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Thursday Recipe Exchange: Strawberries
Photo by JeffreyW
Strawberry Bread (recipe found here) became a recipe when I did what I always seem to do during fresh strawberry season, buy too many strawberries. Before I can finish them, they are overripe. The bread is much like banana bread, it does best with very overripe fruit and wow, does it pack a powerful strawberry flavor. And it’s not too sweet because I don’t like to overwhelm the tart goodness of the strawberries.
Tonight’s other treat is a variation on the recipe JeffreyW used in the picture above. I made it yesterday and thought it was the best shortcake I’ve ever made – really light and fluffy.
I’ll be honest, I prefer pre-made sour cream angel food cake with my strawberries. My local grocery bakery has them on sale this time of year, and I can’t make it better. Oh, let’s face it, I’ve never made a successful angel food cake, ever. Sigh. But for a homemade dessert, this shortcake would be my choice. Couldn’t be easier to make and tastes wonderful.
The cake is not terribly sweet which I prefer and I cut down the sugar on the strawberries by 1 tablespoon, because I prefer them tart. I can’t omit the sugar completely because you need sugar to bring the juices out of the berries, essential for strawberry shortcake. So you may want to adjust the sugar up or down according to your preference. Additional sugar in the cake will not affect how it bakes up.
What’s your favorite way to serve strawberries? Has anyone made a real Parisian strawberry tart? And more importantly, what are you weekend food plans?
Strawberry Shortcake
- 2 pints of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
- 5 to 7 tbsp sugar
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups heavy cream (you can substitute 3/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup butter)
- Whipped Cream (recipe below)
2 Mixing bowls
8×8 glass baking dish or baking sheet
Mix strawberries with 3 tablespoons sugar (I only used 2 tbsp, see note above) and set aside for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar (if you want sweeter, add an addition 1 to 2 tbsp sugar), and salt in a medium bowl. Add heavy cream and mix until just combined. You do not want to over mix this, just until all ingredients are combined, that’s why it’s important to whisk or sift together the dry ingredients. This is going to be a little moister than cookie dough – it does not look at all like cake batter, since it’s more of a biscuit mix. Spoon mixture into an ungreased 8-x8 square pan and pat down either by hand or use a spatula. I used a baking sheet and dropped spoonfuls onto the sheet to make 6 individual cakes. Bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes for cake pan, 10-12 minutes for baking sheet.
Remove shortcake from pan and place on a rack to cool slightly. Cut into 6 pieces and split each piece in half horizontally.
Spoon some of the strawberries with their juice onto each shortcake bottom. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then the shortcake top. Spoon more strawberries over the top and serve.
I made the whipped cream ahead of time and let it refrigerate so it was nice and cold when served:
Whipped Cream
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled (I chill the cream in a glass mixing bowl, along with the beaters)
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest*
Using a mixer, beat the heavy cream, until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Fold in sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest*.
*some people really like this, me not so much, I thought it overwhelmed the cream. I’ll omit it next time.
Thursday Recipe Exchange: Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies
Time for cookies. Chocolate chip cookies to be specific. JeffreyW cleaned out his pantry one day and came up with the ingredients for his Awesome Cookies w/Coconut.
JeffreyW’s Awesome Cookies w/Coconut
There are a few recipes I get requests for often. My dark chocolate chip cookie recipe is hands-down the recipe that I get requests for the most. And instead of wanting a copy of the recipe, most people want me to make them, convinced they couldn’t get them to turn out as good. I disagree. There are a couple of simple tricks that make these foolproof. One is to melt the butter before mixing with the sugars. This gives you a crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside cookie. Another is to let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or more, this brings out the toffee flavors in the dough. And finally, pull them from the oven just before they’re done and let them finish on the baking sheet for the last minute or so, this gives you a perfectly browned cookie and lets them set up just enough to transfer to a…PLATE. I’ve tried a baking rack and they are too gooey and get stuck on the rack. You can put parchment paper on it first, which I’ve done, but a plate works just fine.
Now, what’s your favorite type of cookie? Chocolate, fruit, sugar, peanut butter? I’m always on the look out for the perfect peanut butter cookie. I’m still looking…
Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 2 sticks butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp dash of salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 12 oz 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chips
- 1-1/2 cups walnut halves, roughly chopped
mixing bowl and cookie sheet
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Sift together salt, soda, and 2 1/4 cups flour, then add to butter mixture, blending well. Add more flour as needed. Add nuts and chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or longer. Keep remainder refrigerated while baking each batch. Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove just before done and let finish cooking on the baking sheet. Cool on plate or baking rack covered with parchment.
Melting the butter gives you a chewier, crispier cookie. Letting it rest in the refrigerator enhances the toffee flavor from the brown sugar. Big cookie bakeries let theirs rest overnight before baking. I don’t have that kind of patience, I want cookie! Though I’ve been known to double or quadruple this recipe and refrigerate in an airtight container for a week and make a fresh dozen each day.
You can also freeze the dough balls on parchment paper placed on a baking sheet and then store the balls in an airtight container for quick baking later.
Cross-posted at Balloon-Juice.
Orange Brownies
I started with Paula Deen’s recipe and after the first test batch it was apparent I would have to make some adaptations. Her original recipe was so over the top buttery and sweet it overwhelmed every other flavor. If you like gooey, buttery brownies, her recipe works well. I was baking for an audience that likes citrus more than sweet, so I adjusted accordingly. It’s a lighter, more tangy recipe.
Orange Brownies
Photo from Just a Pinch.com because my photos didn't turn out.
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (do NOT add water)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp grated orange zest
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.
Whisk together flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add butter, eggs, orange juice concentrate, zests and vanilla. Using a handheld electric mixer beat until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly and pierce entire cake with a fork. See frosting directions.
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, more as needed
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons orange juice, more as needed
In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter and cream cheese together with a hand-held electric mixer. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until it is all combined and smooth. Beat in the orange zest and juice. The spread should be light, whipped and moist, not stiff or firm. Spread 1/2 over brownies while they’re still warm. After cooled completely, spread remainder.
Thursday Recipe Exchange: Biscuits
JeffW's awesome biscuit photo. So beautiful I wouldn't even try to compete with my own.
I’ve been making a lot of biscuits in the last few weeks, no particular reason, it just seemed to be the perfect addition to several meals. A while back, JeffreyW posted the photo above and I commented that my biscuits were never quite that fluffy. He promptly pointed me to the recipe he used. I’ve used a variation of it ever since. These are by far the best biscuits ever and I can’t believe how easy they are to make, and they come out great every time.
I have plenty of biscuit variations, too: Cinnamon Biscuits, Cheddar Cheesy Biscuits and Whole Wheat Biscuits
Heavenly Biscuits
Big, fluffy and moist, they easily compete with any biscuit I’ve had, even at my favorite restaurant Lucille’s. I bake them in my large cast iron skillet.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1/3 cup butter (this really gives them a buttery flavor), softened, really, really softened
- 1 cup buttermilk – (I use 4 tbsp buttermilk powder to 1 cup water)
mixing bowl, baking sheet or cast iron skillet
In mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Gradually add milk. Mix together until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl. I had to add additional flour, this is a very moist dough. Turn out onto well floured surface and knead 10-15 times. I couldn’t roll this dough out it was too moist. I just flattened it by hand (about an inch thick, maybe a little less) and cut out the biscuits. With the extra flour I came up with 7 very large biscuits.
Bake at 425 degrees for 13-15 minutes, until golden brown. Put your oven rack in the middle to keep them from browning too much on the bottom. ====
Thursday Recipe Exchange: Braised Italian Chicken
Happy Thursday. I don’t know about you, but I could have used the weekend two days ago, it’s been that kind of week. Let’s get right to tonight’s ingredients: chicken and vegetables. This was really just my excuse to be able to test drive a recipe I’ve been thinking about for a while. I came across a recipe for an Italian braised chicken in a white wine sauce served over pasta and my first thought was, I wonder if you could do that with a traditional red sauce? I love chicken cacciatore, but the texture of the chicken leaves a lot to be desired. I could go with a traditional chicken parmesan, but that isn’t quite the same, the meat isn’t permeated with sauce flavor in the same way. This recipe gave me just what I was looking for, a nice textured chicken packed with flavor.
In case Italian chicken isn’t a favorite, I posted two other chicken recipes this week: Barbecue Chicken with Spinach and Grilled Lime Chicken. Next week: I’m taking requests. What would you like?
Now for tonight’s recipe:
Braised Italian Chicken
- 8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on
- Olive oil
- Flour
- Dried: basil, oregano, rosemary, cayenne pepper, pepper, salt, thyme
Sauce:
- 6-8 green onions, chopped
- 1 small zucchini cubed
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 4-6 button mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 2 tsp crushed garlic or equivalent
- 1/2 cup good red wine
- 6 oz can of tomato paste
- 14 oz can of diced tomatoes or equivalent (I use unsalted)
- 2-15oz cans of tomato sauce (again, I use unsalted)
- 2 tsp dried basil (or fresh equivalent)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (opt)
- Pinch of rosemary
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 10-16 oz of favorite pasta (I like angel hair with this dish)
Bowl, Saucepan, Skillet, Baking dish or Dutch oven
In a bowl, mix together about 2 cups of flour and a good amount of the spices. Wash and dry thighs. Dredge in flour and fry in large skillet in about 1/2 cup of olive oil (I start with skin side down and do not touch it until it moves easily when I nudge it with a fork, then I flip it). When browned on both sides, remove to a plate with paper towels to drain a bit. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add diced vegetables, cook until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute, then add wine, stirring to deglaze the pan. Add remaining ingredients, stirring to mix well. Let simmer, covered, on the stovetop while chicken browns.
In baking dish, add enough sauce to come 1/2 way up the side of the baking dish. Nestle chicken in the baking dish, skin side up. Now here is the important part, ladle additional sauce AROUND the chicken as needed, but DO NOT cover the top. Leave enough room for the browned top of the chicken to remain above the sauce. This lets it braise and the skin still stay crispy. Bake, UNCOVERED, for 1 hour and 30 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, check to make sure the sauce is barely bubbling, if it is boiling, reduce heat to 300 degrees. Chicken is done when it gives easily, but not falling off the bone.
Leave remaining sauce on the stove to simmer on low while the chicken cooks, you’ll probably want extra for the pasta. Prepare pasta just before chicken is done. Serve with salad or green beans and a nice deep red wine.
Prep time is a lot on this meal, so I suggest it for weekends or special guests. I also doubled the sauce and froze 1/2 for another meal.
Tonight we also get a glossary: What is braising? What is deglazing?
Thursday Recipe Exchange: Fruit Desserts
Cross-posted at Balloon-Juice
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m having fun with these Thursday night recipe posts. Thanks for playing.
I love chocolate, so it’s usually my sweet of choice. But a very close second is fruit desserts. Strawberries, apples, oranges, blueberries, citrus anything, I love them all. So I have a wide range of fruit dessert recipes available:
Strawberry Bread, Orange Cookies, Key Lime Pie Bars, Coconut Lemon Cake (perfect for Easter dinner), pineapple and cranberry upside-down cakes, blueberry oatmeal cookies, the list goes on…and on.
It was hard to narrow down the recipe for tonight, I ended up choosing two, Perfect Apple Crisp and Sour Cream Lemon-Poppy Seed Cake. One is decadant, one is quick and easy. What fruit desserts make the top of your list? Hit the comments with the recipes. Next week: I’ll be traveling again, but I’m thinking pizza, since JeffreyW has so many varieties and I’m usually hunting perfect pizza places while I travel.
On to tonight’s recipes.
This is one of the most requested birthday cakes at our office:
Sour Cream Lemon-Poppy Seed Pound Cake
You’ll want to prep the lemon juice, lime juice and zests ahead of time. You’ll need 2 lemons and 3 limes to complete the recipe.
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lime zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 sticks (1 cup) melted butter, cooled slightly
- 1 cup sour cream
- Dash of salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
Bundt or Angel Food pan, greased and floured
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Mix sugar, eggs, zests, lemon, juice, limejuice, sour cream, butter and salt until well blended. Mix together flour and baking soda. Add flour mixture in three sections to egg mixture, mixing until blended, but do not over blend. Fold in poppy seeds. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 75-90 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, or until cool to touch, then remove from pan to cool completely, about 2 hours.
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- Dash of vanilla extract
Whisk together until smooth. Pour over the top of cooled cake. Let stand about 10 minutes until set.
Next is a different take on apple crisp. I had seen video of a recipe that pre-cooked the apples in a cast iron skillet. The idea looked really good and since I’m all about cooking in my cast iron skillets, I thought I’d give it a whirl. And I have to say, that yes it did make the best apple crisp ever. It allows the apples to fully cook, then you can bake the “crisp” part at a higher temperature for a shorter time, giving it a really crisp top.
Cast Iron Apple Crisp
- 2 lbs apples – mix of sweet and tart (about 3 apples)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to taste
Topping:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (more as desired)
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
- 1 cup flour
10 inch cast iron skillet and small mixing bowl
Core and cut apples into small pieces (about 1/2 inch). Peeling is optional, but with this method the peels cook nice and soft, so it isn’t necessary.
Melt butter in skillet, add apples and sugar, stir until apples are well coated. Cover and cook on medium heat until apple mixture is soft and caramelized, stirring occasionally. About 20-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In mixing bowl, stir together butter, sugar, flour and oats, mix until crumbly. Crumble over the apple mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes, just until top is crispy golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes and serve warm.
What makes this so good is that because the apples are cooked on the stovetop, you can use a much higher heat in the oven and get a good, crisp top without drying the whole mixture out or under cooking the apples. Really, this is one of the best apple crisps I’ve made.
Alternately, if you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, you can transfer the cooked apple mixture to a glass baking dish, add topping and bake that way.
Whole Wheat Bread
It snowed again today. No one was happy about it. I needed something warm and comforting and bread seemed like the perfect way to cozy up the house.
At altitude, bread is always tricky. I have a few alterations, but no guarantees they will work every time. One thing I usually do is a quick-rise. I turn the kneaded bread out into a prepared pan. In this case my big cast iron skillet.
I cover it with a damp towel and wax paper and let it double. I don’t punch it down and do second rise. This creates a loaf that is denser and a bit yeastier – less complex in flavors than a double-rise loaf, but eliminates the risk of the dough rising too much, and then falling and creating a brick instead of a loaf of bread. Then I brush the loaf with cold water, place a tray of ice cubes in a shallow baking pan on the bottom rack and bake as usual. At the 20 minute mark I do an egg wash and let bake until it reaches 200 degrees F in the center (thanks JeffreyW for that tidbit).
This gives it a nice crisp, chewy crust. Some butter and honey and you’re all set to go. What’s this? I went to the cupboard and the honey pot was empty. Oh bother.
Thursday Night Recipe Exchange: Spinach Recipes
Recipe Exchange cross-posted at Balloon-Juice.
I thought last week went really well. Thanks for playing along. This week we delve into spinach recipes. I used to hate spinach. This is probably because I am a child of the 70′s and the only spinach I ever saw was canned or frozen, with the consistency of slime. As an adult I discovered fresh, baby spinach and I never looked back. One of my favorite spinach recipes is Spinach Lasagna.
JeffreyW's stuffed manicotti with spinach
To get us started:
Spinach Lasagna
This is one of my most requested recipes. Every time I make it, someone wants the recipe. Since the prep time is long, I usually only break it out for special occasions. It freezes well, so you can make a double batch and freeze two 8×8 pans of uncooked lasagna for two more meals. Thaw the night before (in the refrigerator) and cook until heated through, about 45 minutes to an hour. This recipe is great vegetarian, or you can add ground beef and sausage if desired.
This recipe takes about an hour to prepare and another hour to cook. It easily serves 6 – 8
Sauce:
- 3-15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 2-6 oz cans tomato paste
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp oregano, crushed
- 3 tsp basil, crushed
- 3 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & finely grated
- pinch of sugar (reduces acidity of the tomatoes)
- Optional: ½ lb ground beef and ½ spicy Italian sausage, browned
Saucepan
Add all ingredients to saucepan on medium-high, stirring constantly until it begins to boil lightly. Turn to low and let simmer while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Lasagna:
- 1 pkg lasagna noodles (16 oz), cooked and placed in cool water until layering*
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 8 oz fresh baby spinach, washed and dried and chopped
- 1 egg
- 12 oz sliced mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
13×9 baking dish (I prefer glass), lightly oiled
To prepare: Mix ricotta, spinach and egg until well blended. Ladle a layer of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover in a single layer of noodles. Ladle sauce over noodles. Spoon ½ of the ricotta mixture evenly (if you place large dollops evenly like putting cookie dough on a baking sheet, fairly close together, it will spread as it cooks, no need to smooth it). Layer 1/3 of the mozzarella over the ricotta. Repeat: noodles, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, noodles. On top of the last layer of noodles, add remaining sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, uncovered – I like to place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any spills as it bubbles. Place knife through the center, if it comes out heated through, remove and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. If it needs more cooking time, you can cover with foil to keep the cheese from burning and cook 10 more minutes. Let stand uncovered before serving.
*if you’d like to make your own noodles, here is the recipe I use:
Lasagna Noodles
When I do make the pasta, I make three, pan-sized noodles, rolled very, very thin. I place them uncooked in the dish, so they absorbed much of the sauce. I usually make a bit extra sauce to serve on the side with the lasagna.
- 3 cups unbleached flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
In a large bowl, add flour. Make a well in the center and add egg yolks, eggs and salt. Mix well with a fork. Mix in water, 1 tbsp at a time until dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a well floured board or pastry sheet. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll one ball out as thin as possible (I use a marble rolling pin, you can also use a pasta machine). Make sure to cover remaining balls with a damp towel until ready to use. Cut to fit pan. Repeat with remaining dough until you have 3 pan sized noodles. DO NOT COOK homemade noodles before putting lasagna together. Follow directions above for putting lasagna together.
Next Week: Favorite Super Bowl Food
Holiday Gift Ideas: Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are pretty and very tasty. They’re easy and just a touch above regular chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- dash of salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or peanuts), chopped
mixing bowl and cookie sheet
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Sift together salt, soda, flour and cocoa, then add to butter mixture, blending well. Add nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool on cooling rack.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Felt the need for some cookies and peanut butter was the ingredient that I seemed to have available.
Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1-1/4 cup flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
mixing bowl and cookie sheet
Thoroughly cream butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. Combine dry ingredients and slowly stir into creamed mixture. Mix well, dough will be stiff, if not add a bit more flour. Shape into 1″ balls and roll in sugar before placing on cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork in a criss-cross shape and bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Don’t let get too brown.
Best served with a cold glass of milk.
TaMara
jeffreyww
LFern7
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