Independence Pass Brownies

What would the Fourth of July be without a sweet treat or two?  In honor of Independence Day (a bit early), I decided to post Independence Pass Brownies from Susan Purdy’s Pie in the Sky cookbook.  I don’t even want to mention how long ago I actually baked and photographed these brownies, but they were delicious enough to be memorable and they’re *perfect* for a holiday barbecue or picnic.  High-altitude bakers, have at it…

I decided to go with an 8 x 8-inch pan because I like thicker brownies.  (The linked recipe at the bottom of my post suggests an 8 x 11-inch pan, which would work just fine.)  I buttered the pan and set it aside.

In a large bowl, I combined 1/2 cup of Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1/2 cup (plus 1 tablespoon) of all-purpose flour, 1 cup (minus 1 tablespoon) of sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of table salt.  In a separate bowl, I whisked together 3 large room-temperature eggs, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of unsalted butter (melted and cooled).

Next, I made a well in the middle of the dry ingredients in the large bowl.  I poured the egg-butter mixture into the center and worked in the cocoa-flour mixture along with 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips.  (You can substitute your favorite kind of nut for the white chocolate chips, if desired.)

Once the mixture was thoroughly incorporated, I poured the batter into my prepared pan.  I baked the brownies on the center oven rack at 375F for 20 minutes, which was the shortest recommended baking time.  My test toothpick came out clean (instead of with the recommended few moist crumbs attached), but I thought the whole pan turned out soft and perfect.  I let the brownies cool in the pan on a wire rack and then cut them into squares to serve.

These were so freakin’ good.  They were rich, soft, and super chocolate-y, and I *loved* the chunkiness the chocolate chips added to the texture.  Thankfully, my guests did a pretty good number on the batch…  These brownies are t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

As always, remember to use top-quality cocoa powder and chocolate chips for best flavor!

TIPS:  I know better so I’m not sure why I didn’t do it the first time around, but next time, I’ll toss the chocolate chips with a bit of flour before I add them to the brownie batter.  This helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan.

Recipe link: Independence Pass Brownies

p.s.  I would highly recommend checking out my all-time favorite Fourth of July dessert – Red, White, and Blueberry Cheesecake Tart – if you’re looking for holiday recipes.

p.p.s.  I made the Grilled Greek Chicken Kebabs with Mint-Feta Sauce again last night (but on a real grill this time!).  I served them with Tabbouleh and the flavor combination was out of this world.  Give them a try!

Gazpacho

Summer is officially here and I am absolutely loving the produce.  It was my turn to host the Gourmet Club meeting this month, so in honor of summer and all of its bounty, I decided the theme would be “farmer’s market fresh.”  The goal was to use ingredients that might be found in a farmer’s market at this time of the year and also for the dishes to have a fresh edge – light, crisp, not cheese-laden, etc.

My fellow foodies brought the appetizers and desserts (they were fantastic!), and I handled the main part of the meal since I was hostessing.  After much (and I mean way, way too much) thought, I decided on Gazpacho with Grilled Ciabatta as our first course and Emeril’s Fish Provencal with Orzo and Zucchini Salad as the main.  I’m going to share the Gazpacho with you today (mostly because I had a chance to snap a photo of it before we ate it!).  It’s a bit time-consuming to prep all of the produce, but this is a fantastic dish for entertaining because it actually tastes *better* if you let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving it.  It’s great for summer too because there’s no heat involved; what sounds more refreshing than a chilled summer soup on a warm evening?

To start, I roughly chopped 1 hothouse cucumber (halved and seeded but not peeled), 2 red bell peppers (cored and seeded), 4 plum tomatoes (cored), and 1 red onion into 1-inch cubes.  (They don’t have to be perfect because everything ends up in the food processor anyway.)  I put each ingredient separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulsed until it was coarsely chopped.  The recipe cautions you not to overprocess the ingredients, and the exclamation point in the recipe is for good reason.  During my test run of the recipe, I think I pulsed each ingredient about seven times; Dr. O suggested the soup would make a nice salsa.  When I made it for Gourmet Club, I pulsed each ingredient about four times, which gave me just the right amount of chunkiness.  (I did process the red onion until it was pretty finely chopped, though.  Few people enjoy a big bite of raw red onion.)

After each ingredient was processed, I transferred it to a large bowl.  I added 3 minced garlic cloves, 3 cups of packaged tomato juice, 1/4 cup of white-wine vinegar, 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of kosher (coarse) salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper.  I thoroughly mixed everything together, covered the bowl, and chilled the gazpacho in the refrigerator until I was ready to serve it (about 8 hours, though you can chill it for far less time if necessary).

This soup is super delish; it’s light, fresh, and flavorful.  I adore this recipe even more because it lets me make and clean up my mess long before company arrives.  This is another case, though, where the soup can only be as good as what you put into it.  Make sure you get the freshest possible produce and use top-quality olive oil – the flavor difference will be worth it!

TIPS:  If you’ve never specifically used a hothouse (or English) cucumber, they typically come in a plastic wrapper at the grocery store.  They have thinner skin, less conspicuous seeds, and milder flavor than a regular cucumber.

Recipe link: Gazpacho

Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions (aka The First Thing I Ever Legitimately Grilled)

We *finally* got a grill.  (Thanks for the housewarming gift, Mom and Dad!)  After letting it sit on the deck for a couple of weeks looking pretty and brand new, Dr. O and I decided to get down and dirty with it (after lining the drip pan with heavy-duty foil, of course).

We never, ever, ever eat steak – probably because we never owned a real grill and I tend to torch steak in the grill pan – so I thought a perfect first project would be Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions from the June 2009 issue of Everyday Food.  It’s a good first recipe because it calls for flatiron steak, which is a nice, inexpensive cut of meat.

First, we prepped the grill.  (I say “we” because Dr. O wanted us to grill together, though we agreed that I was the “captain” and he was the “first mate” because I was the one with steak and a plan.)  We heated the grill to high, oiled the grates, and waited for the temperature to get to about 450F.  Meanwhile, I cut an 18-ounce piece of flatiron steak into three 6-ounce steaks and seasoned the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper.  I also washed a pint of cherry tomatoes and one bunch of scallions; I used my kitchen shears to cut the scallions into 2-inch lengths.

When the grill was ready, we grilled the steaks for 4 minutes on each side (with the lid closed, of course).  After they were cooked to our liking, we placed the steaks on a clean plate and tented them with foil to rest.  During the resting time, we placed a double layer of foil over the grill grates and put the cherry tomatoes and scallions on top.  We drizzled them with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, closed the lid, and grilled them until they were tender and lightly charred (about 7 minutes).

When the tomatoes and scallions were done, I placed them in a bowl, tossed them with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and seasoned them with salt and pepper.  I topped the steaks with the tomato-scallion mixture and served an orzo and zucchini salad on the side.

Drumroll, please…  The steaks turned out!  The two thicker steaks were perfectly medium, though the thinner steak ended up a bit overdone.  All in all, I’d say it was a success.  My cherry tomatoes didn’t burst (as they apparently did in the Everyday Food test kitchen, based on the recipe photos), but they were charred and warm.  The scallions caramelized a bit too, which I *loved*.  I feel like a champion griller!

TIPS:  Check out the original recipe if you want to make this recipe for more than two people.  I cut the tomato-scallion mixture in half and made three steaks instead of four since it was just Dr. O and me.  And yes, he did eat two steaks.

Recipe link: Grilled Steak with Tomatoes and Scallions

Pasta with Zucchini and Toasted Almonds

Slowly but surely, I’m working my way back into an (almost) daily cooking routine.

My friend Christopher often has a sense of what I need even when I don’t.  One of his recent gifts was a subscription to Cooking Light, which has served me well in two ways.  One, it provides endless options for healthy cooking; two, it helps me break out of my Everyday Food rut.  (It’s an often fabulous and tasty rut, but a rut nonetheless.)  I’ve really enjoyed having the magazines around because I feel like the recipes are generally pretty safe, nutritionally; I don’t have to do a bunch of calculating to make sure we’re on track with our Kauai goals (eight weeks and counting!).

My most recent Cooking Light attempt was a fabulous find – Pasta with Zucchini and Toasted Almonds.  It sounds like a strange combo (I’m used to toasted almonds on my oatmeal and in salads – not so much in my pasta), but the flavors were divine.

The recipe is basically a three-part process: combining ingredients to create a room-temperature tomato mixture, cooking a batch of fresh pasta, and sauteeing some zucchini with garlic.  I started with the tomato mixture.  In a medium bowl, I combined 2 cups of cherry tomatoes (halved), 2 tablespoons of minced shallots, 1 teaspoon of minced fresh thyme, 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon of kosher (coarse) salt, 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar.  I added 2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil, tossed everything to coat, and set the mixture aside.

Next, I cooked 1 package (9 ounces) of refrigerated linguine according to package directions.  While I waited for the water to boil, I coarsely chopped 1 pound of zucchini and 3 tablespoons of fresh mint.  Once I had my pasta going, I sauteed the zucchini with 1 1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  After 3 minutes, I added 3/4 cup of chicken broth and brought the mixture to a simmer.  (This happened almost immediately.)  I stirred in the cooked linguine and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the chopped mint, tossing well.

I transferred the pasta-zucchini mixture to a large bowl, added the tomato mixture, and tossed well again.  Each serving was 1 1/2 cups of the pasta mixture topped with a quarter of the remaining mint, 4 teaspoons of grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and 2 teaspoons of toasted almonds.

Man, was this ever good.  The flavor was *so* fresh.  It was veggie heavy, but it still had an indulgent pasta feel, mostly because of the way the Pecorino Romano clung to the chicken broth-moistened linguine.  It was heavenly.  I thought the almonds would be weird, but I really enjoyed the added texture.  I *definitely* plan on making this one again…  It just tastes like summer!

TIPS:  My only beef with this recipe is that it was kind of difficult to toss together…  The tomatoes and zucchini didn’t seem to want to incorporate evenly with the pasta.  I just made a special effort to make sure each serving had a proportionate amount of “good stuff” when I dished it up.

Recipe link: Pasta with Zucchini and Toasted Almonds

Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Apple Strudel

It’s time for another Daring Bakers’ challenge (already!)…

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

I can’t say I’ve ever considered *making* a strudel, but I do love the dessert.  We were encouraged to be creative with the filling, but apple just sounded soooo good, so I went with the recipe provided.

The most challenging part was definitely stretching the dough.  I let mine rest for two hours since the recipe indicated that a longer resting time was better.  I was amazed by how easily the dough stretched, but I was a bit frustrated when a few holes appeared once the dough sheet was getting large.  Like the hostesses indicated, though, the holes didn’t matter much once the strudel was rolled.

Speaking of rolling, thank heaven for the tablecloth tip in the recipe.  I’m not sure how one would roll such thin dough otherwise.  My strudel looked a bit goofy once I rolled it (and I even stopped an apple short of the recommended 2 pounds because I thought I might have a bit too much filling)…

But it baked up beautifully.  The dough was flaky, the apples were tender (I did paper-thin slices instead of 1/4-inch-thick slices), the dessert itself wasn’t overly sweet.  The bites with the rum-soaked raisins were my favorite.  Mmmm.

When I was stretching the dough, I wasn’t sure the effort would be worth the result, but this was pretty delish.  Great challenge!

Recipe link: Apple Strudel

Creamy Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas

It’s back to the grind!  My parents came to stay with us this past week, so we had our first houseguests in the new place.  We really enjoyed their visit, but I think one of the best things that came out of it is that I felt compelled to cook again.  Now I just need to feel compelled to *photograph* what I cook again…

Here’s my cooking rundown for the past week.  Last Saturday, I made pulled pork sandwiches, a two-bean salad, and strawberry spinach salad; Monday, I made a sausage and sundried tomato strata; Tuesday, I made a challah French toast with mixed berry jam; and last night, I “practiced” for an upcoming Gourmet Club meeting by making four different Mexican dishes from Rick Bayless’s Web site.  The recipe I want to share today is one of the appetizers from the Rick Bayless site: Creamy Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas (a.k.a. The Only Recipe I Managed to Photograph ).  It’s quick, easy, delicious, and full of perfect summer flavors.

To make the shrimp mixture, I started by prepping my ingredients.  I cored and seeded 1 large red tomato, cut it into 1/4-inch dice, and placed it in a medium bowl.  Next, I opened a small can of chipotle chiles in adobo (you can find them in the ethnic food aisle at the grocery store) and added 2 tablespoons of the canning sauce to the diced tomato.  I removed 2 peppers from the can, slit each one open, scraped out the seeds, chopped them finely, and added them to the bowl as well.

To finish my prep, I finely diced 1 medium red onion, finely chopped 1 scallion (green parts only), minced 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme (leaves only), and chopped 2 1/2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro.  I added these ingredients to the bowl along with 3/4 cup of sour cream.

We can’t have shrimp tostadas without shrimp, right?  The recipe calls for 1 pound of tiny salad shrimp, but my grocery store didn’t have any (fresh *or* frozen!), so I just bought some cooked shrimp from the meat counter, removed the tails, and chopped the meat.  (I did locate salad shrimp at Safeway this morning, so I’ll have some tomorrow when I make it “for real.”)  I added the shrimp to the mixture, stirred everything together gently but thoroughly, and seasoned with salt to taste.  (I ended up using about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.)

The recipe said to serve the mixture on homestyle tortilla chips or Guerrero-style chalupitas.  I just wanted to make sure the chip would be thick and sturdy enough for the shrimp mixture, yet small enough to be finger food.  I looked at Sunflower Farmer’s Market and King Soopers, and the best I could do was a bag of On The Border Premium Rounds.  So commercial and so *not* homemade, yes, but they worked out beautifully.  I finished the tostadas with a sprinkling of Mexican queso fresco.

I was a bit wary of the heat these might have since the last time I cooked with chipotles in adobo Dr. O and I couldn’t even finish our dinner (it was sad!), but removing the seeds made all the difference.  I loved the smoky flavor of the adobo sauce, the fresh bite of the scallion and cilantro, and the creamy coolness of the sour cream.  I think the tostadas will be a big hit at my meeting tomorrow, and I definitely plan on making them for parties at our place this summer.

TIPS:  This might be obvious, but just in case: You can make the shrimp mixture a couple of hours ahead, but don’t assemble the tostadas until just before you plan to serve them.  No one likes soggy chips!

Recipe link: Creamy Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas

Update on April Daring Bakers’ Challenge

OK!  The cheesecake has been chilled, finished, and sampled.  Here’s the verdict:  It’s totally worth the time and effort.  I do have a few pros and cons to share with anyone who decides to try the recipe, though.  Let’s start with the bad news first…

Cons:

• Despite the fact that the baking and cooling methods seemed tailored to prevent cracks in the cheesecake, mine cracked.  Big time.  I basically had a huge crack that went all the way around the top of my cheesecake, just about a half-inch in from the edge.  Maybe this is an altitude issue?  I’m curious to see if I get similar results with a different recipe.
• The crust didn’t come out *at all* on the first piece I served.  I think this was my fault for not cutting through it all the way, but I didn’t want to damage the finish on my pan.  The pieces that came out after that first piece were just fine.

The pros:

• Holy cow, this is a delicious cheesecake.  The lime zest I added to the batter added just enough lime flavor, and the creamy, sweet cheesecake went perfectly with the tartness of the fresh mango and kiwi I added to the top.  (Crafty way to mask the massive crack, eh?)
• This cheesecake just might be texturally superior to all of the other cheesecakes I’ve baked.  I’m willing to bet it’s the use of heavy cream, and the lack of sour cream might make a difference as well.  And the texture of the crust?  AMAZING.  The chopped macadamia nuts were absolutely perfect.  (I chopped them pretty finely but not to the consistency of the graham cracker crumbs, so the pieces still had great crunch.)

I’m still not sure where the tripod is and I didn’t use my work light, so the photo isn’t the greatest.  You can still see my “mango mosaic,” though.  I did end up sprinkling toasted coconut on top of the mango before serving the cheesecake, but Dr. O said it looked a heck of a lot like pizza cheese.  (He was right.)  Anyway, we’re definitely looking forward to enjoying this over the next few days.

Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake

First, the obligatory blog-checking text:

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Amazingly enough, I am not this Jenny.

Here’s the deal…  I’ve been in my new kitchen for less than two weeks.  I’m still unpacking boxes.  I haven’t even cooked our official first dinner in the new house.  (We’ve cooked ONE from-scratch meal in the last week and a half.  I say “we” because I injured my forearm raking last week – pathetic! – and actually had to walk Dr. O through the meal preparation.  Anyone who knows us knows this is craziness.)

Miraculously, though, this cheesecake is baking in the oven as I write!  I’m actually kind of glad I had this DB challenge to take care of because it forced me to break the “cooking seal.”  Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to taste it or post pictures until tomorrow (it has to chill overnight), but I DID IT.  Today.  Now I’m afraid I’ve lost my excuse not to cook dinner tomorrow…

Anyway, I do have a few things to note about this recipe.  I don’t think I’ve ever baked a cheesecake without sour cream, and I’m not sure I’ve *ever* baked a cheesecake with heavy cream, so I’m very curious to see how the texture will differ from other cheesecakes I’ve made.  I’m also used to baking my crusts for 10 – 15 minutes before pouring the cream cheese mixture over the top.  This recipe said to just press the crust ingredients into the springform pan, no pre-baking required.  I’m hoping the result is terrific because I love a good time-saving step.

The variation I chose for my particular cheesecake is a tropical one…  I added 1/2 cup of chopped macadamia nuts to my crust, I added the zest of 1 lime to my cake batter, and I think I’m going to create some kind of pretty pattern with mangoes and kiwi on top.  I’ll post pictures tomorrow!

(Update: Here are the photos for anyone viewing the *post*, not the blog.)

Perfect Macaroni and Cheese

Despite all of the moving chaos still present in my life, I’ve decided that today is the day I take a giant step back towards normalcy.  I cooked my own breakfast (no more Starbucks and cold cereal!), I’m hitting the gym, and I’m firing up this blog.  I haven’t started cooking full-on meals again just yet (thank you, Christopher, for green enchie leftovers) , but I have a few good stories to share from the past couple of weeks.  Let’s start with one of those now…

I’m a macaroni and cheese FIEND.  I’m too well-behaved (from a nutritional standpoint, at least) to eat it all the time, but it’s truly one of my favorite foods.  I even have a cookbook that is dedicated entirely to macaroni and cheese (thank you, Colleen!).

Several weeks ago, my friend Christopher had friends over for a meatloaf dinner with macaroni and cheese on the side.  He said the macaroni and cheese recipe – Perfect Macaroni and Cheese from the February 1999 issue of Martha Stewart Living – was to die for, so I picked up the ingredients.  This was about the time that moving chaos really started to set in, though, so I was struggling to stick with my scheduled menus.  In a comical turn of events, we actually ended up at my place one Sunday finishing up a baking project that we had started at Christopher’s place.  Dinnertime rolled around and I had the Perfect Macaroni and Cheese ingredients (and little else) in the refrigerator, so we decided to make it together while the cakes we had been baking were cooling.

The original recipe serves 12 people, so I had purchased ingredients for a half recipe.  First, we buttered a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish and set it aside.  Next, we took 3 slices of white bread, removed the crusts, and tore them into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch pieces.  We placed the bread in a small bowl, poured 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the top, tossed the mixture, and set it aside as well.

To make the cheese sauce, we started by heating 2 3/4 cups of milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  While the milk heated, we made the roux that would become the sauce’s thickening agent.  In a high-sided skillet, we melted 3 tablespoons of butter, added 1/4 cup of flour when the butter began to bubble, and cooked the mixture (stirring constantly) for 1 minute.

Whisking constantly, we slowly poured the hot milk into the flour mixture.  The next line of the recipe says, “Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.”  It probably should have said “continue cooking, and cooking, and cooking, and cooking…”  The process of thickening this sauce really did take forever.  It’s a good thing I had Christopher there to cheer me on as I whisked, because I would have stopped long before the sauce had reached an optimal thickness.

When the sauce was nice and thick, we removed it from the heat and added 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon of ground black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 cups of grated sharp white cheddar, and 3/4 cup of grated Gruyere.  We stirred the sauce until it was well blended and set it aside.

Cooking the macaroni was the last step before we could assemble the casserole.  In a large saucepan of boiling water, we cooked 8 ounces of elbow macaroni until the outside of the pasta was cooked and the inside was underdone.  (Normally, this would be about 2 – 3 fewer minutes than the package instructions; at this altitude, it’s more like the exact recommended cooking time or 1 fewer minute.)  When the pasta was adequately cooked, we rinsed it under cold water, drained it well, and stirred it into the reserved cheese sauce.

Finally, we poured the noodles and cheese sauce into our prepared casserole dish.  We sprinkled the mixture with 3/4 cup of shredded sharp white cheddar and 1/4 cup of shredded Gruyere, scattered the buttered breadcrumbs on top, and baked the casserole at 375F until it was browned on top (about 30 minutes).  We let the dish cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes and served it with rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and green beans from the freezer.  There’s nothing wrong with dressing up a gorgeous dish with a few convenience items in a tight situation, eh?

This macaroni and cheese was *really* delicious.  Truly.  It was creamy, nicely textured, and the breadcrumbs on top were killer.  I couldn’t count it as “perfect,” though, because I’ve been ridiculously spoiled by the macaroni and cheese at The Porch in Dallas, which I consider to be the standard by which all other macaroni and cheese should be judged.  There was something in the flavor profile of the cheeses I used that didn’t quite do it for me, but like anything, a dish is only as good as the ingredients you put into it.  Next time, I think I’m going to try the Pecorino-Romano variation given in the original recipe to see if that yields a flavor that is closer to what I want.  I’ll definitely give this one another shot, though.

TIPS:  I failed to plan ahead in the milk department, so I only had 1% milk on hand when it was time to make the roux.  For maximum creaminess, I should have used whole milk (and will next time).

Also, be sure to plan on grating your own sharp white cheddar and Gruyere, unless you have access to a (probably gourmet) grocery store that sells them pre-shredded.

Recipe link: Perfect Macaroni and Cheese

Mountain Cookies

Man, am I *ever* getting good use out of the triangle cookie cutter I picked up at Cake Crafts a few months ago.  We went up to Breckenridge last weekend for a ski trip that was half Dr. O’s birthday celebration and half a college reunion for Dr. O’s little brother.  I figured a houseful of guys would enjoy a sweet treat or two, so I whipped up a batch of Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal Chews and a batch of sugar cookies shaped like little snow-capped mountains.  Aren’t they adorable?

I sprinkled half of the “snow” with sanding sugar and half with white nonpareils.  I really liked the texture variation the toppings added to the cookies.  I really, really liked that Dr. O tried to hide the cookies in the pantry at the rental house so the other guys would forget about them and he could have more for himself.

(Click here for the original sugar cookie post with recipe.)