This is my mom's recipe altered to make it a bit more like a macaroon... because my sweetie loves his coconut! Super easy to make, takes about 15-20 minutes.
Melt in a small pot over low heat:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 4 Tbsp cocoa
Add 1 beaten egg and stir until thickened. Remove from heat.
Stir into above:
• 1 3/4 cup cocount
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts, but I'm allergic and never use 'em)
Press it all into a greased 9" square baking pan or equivalent. Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Cream together the following:
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 3 Tbsp Triple Sec or Grand Marnier orange liqueur
• zest of orange (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
Spread over the cooled base. Pop it back in the freezer while you melt the following over low heat:
• 5 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 2 Tbsp butter
Pour over icing and refrigerate until the chocolate is getting firm. Cut them into small squares, contain them (place wax paper between layers so they don't stick together), and store them in the freezer until you want to serve them. I think they're best cold!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Chocolate Chocolate Candied Orange Cookies
This is a fairly elaborate cookie recipe, but if you're like me and agree that good things come with time and effort, you won't mind. Alternatively, if you don't want to candy oranges, just add more chocolate chips to the cookie recipe instead. So I'll split this into 2 recipes. The orange recipe is borrowed, but the cookie recipe is made up.
Candied Oranges
Takes 35-40 minutes + drying time (mine took 1.5 days to fully dry)
1 orange
1/2 cup sugar
In a no-stick frying pan bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil. Add 1/2 cup white sugar and boil 5 more minutes. Slice your orange into 1/4 inch thick half moons and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes, flipping the orange slices occasionally. The sugar water will reduce to a thick syrup and all but disappear. The oranges should now have a thick glossy coating. Remove orange slices and lay them out on wax or parchment paper tO dry. If you like, or if the oranges don't seem coated enough to you, sprinkle some sugar on each side before drying. These should keep quite a long time if sealed away and can be eaten straight, added to desserts or used as garnish on cocktails.
Cookies
Makes 16-20 cookies, takes about 30 minutes including cook time.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.
Cream together the following in a mixing bowl:
3/4 cup soft butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Add and beat well:
2 eggs
Melt in a saucepan on low heat:
2 bakers semisweet squares
2 tsp butter
Add the melted chocolate to the contents of the bowl and mix thoroughly. Next add the ingredients below, mixing the dry ingredients together a bit first, then into the wet mixture:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup icing sugar
Dash salt
Finally, stir in:
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup candied orange pieces (your half moons cut into little 1/8" pieces)
Zest of 1 orange
Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. You can tell they're done when a) you can smell them and b) there is only a dime-sized moist/glossy spot remaining in the center of the cookie.
Candied Oranges
Takes 35-40 minutes + drying time (mine took 1.5 days to fully dry)
1 orange
1/2 cup sugar
In a no-stick frying pan bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil. Add 1/2 cup white sugar and boil 5 more minutes. Slice your orange into 1/4 inch thick half moons and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes, flipping the orange slices occasionally. The sugar water will reduce to a thick syrup and all but disappear. The oranges should now have a thick glossy coating. Remove orange slices and lay them out on wax or parchment paper tO dry. If you like, or if the oranges don't seem coated enough to you, sprinkle some sugar on each side before drying. These should keep quite a long time if sealed away and can be eaten straight, added to desserts or used as garnish on cocktails.
Cookies
Makes 16-20 cookies, takes about 30 minutes including cook time.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.
Cream together the following in a mixing bowl:
3/4 cup soft butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Add and beat well:
2 eggs
Melt in a saucepan on low heat:
2 bakers semisweet squares
2 tsp butter
Add the melted chocolate to the contents of the bowl and mix thoroughly. Next add the ingredients below, mixing the dry ingredients together a bit first, then into the wet mixture:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup icing sugar
Dash salt
Finally, stir in:
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup candied orange pieces (your half moons cut into little 1/8" pieces)
Zest of 1 orange
Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. You can tell they're done when a) you can smell them and b) there is only a dime-sized moist/glossy spot remaining in the center of the cookie.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Zesty Sauceless Spinach & Tomato Pasta
This dish is one of my favourites when i don't have a lot of time for prep... so quick and fresh! I'm sure someone out there has made this before, but in my head i like to think i made it up. Serves 4, takes 15 minutes.
1.5 cups of dried pasta (any kind will work, but i usually use hand-made short pasta)
2 tomatoes
1 bunch of spinach
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic
3 Tbsp olive oil
15 pitted kalmata olives
12 leaves of fresh basil
1/3 cup feta or fresh ricotta cheese (I prefer feta, but they're both good. If you use ricotta be sure to add a couple dashes of salt)
Pepper
In a large saucepan boil your pasta til it's el dante. Meanwhile dice your tomatoes, wash and trim the roots off your spinach, chop your kalmata olives and shave your basil. You may also have time to zest your lemon and then cut it in half in preparation for squeezing.
To shave basil: take all your leaves and stack them on top of one another flat, with the largest ones sandwiching the rest together, then, roll them tightly from one end to the other like you'd roll a sleeping bag. With a sharp knife start at one end of the roll and slice it off as thin as you can. This makes long threads of basil.
Once the pasta is done, drained and rinsed put a little bit of oil on it so it doesn't stick together. You can leave it in the colander for now.
In the pan that used to hold the pasta, put the rest of the olive oil on medium heat. Crush your garlic into it and add the olives, lemon zest and pepper. This flavours the oil which in turn will coat the dish. Let that do it's thing for about 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and squeeze the lemon juice into the pot and let it do it's thing for another 1 minute. Lastly, add the pasta, spinach, basil and feta. Stir and heat for another 2 minutes. You'll know it's done when your spinach is wilted but still bright green.
1.5 cups of dried pasta (any kind will work, but i usually use hand-made short pasta)
2 tomatoes
1 bunch of spinach
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic
3 Tbsp olive oil
15 pitted kalmata olives
12 leaves of fresh basil
1/3 cup feta or fresh ricotta cheese (I prefer feta, but they're both good. If you use ricotta be sure to add a couple dashes of salt)
Pepper
In a large saucepan boil your pasta til it's el dante. Meanwhile dice your tomatoes, wash and trim the roots off your spinach, chop your kalmata olives and shave your basil. You may also have time to zest your lemon and then cut it in half in preparation for squeezing.
To shave basil: take all your leaves and stack them on top of one another flat, with the largest ones sandwiching the rest together, then, roll them tightly from one end to the other like you'd roll a sleeping bag. With a sharp knife start at one end of the roll and slice it off as thin as you can. This makes long threads of basil.
Once the pasta is done, drained and rinsed put a little bit of oil on it so it doesn't stick together. You can leave it in the colander for now.
In the pan that used to hold the pasta, put the rest of the olive oil on medium heat. Crush your garlic into it and add the olives, lemon zest and pepper. This flavours the oil which in turn will coat the dish. Let that do it's thing for about 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and squeeze the lemon juice into the pot and let it do it's thing for another 1 minute. Lastly, add the pasta, spinach, basil and feta. Stir and heat for another 2 minutes. You'll know it's done when your spinach is wilted but still bright green.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Amazing Grapefruit Salad Dressing
This is my favourite dressing to date! Dresses 4-6 salads. You probably don't want to make much more than this unless you're having a really big dinner because the fresh ingredients may spoil in the fridge if you try to keep it too long. I'd say it probably keeps for about 2 weeks.
1 grapefruit
1 clove of garlic
10 little cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp avocado oil
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cracked sea salt
1 tsp fine ground pepper (this emulsifies throughout the dressing better than cracked pepper)
Get yourself a dressing bottle (i just use a glass one that used to have store-bought dressing in it that i've picked the label off of) and a funnel if possible. Slice the grapefruit in half and squeeze the juice of the whole grapefruit out into the dressing bottle. When the juice is all out and you've got some flesh hanging out of the grapefruit, take a sharp knife and cut it off and put it in the dressing bottle as well. Cut the cilantro up nice 'n' tiny. Put it in there, too. Crush the clove of garlic in there. Add the oils and S&P, put the lid on and give it a real good shake.
Yum!
1 grapefruit
1 clove of garlic
10 little cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp avocado oil
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cracked sea salt
1 tsp fine ground pepper (this emulsifies throughout the dressing better than cracked pepper)
Get yourself a dressing bottle (i just use a glass one that used to have store-bought dressing in it that i've picked the label off of) and a funnel if possible. Slice the grapefruit in half and squeeze the juice of the whole grapefruit out into the dressing bottle. When the juice is all out and you've got some flesh hanging out of the grapefruit, take a sharp knife and cut it off and put it in the dressing bottle as well. Cut the cilantro up nice 'n' tiny. Put it in there, too. Crush the clove of garlic in there. Add the oils and S&P, put the lid on and give it a real good shake.
Yum!
Queen Toast
This dish came to me in a dream. It's quite rich, so i recommend eating it with a side salad or a pink grapefruit. Serves 2, takes about 20-30 minutes.
2 slices french bread
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 onion
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup of brie cheese
2 twigs of fresh oregano (optional)
Salt
So first, you're gonna caramelize the onion. Put the oil in a fry pan on low heat. Peel and slice your entire onion and separate it into rings and place in a pan. Stir 'em up every once in a while. They should turn a bit browned and transparent. I'd say leave them in there for at least 20 minutes.
Strip the oregano twigs of the little leaves and chop 'em up as small as you can.
Take any rind off the brie an place in a small saucepan. Wait to turn it on.
On a plate beat the egg and milk and a dash of salt with a fork. Cut each slice of bread twice diagonally to form 4 triangles. At this point i just shove the caramelized onions off to one side of the pan and start frying the triangles in the same pan. When the first batch is done i pile them on top of the onions to keep them warm. Just when adding the second batch of triangles to the pan, turn the burner that's under the brie cheese on low. It will melt and turn liquid.
Stack 4 triangles on each plate, top with caramelized onions, drizzle the brie over it, then sprinkle on the oregano. Tastes great with fresh ground pepper!
2 slices french bread
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 onion
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup of brie cheese
2 twigs of fresh oregano (optional)
Salt
So first, you're gonna caramelize the onion. Put the oil in a fry pan on low heat. Peel and slice your entire onion and separate it into rings and place in a pan. Stir 'em up every once in a while. They should turn a bit browned and transparent. I'd say leave them in there for at least 20 minutes.
Strip the oregano twigs of the little leaves and chop 'em up as small as you can.
Take any rind off the brie an place in a small saucepan. Wait to turn it on.
On a plate beat the egg and milk and a dash of salt with a fork. Cut each slice of bread twice diagonally to form 4 triangles. At this point i just shove the caramelized onions off to one side of the pan and start frying the triangles in the same pan. When the first batch is done i pile them on top of the onions to keep them warm. Just when adding the second batch of triangles to the pan, turn the burner that's under the brie cheese on low. It will melt and turn liquid.
Stack 4 triangles on each plate, top with caramelized onions, drizzle the brie over it, then sprinkle on the oregano. Tastes great with fresh ground pepper!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Chunky Mashed Potatoes with Fresh Herbs & Olives
Serves 2 as a side or 1 as a large snack.
2 large soft-skinned potatoes - sliced 1 inch tick boiled/steamed for about 10 mins until soft but firm
2-3 4" strands of fresh oregano - leaves pulled from the stem and chopped a little
3 or so Tbsp of crumbled cow feta
10 cracked green olives (or kalmata) cut into itty bitty pieces
20 or so leaves of baby arugula, whole
3 Tbsp butter
cracked salt & pepper
Mash all ingredients together, so that there are still small chunks of potato. Serve warm!
2 large soft-skinned potatoes - sliced 1 inch tick boiled/steamed for about 10 mins until soft but firm
2-3 4" strands of fresh oregano - leaves pulled from the stem and chopped a little
3 or so Tbsp of crumbled cow feta
10 cracked green olives (or kalmata) cut into itty bitty pieces
20 or so leaves of baby arugula, whole
3 Tbsp butter
cracked salt & pepper
Mash all ingredients together, so that there are still small chunks of potato. Serve warm!
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