candied nuts

Candied Nuts
from co-worker

1 pound nuts (almonds. pecans, or cashews)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 250.
2. Line sheet pans with foil.
3. Whisk together egg white and water until frothy.
4. Add nuts and stir to coat.
5. Mix sugar and cinnamon until well mixed.
6. Add cinnamon mixture to nuts and stir until coated.
7. Bake for 1 hour.

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candied roasted nuts

Have you ever walked through the mall this time of year and smelled those roasted nuts?   Yeah me too!  Then I get some, and I can only eat a handful because they are so very sweet.  This year, I decided to try and replicate it at home.  Boy was it a success!  I took it to my family's Thanksgiving dinner to have them try it, and I was left with a quarter of what I came with!  It was a hit!

 {candied roasted nuts}

 {candied roasted nuts close up}

Candied Roasted Nuts

Makes 6 cups

6 cup pecan halves
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
4 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.
3. Place pecans in a bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar until well combined.
5. In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, vanilla and salt until well combined.
6. Pour egg white mixture over nuts and stir until completely coated.
7. Add about 2/3 cinnamon sugar mixture to nuts and stir until completely coated. 
8. Place nuts on baking sheet and sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top.
9. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until nuts are browned and crispy.
10. Cool completely.
11. Enjoy!

These are perfect for a party because they can be made ahead of time (just try not to eat them all before the party!).

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Cashew Chicken

Since The Hubby has taken a turn for the better regarding Asian cuisine (still can't get him to like sushi, but he has tried it!), I'm taking full advantage of it.  This has nuts in it, and The Hubby is nuts for nuts!  I was obsessed with the sauce from this recipe.  I kid you not, I took the leftover sauce (no chicken) with the leftover rice and veggies for lunch the next day (even minus the nuts because The Hubby ate them all).  Seriously delicious!

 {Cashew Chicken}

 {Side view}

One year ago:  Brie, Bacon and Basil Pasta

Cashew Chicken
from Sally Cooks

Makes 4 servings

2 pounds chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons cornstarch (3 tablespoons tapioca flour)
2 tablespoons broth
1/2 cup cashews
Steamed vegetables and cooked rice/rice noodles

1. Place chicken in a crock-pot.
2. Mix soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes together and pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
4.  Drain liquid from chicken and place it in the saucepan.
5. Mix cornstarch and broth together in a cup, and then add it to the chicken liquid.
6. Cook sauce until thickened.
7. Pour sauce back into crock-pot.
8. Serve chicken with steamed vegetables and rice, topped with cashews.

How do you like Asian cuisine?  Is a favorite or just okay?

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Jam Cake

My in-laws gave me 4 jars of homemade jam a few weeks before Thanksgiving!  The hubby and I don't eat jam too often so I was stumped on what to do with it.  Then an epiphany--make jam cake as a dessert for Thanksgiving!

 

{Jam Cake made with apple butter}

 

{Two apple butters and one blackberry preserves}

 

{Creaming butter and sugar then adding eggs}

 

{Yes this looks like it separated, but it'll work--promise!}

 

{Add nuts and raisins}

 

{This batter makes a bunt cake and at least 8 cupcakes!  Side by side comparison of the blackberry cake batter to the apple}

 

{An outtake--I was seriously impatient to make my second cake so I only waited 15 minutes....  It was delicious anyway!}

Jam Cake

Makes 1 bunt cake and 12 cupcakes (it's a large amount of batter!)

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
8 eggs, room temperature
2 cups jam, blackberry or apple are best
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional but recommended)
1 cup raisins (optional but recommended)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until very light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, blending well in between.
4. Add jam to batter when all the eggs are incorporate and mix until combined, about 2 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, whisk all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
6. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and incorporate it in followed by 1/2 cup of buttermilk, repeat ending with flour mixture. 
7. Mix until just combined!
8. Fold nuts and raisins into the batter.
9. Grease a bunt pan and line cupcake pan.
10. Pour batter until almost full in the bunt pan and cupcake pan.
11. Bake cake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cupcakes will take 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
12. Cool before trying to get out of the pan (major mistake I made--patience is a virtue!).
13. Serve. 

My co-workers and I are still eating the cupcakes for breakfast (hey--it's made with jam which is completely acceptable breakfast food), and they are as delicious, if not more so, as when I first made them.  They are really good with peanut butter!

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Broccoli Slaw

I will admit that I eat some pretty weird stuff.  However, when I saw this broccoli slaw recipe, I knew that as weird as it sounded, I had to make it.  The hubby even tried it and said it was good; he also said it needed bacon, but he always says that......

{Broccoli Slaw}

{Start with fresh broccoli}

{Broccoli slices}

{Making the dressing}

{Adding the onion to the dressing calms down some of that in-your-face onion taste (I think it's the buttermilk that helps!)}

{Allow to sit for 10 minutes (or while you are cutting the broccoli and toasting the nuts}

{Add dressing to broccoli, nuts, and cranberries}

{Stir to coat and try not to eat it all before anyone else gets any}

Broccoli Slaw
from smitten kitchen cookbook

Makes 6 servings

2 pounds fresh broccoli
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 teaspoon vinegar)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cut the broccoli into large chunks, and then cut the chunks into slices. 
2. Toss the broccoli with the cranberries and almonds.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth.
4. Allow the dressing to sit for about 10 minutes (this will mellow out the onion flavor).
5. Add dressing to the broccoli mixture and stir to coat.
6. Can be served immediately, but best flavor is after an overnight refrigeration.

I will definitely be eating this throughout the fall and winter when broccoli and cranberries are more in season, but this salad was refreshing in the summer--easy to make, healthy and delicious!

Have you ever made anything that sounded completely bizarre and have it be amazing?  I'd love to hear about it!

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Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich)

When I saw the recipe for Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich) on smitten kitchen's website, I immediately printed it off and began to devise reasons to make this cake.  Any reason would have done, but I knew Mother's Day was coming up, and my family did not have anything planned!  I immediately called my mom and told her we were having afternoon tea with this cake as the star.  She was game; the cake is German in origin, and Germans really do make the best desserts.  (Warning--we might be a bit biased as my Mom is German)

{Bee Sting Cake}

{Bee Sting Cake--side view}

German sweets and pastries are not sickingly sweet.  That's probably why my family prefers them.  I don't want a sugar rush when I eat cake; I just want to satisfy the sweet craving with as little sugar (aka calories) as possible.  This cake definitely delivers.  The yeasty taste of the cake with the sweet and crunchy topping coupled with the slight sweetness from the cream filling--oh man am I craving that last piece that is sitting on my counter!  As far as the tea went, this cake was mostly gone and EVERYONE took a slice home to their husbands!  That's what I like to hear!

This cake was a bit more work than what I normally like to do, but this is really simple to make.  There are just several steps and parts.  I am positive that even a novice baker can make this delicious cake!

Making the cake:

{Bloom the yeast}

{Mix cake ingredients together}

{Let cake rise.  The cake will not double or anything, but it should noticably rise}

Making the topping:

{Add ingredients to saucepan}

{Melt and boil for 3-5 minutes or until color changes}

{Add almonds and cool}

Bake the cake:

 

{On the recipe, she said just put the almonds on the top and they will spread out themselves.  That didn't happen with me so PLEASE make sure that you spread the almond topping as evenly as possible}

{Cake should be  dark and done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean}

Making the filling:

{Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until thick and light lemon color (I used farm eggs so the yolks were a bit darker)}

{Add flour and whisk until smooth}

{Add hot milk slowly whisked thoroughly after each addition}

{Mixture will be liquid but add heat and mixture will thicken}

{This was a little lumpy so keep whisking!}

{Press plastic wrap onto the top to prevent a skin from forming}

Assemble the cake:

{Get a long serrated knife and a spatula to spread the filling}

{I didn't free-hand; I lazily used the plate lip as a guide.  Why?  Because it was perfect!}

{My almond topping fell through in some places, but the cake was still delicious!}

Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich)

Makes 8-16 slices depending on how its cut

Cake:

1 package (think it's 1/4 oz) active dry yeast

3/4 cup whole milk, heated to 100 degrees (if you don't have a thermometer, place a clean finger in the milk--it should be slightly warm to the touch)

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Topping:

6 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds

Dash of salt

Filling:

3 egg yolks, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Dash of salt

1 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2-3 tablespoons cold butter

1. Cake:  Mix warm milk and yeast together to bloom; let stand 3 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl.  When yeast is done blooming, add to cake mixture.  Mix with mixer on low-medium setting for 2-3 minutes.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place (like oven with door propped open to allow light to heat the oven) for 60 minutes or until it's puffy (it won't double which is fine).
2. Topping:  Mix butter, sugar, honey, and heavy cream together in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for 3-5 minutes or until mixture darkens slightly stirring frequently.  Once color is achieved, add almonds and stir to combine.  Set aside to cool.
3. Filling:  Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a saucepan until thick and pale, lemony yellow (about 2 minutes).  Add flour and salt and whisk until smooth.  Meanwhile, heat milk and almond extract in microwave until hot.  Add milk to egg mixture, drizzling slowly and whisking the entire time.  Once milk is fully incorporated, turn heat to medium-high until it bubbles whisking the entire time.  Let it bubble for 2-3 minutes until thick, whisking to make sure no clumps form.  Take filling off the heat and add cold butter, whisking to make sure no clumps form.  When finished, filling should be smooth, thick and creamy.  Place in a container with plastic wrap directly on the cream so no skin forms.  Cool in the fridge.
4. Bake cake:  Butter a 9 inch springform or cake pan (springform will be easier because you won't have to take the cake out of the pan, just pop off the sides).  Stir cake batter gently to deflate then place in buttered pan.  Allow to rest another 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350.  Spread topping evenly on cake batter surface.  Bake cake for 20-25 minutes or until top is bronzed and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan.  Allow cake to cool overnight before assembly.
5. Assemble cake:  Using a long, serrated knife cut cake in half horizontally.  Remove top and spread cream filling on the bottom half of cake.  Replace the top half of cake and serve.
6. Try not to die from the deliciousness!

See--not too complicated just many, many steps and processes.  Please don't be intimidated!  I am always here to help!  I would really, really hate for you to be deprived of this cake!

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Kale Salad with Cherries and Pecans

A friend of mine had a birthday party, and we always do a potluck thing--one person does the main dish (usually whoever is hosting), one person brings a vegetable/salad, another brings wine, and another brings dessert.  I was in charge of bringing a salad; I didn't want to bring the usuals--green or Caesar.  I had a recipe picked out in the smitten kitchen cookbook, but I wasn't sure if my friends would go for it.  I will admit--I eat some pretty weird stuff (mostly healthy!) so I asked, and she said it sounded delicious!  No surprise that it was ;o)  The dressing was sweet and tangy which offset the bitterness of the kale leaves; the cherries, pacens, radishes and feta where all delicious in the salad too!

{Delicious Kale Salad!}

{Fill the sink up with water and press kale up and down to clean it; allow the dirt to settle for about 10 minutes before removing kale}

{Radishes!}

{Roasting pecans}

{Kale is pretty tough lettuce, but removing the spine helps make kale a bit more manageable}

{Fold in half and cut the spine off}

{Dice kale leaves}

{Bowl full of kale}

{Adding cherries, radishes and pecans}

Kale Salad with Cherries and Pecans

Serves 4

8 oz kale, washed, despined, and diced
4 medium radishes, sliced thinly
6 oz dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped pecans, roasted
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons white vineager
2 tablespoons Dijon
1 tablespoon honey
6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1. Mix kale, radishes, cherries, and pecans in a large bowl.
2. Mix remaining ingredients, except feta, together until well combined; taste the dressing and add salt and pepper as needed.
3. Add dressing to salad and toss well to coat.
4. Add crumbled feta on top of salad.
5. Serve.

What kind of salads do you like to make or eat?  I'll tell you--I'm getting bored with the regular stuff, like lettuce with toppings, so there will probably be more experiments especially into vegetable salads with light dressings!

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Honey Almond Croissants

I have been trying to pull back on the sweets so that way when I start my "new year diet" it won't be so difficult.  However, these are perfect for that New Year's Day brunch because they are full of good stuff for you: some carbs, honey, nuts, cinnamon, a tad bit of butter....  Like I said--all good stuff for you!

I was watching KY Proud Kitchen hosted by a fellow college alum, Brigitte Nguyen, who made these honey almond croissants that I almost died to have!  I am absolutely thrilled that Brigitte Nguyen is having such a wonderful career in food TV.  She hosts two shows, From the Kitchens of... and KY Proud Kitchen, which are definitely worth checking out!  She is such a sweet and wonderful person!  If you are in the Bluegrass region of KY, the KY Proud Kitchen comes on Sundays on Fox 56 at 10:30 AM--definitely a must-see!!!

{So delicious and flaky!}

I made them for our family Christmas brunch, and nothing was left to take home!  These are really simple to make and can be made ahead of time and popped into the oven.

{Put filling ingredients into a food processor}

{Form a grainy paste}

{This is how a 'sheet' of puff pastry will look when you pull it out of the pacakge}

{Just roll the top and bottom out to make the dough longer and thinner}

{I made big croissants, but you can make them smaller}

{Add filling to the widest part}

{Roll wide part towards the narrower part and form into a crescent shape}

{Brush with egg white before baking}

Honey Almond Croissants

Makes 8-12 croissants

Ingredients

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons butter, softened

2 eggs, separated

1. In a food processor, combine almonds, honey, butter and egg yolks until mixture resembles a grainy paste (can be made the night before).
2. Preheat oven to 400.
3. Lightly flour a flat surface and place one puff pastry sheet on top; roll out dough until thin and even.
4. Using a pizza slicer, cut sheet into two rectangles then each rectangle into two triangles (see photos above).
5. Place 1 tablespoon of filling on the wide end of each triangle.
6. Roll filled triangles into a crescent shape.
7. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and brush with egg white. Optional: top with sugar or almonds.
8. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

I definitely suggest making these with puff pastry for a more traditional croissant, but if you are pressed for time then crescent dough should work just fine.

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