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Stress-relieving Double Chocolate Scones
October 12th, 2009
So I believe I have not updated everyone on the busy times my hubby and I have had lately. We have had many rehearsals for a concert that came too quickly in my opinion, but by the grace of God and hard work by all singers, we had a great turnout and performance. Our weekend went by too quickly, so what were we to do with our day of rest? Well, after arriving home at 1:30am aftet the concert, we slept 6 hours and woke up at 7am to prepare for an early morning service my hubby planned to play the organ. I also was set to sing Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum” from the “Vesperae de Confessore”, K. 339 as a solo. Ugh….I asked the Lord for strength because I had gotten a migraine during the previous night’s performance so felt like staying in. I sang the solo and went to my church and then went home.
As a friend suggested, we decided to really relax. I mean, since we got rid of our cable we really have not had a need or had the time to watch TV. We watched a few episodes of Friends and I decided to bake! What is more relaxing and therapeutic? Well, at least it is baking for me. I made delightful scones that were rated highly and inspired by Baking By Flavor by Lisa Yockelson. Scones can either come out rock hard or tasteless, but these came out so well and were well accompanied by some coffee that we decided the recipe was a keeper! Enjoy it on a quiet evening!
Double Chocolate Scones
adapted from Daydreamer Desserts
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened, alkalized cocoa
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup diced unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips
powdered sugar for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl whisk together, the flour, cocoa, baking powder, sugar and salt making sure they are well combined.
Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a fine crumb texture.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, heavy cream, and almond extract until blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry add the chocolate chips and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough is formed.
Roll the dough over a floured surface into the shape of a disc about 8-9 inches in diameter, then slice into 8 wedges or cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter.
Place the wedges onto the lined cookie sheet. Bake about 12-15 minutes. Serve them warm or let them cool on a wire rack and store. Sprinkle powdered sugar after the scones have cooled.
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Pasta Alla Norma
October 11th, 2009After a long weekend, hardly any cooking and a migraine I decided to make a delicious vegetarian dish after church consisting of items in my refrigerator. I found a great recipe in the Health magazine a year ago that was very tasty that I decided to make it today, since I had all the ingredients!
Let me tell you, there is a no way one can go wrong with eggplant, and now that my husband loves it, I try to make creative recipes for him. Preparation takes 20 minutes and cooking time about 26 minutes. So quick and so good! 🙂
Pasta Alla Norma
serves 6
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups cubed, peeled, eggplant (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 cups chopped spinach
2 cups chopped seeded tomato
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp salt
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
8 cups hot cooked pasta (1 pound of uncooked pasta)
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 4 minutes. Add eggplant and red pepper; saute 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add spinach and next 5 ingredients (spinach through tomato sauce); reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Combine eggplant mixture and pasta in a large bowl; toss well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
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Cherry Pie Goodness
October 11th, 2009
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Chocolate-Cinnamon Crumb Cake
October 8th, 2009Wednesdays seem to be a great day to meet with a girlfriend over coffee, so that is what I did this evening, except I had them over and made a great recipe that I bookmarked from My Baking Adventure’s blog, so I was set for the evening. I made the cake and then proceeded to let it cool.
It was sooo delicious and not even very sweet. I think the flavors were enchanced with the Ghiradelli Chocolate-Caramel coffee we had with the cake! I definitely recommend a good coffee to go with this light dessert. The beauty of this recipe is that it is super simple and not even time consuming.
What is your favorite dessert to have over coffee? Please take your time to taste each morsel!
Chocolate Sour Cream Crumb Cake
adapted from Marcel Desaulniers, found on My Baking Adventures
Cinnamon Crumb Topping
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
8 tbs. butter, melted
Cake
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tbs. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs
2 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp almond extract
To make the topping, whisk together the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour in the melted butter and stir until large crumbs form. Set aside until needed.
To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Place the granulated sugar and butter into a bowl and beat together with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Add the melted chocolate and mix on medium speed until incorporated. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat just until the mixture is smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix only until blended, about 15 seconds. Use a large rubber spatula to give the batter one last mixing, to insure everything is combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the crumbs over the top. Bake until a tester comes clean from the center of the cake, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature before serving.
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Shredded Tex-Mex Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing
October 8th, 2009What a title right? Well, it has not been too bad of a week, but obviously there really wasn’t any time to post my picture of the yummy Yaki Udon dish I made Monday night. I found a great Japanese food mart close to campus and bought some veggie potstickers so I knew this would go well will the Japanese Yaki Udon. If you have never had it, please visit The Sugar Bar and try her recipe for Shrimp Yaki Udon.
Today was another busy day but I felt so empowered and energetic and knew that I would be doing alot. It felt so awkward starting on dessert first, then dinner, but it gave me more energy! I could NOT forget to feed my husband before he went off to a late rehearsal, so I planned a quick, yet delicious recipe I found through Kristi Hane’s food blog from Food Network’s Sunny Anderson’s kitchen. I bring it to you, a little adapted. Enjoy!
Shredded Tex-Mex Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing
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y
adapted from Sunny Anderson’s kitchen
serves 2
Olive oil spray to a 8×8 glass pan
1 (8.5-ounce) box cornbread mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp cumin
1 turkey sausage link, cut into 1/2 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup tomatillo sauce
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 head romaine lettuce, cut into strips
Creamy Lime Dressing, recipe follows
1/2 cups grated Cheddar
Special equipment: glass trifle dish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8 by 8-inch glass pan with olive oil. Stir together the cornbread mix with the egg and milk. Evenly spread into prepared pan and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cool completely.
Cook the sausage and then place beans and cumin, salt and pepper to continue cooking for 5-7 minutes. Toss the salsa with the tomato. When ready to serve, cut the cornbread into 1/2-inch croutons.
In a clear trifle dish, layer the Tex-Mex Salad beginning with the lettuce, the tomato salsa mixture, shredded cheese, black bean/sausage mixture, topped with the cornbread croutons. Toss the lettuce with 3/4 cups of the dressing.
You will have extra dressing left for another salad, so do not worry!
Creamy Lime Dressing:
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp Tony’s Cajun seasoning
Special equipment: blender
Blend all the ingredients except the olive oil until smooth. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated. Season, to taste, with Tony’s.
