Szechuan-Style Tofu with Peanuts

This is an extremely tasty and SPICY dish. I especially loved the tofu treatment. I think I'll be broiling tofu more often. It really gives it a lovely crispy outside without making it rubbery.

I accidentally doubled the chicken broth in this recipe. I only had 2-cup portions of homemade chicken stock in my freezer, and I didn't want to waste a bunch (the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup), so I made chicken broth by using a bouillon cube. Since the cube needs 1 cup of water, I ended up accidentally using the whole thing. It came out so well though, I'm going to modify the recipe I'm writing down here to reflect that change.

Don't get intimidated by the ingredients you may not recognize. They were very easy to find in the grocery store.

Szechuan-Style Tofu with Peanuts
A variation on this recipe by Cooking Light



Jasmine rice
1 (14-ounce) package water-packed firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooking spray or parchment paper
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons black bean garlic sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces mushrooms
1/2 cup matchstick-cut carrots
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Preheat broiler.

Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Arrange tofu in a single layer on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper; broil 14 minutes or until golden, turning halfway through.

While tofu cooks, combine broth and next 4 ingredients (through black bean sauce), stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add salt and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms begin to release liquid, stirring occasionally. Stir in carrots and ginger; cook 1 minute. Add broth mixture; turn to high and cook until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat; stir in tofu and onions. Serve over rice; sprinkle with peanuts.

Cappuccino Cheesecake

My mother-in-law sent me a link to this blog to show me this cheesecake. The blogger uses a very long-winded method for writing down the recipe she uses, so I transcribed it in a more understandable way.

Because my mother-in-law was worried that making such a large cake for a smaller gathering would mean too much leftover cake (and really, who but the Golden Girls can eat that much cheesecake without gaining hundreds of pounds?), I made this for Jonathan's family's February/March birthday party. And it was a HUGE hit. It especially made me me exceedingly happy that Jonathan, who is extremely picky about sweets, especially chocolate ones, said that it was the best cheesecake he'd ever had. Score.

We did decide that the cocoa powder on top as a garnish was not a good choice. I ended up inhaling some of it and coughed my way through the first couple of bites of my slice, and most other people had some trouble wearing it. So no matter how nice it may make the cake look, don't bother with it.

There is a lot of scraping down the bowl in this recipe, but really, it's so worth it. It made the cheesecake light and almost mousse-like. I definitely made sure to beat the cream cheese really well before adding anything else, which I think helped too.

I will say that figuring out if this cake was done was difficult for me since I don't have that much experience with making cheesecakes. I followed the directions, but when I went to take the cake out of the oven, it just felt way too jiggly. I even went to test it with a knife, as you would with a regular cake, which is why you can see a big gash in the middle of my cake in the picture. Do not do this. From what I've read online, it is perfectly normal for the cake to jiggle a bit when it comes out of the oven. As long as the entire top moves as one unit and doesn't look too goopy, it's just fine. And don't stick anything into it, you'll ruin all the work you've done already to make sure that it doesn't crack.

Definitely definitely definitely make sure you make this a day or so ahead of time. The cooling process is important to making sure the cake is solid and the flavors are mixed properly. When it first came out and even before I put it in the fridge overnight, I smelled a lot of the Irish Cream. I was a little concerned that it would end up overwhelming all of the other flavors in the cake. But once it came out of the fridge and was ready to be served, the flavors had clearly blended a lot more.

Cappuccino Cheesecake



For crust:
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (you can get chocolate wafers and grind them up)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

For ganache:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups whipping cream, heated but not boiled

For filling:
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup Irish Cream
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 eggs, at room temperature
Chocolate-covered espresso beans, semisweet chocolate chips and/or Hershey's Kisses, for garnish

To make crust: Mix together crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake at 350ºF for 10 minutes. Once the crust is done, turn the oven down to 325ºF.

To make ganache: Warm whipping cream over low heat until heated but not boiling. Cover chopped semisweet chocolate with heated whipping cream, and let sit for about 5 minutes. Whisk the mixture together until chocolate is completely melted and mixture becomes smooth. Set aside.

To make filling: Put softened cream cheese in mixer and beat until very creamy, scraping down the sides from time to time. Gradually add the sugar. Scrape down the sides. Add cornstarch. Mix together Irish Cream and espresso powder, and add to the mixer. Scrape down the sides.

Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each is incorporated well. Scrape down the sides. Add the ganache, and scrape down the sides one more time. The mixture will be very loose, so carefully pour it on top of the crust in the springform pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave it in there for another 30 minutes. Make sure you do not open the oven during this time. After the hour has passed, let the cheesecake cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, garnish as desired.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Oh. This is so good. Just so so so so good. Quite possibly the best coffee cake I've ever had. Moist and so flavorful. I made it for my mother-in-law's birthday dinner, but it would also be perfect for a brunch, a shower, a tea, a rainy Tuesday. Make it as soon as possible.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Courtesy of Ina Garten (The Barefoot COntessa)



12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

For the glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Toasted Orzo Chicken Soup

I really wanted this to have more flavor. It smelled fantastic, especially when the orzo was being toasted. But it just fell flat. I even added some dill to try to pump up the flavors a bit, but no such luck. If you can find some way to make this more exciting, I'd be so happy to hear it. It's a healthy and easy to make soup. I just wish I liked it more.

I also modified the amount of lemon zest in the recipe I'm including below. While I think the soup benefited from the lemon flavor, I think using 2 teaspoons overpowered the soup a bit, so I recommend only using 1 teaspoon.

Toasted Orzo Chicken Soup
A variation on this recipe by Rachael Ray



32 ounces (4 cups) chicken stock
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast pieces or tenders
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup orzo pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small zucchini, peeled finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped dill
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

In a medium pot, bring the chicken stock and chicken to a simmer, making sure the the chicken is entirely immersed. Lower the heat and poach the chicken for 12-15 minutes.

Heat a dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter to melt. Add the orzo and cook, stirring, until deeply toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the oil to the dutch oven. Add the zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, shallots and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Return the orzo to the pot.

Remove the chicken from the stock. Skim and discard the fat from the stock; transfer the stock to the dutch oven. Chop, dice or shred the chicken and add to the soup with 2 cups water. Bring the soup to a boil and cook until the orzo is just tender, 5 minutes. Add the peas during the last minute of cooking. Turn off the heat; stir in the parsley, dill and lemon zest. Serve immediately (orzo will plump the longer it sits).

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I did it! I finally made a chocolate chip cookie that didn't go flat the minute it came out of the oven. I can't tell you how disappointed I've been over the years whenever I'd try a chocolate chip cookie recipe only to have it come out looking and tasting awful. It was especially upsetting when I'd think about how my kids wouldn't think their mom's chocolate cookies were the best (hell yeah I want them to think that!).

But my culinary hero (Alton Brown) came through again. Success! I think the combination of using melted butter, bread flour, and chilling the dough thoroughly really did the trick. I chilled the dough for about 3 hours, though I think just an hour would have been fine. I also only scooped out as much dough as I needed for one tray in the oven at a time and put the rest of the dough back in the refrigerator between batches. I may have been overly cautious, but given how well these came out, I'll be doing that again the next time I make them.

Also, make sure you turn the cookies as the recipe suggests. It really did help get the cookies evenly browned. I did find that my cookies were a little on the burnt side when I baked them for the full 14 minutes, so I just baked them for 7 minutes, turned the pan, and then baked them for another 5 minutes. They came out perfectly that way.

Oh, and these cookies are referred to by Alton Brown as "The Chewy". Very accurately so, I might add.

The Chewy
Courtesy of Alton Brown



2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375ºF.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the cookies after 7 minutes for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Black and White Angel Food Cake

This was better than I was expecting. Since it uses semi-sweet chocolate, it's not overwhelmingly sweet and adds such great flavor to an already great cake.

I wasn't able to find superfine sugar, so I put sugar in the food processor and tried to work it that way. I'm not sure how much good it did, but it didn't seem to make a huge difference in the cake.

Black and White Angel Food Cake
Couresty of Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa)



2 cups sifted superfine sugar (about 1 pound)
1 1/3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature (10 to 12 eggs)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup coarsely grated semisweet chocolate

For the glaze:
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with the flour and sift them together 4 times. Set aside.

Place the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed until the eggs form medium-firm peaks, about 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the beaten egg whites. Beat on high speed for a few minutes until thick and shiny. Add the vanilla and continue to whisk until very thick, about 1 more minute. Scrape the beaten egg whites into a large bowl. Sift 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it very carefully into the batter with a rubber spatula. Continue adding the flour in 3 equal additions, sifting and folding until it's all incorporated. Fold in the grated chocolate.

Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top, and bake it for 35 to 45 minutes, until it springs back to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack. When cool, run a thin, flexible knife around the cake to remove it from the pan.

For the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate chips and the heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate melts. Pour the chocolate over the top of the cooled cake to cover the top completely and allow it to drizzle down the sides. If you have chocolate glaze left over, you can serve it on the side with the cake.

Enchilada Stew

The original recipe for this one was supposed to be more of a chili, but since I didn't use the chicken and ended up with a much more liquid dish, I figured I'd changed it from a chili to a stew.

I also used black beans because I like them better than pinto or kidney beans.

It's very tasty and extremely simple to make. The recommended garnishes are definitely a must too. And maybe next time I'll make some corn bread to go with it. Or maybe even just some warmed corn tortillas.

Enchilada Stew
A variation on this recipe from crockpot365.blogspot.com



1 1/2 cups prepared enchilada sauce
2 chopped celery stalks
2 (14.5 oz) cans tomatoes with seasoning (I used fire-roasted with garlic)
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, undrained
1 onion, diced
1-2 teaspoons chili powder (it all depends on how spicy you want to make it)
1 teaspoon cumin
Shredded Mexican-style cheese
Sour cream

Pour enchilada sauce and canned tomatoes into the bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker. Add beans, celery, onion and spices. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until flavors have combined.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.