Chocolate Beet Cake!

Oh yeah people! I know I have t written in waaaay too long but seriously, this blog is really just a place for me to keep my recipes virtually and share them with friends and family.

Anywho....this cake was a total rainy day chemistry experiment with some ingredients I had hanging in my fridge and some dead time. Came out great. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures because I honestly thought it would only be ok. I’ll try and get some pics up soon but trust me, even my picky 12 year old son loved it.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Ingredients:
3/4 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups roasted, puréed beets
1 c milk
1 1/2 c flour (I used whole wheat but AP would work as well)
1/2 c Dutch processed cocoa
1 c Almond four
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Cream butter and Butter until light and fluffy, add eggs until incorporated.
Add the purred beets, vanilla, and milk.
In separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add flour  mixture to wet ingredients. Pour into prepared bundt pan and bake for 45-55 min.
Cool and serve.

Hope you enjoy!

Sun Dried Tomato Feta Cheese Spread

IOk, it's the holidays and we are all running on fumes heading into single digits before Christmas.  Christmas parties, pot lucks, cocktails, just getting dinner in the table - if your kitchen is like mine it is putting in some serious overtime. So here is a simple and fast recipe for savory spread/ dip with lots of versatility. 

Sun Dried Tomato Feta Spread

8oz Feta Cheese

1/3 c. Sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil

1 small clove garlic (optional)

1/4 c. extra vurhin olive oil (More or less depending on how creamy your feta is)

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the Feta, sun dried  tomatoes, and garlic in a food processor and purée until moderately smooth. Next, while the food processor is on, drizzle the extra virgin olive oil in slowly until you reach your desired consistency (looser for a dip, thicker for a spread). Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with crusty bread, pita chips, bread sticks for an easy dip or a grilled chicken  sandwich for a a little extra zip! 

Bon appetite and Opah! 😉

  

My Mother's Christmas Sugar Cookies

"Tis the season to be jolly" ...and bake bake bake! Normally baking is not my thing. Aside from the usual banana bread and the odd batch of chocolate chip cookies now and again, adn a few other tatsy treats i whip up when the spirit or occasion moves me,  I usually leave the baking to my 12 year old daughter. However, at CHristmas time I usually break out the baking tins and pans, search for my candy making supplies and run my dishwasher countless times baking for the holidays. 

Today, it is my mother's sugar cookies whicih she only ever bakes at Christmas (she too loathes baking- must be genetic, haha!). 

This recipe comes from the 1964 "Pillsbury Family Cook Book". No idea how my mom got her copy, as she didn't even live in America until 1970, but I found my copy at a flea market on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the 1990's, some time after graduating college and moving away from home. 

This book is filled with lots of wonderful classics like Sauerbraten and Cheese Souffle, and some things that are better left behind in the '60s (South Sea Tuna Bake anyone?) But the baking- breads, candies, cakes, cookies, pastry, and pie- is classic stuff and you cant go wrong there really. 

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie

3 cups sifted flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup soft butter or margarine (I only use butter)

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 tbsp cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat Oven to 400F

Sift flour with the sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the flour, using an electric mixer or pastry blender, until particles are fine. Add egg, cream, and vanilla extract. Blend thoroughly. If desired, chill dough for easier handling (I always do this- for at least 30 minutes)

Roll dough onto floured surface, 1/3 of the dough at a time, to 1/8 thickness. Sprinkle with sugar, cut into desired shape, bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 5-8 min, until golden.

 (I roll them out a bit thicker for frosted/iced cookies, about a 1/4 inch thickness. But if I am just going to throw a bit sugar and cinnamon on top then I roll them to 1/8 inch)

That it. Super simple, buttery and not too sweet. Perfect as thin crisp butter cookies or thicker iced cookies  as they hold their shape beautifully. 

Hope you enjoy our family's favorite Christmas cookie! 

K

Autumn Pumpkin Soup

A cold, gray, and rainy day spent outside at my son's soccer tournement requires something hearty and warm for dinner...and in a hurry thank you very much. 

Thank goodness for a few pantry staples and pancetta to get dinner on the table in a hurry! 

Autumn Pumpkin Soup

1 large shallot, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz pancetta (or bacon), diced

1 15 oz can puréed pumpkin 

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

3/4 c. Whole milk ricotta (you can use part skim, but the flavor won't be as naturally sweet)

Salt and pepper to taste 

In a soup pot, over medium heat,  sauté the pancetta until crisp, remove and set aside. 

Sauté the diced shallot in about 2 tbsp of the rendered pancetta fat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Add the pumpkin and the chicken broth, and simmer for 5-10 minutes. 

Stir in the ricotta until fully combined. Season wth salt and pepper to taste. 

If you desire a smoother consistency purée with a hand held for an immersion blender. 

Serve with the crispy pancetta bits and garlic bread. 

Bon appetite! 

K 

Autumn Butternut Squash Lasagna

Ah yes! Leaves are changing, sun has a golden glow, and everyone's front porches are laden with mums of all colors and pumpkins. All of that and the chilly mornings mean it's time to dust off the squash recipes ...and this one is my favorite. It isn't too complicated, I promise. If you can make a simple bechamel (white) sauce then you are in for a treat! 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA 

Ingredients 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH PURÉE

1 1/2 lbs of butternut squash cubed

8-16 oz Whole Milk Ricotta

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Toss the butternut squash with 1 tbsp olive oil and roasted at 350F until tender (about 30-40 minutes)

OR you can go the easy way and buy frozen butternut squash and steam it in the microwave ----I won't judge you. And honestly I have made it both ways and they are pretty close. follow the instructions on the bag and cook til tender. 

Now, in a food processor or with an immersion blender, purée the squash and cheese together and add salt and pepper. Set aside.

Bechamel Sauce

1/4 c butter

1/4 c. Flour

3 1/2 c. Milk

1/4-1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1/2 tsp nutmeg  (or more- I use fresh and have a heavy hand with it in this dish)

salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour until a thick paste is formed and cook for a few minutes. 

Next, whisk in the milk in gradual by thirds until all the milk is added and the mixture is smooth. Summer over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the optional Parmesan cheese. (I have made it with and without and it works great either way. It isn't required but why not guild the lily a bit) Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.

Building your Lasagna! 

Ingredients

16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 box lasagna noodles cooked (you can also use the no boil noodles)

2 tbsp fresh minced sage 

Preheat your oven to 350F

Lightly spray or butter a 13" x 9" pan

In the bottom of the pan spread about 1/2-3/4 cup of the white sauce. Next place a single layer of noodles to cover, then 1/2 of the butternut squash purée, topped with 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella, then a layer of the bechamel (about a third of what is remaining) sprinkled with about half the sage. Repeat - noodles, squash, cheese, bechamel. Top with final layer of noodles and top with the remaining bechamel, sprinkle with mozzarella and sage, and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. 

Let sit for 20-30 minutes for easier slicing and enjoy with a green salad topped with a lemony vinaigrette. 

Hope you enjoy!! 

K

 

Oven Baked Eggplant Parmigiana

I love eggplant and we scored a pretty decent crop of it from our garden this summer. Only problem is despite the many yummy was to eat it my son absolutely refused to touch it. Not as babganoush, not as Imam Bayildi (the recipe I will have to share once the weather cools off some more), not diced in our Thai red curry. So....how to I find a way to get this picky eater to love eggplant and not break the caloric bank by frying it to delicious crispiness? I know! I will cover it with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese and tell him it is chicken, if he asks. ;)

BAKED EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

2 cups panko bread crumbs

3 tbsp olive oil

2 eggs, beaten with a tablespoon of water (egg wash)

1/2 cup flour

2 cups Marinara sauce (homemade or from a jar- I dont judge)

2 medium eggplants, peeled and sliced about 1/4 inch thick or so

1/2 -1 lbs sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil  over medium heat. Add the panko crumbs, salt and pepper, and toast until the bread crumbs are golden brown.

Next, prepare three shallow bowls for dredging the eggplant, first in flour, then the egg wash, and finally the toasted panko bread crumbs. Dredge the eggplant in the flour, egg, then panko and place on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or with foil (for easy cleanup). 

Once all of your eggplant is coated, top with marinare sacue and cheese. 

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or so unitl the eggplant is cooked thru and the cheese is melted and golden. 

Serve with a green salad and a side of angel hair pasta or on a sub roll for a hearty sandwich. 

Hope you enjoy!

K