Raspberry-Mint "Custard"

One of the staples I buy at the supermarket every week is fat free yogurt. Mixed with some dip mix - it is a tasty and healthy accompaniment for veggies. It's a great thickener for sauces. And a nice way to cool down anything spicy ( like curries or chili)

So the other night I was making our nightly dessert (Sugar free Jello. I need something sweet after dinner and this 1 point dessert that comes in scads of yum flavors like Black Cherry and Streawberry Banana just does just fine!), when I had an idea.

I mixed fat free yogurt with 1 packet of Pure Via (my go-to sweetener), a drop of vanilla extract and some chopped mint. That - combined with the jello and set to chill, took on a silky custard-y texture not to mention the match made in heaven pair of raspberry and mint.

Of course if you already have fat free vanilla yogurt just go ahead and use that and omit the Pure Via and vanilla extract from the recipe!

It is not only cute (the bright pink "custard" accented by a bright green mint leaf) but it tastes amazing, refreshing and oh yeah, 2 points a serving!!

Raspberry Mint "Custard"
2 servings, 2 pts each.
1/2 cup fat free yogurt
1 packet Pure Via or other non caloric sweetener
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp mint, chopped finely
1 package raspberry Sugar Free Jello


Combine the yogurt, sweetener, vanilla and mix. Pulse in a food processor until well blended. Refrigerate.

Prepare the jello as directed on the box and refrigerate for 1 hour. After 1 hour combine with yogurt mixture and blend well. Pour into serving bowls and chill for another 2-3 hours until firm.


Garish with mint and enjoy!



Serve in a wine glass or margarita glass for an extra festive dessert!

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Southern Style

Here in the Pink Shoe household we are cooking and eathing healthier in the '08. However back in December of 2007, Adam got his end of semester grades and had done VERY well so as a treat I told him I would cook him whatever he wanted (He is going for his business degree at night, in addition to hockey a few nights a week and working full time. The man is a machine)

Anyway what he wanted, was chicken fried steak.

And so chicken fried steak he got. His mother gave me a Rachael Ray cookbook for Christmas and while I find Ray maddening, I find her recipes pretty great, especially when you are in a time crunch. So I went Rachael Ray crazy and made not only her Chicken Fried Steak but also her Southern Green Beans and Banana Chocolate Pie for my A-student, Adam.

This is not a healthy meal, but it's a delicious meal and one needs room for those in life as well sometimes. Next time I promise I will post something more diet-friendly, but in the meantime this is SO worth saving up points for.

Chicken Fried Steak
1 1 /2 pounds (1/2-inch thick) round steak
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup cornmeal, eyeball it
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt, 1/3 palm full
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, eyeball it
2 eggs beaten
2 tablespoons water, 2 splashes
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups beef broth or stock
1/4 cup half-and-half or cream, 2 turns of the pan
1 package bake-off biscuits, prepared according to package directions
Waxed paper

Preheat large, heavy skillet over medium high heat.
Set steaks on to a waxed paper lined work surface and cover with another piece of waxed paper. Pound steaks to 1/4-inch thick.



Pull steaks off work surface and set to the side.

Line work surface with more waxed paper. Pour 1/2 cup flour into 2 piles on opposite sides of the work space. Add cornmeal, paprika, salt and pepper to 1 pile of flour. Beat eggs and water in a pie plate or shallow dish.

Cut steaks into 4 portions and coat in flour, eggs, then seasoned flour and cornmeal.



Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot pan and cook 2 steaks at a time.

Brown steaks about 2 minutes per side, or until cooked and remove from the pan. Add 2 tablespoons more oil and repeat with remaining 2 steaks.



Remove steaks to serving platter and pour off all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of drippings. Cover steaks loosly with tin foil.



Add 2 tablespoons flour to drippings and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and season with salt and pepper.



Whisk half and half or cream into gravy. When gravy bubbles, remove from heat.

Serve steaks and warm biscuits with gravy on top.



Southern Green Beans

1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar

Cook green beans in 1-inch simmering water, covered, for 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Return skillet to stove and set burner to medium high. Add bacon and brown. When fat begins to render, add chopped onions to the pan and cook until tender with the bacon.



Add cooked green beans to the pan and turn to coat in bacon drippings and onions.



When the beans are hot and bacon crisp at edges and onions translucent add vinegar to the pan and season with beans with sugar.



Allow the vinegar to evaporate and the sugar to combine with pan drippings, 1 to 2 minutes, then serve.


The chocolate banana pie was extremely easy: One Nilla wafer premade crust + 1 large package of sugar free/fat free chocolate pudding + sliced bananas + fat free whipped cream = One Delicious Pie.





If all this isn't incentive for Adam to keep up the good work, I don't know what is. Good job!

At Thanksgiving this year, you probably saw the usual suspects as far as pie is concerned: pumpkin, pecan, apple, maybe some sweet potato? I love those pies and the flavors in them always remind of me of the holiday season and being with family. But the thing is? I am a terrible pie baker. I never met a crust recipe I couldn't render inedible. Therefore I was intrigued when I heard Dorie Greenspan's recipe for an All In One Holiday Bundt Cake. This one bowl cake combines all the delicious tastes of the holiday pies we all love, without as much of the muss and fuss.


(photo from NPR.org)

Makes 12 servings

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
1 cup cranberries, halved or coarsely chopped
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 9- to 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan. (If you've got a silicone Bundt pan, there's no need to butter it.) Don't place the pan on a baking sheet -- you want the oven's heat to circulate freely through the Bundt's inner tube.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ground ginger, if you're using it (not the grated ginger).

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin, chopped apple and grated ginger, if you're using it -- don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. With a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool to room temperature on the rack.

Just before bringing the cake to the table, dust it with confectioners' sugar.

Over the weekend, I went to my friend Jeanne's house to drink wine and watch movies. Your general Girls Night. I wanted to bring some kind of snack, something warm to offset the bite in the air as of late. Luckily, I read Alisa's blog earlier that week and she had mentioned how delicious Cooking Light's Spinach Artichoke Dip is, so I decided to give that a go.

It is SUPER easy to make. I, like Alisa, didn't use the oven at all but instead put everything in the crock pot and set it on high for 1/2 an hour and then left it on warm for another 1/2 hour. It was perfect! So yummy. Perfect for baked tortilla chips, pita bread or veggies.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8 ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5 ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (2 tablespoons Parmesan through spinach) in a large bowl, and stir until well-blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

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Then, on Sunday I was struck with inspiration and decided to give the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I had read about on Boston.com a whirl. Talk about your perfect fall cookie! The pumpkin taste is mild and really yummy with the chocolate chunks. It ends up having more of a cakelike constancy than just plain chocolate chip cookies. Light and delicious...I HIGHLY recomend them.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Set the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

3. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and beat just until blended.

4. Mix in the dry ingredients.

5. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. With a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips or chunks and nuts, if using.

6. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

7. Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Rotate the sheets halfway through baking to ensure even baking. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for a few minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Adapted from "Too Busy to Cook?" Volume Two

It has been a long time, I know.

FAR too long.

I am working on a revamp of this site, and to be honest I haven't coooked or baked anything new and blog-worthy in a while.

Until last night.

I give to you: PUMPKIN CUPCAKES SHAPED LIKE ACTUAL PUMPKINS!

Now, I have been in the market for a baking pan that will allow me to make pumpkin shaped cupcakes. I found this beauty at Williams Sonoma


And while it is perfect, it's also $32. And it's not something you can use year round which I would like to be able to do with a pan if I am paying over $30 for it. So onward to my failsafe, Crate and Barrel where I found this fluted silicone muffin pan.




While not exactly pumpkin shaped, you can imagine that an inverted mini bundt could look like a pumpkin. Plus it is made of silicone which is fun, and at $12.95 you can't beat the price.

I ususally use a carrot cake mix + pureed pumpkin concoction when I am making pumpkin cupcake, but I found this fabulous Martha recipe yesterday and it looked easy enough so I went with that.


Pumpkin Cupcakes (via Martha Stewart Living)

Makes 18

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can pumpkin purée (15 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin purée.

3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
***********

I ended up using my new silicone pan, plus 2 mini cupcake pans and one regular cupcake size pan, so it makes a good amount of cupcake.

I found that the mini cupcakes took 10 minutes, the regular sized cupcakes took about 18 and the ones in the silicone pan took the full 20-25 minutes. Once they were cooled I inverted then, and using orange frosting with a little pipette attached I drew orange lines down the sids of the mini bundt-pumpkins (bundtkins) and used cut up green candied lime as the stems.

Et Voila!



Pumpkin Cupcakes shaped like ACTUAL PUMPKINS



I'm really into it, in case you can't tell.

One of my favorite things about fall is caramel apples. The mere sight of them makes me happy, not to mention the lovely way the sweet caramel compliments the apple-y tartness.

And of course we know that today is Friday which means...




So it was perfectly logical that I began hunting around for a caramel apple cupcake recipe.

There are aquite a few out there, from the gourmet to the practically already made when you buy them. I opted for a happy medium. I was inspired by a recipe for these treats from the goddess of all things cupcake, Chockylit. Since I knew I would be making these at night, after work AND after having made dinner, I didn't want anything TOO involved so I devised a plan to cheat. I went to the supermarket in search of spice cake mix and when I couldn't find one I decided to use a carrot cake mix. Instead of using water in the cake recipe, I used apple cider. And instead of making my own caramel, I melted down some store bought caramels with a little milk and used that. I did keep Chockylit's recipe for the cream cheese filling because it was easy enough, and also PERFECT.

So here we have it.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes.

1 package carrot cake mix
apple cider
2 cups peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples.

Preheat oven to 325

Prepare cake mix as follows but subsitute an equal amount of apple cider for the water. Fold in choppped apples and blend. Pour batter into LARGE 6-muffin tin that has been sprayed with cooking spray (or use large baking cups).

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

While cupcakes are cooling prepare cream cheese filling

1/4 c cream cheese
1/4 c butter
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Make sure cream cheese and butter are at room temperature and cream them in mixer until smooth. Slowly add sugar and vanilla and blend.

When the cupcakes are completely cooled (I put them in the freezer for a few minutesto speed things along), you want to remove the center section by cutting in a little circle on the top of the cupcake. Remove a small cone shaped piece and spoon some of the cream cheese frosting in until almost full



And replace top when finished.



When all cupcakes are done, set aside and begin on caramel topping. It's important that you have the cupcakes completely ready to be frosted when you take the caramel off the stove because it will harden up within minutes, making it really difficult to spread.

Caramel Topping

20 caramels (I used Brachs, they even come with popsicle sticks this time of year for making actual caramel apples. )
2 1/2 tbsp milk.

Combine and cook over low heat until melted and smooth. At this point it is important to work quickly, and to ensure that the cupcakes don't become too drippy. Using a butter knife, spread some of the caramel over the top of each cupcake, coating evenly, and place in fridge or freezer immediately. When you are done, you may remove them from the freezer or fridge and they won't drip since the caramel will have stiffened.


Place popsicle stick in the middle and voila!


Caramel Apple Cupcakes!



Aren't they adorable?

A nice autumn cupcake.

The batter is enough to make six large cupcakes with enough left over to make 12 mini cupcakes. You can break that down other ways too, I am sure you could just make 12 medium sized cupcakes out of this batter too. I like the bigger ones because they hold up to the cutting of the middle better. I plan on wrapping up a few in celophane and tying it up with a festive ribbon to give out to my parents & brother when I see them this weekend.

Either way they are really cute, and REALLY delicious.

Yesterday Adam and I had big plans of going apple picking with some friends. The plans ended up kind of falling apart because of a little something called the Patriots Game. Adam said we could still go by ourselves, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I was really just in it for the apples...not the actual picking. So when I was out doing my weekly food shopping, I picked up an array of fresh apples and decided to make some apple-y things for dinner. I ended up making an apple chutney to serve over ham steaks for dinner, and an apple-walnut bundt cake for dessert.



The chutney came out delicious, and I highly reccomend it for people who like pineapple on their ham since it is remeninscent of that taste.

The cake was super easy and delicious as well. Mine came out slightly overdone even though I cooked it for the right amount of time so I suggest start checking it after an hour.

Both recipes are from the Good Housekeeping Cookbook (which I highly reccomend!) and both are excellent ways to use fresh apples!

Apple-Onion Chutney

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 medium Golden Delicious apples, peeled and chopped
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
3/4 c apple cider
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt.

Heat oil in medium sace pan over medium heat.

Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add apple and ginger and cook for another 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and heat to boiling. Cover and reduce heat, simmer for 15 minutes.

Apple Walnut Bundt Cake

3 cup all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 lb. golden delicious or granny smith apples
3 medium), peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
1 cup walnuts (4 ounces), coarsely chopped
confectioners sugar


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.

Grease and flour 10-inch bundt pan. In large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, oil, apple juice, vanilla, and eggs. with mixer at low speed, beat
until well blended, frequently scraping bowl with rubber spatula.

Icrease speed to medium; beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl. with wooden spoon, stir in apples, and nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly.

Bake until cake pulls away from side of pan and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. run tip of thin knife around edge of cake to loosen. Invert cake onto rack; cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Ina Garten has her coconut cupcakes, and I have mine. It's like Semi Home Made meets Barefoot Contessa up in this piece.

I made these to bring into work and they were a HUGE success. Super easy to make (if you cheat and use a box like me), and they smell DIVINE.

My Coconut Cupcakes

1 box french vanilla cake mix
1 and 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup veggie oil
3 eggs
1 tbsp coconut extract.
1 cup finely shredded, sweetened coconut

Blend all ingredients for 2 minutes or until well mixed. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes each. For mini cupcakes bake 10-11 minutes.

Coconut Frosting

1 tub Whipped Vanilla frosting (or your homemade version)
1 tbsp coconut extract.
1 cup finely shredded, sweetened coconut

Blend together and after frosting cupcakes, sprinkle with shredded coconuts.



Look how cute they come out! And I swear using the coconut extract totally cuts out the "made from a mix" taste. I am thinking next week about making ameretto cupcakes with ameretti cookies sprinkled into the frosting.

Really with cake mix and all the extracts out there, anything is possible!

If I had a kitchen muse, I would have to say it's Ina Garten



With her, baking and cooking are labors of love, and what is not to love about her amazing recipes (or her fabulous Hamptons house?). I have been watching Barefoot Contessa for years and while her dishes are not as easy to make as some other Food Network cooks, they never fail to please.

Ina's Coconut Cupcakes

This FABULOUS recipe comes from Ina Garten's "The Barefoot Contessa" cookbook, which features recipes from her hugely successful New York take-out store, also named The Barefoot Contessa


Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 7-ounce package flaked sweetened coconut, divided
Cream Cheese Icing
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Line 16 muffin cups with paper baking cups, and set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and set oven racks at top and lower middle levels.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer speed to low, and add the eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after each. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat again briefly.

Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately to the butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Fold in only 1 1/3 cups of the coconut.

Fill each muffin cup almost full with batter. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 11 to 14 minutes on the top and lower-middle racks of oven, then reverse the positions of the two cupcake pans (putting the one from the top on the lower middle rack and vice versa), and bake another 11 to 14 minutes or until the cupcake tops are golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely, and then top them with cream cheese icing. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. If you want to freeze these, store them unfrosted in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

To serve unfrosted cupcakes that have been frozen, allow to thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour before serving, then ice and serve them. Makes about 16 cupcakes.

On Friday night, our friends The Cappellas invited us over for margaritas. Not wanting to show up empty handed, I immediately thought of the fabulous fruit dip that Alisa had just posted on her blog, and decided to make some to serve with strawberries It was a big hit!! Utterly simple to make, and low-calorie to boot.

Fabulous Fruit Dip




1 7 oz jar of marshmallow creme (aka Fluff)
1/4 cup non fat sour cream
1/4 cup peach preserves
1/4 cup brickle or tofee bits (I left this out since Jeanne is allergic to nuts)

Mix all ingredients well and refrigerate for two hours. Serve with whole strawberries.

In the summer, it is hard to get motivated to cook (for me at least).

I find that Adam and I order out/go out to dinner more and I am not really ever inclined to even look in the oven's direction.

However on the way home from Maine on Sunday, we found the most adorable veggie stand with fresh summer squash and zucchini and herbs and we could not help stocking up. This, coupled with the fact that porterhouse steaks were on sale this week at Shaw's, motivated me to get cracking in the kitchen and last night we had a fabulous summer dinner.

For our meal we had grilled porterhouse steak (for Adam)


And a grilled pork chop for me ( I am off the red meat).


And for a side dish I made this AMAZING squash casserole that Adam loved. I loved it too but Adam I mean LOOOOOVED it. The man loves his squash what can I say?



SUMMER SQUASH CASSEROLE

2 lb. mix of summer squash and zucchini, sliced evenly
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1 c. low fat sour cream
3/4 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (8 oz.) pkg. herb seasoned stuffing mix
1/2 c. Olivio (or other butter substitute)

In saucepan, cook sliced squash and chopped onion in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Combine soup and sour cream. Fold in squash and onion.

In a seperate bowl Combine stuffing mix and Olivio.

Spread half of stuffing mixture in bottom of a 9x9baking dish. Press down evenly. Spoon squash mixture on top of stuffing. Sprinkle remaining stuffing over squash. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through. Makes 6 or more servings.

*******************************************

And for dessert I made a strawberry tart that was a play on a Paula Deen fruit tart I make sometimes. It literally takes 10 minutes to put together.



Summer Strawberry Tart
1 pre-made pie crust (I used shortbread)
1 (8 ounce) package low fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
4 cups fresh strawberries, halved
1/4 cup red currant jelly<---my FAVORITE flavor jelly.


Combine cream cheese and confectioner 's sugar in medium bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Fold in whipped cream and almonds by hand until well mixed. Pour into crust. Refrigerate until firm.

Decorate pie with strawberries fully. Heat jelly in microwave oven just until soft and brush carefully over strawberries until glazed. Refrigerate until serving.

It's that time again!!




Melt-in-your-mouth Mostly Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes

- 2 sticks minus 1 Tbspbutter
- 7 oz dark chocolate
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- a rounded tablespoon of flour

Note: like all dark chocolate cakes, these are best made a day ahead (or at least in the morning if you serve it for dinner).

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. Spray cupcake pans with non stick cooking spray

Melt together the butter with the chocolate (in a double-boiler or in the microwave slowly and for just a few seconds at a time, blending with a spoon between each pass). Transfer into a medium mixing-bowl. Add in the sugar, stir with a wooden spoon and let cool a little. Add in the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition. Finally, add in the flour and mix well.

Pour the dough into the molds, and put into the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the cake inside for another ten minutes, then put the pan on a cooling rack on the counter to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate, and take it out about an hour before serving.

For toppings you can pretty much do whatever you want or even use none at all whipped cream would work well. I used seedless raspberry jam on top and it was divine! I imagine that a chocolate ganache would also work well.

I have a thing for cupcakes. I think they are fabulously adorable and the fact that they are essentially a cake made into induvidual serving sizes means you don't have to feel TOO bad about having just one. Or, you know, five.

And there are so many different kinds, flavors, textures to suit your mood. I have decided that from now on at I Cook Good, we shall have Cupcake Fridays with a new cupcake recipe every week.

*

We start this trend off with these lucious, perfect, summer confections from 52 Cupcakes (the recipe comes from the Cupcake Queen herself)

Raspberry-Topped Lemon Cupcakes with Limoncello Glaze
Makes 18

Cupcakes:
2 cups cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cups (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
4 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely grated lemon peel

Glaze and topping:
3/4 cup (or more) powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons limoncello or other lemon liqueur
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

18 strawberries or raspberries

For Cupcakes: Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Line 18 standard cupcake pan with liners. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Beat in lemon juice and lemon peel. Divide batter among liners.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to racks.

Meanwhile, prepare glase and topping: Stir 3/4 cup powdered sugar, butter, limoncello, lemon juice, and grated lemon peel in small saucepan over low heat until butter melts and glaze comes to simmer... (now, don't get scared...this turns out to be pretty easy)...Whisk in additional powdered sugar by tablespoonfuls if glaze is very thin. Spoon 1 teaspoon warm glaze over each warm cupcake. Cool cupcakes completely.

Arrange 1 strawberry on top of each cupcake. Drizzle remaining limoncello glaze over them. Let cupcakes stand until glaze sets, about 2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)



* nerd-alert, i know!

Jaime had this recipe in her blog the other day and it sounds so good I had to put the recipe up here too.

This summer, it really is all about the pineapple.


Angel Lush

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Reduced Calorie Pudding & Pie Filling
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping
1 pkg. (10 oz.) round angel food cake
10 fresh strawberries



MIX pineapple with its juice and the dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Gently stir in whipped topping.

CUT cake horizontally into three layers. Place bottom cake layer, cut-side up, on serving plate; top with 1-1/3 cups of the pudding mixture. Cover with middle cake layer and an additional 1 cup of the remaining pudding mixture. Top with remaining cake layer; spread top of dessert with the remaining pudding mixture.

REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour. Top with strawberries just before serving. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

Last weekend Adam and I went a little Pina Colada crazy and after the dust had settled (read: after we ran out of rum) we still had most of a can of pineapple slices left over. I decided to try and make a pineapple upside down cake if I could find an easy recipe and I found a super easy one on Cooks.com. I had all but two of the ingredients, so I did not use marschino cherries, and instead of butter I used Olivio and it came out delicious! I also used a tart pan to make it easier to invert. It's very refreshing and light and pineapply. A great summer dessert.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. cake flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 can pineapple slices in syrup
maraschino cherries (as many as pineapple slices used)

Use an 8" square or round pan. Drain can of pineapple, saving the syrup.
Place butter in 8" pan, melt in the oven while preheating to 375°F.

Sprinkle brown sugar over melted butter. Arrange whole pineapple slices and cherries (with cherries in centers of pineapple slices) over the brown sugar in pan. Cut some of the remaining pineapple slices into half circles, then line the sides of the pan with them (standing up).

In a bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, softened butter, milk, egg, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the pineapple syrup.

Pour batter into the pan being careful not to disturb the pineapples and cherries.

Bake at 375°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake is golden and has pulled away from the edges slightly.

Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes to set and then turn it upside down onto a serving dish. Serve while still warm.

This past Saturday night Adam and I were invited to a dinner party at the lovely Cappella's house. We volunteered to bring dessert, since I had been dying to make a fruit tart lately and was just looking for a reason to do it (I am always hesitant to make a large dessert just for Adam and I because either 1) we eat a serving each and then it goes bad or 2) we eat the whole thing and feel like les cochons.) So here was my chance.

After pouring over tart recipes for a while, and realizing I did not want to mess with having to make creme anglais or complicated crust.. I decided on a simple Paula Deen Recipe I found on foodtv.com (and on several other cooking blogs since this is such a great dessert).

So, without further ado:

Easy Fresh Fruit Tart

Crust:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened and sliced

Filling
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
Fresh strawberries, kiwi slices, blueberries and raspberries

Glaze
1 (6 oz) can of frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

For the crust: In a food processor combine the confectioners' sugar, flour and butter and process until the mixture forms a ball. With your fingers, press the dough into a 12 inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations on the sides. Pat until even. Bake for 12-15 minutes until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool

For the filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth




I think at this point, pouring yourself a glass of wine is helpful to the baking process. You dont have to be as gauche as me and put ice cubes in your pinot noir, any old wine would do.

While you're waiting for the crust to cook, chop up whatever fruit you are using. I used strawberries, kiwi and some blueberries, since the raspberries at Shaws were looking a little peaked. Cut the strawberries into 1/4s and peel & slice the kiwis

After the crust has completely cooled, pop it out from the pan (still on it's metal plate) and spread the cream cheese mixture over it .



Adn then make a pattern with the fruit on top. I am a fan of the cocentric circle kind of design.

For the glaze: combine the limeade, cornstarch and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick..about 4-5 minuites. Let cool, and with a pastry brush glaze the entire tart. You will not use all of the glaze.

Voila!

Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Remove about 15 minutes before serving and slice into 8 wedges. Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

One of the best investments I have made in a looooong time was a subscription to Cooking Light magazine. It is chock full of recipes that are so delicious, easy to make, and health concious. Adam and I have both resolved to eat healthier in the new year, and luckily I have found that this does NOT mean we have to stop eating what we love, including dessert (I am a big dessert fan!).

For instance, I found this incredible dessert recipe in last month's issue that incorprates two things i love: cookies and frosting. And it still comes in at under 200 calories a serving.

(Also: if you hate nuts feel free to leave them out. I did, and they were still fantastic!)

Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies

Store these frosted cookies between layers of parchment paper or wax paper to keep them from sticking together. You can bake and freeze the cookies up to a month in advance; bring the cookies to room temperature before frosting them.

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 large egg

Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon fat-free milk
2 teaspoons butter, softened

Remaining ingredient:1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cookies, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through cloves) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Place brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Add 2 tablespoons syrup and egg; beat until well blended. Beating at low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until combined.

Spoon batter evenly into 30 mounds (about 1 tablespoon) 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

To prepare frosting, combine powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons syrup, milk, and 2 teaspoons butter, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Spread frosting evenly over cooled cookies. Working quickly, sprinkle cookies with nuts. Yield: 30 cookies (serving size: 2 cookies)


NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 196(30% from fat); FAT 3.3g (sat 1.1g,mono 1g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 1.2g; CHOLESTEROL 12mg; CALCIUM 12mg; SODIUM 58mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 0.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16.3g

There is nothing I hate more than having to make a trip back to the grocery store because I forgot/didn't get enough of something. I hate hate hate it. In fact, I would just scrap whatever recipe plans I had rather than go back. So I tend to buy too much out of fear of buying too little.

Which is why I have an excess of uncooked/unused cranberries, gravy, almonds and sausage now that Thanksgiving has come and gone.

But you know the old adage: when life gives you lemons make lemonade? Well i figured when life gives you too many cranberries and almonds, make cranberry-almond cheesecake.

It took a but of finagling and substituting, but I nailed down a great recipe for the afore mentioned dessert. Adding the sour cream makes it a bit less dense and cheesy. And the almondy sweetness compliments the tart cranberry beautifully!

Cranberry-Almond Cheesecake

3 tbsp sugar
3/4 c crushed graham crackers
1/4 c crushed almonds
3 tbsp melted butter
Three 8 oz packages of cream cheese, at room temp
1 c sour cream
3/4 c sugar
2 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp flour
3 eggs
leftover cranberry relish/sauce.

Combine first 4 ingredients and press onto bottom of 8 inch springform pan (or something similar). Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese with extract, flour and sugar until well blended. Add eggs one at a time and sour cream. Beat until creamy.

Pour into crusted pie pan and bake at 325 for 55 minutes.

Allow to cool in fridge for one hour, then spread cranberry sauce/relish on top. I put my sauce threw a sieve first to smooth it out and then heated it so it would spread more evenly.

And for all you nut-haters, you could also use vanilla extract instead, and omit the crushed almonds, adding an extra 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs in the crust.

one of my favorite things to snack on is Ocean Spray Craisins. have you had them? they are dried, sweetened cranberries and they taste FABULOUS. i love them. i could go through a whole bag in one hour. i've tested this theory, believe me, and it's true.



anyway, most of the Craisin bags come with a recipe on the back..and the one for Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk cookies comes out AMAZING. seriously, one of the best kind of cookie i have ever made. plus, they are simple. what more could you want out of a home made baked good?

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
2/3 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

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DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Combine oats, flour, salt, and baking soda; stir into butter mixture one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

there are a few scents that always remind me of fall: roasting pumpkin seeds, freshly baked apple pie, newly raked leaves, and these amaaaaaazing cookies. i got the recipe from the New Good Housekeeping Cookbook which my mom gave me when I moved into my new place (along with a well-intentioned copy of "Cooking for Dummies"!). They are really easy to make, and you probably have most, if not all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now.

Two pieces of advice: even though it says the pepper is optional you should definitely use it. it adds a spicy quality that really meshes well with the ginger. and i like to sprinkle a little extra sugar on the dough balls after i put them on the baking sheet, before they go into the oven, to give them an extra sparkly, crackly appearance.


JUMBO GINGERSNAPS


2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional) (use it)
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and pepper (if using (USE)).

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat shortening and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg until blended; beat in molasses.

Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture just until blended.

Place remaining 2 tablespoons sugar on waxed paper.

Roll 1/4 cup dough into ball; roll in sugar to coat evenly.
Repeat for 10 balls.

Place balls 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
(If you want smaller cookies, roll dough by slightly rounded tablespoons and place 2 inches apart on two ungreased cookie sheets).

Bake until set, about 15 minutes for large cookies, or 9 to 11 minutes for smaller cookies.

Cookies will be very soft and may appear moist in cracks.

Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets on wire racks.

Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.