Bakers Anonymous

Emily's Crazy Chocolate Cake - Allergies Be Gone!

2010-07-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

While I don't have a picture yet of this lovely chocolate cake, I thought it important to post a little tidbit for all you out there who are inhibited by food allergies. Under my naturopath's care, I have currently cut out quite a list of items from my diet, including gluten, spelt, dairy and eggs. This has put a significant damper on my baking for the moment but I'm not going to let it lick me! Luckily, in turning my back on some of the more traditional ingredients, I find a whole new world of new ones.

Without further adieu...Emily's Crazy Chocolate Cake...adapted from allrecipes.com.

THE CAKE

2 c. boiling water
1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3/4 c. garbanzo bean flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2-1/4 c. white sugar
3 duck eggs (I found these at a local, natural food co-op)
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, whisk 'til smooth and set aside to cool down.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, oil and sugar together.
Beat in eggs, one a time, and then stir in vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients gradually, alternating with the cocoa mixture.
Pour into pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely before frosting.

THE FROSTING

3 T butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-5 T water
4 cups powdered sugar

Beat together the butter and vanilla extract.
Add powdered sugar gradually, alternating with water.
Keep adding sugar and water until you get the desired amount of frosting.
Frost the now cooled cake.
Enjoy!

Note: Definitely stay away from butter if you have any life-threatening reactions to dairy! However, I was told by a friend, who is also a naturopath, that butter can still be used for those with mild dairy sensitivities. We usually react to the proteins in dairy and there are almost no proteins present in butter. Good info to know!

Buttery Shortbread Cookies

2010-05-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

These are the tastiest, crumbliest, butteriest shortbread cookies I have ever eaten. I got the recipe from a dear friend at our church, and you will not believe how easily they come together. They are sinfully rich and perfect. If you're feeling extra scandalous, dip them in chocolate, but they are equally delicious plain.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound (2 cups) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups sifted flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS

Cream together softened butter, powdered sugar and salt.
Add sifted flour and rice flour, and mix until dough holds together and everything is incorporated.
Form dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Roll each ball of dough into a "log" approximately 1 1/2" to 2" in diameter. Roll each "log" in white sugar, and wrap in plastic wrap. Return to fridge for at least another hour, until dough is easy to cut.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/2" slices and lay cookies down on an ungreased baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes until edges are set and a light golden color. Remove cookies immediately to a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes at least 4 dozen cookies.

OPTIONAL CHOCOLATE DIP

Once cookies are completely cool, melt a heaping cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave (stirring every 30 seconds). Add a generous shaving of paraffin wax if you have any on hand to keep the chocolate from being too sticky once set.
Carefully dip cookies by dragging them across the chocolate. Allow to set on wax paper. Store in the fridge.

I just have one last thing to say about all of this: YUM. Oh, and these go great with a cup of tea!

Peach Crisp

2009-09-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

Peach Crisp is a tasty alternative to apple crisp, and a favorite in our household in the summer or winter. If you've never tried it, you don't know what you're missing. I use my home canned peaches for this recipe (2 quarts), which makes throwing everything together really simple. You can use the same recipe for apple crisp, which is equally delicious, or experiment with other fruits in place of the peaches.

This is a tried-and-true recipe that I have been using since high school. Please do not try to substitute additional butter for the shortening (it will turn into an overly greasy topping which is not very pretty!).

If you are using fresh peaches, blanch* them in boiling water first to remove their skins. Use "free-stone" peaches so you can easily remove the pits.

Filling:

3-4 cups sliced peaches
1 Tablespoon flour
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar
1 ½ cups flour
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
½ cup butter/margarine
1/3 cup shortening

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8” square pan and set aside.

2. Mix together all filling ingredients and pour into greased pan.

3. Mix together all dry topping ingredients and cut in butter and shortening with a pastry blender until well incorporated. Spread topping evenly over filling and bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

*How to "blanch" peaches: Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, carefully drop in 2 or 3 peaches into the water. Wait 30-60 seconds, or until you see the skins starting to peel. Remove peaches from the water with a slotted spoon and allow to cool briefly. Cut peaches around through to the middle from stem to bottom, and using your knife or fingers, remove the skins. Skins should slide off easily.

Grandma's Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe

2009-09-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

Although my Grandma Williamson has passed on a number of sugar cookie recipes, I find this one to be the easiest. Mainly because it doesn't require chilling any dough or going through the rather laborious process of rolling and cutting dough. Score! I topped these beauties with a lemon icing this time around but I'll give you both icing recipes so you can choose between the two.

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened (or half butter/half shortening)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugar together until well blended. Add all other ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Use either a cookie scoop or a rounded tablespoon to drop batter onto a greased cookie sheet. These do spread a little when baking so leave some space between them. Bake for 12 minutes or until they start to be golden brown.

Standard Icing

3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 T milk
2 tsp vanilla

Lemon Icing

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 T milk
4 T lemon juice or to taste

For the icing, I just beat together the softer, or liquid, ingredients first and then incorporate as much powdered sugar as is necessary to get it to spreading consistency.

After I got my icing to the lightly lemoned state, I set aside about 1/3 cup and colored the remainder with yellow food coloring. The picture shows the finished product with all the pieces put together! The squiggles are nothing more than the basic icing squeezed through the snipped tip of a Ziploc bag. Be as creative as you want to be and enjoy!

Dobos Torte

2009-08-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

A side profile of one of my mini dobos. We were supposed to take the time to evenly cut out all the sponge cake layers, coat everything in the chocolate buttercream after stacking and garnish with hazelnuts or some other nut...but I took the busy mother's route instead. The taste is still impossibly good. There is so much butter in the buttercream but yet it doesn't taste that way at all. Very rich and creamy and worth repeating on its own.

The caramel-coated sponge cake pieces on the top were a mild failure for me but I included them in the pictures nevertheless. The torte tastes delicious but, like many of the challenges, it involves so many steps and so much time that it makes it impractical for a casual gathering. But that's my thought being now almost 9 months pregnant and having to take care of my almost 1-year-old on top of it. Simple, quick and delicious would be really nice!

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies

2009-07-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Since we had a choice between the two items, I decided to go with the item that required me to make my own marshmallows - something I had never attempted! The somewhat time consuming process to make these little numbers was worth it. They were great! Thank you, Gale Gand, for the recipe and Nicole, this month's DB host, for the idea.

For the first step, you make the cookie base. The dough is chilled after mixing it up but you will need to let it set after you take it out of the fridge. I chilled mine overnight and found it nearly unworkable until it had warmed back up a little. As you can see, this makes a ton of cookies! If you're going to go with this one, plan on having some people over to help you eat them. I'm sure they won't mind.

After the cookies have cooled is when you put together your marshmallow concoction and pipe it out over all the cookies. Although the recipe says that the marshmallow will be "stiff", it certainly doesn't have the traditional stiff peaks that egg white will produce. I basically just beat the heck out of it and went from there. Work quickly though as the gelatin involved WILL start setting whether you're ready for it to or not.

After you let all the little marshmallow clouds firm up it's time for the chocolate. I love this part! I had to melt down about twice the amount of chocolate chips suggested to get all of my cookies well dipped. I also think that it would probably work better to use shortening, not vegetable oil, with the chocolate chips. The chocolate wouldn't harden until I actually refrigerated it and even then, it was kinda soft. Maybe adding some paraffin would help as well. You'll also want to watch out because anything and everything that touches the marshmallow sticks to it!

I'm ready to make these again but probably only for a special occasion. All the time required to harden, set or chill makes this impractical for a busy mom!

Strawberry Bakewell Tart

2009-06-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Just posting some pictures of my completed work with a few notes. I'm not going to repost the different recipes needed because, unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed with the product! The crust is basically made of a shortbread dough. We had our pick of fillings so I just used some of the strawberry freezer jam I had just put up. Then the frangipane seals it all in. I don't believe I've had frangipane before but that's probably because I'm not a fan of almond and it has both almond extract and ground almonds in it. There's also a lot of egg involved so it's rather "squidgy", as the DB website puts it.

Frozen Mocha Pie

2009-06-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

I can't honestly recall where this recipe originated from but it's a good one! It's a super easy dessert to make with the only trick being that you do have to make it ahead of time. This is no last-minute idea, alright? So, let's get down to the nitty gritty...

1 chocolate cookie pie crust
8 oz. cream cheese
2/3 c. chocolate syrup
14 oz. sweetened, condensed milk
2 T. instant coffee, dissolved in a bit of hot water
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Beat together the cream cheese, syrup, milk and dissolved coffee until smooth. You want to make this as consistent a texture as possible. Fold in the whipped cream and pour into the prepared pie crust. Freeze overnight before serving! Use a serrated knife to help cut through the frozen pie - it works better.

Possible substitutions:
I didn't actually have quite the right ingredients to put this together last night so I made a few changes. The recipe is pretty forgiving so go ahead and experiment!

used a graham cracker crust instead
used 1/3 c. sugar-free chocolate syrup + about 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
beat in about 12 oz. or so of whipped topping that I had already in the freezer

Note: If you pull it out of the freezer too soon, it'll be looking more like this when you eat it. Equally yummy but much softer.

Pear & Walnut Strudel

2009-05-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

I'm now a member of the Daring Bakers! If you're not familiar with this group, you can read more about it on their website but the short story is that it's a group of people who bake a "challenge recipe" every month in order to increase their baking skills. We all make the same recipe but whomever is "hosting" that month can also allow some leeway in how we go about doing it. For the month of May, the theme was strudel. I had certainly never made anything like it before so I knew it'd be a new experience! The basic dough recipe came from the book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafes of Vienna, Budapest and Prague but the filling was my choice.

strudel dough
6-8 firm pears (not too ripe), peeled, cored and sliced about a 1/4" thick
1 orange, juiced
3 T. agave nectar
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1-2 T. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Pour the juice and agave nectar over the pears and mix it together well enough to coat all the pear slices. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon together and set that aside also.
After mixing the strudel dough ingredients and letting it set for the recommended time, you go through the somewhat time-consuming step of rolling it out. I followed the directions by laying out a tablecloth on a large table, rubbing flour into it and setting my dough in the middle. (I made a double batch of the dough so that I would be sure to have plenty. I knew I could always just cut off the extra.) I rolled it out as far as I could make it go with the rolling pin. Then I gently worked my hands underneath it to stretch it out even further. It was sort of reminiscent of the pizza chefs except that the dough didn't fly into the air...thankfully! The finished size was probably around the expected 24"x36" but I did make sure to get rid of all the thickness along the edge. The goal is to have it turn out as flaky and pastry-like as possible, after all.
Brush a thin layer of melted butter on the dough at this point. I almost missed this part!
Just inside of the shorter edge of the rectangle I layered the walnuts, the marinated pears and the cinnamon & sugar mix, leaving a bit of room on either end to seal off the finished product.
Use the tablecloth to start rolling the dough over the ingredients. At this point, the dough is far too thin and fragile to manipulate excessively. Keep rolling the strudel up until you get to the end. Cut off any extra dough, especially on either end, and fold under each end to help seal in the filling.
Transfer to a greased baking sheet, molding it into more of a round shape, if desired. Brush the top with melted butter and bake until dark golden brown.
Let the strudel cool for at least a half hour before slicing but eat it as soon as you're able since it doesn't keep forever. A serrated knife works best to cut through the pastry without damaging it. I would recommend serving the strudel with vanilla bean ice cream or whipped topping as it tastes very much like an apple pie.

It may look somewhat diseased but I'm not 100% sure why!

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

How to make Croutons

2009-02-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

I got the idea to make croutons while watching the Food Network channel the other day. I didn't write down the instructions, but it looked so easy I had to try it! The results? Delicious.

What you need:

A loaf (or partial loaf) of crusty bread - something hearty, not too soft, that will hold up to being chopped up into squares. I used Trader Joe's whole wheat sourdough bread. You can also use an unsliced loaf, or a loaf of bread that is on the verge of "turning."
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper (freshly cracked is best)
Italian seasoning (optional)

The process:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice your bread into 1/2 inch slices (if not already sliced). Remove crusts from bread, if desired, and cut the remaining bread into 1/2 to 3/4 inch squares.
Arrange the bread cubes on a shallow baking sheet, somewhat evenly distributed.
Drizzle bread cubes generously with olive oil (at least a few Tablespoons).
Toss bread cubes by hand to coat with oil. Arrange bread cubes evenly across baking sheet.
Sprinkle bread cubes lightly with salt, then pepper and Italian seasoning. Use enough spices so that you can see the pepper and seasoning on all of the bread.
Place pan into preheated oven. Check after 8 minutes, and toss with a spatula. Continue to bake in 3 minute increments until desired "crunchiness" is attained. Mine took approximately 14 minutes.
Store in a jar or sealed plastic bag. Use on salads or other recipes.

Enjoy!

Black Bean and Corn Soup with Chicken

2009-01-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

This recipe is perfect for the chilly months. It warms your bones and is great for dinner or lunch.

Black Bean and Corn Soup with Chicken

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts (frozen or on the bone)
2 cans black beans
10 oz package frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
10 ounce can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tsp salt
3 cups boiling water
1 can chicken broth

Optional garnishments: sour cream, tortilla chips

Directions:

In a large pot, cover 3 chicken breasts with water. Cook over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Remove chicken from water, cool slightly, and shred the meat with two forks.
In a crock pot, combine the beans, corn, chicken, onion, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, and salt. Pour boiling water and chicken broth over all. Cover; cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours or on high heat for 4 to 5 hours.
To serve, mash beans slightly with a potato masher to thicken soup. Garnish with sour cream and serve with tortilla chips if desired.

Makes about 6 servings.

Southern Style Banana Pudding

2008-12-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

When my husband refers to this dish, it sounds more like "Aunt Ran-cisses Nanner Puddin'" but don't be confused. He is, of course, referring to his Aunt Frances and her classic Southern recipe for banana pudding. This is one of those dishes that I wasn't familiar with at all until getting married but am happy to say that I can enjoy it too. Just don't think of it as mushy bread products and you'll be fine!

Pudding

1 box Nabisco Vanilla Wafers
5 large bananas, sliced thinly
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
5 T. flour
3 cups milk

Meringue

3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

In a large casserole dish or oven-ready bowl, start putting down alternating layers of bananas and wafers, ending with a layer of wafers on the very top.

In a double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, flour and milk. Continue to cook on medium heat, stirring often to avoid clumps and overcooked eggs. This is the longest part of the process - be patient! Pudding is done when sauce is thick. It will not be as thick as a traditional pudding but should hold together fairly well. Pour hot pudding over the wafers and bananas, completely covering them but leaving enough room for the meringue.

Whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over the pudding, sealing the edges and being just as decorative as you'd like to be. (I whipped mine too early in the process and couldn't shape it very well by the time I got around to spreading it on. This has no impact on the taste but it's something to keep in mind.)

Turn your oven to broil but keep it as low as possible. Put the dish in the oven and keep an eye out. It shouldn't take longer than about 10 minutes and may be as short as 5! Don't even think about walking away!

The pudding is finished and ready to enjoy although you can let it set for a while in order for the wafers to get softer. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and eaten later either warm or cold. Those bananas are gonna turn brown pretty quickly though so don't be surprised.

Scrumptious Pumpkin Scones

2008-11-22T22:55:00.000-08:00

I can't take much credit for this recipe. I found it online at recipezaar, and followed the directions to a T. The result? Unbelievably addicting and mouth-watering.

These scones surprisingly need no toppings (jam, lemon curd, butter, etc) -- AND they taste great after a few days (which is very rare for scones). Please do yourself a favor and bake a double or triple batch of these immediately. A normal size can of pumpkin puree is enough for a triple batch (1.5 cups).

INGREDIENTS:

SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg

POWDERERED SUGAR GLAZZE
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.

4. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:

1. Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.

2. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.

Eat and repeat often.

Recipe originally found at: www.recipezaar.com

Grilled Chicken with Havarti

2008-07-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

I don't have a picture of this recipe (perhaps because I scarfed it down too fast), but you have to take my word that it is DELICIOUS and so easy!

Grilled Chicken with Havarti

- Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Italian salad dressing (Bernstein’s Restaurant Recipe Italian is the best)
- Two slices of Havarti cheese

Place (thawed) chicken breasts in a shallow dish and coat both sides of chicken with Italian dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (more if you’d like).

Once the chicken is done marinating, heat outdoor grill to medium-high heat (around 350 degrees if it has a thermometer). Lightly oil the grill with non-stick spray. Place the chicken breasts directly on the grill and close grill cover.

Check after about 7 minutes and flip chicken to the other side. Continue grilling until chicken is done (no pink!). Flip chicken to the opposite side and top each with a slice of Havarti, being careful that it doesn’t hang over the sides too far. Cover grill for one minute and check to see if the cheese is melted.

Serve with a side of grilled vegetables.

Grilled vegetable ideas: place slices of red bell pepper, zucchini, butternut squash, onions, cherry tomatoes, or other desired vegetables, into a grill basket or wrap in double-foil. Place directly on the grill while the chicken is cooking. If using foil, be sure to add a splash of olive oil to the vegetables to prevent sticking.

This is so moist and delicious.. you will love it. Enjoy!

Key Lime Bars

2008-07-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

My parents-in-law recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary so all of the siblings put together a Hawaiian-themed party for them and their friends. Being one of the primary organizers/bakers, I was faced with finding foods that were either definitively Hawaiian or at least tropical in nature. The family has Southern roots so their traditional key lime pie came to mind as a good crossover option. However, it's not so great at serving large groups as it tends to be a little messy, especially if children are helping themselves! My next resort was to take a lemon bar recipe from allrecipes.com and adapt it for our use. These tangy and delicious bars were perfect for the occasion - cold, slightly exotic and possessing a summertime flair.

Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened

Filling:

6 eggs
1-3/4 cups sugar
6 T. all-purpose flour
1 cup key lime juice
3-4 drops green food coloring, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Combine the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of the pan. Bake crust for 20 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, beat or whisk together all filling ingredients until frothy. Pour filling over hot crust and return to oven for an additional 20-25 minutes. Bars are done when lightly golden on top and the filling has set all the way into the middle. I jiggle the pan to see that it doesn't make the filling move. Cool the bars and cut into squares to serve. You may need to use a relatively sturdy knife for this task since the crust is thick.

Note: The original recipe says to sprinkle extra powdered sugar on the bars to decorate them after cooling but I found this to be unworkable. The filling is generally too wet and absorbs all the sugar, leaving you with a mottled looking top that is anything but decorative!

Delightfully Forgiving Quiche

2008-06-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

Quiche, quiche, how delicious you are. There is something about homemade quiche that really makes my mouth water. What I really enjoy is that I normally have most of the ingredients lying around; no special trip to the store required. Also, whatever vegetables I happen to have in my fridge can usually be incorporated. For this particular quiche I did not add any meat, and it was still very good.

Quiche

1 recipe Single Pie Crust (below)
8 beaten eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/ tsp salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 seeded, diced red bell pepper
1 cup boiled potatoes, chopped into small pieces (I used Yukon Gold)
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar and pepper jack)
1 tablespoon flour
dash of nutmeg
6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped up (optional)

Prepare and roll out the pastry for the pie pan (or cheat and buy a ready made crust). Work the pastry into the pan and crimp the edges. Line the pastry with two sheets of foil, and bake in a 450 degree oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake 4-5 minutes more until pastry is set.

Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees.

Cook bacon in a large skillet, if using. Remove from heat and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Boil potatoes until slightly tender. Allow to cool slightly and chop into bite-sized pieces. Skin can be left on or removed, as desired (I left it on for the Yukon Golds).

In a large bowl, stir together eggs, sour cream, half-and-half, salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg if you have it on hand. Stir in onions, potatoes and red pepper. Add the flour to your shredded cheese and toss with your hands until it is coated. Add the cheese to the egg mixture and stir to incorporate.

Pour egg mixture into the hot pastry shell. Cover the edge of the crust with foil to prevent it from browning too much. Bake in the 325 degree oven 45 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Pastry for Single Crust Pie

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut shortening in until pieces are pea-sized.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cold water into the mixture, and toss with a fork. Push the moistened pieces to the sides. Repeat until all the flour mixture is moistened. Form dough into a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll Out from center to edges with a rolling pin until about 12 inches in diameter.

To easily transfer to pastry, roll it around the rolling pin and ease into your pie pan. Trim pastry 1/2 in beyond the edge of the pan and fold edges under, crimping with your fingers.

Quiche is great reheated for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The very forgiving nature of quiche means that you can easily substitute other vegetables or cheeses without worrying about exact measurements.

Possible alterations/additions:

1 - 3 cups spinach (fresh or frozen)
1/2 chopped onions for the green onion
1 1/2 cups mozzarella, feta, Swiss, Havarti or Monterey Jack cheese (yum!)
3/4 cup ham, chicken or crabmeat for the bacon
light cream or milk for the half-and-half

If you only have bacon, onions, and cheese on-hand, you can still make a really simple and delicious quiche! Feel free to experiment - it's hard to go wrong.

Emily's Rather Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-04-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

This recipe was adapted from a brilliant chocolate chip cookie recipe that my mom has been in possession of for the last several years. While the original is delicious, it's not so great for those of us watching our sugar intake and such. For those not familiar with agave nectar, it is a great alternative ingredient for, in this case, both brown and white sugar. Less of the nectar is required for an equivalent amount of sweetness and the glycemic index is drastically lower.

Thus...a healthier version is born.

1/2-3/4 cup butter, softened
12 oz. agave nectar (this can be found at Trader Joe's and in the health food section at Fred Meyer's)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups Quick Oats
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2-1 cup chopped nuts (I usually use pecans)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and agave nectar together until well incorporated. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients and mix well, adding more flour or oats if the batter seems too wet or sticky. Drop batter in large rounded tablespoons (I use a medium-sized cookie scoop) onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Keep in mind that cookies will not tend to flatten or change shape from how they were originally placed on the cookie sheet. After a few minutes, transfer cookies to a wire rack or a sheet of waxed paper to cool.

Almond Cake Surprise

2008-01-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

When I asked my director at work what he'd like for a birthday treat, he sent me a link to one of Giada's almond cake recipes. I thought, hey, no problem! Consider it done! Then I realized that I'd need to double the recipe and then I couldn't find almond paste at the regular grocery store and then...well, so here is my version that is inspired by Giada's!

Almond Cake with Vanilla Glaze

1 cup fine cornmeal (I used Alber's)
1 cup cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup finely ground almonds
1-2 tsp pure almond extract
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs
6 egg yolks (yes, you read this correctly!)
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 10" springform pan.

Beat together butter, almonds and almond extract on high until smooth. Reduce the speed and slowly add powdered sugar, mixing until fluffy. With the mixer on high gradually add the vanilla extract, eggs and egg yolks and mix until well combined. Reduce speed and add sour cream along with all dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated but do not overstir!

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth off the top. Place on the lower rack of your preheated oven to bake. Bake for at least 45 minutes - cake should be golden, slightly pulling away from the edges of the pan and pass the toothpick test. As a side note, I didn't do this last part which resulted in a cake that wasn't fully baked and fell somewhat flat after removing it from the oven. Don't be like me!

Cool cake completely and remove outer ring to springform pan. Spread vanilla glaze over the top of the cooled cake, let it harden up a little bit and then dust with some extra powdered sugar. This may not be a winner in the looks department but the taste is said to be divine.

Note: I think that using ground almonds and almond extract provides a more authentic flavor than using almond paste. I know some people have made their own paste with almonds and marzipan but, not being a fan of marzipan, I took the more obvious route. If this makes too large of a cake for you, just half the recipe and use a 8 or 9-inch cake pan instead.

Florence's Red Velvet Cake

2008-01-13T22:23:00.000-08:00

If you've ever lived in the South for any length of time, you've eaten red velvet cake. I hear tell that it's even served in kids' school lunches! I got this classic recipe from my grandma, Florence Williamson, a West Virginia woman through and through. Simple, tasty and not in the least bit dry, it's a great choice for larger family gatherings and potlucks.

CAKE

1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup plain yogurt or 1 cup milk with 1 T. lemon juice or vinegar
5 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable or peanut oil
2 T. cocoa powder
1/2-1 oz. red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat all ingredients together except for food coloring until all lumps are gone. Add food coloring slowly (you don't want red splatters on the wall!) and mix until completely incorporated. Grease a 13x9x2 baking pan and pour batter into pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out of the center cleanly. Cool completely.

ICING

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 box powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter, softened

Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Spread onto cooled cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. It's best to store this cake in the fridge due to the cream cheese frosting but don't worry about having it out for a couple hours at an event - it'll be fine! I've also added frozen coconut flakes to the frosting for a little extra flavor. Another fun variation is to make the cake blue or green instead but that's a little too radical for some people!

What was left of my most recent red velvet cake once my coworkers had gotten to it. I think they liked it...

Welcome to Bakers Anonymous!

2008-01-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

This recipe blog serves a simple purpose - it is a clearing house for culinary successes! These recipes have been handed down through the generations, gleaned from various cookbooks and enhanced through countless hours of experimentation. Whether we're talking about baking or cooking, healthy or fatty food, sweet or savory, there's a place for a little bit of everything here. I call these delights anything but ordinary. Join us in our quest for the perfect collection of recipes and feel free to comment to your heart's content!