Easy Sweet and Sour Cocktail Meatballs

Finally, I have a semi-sensical reason to post this meatball recipe! I actually made these ridiculously easy, totally delicious sweet and sour cocktail meatballs when the Super Bowl was on. It would have been nice to post about them before the game, but since that did not happen, I was waiting for one of those occasions when people are looking for easy appetizers to serve—like Memorial Day.

I’m heading off to Key West (we’ve live in Fort Lauderdale for almost 4 years and never been!) this weekend for scuba diving, pie (!) and absolutely no work issues to worry about—and maybe a Margarita, you know if the spirit moves me. But, if you’re having a party or a cook out and want to add a little more meat to menu, this one’s for you. It took me forever to find a recipe for sweet and sour meatballs because I was searching for Swedish meatballs and wondering why all the recipes I found were not at all what I had in mind. For some reason, I thought Swedish and sweet and sour were the same thing, but alas, no.

When I finally located an easy one on Receipezaar.com, I didn’t really care that it did not sound to me like the ultimate meatball recipe—I just liked that it was easy. Well. Despite the fact that these take no weird ingredients and very little time and effort, they are totally delicious and addictive. It’s that secret—or not so secret—ingredient, Heinz chili sauce and a good hit of brown sugar. You don’t have to fuss around frying the meatballs first; just simmer them in the sauce where they become moist and wonderful. You can make this ahead and reheat it anyway you like. Put out a jar of toothpicks and they will disappear faster than Tom Brady’s dreams of a perfect season.

Sweet and Sour Cocktail Meatballs
I adapted this recipe from one on Recipezaar.com. It called for garlic powder, which I don’t like and don’t have, so we seasoned our meatballs like we tend to season basic burgers. You can use just salt and pepper; adobo seasoning; chili powder or cayenne pepper; or a few pinches of dried herbs. We cooked a tiny bit of meat in a skillet to check our seasoning. I recommend this easy extra step, so you can go forward with the confidence that your big batch of meatballs is going to be perfectly seasoned. I haven't tried these with turkey, but I think it would work well, and the cooking method would keep the meat pleasantly moist.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp. onion powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (seasoned or unseasoned)
12 ounces chili sauce (such as Heinz)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Combine beef, seasonings, egg and breadcrumbs. Cook a small patty to check seasoning and adjust if needed. Form into small meatballs.

Pour the chili sauce into a large, heavy skillet or saucepan; fill the chili sauce bottle with water, shake well and add to skillet. Add the brown sugar and lemon juice; bring to a simmer.

Add the meatballs to the sauce; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until cooked through. If you leave them on longer, it’s okay. Transfer to a bowl and serve right away or cover and chill and reheat in the microwave.

Derby Day Brownies with Bourbon-Soaked Raisins

Let me start by saying that putting raisins in brownies is not something I would normally do. With a few notable exceptions (chocolate dipped strawberries come to mind), I don't usually like chocolate and fruit together. When I came across a brownie recipe with raisins that actually sounded appealing, I had to embrace that feeling and give it a try.

I am usually a little late with getting holiday or themed recipes on the blog--for example, I forget St. Patrick's Day was right around the corner and missed my chance to make some green pistachio cookies I wanted to try. Last weekend, Mike mentioned that the Kentucky Derby is coming up on May 3rd, so I made a mental note to blog about an appropriate, preferably bourbon-laced, recipe since the Mint Julep is the official derby drink.

The brownie recipe, from Baking by Dorie Greenspan, called for raisins soaked in dark rum, and right away I thought of switching it up to bourbon. Thus, I could complete a derby-themed recipe and indulge my current preoccupation with brownie-making. As it turned out, you can't really detect the bourbon in the final product, and the raisins--while a nice change of pace--were a little distracting to both me and Mike (despite the handful of semisweet chips I sprinkled on top because I felt a need to balance the fruit with even more chocolate). The raisins sort of got in the way of an otherwise really great brownie. On the other hand, if you like chocolate and dried fruit, you'll really like this.

The recipe produces a thick, moist (but not wet), fudgy brownie. I used fine quality bittersweet chocolate (Lindt 70%), as specified; great chocolate makes a great brownie. I also liked the addition of cinnamon in this recipe, and I raised the quantity to 1/4 teaspoon, which created a slightly spicy, but not overpowering, flavor that gives these brownies added interest. This is a nice recipe, so if you want to go with a derby theme sans raisins, just skip that part, tip in a shot of bourbon and you're good to go!

Fudgy Brownies with Bourbon-Soaked Raisins
Adapted from Baking by Dorie Greenspan

This recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate, so I would look for something with a 65 to 75% cocoa content. I love cinnamon and always have a fresh, potent Vietnamese variety on hand (Spice Islands found in most supermarkets makes a good one); if your cinnamon isn't very strong or past its prime, add a little extra or replenish your supply.

Makes 16 brownies

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
1/3 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish, line with foil and butter foil; or use nonstick foil and skip the butter.

Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave on medium power for 1 minute; stir thoroughly. Microwave again for 15 to 20 seconds and stir. Repeat, if necessary, until chocolate is just melted (don't let it get too hot and watch it closely to avoid burning). Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine raisins, water and bourbon; bring to a simmer and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and beat on medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Add chocolate mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed for 30 seconds (flour won't be completely incorporated). Finish mixing in the flour by hand with a rubber spatula. Fold in the raisins along with any liquid in the saucepan. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and press slightly into the batter with a flat hand.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (mine took 57 minutes), or until top is dry and crackled and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean (a few moist crumbs is good; wet means it's not done yet). Cool on a wire rack. Use the edges of the foil as handles and lift brownies out of baking pan. Transfer to a cutting board and cool completely (alternatively, refrigerating brownies makes them easy to cut if you don't mind chilling them). Cut into 16 squares.

Thai Fried Hardboiled Eggs

If you still have hardboiled eggs leftover from Easter, here’s the perfect way to save them from neglect. It’s not complicated, but it’s so different that you’ve got to try it!

This is a recipe from a Thai cookbook I bought when we were over there. It's one of those things where we looked at the picture and said, “Hmm, deep fried eggs…how can that be bad?” We made them as a snack on Easter, and if we had fried more than just 4 eggs, we would have eaten them all.

They taste just like regular hardboiled eggs - no oil gets inside - except with a warm, crispy outer layer. The cookbook called for a sauce made with tamarind pulp. All I had was tamarind concentrate, which I use in my pad Thai, so I improvised a dip with that, sugar and a splash of fish sauce. I really think any Asian dipping sauce you like would work with these – there are so many ready made sauces you can buy, or whipping one up yourself is just as easy. Tamarind has a very sharp, sour, and citrusy flavor, so try aiming for something sweet and tangy. In this picture, you can see the fried crust better...

Our whole Easter (except dessert, but I'll get to that later) had a Asian theme. While we had the pot full of hot oil going, we decided to make some coconut shrimp (actually, those were all Mike)...

There may have also been some shrimp and pork wontons, but there is no photographic evidence of alleged wontons.

And for breakfast, we had kimchi and rice bowls with eggs. This is our new favorite thing. The Asian grocery store we've been frequenting lately seems to be Korean-owned because they sell huge jars of this fantastic, fresh (as fresh as a condiment made of fermented cabbage could be) kimchi. It's got a good heat level, but not too much for me, and the cabbage is just a little crisp. I love it, and I think Mike could eat it by the pound.

Anyway, I put some in a bowl with brown sushi rice (any rice would be great) and top it with fried eggs - a perfect meal! It was my dinner tonight, actually. So, if you're feeling adventurous, try frying some hardboiled eggs. We did it because we've never seen it before, but it's really good!

Thai Fried Hardboiled Eggs with Tamarind Sauce
Adapted from Authentic Recipes from Thailand by Sven Krauss, Laurent Ganguillet and Vira Sanguanwong

For 4 eggs; make as many as you want.

Canola oil for deep frying
2 large shallots, sliced
4 hardboiled eggs, peeled
chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

For dipping sauce:
3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Thoroughly combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust flavors to your liking - this is not an exact science. Alternatively, use any sweet/tangy dipping sauce.

Using a deep fry thermometer, heat oil about 3 inches deep in a medium saucepan to 350-360 degrees. Try to maintain this temperature as closely as possible the whole time. Fry the shallots until golden; drain on paper towel.

Fry two eggs, turning once or twice, until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining eggs. Slice eggs in half lengthwise and serve with dipping sauce, shallots and cilantro.

A quick note: Mike and I are going to Boston this weekend to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary (it was actually March 19th). So, you probably won't be hearing from me until Tuesday, since I'm crazy with trying to finish up a work project before I go.

Irish Potato Chowder Recipe

I am sneaking in one more St. Patty’s Day-inspired recipe. This is what I made to eat with my Irish Soda Biscuits from the previous post. It is a quick, healthy chowder recipe that I modeled after my Corn and Seafood Chowder.

I spent an inordinate amount of time debating what else I should add to this chowder. I originally conceived it as a “vegetable chowder” instead of just focusing on the potatoes. But, the idea was to have an Irish theme, and it doesn’t get more Irish than tender chunks of russet potatoes. Leeks and scallions provide a vegetal counterpoint to all that wonderful starch; a handful of Irish cheddar adds richness and protein; and bacon just makes it all good.

When I told Mike over the phone about making this chowder for myself on Wednesday (he travels for work every week), he said, “You made chowder without me?” in a sweetly pathetic voice. Well, I have to eat too, don’t I? I didn’t have the heart to tell him about the biscuits until the next day. I did save him plenty of leftovers, which are excellent.

Irish Potato Chowder
You can add anything you want to this simple, healthy chowder. Cut back on potatoes a bit and add carrots, parsnips or sweet potatoes, for example. If you don’t have marjoram, use all thyme.

Serves 3 to 4

5 slices bacon
2 large leeks, trimmed of tough outer leaves, sliced lengthwise and chopped in to 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
2 tbs. all-purpose flour
2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups lowfat milk
1 tbs. cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbs. water
2 tsp. white wine vinegar, cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 cup grated Irish cheddar cheese (about 2 ounces)
5 scallions, thinly sliced

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-low heat. Drain on paper towels, break into pieces and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the pot. Add the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and marjoram; cook one minute, stirring constantly. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add potatoes and give them a few turns to combine. Add the broth and milk, season again, cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in cornstarch mixture to thicken chowder slightly. Stir in vinegar and bacon pieces. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed. Ladle in to bowls and serve topped with cheese and scallions.

Kiss me, I'm giving you some great Irish recipes from other blogs:

Skillet Irish Soda Bread from Smitten Kitchen - I wish I had thought of this!
Irish Buttermilk Scones from Albion Cooks - Super-simple and perfect.
Agnes O'Sullivan's Brown Bread from Tea & Cookies - With whole wheat flour, bran and wheat germ.
Irish Lamb Stew with a Twist from Simply Recipes - This recipe amps up the flavor.
Bailey's Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies from Baking Bites - Reminds me of those days when I drank Bailey's with reckless abandon.

Irish Soda Biscuits and Southeast Asia

Irish Soda Biscuits have absolutely nothing to do with Southeast Asia. But, I do want to tell you about a piece I wrote for NPR.org's Kitchen Window column titled, Food and Longing in Southeast Asia. The story is about how food is essential to an authentic travel experience. AND, there are recipes for Vietnamese Seafood Stew in a Clay Pot, Thai Spicy Shrimp Salad and Greens with Chile and Garlic.

I also did an interview for NPR's food podcast (you can either download it to your MP3 or listen directly from the NPR website). There's a link right at the top of the story. I hope you'll read and listen and let me know what you think!

Well, now. March 17th is right around the corner. The Irish may not have the endless culinary traditions of France, Thailand or Spain, but they've go soda bread. I love the simple whole wheat Irish soda bread based on a recipe from a church cookbook we had when I was a kid. I've mentioned it multiple times, and here's the link again.

This year, I thought about trying a new soda bread recipe. Maybe a jazzier one with raisins, caraway seeds, sugar, multiple eggs...maybe I'd even put it in a loaf pan. But that's not really Irish, ya know? Their food didn't exactly result from living in a land of plenty. The traditional food of Ireland is simple, hearty peasant food, and I'm happy to eat it.

So I decided to adapt my favorite, dead simple recipe to biscuits. I actually didn't change anything but the shape and the baking time, but that's all the change I was up for. These are a perfect companion for soup. And don't forget the sweet Irish butter.

Irish Soda Biscuits

Makes 8 large biscuits

2 c. whole wheat flour (or any combo of whole wheat, whole wheat pastry and Irish style)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
2 tablespoons honey
Turbinado or other coarse sugar (granulated works too), for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and honey. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir until all the flour is moistened.

Scoop dough onto the prepared baking sheet to make 8 (roughly 2 1/2-inch wide) biscuits. Sprinkle sugar over tops of biscuits. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes (mine took 17), until bottoms are light brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a rack and cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

Cardamom Waffles with Rose Petals

I think cardamom is a sexy spice. The word even rolls off your tongue in a sexy way...despite having the word "mom" in it. This sweet, slightly botanical spice is highlighted in these simple waffles, with only a hint of vanilla to play up the intensely aromatic flavor of the cardamom.

This is a perfect breakfast to celebrate Valentine's Day. It is light, but indulgent; familiar, yet exotic. Since there is just one main flavor note, I like to make it count with freshly ground cardamom. I've become so smitten with this spice that grinding it in my mortar is an absolute pleasure. I like to leave the mortar on the counter instead of washing it right away so I can walk by and smell the scent of cardamom. I may as well just dive into the hyperbole pool here and call it...intoxicating.

This recipe came from the February issue of Gourmet. I wanted to make it as soon as I saw it, but there are only so many opportunities for sweet weekend breakfasts, and things can fall by the wayside. Then I realized that these waffles would be perfect with the rose petal jam I recently bought at Whole Foods Market. I tasted rose petal jam a long time ago when I went to Nice, France. We went to the factory where the jam was made, and I fell in love with the experience of eating something so fragrant you could swear you were simply putting a rose in your mouth. I brought a couple jars home, but I never found the jam again after that.

Doing my Christmas shopping this year, I discovered Zingerman's, the Ann Arbor deli and gourmet food store that carries some truly unique products. They had rose petal preserves, but sold out of it before I could order any for myself. When I saw it at Whole Foods I was thrilled and immediately tried to think of something I could bake to eat it with.

The rose preserves and the cardamom waffles were gorgeous together. I'm a maple syrup girl all the way, but I couldn't stop talking about how much I loved the spiced waffles simply dusted with powdered sugar and a dribble of jam. Gourmet recommended lingonberry preserves and Mike ate his waffles with strawberry (I generously offered him rose jam, but he found it to be a bit of an acquired taste). Any dark fruit preserve (you know, not apricot or peach) will be delicious. The rose preserves I bought are actually available through the company right here...cool!

I figure if you're planning a Valentine's breakfast, you'll be holding out for the weekend when you can relax and enjoy something fabulous. I was so in love with these waffles that it didn't occur to me that they would also be wonderful with champagne...so you can take that under advisement.

Have a sweet Valentine's Day!

Cardamom Sour Cream Waffles
Adapted from this recipe from Gourmet magazine
You can use all AP flour if you want. If you're using regular table salt instead of coarse salt, reduce quantity to a generous 1/4 teaspoon.

Makes 8 waffles

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground green cardamom (from about 12 pods)
2 large eggs
1 cup lowfat milk
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Preserves and powdered sugar for serving

Preheat a waffle iron.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs slightly, then whisk in the milk, sour cream, vanilla, honey and butter. Whisk into the flour mixture until just combined.

Coat the waffle iron with oil or nonstick cooking spray and cook waffles according to manufacturer's directions. Sift powdered sugar over waffles and top with preserves.

Super Bowl Snacks: Bacon Brittle and Spiced Nuts

I'm really looking forward to the Superbowl because it's a great excuse to make really fun food. And because I'll get to see Tom Brady crush Eli Manning...yippee!

If you serve even one of these recipes to people on Superbowl Sunday (or any day), they will remember you for throwing the best Superbowl party ever. Serve both and people may not be able to handle all the tastiness--these snacks are unbelievably addictive.

I made them both over the holidays, and the bacon brittle was a surprise stocking stuffer for Mike. I had never made any kind of brittle by myself, but the process went smoothly, and it turned out perfectly. It's pretty well established that a little salt makes sweet things a million times more delicious. When that salt comes in the form of bacon, you've really hit the ultimate expression of the idea. Whatever doubts you might have about this recipe, just banish them and go for it. At the very least, you'll have fun breaking the brittle up with a hammer (in the photo above, the brittle is set, but not yet cracked into shards).

I followed this simple recipe, which was adapted from Obsession with Food. I did however use slightly more bacon, about seven slices. Needless to say, use the best bacon you can find for this recipe. Overly salty, watery stuff will reduce the deliciousness considerably. For planning purposes, note that this brittle stays hard for about 48 hours after you make it, then gets progressively softer.

The spiced nuts are another take on sweet and salty, this time with some fresh rosemary thrown in. I've been making these for years, since I saw the recipe in Nigella Bites. Nigella adapted it from the Union Square Cafe, a great restaurant in New York. When I was there on business a few years ago, that's where I went for dinner the first night because I remembered Sara Moulton talking about it on her old cooking show, and I loved Sara. I think they had bar nuts when I went, but they weren't quite like these.

I love these nuts. Anytime you're having people over, you won't go wrong if you put these out. They are incredible warm, and not really any less incredible after they've cooled. You can make them a day ahead if you want. I tweak the recipe a bit every time I make them, and I always start with different quantities of nuts. You can't really go wrong here if you use fresh rosemary, good salt and a chile seasoning you like. I use standard cayenne pepper, but you can use any ground chile.

If the Superbowl isn't your thing, wouldn't your Valentine love one of these treats? If he's a man who likes meat, you cannot fail with the Bacon Brittle.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Nuts
Adapted from Nigella Bites
The nuts must be raw because you’re going to do the roasting and salting. My grocery store sells mixed bags of Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews and hazelnuts in the produce section. Another good idea is to hit the bulk bins at a natural foods store and make your own mix. If you want more nuts to feed a crowd, scale the quantities up as needed.

Approximately 1 1/2 cups raw mixed nuts
1 tbs. finely chopped fresh rosemary (do not substitute dried)
pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tbs. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 1/2 tbs. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and roast until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Give the tray a shake and turn the larger nuts once or twice during roasting, watching closely so they don’t burn.

Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and butter in a bowl. Add the hot roasted nuts and toss well to coat. Serve warm or cool and store in an airtight container.

Need more snack ideas? Here are a few picks from my archives:

1) Oktoberfest Crostini - great party bites with bratwurst and sauerkraut
2) Catalan Flatbread with Piquillo Peppers, Caramelized Onions and Anchovies - the title is a mouthful, but these appetizer pizzas are really easy to make!
3) Mini Corn Cakes with Guacamole - a great munchie if you're serving chili too.
4) Phyllo Triangles with Lamb, Onions and Pine Nuts - perfect if you want to go a little bit exotic.

Duck Guazzetto and More Links to Holiday Recipes

The last few work days before a big holiday are always torture, and now is no exception! I can’t wait to kick back and revel in some holiday indulgence--not to mention presents. They’ve been taunting me from under our tree for weeks now because Mike is very conscientious about getting presents wrapped early. It’s really cute, actually. Plus, it motivates me to get my wrapping done too, instead of saving it for the last minute, as usual.

One thing that’s really helped us enjoy the whole Christmas season this year is NOT saving all the fun stuff up for the 24th and 25th. Tomorrow, for instance, we plan to open a bottle of Port we got last summer when we did some wine tasting in Los Olivos, California. We always buy Port at Christmas, but in past years we’ve opened it on Christmas day when we’re already stuffed and can’t fully enjoy it. This year, we’re using it to celebrate nothing more than, “Hey, it’s Thursday”. Little things like this really perk up an average weeknight.

When it comes to food, there are so many “special” recipes we want to cook for Christmas, that this year we decided not to pick just one. Last weekend, we made Duck Leg Guazzetto, a dish I think is truly, utterly phenomenal. It’s a recipe by Lidia Bastianich that was published in the January ’07 issue of Gourmet. The homemade, toasted pasta is so easy you’ll think you missed a step (and NO pasta machine is required!). The slow cooked duck legs become fall off the bone tender in a braise flavored with wine, rosemary and whole cloves. You must shave Parmigiano-Reggiano on top, and it’s bliss from there. I posted the recipe and pictures nearly a year ago, but after making it again last weekend, I just had to revisit it on the blog. It would make an incredible centerpiece for an intimate holiday meal.

If you’re still thinking about what to cook for the holidays, whether it’s Christmas Eve, New Year’s or, “Hey, it’s December 28th,” I have some ideas for you. Some appeared on this blog, and some are from other fabulous food blogs.

From Mingling:
Spaghetti Bolognese with Chestnuts: Your favorite meat sauce with a little something special.
Brussels Sprout-Chestnut Tart with Pancetta: "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire..."
Big Italian Meatballs with Creamy Polenta: A meatball that's a meal.
Exotic Rack of Lamb: Sexy, fancy, perfect for holiday.


A duo of elegant vegetarian tarts: Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Tart and Swiss Chard Custard Tart with Yeast Crust


And for dessert...
Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Mini Peanut Butter Cups
Cranberry-Almond Crostata: Take advantage of those fresh cranberries in this lovely recipe!
All in One Holiday Bundt Cake: apples, pumpkin, cinnamon, cranberries, maple and pecans (whew!)--all the flavors of the season in one great cake.

From Some of My Favorite Foodies:
A gorgeously seasonal Pomegranate and Spinach Salad from Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas
An authentic Cassoulet from Veronica's Test Kitchen
Chocolate Macarons with Peppermint Ganache from Anita of Dessert First--I'll be trying my hand at French macarons this weekend with Anita's and Helene's posts as a guide!
The Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies from Deb of Smitten Kitchen--or any of her other cookies!
The show-stopping Crunchy Chocolate-Chestnut Cake from Ivonne, aka Cream Puffs in Venice
Chestnut and Pear Tart from Dorie Greenspan's blog is another show-stopper. Can you tell I like chestnuts?

My Favorite Thumbprint Cookies

Unlike Pecan Balls, I haven't seen a lot of thumbprint cookies in the blogosphere. Women's magazines, on the other hand, always seem to include one obligatory thumbprint in their collections of holiday cookie recipes. They usually look fairly uninspired, although they may be wonderful recipes. I'll never know because these are the only thumbprints I will ever make.

This recipe is another oldie but goodie from grandma. The original typewritten recipe that I have a photocopy of calls for all shortening. And this is from back when Crisco had plenty of trans-fat. When I was a kid, I think we made them with margarine, which was the good-health fat of choice back then. Now, I make them with delicious, organic unsalted butter (Organic Valley is my everyday butter of choice), and they taste as wonderful as ever.

I've mentioned how much I like soft, tender, nearly under-baked cookies, and that is how I like these. Thanks to the butter and brown sugar, they melt in your mouth. Still, a contrast of textures is important if you want a truly sophisticated cookie experience, so these thumbprints are rolled in finely chopped--almost ground--walnuts.

And, as with so many desserts, a sweet, simple frosting takes these cookies from great to really great. Jam in thumbprint cookies never did it for me. Why have jam when you can have actual icing? To each her own, I guess. If you happen to have ideas about thumbprints that are equally as strong as mine, I would love it if you tried the cookie part and added your filling of choice, whether it be chocolate, jam or candied fruit--just as long as you tell me all about it!

I'm submitting this post to Susan's Christmas Cookie round-up at Food Blogga. She's gathering cookie recipes from far and wide, so it might be a good place to go if you're still looking for cookie inspiration!

My Favorite Thumbprint Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups (9 oz.) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cup walnuts, ground or very finely chopped
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 4 tbs. milk
red and green food coloring

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and egg yolks at medium-high speed until thoroughly combined. Beat in vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt at very low speed or by hand.

Place the egg whites in a small bowl and spread the walnuts out in a shallow bowl or plate. Roll a spoonful of dough into a one-inch ball with your hands, quickly dip in egg white, roll in ground walnuts, shaking off any excess, and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets.

Bake for 6 minutes, remove pans from oven and quickly make a deep thumbprint in the center of each cookie. Return pans to oven and bake for 7 minutes more, or until just barely beginning to brown on the bottom. If notice the indentation you made disappearing as the cookies bake, pull them out and press again. Cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks until cooled completely.

In each of two small bowls, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons milk. Add red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to the other. Stir well to combine and create a thick icing that slowly drizzles off your spoon. When cookies are completely cool, fill thumbprints with icing. If you want to freeze some of the cookies, allow icing to dry completely, 8 hours to overnight.

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Holiday Baking and a Recipe for Pecan Balls

I love baking Christmas cookies. From what I've been seeing on so many other food blogs, I'm not the only one. This weekend I went into a highly organized frenzy of holiday baking.

All I did was make batches of cookie dough, watch sweet loaves of bread puff up out of their pans, and roll out individual little nut pies. Okay, I also went to a wine tasting on Friday, had a fun dinner out on Saturday and watched a football game on Sunday from the comfort of my sofa after the day's cookies were out of the oven.

It was all so much fun! This morning, I was wondering aloud why I go through so much work, especially when there aren't a ton of people around to eat my goodies (that's what freezers are for, right?). It's not because I need food to be happy (food makes me happy, but that's different) or because I want to relive childhood Christmases past (I wasn't a very child-like child, so that's not it). I just love to cook. And bake. Either way, I love recipes that challenge me somehow.

I do make a lot of family recipes this time of year because I want to make them my own--master them so I can then improve upon them--and enjoy them without thinking they don't taste quite the same as they did when I was 10. More than that, baking just tells me it's Christmas. It's a knee-jerk reaction sort of thing. Since I enjoy it so much, why not indulge?

All of the cookies in the photo happen to be things I ate as a kid, and I love them all. Today, I want to post the recipe for Pecan Balls (the ones that look like little snowballs). I've been seeing this cookie everywhere of late and no wonder--it's a Christmas classic. I poured over several recipes trying to find the ultimate version that would produce a very tender cookie with a nearly under-baked texture and without anything too fancy going on. In the end, I used a very old recipe from my mom that seems to be the classic version.

Newer recipes use more nuts, but I think one cup is plenty nutty. Sugar seems to be the most controversial ingredient. Cook's Illustrated has a recipe using superfine sugar (white sugar ground very fine), but they don't say if that produces a softer texture or not. Dorie Greenspan has a version in Baking with granulated sugar, but she seems to be a fan of crisp cookies. I will try these recipes eventually and tell you about any revelations they might bring. For now, I've got a simple, delicious cookie that is both tender and crumbly. Anna just posted a similar version here, and Jennifer made the Cook's Illustrated version with hazelnuts. More holiday goodies to come!

Pecan Balls
The recipe I used actually calls these tender little cookies Russian Tea Cakes (one of their many names), but my mom called them Pecan Balls, and I think that’s a more descriptive name anyway. You could substitute other nuts--I think walnuts or hazelnuts would work particularly well. I error on the side of under-baking these cookies because I like the centers to be a bit moist, as opposed to crumbly. A food processor comes in handy to chop the nuts, but be careful not to grind them to a powder. This recipe requires at least two hours of chilling time (for the dough, not you...hehe!).

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups (9 oz.) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
Additional powdered sugar (about 1 1/2 cups) for rolling

With an electric mixer, blend the butter and 1/2 cup sugar at medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt just until combined. Stir in the pecans. Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Roll dough into one-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheets (cookies will not spread much during baking). Bake for 12-14 minutes or until bottoms are just barely golden.

Sprinkle some powdered sugar on a rimmed baking sheet or a plate. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar and place on racks to cool. When cookies are completely cool, or just before serving, roll in powdered sugar again.

Pistachio-Black Currant Truffles

We have a new obsession. It's one thing to be obsessed with chocolate--you know, eating it and buying it. That's perfectly normal. Making chocolates--specifically making truffles--on the other hand, is a totally different beast.

Thanks to a book I bought a few months ago, Mike and I are in hardcore truffle-making mode. A simple, delicious truffle isn't necessarily a feat of culinary prowess, but we don't want to make simple truffles. We want silky smooth, exotically flavored ganache centers enrobed in thin, tempered chocolate shells. It's the tempering that has us slightly crazed.

Tempering chocolate (without any fancy equipment) means melting it, then lowering its temperature, then raising the temperature by just a few degrees to put it in a state of temper. When your chocolate arrives at this happy place, it will set quickly and remain solid at room temperature, have a smooth glossy appearance and a pleasing snap when you bite into it. You can dip truffles in untempered chocolate and keep them refrigerated, but they will start to melt almost instantly in your hand.

As Andrew Garrison Shotts explains in his very good book, Making Artisan Chocolates, different brands and types of chocolate come into temper at different temperatures. It's hardly an exact science, so the poor schmucks at home, like us, just have to keep experimenting, practicing and testing until we develop a sort of chocolate-tempering sixth sense. This sixth sense will be ours...oh yes, it will be ours.

We actually had stunning success with our first batch of truffles, half classic bittersweet and half with a chipotle-flavored bittersweet ganache. The funny thing is that we were sure our chocolate was NOT tempered, yet it set beautifully when we finally dipped the truffles. See the kind of craziness that we're dealing with here?

This past weekend, we got fancy and made these pistachio-coated truffles with bittersweet ganache centers flavored with Creme de Cassis, or blackcurrant liqueur. We think (we're not totally sure, mind you) that the white chocolate shells are tempered. They set quickly and have a bit of snap; maybe they are semi-tempered, if there is such a thing. However, we dipped some pretzels in the leftover white chocolate, and the coating of these pretzels is most definitely not tempered--it's quite melty to the touch. My theory is that the cold ganache centers brought the white chocolate into temper on contact. Who knows?

This weekend, we're going to test our tempering technique at least three times with the same kind of chocolate until we figure this out on a more definitive level. I have to admit, it's kind of fun. I love truffles with cool flavors like chiles, tea and curry, and they present a challenge to me as a cook. Really fine artisan chocolate is so expensive and often must be purchased online, so making my own is practical too.

I'm not giving you a recipe for these truffles because there's a lot more involved than I can explain in a blog post. If you want to make artisan chocolates of your own, I do recommend Shott's book--it explains the techniques from start to finish, offers a lot of creative recipes and encourages the reader to play around using Garrison's recipes as a starting point. If the whole tempering thing has zero appeal to you, you can still make great truffles. There's a recipe in today's Boston Globe (you may have to register online) for cardamom truffles that calls for the flavored ganache centers to be simply rolled in cocoa powder. And it's written by none other than Bea who writes one of your favorite blogs and mine, La Tartine Gourmande. Below, I've also included some links to other bloggers' posts on truffle making.

If you already dabble in chocolate-making, I want your help! What other books have you found useful in learning to make chocolate and perfecting your technique? I'd definitely like to do some more research. I'd love your tips too.

And finally, though this may come as a shock after that long rant about tempering, I wanted to post about these truffles in honor of another favorite blogger, Peabody of "Culinary Concoctions By Peabody." This queen of cookies and champion of cheesecakes is hosting a virtual housewarming party in honor of her beautiful new home. I'm "coming" to the party, and I'm bringing these truffles! I'm sure there will be no shortage of desserts, but I chose these truffles so you can set them aside until after the "guests" are gone and you're too exhausted to bake...as if you'd ever be too exhausted to do that! Congratulations on your house!

Truffle Bonanza from other Bloggers:

Hazelnut Nougat Truffles from What's For Lunch Honey?
Sea Salt Caramel and Chocolate Fudge Hearts from The Passionate Cook
The Black-On-Black Truffle from Veronica's Test Kitchen
Coffee Buttercream and Dulce de Leche Truffles from Tartelette
Liqueur Truffles from Jumbo Empanadas
Cinnamon, Salted Caramel, Ginger and Vanilla Truffles (that's 4 different flavors!) from Foodbeam
Wasabi Ginger Truffles from Dessert First
Bailey's Cream Truffles from Cook Sister
White Chocolate Truffles Infused with Pear Skins, Wildflower Honey and Nutmeg from Culinary Concoctions By Peabody

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake

Are you recovered yet?

This is the first year I've flown home from the family Thanksgiving in Connecticut without feeling exhausted, hungover and stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey. I consider this to be a really good thing, especially since we had a great time this year as always.

So, between catching up with everyone, playing board games (and drinking games), hiking, and drinking lots of red wine (and Bud Light), Mike and I whipped up this All-In-One, All-Purpose Holiday Bundt Cake for Thanksgiving dessert. It was a well-traveled cake by the time it had been mixed at Aunt Jo's, transported down the road and baked at Grandma Jean's. But it never complained once and, even with all the juggling around, it baked up beautifully.

This cake is really good and moist. I thought it might have a chunky texture with all the add-ins, but the cranberries soften nicely and the apples absolutely melt into the nutmeg-scented pumpkin batter. All those great fall flavors are there plus pecans, cinnamon and maple syrup in sugar glaze. It disappeared by Friday morning.

This is Dorie Greenspan's cake and her reputation for writing reliable, do-able recipes is proven again. I opted to toast the pecans, but she didn't call for that, so do whatever you want. I think toasting does wonders to enhance the flavor of fresh, raw nuts even if you are mixing them into a cake. I also made a lot more maple glaze than she calls for in her book, but I make no apologies for that. You could also simply dust the cake with sifted confectioners' sugar right before serving. Though it was perfect for Thanksgiving, this is a cake that you'll love serving throughout the holiday season. I imagine it would freeze very well (sans icing) for some advance baking, if you're so inclined.

I'm sending this post to Definitely Not Martha who is hosting this month's Sugar High Friday, a super-sweet blogging event where food bloggers bake around a given theme. This month, it's beta-carotene--sounds a little healthy and clinical for Sugar High Friday doesn't it? But wait, that means everyone will be baking with ingredients like pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots and sweet potatoes--yum! I'll post a link to the round-up when it's done so you can check out the recipes from other bloggers.

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
This cake contains just about every traditional holiday flavor, so that is where the names comes from. Make sure your eggs, and especially your butter, are at room temperature when you begin mixing. Take the butter out of the refrigerator up to an hour before you start; there is no way to hurry it along besides cutting the stick into smaller pieces--so no microwaving. To toast the pecans, spread them on a baking sheet and put them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, shaking and turning them over halfway through, until fragrant and starting to take on some additional color. Watch them carefully to avoid burning.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. minced or grated fresh ginger
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbs.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup canned, unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
1 cup pecans, toasted (see headnote) and chopped
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
5 to 6 tbs. maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center position. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (12-cup) bundt pan well, using waxed paper or a pastry brush to spread the butter into every nook.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the pumpkin, ginger and chopped apple. At this point the mixture will probably looked curdled, but that’s okay.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture slowly, beating just until it is incorporated (over mixing flour results in a tough texture in the finished cake). Using a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the prepared bundt pan.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a thin paring knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (you might get some streaks if you hit a cranberry). Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for ten minutes in the pan. Unmold the cake and cool to room temperature on the rack.

Transfer cooled cake to a cake stand or serving platter. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Add 5 tablespoons of maple syrup and stir with a large spoon until you have a smooth, thick mixture that coats the back of the spoon and runs off enough to drizzle over the cake. Add additional syrup to thin icing if necessary (or if you need to thicken it, just add more sugar). Drizzle icing off the back of the spoon over the top of the cake so it runs down the sides. Let the icing set for at least 10 minutes before serving.

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Technorati Tags: recipes, desserts, bundt cake, Dorie Greenspan, holiday

Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé!

Bonjour, mes amis! It's the lovely third Thursday in November, which means two things:

1) Thanksgiving is only one week away!
2) Le nouveau est arrivé!--those young, ripe, happy wines from Beaujolais are here, so get them while you can!

Either way, it's cause to celebrate. Do you have your Thanksgiving meal planned yet? I have to admit that we don't. We had our at-home Thanksgiving dinner a couple weeks ago and made this fantastic Cranberry-Almond Crostata, but for the actual holiday we'll be joining a big group of family in Connecticut. Everyone makes a dish or some component of the Thanksgiving dinner, so we'll have many, many cooks in one kitchen--but isn't that the fun of it?

Anyway, most of the family have stated what their contributions will be, but Mike and I--usually early birds on this--still haven't decided. We like to do riffs on the traditional favorites and cut down on the carb loading, if we can, by contributing a veggie dish. This year we're thinking of doing a dessert too. Any ideas for us?

But back to Beaujolais Nouveau. This red wine is made by the process of carbonic maceration, also called whole berry fermentation. What this means to you is that the fresh, fruity flavors are preserved and the bitter tannins in the grape skins are left out. If the tannins were left out of the nice Cabernet Sauvignon you planned to drink with a steak dinner, you might be a bit peeved. But, in Beaujolais Nouveau, this treatment results in a light (but still boozy), uncomplicated wine that often has just a textural hint of fizz. It is aged for around 6 weeks and is good slightly chilled.

In early December last year, Mike and I were in Toronto for the weekend where getting anything that wasn't already chilled would have been difficult. We brought a bottle of Nouveau back to our hotel room, and it did wonders to brighten up the frigid day and get us in the mood to venture out into the icy evening air.

This year, we're enjoying our Nouveau at home in Fort Lauderdale with a perfect food pairing--burgers. But not just any old burgers. Buy the best ground sirloin you can (or grind your own); go to the bakery for the fresh, expensive buns; take the time to slowly caramelize some red onions; and finally, melt some great cheese on top--any kind you like as long as the flavor is good and strong.

In my experience, Beaujolais Nouveau is fairly easy to find in wine shops and even grocery stores. You'll find wine by Georges Duboeuf everywhere, but try other labels if you see them--at a wine tasting tonight, we liked Bouchard and especially Mommessin. It's inexpensive, so you have no excuse not to taste it for yourself. It's never around for long though (maybe a month at most), so get it tout de suite!

P.S.--For the oven fries, we used a recipe from Cook's Illustrated. It worked great! You generally have to subscribe to Cook's for access to their meticulously tested recipes, but this one is available online.

Technorati Tags: recipes, hamburger, beaujolais nouveau, wine

Cranberry-Almond Crostata

I can hardly describe what a relief it is to finally feel an oh-so-slight chill in the air when you live in Fort Lauderdale. We’ve been regularly having temperatures above 80 degrees, but yesterday that hint of coolness finally crept into the air. Of course, Mike and I still went to the beach on Sunday morning. It was nice enough to lay out in a bathing suit, but I did have my legs covered with a towel for most of the time.

The first weekend of November was a very appropriate time to get our first “cool snap”--it was the weekend when we set back the clocks bringing on shorter, darker days, AND it was the weekend I started rolling out the holiday recipes. There are so many wonderful things to cook and bake during the much-too-short holiday season, so I spread it out over a bunch of little feasts. Since we are going to spend Thanksgiving with the O’Hara side of Mike’s family in Connecticut (a fabulously fun T-Day tradition), I took this weekend to make some Thanksgiving favorites in my own kitchen, and try out a few new recipes from my many food magazines.

I almost never follow a recipe exactly, so when I do, it had better be perfect. Okay, I made a couple hardly-worth-mentioning tweaks to this Cranberry Crostata from November’s Gourmet and still it was flawless. Really just a cross between a pie and a tart, this dessert has incredibly vibrant flavor from the fresh cranberry filling and richness from the almond pastry, but none of it is too sweet or flabby to enjoy after a big holiday meal. I highly recommend it for a Thanksgiving dessert or an anytime holiday treat--it kind of reminds me of a big Linzer cookie now that I think about it!

Here are my tweaks: I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of all-purpose. It’s a natural with the nutty crust, both for flavor and color. The recipe calls for 10 ounces of fresh cranberries, but as you may know, the standard bag of Ocean Spray cranberries in your neighborhood supermarket is 14 ounces. We picked out the smashed or dubious-looking berries, and used all that remained with no problems whatsoever. The dough is very soft and tender and doesn’t depend on being chilled during mixing. Follow Gourmet’s directions for rolling it out between parchment paper, and don’t worry about piecing it together in the pan. My lattice strips broke apart during transfer, but this didn’t matter much in the end. I also used turbinado sugar instead of granulated for sprinkling because I like the crunch. Click here for the recipe on Gourmet's website. What holiday recipes have you already tried?

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In case your cranberry appetite is never sated, here are some more mouth-watering cranberry desserts from blogs I love:

Cranberry Linzer Tart on Orangette
Maury Rubin's Cranberry, Caramel and Almond Tart on The Wednesday Chef
Cranberry-Orange Cookies (with pistachios!) on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Cinnamon Cranberry Rice Pudding on The Perfect Pantry
Cranberry-Raisin Pie on David Lebovitz
Cranberry Ribbon Cake on Coconut and Lime
Apple-Cranberry Pie on Simply Recipes
Cranberry Banana Bread on Chocolate & Zucchini

Technorati Tags: recipes, thanksgiving, tart, cranberry, almond

Oktoberfest Crostini: Brats and Sauerkraut get Classy

Two Saturdays ago, Mike and I spent the afternoon at the Oakland Park Oktoberfest. It was very small scale, but that meant it was easy to find parking, the beer line wasn't long, and there weren't too many people blocking our view of the dachsund races. All those little weiner dogs running around were so cute, and it made for a really fun day.

One of our favorite beers for any time of year--Tucher--was on tap. We drank both the special Oktoberfest brew and the regular style. This is an excellent food beer--think slow-roasted pork with tangy barbecue sauce, lentil stew, and of course brats and sauerkraut.

The official Oktoberfest celebration in Munich is over now (it runs from late Sept. through early October), but why should we pay attention to technicalities. This is the perfect time of year for some hearty German fare, so we picked up a 6-pack of Tucher at our Whole Foods market, along with their all-natural pork brats and got to work. I wanted finger food--not a big sloppy sandwich that you have to polish off in 5 minutes because it's too messy to set it back down on your plate. So I came up with bratwurst and sauerkraut crostini. It was my idea of Oktoberfest with style, but it worked even better than I expected! It was the perfect balance of flavors, and there wasn't an excess of soggy bread taking over.

Mike cooked the brats with onion by browning them and then simmering in beer for a while. We eat chicken and turkey sausage fairly frequently, but these were a whole new taste--and so juicy! You can do everything as directed and serve it as a baguette sandwich if that works better for you, but don't let October end before cooking some brats. For us, I think it's going to be a year-round dish.

Oktoberfest Crostini
I never had a bratwurst I really liked until we tried Whole Foods Market “Whole Ranch” brand (find near the meat counter). They are extremely lean, but really juicy and of course, don’t contain any scary ingredients. For lager, we used Red Stripe ('hooray beer!') from Jamaica. It worked very well, as should any traditional lager-style beer. Do not use ale - especially not an IPA (India Pale Ale). The bitter flavor will dominate the dish.

Makes 20

1/2 tbs. oil
4 pre-cooked bratwurst sausages
1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thickly sliced
1-12 oz. bottle lager (or enough to cover sausage about halfway in skillet)
1 cup prepared sauerkraut
1/4 cup water
20 slices from a whole grain baguette, cut on the diagonal, about 1/2-inch thick
spicy mustard
chopped parsley

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil to medium-high. Add the brats and cook until browned on first side, about 3 minutes. Flip and brown on the second side. Add the onion to the skillet right after flipping the sausage and cook until soft and lightly browned. If you want, use tongs to brown the brats on a third side. Season onion with salt and pepper. Add lager to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12 minutes, turning the sausage once halfway through. Remove skillet from heat.

Meanwhile, combine the sauerkraut and water in a small saucepan over low heat for a few minutes to warm it. Spread the baguette slices generously with mustard.

Remove sausages from skillet and slice on the diagonal into about 10 slices per sausage. Remove onions from skillet and discard the liquid. Layer each baguette slice with a couple sausage slices, onion, and a spoonful of sauerkraut. Sprinkle with parsley. Arrange on a serving platter and serve warm or at room temperature.



Technorati Tags: recipes, pork, bratwurst, appetizers, oktoberfest

Guinness Cupcakes & A Radio Show!

I have been looking for an opportunity to make Guinness cake, or cupcakes, or brownies for quite awhile, and I finally found it. On Thursday, March 1 at 1:30 eastern time, I am going to be talking about food blogs with Linda Gassenheimer and Joseph Cooper on WLRN, the NPR affiliate in South Florida. I wanted to come up with an easy recipe to share, and this is it!

You can listen in (and find out if they like the cupcakes) by going to www.wlrn.org and clicking on the live audio feed.

Now, back to the cupcakes. St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and this is the perfect dessert to follow up corned beef and cabbage or any Irish feast you plan to serve. The cake is very light and moist, with a mellow stout flavor that is the perfect complement to the cocoa. They are not overly sweet, so the espresso buttercream is a perfect topper. This frosting has a light coffee scent, but is mild enough for anyone who is not a coffee lover. It is absolutely irresistible on the cupcakes and helps bring out the Guinness flavor.

I just got the name, “O’Hara,” by marriage, so if you don’t want to take my word for it, my Irish husband cannot stop eating these cupcakes.


Guinness Cupcakes with Espresso Cream Frosting
Cakes adapted from a recipe from The Detroit Free Press via Cupcakes Take the Cake and from a recipe by Dave Lieberman from Dave’s Dinners. Frosting adapted from The Betty Crocker Cookbook.
You can find the instant espresso powder for the frosting at specialty stores and many supermarkets. I ordered mine from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue.

Makes 24 cupcakes

For cupcakes:
1 stick unsalted butter
12 oz. Guinness
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. granulated sugar
¾ c. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
¾ c. sour cream
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill two 12-count muffin pans with paper baking cups.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, Guinness and vanilla. Stir occasionally until butter is melted. Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.

In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, gradually combine with the Guinness mixture in three additions. Beat in the sour cream, then beat in the eggs one by one.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup about three-quarters full. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes (mine took 25) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Leave in the pan to cool for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack. Frost when cooled completely.

For frosting:
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter (5 1/3 tbs.), cut into cubes and softened
1 ½ tsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 3 tbs. water

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer on low speed to combine. Pour in the espresso mixture and continue beating on medium-high until frosting is smooth and creamy. If frosting is too thick, add water a couple drops at a time to reach desired consistency. Makes enough for 24 cupcakes or an 8-9 inch two-layer cake.

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