Dippity Do Dah

Dips to me are one of those fun foods like meat on a stick or potstickers. Throw some homemade crackers next to it and wow but if you are in a hurry certainly store bought crackers work very well too. Really they are just a vehicle to get that dip into your mouth.
This is almost the same recipe as the one I received as part of the jam exchange. Here is the recipe:

Tomato Jam with a kick!

5 pound of ripened tomatoes, roma is the best but others will do
1 teaspoon chili pepper
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
3 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt*

Combine all of the ingredients in a large sauce pan or a soup pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Let it cook down. When most of the liquid has evaporated start to stir almost constantly as it is prone to sticking at this point. You want the mixture to drop of the spoon in chunks rather than drips. It will also become glossy near the end.

*If you are canning, it is important to use kosher salt or salt that does NOT contain iodine.

While this one is not so pretty, it is tastey. Mine comes out different every time. The key to great flavor is in the roasting.

Roasted Eggplant Dip (Baba Ganoush)

1 large eggplant
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste

Split eggplant in half. Place skin isde up on a baking sheet. Roast in a 375 F oven until it is soft. When you touch it with a wooden spoon it should depress. Remove from oven and let cool so that you are bale to handle it comfortably.

In a processor, mince the garlic. Add eggplant, yogurt, tahini, salt and olive oil. Regrigerate. Mixture will set up quite a bit after it has been refrigerated.


Lemon Clam Dip

2 cans minced clams, drained, reserving juice
1 - 2 tablespoon of reserved juice from the clams
1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temp
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sour cream

Beat cream cheese and mix in sour cream, tabasco, salt and pepper, lemon juice and clam juice. For a thicker dip skip the juice or reduce them. Fold in chives, garlic and minced clams. Refrigerate to set at least an hour or so before using. For best results let dip sit overnight to develop the flavors.

Lie to Yourself Cake

This cake is one of those cakes that you tell yourself, "hey, this is good for me- lots of fiber and vitamins from that zucchini." Ah, yeah, it still has fat in it but don't even think about that. Slice a piece and sit down with a cup of tea. Place a small bite in your mouth and languish over it. Feel the chocolate melting in your mouth and the tender crumb. The way that moist delicious cake feels in your mouth. Close your eyes and let out an "oh my God, is this freaking zucchini cake or chocolate greatness cake."

For goodness sake -make the lipsmacking ganache that you pour over the top- it truly takes this cake to a whole other level.

Chocolate "Lie to Yourself" Zucchini Cake

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (4 ounces) sour cream or yogurt
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounce) Dutch-process cocoa
2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional but tasty
2 cups shredded zucchini (about one 10″ zucchini, about 12 ounces)
1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chips

Chocolate Ganache Topping
6 oz heavy cream
9 oz chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly coat a 9″x13″ pan with baking spray

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the eggs.

3. Stir in the sour cream or yogurt alternately with the flour. Then add the cocoa and espresso powder, mixing till smooth. Finally, fold in the zucchini and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 35 – 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack.

5. To prepare the frosting, heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Wait 3-5 minutes then stir to combine. It may take a few minutes of stirring for the ganache to come together. When it cools and is still a bit warm pour over cake and smooth with offset spatula. Allow frosting to set for about 30 minutes before serving. (I stuck it in the fridge for a bit to speed up the process.)

Back to School with Apple Cake Pops

It's back to school week here in NY. I always make something special for her first day and her last day of school. A Mom I know is very sad about her daughter returning to school. It makes me feel guilty for being a touch happy about my daughters return to school. You see I am happy because it's the end of a summer doing stuff with my kids, running around, playing, etc. And now, this almost 44 year old girl is supremely ready for a little R and R. Not to mention it will be nice not to listen to "stop touching me" and "that's mine, not yours" and "Mom, she scratched me". So these are the reasons I am happy and I am not going to feel guilty about it, I am not going to feel guilty about it, I am not going to feel guilty about it. Oh, sorry, I was just repeating my mantra.

I saw apples on Bakerella some time ago and knew my kids had to have one. While you see Bakerella's are "practically perfect in every way", mine are not. But mine are the result of using up some cake scraps and frosting from the last challenge of DB. Next time I will follow her recipe. I used Fruit Roll Up- sour apple for the leaves. And melting chips for the chocolate outside.

Best wishes my little one for a wonderful school year.
And all the little people out there heading off to school.
May it be safe, pleasant and chock full of learning.

Pumpkin Cake with Cannoli Cream Frosting

I did Paper Chef again for September. I think I am too late with my entry but I wanted to share the recipe anyhow. I really liked the cake. The frosting needs work. I made cannolli cream frosting. It turned out so bad that I will not pass along the recipe but I would like to perfect it, so I will get back to you on that. Here's a few tips though that I learned. When experimenting go small to avoid lots of waste. More sugar to thicken frosting is NEVER a good idea. Way too sweet.

Pumpkin Cake
this is a definite make again.

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin or 1 - 15 ounce can
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a jelly roll pan and a miniature loaf pan with cooking spray or brush with oil. Mix sugar and oil together. Add in vanilla and pumpkin and finally the eggs. Stir baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices and flour together. Mix into wet ingredients. FIll jelly roll pan about 1/2 way and the rest pour intot he loaf pan. Bake for 25 to 40 minutes until cake begins to pull away from the sides and toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Fat Tush

Just had to say it. Well, this fat tush loves fattoush. It's one of those must haves when tomatoes are in season. I am sure you all have such a list, no? Mine includes fattoush, avocado/tomato/hearts of palm salad, veggie sandwich and gazpacho.
Still have to do the gazpacho...


Fattoush
adapted from Panera Bread Company Cookbook

3 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a loaf of bread, cubed and toasted
6 roma tomatoes
2 regular tomatoes, beef steak, early girl...
1/4 cup fresh mint, chiffonade
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
1/2 cup kalamatas, pitted and sliced
1 English cucumber, diced
1 tablespoon za'tar

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except for the lemon juice, honey and olive oil. Whisk the lemon juice, honey and olive oil together and pour over the salad.
Preserved Lemons
I learned to do these in small quantities as I am the only one that eats them.

Cut a few lemons into quarters, stopping short of the end of the lemon. So its quartered but all stuck together at the bottom. Take a few lemons and juice them, set aside.

In a sterilized pint jar or whatever size you intend to use, pack some kosher salt at the bottom. The reson why it needs to be kosher is that you do not want the iodine is regular salt- it is not good for preserving/canning. Place a lemon down, add more salt. Keep going untilthe jar is filled. Pour the lemon juice of the mixture. Cover and store in a dark, cool place for three weeks.

At this point I refrigerate them and use as needed.

Hello Pumpkin Bars, Goodbye Pumpkin Body

I can't help it lately I have been making lots of goodies lately. So why is this overweight girl making all these yummy, fattening delectables? Good question. You see I've recently got a new lease on life. A new perspective.

The new perspective comes from a guy named Paul McKenna. He recently released a book called "I Can Make You Thin"(published by Sterling). It involves four basic concepts, which no doubt you will say to yourself, "duh, of course." But as a matter of fact, while the words are obvious, the actions are hard to do but quite literally the key to success. Really the golden key to weight loss success.

Number one: When you are hungry, EAT.
Number two: EAT WHAT YOU WANT, not what you think you should.
Number three: Eat CONSCIOUSLY and enjoy every mouthful.
Number four: When you think you are full, STOP eating.

I know it is all very simple really. I do none of this. But THAT is changing. You see he has found that overweight people (and some thin people too) obsess about food all the time and when they sit down to eat they shovel it in so rapidly that they really never taste it. Oh so true, I found.

I won't tell you everything about the book. It really is very interesting but the one thing it offers that is different from other weight loss books, is a hypnosis CD. I faithfully have listened to it for a couple weeks now. While I have not seen weight loss yet there is a definite shift in my eating habits, my thought processes and my overall mood even.

I will keep you posted with my results.

BTW - I did not feel the need to eat all of these amazing bars because I knew if in the future I wanted them, I could make more. (A subtle shift but you see the impact).

These pumpkin snickerdoodles were adapted from this recipe over at a Dozen Flours. I have to say that her recipe is a stroke of genius. We loved them!

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

Snickerdoodle Layer:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree or canned

Glaze for drizzling:
1 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan and lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly.

To make snickerdoodle layer:
Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Set aside.

In a mixer bowl, with a paddle attachment, mix together the pumpkin pie ingredients until well combined. Pour the mixture over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes (maybe more depending on your oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely (about an hour). They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer.

After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it's completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.

Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator but bring to room temperature before serving. Although they are plenty good cold.

Persuasive Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

One of my stops in my blog travels is at Lisa's blog, Parsley, Sage, Dessert and Line Drives. While visiting one day I saw her amazing peanut butter cheesecake brownies. I knew I had to make them for my brother and his family, mainly my nephew. I had not realized that he really wasn't a big fan of peanut butter. He did eat them anyway. Well, we all ate them. I am not a big brownie fan. These, however, were a winner and could really change my mind about brownies.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
recipe by Lisa Michele and used with permission.

Brownie Layer
7-ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl
8-ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 whole, large egg

DIRECTIONS FOR THE BROWNIE LAYER:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.

2. Stir chocolate and butter in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth; cool 10 minutes. Using electric mixer on low speed, or stir in with a wooden spoon – sugar, eggs, and vanilla into cooled chocolate mixture, until uniform. Stir/beat in flour, cocoa and salt. Spread half the batter in pan.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE SWIRL:
1. In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, peanut butter, whole egg or egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. DO NOT OVER BEAT!

ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
1. Drop large spoonfuls of the peanut butter cheesecake batter across the top of the first layer of brownie batter. Don’t swirl them together. Cover the peanut butter dollops with the remaing brownie batter and the remaining peanut butter cheesecake batter in dollops, then take a knife, spatula, spoon handle, or whatever you have on hand that can ’swirl’ well, and swirl the TOP layer of peanut butter cheesecake batter with the brownie mixture. Lift up some of the brownie batter to insure the brownie mixture swirls in as much as possible, since it can be little heavier than the peanut butter cheesecake batter, depending on whether you use a whole egg or just the yolk. As mentioned above, it’s ok if some of the first layer of both batters swirl also, just not too much.

2. Bake for 35-37 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set, or a skewer contains a few moist brownie crumbs sticking to it (you would stick the skewer in a chocolate area).

3. Let cool, then lift the brownies up and out using the foil or parchment paper and peel it away/off. Cut the brownies into equal squares.

Makes about 16 brownies, depending on how large or small you cut them.