Double Stuff Oreo Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Posted on May 7, 2012 by sparecake

I started playing floor hockey a few weeks ago, and promised my team (the Mighty Pucks, obviously) that I’d bring some baked goods. This was good because it’s pretty portable, and also because it’s got chocolate and Oreos. Pretty solid combo.

  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2/3 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups Oreo Double Stuff fillings, most of a package

It may seem kind of wasteful to just use the Oreo filling, but if you save the cookies you can crush them up later for pie crusts!

Beautiful!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9X13″ pan.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat a further 30 seconds.

Add the flour and cocoa and mix until smooth. It will seem at first like there’s no way it will come together with so little moisture, but it actually works pretty fast.

With the mixer on low, add the chocolate chips.

Add the Oreo filling and stir very briefly, just until it’s stirred in, but while big chunks still remain.

Spread into the prepared pan. Again, it may seem like it’s not going to work, this time because it seems like there’s not enough dough to cover, but if you use the flat bottom of a glass or small dish, you can evenly spread the dough out and completely cover the bottom of the dish.

Bake until set, 18-20 minutes.

Cool 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edge and turn out onto a cutting board. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife, then let cool further.

This was, not surprisingly, popular with the floor hockey kids. And my mom, and me, and everyone else who has tried it!

Ready to go play!

Double Stuff Oreo Chocolate Chip Shortbread

From Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2/3 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups Oreo Double Stuff fillings

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9X13″ pan.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat a further 30 seconds. Add the flour and cocoa and mix until smooth.

With the mixer on low, add the chocolate chips. Add the Oreo filling and stir very briefly, just until it’s stirred in, but while big chunks still remain.

Spread evenly into the prepared pan and bake until set, 18-20 minutes.

Let cool 15 minutes, then run a butter knife around the edge and turn out onto a cutting board. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife, then let cool further.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Leek and Bacon Risotto

Posted on May 4, 2012 by sparecake

After making the short rib vegetable soup I still had some leeks to use up. Most of the recipes I saw were for more soups, but I wanted something different and eventually found this risotto. It takes some time, but comes out super creamy and delicious. Pull a stool and your laptop up near the stove and get stirring!

Ingredients:

  • 1 leek, white and light-green parts only
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into strips
  • 1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper

Halve the leek lengthwise and rinse the dirt out from between all the layers. Pat it dry and slice thinly.

Once again, thanks for the chopping skills Mom.

Put the chicken broth in a saucepan on the stove and bring to a simmer.

In a dutch oven cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned but not crispy, about 5 minutes.

Add the leeks and cook, continuing to stir, until softened, about 2 minutes.

Smells good already!

Increase the head to medium high and add the rice (yes, without any liquid), and cook, still stirring, until translucent around the edges, about a minute.

Add the wine and cook, still stirring, until evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add one cup of the simmering broth (or one ladle-full, if that’s an easier way for you to transfer the hot broth) to the rice and reduce the heat under the rice to medium low. Cook, stirring continuously, until the broth is all absorbed, about 2 minutes. Repeat, gradually adding the broth cup by cup, until the rice is al dente, and the risotto is creamy. This may or may not require all the broth, I did end up using all of mine.

Take off the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. 1/4 cup doesn’t seem like much, but it adds a noticeable flavor. Cover and let stand 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with additional Parmesan, if desired.

With the addition of the cheese, this becomes a little bit gooey, and from pretty much the start it’s a lot bit tasty. I had heard risotto was kind of a pain, but as long as you have someone in the kitchen to talk to you, or a laptop to internet with with one hand as you stir with the other, you’ll be able to make it, not problem!

Leek and Bacon Risotto

Adapted from Martha Stewart Recipes.

  • 1 leek, white and light-green parts only
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into strips
  • 1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper

Halve the leeks lengthwise and rinse the dirt out from between all the layers. Pat it dry and slice thinly.Put the chicken broth in a saucepan on the stove and bring to a simmer.

In a dutch oven cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned but not crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the leeks and cook, continuing to stir, until softened, about 2 minutes.

Increase the head to medium high and add the rice and cook, still stirring, until translucent around the edges, about a minute. Add the wine and cook, still stirring, until evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add one cup of the simmering broth to the rice and reduce the heat under the rice to medium low. Cook, stirring continuously, until the broth is all absorbed, about 2 minutes. Repeat, gradually adding the broth cup by cup, until the rice is al dente, and the risotto is creamy.

Take off the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Cover and let stand 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Posted in Dinner | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Kit Kat Copy Cat

Posted on May 2, 2012 by sparecake

This bar is supposed to be like a fake Kit Kat. I don’t think it tastes a ton like Kit Kats, but I had numerous people at a party this weekend tell me that it’s actually way better, so… that’s ok then!

Just your standard party goings-on going on...

Ingredients:

  • 72 Ritz Crackers (about 2 1/2 sleeves)
  • 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (1 1/3 sleeves, crushed)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup butterscotch chips
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter

Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment or non-stick foil. I think foil works a bit better for this because you can shape it and have it stay in place. Put a layer of Ritz crackers across the bottom and set aside.

In a pot on the stove combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugars, butter, and milk over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour half the mixture over the Ritz in the dish, then put it back on the stove over low heat while you put a second layer of Ritz over the first.

Sugar layer one, Ritz layer two.

Pour the second half of the sugar mixture over the second layer of Ritz, then top with a third layer of crackers.

In a separate saucepan, combine the butterscotch and chocolate chips with the peanut butter over low heat. Stir and continue to cook until smooth and melted. Spread evenly over the top of the Ritz.

Let cool at room temperature for half an hour or so, and then refrigerate until the top is firm.

Solid!

Remove from the dish, peel off the foil or parchment, and cut into bars.

This was a grand party treat, but would also be a good contender for a “sit home and eat intense amounts of junk food alone” thing. It’s also hefty enough that, on the way down to the party, it was somehow setting off the “Your passenger needs to put their seat belt on!” alarm in my car.

Getting ready to travel.

Mmm chocolate…

Kit Kat Copy Cat

From Cookie Madness.

  • 72 Ritz Crackers (about 2 1/2 sleeves)
  • 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (1 1/3 sleeves, crushed)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup butterscotch chips
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter

Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment or non-stick foil. Put a layer of Ritz crackers across the bottom and set aside.

In a pot on the stove combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugars, butter, and milk over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour half the mixture over the Ritz in the dish, then put it back on the stove over low heat while you put a second layer of Ritz over the first.

Pour the second half of the sugar mixture over the second layer of Ritz, then top with a third layer of crackers.

In a separate saucepan, combine the butterscotch and chocolate chips with the peanut butter over low heat. Stir and continue to cook until smooth and melted. Spread evenly over the top of the Ritz.

Let cool at room temperature for half an hour or so, and then refrigerate until the top is firm. Remove from the dish, peel off the foil or parchment, and cut into bars.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Ice Cream Cookie-Cake

Posted on April 30, 2012 by sparecake

This month’s Aspiring Bakers theme is Aspiring Bakers #18: Layers of Love (April 2012) hosted by Sam of Sweet Samsations. The gist of it was – make a layer cake in April! Got this one posted just in time…

This is a home made version of something I made with my roommate in DC a few years ago when everyone else in the city had cleared out for Christmas. That one we made with boxed cake and a tube of cookie dough. We only needed one cake one layer, but cake mix makes two, leading to a spare cake, and eventually to the name of the blog.

Those were the days!

This time I made every thing from scratch, and addressed an issue my friend Catie has with ice cream cakes, that the ice cream melts and makes the cake soggy. She had mentioned, in the same conversation that she told me she doesn’t like ice cream cakes, that a friend of hers had said something about baking cakes with crusts, which I jumped on and put an Oreo crust on the cake layer. It worked really well at keeping the ice cream out of the cake, and was one more good flavor in the mix.

A solid Oreo barrier.

One thing to be careful of – there are several ingredients that are supposed to be room temperature, so make sure you take them out first!

Ingredients:

Oreo Crust:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 15 double stuff Oreos

Cookie:

  • 1 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon lightly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Sour Cream Cake:

  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup plus  2 tablespoons cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

Frosting:

  • 1/3 cup margarine or butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4  tablespoons milk
  • Plus 1 1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream

Grease two 9″ round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment circles, and grease again. Preheat the oven to 350. All the baking happens at 350, so don’t worry if you don’t see temperatures listed for each item.

Combine the Oreos and melted butter in a food processor and process until the Oreos are totally crushed. Pour the crumbs into one of the prepared pans and press down evenly. Using the bottom of a glass or small ramekin can help smooth out the surface of the crumbs easily. Bake for 10 minutes and then set aside to cool.

While the crust is baking and cooling, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt for the cookie in a bowl and set aside. Cream the stick of butter with the sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Add the room temperature egg and beat until blended, followed by the dry goods, then the chocolate chips. Spread the dough evenly in the parchment lined pan that doesn’t have the Oreo crust.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until it looks firm, then set aside to cool in the pan.

For the cake, first separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks just begin to form, and set both parts aside. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In another bowl, beat the room temperature butter on high speed until light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla, then gradually add the sugar, beating until again light and creamy. Add the yolks and beat another minute or two, scraping the sides of the bowl.

With your mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with halves of the room temperature sour cream.

Gently fold in the egg whites with a spatula until there are no streaks of white left, then pour into the pan with the Oreo crust, smoothing the top.

I was using extra tall cake pans. I think even with the crust your cake should still fit in a regular 1″ tall cake pan, but just in case it would be a good idea for you to put your cake pan on a baking sheet to catch any runover. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn out to cool on a rack.

By now, your cookie will probably still be warm, but not super hot. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it thaw for several minutes while you turn the cookie out onto a plate or wire rack to finish cooling, and rinse and dry the pan.

Spread the slightly thawed ice cream in the cake pan and put it in the freezer. Using the bottom of a glass or small dish is again a good way to smooth it out. When the ice cream has frozen for at least an hour and when the cake is room temperature, you’re ready to put things together.

Put the cookie on your serving dish. Fill a large bowl with hot water and push the bottom of the ice cream filled cake pan in the hot water for about ten seconds, until you can easily rotate the ice cream in the pan.Flip the loosened ice cream out onto the cookie layer and top with the cake. Press together, then put in the freezer briefly to firm up.

Make the frosting by whisking together all the frosting ingredients. Pour over the top of the cake, pushing the excess down over the sides a bit.

Cut slices immediately, and put the leftovers in the freezer. It’s a bit of a hassle cutting through the cookie layer when it’s frozen, but worth it for this!

This cake, halved from a Cookie Madness recipe, can definitely stand on its own as a real nice yellow cake, and the cookie recipe is adapted from Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No-Holds-Barred Baking Book. Combined, they make a heck of a thing!

Ice Cream Cookie-Cake

Oreo Crust:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 15 double stuff Oreos

Cookie:

  • 1 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon lightly packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Sour Cream Cake:

  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup plus  2 tablespoons cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

Frosting:

  • 1/3 cup margarine or butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4  tablespoons milk
  • Plus 1 1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream

Grease two 9″ round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment circles, and grease again. Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the Oreos and melted butter in a food processor and process until the Oreos are completely crushed. Pour the crumbs into one of the prepared pans and press down evenly. Bake for 10 minutes and then set aside to cool.

While the crust is baking and cooling, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt for the cookie in a bowl and set aside. Cream the stick of butter with the sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the room temperature egg and beat until blended, followed by the dry goods, then the chocolate chips. Spread the dough evenly in the parchment lined pan without the Oreo crust. Bake 25-30 minutes, until it looks firm, then set aside to cool in the pan.

For the cake, first separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks just begin to form, and set both parts aside. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In another bowl, beat the room temperature butter on high speed until light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla, then gradually add the sugar, beating until again light and creamy. Add the yolks and beat another minute or two, scraping the sides of the bowl.

With your mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with halves of the room temperature sour cream. Gently fold in the egg whites with a spatula until there are no streaks of white left, then pour into the pan with the Oreo crust, smoothing the top. Place cake pan on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn out to cool on a rack.

By now, cookie will probably still be warm, but not super hot. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it thaw for several minutes while you turn the cookie out onto a plate or cutting board to finish cooling, and rinse and dry the pan.

Spread the slightly thawed ice cream in the cake pan and put it in the freezer. When the ice cream has frozen for at least an hour and when the cake is room temperature, you’re ready to put things together.

Put the cookie on your serving dish. Fill a large bowl with hot water and push the bottom of the ice cream filled cake pan in the hot water for about ten seconds, until you can easily rotate the ice cream in the pan. Flip the loosened ice cream out onto the cookie layer and top with the cake. Press together, then put in the freezer briefly to firm up.

Make the frosting by whisking together all the frosting ingredients. Pour over the top of the cake, pushing the excess down over the sides a bit. Cut slices immediately, returning leftovers to the freezer.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Cinnamon Nazook

Posted on April 27, 2012 by sparecake

The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake. The nazook seemed more relevant to my interests, so that’s what I went with, with a few changes to make it cinnamon-y.

Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 2½ teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup butter, room temperature

Filling:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon extract (if you don’t have cinnamon extract, and don’t want to buy it, use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, either alone or with a half teaspoon of ground cinnamon)

Topping:

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla yogurt
  • cinnamon for sprinkling

To make the dough, stir the flour and yeast together in a large bowl. Add the sour cream and butter and stir together until it forms a rough dough. If using a stand mixer, switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook and knead until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. If doing it by hand, just knead the dough, in the bowl, for about 10 minutes, until no longer sticky. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, up to overnight.

When the dough has chilled, make the filling by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mixing together with your hands until it looks like damp, lightly clumpy sand. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the yogurt and egg yolk and set aside.

Cut the refrigerated dough into quarters and set 3 aside. Form the first quarter into a ball and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large oval or rectangle, about as thin as you can get it before it starts becoming see-through.

Spread 1/4 of the filling over the dough, going all the way to the sides but leaving a clear space along one long edge. Brush that long edge with the egg yolk mixture.

Roll up the dough into a tight log, rolling towards the egg washed side and using the egg wash to seal the seam. Gently press down on the top of your roll to lightly flatten it, so a cross section would be more of an oval than a circle.

Brush the top of the dough with the egg yolk mixture, then sprinkle with cinnamon and cut into 10 pieces. If you have a crinkle cutter, use that, if not a sharp knife works fine.

I didn't decide until later to add cinnamon, so I just added it on the pan.

Transfer the 10 pieces to an ungreased baking sheet and repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Depending on how fast your work, you may not actually need to preheat the oven until you’re on the second or third batch.

My cinnamon hand is apparently a bit unsteady...

Bake until golden brown, about half an hour. Let cool and enjoy.

These were lovely and flaky and reminded me of rugelach.

Not too shabby, for something I’d never heard of!

Cinnamon Nazook

From The Daring Kitchen.

Dough:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 2½ teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup butter, room temperature

Filling:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon extract

Topping:

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla yogurt
  • cinnamon for sprinkling

To make the dough, stir the flour and yeast together in a large bowl. Add the sour cream and butter and stir together until it forms a rough dough. If using a stand mixer, switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook and knead until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. If doing it by hand, just knead the dough, in the bowl, for about 10 minutes, until no longer sticky. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, up to overnight.

When the dough is read, make the filling by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mixing together with your hands until it looks like damp, lightly clumpy sand. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the yogurt and egg yolk and set aside.

Cut the refrigerated dough into quarters and set 3 aside. Form the first quarter into a ball and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large oval or rectangle, as thin as possible without becoming see-through.

Spread 1/4 of the filling over the dough, going all the way to the sides but leaving a clear space along one long edge. Brush the free long edge with the egg yolk mixture.

Roll up the dough into a tight log, rolling towards the egg washed side and using the egg wash to seal the seam. Gently press down on the top of your roll to lightly flatten.

Brush the top of the dough with the egg yolk mixture, then sprinkle with cinnamon and cut into 10 pieces with a crinkle cutter or sharp knife. Transfer the pieces to an ungreased baking sheet and repeat with the remaining 3 portions of dough.

When all the dough is used up, bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

Posted in Breakfast, Dessert | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Short Rib Vegetable Soup

Posted on April 25, 2012 by sparecake

After a goodly while spent paging through my mom’s shelf of cookbooks, I finally found another recipe with vegetables both of us will eat. It was actually the first time she’d ever had leek!

The recipe in question makes what is either a really filling soup, or a soup I ate so much of I was super full. Either way…

Ingredients:

  • 4 pounds short ribs of beef, cut into pieces
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 2 ribs celery cut into 1-inch julienne
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch julienne (we just used a bunch of baby carrots, since they were around)
  • 1 leek (white part and 1 inch green), well rinsed and cut into 1-inch julienne
  • 8 raw mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

If you’ve never been to MonkeySee, it’s useful video explanations/tutorials of how do to stuff by various experts. I’ve only watched cooking ones, but they have videos about all sorts of topics. Anyway, they have a video that can show you how to julienne a leek, if you want a visual on what you should be aiming for. Luckily my mom already knew what was up, because I didn’t look for that until I started writing up this post.

To start off with, though, just put the ribs, the halved onion, and the stock in a crock pot. Add enough water that the ribs are all underwater, and set the heat to low.

Go about your day, and come back in 8-9 hours when the meat should be cooked.

Pull out the meat and onions and put the broth (in the crock or in a bowl) in the fridge to cool and separate, 30-45 minutes.

While you wait for the broth to cool, cut the meat off the bones and into small chunks. Chop the onion into small pieces as well.

Set the meat aside and prep the vegetables.

My mother's way better at cutting things evenly than I am. Nice work, mom.

When your broth has chilled, strain the fat off the top, or use a gravy separator to separate for you.

Transfer the de-fatted broth to a large pot over high heat. Add the celery, carrots, leek, and meat. Let the soup come to a boil, and boil 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and let cook for 3 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, parsley, and dill.

Serve immediately.

We had this with some sourdough bread, which I thought was a good combination, but…I always like sourdough!

Short Rib Vegetable Soup

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook.

  • 4 pounds short ribs of beef, cut into pieces
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 2 ribs celery cut into 1-inch julienne
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch julienne
  • 1 leek (white part and 1 inch green), well rinsed and cut into 1-inch julienne
  • 8 raw mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine the ribs, the halved onion, and the stock in a crock pot. Add enough water that the ribs are all underwater, and set the heat to low for 8-9 hours, until meat is cooked through.

Remove meat and onions from the crock, and put the broth in the refrigerator to chill and separate, 30-45 minutes.

Cut the meat off the bones and into small pieces. Chop the onion into small pieces as well. Prep the remainder of the vegetables.
When the broth has chilled, strain the fat off the top, or use a gravy separator to separate for you. Transfer to a large pot over high heat. Add the celery, carrots, leek, and meat. Let the soup come to a boil, and boil 2-3 minutes further. Add the mushrooms and let cook for 3 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, parsley, and dill. Serve immediately.

Posted in Dinner | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Potato Sandwich Bread

Posted on April 23, 2012 by sparecake

I made a potato bread once that involved making mashed potatoes, then putting them in bread. It came out gross. This recipe uses potato flakes, the mashed potato of choice for lazy people, and came out tasty, fluffy, and generally a million times better than the previous recipe.

Not entirely sold on this silicone bread pan idea...

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups bread flour

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the water, yeast, and sugar. Add the potato flakes and all-purpose flour, stir together until evenly moistened, then let sit for 10 minutes to hydrate the potato flakes.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and is shiny and elastic. If you don’t have a dough hook, you’ll have to stop it to knock the dough out of the paddle several times.

Spray the dough with cooking spray, preferably the olive oil flavored one if you have it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled, about an hour.

While you wait, grease and flour a 9X5″ bread pan. Punch down the risen dough and shape it into a log to fit the bread pan. Cover again, and let rise another half hour. Don’t worry tooo much if your bread doesn’t actually double, mine didn’t seem to rise much during either rise, just during baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slash the top of the loaf and bake 30-40 minutes, until nicely browned.

Poof!

Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack before slicing. It’s a fluffy, fabulous bread!

Potato Sandwich Bread

Adapted from Serious Eats.

  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 tablespoon or 1 package instant yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups bread flour

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the water, yeast, and sugar. Add the potato flakes and all-purpose flour, stir together until evenly moistened, then let sit for 10 minutes to hydrate the potato flakes.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and is shiny and elastic.

Spray the dough with cooking spray, preferably olive oil flavored if available. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled, about an hour.

While you wait, grease and flour a 9X5″ bread pan. Punch down the risen dough and shape it into a log to fit the bread pan. Cover again, and let rise another half hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slash the top of the loaf and bake 30-40 minutes, until nicely browned.

Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack before slicing.

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Giant M&M Cookie

Posted on April 20, 2012 by sparecake

Y’know what’s cheerful? An M&M cookie. Y’know what’s just downright day-changing? A GIANT M&M cookie! If that doesn’t put a smile on your face…time for a new face.

It’s for you!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup M&MS… I didn’t really measure, I just poured a bunch, then we patted a bunch more on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat in. Add the dry ingredients and beat until evenly combined.

Heeey look, it’s my friend Jani. We’ll probably be seeing a lot more of her, now that I live in NH.

Fold in the M&Ms, without worrying too much about measuring. It’s a big cookie, it can take a lot of M&Ms, right? Definitely.

Press the dough into an even circle on the baking sheet, leaving about an inch between the circle and the narrower sides of the pan for it to spread. Pat some more M&Ms on the top, if you like.

SO EXCITED

The recipe I followed then said bake 13-16 minutes until lightly golden brown. I think ours took more like 25-30. So, if your dough is roughly 1/4″ thick when you bake, start checking around 13 minutes, if it’s closer to 1/3-1/2″ thick, you can probably leave it in there for 20 minutes before you need to keep a close eye on it.

Let the cookie cool completely on the pan, and you’ll be able to peel it off the foil in one giiiiant cookie. And then hug it. Because, really. Just look at it. It’s soooo happy! It’s also got the perfect amount of salt, and a really good texture. Two thumbs way up!

Giant Cookie

Just a bit adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup+ M&MS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat in. Add the dry ingredients and beat until evenly combined. Fold in the M&Ms and pat the dough into an even circle on the baking sheet, leaving about an inch between the circle and the narrower sides of the pan for it to spread. Pat some more M&Ms into the top, if you like.

Bake 13-16 minutes for 1/4″ thick dough, 20-25 for 1/2″ thick, or until golden brown. Let cool completely on the pan before serving.

Posted in Dessert | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Same Day 6 Fold French Bread

Posted on April 18, 2012 by sparecake

Going to be around for most of the day some weekend day? Then most definitely make this bread! It’s super easy, and requires very little hands-on time, but unfortunately does keep you kind of house-bound for most of an afternoon. Well worth it, though, for some perfectly crusty French bread! As my mom’s boyfriend said, “mmm mmm mm mmm mmm!”

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg bread flour
  • 730 grams water
  • 3½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1¼ tsp dry instant yeast

My scale is in storage, but this website was able to tell me that 1 kg of bread flour is 7.87 cups, and google helped me figure out that 730 grams of water is 730 ml. If your measuring cup doesn’t have milliliters, that’s about 24.6 ounces, or 3 cups and .6 ounces.

Combine all 4 ingredients in a large bowl and stir together until evenly combined. It will look dry, and not be a nice smooth dough, but that’s ok. Cover it with saran wrap and leave it to hang out for 3 1/2 hours.

At the end of the 3 1/2 hours, get a bowl scraper or strong spatula. Get your spatula under the bottom of the dough, and drag the bottom up to the top. Do this 20 times, rotating a bit after each. There may still be a few parts that seem drier than others, but they’ll come together eventually.

Cover the bowl, and set aside for another half hour. You’re going to do this 5 more times, for 6 total, with half hours between each. Each time you come back to it, the dough will seem a bit smoother and nicer.

After the 6th time.

After the sixth turning, if there are air bubbles in your dough after the turning, gently deflate it. Divide the dough and form into 4 baguettes, or some baguettes and some rolls. I made two baguettes, and 5 rolls out of the other half of the dough. The rolls turned out big enough that I think you could easily make six out of half the dough and have them big enough for sandwiches.

I need some work on my baguette forming technique!

Cover the dough with saran wrap and let rise another hour and a half. You’re almost there! During the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 460 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy looking.

Move to a wire rack to cool completely, or burn yourself trying to eat one of the rolls still hot, it’s up to you. Well worth the time for such perfectly crusty rolls!

I found this recipe through yeastspotting, and will be submitting it back there for anyone that missed it in the past!

Same Day 6 Fold French Bread

From Living in the Kitchen With Puppies.

  • 1 kg bread flour
  • 730 grams water
  • 3½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1¼ tsp dry instant yeast

Combine all 4 ingredients in a large bowl and stir together until evenly combined. Cover with saran wrap and leave it to rest for 3 1/2 hours.

After the rest, turn the dough using a bowl scraper or strong spatula. Place the spatula under the bottom of the dough, and drag the bottom up to the top. Do this 20 times, rotating after each. Cover the bowl, and set aside for another half hour. Repeat 5 more times, for 6 total turns, with half hour rests between each. The dough texture should improve with each rest.

After the sixth turning, gently deflate the dough. Divide the dough and form into 4 baguettes, or a combination of baguettes and rolls. Cover the dough with saran wrap and let rise another hour and a half. During the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 460 degrees.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy looking. Move to a wire rack to cool completely

Posted in Bread | Tagged | 1 Comment

Thit Kho To (Vietnamese Caramelized Pork)

Posted on April 16, 2012 by sparecake

Back in January a coworker told me about what he’d made for dinner the night before and I knew I had to try it. I’ve had his emailed recipe sitting there for months while I looked for the exact right pot to cook it in (who would have thought it’d be so hard to find a clay pot with an unglazed interior?!), but it eventually just became time to get over the pot thing and try the recipe. I cooked this in a cast iron dutch oven, and it worked out fine! So…now we know. I learned two other things while making this: 1) my phone doesn’t recognize the word caramelized; 2) my mother has some crazy hatred of hard boiled eggs. Huh.

Look out, somewhere under that pork mixture a dreaded hard boiled egg lurks!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 1/2 pounds pork riblets (pork ribs cut into smaller, basically bite sized pieces – if you can’t find them, use pork butt sliced into thin, inch-long pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 2 heaping teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 dash sesame oil
  • 1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced thin
  • 4 hard boiled eggs (or one for each person sharing the meal)
  • 4 scallions, sliced, green part only
  • jasmine rice for serving

Pour 1 cup of the sugar into a cast iron dutch oven, or a skillet with reasonably high sides, and place over medium low heat. Heat until the sugar melts and turns golden.

Once the sugar has melted, add the pork, raise the heat to medium, and stir until the pork is coated. Don’t worry if the sugar clumps and sticks to the pot/spoon/pork, it will eventually melt again, just stir the best you can.

Stir in the remaining half cup of sugar, followed by the salt, pepper, and fish sauce. Cover and cook for two minutes. It’ll smell pretty strongly, but that’ll die down eventually. Uncover and stir in the garlic and sesame oil. Reduce the heat, keeping the mixture at a simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid in the pot has reduced some. I kept mine at a pretty high simmer and stirred frequently through this time, to make sure the sugar clumps were melting off the pot and spoon.

Add the onions and cook until translucent, 5-7 minutes.

While the onions are cooking add the eggs, stirring to make sure they get fully covered in the sauce.

When the onions are ready, if the pork is cooked through and caramelized on the outside, you’re ready to eat. If not, raise the heat and cook a few minutes more until the pork is cooked. Serve over rice, and sprinkle with scallion greens.

I was a bit unsure about this, because fish sauce is pretty stinky, but really… sugar and pork is way too good a combo to go wrong. The main flavor is sweet pork, and it’s fabulous. The fish sauce is definitely in there, but it’s not strong – it just works well with everything else. I will definitely be making this again!

Sort of related note, I just found a super thorough website that answers just about any question you could ever have about pork, here. Now I kind of want to try a crown roast?!

Thit Kho To (Vietnamese Caramelized Pork)

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 1/2 pounds pork riblets or pork butt sliced into thin, inch-long pieces
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 2 heaping teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 dash sesame oil
  • 1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced thin
  • 4 hard boiled eggs
  • 4 scallions, sliced, green part only
  • jasmine rice for serving

Pour 1 cup of the sugar into a cast iron dutch oven and place over medium low heat. Heat until the sugar melts and turns golden.

Add the pork to the melted sugar and raise the heat to medium. Stir until the pork is coated, working around any sticky clumps as well as possible.

Stir in the remaining half cup of sugar, followed by the salt, pepper, and fish sauce. Cover and cook for two minutes. Uncover and stir in the garlic and sesame oil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes to reduce the sauce.

Add the onions and cook until translucent, 5-7 minutes. While the onions are cooking add the eggs, stirring to make sure they get fully covered in the sauce.

Check pork to ensure it’s cooked through and caramelized on the outside; if not, turn up heat and cook several minutes more. When ready, serve over rice and sprinkle with scallion greens.

Posted in Dinner | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment