Category Archives: The Internet

Baked Beans

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baked_beansI’ve been thinking about making my own baked beans ever since I returned from a trip to Eastern Tennessee back in May. I had some decent barbecue while I was there, but it was a side of beans that really stands out in my mind. After a bit of internet browsing, I stumbled on a blogger who had tried Alton Brown’s recipe and really liked it.

So, after my marathon trip to Maryland that lasted almost 4 weeks, one of the first things I did when I got home was to make these beans. And they are fantastic! They aren’t too sweet and have a bit of heat from the jalapenos and cayenne pepper. I seeded the jalapenos, so if you are looking for more heat, leave the seeds and membranes in.

Really, the only problem I had was the amount of grease from the bacon and I was able to spoon most of it off. Like several other reviewers, I found that my beans were done after about 5 hours of baking.

Chocolate Cookie with Cocoa Nibs and Lime

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choc_lime_cookiesI’ve been looking for a way to use up the last of my cocoa nibs, and when I saw this recipe at simplyrecipes.com, I knew I had found it. The combination of chocolate and lime strikes some people as odd, but they go together really well. The key, I think, is in the amount of lime. These cookies get it just right. You mostly taste chocolate with just a hint of lime in the background. The cocoa nibs contribute mostly texture, but not a lot of flavor.

The batter comes together pretty easily. Because of the amount of butter in the recipe, I was worried that the cookies would spread unless they were refrigerated. I needn’t have worried. The batter is dry enough that refrigerated or not, it doesn’t spread much in the oven.

I can see these cookies lending themselves to all sorts of variations. I’m already planning a chocolate/cranberry cookie, a chocolate/cinnamon cookie and maybe, even, a chocolate/chili powder cookie.

Whoopie Pies

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whoopie_pies2

I have a thing for whoopie pies. To me, they are a perfect snack. Little chocolate cakes sandwiched together with filling. Unfortunately, they are usually disappointingly not chocolatey and the filling is super sweet. But I just keep trying new recipes, hoping to find the perfect one.

I snagged this recipe off the NY Times website. You can find the recipe here, although you may have to create a free user login to get to it. It is based off of a recipe from Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, MI. Having once lived in Ann Arbor, I can attest to the goodness that is Zingerman’s. And these whoopie pies did not disappoint. I refuse to admit the exact number of pies that I ate, but I will say that Bryan was lucky to get any.

These whoopie pies were so good that I made another batch within two days. I exercised a bit more restraint (actually, the restraint came from the waistband of my jeans that were so tight that they simply stopped me from eating any more) and gave most of them away.

The cake part is moist and dense. Instead of using the marshmallow fluff filling that is part of the recipe, I made a cream cheese filling. The cakes were pretty sweet, so the tanginess of the filling was a nice contrast. I kept the pies in the refrigerator which made the cake part almost fudgy. I also made the pies quite a bit smaller than the recipe calls for. Instead of getting 6 pies, I used a tablespoon scoop and got 15 pies. They were the perfect size.

Senate Bean Soup

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senate_bean_soup2My new favorite bean soup that isn’t from the grains cookbook . . .

I love bean soups, especially when the beans don’t come from a can. But I usually don’t have enough patience to soak my own beans, so I don’t cook bean soup very often. This recipe has me whistling a different tune, though.

The original recipe comes from a new cookbook called Heirloom Beans by Steve Sando and Vanessa Barrington, but you can find a copy of the recipe here. I’ve made the soup twice with only minor modifications. First, I use 1 1/2 pounds  of small, dried navy beans. I increase the water to about 8 cups, but leave the rest of the ingredients the same (I like my soups very thick). I also tend to add some ham, as the ham hocks don’t give me enough meat. The soup continues to thicken, so leftovers may need to be thinned out.

Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp

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Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp

Obviously not from the whole grains book, but if you like broccoli, then MAKE THIS DISH!

I loved vegetables growing up. In fact, all my siblings did, and it wasn’t hard for my parents to get us to eat them (except for my sister who hated peas and would swallow them whole instead of chewing them). Now, I travel for a living and spend weeks at a time living out of hotels and eating at restaurants. Usually within a couple of days of leaving home, I start craving simple meals with lots of vegetables, like this one. In fact, roasted broccoli (and cauliflower) is one of the things I make regularly at home. 

So, when I saw this recipe here, I immediately bookmarked it. It took me a couple of weeks before I got around to trying it, probably because of the shrimp; I don’t really like shrimp. But, I needed shimp for another dish I was trying (that posting is coming up next) and it was easy enough to get some extra shrimp for this dish.

I think both Bryan and I were so-so on the final product. Again, it came down to the shrimp. We both tend more to chicken as our protein of choice, and we started talking about trying this with chicken. So the next night, I substituted chicken chunks for the shrimp.

The key is to cut the chicken into small enough pieces that it cooks in the same amount of time as the broccoli. I served it over bulgar cooked with some onions and it was really good. It’s low in fat and calories and you don’t really need a lot of meat. One chicken breast cut into small pieces was plenty for both Bryan and I, so that makes the meal pretty cheap. In fact, you could easily leave out the meat and just serve it over a whole grain for a vegetarian meal.

Sigh. I’m currently working in Lethbridge, Canada, and would kill to be able to eat this tonight instead of another restaurant meal.

Parmesan Cream Crackers

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Parmesan Cream CrackersAnother detour from the grains cookbook. Deal with it.

Part of my morning routine involves browsing food blogs and copying recipes that look really good. The fact that I will have to live to be 300 years old to try every recipe that I’ve copied doesn’t deter me in the least.

One of those blogs is written by Mark Bittman. Besides being a cookbook author, Bittman also writes a food column for the NY Times. His recipes are usually quick and easy; I don’t think I’ve tried a bad one yet. So, when I saw the video and recipe for his Parmesan Cream Crackers, I didn’t even try to resist. Next thing I knew, I was in the kitchen dumping flour, salt, parmesan and butter into the food processor. Add some milk, process a bit and less than 5 minutes later, I had cracker dough. Five minutes after that, I had the dough in the oven. Seriously, it was that easy.

I took some liberties with the recipe. First, I thought I had cream but I didn’t. So I used milk. I also added some dried rosemary to the dough and sprinkled coarse salt on top. The only issue I had with the recipe is it says to roll the dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness. I thought that was way too thick for crackers, so I went to about 1/8 of an inch. I probably should have cooked the crackers a little longer; the ones in the middle weren’t quite crunchy. However, that didn’t stop us from eating them all for lunch.

Sugar and Spice Candied Nuts

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Sugar and Spice Candied NutsSugar and Spice Candied Nuts Bag

Obviously, this isn’t from the grains cookbook, but if you try these nuts, I don’t think you’ll mind the diversion. In fact, you might just get down on your knees and thank me. What can I say? I simply can’t stop baking sweet things (or eating, them, either)!

If I ever get motivated to hand out little Christmas presents to friends, these nuts will have a starring role. I found this recipe on smittenkitchen.com, one of my favorite food blogs about a month ago. I immediately earmarked it, went out and bought a bunch of almonds, and then proceeded to let the almonds languish in the cupboard for a month.

Sigh! If I had only known how good these were going to be. They are sweet, salty, cinnamony and just a bit spicy. They are dead easy to make and even easier to eat. They are good as is, but I’ve already got some changes in mind. I would have liked more of the salty, so I’ll increase the kosher salt to 2 teaspoons. Neither Bryan nor I could really taste the cayenne pepper. This time, I used 1/8 teaspoon. Next time, I’ll go up to 1/4 teaspoon. I’m also curious to try different spices. But first, I think I need to go eat some more of these.

Chocolate Madeleines with Toasted Almonds and Coffee

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Chocolate Madeleines with Toasted Almonds and Coffee

Nope, not from the grains cookbook. I. Just. Needed. To. Bake.

When Bryan and I got married, my siblings gave us a gift certificate to Sur la Table, one of my favorite stores. Since it was a gift for both of us, I wanted to spend it on something we both wanted or would use. In all the hours I spent trolling Sur La Table’s website, I was able to find plenty of things I wanted, but nothing Bryan really wanted. Eventually, Bryan graciously allowed me to spend the Sur la Table gift certificate on the things I wanted. And I wanted a madeleine pan.

(Lest you think Bryan was being totally unselfish, let me point out that anything I bought would eventually benefit him in the form of baked goodness.)

Fast forward several months and said madeleine pan was still sitting in my office, untouched and untried. I kept looking at it and thinking that I ought to make some madeleines, but there were always other things I wanted to bake more. Then I stumbled on this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Orangette, and I finally ran out of excuses. Chocolate madeleines coming up.

I took some shortcuts with this recipe. First of all, I had a bag of almond meal sitting in the refrigerator, so I didn’t bother to toast and grind the almonds. Secondly, I used instant espresso powder instead of finely ground coffee and Kahlua instead of whiskey. And finally, I decided not to make the frosting.

Chocolate Madeleine BatterThe batter was quick and easy to make. I was especially drawn to it because you didn’t need to let it sit overnight like traditional madeleines. I had the first tray in the oven quickly. Then I realized that I had enough batter left over for probably two more trays of the little cakes (if I didn’t eat it all, that is), and with only one pan, that meant I was going to be spending time letting the pan cool, cleaning it and baking another batch. Ummm, yeah. Out came the mini muffin tin. In short order it was greased, filled and ready to bake.

The madeleines baked for about 12 minutes, smelling deliciously chocolately. I already knew I was going to have a problem not eating them all. Once out of the oven, I plopped them out of the pan and onto a cooking rack. I resisted for about 5 minutes, and then I had to have one. They were nubby from the almond meal, and deeply, darkly chocolate. The edges were slightly crispy but the cakes, themselves, were moist and dense. The coffee flavor was faint, enhancing the chocolate without overpowering it.

The mini-muffin cakes didn’t fare so well. They came out of the oven looking like perfect little mini cakes, all demure and easy going. But these little devils stuck something fierce. No amount of banging on the counter could dislodge them. Even running a thin knife around the edge didn’t help much. Finally, I ended up digging them out one by one, leaving most the bottoms still stuck in the pan. Next time I make them (and there is so going to be a next time), I’ll make sure that I grease my nonstick mini-muffin pan really well. Chocolate Madeleines as mini muffins