overnight blueberry french toast casserole

Not that I’m exactly a pro, but I’m learning that hosting in-home events can be a challenge. Especially if, like me, you don’t cook often. The timing can be tricky and you don’t want for your guests to be stuck waiting for too long without enough to eat. Everything coming out once everyone has left would definitely be a hostess faux pas.

I’d never tried an overnight french toast casserole but thought it was the perfect addition to the line-up for Dixie’s recent birthday brunch (AKA my annual excuse to have all of my friends over for brunch in February). I adapted it from this version I found online.

Ingredients:

• 12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (or, if you’re like me and bought new bread, oatmeal thick style bread worked quite well – added a bit of additional flavor)
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 12 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon bourbon (whatever you have will work – optional, but delightful)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon butter

Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.

Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, bourbon, and syrup in a large bowl. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Take out the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.

In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast.

The result was quite good. The recipe claimed that it would serve 10, but I think most at the event were able to get a bite of this. Perfect for splitting at an event like this.

In addition to lots of great food and conversation, my little five-year-old pup was completely exhausted with all the fun she had. Win!

 

spicy chicken tacos & a night in

It was a busy weekend – but in the best way possible. Up at 5am to head to NJ for the day on Saturday. In Long Island and back late from watching the Super Bowl. It was an amazing weekend filled with friends I don’t see enough of – don’t get me wrong – but the thought of staying in last night for cooking and some Homeland watching had me smiling most of yesterday afternoon.

T found a fun recipe from the Food Network for chicken tacos and we were going to do as lettuce wraps instead of with tortillas. Between those and the toppings, it was like a built in salad. I knew I was going to like this recipe when I saw two ingredients – Serrano peppers and smoked paprika (my current obsession). This recipe was nice and easy and flowed much better with the two of us working together – him slicing/dicing/cubing and me mixing/sautéing/simmering.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 10 garlic cloves
• 5 yellow onions, minced
• 4 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breast (diced into 1/2 inch cubes) Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Serrano chiles, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds (toasted)
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 4-5 cups chicken stock or water

Taco Toppings

• 2 red onions, sliced thin
• 12 radishes, sliced thin
• 6 small tomatoes, diced [we substituted a small can of diced tomatoes]
• 1 pint sour cream
• 2 bunches of cilantro (roughly chopped)
• 1 head of Boston lettuce (rinsed/dried in stacks of individual leafs)

Directions

Heat a large sauté pan over medium hear and pour in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add garlic and onions, cooking together until soft and caramelized (10-12 minutes).

While the garlic and onions are cooking, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over the chicken and toss until the pieces are coated. Heat a different pan over medium-high heat, coated with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the chickehn until it is lightly browned. The recipe said 6-8 minutes, but this ended up taking more like 12-14 minutes for me as I only had a smaller pan to use.

Once the onions and garlic are caramelized and softened, add the serranos, paprikas, cumin (we omitted this as the store did not have the cumin seeds) and oregano. When the chicken is done, add it into the pan with the onions. Pour in the broth or water and bring to a boil (note: we agreed the next time, we would omit this and instead use the juice from the tomato can, as our sauce ended up on the watery side). Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens – the recipe claimed 20 minutes, but I kept this going for about 25. Serve on the Boston lettuce with the toppings, as desired.

Overall, a quick, flavorful, and easy recipe to make for a chilly night in. Paired nicely with the packaged “taco rice” we found at the grocery store. T’s addition of lime juice mixed into the sour cream was a nice one. Oh and Homeland? Totally addicted… (almost to season 2!)

 

peanut butter & perserverance

I’d forgotten how therapeutic cooking can be. Baking, in particular. I do believe people usually lean one way or another. You have your bakers, who like measurement and absolutes, and then you have the cooks, who look at various ingredients and can play, with it with or without a formal recipe. I’d just finished Alyssa Shelasky’s “Apron Anxiety”, where the kitchen functions more or less as her sanity – providing her a release when nothing else seems to be able to do the same. Great book – perfect summer read if you love food and haven’t picked it up yet.

 

Last Wednesday, I’d planed on making T a big batch of peanut butter cookies. I figured I’d be up late making them since I had trapeze, but I found myself home an hour early after leaving midway through the class in tears. While the class wasn’t my finest, the substitute teacher who didn’t know me or my capabilities had said some things which really upset me. Out of line seeing as this is something I do only once a week rather than in their formal circus training program.

Still coated in a thin layer of chalk that seems to linger until the next morning, I started scraping out what was left of my large container of peanut butter from Costco. It doesn’t last long when you’re making peanut butter cookies, at 2 cups worth a pop.

This is my favorite recipe which I found on AllRecipes.com. I made them for T before a road trip only a month after we started dating and I’ve used it ever since. Lesson from last time – if you’re running low on granulated sugar, stop and go get some. It’ll be worth it. I added the tiniest bit of Splenda and it made them come out flatter than usual.

Ingredients
• 2 cups peanut butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F & grease cookie sheets. Stir peanut butter and sugar together until smooth. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then add in the baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets (if you put them too close together, they seem like they’ll never finish cooking!). Press a criss-cross into the top using the back of a fork. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (I usually start with way less and work my way up to avoid burning the bottoms). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

~~~~~~

Yesterday I went back to the rig for another class, determined to turn the prior week’s experience around. And even though I’m not where I was (had to take off 3 weeks when I tore up my hand in class and then a few weeks before that, I’d been out 3 weeks with a sprained ankle), I like to remember where I’ve been, and then I feel pretty good!

Here’s an older video… my swing is way lower. My toes aren’t remotely pointed and my strength, though more than it’s pre-trapeze days still is not so apparent.

I had to remind myself I’ve gotten stronger. Way stronger. This is me swinging for the first time out of safety lines three months ago. All me for the first time. No one pulling my lines. No one there to save me if I did anything dumb or to pull in any way, shape or form to help me get additional height. Just me. Just me.

And this is last night… Not perfect, but hey, I’m back up there. After all, that’s all I can do. Because unlike him, I know where I’ve been and I know how far I’ve come. Long road ahead but sometimes you have to keep it all in perspective, bake, and smile.

 

baked zeppole – another taste of puglia

Another favorite dish of Laura Giordano’s from the Zagat Presents: Taste of Puglia event was the zeppoles. I’m a big fan of zeppoles/beignets/whatever slight rendition someone serves up. The nice thing about these ones below is that they are not fried, which gives them a slightly lighter flavor. The black cherry jam worked well since it had a darker, heavier flavor in contrast to the pastry. This recipe has me convinced I just might be able to conquer pastries yet!

Ingredients for the pastries (choux)

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• A pinch of salt
• 2 cups of water
• 3/4 stick of butter
• 6 large eggs

Ingredients for the custard filling

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Black cherry jam

In a heavy saucepan, heat the water. Add the butter and the salt and remove from the stove once melted. Add the flour all at once. Beat with a wooden spoon. Return the pan to medium heat and beat the mixture until it becomes sort of a ball. Remove the pan from the heat again. Put the ball in a mixing bowl and add the eggs in one at a time, beating the dough with a wooden spoon or hand mixer. Note – make sure to blend in each egg well before proceeding to add in the next one. Using a pastry bag, squeeze out 1/4 inch puffs about 1/2 inch apart on a cookie sheet. Bake the cream puffs about 15 minutes at 392 degrees and then for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Transfer the cream puffs to cooling racks.

While the beignets (zeppole) are cooling, go ahead and start the custard. In a small bowl, mix the corn starch and sugar for the filing. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium-high heat until it’s almost boiling. In a mixing bowl combine the 6 eggs with the sugar and the corn starch and gradually add a couple of large spoonfuls of warm milk. When it’s well-blended, pour it into the pot until the mixture reaches the right thickness.

To serve, use a small knife to cut each zeppola in half. Fill each zeppola with some custard, replace the halts and put the zeppola on a serving dish. Add a teaspoon of jam to each zeppola and dust them with confectioner’s sugar.

 

zagat presents: a taste of puglia

A big fan of Italian food, I was intrigued by Zagat Presents event on February 29 – A Taste of Puglia – and was excited to learn I’d be going thanks to Google New York. I was familiar with Tuscany, having been there and some of the outlying areas, as well as Rome, but that is about the extent of my knowledge of the country. Everything was from Puglia, including the wine. I can’t say I’ve had a Puglian wine before, but everything I had there was quite good. Since then, I’ve noticed restaurants or wine bars with an extensive selection do carry some. Worth trying. I’m a big fan of Primitivo and the Verdeca and Negroamaro were excellent as well.

The event took place at the DeGustibus Cooking School, a space tucked into one of the top floors of the large Macy’s building in Herald Square. You have to know where you are going to find this unlabeled space, just a slight turn away from their extensive women’s suit section. The class was with Laura Giordano. She did the cooking portion and her husband spoke to the wines throughout the meal. They were both very knowledgeable but presented the content in a way so that it was very relatable. Perfect balance.

Laura Giordano, taking questions

Our menu was light and fresh even though several of the elements were fried. We had:

• Polpette di Melanzane – eggplant balls
• Orecchiette alla crudaiola – pasta with raw tomatoes, basil, and ricotta salata
• Salsicce di Maiale al vino bianco – pork sausages cooked with white wine
• Zucchine alla poverella – zucchini, mint, garlic, and balsamic vinegar
• Zeppole di S. Giuseppe – cream puff filled with custard cream and garnished with black cherry jam

The eggplant balls were actually one of the standouts for me. That’s the dish I need to finally make before too long, as I haven’t had anything quite like it before. The recipe below should yield approximately 30 eggplant balls.

• 3-4 big eggplants
• Parmiggiano cheese or Pecorino (if you use Pecorino, it’s saltier so definitely don’t add more salt)
• Finely grated bread crumbs (enough for the mixing and coating)
• 2-3 eggs (2 should be enough)
• Fresh mint, basil, or parsley
• Garlic (optional, we used about a clove of garlic in our version and it was a nice addition)

Cut the eggplant into big cubes and boil them in water for about 7-8 minutes. When they are done, they should be about as soft as when cubed potatoes are when they are finished. Pour into a colander and let them sit for about an hour to drain the excess water.

Later squeeze them by hands and start with the mixing ingredients. Collect the mixture into a bowl, combine the eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, a pinch of salt, pepper and your choice of herb leaves. Mix the ingredients well and shape them into meatballs.

Dip each meatball in the beaten egg first and then the breadcrumbs and let them sit in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes.

Begin to warm oil in a fryer. The oil is ready when you dip the handle of a wooden spoon and bubbles form around its edges. Deep fry the meatballs in hot sunflower oil and once brown and crunchy outside, place them on a big plate covered with a paper towel. Serve immediately while warm.

Finished Eggplant

So small. So simple. So good!

 

apple fritter rings

Every year for my dog’s birthday I throw a brunch. It’s just a nice excuse to have people over, cook up some great food, and catch up. Perfect. I’d found this recipe for apple fritter rings in Martha Stewart’s Everyday magazine around the holidays and had been waiting to try it.

I learned how to core an apple by hand (not hard – just takes a bit of time and patience). I also learned that an apron with bubbling oil is a wise choice (ooops) and that coated fried apples? Kind of amazing. One friend said I’d brought the county fair to my apartment in Brooklyn. Yes!

In Mid-Fry

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon group cinnamon
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil plus 2 cups for frying
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 medium tart apples – cored, peeled, & cut info 1/2 inch thick rings

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, 4 teaspoons oil, and eggs. Slowly stir in the flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a large, heavy, high-walled skillet (I used a tall cast iron one), heat 2 cups oil until it registers 375 degrees on a deep fat or candy thermometer. You’ll know it’s there because it’ll rapidly boil once you drop the batter in.

In batches, coat the apple rings in the batter and fry them until they’re a golden brown. This will vary a bit but should be around 4 minutes per batch, with you flipping the apples midway through the cook time.

Transfer the apples to a towel-lined plate or baking sheet to drain. Toss them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and serve. Yields about 20.

 

spicy turkey and bacon stir fry

I found this quick recipe in Everyday Food for stir fry. With bacon in it, how could it be bad?

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice (we used brown)
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless turkey (we used breasts – the original recipe called for thighs)
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce (we used more like 3)
• 5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1.5 inch pieces
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 2 bell peppers (any color) – cut into 1 inch piece
• 1 bunch of scallions, cut into 1.5 inch pieces

Cook the rice according to the package. While it’s cooking, whisk the egg white and cornstarch. Add the turkey, ensuring it’s fully coated. In another bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, and chili sauce. If you’re feeling adventurous, go for the heavier pour of chili sauce!

Veggies ready to go

Warm up your wok (or large skillet) over high. Cook the bacon until brown or crisp. We went with more of a pork belly alternative so I cooked until I liked the way it looked – around 7 minutes.

Then add the turkey and ginger, cooking for around 3 minutes – the turkey will have started to brown slightly when it’s done. Add the peppers and scallions, cooking until it’s just slightly tender (about 3 minutes). Add the soy sauce and cook until it fully covers the turkey, bacon, and veggies – about 2 more minutes. Serve over the rice.

What are some of your favorite stir fry combos?

 

lemony chicken with artichoke hearts

One of my eternal New Year’s resolutions seems to involve the kitchen. Deciding we can be more than casual acquaintances. Daresay maybe even working towards being good friends? Last week, I was excited to see this recipe pop up in my inbox. Lemony chicken. Yum. Artichoke hearts? Upgrade. The one odd thing in this recipe to me was vermouth. I’ve never cooked with it, but I guess fringe benefit is I’m ready to roll if anyone stops by and wants a martini.

Getting started simmering

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup vermouth
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

After adding the cornstarch. Thickening and almost ready.

I pretty much followed this recipe exactly, with the exception of chicken breast halves. I instead used halved chicken breasts, which I liked. The artichokes ended up very tender and the liquid portion made the chicken moist. I paired this with couscous, which tasted even better topped by the excess juice from the dish. Very easy and flavorful.

 

chicken + bacon spaghetti bake for #casscrazy11

I’ve always avoided cooking competitors, not because I can’t cook but because I’ve never really altered any recipe enough to feel comfortable saying it’s my own. I think it’s because I’m a big baker that I’m not one to monkey too much with recipes – though yes, I do realize life isn’t all cakes!

 The other day, this day to be precise, I learned about the Seventh Annual Brooklyn Casserole Party, put on by the Crazy Casserole Lady benefiting the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen.  Now growing up in the South, I’ve encountered lots of casseroles over the years. I’ll be the first to admit though that I didn’t partake in most of them. What can I say. I was a picky child, so the concept of throwing in a little this and that, firing up the oven, and calling it a meal wasn’t so appealing. Spaghetti casserole was one of the few though I embraced as a child, so it seemed to be an appropriate one to go with to prepare for this event. Let’s be real – it remains an awesome way to re-engineer your spaghetti the next day into something slightly different. Hurrah leftovers! I decided this cooking competition was a perfect first one for me.

I picked up so much bacon that I'll be eating bacon all week. So hard to be me.

I started with this recipe I found online on Mom!Mom!.com, altering it more to my liking (remove mushrooms – due to allergy, nix peas – due to strong anti-pea feelings, substitute bacon for ham – because everything is better with bacon). I used it as a good opportunity too to check out my local butcher. It was my first visit to one (in general, not just to this particular one), and it got the wheels turning on other things I’d like to cook in the future. It also just meant the bacon in the recipe is extra amazing. I didn’t overdo it based on the original recipe, but really wanted to up the amount of bacon. Depending on how the end result tastes, might do that next time I make this.

Chicken & Bacon Spaghetti Bake

• 4 ounces Spaghetti
• 1/4 pound thick-sliced bacon, diced
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons Flour
• 2 cups Tomatoes, canned, chopped, undrained
• 12 ounces Evaporated Skim Milk
• 1/2 cup zucchini, diced
• 1/2 cup Milk, skim
• 1 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 cups Chicken, skinless light meat, cooked, cubed
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Oregano (to taste)
• Crushed red pepper (to taste)

Break spaghetti pieces in half & cook according to package directions. Drain.

In large saucepan, cook the bacon, onion and garlic until onion is transparent.

Slowly add the flour and blend into the saucepan. Add undrained tomatoes, evaporated skim milk and milk. Cook and stir until the mixture thickens and is bubbly. Add shredded mild cheddar cheese (or can use colby cheese, if you prefer) and stir till melted.

Stir in cooked spaghetti, cubed chicken, and zucchini.

Casserole Ready for the Oven!

Pour into a 2.5-qt casserole dish and top with parmesan. Add black pepper, oregano, and crushed red pepper (optional, though in keeping with flavors I like, I wanted to add in my usual Italian seasoning favorites).  Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes.

I’m excited for tonight and can’t wait to see what casseroles the others bring to the event! I’ll have to report back on the flipside!

What are some of your favorite casseroles?

 

pb&j bars – so easy, it’s almost criminal to claim homemade

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I have so much to share here, which begins right about now. I’ve had a crazy last month, including a week long vacation to Cape Cod and packing up for my big move. I have some great food bites to share from my trip that will start to pop up shortly. I’m also finally moved into a new spot in Brooklyn – in with a fellow friend from Alabama (I noticed when moving in that there’s even Cafe du Monde mix in our pantry – love!), though I’m still somewhat surrounded by boxes. I’m excited though to finally have access to a real kitchen (photos to follow once I’m more moved in), which is why you’ll begin to see more cooking on here and not just restaurant reviews – and also why more of the restaurants may start to be Brooklyn spots. I’ll continue to mix it up though.

This past weekend, I was trying to figure out what to try to make for my boyfriend’s housewarming party. His prior roommates included one person with a nut allergy, so it was almost a requirement that whatever I made had to incorporate peanuts. I contemplated my PB&J cupcakes, but knowing they were a bit on the sweeter side for his tastes, kept looking for other options. My peanut butter cookies were sounding just too generic somehow.

Finally I found this recipe through MyRecipes for peanut butter and jelly bars that looked good and reasonably simple. And then I managed to to accomplish the unthinkable – find the beaters wrapped up in one of the yet-to-be-unpacked boxes, so I was set.

Topping the dough with the preserves layer

Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/4 lb.) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups strawberry preserves (or blueberry!)
• 2/3 cup salted peanuts
• 2/3 cup peanut butter chips (optional)

Click here for the full list of instructions. I’d say no more than 45 minutes to an hour tops to finish these. I ended up mixing preserves since I didn’t have enough of the one I bought. The recipe called for strawberry preserves, but I used blueberry instead. I also chose to leave out the peanut butter chips since I thought it might make it too sweet. I made it in the 13×9 pan, but might do 9×9 next time. This would give you more dough to spread across the preserves, which I think might make it better overall.

Final Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

These were a big hit though. Turned out great and didn’t even require a trial run to perfect.