April 26, 2011
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It isn’t easy being green

Lately I’ve been into creating burgers with flair. While the all beef patty on a bun ketchup optional (if you don’t get that reference, go watch Parks & Recreation) is pretty amazing, it can get boring. Especially for someone who isn’t a huge fan of ground beef (remember how I eat it organic?).

We bought chicken burger patties since they were on sale and the chive pesto chicken burger was born.

What you’ll need –

Pesto

  • 1/2 cup packed chives
  • 1/2 cup packed parsley (stems removed)
  • 2 tbsp of almond slivers or pine nuts
  • 1 -2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp lemon juice

In your food processor, pulse the chives, parsley, almonds and garlic. Flip the switch to on and drizzle the olive oil in. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the lemon juice.

Burgers

  • 1/2 lb of ground chicken formed into patties (use a whole pound if you’re feeding more than two people)
  • 1/2 cup raw spinach
  • Buns
  • Cheddar cheese

Cook the burgers well (this is chicken people!). Meanwhile, toast your buns, layer the bottom with spinach. Melt cheese on the burgers. Transfer to the bun. Add a tablespoon of chive pesto. Enjoy!

(Ignore my messy table!) 

April 25, 2011
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Raspberry, Strawberry and Rhubarb Crustata

Easter Dessert: Rhubarb and Raspberry Crustata 

I added about 3/4 cups of chopped strawberries in addition to the raspberries and rhubarb, and made the crust out of King Arthur’s gluten free flour (hence the color and crumbly texture). Served with homemade whipped cream.

April 24, 2011
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Slow Baked Salmon

Yet another Bon Appetit recipe – slow baked salmon with lemon and thyme. This dish was super moist and flaky, and very easy to make.

I served with roasted fingerling potatoes with chives (this is my own!). To make – scrub a pound of fingerling potatoes and cut in half (or in quarters depending how big). Add a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Throw into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. When you take out, chop up a few chives and sprinkle over.

April 23, 2011
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Zombie Rabbit AKA Zombit

A few years ago I bought a 3D bunny cake pan after coming back from Disney World (for the first time I might add!) to a very cold, dreary Boston. Every year since, I’ve put together some sort of creation. This cake pan is not conducive to frosting or fondant. It’s more a powdered sugar kind of cake. However, I am a frosting kind of girl. So I’ve tried to make it work in the past and failed. When I found out my friend was having a Zombie Easter themed party, I knew that this cake pan’s true calling had arrived.

Yes, a zombie rabbit, or as my Mom so creatively called it, a “Zombit.” I used a chocolate bundt cake recipe. Decorations were made out of fondant, butter cream frosting and corn syrup (blood!).

I am particularly fond of his stitched up back.

April 22, 2011
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Zuchinni Sloppy Joes

Nope, this is not a vegetarian recipe. This is just another way to infuse some veggies in our meal. Inspired by a recipe on Epicurious, I decided to use up the leftover beef in our fridge rather than freeze it.

Here’s what you’ll need –

  • 1/2 lb ground beef (I use organic, but I’m not going to pull a Gwen Paltrow and say “preferably organic”)
  • 3 oz tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (about one small)
  • 1 medium zuchinni chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp oregano

Brown your beef for a few minutes, then throw in the onions and zuchinni. Saute for a few more minutes. Add tomato paste, water, garlic and spices. Simmer for a few minutes (stir occassionally so the meat doesn’t stick!). Serve on a bun with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.

For the side I fancied up some leftover green beans by tossing them in some olive oil, garlic and lemon juice over medium heat for a few minutes.

April 21, 2011
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Spaghetti alle Vongole

I’ve been cooking – I swear! I’ve just been busy, and unmotivated to turn my computer on (blogging on an iPad just doesn’t cut it).

The May 2011 issue of Bon Appetit is out and boy, is it good! Again, filled with  multiple recipes that made me excited. My mom and I decided to make Spaghetti alle Vongole this week, given that we are both in a cooking shell fish experimental phase and my Mom lives on the Cape (super fresh seafood). We headed to the Clam Man for two pounds of little necks.

We decided to go the homemade pasta route since this tastes better than boxed.

If you’re looking for an easy, homemade pasta recipe check out Lidia Bastianich’s poor man’s pasta.

Freshly scrubbed little necks.

There is nothing more satisfying in this recipe than hearing the pop, pop, pop of the little neck’s open up in the pan. They tasted just like the Atlantic ocean (which you may or may not think sounds palatable). That said, minimal salt is needed and this recipe definitely does not need cheese!

And the finished product.

April 16, 2011
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Hamburger Cupcakes

Hamburger cupcakes – it’s not what it sounds like. But it is at the same time. A few years ago I saw a burger cupcake and fell in love with the idea. Having not made them in about a year, I decided to create for Cupcake Camp Boston.

These are ridiculously easy to recreate. Seriously. Here’s what you’ll need –

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup cocoa
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp of baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk
  • 3 tbsp oil (canola is fine)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder. Mix in sugar and salt. Mix in eggs, water, milk, oil and extract until smooth. Distribute evenly into linked cupcake tins and bake for 20 minutes.

One thing to note, you will be cutting the tops of the cupcakes off. While it may be tempting NOT to use liners, I can tell you from experience that for some reason, these cupcakes just don’t cook up as nicely (lack of lip and lack of line to cut across). It is possible, but your burger patties may be lopsided.

While those are baking/cooling…

Vanilla Cake

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp butter

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In your mixing bowl, combine sugar, eggs and vanilla. Heat your milk and butter together (microwave or stove) until the butter is melted. Alternately add flour and milk and mix in until smooth. This is a runny cake better. Spray your tins with Pam (we’re not lining these ones) and use an ice cream scoop to fill with batter (about 2/3 of the way). Bake at 350 for 20 – 25 minutes.

Before proceeding, everything should be room temperature. You will have very melty and sad looking burgers otherwise. You can take this time to make some frosting.

  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 – 4 tbsp milk
  • Red, yellow and green dye

Beat the butter and vanilla together. Add sugar about a cup at a time and milk to thin out. Beat until right consistency (you’ll be putting this in a piping bag). Divide into three batches and dye each red, yellow and green. I add a little red to the yellow bowl to make it more orange and cheese like.

After everything is cooled and ready to go, cup the tops off of your chocolate cupcakes.

Cup the Vanilla cupcake in half. I sadly don’t have any more assembly pictures (got way into the decorating part!). Fill a piping bag with green frosting and pipe on a swirly oozy pattern on the top of the bottom half of the vanilla cupcake. Stick the chocolate patty on top. Fill piping bags with yellow and red frosting. Pipe on a swirly mess of yellow and red and stick the top of the cupcake on. Repeat until finished.

I used my extra cupcakes (I only made 12 burgers) to help out my dear friend who just didn’t have time to pull off her own batch of goodness. Ironically these were the cupcakes The Boston Globe chose to feature. Same recipes, with frosting dyed blue and sugar crystals! At least this year they didn’t say “and the brownie cupcake with the peppermint patty inside was too sugary on my teeth.” Of course it’s sugary…. ITS CANDY COOKED IN A CUPCAKE! Anyway…

Check it out!

April 13, 2011
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Sausage and Asparagus Risotto

This is one of those “I blogged about it earlier, but lost the post due to malfunctioning of the internet” posts. So I am doing this again.

I had a bunch of asparagus, no meat and a big box of risotto in my cabinet. Thanks to Epicurious, I decided to make an asparagus risotto. Unfortunately, I kept running out of time to make an asparagus broth/puree, so I ended up doing a more traditional, easier and boring way. Then I decided to buy sausages. So we came full circle.

Here’s what you’ll need –

  • 1 cup risotto
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 4 cups of chicken stock/broth
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 lb asparagus, steamed and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 2 sausage links, baked and chopped

In a large saucepan sautee onion for 1 – 2 minutes in olive oil. Add risotto and coat with onion and oil. Add 1/2 – 3/4 cup of broth at a time and stir frequently. Add more broth when you can take a spoon and scrape it on the bottom of the pan and you leave a temporary trail (most of the liquid will be soaked up at this point). At the end, add 1/2 cup white wine and let that cook in.

Meanwhile, steam the asparagus (just a few minutes) and bake your sausages for 30 minutes at 350 degrees (yes, we’re using uncooked sausages, not the stuff you get in your freezer!). Chop everything up and add to the risotto when it’s done.

Sprinkle freshly grated Romano cheese on top.