Palmiers

I needed to take something to work and I only had a half a stick of butter and I didn't feel like mixing and baking all day.

Viola. Puff pastry.

I got these sheets of puff pastry at Trader Joe's about a month ago. I figured they'd come in handy for something and they did.

Palmiers are super quick and super easy to make and they can be sweet or savory (think sun-dried tomatoes and/or pesto). I decided to go with the standard cinnamon/sugar filling.

Baking the first batch, I found that the key to making sure they have the right shape is to make sure the middle parts and sorta 'pinched' together. Otherwise, they'll come apart.


Still, if that's the worst thing that happens, you're not doing too bad.

Cinnamon Sugar Palmiers

1 sheet of puff pastry
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon

Let the puff pastry sit on the counter for about 10 minutes or in the fridge for about half an hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle sugar over your counter or cutting board. Roll out the puff pastry to about 10 by 12 inches. Sprinkle another the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough.
Roll up the left side inward, stopping in the middle. Roll up the right side of the dough. The two rolls should be meeting at the middle and touching. Press the two sides together gently and let the dough chill in the fridge for at least half an hour or in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Cut off pieces of the log, in slices about 1/2 inch in thickness. Pinch and press the sides of the two rolls together to make sure they don't unroll during baking. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. They'll spread a bit, so leave room between each cookie.
Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly brown. Cool on a wire rack immediately and serve.

Chickpea salad ... of sorts

Do you like egg/tuna/chicken salad? If so, you'll like this recipe. If not, boo for you.

Edited to add: This is from another blog.

It's pretty easy and uncomplicated, and is very open to interpretation. I've made it three times in the past two weeks. It's good as a sandwich, it's good on crackers, it's good as a dip, it would probably be good on a lettuce leaf of with a firm avocado: it's just good.

And legumes are good, y'all. You should be eating more.

Chickpea salad

1 can of chickpeas
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/4 cup sweet relish
2 tablespoons of mayo
1/4 cup Greek-style yogurt*
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Pulse the chickpeas in a food processor or blender (or mash them with a fork) until mashed, but still have some texture.
Add the other seven ingredients, mix well and adjust to taste.

*Yes, I use a lot of Greek yogurt. I love the stuff. If you don't have it, just drain some regular plain yogurt until all the liquid is gone. Or use all mayo.

Coffee cake

I started thinking about coffee cake three days ago, and, of course, I became obsessed and had to make one. After looking at a bazillion recipes, I settled on this one. I'm happy with it, but it won't be my go-to recipe. But don't think that makes it bad: it's really good, I'm just looking for something with a little more 'punch.'
(As always, my changes in ital)

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
use real butter

Streusel topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream (1 cup Greek-style yogurt)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the streusel ingredients well and set aside. Cake: Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in sour cream. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and add to the wet mix. Beat until just combined. Spread half of the batter into a greased and floured pan. Sprinkle 3/4 of the streusel mix over the batter and then pour the rest of the batter into the pan. Top the cake with the remaining streusel. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs.

I also made a powdered sugar glaze to pour on top. Whisk together 1 cup of powdered sugar and about 3 tablespoons of milk.

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

I'm lately obsessed with noodle bowls. It started when I went to a friend's last year for dinner and she made this sort of Asian chicken soup with shrimp and lime and shoots and all kinds of add ins. I ate the whole damn bowl and I was so stuffed that it was hard to drive home. It was sooooo good. I've asked her to make it for me again and the one night she could, I had to work or some dumb shit like that. I also had a great bowl of a similar soup last year in Vegas. I can't remember the restaurant (I know!), but it was great.

So as soon as I saw this recipe for Thai Chicken Noodle Salad in Everyday Food, I had to try it.

I like Everyday Food because it's accessible. Just about all the recipes call for ingredients that one (well, someone who cooks often) would have in their pantry. The recipes are fairly easy and I haven't been disappointed with one yet.

So back to the Noodle Salad: yum! It really hit the spot. I don't know how to describe it but to say that if you like Asian flavors, you'll like this. Be sure to use a few of the suggested garnishes. I used extra scallions and chopped peanuts because that's what I had, with extra lime juice squirted as a finish. I'm thinking cilantro would be good, too. The marinade is great, and it can be used for more than this recipe. I'm thinking grilled chicken this summer.

Sorry I didn't get to take a picture. It was basically finished in one sitting, although not all by me this time.

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad
Everyday Food
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced crosswise (I used boneless, skinless thighs)
Spicy Asian Dressing*
Coarse salt
3 1/2 ounces Chinese rice noodles, broken in half if long
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
2 carrots, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (I used a 'regular' one with the insides scooped out)
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
Bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, fresh mint leaves, red-pepper flakes, and sliced scallion greens, for garnish (optional)

1. Place chicken and half of dressing in a resealable plastic bag (reserve remaining dressing). Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or refrigerate up to overnight).
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until tender. Drain, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a platter.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken (do not crowd skillet) until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to platter on top of noodles.
4. Top with carrots, cucumber and basil. Drizzle with reserved dressing, and sprinkle with garnishes, if desired.

Spicy Asian Dressing
4 thinly sliced scallion whites
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (or 1 minced canned anchovy, this is what I used)
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Lemon poundcake for mom

Every year for the past, I don't know, five years or so, all my mom has wanted for Mother's Day is a lemon poundcake. I don't know what brought it on, but that's what she wants, so that's what I make.

Over those years, every year, I've tried a different recipe. She's never complained. She also doesn't share. Like, not even with my grandma (her mom) or my aunt (her sister) and she and my aunt and connected at the hip. But the poundcake is all hers and she eats that thing in a week.

I'm glad I can do something that she enjoys so much.

My mom and I, like all moms and daughters, have our moments. Sometimes she drives me nuts, as I'm sure I drive her, but I love her beyond words. My mom was young when she had me and like most young moms, I know she was overwhelmed. Given the odds stacked against her, I'm proud to say she did a damn good job raising me. She has always believed in me and encouraged me to do any and everything; even if it was something outside her own comfort zone. She always told me and still tells me she loves me. She always told me that she's proud of me and that I could do anything in the world. I think that's the greatest gift my mom gave me: no limits. She never made me think that I couldn't achieve anything. She never made me feel like I wasn't good enough. For those of you with daughters, remember that.

She's a great mom and I know I don't tell that often enough. And she doesn't have a damn computer, so I can't send her this link. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to be a girl and tell her. Or write it on her card.

(P.S. I think I found the perfect recipe this year. It's so light and airy, and full of lemon flavor. I'm not sharing: it's just for me and my mom.)

How many cookbooks is too many cookbooks?

54 cooksbooks
36 Everyday Food magazines
A subscription to Bon Appetit
10 miscellaneous cooking magazines
A binder full of printouts and pages
An e-mail folder with 138 recipes
A bookmarks folder of link to other 32 food blogs and counting
A DVR full of cooking shows (America's Test Kitchen, Everyday Food ...)

I finally got around to (this took me about 2 weeks) going through all my old Cooking Light magazines and tearing out the recipes I'll actually make. Those made it to the binder, too. I have no idea how many recipes are in there, and I'm not counting them, but here's a picture:

Yeah.

Obviously, I haven't cooked something from each of these books and/or magazines. And I'm OK with that. Well, sometimes I'm all, "This week, I'm making one new recipe a day," but it never happens. Remember 54 weeks of baking? Didn't happen. But I love looking through the books and magazines and reading other blogs and watching cooking shows and getting ideas.

Food porn, indeed.

Carrot cake

I have surprisingly little to say about this Carrot and Pineapple Cake except it's damn tasty. It's chunky and moist and full of flavor.
Bake it or pass the recipe along and maybe someone will bake it for you.

Carrot and Pineapple Cake
Ina Garten: The Barefoot Contessa

For the cake:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (I used large eggs)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup raisins (I used golden raisins)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 pound carrots, grated
1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple (I used canned)

For the frosting:
3/4 pound cream cheese, at room temperature (I used 1/3 less fat)
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted

For the decoration:
1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

For the cake:
Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light yellow. Add the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups flour, the cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Toss the raisins and walnuts with 1 tablespoon flour. Fold in the carrots and pineapple. Add to the batter and mix well.

Divide the batter equally between the 2 pans. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans set over a wire rack.

For the frosting:
Mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined. Add the sugar and mix until smooth.

Place 1 layer, flat-side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with diced pineapple.