Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Vanilla Joe-Joe Strawberry Cheesecake

March 2, 2011

We have a drawer at work filled with snacks that help get us through the day. There are usually choices like pretzels, granola bars, nuts, chocolate, etc, but you’ll always find Trader Joe-Joe’s Vanilla Sandwich Crème Cookies (with real vanilla bean speckles!) because we’re completely addicted! I usually munch on one type of snack for a couple of weeks until I get sick of it and then move onto something else, but we just can’t get enough of these cookies. You have to go get a box if you haven’t tried them yet, and don’t go thinking you can substitute Golden Oreos or the brand from Whole Foods – we’ve tried them all and they’re not nearly as good!

So, when it was time to bring in a treat for Sima’s birthday, I knew I wanted to use Vanilla Joe-Joes! Sima requested cheesecake, so that made things pretty easy. I made a crust with the Joe-Joe’s and also stirred some cookies into the cheesecake itself. Then I topped the cheesecake with strawberries, spread on a layer of whipped cream, and garnished my creation with a few more Joe-Joe’s. Yes, there’s an entire box of cookies in this cheesecake and I wouldn’t have it any other way – this is the perfect celebratory dessert!

Vanilla Joe-Joe Strawberry Cheesecake
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Crust:
24 Trader Joe-Joe Vanilla Sandwich Crème Cookies, pulsed in the food processor into crumbs (2 1/4 cups crumbs)
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 coarsely chopped Trader Joe-Joe Vanilla Sandwich Crème Cookies (I cut mine in fourths, 2 cups)

Strawberries and Whipped Cream Topping:
1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced (3 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
6 coarsely chopped Trader Joe-Joe Vanilla Sandwich Crème Cookies (I cut mine in fourths)

Directions:
To make the crust, heat oven to 350˚F. Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter in a medium bowl. Transfer the mixture to a greased 9-inch springform pan, and press into a uniform layer over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Cook crust for 10 minutes at 350˚F.

To make the cheesecake, combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl and beat on medium-high speed with a mixer for 3 minutes or until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla. Gently stir in chopped cookies. Pour into prepared crust and bake at 350˚F for 60 minutes or until edges are set and middle is slightly wobbly. Cool to room temperature, about one hour. Place in the refrigerator for several hours or until chilled.

To make the topping, mix strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl. Let the berries macerate for an hour at room temperature. Meanwhile, place cream and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl and use an electric mixer with a whisk attachment and beat until stiff peaks form. Immediately before serving, evenly spread strawberries over chilled cheesecake with a slotted spoon (note – if assembling the night before I suggest not macerating the strawberries so no juice runs out). Spread whipped cream on top of the strawberries and evenly sprinkle with chopped cookies. Makes 20 servings.

Nutrition: 400 calories, 30.0g fat, 1.3g fiber, 6.2g protein per serving
Cost: $0.62 per serving

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Two Year Blogiversary Giveaway

February 26, 2011

Today is my second blogiversary! You can read the story behind why I started my blog here. I love interacting with you all – every comment makes me smile and it really makes my day when someone tries one of my recipes, so thank you!

To celebrate, you know I had to do a giveaway. I actually have two, one sponsored by me and one from CSN Stores, who as you probably know, has everything from modern dining room furniture to gorgeous bakeware.

First, I wanted to share the two cookbooks that have inspired me most in the past year. Cooking from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iver has given me enough confidence to try creating my own recipes with an Indian twist, like Indian Saag Naanburgers, Chicken Tikka Masala Naanwiches, Indian Spiced Salmon with Pineapple Chutney, and Indian Spiced Cauliflower, Potato, and Pea Soup. Cooking from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless made me realize how much I like ancho chile powder, which I’ve used in my Mini Meatball Mexican Soup, BBQ Chicken Tacos, and Latin Crab Bisque. I love both these books and wish I could send you all copies.

Two readers will each win one cookbook and there are two ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment letting me know which cookbook you’d like.
2. Tweet about this giveaway and leave another comment letting me know you tweeted.

In addition, I also have an $80 CSN Stores gift card to giveaway. To make this contest extra fun, I’d like to do a little scavenger hunt. There’s one very common ingredient that I’m not a fan of and is not in any of my recipes. Think you know what it is? To enter to win the gift card, leave a separate comment letting me know. The winner will be chosen randomly from all the correct answers. If no one gets it, I’ll choose a winner randomly from everyone who entered. Fun, huh.

Entries must be in by 11:59 pm EST on Saturday, March 5. Sorry, only U.S. and Canadian readers only are eligible for the CSN gift card, but I’ll ship the cookbooks anywhere. Good luck and thank you for following me on my foodie adventures!

The fine print: I’m sponsoring the cookbook part of this giveaway myself and CSN is sponsoring the $80 gift card, but I received no compensation for this post and all opinions are mine. The winners will be picked with random.org on Sunday, March 6 and announced shortly thereafter.

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Chicken Parm Eggplant Stacks

February 22, 2011

Do you enjoy any odd snack foods? I have a thing for croutons. Not only do I go out of my way to scoop as many as is politely possible onto my salad plate at buffets, I also really like snacking on them on their own – yep, right out of the package and usually when I’m making dinner. I’ve even been known to pour some in a bowl and munch on them while I’m watching TV. My very favorite use for them, however, is in chicken parm because crushed croutons are my secret breading ingredient! They make the perfectly seasoned golden crust.

Chicken parm is one of our favorite dishes and I recently decided it needed to be amped up a bit. In this version, I topped my breaded chicken not only with marinara and mozzarella, but also with a layer of creamy ricotta and roasted eggplant. Mmm, if you enjoy chicken and eggplant parm, you’ll love this!

Chicken Parm Eggplant Stacks
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Eggplant:
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 1/2-inch thick long eggplant slices (from 2 medium eggplants cut lengthwise)

Chicken:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup of your favorite crouton crumbs
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied in half lengthwise so you have 6 pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil

Assembly:
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded part skim shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
To roast the eggplant, heat oven to 375˚F. Brush eggplants slices on both sides with olive oil and place on a large cookie sheet. Roast eggplant at 375˚F for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender.

To prepare the chicken, place flour and salt in a shallow dish and mix well. Place eggs in another shallow dish and mix well with a fork. Place crouton crumbs in a third shallow dish. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, then the egg, and then the croutons until well covered. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat in a medium nonstick skillet. Place three pieces of chicken in the pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on each side for or until cooked through, no longer pink in the center, and firm to your touch. Repeat with three remaining pieces of chicken and olive oil. Place cooked chicken pieces in a 13×9-inch pan.

To assemble the stacks, heat broiler. Mix ricotta cheese, oregano, pecorino romano cheese, and salt in a small bowl until smooth. Top cooked chicken pieces evenly half the marinara and then the ricotta mixture. Top ricotta mixture with roasted eggplant slices, remaining marinara, and mozzarella cheese. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until ricotta is heated through and mozzarella cheese is melted. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 491 calories, 23.0g fat, 6.2g fiber, 47.7g protein per serving
Cost: $2.03 per serving

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Udon Miso Soup

February 18, 2011

Apolinaras and I ventured back to HMart on Super Bowl Sunday and enjoyed big bowls of udon soup for lunch from the Japanese section of food court. We always go back and forth on what to order because everything looks so tasty, but I think we made a good choice, because the soup was just delicious and packed with thin slices of tofu, seaweed, green onions, and broccoli– so good! We’d also never had udon noodles before and had a great time slurping them up. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, that I immediately got out my shopping list and jotted down all the ingredients I could identify in the soup so I could attempt to recreate it at home.

Look at all the goodies I scooped up that I’ve never bought before – frozen udon noodles, fried tofu, dried seaweed, and dashi miso (from what I can tell, this type of miso has bonito extract in it, which is commonly used to flavor Japanese soup stocks). I also got a huge package of dried shitake mushrooms, because I thought they would add a great extra layer of flavor, and I couldn’t resist buying them because where else can you can get so many dried mushrooms for just $3?

I was super happy with how my soup came out. I cooked the udon noodles according to the package directions and added them to a pot with the rehydrated shitake mushrooms and mushroom stock, chicken broth, seaweed, broccoli, and tofu. Then I added the miso and green onions after reducing the heat. I like to mix miso with a couple cups of broth in a small bowl to make sure the miso fully dissolves, before adding it to the stock pot, otherwise big chunks of it end up floating around. This meal came together really quickly and I’m very happy that I still have enough of all the ingredients to make it again soon – yay for HMart!

p.s. Congrats to Monica, who won my Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates giveaway!

Udon Miso Soup
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 9-ounce packages frozen udon noodles
3 ounces dried sliced shitake mushrooms
3 cups boiling water
12 cups low sodium chicken broth
0.3 ounces dried seaweed, cut into strips
4 cups broccoli florets (I used 12 ounces of frozen florets)
9 ounces fried tofu (called soy cutlets), cut into long thin strips
1/2 cup dashi miso paste with bonito extract
5 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:
Prepare udon noodles according to the package directions, drain, and rinse well with cold water.

Place mushrooms and boiling water in a medium bowl and stir well; let sit for 30 minutes or until mushrooms are rehydrated. Place mushrooms and mushroom stock, chicken broth, seaweed, broccoli florets, and tofu in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and place 2 cups of broth in a medium bowl. Stir in miso and return to stockpot; stir well (make sure the miso doesn’t boil or you will kill the flavor!). Stir in noodles and green onions and serve. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 444 calories, 10.8g fat, 4.8g fiber, 18.8g protein per serving
Cost: $1.98 per serving

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Nutella Strawberry Pancakes

February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine’s Day! I wanted to get this recipe up before the holiday, because the combo of Nutella and strawberries just seemed perfect for VDay, but didn’t quite make it. Oh well, treats like this should be enjoyed year round anyway, right? I always look forward to whipping up a big breakfast every weekend, and while I usually go the savory route (breakfast sandwiches are my favorite!), occasionally inspiration strikes for a sweet treat too.

Some good looking strawberries from Costco inspired these pancakes. Since I’ve noticed it’s sometimes hard to taste the Nutella in baked goods, I added Nutella to both the pancake batter and the warm strawberry topping. These were the perfect indulgent way to start the day!

Nutella Strawberry Pancakes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Pancakes:
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup Nutella
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Nutella Strawberry Topping:
1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons Nutella

Directions:
To make the pancakes, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the egg, milk, Nutella, butter, and vanilla extract until just combined. Pour 1/4 cup scoops of batter onto a greased nonstick skillet over medium heat. Flip the pancakes when bubbles start to appear on top, after about 3 minutes. Cook the other side until golden brown. Makes 7 pancakes.

To make the Nutella strawberry topping, place chopped strawberries, sugar, and Nutella in a small pot and simmer over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and Nutella is melted, about 2 minutes. Spoon warm topping over pancakes. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition: 797 calories, 34.5g fat, 11.7g fiber, 20.5g protein per serving
Cost: $2.25 per serving

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Valentine’s Day Heart Cookies

February 9, 2011

Can you believe Valentine’s Day is just around the corner? Apolinaras and I don’t exchange presents or anything, but I do like the excuse to indulge in more chocolate than usual and I also enjoy going all out in the kitchen to make a really decadent meal. This year the festivities began early because I made these over the top heart cookies last week so I could share them with you before the 14th. I also received a fabulous box full of Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates to sample. Mmm, their chocolate seashells have a praline truffle center enrobed by milk, dark, and white chocolate – divine! And, I have a cute Valentine’s day package of them to giveaway, so check out the details at the bottom of this post to enter to win.

But first, here are the cookies, which were inspired by the cute white and pink heart shaped sprinkles that jumped into my cart at the grocery store. I’m such a sucker for sprinkles and muffin cups with fun patterns – they get me every time! Luckily, I was at the store by myself, so I didn’t have to deal with any eye rolling from Apolinaras. Poor guy, a container of sprinkles from my stash always seems to fall out when he opens our baking cabinet. Then when he tries to put it back, another one gets pushed out since it’s literally overflowing with decorating supplies. I’ve shown him my technique to simply shove things in the back, but he likes things orderly and never takes my advice. I suppose I don’t follow his advice to stop buying sprinkles either though, haha.

Anyway, I eventually decided to make chocolate cookies in the shape of hearts. Of course I couldn’t stop there, and amped them up by putting a layer of eggless cookie dough on top, followed by ganache and the sprinkles. The cookie dough here is a classic chocolate chip without the chips. I figured if I was rolling the dough out to cut into hearts, that I wouldn’t want any hard pieces of chocolate getting in the way. As you probably know, playing with eggless cookie dough is one of my favorite past times, so if you try these, the trick to getting perfectly shaped hearts out of the dough is to grease you counter really well with butter and slightly chill the dough. SO good – I wish I still had some of these left!

To enter to win the chocolates, just leave a comment on this post letting me know what your ultimate Valentine’s Day meal would include. Entries must be in by Wednesday, February 16 at 11:59pm EST. Good luck and thanks Guylian!

The fine print: Guylian’s Chocolates sent me a variety of their goodies to sample, but I received no compensation for this post and all opinions are mine. The winner will be picked with random.org on Thursday, February 17 and announced shortly thereafter.

Valentine’s Day Heart Cookies
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cookie Layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cookie Dough Layer:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt

Ganache Layer:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Valentine’s Day sprinkles

Directions:
To make the chocolate cookies, place butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl and mix until well creamed; stir in egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Stir in flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt until soft dough forms. Refrigerate for an hour or until well chilled. Heat oven to 350˚F. Spread a bit of extra cocoa powder out your counter and rolling pin and roll out chocolate dough to about 1/4–inch thick. Cut out heart shapes with a cookie cutter and transfer to cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough (I got 17 cookies with my cookie cutter). Bake at 350˚F for 10 minutes or until set. Transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the eggless cookie dough. Mix butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl until creamed; add vanilla and milk and mix until well blended. Mix in flour and salt. Shape dough into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled. Place chilled dough on a well greased surface (I spread butter on my counter before rolling out the dough each time), roll out to about 1/4-inch thick, and use the same heart cookie cutter to carefully cut out the same number cookie dough hearts as chocolate cookies you have. Place cookie dough layers on top of chocolate cookie layers.

To make the ganache, place chocolate chips and cream in a small microwavable bowl; microwave on high for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Continue stirring until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Place dollaps of ganache on top of the cookie dough covered heart cookies and use the back of a spoon to spread ganache evenly over each cookie. Sprinkle evenly with sprinkles! Place cookies in the refrigerator for an hour or until ganache is set. Makes 17 cookies.

Nutrition: 351 calories, 18.0g fat, 1.7g fiber, 3.8g protein per cookie
Cost: $0.37 per cookie

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Cajun Shrimp Pasta

February 5, 2011

Whenever I think of Cajun pasta, I think of Emeril. Remember when he was on the Food Network 24/7? I became a big fan of his after visiting his restaurant NOLA in New Orleans with my good college friends Susie and Britt over New Year’s 2002. I remember enjoying a spicy pasta with lots of fresh seafood. We even somehow got our picture taken with the chefs – check out my short hair!

So, when I saw a contest on the Food Network site to win tickets to be in the audience of his show in NYC a few years later, you can bet I entered. I actually won the tickets and went with my mom and grandma, but to be honest, the show taping was a little disappointing. Instead of interacting with the audience during the time set aside for the commercial breaks, big security guards came in and surrounded the kitchen set so no one could get near him and we were never offered the opportunity to get our cookbooks signed. I’ve been to other show tapings where the opposite was true, but even though we didn’t have the best time, I still have enjoyed a bunch of Emeril’s recipes and would love to go to another one of his restaurants.

Anyway, I was recently inspired by Emeril when I decided to whip up a yummy Cajun shrimp pasta. I coated the shrimp with a spicy Cajun spice mixture and made a really easy creamy sauce with canned diced tomatoes, a little tangy goat cheese, cream cheese, and parmesan. And, to add an extra layer of flavor, I stirred in a touch of adobo sauce. This was easy and very tasty.

Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Shrimp:
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon canola oil

Pasta:
1 pound bowtie pasta
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
To prepare the shrimp, mix the paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and salt in a medium bowl. Add shrimp to the bowl and mix well. Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, place spiced shrimp in the pan, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, or until shrimp are cooked through and opaque. Remove shrimp from the skillet.

To make the pasta, prepare pasta according to the package directions, drain, and place in a large pot. Heat canola oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick pan and add onion and pepper. Sauté 5 to 7 minutes or until veggies are tender; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Add diced tomatoes, cream cheese, goat cheese, parmesan cheese, adobo sauce, and salt to the pan and stir until all the cheeses have melted. Add the sauce and cooked shrimp to the pot with the cooked pasta and mix well. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 503 calories, 16.0g fat, 3.7g fiber, 28.7g protein per serving
Cost: $2.48 per serving

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Plantain and Black Bean Quesadillas

February 1, 2011

So, I have to admit that we’re not huge football fans – in fact, I actually always feel a bit lucky that Apolinaras grew up in Europe and doesn’t follow any American sports at all, so I never get stuck watching them. But, I always insist we tune into the Super Bowl because, you guessed it, I like the commercials, the half time show, and of course the excuse to make some fun snacks! And this year I’m already looking forward to the new Glee episode that will be on after the game too. I’ve really enjoyed reading about everyone’s favorite game day dips and apps around the blogosphere this week and wanted to share one of my own too – plantain and black bean quesadillas with plenty of cheese and pico de gallo.

The recipe is a twist on my very favorite game day snack, plantain nachos, but they’re easier to make because no frying is involved and they’re a bit more hearty. I sandwiched the filling, a mixture of red onions, garlic, super ripe plantains, black beans, cumin, and lime juice, between generous handfuls of cheese and whole wheat tortillas. I always broil my quesadillas because I think it’s easier and healthier than toasting each one up individually in oil in a pan, but you can definitely do that too.

Plantain and Black Bean Quesadillas
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Pico de Gallo:
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt

Quesadilla Filling:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 medium yellow plantains mostly covered with brown/black spots, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 15.5-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice of half a lime
1/2 teaspoon salt

Assembly:
6 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
2 1/2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese

Directions:
Make the pico de gallo by mixing chopped tomatoes, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a large bowl.

To make the quesadilla filling, heat canola oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and sauté onions and plantains for 8-10 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Mix in black beans, cumin, lime juice, and salt.

To assemble the quesadillas, preheat the broiler. Place 3 tortillas on a large greased cookie sheet. Spread half the shredded cheese evenly on the tortillas; top evenly with the filling, the remainder of the cheese, and the remaining 3 tortillas. Place quesadillas in the oven and broil for 2 to 5 minutes on each side, or until cheese is melted and quesadillas are heated through. Cut tortillas into 4 wedges and top with pico de gallo with a slotted spoon. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 499 calories, 21.7g fat, 10.8g fiber, 20.8g protein per serving
Cost: $1.49 per serving