February 17, 2009

Easy Sticky Buns

Monday morning I jumped on the opportunity to makes these sweet sticky buns. I had it in my head that I was going to make them sometime this holiday weekend so I seized the opportunity while the boys slept. Much to my surprise the prep was SUPER easy and we had sticky buns in no time.

They are pretty. They make your house smell yummy. What could be better than puff pastry, cinnamon, sugar, pecans & raisins? Maybe someone paying off your mortgage? Yes please!

I saw Ina Garten make these on her new show “Back to Basics” on the Food Network. Instead of making your own dough, you use pre-made puff pastry. Not quite Sandra Lee…much more polished & refined. One word-Divine! Next time though, I might reduce the amount of butter I put in the muffin tins. I mean I LOVE butter, but I’m not ready to face a clogged artery just yet 😉

and now onto my plate for breakfast!

I split this recipe in half to make only 6 sticky buns. 12 would prove too tempting in my house. I kid you not.

Easy Sticky Buns
Recipe Adapted from Ina Garten
(check out the full recipe here)

Ingredients
-1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
-1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
-1/4 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
-1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:
-1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
-1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
-1 1/5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
-1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Take the stick of butter at room temperature and mix it with 1/3 cup of brown sugar until well combined. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 6 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 6 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Push down to adhere the nuts to the dough.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

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February 15, 2009

a happy belated valentine’s day

Hope you all had a sweet Valentine’s day!

I shared the sweetness with my husband’s family with a batch of mini Vanilla Bean cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. mmmmm.

Still on a sugar high….

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February 10, 2009

oh vegas!

This past weekend we went to Las Vegas for a wedding. It was our first time away from Cooper AND our first time to Las Vegas. (thank you mom!)

Such a wonderful trip. Still tired as a result!

People watching was FANTASTIC and the food we ate was killer. Because Casey and I love eating our way through a city, I made sure book some reservations the second our flights were booked.

Here are some of the places we ate:

*Nobhill (took pictures, but the lack of flash made everything so blah! I am NOT going to be that person who is firing a flash in a dark restaurant all night long. It’s like being on your cellphone…but worse!)

*Bouchon (Thomas Keller held the key to our hangover cure at Brunch on Sunday)

which included…..

recipes, Uncategorized

February 3, 2009

Super Fudgy Brownies

For you chocolate lovers out there who don’t have TONS of time- make this recipe!

I’m not a huge fan of chocolate- isn’t that sad? But every now and then I like to indulge. I had some friends over on friday and let Casey decide what we all should have for dessert since he is the sweet tooth of the family.

BROWNIES! with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce!

I totally thought that I had a box of Brownie mix from Trader Joes in my cupboard. A mom neeeeeeeds to make shortcuts! To my dismay, our overstuffed pantry had no such item! Schnitzle!

I dug up one of my old Everyday Food issue that had brownies on the cover. Fortunately their recipe called for everything I DID have.

Talk about serendipity!!!

They were really good! I caught myself *sampling* pieces for a few days after I had my friends over and I FINALLY had to put those brownies to rest! This is why I try not to bake often! I really cannot be trusted with baked goods on my kitchen island.

Fudgy Brownies

Recipe: Everyday Food

Ingredients:

-½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for parchment
-8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
-1/4 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-1 ¼ cups sugar
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3 large eggs
-1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
-1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with foil; butter foil. Set aside.

2. Mix flour, salt, cocoa powder & baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Place butter and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water; stir frequently, until almost melted. Remove from heat; stir until completely melted.

4. Whisk in sugar until smooth; whisk in eggs. Gently whisk in flour mixture until smooth (do not overmix). Fold in nuts, if using.

5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (they should form a ball when rolled between your fingers), 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

6. Use parchment paper to lift from pan; peel off and discard. Cut into squares.

around the home, Uncategorized

January 31, 2009

as seen in sunset magazine!

Be sure to pick up this month’s Sunset Magazine because you will find a quote from my blog of this FANTASTIC recipe:

Italian Sausage & Chard Stuffing

And while you are at it, check out the Cinnamon Oatmeal Waffles I made from last month’s issue.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Waffles

They are delish!

I look forward to trying some of their new coffee recipes this month!

Thank you Sunset!

recipes, Uncategorized

January 25, 2009

Mac & Cheese with Cauliflower

come to momma!

I was at my sister-in-law’s house the other weekend perusing her latest issue of Real Simple.
Holy mother!! The Mac & Cheese on the front cover seduced me hardcore.
I was on a mission to make this- and boy was I happy I did.

Finding a way to make Mac & Cheese APPEAR healthy is all right with me!
The cauliflower added a nice dimension to the macaroni and I loved the topping.
Husband approved too!

Now tell me, who doesn’t enjoy a golden crust? I think next time I might add more cauliflower and less macaroni. Momma’s gotta be healthy after all!

Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower
(recipe adapted from Real Simple Magazine)

Ingredients:
-12 oz multigrain elbow macaroni
-1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
-4 slices multigrain bread, torn
-1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-kosher salt & black pepper
-1 onion, finely chopped
-1 1/2 cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
– 1 1/2 cup reduced fat sour-cream
-1/2 cup 1 % milk
-1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
-splash of cayenne pepper (my addition)
-splash of garlic powder (another addition)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding the cauliflower during the last 3 minutes of cooking time, drain.

2. Meanwhile, pulse the bread in a food processor until course crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of oil, splash of garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt & pepper. Pulse to combine, set aside.

3. Return pasta pot to medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, just until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix in the pasta, cauliflower, cheese, sour cream, milk and mustard.

4. Transfer to a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

recipes, Uncategorized

January 21, 2009

Oatmeal Cinnamon Waffles

On Saturday morning I sooo wanted to go out to breakfast. Then I realized the amount of work that would go into that, and it just wasn’t going to happen! By the time we sat down, I would be soooo hungry!

I am the biggest grump without food!

We stayed at home and Casey made coffee, while I made waffles. I had picked out a recipe from this month’s Sunset Magazine to try and was really happy with the result! The waffles are SUPER hearty (You only really need 1) and are somewhat healthy for you. They are by no means light, which is why I recommend only eating 1 per person. Anymore might put you in a waffle coma…and believe me I know. I suffered from one 😉

The oatmeal gives the waffles a really nice bite. I prefer a crunchier waffle, so the oatmeal helps with that.

I played around and added blueberries to one waffle…and of course Casey wanted a chocolate chip one. They both were tasty.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Waffles
(Sunset Magazine)
-makes 5

Ingredients:
-1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1 tbsp. baking powder
-2 large eggs
-1 3/4 cup low fat milk
-1/2 cup butter, melted
-2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
-2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
-2 tbsp. light brown sugar
-2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1. Preheat the waffle iron to medium-high. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt. In a medium bowl mix eggs, milk & butter together, then add to flour mixture. Stir until just combined.

2. Using a pastry brush, coat grids of the waffle iron with oil. Pour 1 cup batter onto the center of the grids and close iron. Bake until golden brown. Use a ford to lift waffle off the grids when done.