tractor; Beans) and cried with a lump in my throat (Hey Beautiful Girl) from the same record.  Alison says it's her favorite baby gift.  Be forewarned, it is now mine as well.
They're coming out with a Christmas CD this year too...

2. Smitten Kitchen's Apple and Cheddar scones
Need I say more?  Made them on Monday, froze them shaped, in dough form, then baked them right before Bible Study on Thursday morning.  Awesome.  Absolutely awesome.  I did not eat three.

3. And another food item of Smitten Kitchen's, her Sour Cream Cheddar Biscuits and the Beef Chili that went with them.  I diced the carrots small, how she recommends, and added ketchup to taste.  Added about a 1/4 cup of sugar to the biscuits, because we like things sweet in our house.

4. Stacey Kent's music.
Got her name from our fabulous friend Anthony, who is in tune with so much more pop culture and great music then I am.  She is my favorite artist discovery of this year, and we've bought three albums.  Listen to Ice Hotel on her Breakfast Tram one, it reminds me of a lighter, more cool and lyrical-french, Diana Krall.  If you like the sound and feel of Diana Krall, you will love Stacey Kent.

5. Bearpaw Boots for kids.
Thanks to my friend Katie P, I bought these boots for Sam this year and spent about half as much as what Ugg boots would have cost us.  They have a nice rugged sole, great for traipsing over ice and through Chicago snow, and are made of sheepskin, just like Uggs.

6. Intelligentsia's Black Cat Espresso Coffee Beans
Have I written about these coffee beans before?  I feel like I have.  They are a local Chicago roaster, and Rick Bayless uses these beans for making the espresso in his restaurants, Frontera and XOCO.  I love them as well, and it has been a saving grace on many a morning here, when getting in the car and driving to Starbucks (and shelling out $3.78 for a latte) is not an option.  I buy them at Whole Foods.

7. "Baked" Cookbook
This fabulous little bakery in Brooklyn came out with their first cookbook in 2008 and just released their second one this year, which is on my Christmas list.  (Ahem, Scott.)  I've noticed that this cookbook is the first one I've reached for this year when needing to make a dessert or breakfast goody.  Items that I could not live without, having now tasted them: the Baked Brownie, their chocolate chip cookie, Sweet and Salty Cake, and the Sour Cream Coffee Cake with chocolate cinnamon swirl.  Amazon sells it for $19.77 right now.

8. Lastly, (completely unrelated to music, food or clothing) How GREAT Clean Baby Peach-Fuzz Smells in the Sunshine.

Apple Bread

I've had two requests for this recipe this week, and only felt like typing it up once, so I'll post it here.  This apple bread is DELICIOUS, and freezes really well.  I made a loaf the morning of our bible study and froze the second one... defrosted it, then reheated it the oven at 350 degrees until warmed through, no one knew the difference at our small group the following Tuesday.

Apple Bread
4 cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped into large chunks, about 1/2 inch-1 inch sized
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. table salt
2 tsp. good cinnamon
3 cups all purpose flour

For the topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, cool but not hard

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray two 9 inch loaf pans with Pam.  In your mixing bowl, beat the 4 eggs until fluffy.  Add the oil, vanilla and sugar, beat until combined.  In a smaller bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, soda, salt and cinnamon, set aside.  Peel and chop all the apples.  Then, add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, mixing on low just until combined.  Fold in the apples by hand to keep the chunks intact.  Divide the mixture evenly into two pans.

To prepare the topping, combine all the ingredients in one bowl (to save on dishes, just use the same one that the dry ingredients were in), squeezing the butter through the flour etc. until it is combined, using your clean fingers (fastest) or a fork (neatest :).  Sprinkle the topping over the batter evenly in both pans.

Bake for about 1 hour on the center rack, rotating once.  Bread should feel fairly firm when touched in the middle.  Let cool and then remove from the pans.  It is easiest to slice when cool, but so hard to wait...

Buttermilk Pancakes

So almost every Wednesday night I end up making our family buttermilk pancakes for dinner.  We are in luck that every family member loves them, and Scott has no problems with "brinner," or "breakfast-for-dinner."

The absolute BEST recipe I've ever come across is Martha Stewart's classic buttermilk pancakes.  I've upped the sugar a tad, so they taste really good just on their own.  We change it up by adding dried cherries and granola (thanks Grace and Mrs. DG!), frozen blueberries, or Sam's favorite and constant request, Ghiradelli chocolate chips.  If he's really really lucky he'll receive a squirt of whipped cream on top too.  Nice dinner, huh.  Not a lot of protein, but it tastes so good, so comforting and predictable on a busy Wednesday night when I'm out the door for rehearsal every week at 6:30 pm.

If you've never tried making pancakes from scratch, try it at least once.  I think you'll be converted, the real buttermilk makes a massive difference.  It is also worth noting that seeking out the Farmer's Creamery brand of buttermilk is also worth the minor extra expense.  Whole Foods carries it.

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/4 cup white sugar
4 TB. butter, melt and cooled slightly
2 eggs
3 cups real buttermilk (Farmer's Creamery is a great one to try)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the 3 cups buttermilk, melted butter and eggs.  Whisk together JUST until barely mixed, a lumpy batter helps keep the pancakes light and fluffy.

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees.  Place an ovenproof plate on the top shelf.

Heat a non stick pan or griddle over medium heat.  Melt another tsp. of butter over the griddle and wipe the extra off with a paper towel.  When the griddle is hot but not smoking, scoop batter out with a 1/3 measuring cup, it keeps them a manageable size for flipping.  Cook on the first side until the pancake is covered in bubbles and browned nicely.  Flip.  Put the pancakes in the oven to keep them warm until ready to serve.

The leftovers can be cooled to room temperature and then frozen.  They reheat great in the oven or microwave for breakfast later in the week.

Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffeecake and Vanilla Chai Lattes last Thursday (oh, and Jesus too)

Don't you wish you were in our Women's Bible Study? It truly is a unique group of women, all from different backgrounds and interests. Over the past four years each of the eleven have become a dear and integral part of the group, I cannot imagine doing life without them.

Here's a treat I made last week that seemed to go over well. Also known as "Grandpa's Favorite," which is saying something because let me tell you, Grandma is quite the baker.

Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffeecake

1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda

2 sticks cool (not too hard) butter
2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup golden raisins
(And yes, you read that right. No eggs!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 square pan. Combine the sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside. Combine flour, sugar, salt and butter in your mixing bowl, give it a few turns with the mixer until it resembles the beginnings of a pie crust, nice and crumbly. Reserve half the flour mixture for the crumble topping. Add the spices and sour cream mix into the mixing bowl. Combine well, stir in raisins. Place in prepared pan, sprinkle the reserved crumble topping evenly over coffeecake. Bake 30-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

As an added touch, which I only just now realized I completely forgot, you can drizzle an easy frosting over it while it's still warm. (About 1 cup powdered sugar and a few TB. milk mixed evenly together.) It was still great without it.


Vanilla Chai Lattes for 4 people

2 & 1/4 cups TAZO chai tea concentrate (they use it at Starbucks, you can get three boxes for $7 at Costco)
2 cups your favorite milk, I used skim, 2% would be better
2 TB. Monin Vanilla Syrup (can be found at specialty food shops, like Fox and Obel and Amazon)

Heat chai tea mix, milk and syrup together in a sauce pan or microwave in a pyrex bowl. If you have a steamer, steam cups of the chai to order for your lucky friends, and top the foam with a light spray of good cinnamon.

Gale Gand's Chocoblock Chocolate Cake with Warm Macademia Nut Caramel

Yup, you read that right. In fact, take a second and re-read the title of this heartdroppingly FABULOUS dessert. Are you salivating yet? Now go buy yourself some topshelf cocoa powder and make this cake for your loved ones! If you want to see a better picture of it, cut into cute little rounds, check out the cover of her cook book, Just A Bite.

So nine years ago, on a momentous and gorgeous evening in July downtown Chicago, Scott joined me for a work dinner at the unbelievable restaurant, Tru, where Gale was/is the pastry chef and partner. It was our first "date," of sorts, and we both had nervous tingles and sparks that were difficult to suppress in front of my two male clients that sat with us. I can remember not wanting the evening to end, and we headed out into the night together after a mindblowing meal, not to return home until close to 4 in the morning. As Nate, one of Scott's four roommates and a close friend said, "I don't know what exactly is going on here, but I highly condone it."

Six months later we were engaged. Eight years later we have two kids and I am still obessessed with Gale Gand. She is my favorite pastry chef, and after meeting her twice at two cooking classes, I can attest that she is a lovely person as well.

Here to date, is my favorite recipe, the only change being a few grinds of sea salt into the caramel sauce.

For the Cake:
3 cups sugar
2 & 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 & 1/8 cups cocoa powder, preferably Dutch (Valhrona is pretty much the best, Penzey's is great too)
2 & 1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 & 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 & 1/2 tsp. table salt
3 large eggs
1 & 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 TB. pure vanilla extract (Niesen-Massey is awesome, you can buy a massive bottle of it for cheap here.)
1 & 1/2 cups very hot water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a half sheet pan (also called a jelly roll pan) and line the bottom with parchement or wax paper.

In your mixing bowl, add together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend briefly.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Add them to the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 5 minutes. GRADUALLY trickle the hot water in, mixing at low speed, just until combined. The batter will be very thin.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, (a few crumbs are fine) and the center feels firm to the touch, 25-35 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan, then chill it, covered, until you are ready to cut it. I made this a day (or even two!) before I cut and used it. Totally fine. Great make-ahead dessert.


For the Caramel:
1 & 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup (or a bit more) salted macadamia nuts, roasted in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, then roughly chopped
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut, toasted in the same manner as the nuts

Pour the sugar into the center of a deep saucepan. Carefully pour 1/3 cup water around the edges of the pan, trying not to splash any sugar on the wells. Don't stir it, just make a cross twice with your index finger to wet the sugar evenly. Over high heat, bring sugar and water to a full boil and cook without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally, until mixture is medium caramel in color, about 5-10 minutes. Don't walk away, this happens very quickly and I've burned the sugar too dark of brown more then once. Take it off the heat as soon it starts to turn a rich gold and smells toasted.

Next use a wooden spoon to slowly and carefully stir in the cream, the mixture will bubble and may splatter so head's up! Stir in the nuts and coconut and set aside until cool. This sauce can also be refrigerated, covered, until ready to use. Reheat over low heat until softened, or in a microwave.

When you are ready to serve, cut rounds (or squares if you don't care about being fancy and don't want waste) of the chilled cake with a 2 inch biscuit cutter. Place one or two cakes on a plate and drizzle liberally with caramel sauce. It's up to you if you want to sandwich some Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream in there too.

This one cake fed many people, beginning with a dinner at our house with a dear high school friend. Next it fed 11 women who came over for drinks to kick off our Bible Study one cozy Tuesday night. Then, frozen after I cut it and defrosted, six adults consumed it at a lakehouse in Indiana. Finally, the previously frozen leftovers were served to my inlaws and Scott for dessert last Sunday. Heralded by rave reviews at every serving, this is a very durable, delicious cake.

I don't kid around about my desserts. Make this now. Keep it in your arsenal folks.

Love and great respect back to Gale, thanks for writing in my cookbook five years ago. :)

M&M Cookies

It's 95 degrees out and the mosquitoes attack at first sight of human flesh. There's no going outside this morning, now what shall we do during Charlotte's morning nap?

I know! Let's make M&M cookies and bring them to Daddy's office. It was perfect, Sam laboriously put 200 M&M's into a batch of sugar cookies, only consuming 15 along the way. It was a great way to spend the morning.

M&M Cookies
3 & 1/2 cups flour
1 TB. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. table salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 large eggs
1 TB. light corn syrup
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter. Add in sugar, eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients until well blended. Chill one hour. (We only chilled ours 30 min, and you can see how much they spread. I imagine they'd stay more compact if the dough was truly chilled.)

Preheat oven 375. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into balls about the size of a large walnut. Press flat lightly and push in as many M&M's as possible, the more the better. We used the dark chocolate ones and they were scrumptious. I'd do only six cookies per sheet, bake one sheet at a time on the top rack and rotate it once during baking. These took about 8-10 min or so.

The In-Law's-are-Coming Cake

What do you do when you spontaneously invite your beloved in-law's over for an impromptu supper, realizing all you have in the house are chili and cornbread muffins and your mom-in-law's birthday is days away?

You make this cake. Well, first you put on this soundtrack while you bake, because you'll feel very, how-you-say, french while you throw this fabulous and simple cake together with ingredients you probably have on hand. And pour yourself a glass of wine. Wine helps too.

Simple Vanilla Bean Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
1 & 1/2 cups cake flour
1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (ok, maybe you don't have this in your pantry, but you SHOULD. Williams Sonoma has it.)
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8 inch cake pan with Pam. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixer until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and vanilla bean paste. Gently add in about a third of the dry ingredients, then half the milk, repeat, ending with the dry ingredients. Mix only just until combined, if you over beat it'll be a heavy, tough cake. Bake about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Invert onto a plate and cool slightly.

Brown Butter Glaze
1/4 cup butter
1 & 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 tsp. salt, more to taste
2 TBs. whole milk
the juice from half a lemon

Whisk together all the ingredients except the butter in a small bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Watching closely, increase heat until butter is bubbling and suddenly turns brown, it happens quickly so don't take your eyes off it. Lift pan off the heat, swirl the butter until the brown is even, and pour melted butter evenly into the other ingredients. Whisk until smooth and pour over warm cake.

Many thanks to my lovely Aunt Cindy for passing this recipe on, I increased the salt and lemon juice to my own taste and added the vanilla bean paste. it's a favorite of hers and she's never led me astray.

Tomato and Mozzarella Tart

It's been a relatively busy cooking week around here, with a family reunion last weekend, a big dinner we brought up to Palatine for family and lots of great summer produce just begging to be used. Here is an excellent use of summer's tomatoes. I made it as an appetizer for the reunion we went to and had three people ask for the recipe. (Again, sorry for the lack of photos, I was too concerned with just trying to get it DONE in time to leave for Libertyville. It turned out great, good enough for me to want to recommend...)

Tomato and Mozzarella Tart

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (Use Dufour's from Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's brand when they have it...unfortunately usually in the winter time)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
5-6 medium tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 TB. extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 whole, fresh basil leaves
2 TB. fresh basil, minced

Whisk the olive oil, garlic and two whole basil leaves together, crush the leaves well. Let sit.

Adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat to 425 degrees. Lay defrosted puff pastry sheet on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with beaten egg.

Fold the edges over to form a 1/2 inch, low, rimmed crust all along the sides, keeping edges flush and square. Sprinkle the parmesan on the bottom of the crust. (You could also brush the crust with homemade pesto sauce instead, I think that would taste even better, frankly.) Poke the dough all over with a fork, and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool.

Meanwhile, spread sliced tomatoes on a few layers of paper towels. Sprinkle the salt over top and let their liquid drain out for 30 minutes while you prepare the tart.

Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over the baked crust bottom. Press extra liquid out of the tomatoes and shingle them in layers over the mozzarella. Drizzle the olive oil mix over top of the tomatoes. Bake until the shell is deep golden, 10-15 minutes.

Cool for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with the freshly minced basil. Slice into small pieces. It's delicious served warm or room temperature, perfect for parties.

I doubled this the first time I made it, since we were going to a family reunion. It worked great, especially considering there are two sheets of puff pastry in the package.

Tunnel of Fudge chocolate cake

I made this cake yesterday for some family and thought it turned out great, despite the fact that I mostly baked the tunnel right out of it...I was nervous about under-doing it. Shouldn't have been, I'd eat this thing raw. Ohhhh delicious, especially with the cream cheese glaze on top. Ignore the sad attempt at a picture, I was running out of time.

Tunnel of Fudge Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup boiling water
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken in a few pieces (I like Valhrona)

2 cups flour
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder, dutch processed
1 tsp. table salt

2 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (Just call me Ina)
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 TB. good vanilla
5 large eggs, room temp

1 recipe cream cheese glaze

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position. Preheat to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup bundt can well with Pam.

Whisk the boiling water and chocolate together in a small bowl until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, powdered sugar, cocoa and salt together.

In a mixer, beat on medium the butter, white and brown sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-6 min. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the chocolate mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture. Beat slowly JUST until incorporated.

Scrape batter into prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Give it a tap on the counter to settle it. Bake cake until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and the top feels springy. (That never happened in my case.) Check it at 40 min, may take 45 minutes. Don't try to use a toothpick, if you are doing it right, the center will still be wet, just like an underdone cake.

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then flip it over. Cool it completely before adding a glaze.


Cream Cheese Glaze
1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 TB. cream cheese, softened
3 TB. milk
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. table salt

Combine ingredients together in a small bowl, beat until smooth. Drizzle it over the cooled cake. Let it set for 25 minutes before serving.

I'm sure this cake will keep really well, you could easily make it a day or two in advance and refrigerate.
Recipe based off of Cook's Illustrated

Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

Ok, so folks. I have made this recipe twice in the past week and can't get enough of it. Costco sells 16 oz. of super jumbo lump crab meat for $13.99 a can. Seriously! And it feeds four to five adults, or even more! I made 8 huge crabcakes out of this recipe and gave two to each person, it was a ton of food. Based off of Ina Garten's recipe, I doubled the meat, and tweaked it in a few other spots. It is a commitment to make, the dicing takes a good 20 min, but you can make the entire dish ahead of time, cool them to room temp, freeze them in a ziplock bag, and then reheat in a 350 degree oven when you are ready! Again, seriously! So stinking good.

Jumbo Lump Crabcakes
2 TB. olive oil
1 & 1/2 cups small diced celery
2 shallots, diced small
1/2 cup small diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup small diced yellow bell pepper (or orange, whatever)
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. lump crabmeat, rinsed, drained, and gently picked through to remove any shells
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs (Trader Joe's recently started carrying these, they're great)
1/4 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup good mayo (I like the new organic one at Trader Joe's)
The zest and juice from one lime
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 eggs

For Frying: 4 TB. butter
1/4 cup olive oil

Heat a large skillet (great time to use your cast iron pan), and place 2 TB. of olive oil, the shallots, celery, bell peppers, tabasco, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt and pepper in it. Cook over medium low heat until vegetables are soft, about 15 min. Cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, mix mayo, bread crumbs, mustard, lime juice and zest, parsley and eggs together. Gently fold in the crabmeat. Add the cooked vegetables and mix gently. Chill bowl in the fridge for about 30 min.

Wipe down your skillet with a paper towel and melt 4 TB. butter with 1/4 cup olive oil. With your hands, shape crab mixture into about 1/3-1/2 cup patties and ease gently into the hot butter and oil. Cook them over medium low heat, keeping a close eye on how dark they are getting. I find it easiest to use two spatulas, to help press and keep them in their shapes and to lift them out. Cook for about 6-8 min, until browned. Drain on paper towels, keep them warm in a 250 degree oven and serve hot. OR, cool to room temp, stick in a ziplock bag and freeze until you want them. When you're ready, place on a jelly roll pan and heat until warmed through in a 350 degree oven.

Makes 8-10 large crab cakes

Mustard Lime Cream Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup good mayo
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 TB. champagne vinegar
the zest and juice of one lime
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

So much of this sauce is to taste, I made it up after Anna mentioned one they made at Moveable Feast. I started with 1/4 tsp. salt and kept adding a little more until it started to taste right. Same thing with the vinegar, mustard and lime juice. Good luck. It's worth the hassle, so yummy.

Pretty Darn Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 20 really large cookies

I tore a form of this recipe out of the April Martha Stewart Living Magazine and finally had a chance to make them on Sunday. These are awesome. A fun alternative to your normal Tollhouse. I've tweaked it in a few spots, here's what worked for me.

2 & 3/4 cups flour
1 & 1/4 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
One package ghiradelli chocolate chips

In a small bowl, mix together the first four dry ingredients, set aside. Beat butter and sugars on medium low until well mixed, scraping down bowl as needed. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture, beat on low until just combined. Add chocolate chips.

Using an ice cream scoop (holding about 3 TBS.), drop dough on a rimmed baking sheet. Place sheet in freezer for about 20 min, or until frozen hard. At this point you can dump them all into a ziplock bag and keep it in the freezer until you're ready to bake 3 or 10 or all of them.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put a sheet of parchment paper on each cookie sheet, this is key. Drop six cookie dough balls on each sheet, spacing them out well. If cookie sheets are on the top/bottom racks of your oven, rotate them halfway through baking. Bake until golden brown on the edges but soft in the middle. I started checking at 11 minutes, took another couple minutes. Call it 12-15 minutes. Slide the parchment paper onto your counter and let the cookies cool completely before serving. You can then reuse the cookie sheets to do another batch right away, and no washing your sheets or a wire rack! You seriously need to go buy parchment paper right now.

Lemon Cheesecake...possibly the best dessert of all time

Ok, listen up people, this is worth paying attention to, despite the size of the recipe.

This dessert will blow your mind. You would pay $50 for this cheesecake, it is so good. I made it for my husband's family last year for easter, for a shower, then again this year for my family at Easter and each time it turned out pretty darn AWESOME.

So, I thought I'd share. The recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, the home of so many fantastic things, but I tweaked it in a few spots. You can make the curd days in advance, and the crust the day before if you don't mind it being slightly less crisp. I also prepared the lemon sugar the day before too, right after grinding up the animal cookies into crumbs, avoiding washing the food processor more then once. The cheesecake itself comes together in like 15 minutes, so if you do the prep the day before it won't take much time, aside from baking time, cooling time, and then chilling in the fridge.

All that being said, here goes:
Cookie Crumb Crust
6 oz. Nabisco Barnum's Animal Crackers
4 TB. sugar
4 TB. butter, melted

Filling
1 & 1/4 cups sugar
1 TB. grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 & 1/2 lbs. cream cheese (3 eight oz. packages), softened to room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. good vanilla extract
1/4 heaping tsp. table salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

Lemon Curd
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
2 TB unsalted butter, diced and then kept cold
1 TB. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. table salt

For the Crust: Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat to 325 degrees. In food processor, grind cookies to fine crumbs, add sugar and pulse to incorporate. Add warm melted butter in a slow, steady stream while pulsing; pulse until mixture is evenly moistened and resembles wet sand. Transfer mixture to a 9 inch springform pan. Using the bottom of a cup, press firmly and evenly into pan bottom, keeping sides as clean as possible. Bake until fragrant and golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Cool about 30 minutes. When cool, wrap the outside of the pan with two 18 inch square pieces of tin foil. Set springform pan in a large roasting pan.

For the Filling: While the crust is cooling, process 1/4 cup sugar and the lemon zest in food processor until sugar is yellow and zest is broken down, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and pulse until incorporated. Transfer lemon sugar to small bowl. At this point it can be refrigerated until you need it.

In a standing mixer, beat cream cheese until soft and broken up. Add lemon sugar in a slow, steady stream, increase speed to medium and continue to beat until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping bowl down as necessary. Reduce speed to medium low and add eggs 2 at a time, beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl again as needed. Add lemon juice, vanilla and salt and mix until just incorporated, about 10 seconds. Add heavy cream and do the the same thing, just until mixed in. Give batter a final scrape, stir with spatula and pour into prepared springform pan.

Set the roasting pan with cheesecake in it on your oven rack, fill a tea pot with hot tap water and then pour it into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake. Bake until center jiggles slightly, sides just start to puff, surface is no longer shiny and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the cheesecake reads 150 degrees, about 55-60 minutes.

Turn off the oven and prop open the door. Allow cake to cool in it's waterbath for 60 minutes. Transfer the springform pan to a rack and cool to room temperature, about two hours. Run a sharp paring knife around the sides of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Leave the sides of the pan on to store it.

For the Lemon Curd: While cheesecake bakes, or days in advance, heat the lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling. whisk eggs and yolk in a bowl, gradually add sugar. Whisking constantly, SLOWLY pour hot lemon juice into eggs, dribbles at a time. The key is not to do this too fast, or you will overcook the eggs, ending up with delicious lemony scrambled eggs. Then return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture registers 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer and is thick enough to cling to the spoon, about 3 minutes. IMMEDIATELY remove pan from heat and stir in cold butter until incorporated, then stir in cream, vanilla and salt. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

To finish the cake: When cheesecake is cool, scrape lemon curd onto it while still in the springform pan, spreading curd evenly. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. To serve, remove sides of springform pan and cut cake into wedges. Serves 12-16 people.

Sour Cream Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Bad picture, great cake, if I do say so myself. Got the recipe from one of those famous, trusted women who has the magical "Martha" touch, along with an amazing heart for others. Thank you Mary!

Sour Cream Cake

1 (18.25 oz) package white cake mix (I KNOW!!!! Never would have guessed eating this cake...don't judge.)
2 large eggs
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Beat all ingredients on low speed in an electric mixer, 30 seconds or until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into 2, well greased, 9 inch rounds. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 min.

Wrap layers in plastic and freeze 2 hours or up to 1 month, if desired.

At this point, I made a batch of Ina Garten's Lemon Curd and used that as filling between layers.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(Makes about 5 cups)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
1 (2 lb) package powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
salt to taste

I'm sorry it took me so long to get you the recipe Katie P, great memories from that birthday party!

French Breakfast Muffins

This is one of those recipes you may or may not thank me for. It goes way back in my family, appearing at many a bridal or baby shower, because they can be made entirely ahead, frozen and then defrosted the morning of with no discernible difference.

They are also addictivly delicious, being rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar and tasting much like a delicious little donut. Don't ask me why they are called French, or Breakfast, I just know that they are my FAVORITE MUFFIN. That's right, I said it. My favorite, out of all the muffin recipes I've posted.

2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup milk

-Approximately 1 cup cinnamon sugar, I like mine nice and dark with good cinnamon
-a stick (or probably two, don't hate me!) of melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 4 dozen mini muffin tins (These can absolutely be made with normal size tins, I just like them better small, the ratio of cinnamon goodness to cake is higher. It does take longer though to roll all the little ones...) In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, alternating with milk. Start and end with the dry ingredients, mixing on low just until combined.

Fill muffin tins 2/3's full (as if that's possible in a mini tin, good luck) and bake 15-20 min, or until toothpick comes out clean. These muffins won't really brown, so don't look for color on them.

When cool, remove from tins and roll first in melted butter, then cinnamon sugar. At this point they can be frozen or eaten or refrigerated. I even like them cold out of the fridge.