Breakfast of champions

There's nothing like cake and coffee in the morning.

Strawberry Buckle and coffee

I used the recipe for the Blueberry Buckle, substituting the following:
orange zest for lemon zest and strawberries for blueberries (because that's what I had on hand).

Happy Birthday, Maggie!

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake (it looks weird because my cutting skills were a little off)

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated November & December 2009

Buckle up

Blueberry Buckle

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated July & August 2005

INGREDIENTS
Streusel
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch table salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, softened but still cool

Cake
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
2/3 cup (about 4 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated zest from 1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 cups (about 20 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over

PREPARATION

1. FOR THE STREUSEL: Mix flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until well combined and no large brown sugar lumps remain. Add butter and mix until until mixture resembles wet sand and no large butter pieces remain. Set aside.

2. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9" round cake pan with 2" sides with non-stick cooking spray, line bottom with parchment paper round, and spray parchment; dust pan with flour and knock out excess.

3. Whisk flour and baking powder in a small bowl; set aside. In standing mixer fitted with a flat beater, cream butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes; using rubber spatula, scrape down bowl. Beat in vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer running at medium speed, add eggs one at a time; beat until partially incorporated, then scrape down bowl and continue to beat until fully incorporated (mixture will appear broken). With mixer running on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat until flour is almost incorporated, about 20 seconds. Stir batter with rubber spatula, scraping bottom and sides of bowl, until no flour pockets remain and batter is homogenous; batter will be very heavy and thick. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries until evenly distributed.

4. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth surface. Squeeze portion of streusel in hand to form large clump; break up clump with fingers and sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Repeat with remaining streusel. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool on wire rack 15-20 minutes (cake will fall slightly as it cools).

5. Run paring knife around sides of cake to loosen. Place upside-down plate (not serving platter) on top of cake pan; invert cake to remove from pan, lift off cake pan, then peel off and discard parchment. Invert cake onto serving platter. Cool until just warm or to room temperature, at least 1 hour. Cut into wedges and serve.

Pizza pizza

Homemade pizza dough with tomatoes, marinated artichoke and Italian sausage.

Strata-fied

Ryan decided to cut back on meats and desserts. This is what he got for his birthday.

Spinach and Cheese Strata

Recipe from SmittenKitchen.

INGREDIENTS

1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze of all excess liquid, and chopped
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread in 1-inch cubes (1/2 lb)
6 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
2 ounces finely grated parmesan (1 cup)
2 3/4 cups milk
9 large eggs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

PREPARATION

Sauté onion in butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking for one minute. Stir in spinach, remove from heat and set aside.

Spread one third of the bread cubes in a well-buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other ceramic baking dish. Top with one-third of bread cubes,one-third of spinach mixture and one-third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach and cheese.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for eat least 8 hours or up to a day.

The next day, let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350°F. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8

Going green

Green Beans with Shiitake Mushrooms

recipe from epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Green-Beans-with-Shiitake-Mushrooms-105815

INGREDIENTS

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds slender green beans, trimmed
• 2/3 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

PREPARATION

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add shiitake mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.

Transfer mushrooms to medium bowl. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in same skillet.

Add shallots and garlic and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes.

Add green beans and toss to coat with butter.

Pour broth over green bean mixture.

Cover and simmer until liquid evaporates and green beans are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in shiitake mushrooms.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer to platter and serve.

Flan-ting it

Leche Flan

INGREDIENTS

3/4-1 cup sugar

10 egg yolks
1 (14 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

PREPARATION

-melt sugar in sauce pan. Pour to coat bottom of flan pans in a thin layer. (work quickly to spread the sugar, it solidifies fast. WARNING: sugar and pan will be very HOT)

-whisk yolks, milks and vanilla in a medium bowl. For smoother flan, filter through a fine sieve or cheesecloth.

-divide mixture evenly into flan pans to desired thickness (usually 1/2"-1" thick-depending on size of dish)

-cover pan with plastic wrap and secure with rubber band.

-steam flan for ~45 minutes

- allow flan to cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

-serving: cut flan around edges to loosen from pan. Flip over onto serving dish/plate.

--this recipe makes about 3 x 6" oval flans.

Oldie but goodie

Chicken Marsala- I'm always surprised by how easy this recipe is, and how tasty the mushrooms are.

recipe from Food Network/Emeril Lagassi: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chicken-marsala-recipe/index.html

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows [you can also buy it at the store]
  
• 2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin [I just cut in half and don't do the pounding]
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 4 tablespoons butter
  
• 3 cups sliced mushrooms (cremini, oyster, shiitake) [I use shiitake]
  
• 3/4 cup Marsala [I use sweet marsala]
  
• 1 cup chicken stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper [I don't usually add any seasoning]
  
• Chopped chives, for garnish

PREPARATION

In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and Essence and stir to combine thoroughly. Quickly dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges and have given off their liquid. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil, scraping to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, add salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings. [I like to eat this over farfalle (bow-tie pasta)]

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning)

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

My roots are showing

I'm not entirely sure why, but for some reason, I feel the need to learn how to make all my favorite Filipino desserts...and then maybe tackling some of the main dishes. Since I already know how to make turon (banana eggrolls), flan and halo-halo (shaved ice with a bunch of beans and stuff), it's time to move on down the list.

Suman: Filipino style sticky/sweet rice cooked with coconut milk and wrapped in banana leaves- traditionally eaten dipped in sugar.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups sweet rice (aka, sticky or glutinous rice)
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
2 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar, plus extra for dipping (this wasn't part of the recipe I found online-I accidentally added it instead of salt- but it came out good anyway)

banana leaves (usually found frozen in filipino/asian markets)

PREPARATION

1. Soak the rice in water until the grains are swollen, about 1 hour. (I couldn't really tell if the rice was swollen or not, and I was a little pressed for time, so I soaked it for an hour and hoped for the best)

2. Drain rice.

3. Heat coconut milk, salt and sugar in a saucepan until just boiling. (The original recipe didn't call for this either, but my mom suggested it and I feel like it helps to incorporate the salt and sugar-who knows, this is the first time I've done this)

4. Wipe down banana leaves with a clean moist cloth and cut into rectangles approximately 10"x 6-8"-with the ribs of the leaves going lengthwise (the size of the leaves will vary by how big you want to make the suman). Cut some leaves into thin strips to use as ties.

5. Place ~2 Tbs rice mixture on the banana leaf, centered lengthwise. Roll into a tube and fold in edges. Tie strip around the center to hold the leaf closed. (Ideally, the edges will overlap, if not, use two ties)-continue until you use up all the rice, or leaves...whichever comes first.

6. Place uncooked suman into a pot of boiling water. Boil for about 1 hour. The suman should feel plump when they are done.

7. Remove from water and cool for a little while before eating. (I like eating them warm either dipped or drizzled with sugar. You can also make a coconut milk and brown sugar sauce (just boil one can of coconut milk with 1/4 -1/2 cup sugar until thick)--yumm.