White Chocolate Orange Cookies

White Chocolate Orange Cookies
(Recipe found at www.landeeseelandeedo.com)

1 cup butter (not margarine), softened to room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp orange zest
2 cups white chocolate chips

Mix butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in egg. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix in. When you have a good dough consistency, add the orange zest and the white chocolate. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350. Cool on wire racks.

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with a Whipped Ganache Frosting

I have a friend who along with her 4 year old son, has Celiac Disease. They cannot process gluten, which means most baked goods are off limits. I have been wanting to take them treats but didn't want either her or her son to be left out, so I looked for a recipe that the entire family could enjoy. People at school had made flourless chocolate cakes with a poured ganache over the top, so I took that idea and just made it into smaller portions. Instead of a poured ganache, I whipped mine and then I was able to frost them instead. They turned out delicious. They are a very rich dessert and one that is a must have for any chocolate lover.



Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes (Gluten Free)
(Recipe found at glutenfreecooking.about.com, submitted by Teri Gruss)

**This recipe will make 24 cupcakes**

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 large eggs (or 7 medium eggs)
1 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350

1. Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium low heat until melted and smooth.
2. Add sugar and salt and reduce heat to low. Cook while stirring for about one minute, or until sugar starts to dissolve. (The mixture will still be grainy, the sugar will not fully dissolve until they are baked)
3. Remove pan from heat. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. (Mixture will look smooth and glossy)
4. Use a mesh hand sieve to sift cocoa into mixture. This will prevent lumps. Whisk until the cake batter is smooth.
5. Pour batter into cupcake liners OR you can butter and dust the cupcake pan with cocoa powder if you do not want to use liners.
6. Bake for 15+ minutes. Honestly, you will have to keep checking it. You do not want to overcook these cupcakes. I think mine went for about 18-20 minutes.
7. Pull out and let cool to room temperature. (I cooled mine off in the fridge)
8. Frost with whipped ganache (recipe to follow).

(These are also delicious topped with fresh strawberries!)

Reminder: Always make sure your work surfaces, utensils, pans and tools are free of gluten. Always read product labels. Manufacturers can change product formulations without notice. When in doubt, do not buy or use a product before contacting the manufacturer for verification that the product is free of gluten.

Whipped Ganache Frosting
(Recipe found on foodnetwork.com, submitted by Alton Brown)

You will use equal parts chocolate to heavy cream. So, if your bag of chocolate is 10 oz... you will use 10 oz of heavy cream. :)

1 bag bittersweet chocolate chips (My bag was 10 oz)
10 oz heavy cream (or more/less if your bag is bigger/smaller)

1. Place the chocolate into a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the heavy cream in a microwavable container for 3-4 minutes on high, or in a saucepan on the stove top until it just begins to simmer. Be careful not to let the cream boil over.
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for about 2 minutes.
4. Mix well until chocolate is melted and it's just syrupy (is that a word?) goodness
5. Put mixture into fridge for about an hour or until setup and chilled.
6. Whip the mixture until light and fluffy.
7. Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!

Grilled steak with a caramelized onion and gorgonzola cheese sauce

Here is yet another steak recipe. I am still looking for the "perfect" one for my steak loving husband. I had made this one night for him and then learned that he was stuck at work until 11pm so I took it to him so he could eat something. Because he was starving, tired and still at work, he just ate it as fast as he could and went back to work. He said it was good, but I'm guessing he couldn't really taste a whole lot. I will definitely try it again. The sauce was totally delicious!




Grilled Steak with a caramelized onion and gorgonzola cheese sauce
(Sauce recipe is by the Pioneer Woman)

2 steaks
Butter, room temperature
Outback rub (see recipe below)
Sauce:
4 Tbsp butter
1 large yellow onion, sliced thin
3/4-1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1. Butter each side of each steak and season with outback rub. Rub the seasoning in and grill until desired doneness. (My husband likes medium or medium-rare)
2. Saute onion in 4 Tbsp butter over high heat until dark and caramelized. Reduce heat to simmer and pour in heavy cream. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in cheese until melted. Pour over steak and serve!


Outback Rub:
(Recipe found on becomingbetty.blogspot.com)

4 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp coarse, black pepper
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric

Mix together and rub on meat before grilling or baking. Store in airtight container.

Kale Chips

I'll admit that kale is not one of my favorite vegetables, so when I received it in my bountiful basket I wanted to find a way to make it that I would like, but also that my 3 year old picky eater son would like. I had heard that making kale into chips was delicious so we decided to give it a try.

Kale Chips

A bunch of kale
Olive oil
Salt to taste


Preheat oven to 350. Clean and trim up the kale. I should have removed more of the stalk, it was a bit tough when it was cooked. I will do that next time. Put all the leaves in a large ziplock bag and add just enough oil to lightly coat the greens. You don't want them dripping in oil. Toss well. Add to cookie sheet, making sure not to overlap them.


Bake until crispy (roughly 15-20 minutes??). Once crispy, remove from oven and salt. If you salt them before you put them in the oven, it will draw out all the moisture and they will be soggy and won't get crisp.

Cabbage Slaw

Normally, I don't care for cole slaw. I think it's bland and just overall not very good. The only thing I like about it is the crunch of the fresh cabbage. This past weekend when I received my bountiful basket it had 2 huge heads of cabbage in it, combine that with the 1 already in my fridge, and well ... I needed to figure out something to do with all of that cabbage. I decided to make a slaw that I actually liked and would want to eat again. My attempt was successful. Not only was this slaw crunchy, it was delicious! I would totally make it again, and probably will with the ever ending supply of cabbage in my fridge.



Cabbage Slaw

2 lbs cabbage, sliced thin
1 small onion, sliced thin and then diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
3/4 cup mayo (I made fresh mayo for this slaw, I will post the recipe)
1 tsp celery salt
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp hot sauce (I used Franks Red Hot)
Salt and pepper to taste

Shred the cabbage and put in large bowl. Add onion, beans and corn. Toss.

In a small bowl, combine the mayo, celery salt, vinegar, sugar and hot sauce. Mix well. Pour over cabbage and toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Put in fridge to let the flavors mingle for about 30 minutes.

Serve!

Homemade Mayo
(Recipe found in KitchenAid, Great Baking and More)

3 egg yolks
2 cups vegetable or olive oil
1 lemon, juiced (I just poured a little bottled lemon juice in)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp cider vinegar

Place egg yolks in a bowl and whip for about 3 minutes on high, until yolks are stiff and pale yellow. Reduce speed to med-high and slowly add the oil in a thin stream. If the mixture becomes too thick, thin with a little lemon juice. Continue to add oil until completely absorbed.

Reduce speed to medium and add lemon juice, salt, dry mustard and vinegar and whip until blended.

Store in the refrigerator.

Pizza Sauce

I don't make homemade pizza very often, but when I do, I never know what sauce to use. Jared sauce is just not very good, spaghetti sauce ... well, tastes like spaghetti. :) This sauce was simple, but very good. I will definitely be making this again.



Simple Pizza Sauce
(Recipe from cooksillustrated.com)

2 cans (14oz) crushed tomatoes in puree
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in pan. Add garlic and cook until it starts to simmer (only like 30 seconds). Add in tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to lump up on a spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Grilled Flank Steak

For this flank steak I just used the same marinade recipe as the steak I made a while back, and just added a couple extra ingredients.


Ingredients:
1 flank steak (mine was just under a pound and a half, and it fed 3 adults and 1 child)
Kosher salt and pepper

Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 1/2 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
4 large cloves fresh garlic, minced
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp liquid smoke (mesquite)

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk well.
2. Using a dinner fork, poke steak about 20 times on each side. Season with salt and pepper and place in a gallon size ziplock bag. Pour marinade over the top and put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
3. Preheat grill
4. Using paper towels, wipe marinade off steak. Grill steak directly on grill until well browned 4-6 minutes. Using tongs, flip steak; grill until second side is well browned, 3-4 minutes. Cook until the internal temperature is 125 degrees. It will continue to cook as it rests. You do not want to over cook a flank steak! It is a meat that needs to be cooked rare or medium rare.
4. Cover steak with foil and let rest at least 15 minutes to let the juice redistribute.
5. Using a sharp chef's knife or a carving knife, slice steak about 1/4" thick against the grain and on a bias. Serve immediately.

Below is a drawing, it will show where you need to cut your meat to make it so it doesn't end up super tough and chewy. The grains on a flank steak all run the same direction so we need to cut against the grain and on a bias to give the slices a bigger surface area.