by cheri on March 8, 2010
Before I talk about these Chocolate Pecan Bars let me tell you why it’s been quiet here. This weekend I finally resurfaced in my kitchen. Two weeks ago my little Max had knee surgery. I learned the challenges of working full time and caring for a puppy that is suddenly contained. Today, the sutures came out and only a month more of containment.
Are you wondering what brought me back into the kitchen? My favorite yearly event, the Oscars. I am movie buff from a movie crazed family. Which is ironic since I wasn’t allowed to see many movies growing up. That Baptist preachers kid thing. Movies were an escape. They took me to another place and time. When I was really young we went and saw at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. In junior high my dear dad took me to see Gone With The Wind on a big screen. That is a commitment and love.
These days I love seeing movies through the eyes of my niece and nephews. This weekend we saw Alice in Wonderland. Bizarre but good. Johnny Depp has the talent to make creepy and crazy seem endearing.
Every year my friend Carol and I throw a party. Some big and dressy, others small and casual. This year was the small and casual. However these caught my eye over at Twig and Thistle and I forgot our party was small and casual. So I made these treat bags for the party
Then I printed these from Twig and Thistle.
Then I made enough food for a small army. Even Carol’s husband bringing 4 of his friends over after golf didn’t really make a dent. I may have gone a bit overboard.
After years of looking at this recipe I made the Chocolate Pecan Bars from Barefoot Contessa. I am hesitant to even list the ingredients. It is hard to believe Ina hasn’t had a heart attack cooking like this. Then I dipped these in chocolate. My mother almost had a heart attack.
This recipe makes enough to give to your family, work and neighbors! What is your favorite movie memory? Share in the comments! [click to continue…]
by admin on February 15, 2010
Just in case you didn’t get enough sweets on Valentine’s Day I cooked up a rich dessert for you.
I love the combination of orange and chocolate. This tart is a decadent mixture of both. You start with a chocolate tart dough and fill it with a rich chocolate orange ganache. It is reminiscent of those chocolate covered oranges you can buy at Trader Joe’s.
These could also be made in bite size tart shells to serve at a large party.
Chocolate Tart Dough
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled
Ganache Filling
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
2 teaspoons Grand Marnier or other orange liquer
To prepare the tart dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the tart dough to an 18×12-inc rectangle, 3/16 inch thick. Cut out a circle 1 – 1/2 inches larger than your tart pan. Place dough in tart and using your fingers press the dough to the sides of the tart shell. Chill for 20 minutes.
Line the tart shells with foil and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until the pastry looks dry and set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To make the ganache glaze, in a saucepan, bring the cream and liquer to a boil. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Pour the hot cream mixture into the bowl and let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Pour into the prepared tart shell. Let stand until set, about 2 hours, or chill for 1 hour.
by cheri on February 13, 2010
Happy Valentines Day! I hope you are enjoying this weekend. Over the holidays I made these Espresso Shortbreads and loved the delicate flavor. For Valentines Day I decided to make a version of those in heart shapes, drizzled with chocolate.
They are light with a hint of espresso and a little bit of chocolate. Wrapped up in cellophane with a little ribbon they would make the perfect Valentine’s Treat.
Espresso Bean Shortbread Hearts
Adapted from Martha Stewart recipe
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Whisk flour, espresso, and salt in a bowl. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, and mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture; mix on medium-low until dough comes together. Shape into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Roll between sheets of parchment to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out hearts with a cookie cutter; space 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Reroll scraps; cut out. Freeze 10 minutes.
Bake until set but not browned, about 9 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.
While cookies are cooling melt chocolate chips in a saucepan or in the microwave. Using a toothpick drizzle over the cookies. Let harden.
by cheri on January 30, 2010
Is January really almost over? I can’t believe I haven’t had the chance to share the Tagine of Chicken I made for a dinner party last month. The recipe is by Colin Cowie, a party planner and author of several entertaining books.
The Tagine is a one pot dish and has this great blend of saffron and aromatics and preserved lemons. I liked it because I could do the browning, place in the pot and cook while we were enjoying appetizers and wine.
You cook it in a heavy bottom pan. This dish was traditionally cooked in a glazed tagine but many have the likelihood of lead content so unless you know for sure that yours is lead free, only use the tagine to serve the dish in.
I served this with Couscous with Apricots, Golden Raisins and Almonds. I also used breasts of chicken instead of the whole chicken called out in the recipe. [click to continue…]
by cheri on January 27, 2010
Looking for new cookie recipes I discovered these Espresso Chocolate Shortbread cookies over at Smitten Kitchen. How can you go wrong with espresso and chocolate and shortbread. I was sold at the recipe but then I took a bite.They melt in your mouth.
These are from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking From My Home to Yours”. It is a great cookbook full of amazing treats. These cookies are buttery with a hint of coffee and sweet, but not too sweet, and chocolate. Deb was right when she said they get better with age. I had these in a tin for over a week. My friend was going to freeze some of hers for later.
The recipe calls for putting the dough in a ziplock bag to roll. It was so easy. No sticky rolling pin and board. A trick I will continue to use. I did not sprinkle with sugar, they were perfect as is. [click to continue…]
by cheri on January 24, 2010
I am part of the 10in2010 group with the goal of eating healthier and getting more exercise.
Looking through Cooking Light online I found these amazing Roasted Banana Bars with
Brown Butter Pecan Frosting. People looked at my skeptically when I said it was from
Cooking Light.
It was all I could do to not just eat the roasted bananas and caramel sauce out of the pan. The
sauce was sizzling around the roasted bananas. Roasting the bananas gives the cake a subtle carmel flavor and adds to the richness of this dessert.
On another note my cousin Cassie has started blogging. Her latest entry features Deviled Eggs. While I am not a fan of these, my entire family is. My mom usually brings them to family dinners, but it looks like Cassie is going to give her some competition. Go over and say hi. [click to continue…]
by cheri on January 20, 2010
We had a tornado in Southern California yesterday. I have lived here all my life and don’t think I ever heard of one. We are getting pounded by rain. I walked out of my office to a river running down the street. I try not to complain knowing we are seriously spoiled with beautiful weather but try getting to your car when a river stands between.
These cold rainy nights makes me crave something warm and sweet. Inspired by a recipe I saw over at Food Loves Writing, one of the fun new food blogs I discovered last year, I made these Caramel Roasted Pears.
This recipe is so incredibly easy. You dump it all in a pan and bake it while you are eating dinner. What comes out is this creamy caramel sauce and soft, sweet pears. The first time I served this my dinner guests were craving more.
Roasted Pears In Caramel Sauce
4 pears, sliced in half, core scooped out
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup dark brown sugar packed
Half a lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in a 13 x 9 baking pan: set in the heating oven until it melts.
Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over melted butter, then place pears, cut side down. Squeeze juice from half a lemon all over and put lemon, cut side down, in the pan with the fruit. Bake until tender, 30 minutes.
Remove pan from oven, turn pears over and use a pastry brush or spoon to baste the fruit with pan juices. Return to oven; bake until golden and glossy, about 10 minutes longer.
Let cool slightly before serving.
Top with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle the caramel sauce over the top
by cheri on January 2, 2010
Happy New Year everyone. 2010 is here and I have lots planned for Adventures In The Kitchen this year.
It is the time of year where we set goals for the year. One of mine is to eat healthy more consistently and exercise 3 x’s a week. I am also planning to bring healthy lunches so that I don’t end up starving and buying something I really don’t want or need for lunch.
I joined the Ten in 10: Ten Weeks to Healthy in 2010 group of food bloggers who have set goals for the first 10 weeks in 2010. The Ten in 10 challenge is from Lori of Recipe Girl. You can read more about it here. Each person is setting there own goals for the challenge. Each week I will post one recipe that ties into low fat or healthy eating. We can encourage each other.
In the spirit of healthy cooking I am sharing a salad I have made several times lately. It is loosely based on one of my favorite Los Angeles chefs, Suzanne Goin. She has several restaurants in LA and her first one was Lucques. Much of her food is influenced by the mediterranean. If you are ever here you should visit. It is on the more pricey side but on Sunday’s she has a pre-fixed that is more reasonable.
What are you food and health related goals for the year? Share them in the comments below so we can all root each other on this year. [click to continue…]
by cheri on December 30, 2009
The end of year always brings the endless stream of “best of lists”. Well, I had to create one of my own. I compiled my top 10 favorite posts of this last year. It wasn’t easy, as they are all close to my heart.
This year I had the opportunity to meet many other bloggers and had a blast learning more about food photography. I created new recipes and even have one being published in an upcoming publication. Lot’s of things that made me smile. I am planning and looking ahead to new recipes to share with you.
Thank you my faithful readers for your encouragement and patience when my work gobbles me up. I love forward to new Adventures In The Kitchen with you in 2010.
This Tortilla Soup was my first FoodGawker photo and from a great Food Styling Workshop with Food Fanatics and Matt of Matt Bites.
Thess Salt Roasted Pears were simply divine and looked pretty on the plate too!
This Roasted Corn with Chilies and Creme Fraiche was spicy and creamy. I love corn don’t you?
Italian is my favorite food and this was the perfect pasta dish – Bucatini All Amitriciana.
Sweet Molly’s Cookies were from a local bakery I went to in my college years. The fun part is the owner of the shop contacted me after reading the blog!
My Sloppy Joe Casserole was a huge hit with my niece and nephews.
Mixed Greens with Parmesan Balsamic Vinaigrette a great simple salad.
Because this was the year of roasted fruits for me…Roasted Peaches with Creme Fraiche.
I drank this Watermelon Limeade throughout the summer it was so refreshing!
This Grilled Chicken with Spicy Peach Glaze has just the right amount of heat.
This Raspberry Yogurt Tart is low fat but delicious.
This Apple Cider Panna Cotta with Spicy Ginger Cookies was my first panna cotta and seemed to say “fall” to me.
And this Filet of Beef with Gorgonzola Sauce continues to be my most popular post here at Adventures in the Kitchen and the most requested meal by friends and family. Not a great photo though! You just have to trust me on how delicious this is.
by admin on December 29, 2009
Last week I hosted a dinner for my dear friend Deanna and her husband. Twice a year, if we are lucky, we get to see them out here in California. I was reminded of how food brings people together. We share great conversations, our hopes and dreams around the table with people we love.
My hope is to do entertain more often in 2010. To learn to do it simpler and be less worried about all the details. To invite family and friends, cook up a meal and sit around. Because the meal is really the backdrop for the time spent with friends.
Here is a new little appetizer that you will love. I mixed part of recipe I saw in Farm Girls with a family cream cheese tart dough. It is one of many new cookbooks I was gifted with this season. I can’t wait to try and share new recipes with you in 2010.
If you are looking for more appetizers for your New Years Eve party try the Chicken and Beef skewers or the Tomato Goat Cheese Tartlets. The Bacon Wrapped Dates have been gobbled up at every party I brought them to.
This Herb Coated Goat Cheese is flavorful with tangy lemon zest and fresh herbs. [click to continue…]
