Monthly Archives: June 2012

{SRC} Banana Toffee Coconut Muffins

June 25, 2012 Posted by Lauren Keating under Breads, Breakfast, Cake and Pastry, Desserts, Fruit
15 Comments
At what point does a muffin become a cupcake?
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I did some research and found a lot of answers, ranging from the ratio of flour and sugar to fat, to the method of combining the wet and dry ingredients, to my favorite – the sound it makes when you throw it against the wall. Then, if course, there’s the old “does it have frosting?” method of deciding.
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None of that answered the question of what to call these amazing little cakes. There’s no frosting, but they’re light and fluffy. They have a high ratio and sugar and fat, but the taste like muffins. Or do they? They definitely have a muffin-like thing going on, but they’re sweet and delicate and light. The BruCrew Life, the blog I was paired with for this months Secret Recipe Club, calls them muffins though so that’s what I’m going with. After all, it’s her recipe and who am I to argue?
One again, I was “stuck” with a baking blog for SRC… this event is going to be the death of my diet! BruCrew had so many great recipes to choose from. I was thisclose to making her Berry Burst Oreo Scones (um, hi!) when these muffins caught my eye. Bananas? Coconut? Toffee?! Sold.
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I thought about messing with them,using whole wheat flour or adding flax, but in the end I kept them almost exactly as written. The only things I changed were using reduced fat cream cheese instead of regular and crushing up Heath bars rather than buying both toffee and chocolate chips. I’m glad I stuck with the original recipe because good Lord are these good. They’re seriously some of the best muffins (or cupcakes) I’ve ever had. The flavor is light and summery, the cream cheese keeps them moist and rich, and the texture is perfect. I’ve eaten 3 today. The rest are being brought to work tomorrow because I don’t trust myself around the – I need them out of the house! If you’re looking for a sure fire way to please a crowd, give these a try!
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Banana Toffee Coconut Muffins

Yields 30 muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutesTotal Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

    • 4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
    • 3/4 cupButter, softened
    • 1 Package (8 ounces) Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
    • 2 cups Sugar
    • 2 Eggs
    • 3 ripe Bananas, mashed
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
    • 3 cups Flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • Pinch Salt
    • 1 cup Shredded Coconut
    • 3 Heath Bars, crushed

    Preparation

    1. Heat oven to 350*F. Line 30 muffin cups with paper liners.
    2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.Stir in the bananas.
    3. Mix the dry ingredients in a second bowl, the gradually stir into the wet ingredients. Stir in the coconut and Heath pieces.
    4. Using a Tablespoon or large cookie scoop, fill prepared muffin tins 3/4 full. Top with additional coconut. Bake for 25 minutes or until done.


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    Moroccan Spiced Lamb with Fiery Chili Sauce

    June 20, 2012 Posted by Lauren Keating under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, Greek/Mediterranean, Grilled, Sandwiches, Shawn's Favorites, Special Occasions, Summer, Weekend Meals
    2 Comments
    Uh, so I’m a little embarrassed. The whole point of this post was supposed to be to let you know about a photo contest that Superior Farms was hosting. In fact, that was the whole reason I made this dinner. The problem is, I lost track of time; the contest closed on Monday. Oops!
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    It was worth it though – you should run to the store and buy some lamb tonight so you can make this meal the very next chance that you get. It’s absolutely divine, we kept moaning about how great it was as we ate. We sat at the table for at least a half hour after we had finished our plates, picking at the lamb that was left on the platter – we just couldn’t bring ourselves to pack it away!
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    The lamb is generously seasoned with fragrant spices that form a crust around the perfectly rare interior. The sauce, which took all of twenty minutes to make, was fiery hot (on a scale if 1-10, I’d give it a solid 8.) but also perfectly balanced and complex. Its also my new favorite condiment. Because of the heat, a little goes a long way and we had a ton left over. It’s perfect with the lamb, but it’s also delicious on hot dogs. I can’t wait to try it on turkey burgers too – I think it will give new life to what can typically be a bland item.
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    I served the lamb and sauce with blanched asparagus and wild rice and, frankly, it was the best meal I’ve had in a very long time – either at home or at a restaurant. It’s the kind of dinner that reminds me why I love to cook. I’ll definitely be making it again.
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    The next day, I served slices of the leftover lamb wrapped in warm naan bread with crispy romaine dressed with fresh lemon juice,sliced red onion, and more of the sauce. Super easy, absolutely delicious.
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    Moroccan Spiced Lamb with Fiery Chili Sauce

    Yields 8 servings

    Prep Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour
    Adapted from Fine Cooking

    Ingredients

      • 4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
      • 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
      • 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
      • 2Tablespoons Ras al Hanout
      • 5 pounds Boneless Leg of Lamb, trimmed
      • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
      • 1 Onion, diced
      • 2 Jalapeño Peppers, minced
      • 2 cloves Garlic, mashed
      • 2 teaspoons ground Coriander
      • 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
      • 1/4 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper Flakes
      • 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
      • 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
      • Chopped Cilantro, for garnish

    Preparation

    1. Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl. Rub into the lamb, coating all sides evenly. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
    2. While the lamb rest, prepare the sauce. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan until it shimmers. Add the onion and jalapeño. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the spices and cook for 1 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for one more minute. Stir in 3/4 cup water and Vinegar. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender and purée. Let cool to room temperature.
    3. Heat a grill to medium-high. Grill he lamb for 6-8 minutes on one side, or until it is deep brown. Flip the lamb over and turn off the burner directly underneath. Grill 8-10 more minutes. Remove lamb from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro. Slice across the grain and serve with sauce.

    Superior Farms provided me with the lamb I used to make this recipe and information about their photo contest. All opinions are my own.

     

    Grilled Barbecue Chicken Pizza

    June 18, 2012 Posted by Lauren Keating under Breads, Chicken and Poultry, Grilled, Light, Quick Weeknight Meals, Shawn's Favorites, Summer
    2 Comments

    Summer in Upstate New York doesn’t last long, so I like to soak up every ounce of it while it’s here. That means spending tons of time outside and not a lot of time holed up in the kitchen.
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    Luckily, just about everything I’d want to make inside can also be cooked on the grill. Including pizza! Since grills get super hot (mine is upwards of 600 degrees on high), they’re closer to pizza ovens than normal indoor ovens are. That means the pizza cooks really quickly (8 minutes, tops) and the crust gets charred and smokey. If you don’t have a grill, or if it’s gross and rainy outside, you can always make this in the oven too, but the crust won’t be quite as delicious.
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    We eat pizza pretty frequently and sometimes I get kind of sick of it. This time, I decided to mix things up and use barbecue sauce instead of tomato sauce. I had some extra chicken legs from another recipe I’m working on (the store only had huge packs! I’ll be eating chicken legs for weeks!), so I grilled those with more sauce and used them as my main topping. At the last minute, I decided to add a little cheddar cheese – it was delicious with the barbecue flavors! A sprinkle of fresh cilantro over the cooked pizza kept tasting light and fresh.
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    Grilled Barbecue Chicken Pizza

    Yields 4 servings

    Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes

    The beauty of this recipe is in its simplicity, so use the best ingredients you can to really let the flavors shine through. This pizza dough has a really delicious and complex flavor, but it needs to rest for one hour and chill for at least two. If you don’t have time for that, use the best refrigerated dough your grocery store has. Same with the sauce. I like the zip from a sweet and spicy sauce, but use whatever you like best.

    I used chicken legs because I had them already; thighs will work just as well. Chicken breast is ok, but won’t be as juicy or flavorful.

    Ingredients

      • 3/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
      • 2 boneless, skinless Chicken Legs
      • 12 ounces Pizza Dough
      • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
      • 1/4 cup Diced Red Onion
      • 1 cup (total) shredded Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Provolone Cheese
      • Chopped Cilantro

    Preparation

    1. Brush chicken legs with 1/4 cup barbecue sauce. Grill over high heat for 12-15 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 165*F. Cool slightly, then finely chop the meat. Set aside.
    2. Divide the dough in half. Stretch each half into an oval about 1/4″ thick. Brush one side of each crust with olive oil. Place on grill, oiled side down, and cook until the crust is dry and grill lines form, about 3 minutes. Remove from grill and reduce heat to medium.
    3. Flip the crusts so the grilled side is up. spread with barbecue sauce. Top with cheeses, chicken, and onion. Return to grill and close the lid. Cook 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is cooked through. Remove from grill and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
    4. Cut each pizza into 4 slices.

    “Big Food” at the Peabody & Meatball Salads

    June 14, 2012 Posted by Lauren Keating under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, Italian, Misc., Salads
    212 Comments

    One of the best parts about living in Albany is that it’s in a great location for day trips.* On any given Saturday, especially in the summer, it isn’t at all uncommon for us to find ourselves wandering randomly around Lake Placid, taking in the scenery in Vermont, or hitting the outlets (and the Trader Joe’s!) in Massachusetts.

    Lately, one of my favorite day trips has been to Connecticut – specifically to New Haven and the Peabody Museum. We discovered it last summer, and I couldn’t believe that I’d live so close to it for so long without ever hearing about it! It’s a small museum, but it’s full of really cool stuff like dinosaur bones and mummies (it doesn’t matter how old I get, I’ll always think those things are awesome). Through this past January, they had a temporary exhibit of x-rayed fish – it sounds strange, but they were absolutely beautiful. I even went into the gift shop to see if they sold prints, but unfortunately I was out of luck on that one.

    It looks like it’s time for me to make another trip down there – their new multi-media exhibit about health, culture, and the evolution of eating is right up my alley. “Big Food” looks like a pretty powerful exhibit – since it opened in February, over 50,000 people have used their online app to pledge to improve the health of themselves, their families, and their communities by doing everything from watching less TV to celebrating Meatless Monday to buying local products and working to improve the quality of foods served in schools. (You can check it out and make you own pledge here.)

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    Meatball Salad

    Yields 2 servings

    Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 110 minutes

    After walking around the museum for a few hours I’m usually starving. Food in New Haven tends to be pretty typical for a college town but I really like the patio at Box 63. The nachos are awesome, and I’m always intrigued by the meatball salad. I’ve never ordered it there, but I’ve recreated it at home and it’s really good – and a nice alternative for those of us who love meatballs but don’t always want the heavy carbs that usually accompany them them. Of course, you can always seek out a Connecticut Style Lobster Roll, too.

    Ingredients

      • 4 cups chopped Romaine
      • 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
      • 1 Lemon, juiced
      • 2 ounces soft Blue Cheese (such as Roquefort or Cashel Blue), crumbled
      • Roasted Red Peppers and Sliced Red Onion
      • 6 Meatballs in Sauce

      Preparation

      1. Put the romaine in a large bowl. Dress with the olive oil and lemon juice. Add blue cheese, roasted red peppers, and red onion slices. Gently toss to combine the ingredients.
      2. Divide the salad between two serving bowls. Top with meatballs.

      (I’ll also let you in on my Connecticut secret – the Saks in Westport? Small, unintimidating, and soooo much less picked over during sale-times than the NYC location. (Especially the shoe section – I bought some gorgeous Jimmy Choos for less than you’d pay at Nine West). And there’s an Anthropologie right down the road. And across the parking lot from that is a super cute French antique store.)

      *Yes, I just said that the best part of living here is how easy it is to leave.

      Which Connecticut destination would you like to visit? Leave a comment below and you will be entered into a sweepstakes from BlogHer to win $1,000 to help you plan your trip!Advertisement

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      Cider Braised Bratwurst & Review

      June 11, 2012 Posted by Lauren Keating under Beef, Lamb, and Pork, German, Reviews, Shawn's Favorites, Summer
      1 Comment

      A month or two ago, I was flipping through a magazine and I literally squealed when I saw an ad for Michelob ULTRA light cider. I like hard cider a lot, but I don’t drink it often because it’s pretty high in calories; the idea of a light cider really excited me. A few days later, I received an email from BlogHer asking me if I’d like to review it. Of course I said yes!

      Unfortunately, I have to say that I was pretty disappointed in the cider. I thought it was really sweet and was missing the complex, fermented flavor that cider usually has. It kind of just tasted like apple juice, but it also had a little bit of a sour apple kind of thing going on. Not bad, but not at all what I had been expecting.

      I can see this cider being a good option for people who don’t like beer but are looking for something that’s just as easy to grab. It’s also gluten free, and I know that my friends with celiacs will appreciate having another (affordable!) option available to them.

      Honestly, I probably wouldn’t buy these for myself… but then again I don’t typically like sweet drinks. (Looking at the information that they sent me, it says they’re a great alternative to white wine. I can see that, but I almost always drink red wine.) Shawn enjoys sweeter drinks, and he liked these more than I did, too. What I did really like was the bratwurst that I cooked in some of the cider – it was some of the best I’ve ever had!

      I started by putting uncooked sausage in a shallow pan with some sliced onions. I covered everything with cider (about a bottle and a half) then simmered them over medium heat until cooked through – it took about 10 minutes. After the bratwurst was cooked, we threw it on a very hot grill to crisp them up. They stayed nice and juicy since they didnt need to stay on the grill or long, and the cider flavor infused the sausages and gave them a really great flavor. I served them with the onions that had cooked in the cider, red cabbage, and potato dumplings (kartoffelkloesse) for a great summertime dinner.

      Michelob ULTRA Light Cider is all-natural and is sweetened with stevia. It has 130 calories per twelve ounce bottle – one third less than other ciders. It’s also naturally gluten free.

      Check out more reviews on the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com or learn more on the Sponsor’s Site.

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      Smoked Salmon and Potato Frittata

      June 3, 2012 Posted by Lauren Keating under Cooking For One, Fish and Seafood, Lent, Light, One Pan, Quick Weeknight Meals
      6 Comments

      Lately, I’ve been using up a lot of my culinary creativity on freelance projects.  One of my favorites are these potato and smoked salmon pancakes with creamy dill sauce that I created for Eat Better America last month. I ate them every day for a week and still wasn’t tired of them. They were crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and the smoked salmon went perfectly with potato.

      When I found myself with extra egg whites after making a batch of grapefruit curd the other day, I decided to make a frittata using the same flavors as those pancakes. While it was a little less elegant than the potato pancakes, it was just as luxurious. Plus, it was quick and easy – a combination that can’t be beat!

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      Smoked Salmon and Potato Fritatta

      Yields 4 servings
      Prep Time: 20 minutes
      Total Time: 20 minutesServed with a crisp salad dressed with a simple tarragon vinaigrette (equal parts tarragon vinegar and olive oil, with a touch of mustard, salt, and pepper), this frittata makes a great lunch or light dinner.

      I used smoked salmon trimmings to make both these and the potato pancakes that I mentioned above. This new-to-me product isn’t as pretty as the smoked salmon that I’m used to (and the small, thickly cut pieces probably wouldn’t work well on a bagel) but at under $9 a pound, it’s a steal!

      Ingredients

        • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
        • 1 Onion, diced
        • 1 Russet Potato, diced
        • 1/4 cup Vegetable Stock
        • 2 Eggs plus 2 Egg Whites, beaten
        • 2 Tablespoons plain, fat free Greek Yogurt
        • 2 ounces Smoked Salmon, chopped
        • Freshly chopped Dill (optional)

      Preparation

      1. Heat the broiler.
      2. Heat the olive oil in a 8-inch omelet pan. Add the onion and potato. Cook about 5 minuts, or until the onion is soft and the edges of the potato begin to brown and crisp. Add the vegetable stock and allow the potatoes to steam over medium heat until they are soft and the liquid is cooked off, about 10 minutes.
      3. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, egg whites, and yogurt. Pour into the omelet pan. Top with the salmon. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes, or until the bottom of the frittata begins to set. Transfer the pan to the oven and broil for 3 or 4 minutes, or until lightly browned and fluffy. Sprinkle with fresh dill, if desired. Remove from pan and cut into 4 servings.

      Smoked Salmon and Potato Fritatta

      Yields 4 servings
      Prep Time: 20 minutes
      Total Time: 20 minutesServed with a crisp salad dressed with a simple tarragon vinaigrette (equal parts tarragon vinegar and olive oil, with a touch of mustard, salt, and pepper), this frittata makes a great lunch or light dinner.

      I used smoked salmon trimmings to make both these and the potato pancakes that I mentioned above. This new-to-me product isn’t as pretty as the smoked salmon that I’m used to (and the small, thickly cut pieces probably wouldn’t work well on a bagel) but at under $9 a pound, it’s a steal!

      Ingredients

        • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
        • 1 Onion, diced
        • 1 Russet Potato, diced
        • 1/4 cup Vegetable Stock
        • 2 Eggs plus 2 Egg Whites, beaten
        • 2 Tablespoons plain, fat free Greek Yogurt
        • 2 ounces Smoked Salmon, chopped
        • Freshly chopped Dill (optional)

      Preparation

      1. Heat the broiler.
      2. Heat the olive oil in a 8-inch omelet pan. Add the onion and potato. Cook about 5 minuts, or until the onion is soft and the edges of the potato begin to brown and crisp. Add the vegetable stock and allow the potatoes to steam over medium heat until they are soft and the liquid is cooked off, about 10 minutes.
      3. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, egg whites, and yogurt. Pour into the omelet pan. Top with the salmon. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes, or until the bottom of the frittata begins to set. Transfer the pan to the oven and broil for 3 or 4 minutes, or until lightly browned and fluffy. Sprinkle with fresh dill, if desired. Remove from pan and cut into 4 servings.