Tasty TGIF Tidbits: Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies

I recently found myself in the possession of one nonstick muffin pan.  After spending a good long week rejoicing, I decided to do the logical thing, and make lava cookies.

“What are lava cookies?” you ask.  Well, they’re muffin-like chocolate chip cookies with molten chocolate centers, delicious warmed up in the microwave and topped off with a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream.  The best thing about this recipe is that it’s seriously easy-peasy.  There’s no need trying to figure out how to scoop your cookies evenly (I have such issues with this.  Mostly because I don’t have a cookie scoop and am lacking in the hand-eye coordination department).  And you’re left with 10 comforting cookies, some of which you can then distribute to your friends and family, who will in turn shower you with love.  It’s a great day for everyone.

Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies, adapted from Kevin & Amanda

Ingredients

10 cupcake liners (optional)
1 Ziploc bag
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar (instead of two half-cups, I used 1 cup Turbinado sugar)
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semisweet chocolate, use whatever type of chocolate you prefer)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to

Tasty TGIF Tidbits: Spinach Risotto

Ever since I first started cooking, I’ve always cherished a secret hope that one day I would make risotto.  I’ve had it once before, at a restaurant in Northern California.  I remember happily devouring my plate (of food), while my friend sat across from me and regaled me with tales of her Venice risotto experiences.  Maybe I was projecting since she kept telling me how delicious those risottos were, but the entire time I was eating, I kept thinking this is so good.

Risottos always seemed so intimidating to me, though.  Every time I clicked on a risotto recipe and scanned the instructions, I would promptly close the tab.  As much as I longed to lounge against the stove stirring a pot of arborio rice and sipping on a glass of red wine…well, I don’t often have that kind of time.

Oh yeah, and also I don’t drink.  So there goes that daydream.

A few days ago, I came across a spinach risotto recipe that looked doable.  And also, healthy, which is something I don’t see often in risotto recipes.  No butter, a reasonable amount of cheese, and lots of spinach.  And a cooking time that didn’t seem too awful.  Of course, I had to make it, and if you’ve read this week’s wigeon you already know I love it.  Basically, you should make it too, and here’s how.

Spinach Risotto, adapted from Epicurious.

Ingredients

• 6-ounce bag fresh spinach
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/3 cup shredded or freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Turn on stove (always my least favorite step, as my stove likes to make ‘I’m going to blow up any day now’ sounds), and heat oil in a large pan.  Toss in your garlic and onions, and cook over moderately low heat until softened, stirring frequently.  Add rice, and stir until everything is coated in oil.
2. In a large bowl, combine chicken broth and water.  Microwave for 1:30.
3. Increase stove to moderately high heat.  Add 3/4 cup of water-broth-mixture to pan, stirring until it has been absorbed.  Continue adding broth in 3/4 cup increments, letting it absorb each time.  Increase or decrease the heat to keep the risotto at a strong simmer.  Taste as you go, until the rice is at your desired consistency.  The original recipe said 18 minutes, but it took me closer to 25.
4. Separate spinach into 3 or 4 handfuls, and stir into risotto one handful at a time, letting it wilt before adding the next batch.  Remove pan from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the cheese.  Enjoy!

Have you eaten risotto before?  Do you typically cook it leisurely with a glass of red wine in hand, or scurry around the kitchen trying to find measuring cups and ingredients as I did?

MM

Tasty TGIF Tidbits: Pear Butterscotch Pie

One day over spring break, my friend called me up and asked if I wanted to bake a pie with her.  ”I surely do,” I said.  After all, you don’t turn down pie-baking offers!

This butterscotch pie tastes like a very delicious apple pie.  But with pears.  Please don’t use store-bought crust for this, the homemade crust is what really makes the recipe.  Also (and I say this because we learned the hard way), remember to double the crust recipe.  We only realized we were one crust short when, staring at the dough disk, I briefly voiced my concern that it looked awfully small for two crusts.

“How are we getting the top crust?”  I asked my friend.

“I don’t know,” she replied, looking bemused, “Magic?”

I didn’t bring my camera, so I resorted to drawing our pie.  Hope you don’t mind.

Pear Butterscotch Pie, adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 1/2 pounds firm-ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears (about 5), peeled, each cut into 6 wedges, and cored - we used 6 pears
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Double recipe all-butter pastry dough (recipe linked)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions

1. Make and chill 2 rounds of dough.  Preheat oven to 

Tasty TGIF Tidbits: Favorite Recipes

I’m just a fledgling cook, and there are days when I have absolutely no idea what to make for dinner (enter takeout/ramen).  But I’ve got fallback recipes of course, favorites I use over and over again.  They’re easy to assemble with minimal effort, and usually feed my family for a couple of days.  Thought I would share some of these with you today.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken via Smitten Kitchen: Takes next to no effort, although you do have to let these marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.  But the results are so worth it, finger-licking juicy chicken that’s unbelievably tender.  I usually make this without the paprika, which I never have on hand, and it’s still amazing.

Quinoa and Black Beans via Allrecipes: If you’ve ever had a Chipotle bowl before, this tastes a little like that.  Nutty quinoa, sweet corn, hearty black beans, cilantro, garlic, and sauteed onions.  I nix the cumin and cayenne, sprinkle a little bit of cheddar on top, slice up half an avocado, and dig in.  Can eat this for days without getting sick of it.

Tuna & Red Pepper Pasta via Budget Bytes: I’ve mentioned this one before, it’s got a simple flavor profile but tastes amazing.  And it’s pasta, with a ‘sauce’ of olive oil and garlic.  Doesn’t get much easier than that.  If you’re a wimp like me, leave out the red pepper, or sub in a bit of freshly ground black pepper.

Arugula, Green Bean, and Potato Salad via Smitten Kitchen: Simply the most amazing salad I’ve ever eaten in my life, although I did change the dressing.  It’s fresh, light, and healthy.  I had 4 helpings of this the other day (couldn’t help myself, it’s too darn good).  I’m sure her dressing is delicious, but I had to work with what I had on hand.  So I did a simple mix of olive oil, the teensiest drop of balsamic vinegar, salt, freshly ground black pepper, a sprinkling of truffle salt, and some water to dilute it.

Quiche: I don’t have a recipe for this, although you can probably google ‘quiche’ and find a million different versions.  Sometimes I do potato crust quiche, which I first saw on Larie’s blog.  If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll buy frozen pie crusts from Trader Joe’s, which are must defrost vertically or they will shatter, and if I’m feeling even lazier (and healthy-ish), I’ll just make a crustless quiche.  There are a lot of combinations you can do, but I usually layer carmelized onions with some sort of meat on the bottom, pile handfuls of spinach on top, dump the egg custard in (4 eggs and 1 cup of milk), and top with a sprinkling of cheese.

What are some of your go-to recipes?  Let me know if you try any of these, I promise they’re all supremely yummy and very doable.

TGIF!
MM

Tasty TGIF Tidbits: Wednesday Morning Crumpets

Lately, I’ve been eating crumpet-egg-towers on Wednesday mornings.  I left the egg in the oven far too long on my first try, and the yolk had completely set by the time I took it out.  Having learned my lesson, I now bake it at 450 degrees for 10 minutes if I butter the dish, and 11 minutes if I line it with parchment paper so the whites are set but the yolk is nice and runny.

Marinated artichokes from Trader Joe’s.  I’ve almost finished the jar, and I’m the only one in my family who’s been eating these.  Everyone else is missing out:

As long as you get your baking time right, this is very easy to put together.  I don’t even think it qualifies as making my own breakfast.

I put an egg in the oven, and while it’s baking, I toast a crumpet.  I prefer crumpets over English muffins, but you could use either.  I tried it with some extra sharp cheddar cheese the first time, but I don’t think this really needs any cheese.  For this particular one, I put the toasted crumpet on the bottom, a little bit of cheese on top, then I top it off with egg and a few pieces of marinated artichoke.  So filling and good.

What’s your favorite thing to have for breakfast when you’re not in a rush?

~Makeup Morsels