Espresso Brownies

Red first introduced me to this yummy adult treats when we first met 2.5 yrs ago. All of his friends always requested him to whip up this treat for parties and get together. One even asked if Red could shipped them through Fed-Ex when he moved to Iowa. We made these a couple of days ago to the delight of our friends, Jill and Sarah who drove 2.5 hrs to see us.

This isn't a kid-friendly recipe since kids don't usually like the coffee flavor in the frosting, but adults love since it adds depth to the chocolate flavor.




Espresso Brownies
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis (Food Network)

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1 (19.8-ounce) box brownie mix (recommended: Duncan Hines)
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

Brownie Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
• Whisk 1/3 cup of water, oil, eggs, and 2 tablespoons espresso powder in a large bowl to blend. Add the brownie mix.
• Stir until well blended.
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes.
• Cool completely.

Frosting Directions

• Meanwhile, dissolve the remaining 2 teaspoons of espresso powder in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl.
• Whisk in the vanilla.
• Add the powdered sugar and butter and whisk until smooth.
• Pour the glaze over the brownies. Refrigerate until the glaze is set.
• Cut into bite-size pieces.
• Arrange the brownies on a platter and serve.

Mini Blue Cheese Popovers

I have been reading Martha Stewart's Hors D'Oeuvres Handbook for a few weeks now, and overwhelmed by the number of incredible looking food that she has on this cookbook. She has gorgeous pictures and just incredible creative ideas! Unfortunately, some of the recipes are also very time-consuming. I don't mind those for special occasions, but prefer simpler recipes that I can make relatively quick!

These are simple, but a nice alternative to the usual popovers or parmesan popovers that I am used to, and are made in small muffin tins with 1 1/2-inch diameter. The rise and fall of these popovers may be less dramatic, but I think they are just perfect for tapas party, or appetizer.

As an added bonus, they can be made ahead, and just bake before serving.

Yield: 4 dozens

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus more for tins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme

1. In a large bown, whish together the eggs, milk, melted butter, flour, salt, and pepper. Whisk until all of the lumps have dissapeared. Whisk in the cheese and the thyme. Transfer the batter to an air-tight container. The batter, must be chilled, refrigerate for at least 2 hours aor up to 1 day.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degree F. Generously butter the mini muffin tins. Fill each cup to the top with the chilled batter. Bake the popovers until golden and puffed, 15-18 min. Repeat until the batter is used. Serve warm.

Snickerdoodles

I have been craving cookies for a couple of weeks now, and decided that I'd like to make these treats so I can enjoy them with coffee. They're perfect and light, and tasted even better the second day. I used Emeril's recipe but made some tweaks.

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp of cream tartar
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• a pinch of nutmeg
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cream of tartar and salt into a bowl.

With a handheld or standing mixer, beat together the shortening and butter. Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, combine well. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the dough, by hand, into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and line them up about 2-inch apart on a unlined cookie sheets. Bake until light brown, but still moist in the center, about 12 minutes.

Cool on a rack.

Yield: Approx. 3-4 dozens.

Outback's Alice Spring Chicken

I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while. While I absolutely love Outback Steakhouse's ribs, somehow, this is the dish that I end up ordering every time I go out to Outback! It has all of my favorite ingredients: chicken breast, mushrooms, BACON (oh my goodness!! Have you noticed how many recipes I have had that has bacon in it?), and tons of cheese (my other weakness!).


Red licked his fingers & plate, clean and shiny, as he wolfed his dinner down. So I think this was a keeper, meaning that yes, we'll try this again in the future... maybe with a couple of modifications below.

I sauteed the mushrooms with sliced onions, because I thought it would make them softer, and sweeter... and I was right! Horaay! I also didn't have enough shredded Mexican cheese (gulp!), so more cheese would have been better next time (my waist wouldn't think so, but my taste buds usually win). And because I used really thick chicken breasts, I ended up leaving them in the oven additional 10-15 mins to ensure they are cooked thoroughly. Next time, I'd probably butterfly the thick slices for faster cooking. Enjoy!!

Source: www.recipezaar.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup Dijon Mustard
  
• 1 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 12 slices bacon, cooked
• 3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

1. With an electric mixer combine the mustard, honey, and 1 Tbsp oil, and lemon juice for 1 minute.
2. Pour 1/2 mixture over chicken in a gallon ziplock to marinate in fridge 2-24 hours.
3. Chill remaining marinade to serve with chicken.
4. After marinating chicken, preheat oven to 375°F Put remaining oil in frying pan. Heat and sear chicken on both sides.
5. Transfer chicken to oven safe pan and brush with marinade.
6. Meanwhile in frying pan add butter and saute mushrooms.
7. Season chicken breasts with salt and peppers.
8. Stack bacon across each breast, spoon mushrooms on each breast and then approx 1/3- 1/2 cup cheese on each.
9. Cover pan with foil and bake 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with honey mustard marinade.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Barefoot Blogger: Croque Monsieur

This was my first recipe with the Barefoot Blogger group. For those of you who love Ina Garten as much as I do, please consider joining this awesome group. Click on the link on the right side of my web page to check out the details.

We made this the other night and invited a friend and her adorable young son over for dinner. She said that her husband was traveling to Germany for work. So I said, "We're happened to be making Croque Monsieur for dinner tonight, wanna come over?" She said, in caps lock (because I was on IM with her)," YES. I LOVE CROQUE MONSIEUR. What time?"

We only used half of the recipe, but it was perfect for 4 people (we had a side dish and dessert as well though). The sauce took longer than I had anticipated to thicken, but it turned out great after I added more flour. My friend, by the way, is a French-American woman who have made this hundred times, and she thought that the recipe was “excellent”. Used the thick-sliced honey ham, and the white Pepperidge farm as Ina recommended.

YUM!


Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin



Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.
To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.