Tag - recipe

Flourless Brownies

I crave chocolate… a lot. There are a lot of options for flourless confections in the area but few have hooked me. I stumbled upon this gluten free brownie recipe and it was the most delicious baked good I’ve had in a long time. They have a fudge-like quality that’s to die for. We ate a couple at home and I brought the rest to work. They disappeared quickly and received a lot of compliments. I can’t stop thinking about them and need to make them again. Like right this second.

Flourless Brownies
(Recipe credit to life made simple)
6 Tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×9″ square pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking oil, set aside.

2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter then then add the sugar. Once the sugar is mixed in well, add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth.

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3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla extract.

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4. Using a mesh sieve, sift the cocoa powder and cornstarch into the saucepan, then add the salt.

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5. Stir together, then beat the batter for 1-2 minutes until it’s smooth and shiny.

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4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 22-30 minutes or until the brownies are no longer jiggling in the center.

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5. Be careful not to over-bake (gooey brownies are the best)! Remove the pan from oven and let cool in the pan for 45 minutes before removing and slicing.  

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Roasted Whole Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Garlic Butter Mushrooms

After my last Smittenkitchen kick with the Chocolate Hazelnut Macaroon Torte, I went ahead and scoured the blog for some side dish recipes. I found the Twice-Baked Potatoes with Kale and Garlic Butter Mushrooms. Both sounded absolutely divine, so I went for it! I made a roasted chicken as well which has made it through the first few days of the week.

Twice-Baked Potatoes with Kale
(Recipe credit to smittenkitchen)
3 russet baking potatoes
1 bundle lacinato kale
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large leek
1 cup coarsely grated cheddar
Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Gently scrub potatoes and pierce all over with a fork. Bake 1 hour or until potatoes are tender when pierced in center.

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2. While potatoes cook, prepare your filling. Tear kale from the stems and tear into large chunks then wash leaves in cold water to remove any grit. Do not dry after rinsing. Place them in a skillet over medium-high and add a pinch of salt. Cook them in the pan until they wilt and collapse. When they’ve cooled, ring out any excess water then finely chop greens.

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3. Trim leek down to just white and pale green part then cut longways into quarters. Rinse in water to remove dirt inside the layers. Thinly slice quarters and heat in skillet over medium heat with butter and oil.
4. Leeks should cook approximately 10 minutes, avoid browning. Then add kale and heat, approximately one minute.

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5. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half longways and take out most of the potato, leaving a thin ring around the skin to keep stable.

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6. Add potato filling to bowl with leeks, kale, sour cream, cheese and mash until combined. Arrange the potato shells on a baking sheet and fill with a heaping amount of the mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Cook potatoes a second time, for 20 minutes or until crisp on top.

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Garlic Butter Mushrooms
(Recipe credit to smittenkitchen)
1 pound mushrooms such as cremini or white, halved lengthwise if large
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. Toss mushrooms with capers, garlic, oil, salt and pepper, and  parsley in a shallow baking dish.

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2. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden, about  15 to 20 minutes.
3. Stir in lemon juice and serve immediately.

Roasted Whole Chicken
(Recipe credit to Ina Garten)
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the chicken giblets and rinse the chicken inside and out. Also remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.

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2. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken then stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
3. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top. Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Macaroon Torte

There was someone working in the grocery store yesterday giving out free cosmo shots. I’m not certain if it was the booze coursing through my veins but out of no where, dessert struck me! I quickly searched through the Smittenkitchen blog for inspiration. I’ve been following that blog for the past six years and it was in the gluten free section that I found… a Chocolate Hazelnut Macaroon Torte. All of those things in one luscious dessert? Yes. Please and thank you. The recipe took a good amount of time but it is very much worth it if you have a love of hazelnuts!

Chocolate Hazelnut Macaroon Torte
(Recipe credit to smittenkitchen)
Cooking oil spray
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 large egg whites
2 1/2 cups hazelnuts (about 12 ounces or 340 grams), toasted, then skinned as much as possible*
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon espresso granules
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy or whipping cream
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Frangelico
A semi- or bittersweet chocolate bar for shaving

1. Spread raw hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, tossing once throughout baking. Let cool and roll them around with a towel to remove as much of their skins as you can.

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2. Change heat to 325°F and position oven racks in the top and lower levels of oven. Draw eight-inch circles onto four pieces of parchment paper. Place them face down onto two baking sheets, ensuring pencil-side is down so that it doesn’t touch the macaroon mixture. Spray each of the circles with cooking oil and wipe down with a paper towel so that there is a thin layer of oil on each.
3. Place hazelnuts into the food processor with 1 cup of sugar and salt. Blend until very finely ground (I didn’t blend quite as much as I would prefer for next time. This is an important step!) Set aside.DSC_0125
4. Beat egg whites in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Carefully drizzle in the vanilla extract and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Beat until stiff peaks have formed, they will almost have a pearly sheen to them.

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5. Fold hazelnut mixture into egg whites in thirds. Spread a quarter of the macaroon batter evenly within each circle, filling completely. Bake macaroon layers until golden and dry to the touch — 20-25 minutes. Cool macaroons on their sheets on a cooling rack.

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6. While meringues cool, heat half of chocolate chips, water, and espresso in a small heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring until smooth. After all the chips have melted, remove from heat and stir in second half of chocolate until melted. Spread chocolate evenly over tops of meringue rounds, as long as they are cool enough. Cool until chocolate is set, this could take over an hour or you could place them in the refrigerator for a few minutes to help speed it along.

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7. While chocolate is setting, beat heavy cream with sugar and Frangelico in standing mixer until it holds stiff peaks.

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8. To assemble, peal macaroons off parchment paper and place first disc directly onto whatever serving plate you plan to use. Spread 1/3 cup of whipped cream onto each layer before placing the next. When you’ve reached the final layer, frost the top and side of torte with whipped cream. Using a vegetable peeler, scrape shavings off chocolate to top the cake.

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Food Processor Experiments

When I started making breakfast the other day and paused to break out the food processor, I decided I wanted to see what else it could do. Turns out, it’s a lot! Here are two very different recipes, which were super easy when using the food processor.

Peach Frozen Yogurt
1 10-oz bag frozen peaches
3 Tablespoons honey (or agave nectar)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Add ingredients to the food processor. Spin until creamy, about 5 minutes.

DSC_0751 (This is what it will look like after only two minutes. It’s not done yet!)

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2. Serve immediately or place in airtight freezer. 

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Homemade Herb Butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Ice water
Pinch of kosher salt
Herbs, finely chopped (I’m using fresh chives and parsley)

1. Pour heavy cream into food processor and put on high for two to four minutes.
2. The cream will start to separate into buttermilk and curds. Pour off the liquid that has separated.
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3. Add 1/8 cup of ice water, pulse four times. Pour off remaining liquid. Repeat this step again once more. The butter will start to form into a large ball.

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4. Place butter into strainer, gently pressing down to remove any excess liquid.

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5. Place any desired herbs or seasonings into the food processor and finely chop. Add your strained butter to combine.

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6. Serve the butter with anything and everything. Gluten free bread is shown here.

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Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili

I’m going to be running around today and tomorrow getting a lot done before I start my job on Thursday. I found this recipe because I wanted to make something with a home-style feel but easy to assemble in the Crock Pot while I’m out most of the day. I stirred once in the first hour of cooking, then again when I got home and the chicken was ready to be shredded and served.  When Jason took his first bite he looked at me and said, “oh, hell yeah!” I would consider this a success.

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili
(Recipe credit to SimplexFood)
4 chicken breasts, frozen
2 cans Rotel tomatoes, with chilies
2 cans whole corn kernels, not drained
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 packages Ranch dressing mix
2 tablespoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 8 oz packages cream cheese

1. Place chicken in the crockpot.

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2. Top with tomatoes, corn, beans, dressing mix, and spices. Stir to combine then top with cream cheese.

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3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring a couple times to blend the cheese.

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4. Shred the chicken into large pieces and serve over brown rice with avocado.

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