Peanut Butter

Hello, all! I've been a bit busy the last few days with schoolwork, so today I'm sharing a nice simple recipe for homemade peanut butter.  Super easy, just throw everything in the food processor and you're good to go.  Plus you control the exact amounts of salt and sweetener that go into your peanut butter.  Don't be afraid to fiddle around with the amounts of different ingredients a bit until you find a taste and texture that you like.

Pre-blending

Peanut Butter

from Alice's Tea Cup, by Haley & Lauren Fox

makes approximately 2 cups

 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups plain unsalted peanuts

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons peanut oil (I usually end up needing a little more than this to bring it all together)

1.  Combine peanuts, salt, and honey in food processor for about 1 minute, until no peanut chunks remain.  Scrape down, cover, and process another 1-2 minutes while slowly drizzling in the oil.  Cover and store in the refrigerator.  Stir to recombine before using.

Eggplant, Caramelized Onion, and Tomato Pasta

It's the time of year for hearty meals.  This means lots of pasta, lots of soups and stews, lots of dinners that fill you up right to the brim.  I am most definitely ready for hearty meals.  I have a list of soups and breads to try, and I've already made one batch of my family's favorite sausage chili. (recipe coming soon!)

This pasta dish definitely meets the requirements for a filling meal.  It's going into our roster for sure.  Eggplant Parmesan is a much-loved dish in our family, and this was a nice breath of fresh air.  Super filling and delicious.  Perfect for fall.

 This recipe is originally from Chez Panisse Vegetables, but I used the version on Alexandra's Kitchen.  

Eggplant getting ready to roast.

Caramelizing onions

Just a couple things before we start: I didn't use any cheese, but if you like, you could serve ricotta or Parmesan with the dish.  I also used a bit more eggplant than the recipe calls for, mostly because we had eggplants to use up from the garden.

Eggplant, Caramelized Onion, and Tomato Pasta

from Chez Panisse Vegetables and Alexandra's Kitchen

serves four-six

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants (approximately 3 cups diced)

olive oil

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

handful of fresh basil

salt

1 lb. penne or other similarly shaped pasta

sherry vinegar

1 cup tomato sauce

red pepper flakes

either Parmesan or ricotta to serve with, if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut eggplants into approximately 3/4 inch cubes, toss lightly with olive oil, and spread out in a single layer on sheet pan.  Roast for about 25 minutes, until eggplant is golden and tender.

2. Put large pot of water to boil for pasta.  Add large pinch of salt.  Cook pasta al dente.

3. While eggplant is roasting, heat large saute pan with olive oil and onions over medium heat.  Saute onions just until caramelized.  Season with salt.  Add garlic and cook a moment more, then deglaze with splash of sherry vinegar.  Add roasted eggplant, tomato sauce, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Heat sauce to simmering.  Drain pasta, add to tomato sauce, and toss gently.  Slice basil and add to pan.

4. Serve pasta with ricotta crumbled on top or Parmesan, if desired.

Here's a gratuitous picture of my cat sleeping in a shoebox.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Poppy Seeds

Random thought of the day: Sometimes I wish I could wear vanilla extract as perfume. Is that weird? It's a little weird. But in all seriousness, if I ever find vanilla-scented perfume I will wear the crap out of that stuff.

To get back on track: blueberry muffins, AKA the breakfast food of my dreams. I wish I could find whoever first came up with the idea of putting blueberries in muffins and give them a nice, big, too-long hug.

This blueberry muffin recipe is quite simply the best I've ever tried. These are SO good, you guys. I don't really have words to describe them. All I can say is that Joy from Joy the Baker is a genius and everybody should go read her blog because it's awesome. Her cookbook is at the top of my Christmas list.

Lemon and blueberry, one of my favorite flavor combinations. The poppy seeds just add a whole new level of awesome.

Wet ingredients assembling. Good things are about to happen.

Browned butter in the batter makes everything better. (Alliteration!)

Mix all that goodness in there. 

 

The finished batter. My blueberries were frozen, and that's why you see those purple streaks. No harm done.

 And did I mention there's a crumb topping? Because there's a crumb topping and it takes these muffins from amazing to spectacular.

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Muffins

from Joy the Baker

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup whole milk (I used 1% because it's what was in the fridge)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries 

Topping:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line muffin pan (or pans) with paper of foil liners and set aside,

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. The butter will froth and crackle. When it becomes a medium brown color, remove from heat and pour into a small bowl so it doesn't keep cooking. Cool slightly.

3. In medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add browned butter and whisk to combine.

4. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir gently to combine. Gently fold in lemon zest, poppy seeds, and blueberries until evenly distributed. Divide batter among muffin cups.

5. For the crumb topping: Combine ingredients in a bowl and rub together with fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter in cups.

6. Bake muffins 18-20 minutes, until golden and skewer inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove to wire rack. You can serve them warm or at room temperature, but I like them best right out of the oven.

They will keep in an airtight container for 3 days. That is, if they last that long.

Spanakopita Strudels

Spanakopita is a Greek dish consisting of spinach and feta filling wrapped or layered with fillo dough brushed with butter. This recipe is in strudel form, with the spinach filling wrapped into little individual pastries. They were so cute I had to make them.



You learn something new every day. For example, when I made these strudels, I learned that you should always, always squeeze the liquid out of spinach after washing it. Otherwise something like this can happen:

You see that green liquid around the strudels? Yup. My fault. Don't make my mistakes, people.

Thankfully, these were salvageable after baking. Once the spinach juice was scraped away, the strudels were delicious. The fillo dough is wonderfully flaky and buttery, and the garlic in the filling just ties it all together so nicely.

The original recipe can be found here, at Alexandra's Kitchen. I altered it just a little bit, adding only half the amount of cottage cheese called for. I also added a clove of garlic and grated Parmesan since we had some left over from making Cheesy Pesto.

Spanakopita Strudels

adapted from Alexandra's Kitchen

makes approximately 9 strudels

Ingredients:

10 ounces baby spinach

four ounces cottage cheese

12 ounces feta cheese

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

5 eggs, beaten

1 box fillo dough, thawed (preferably 9 x fourteen sheets)

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted (I ended up needing a little bit more than this, but I think I may have been overly generous with the butter)

1. In small batches, place spinach in food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Squeeze out all liquid thoroughly either with paper towels or a kitchen towel. Place in large bowl.

2. Add cottage cheese, feta cheese (broken into pieces), Parmesan cheese, garlic, and eggs. Use spatula to stir until combined.

3. Set up work station: A large cutting board can be helpful for assembly. Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to measure filling.  A small spoon, like one you would eat with, is necessary to spoon butter onto the fillo dough and you need a pastry brush to brush butter onto assembled strudels. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.  

Four. Open a box of fillo. If it comes in bags, open one bag and unroll it. Place next to your cutting board. Fillo dries out very quickly, so I covered it with a kitchen towel while assembling. If you need to leave the assembly process, gently re-roll or fold the fillo and place in a ziplock back.

5. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place one sheet of fillo on your cutting board or work surface. Spoon three spoonfuls of melted butter over the layer of fillo. You don't have to make sure every inch of dough is covered. Top with another layer of fillo. Spoon three more spoonfuls of butter over the areas of this layer that were not covered in the previous. Top with one more layer of fillo and again spoon with three spoonfuls of butter.

Six. Using your 1/2 cup measuring cup, scoop out a level cupful of filling and place on fillo about 2 inches from bottom. Pull bottom of fillo over top of this filling. Fold sides in. Then, fold the bottom portion up and over itself and keep folding until you've made a little parcel. Place this parcel seam side down on parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush top with butter. Repeat with remaining fillo and filling.

7. Bake strudels for 30 to forty-five minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool briefly and serve.

Double Chocolate Cookies with PB Chips and Walnuts

Is there anyone in this world who doesn't appreciate a good chocolate chip cookie? If there is, I've never met them. There are few things in this world that can instantly boost your mood like biting into a warm, melty, fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie.

These cookies are chock full of good things. Two different kinds of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and toasted walnuts.  I am not ashamed to say that when I bit into the first one, I did a little happy dance around the kitchen island.

If you have any kind of love for chocolate chip cookies, you have to make these. Immediately. Or get someone who's easily manipulated a kind friend to make them for you.

Toasting the walnuts may seem like a bit of a bother, but it is so worth it. Toasting gives nuts a big flavor boost and a wonderful crunchiness. Definitely worth it.

 The original recipe used white chocolate chips, too, but I skipped them. I also used dark chocolate chips instead of semisweet.  Feel free to add white chocolate if you want to. They're your cookies!

It's practically impossible to resist the urge to eat some of this stuff raw. You probably shouldn't, though. Raw eggs and all that.

Double Chocolate and Walnut Cookies

adapted from One Sweet Cookie, by Tracey Zabar.

Ingredients:

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

quarter-teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups dark or semisweet chocolate chips

heaping 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips, optional

quarter-cup peanut butter chips, optional

three-quarters cup walnuts, roughly chopped.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. While oven is preheating, toast walnuts: Spread walnuts evenly on baking sheet. Place in preheating oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Remove sheet from oven, remove walnuts from sheet, and set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment (or by hand), cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to batter, and mix until incorporated.

Four. With silicone spatula, fold in dark and milk chocolate chips, peanut butter and white chocolate chips if using, and toasted walnuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned. Cool on wire racks.

Pesto

Summer is practically over. Okay, not practically, summer is over. Everyone's back to school, sweaters are making a reappearance, and the number of fresh veggies harvested from our garden is rapidly diminishing.

As a way to use up the basil that is still going strong despite its garden companions' vanishing, I made pesto. It's ridiculously easy to make. You just throw everything in a food processor and blend until combined.

We've been enjoying our pesto tossed in pasta, but there are a multitude of other ways to use it.  Spread it in a sandwich, mix it with olive oil to drizzle over salads, pair it with grilled chicken, etc, etc.

Pesto

makes approximately 2 cups

adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves

2-3 cloves garlic
three-quarters cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
quarter-cup pine nuts
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I didn't use)


1. Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and pine nuts in bowl of food processor. Blend to smooth paste. Add parsley, if using.

Orange Cookies

I've got to admit something, guys: I have a soft spot for citrus sweets. Whether you offer me lemon poppy seed cake or an orange creamsicle, I'll eat it. So of course when I saw this recipe for Orange Cookies from the new cookbook in the library, I knew I had to make it.

These are wonderful little cookies to eat after a meal. They're deliciously orangey and buttery. The cookies themselves are not overly sweet, and the glaze complements them perfectly. The recipe makes plenty of cookies to share, so they're perfect for big gatherings. Plus, making these will leave your kitchen smelling like oranges and lemons, and that's never a bad thing.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Two Ways

My cat is a mystery to me. He loves peaches. Whenever anyone in the house is eating a peach, the cat is guaranteed to find out and come stare at that person with these big, inquisitive eyes until he finally gets a tiny piece of peach. Have you ever heard of a cat that loves peaches? I sure haven't.

He also enjoys sleeping in the bathtub and violently attacking people's feet.

But we forgive him because he's cute.

So, last week I made pumpkin puree and this lovely scone recipe. And those pumpkins left behind lots and lots of seeds.

Roasted pumpkin seeds are one of the perks of pumpkin carving. They're a yummy, healthy, crunchy snack for a fall day. Did you know that pumpkin seeds are a great source of protein and iron? (I didn't until a few seconds ago. I just looked it up on Wikipedia.)

Since we had so many seeds, I decided to make two different varieties.

The first is the traditional roasted variety. These are deliciously simple. All you need is seeds, salt, and olive oil. It's a great healthy alternative to other crunchy snacks.

And the second variety is a spiced-up, caramelized version, and boy are these good. Sweet and salty with a hint of spice. I've been snacking on these all morning.

The really beautiful thing about this recipe is that you can fiddle with it as much as you want. Add more cinnamon and less cumin, skip the ground ginger all together and go wild with the cayenne pepper, or go with a completely different selection of spices. The choice is all yours.

Roast Pumpkin Seeds

both recipes adapted from Allrecipes.com

Basic Roast Pumpkin Seeds:

1 1/2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons olive oil 

a pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Toss seeds in bowl with olive oil. Spread seeds in a single layer on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown; stir every 10 minutes or so.

Spicy Caramelized Roast Pumpkin Seeds:

1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar

quarter-teaspoon cumin

quarter-teaspoon cinnamon

quarter-teaspoon ground ginger

couple of pinches of cayenne pepper

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, washed and dried

salt to taste

olive oil (to drizzle seeds with)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar


1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In large bowl, stir together white sugar, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. Set aside.

3. Place pumpkin seeds on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt to taste. Spread into an even layer and bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Four. Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, then add pumpkin seeds. Cook and stir seeds until coated with the sugar, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the caramelized seeds into the spice mix; toss to coat. Let cool.

Browned Butter and Sage Mushrooms over Cheesy Polenta

There was definitely a bit of autumn in the air this morning. That hint of a chill that makes you eager for sweater weather and hot cider.

This recipe is one way to bring the fall a little bit closer. It's comfort food at its best: a delicious meal that fills you up and leaves you feeling all warm inside. (And it has cheese. That's a necessity for good comfort food.)

The sage and brown butter were perfect complements for the mushrooms. And the polenta? Don't even get me started on the polenta. I could probably have eaten the whole pot if no one stopped me. 

Once you start cooking, things move pretty quickly so it's best to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go as soon as you start.

 The recipe said it would serve three to four people, but I made an additional half cup of polenta and was able to feed six people.

Browned Butter and Sage Mushrooms over Cheesy Polenta

adapted from The View from Great Island

serves six

Ingredients:

Mushrooms

1 ounce package of dried mushrooms
8 ounces chicken stock or water
1 1/2 pints fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 stick unsalted butter
3 heaping tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1/3 cup Marsala wine, or dry sherry
quarter cup heavy cream (I used half and half) 
salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Polenta

1 1/2 cups polenta
3 cups water
3 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Three-quarters cup grated Parmesan cheese


1. Heat the stock or water in the microwave until hot. Pour over dried mushrooms and let soak for about 30 minutes.

2. Brush the dirt off fresh mushrooms with a damp cloth and slice. Set aside.

3. Heat the butter in a large saute pan on medium heat. Continue heating butter until solids start to turn brown. The overall color of the butter will turn golden first, and then the milk solids will start to turn brown. As soon as this happens, add sage. Let cook for about 30 seconds, then add fresh mushrooms. Turn down the heat a bit and saute mushrooms for a couple minutes until they turn golden.

Four. Add the dried mushrooms with their soaking liquid along with sherry or Marsala. Bring to a simmer, then add cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a minute or two. Check seasoning and set aside.

For the polenta:

1. Bring milk and water and salt to a simmer in saucepan. Slowly pour in polenta, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Cook polenta for 15 minutes, or time indicated on the box, until thickened.

2. Take the polenta off heat and stir in butter and cheese until smooth and creamy.

3. Ladle into shallow bowls and top with mushrooms.