April 28: Handheld Blueberry Pies

Handheld Blueberry Pies

Ingredients:
1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (14.1 oz) package refrigerated unroll-and-bake piecrust

1. In a medium-size saucepan, mix together the blueberries, sugar, flour, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for about 7 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let cool completely or cover and keep chilled until you are ready to use it.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 and place a rack in the center. Spray 36 mini muffin cups with flour-added baking spray.
3. Unroll one round of piecrust dough to make a 12 inch circle. Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and press them as neatly as you can into the prepared muffin cups.
4. Put a small spoonful of blueberry mixture in the center of each cup. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the crusts are browned. Let cool completely in the pans, then unmold by loosening with the tip of a knife. Repeat with the remaining piecrust and filling.

Blueberries, sugar, flour, water and cinnamon

After some cooking...

Rolled out crust...I didn't measure if it was 12"

I ended up with 32 after these and then rerolling the dough

They fit nicely in the mini muffin pan

This first batch I probably used too much filling because...

They came out a little messy looking

From first batch

From second batch less filling

Thoughts: This is a messy cookie. It takes about 9-10 oz of fresh blueberries. I used bottled lemon juice because squeezing fresh lemons is annoying. I don't know where my cookie cutters are so I used the bottom of a shot glass that measures about 1 1/2 inches wide. I put too much filling in the first batch of 24 so they came out heavy and hard to get out of the baking pan. A couple broke apart and had to be thrown out. Patrick liked it...I thought it was a little sour. I probably would use more sugar next time but it does taste like a slice of blueberry pie!

This Week's Concoctions Ending 4/23

Here are some highlights of items that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie".

Graham Cracker Cookies

 I made these for the kids book club featuring the book, Wonder by RJ Palacio. I guess the only food reference was for graham crackers. These came out very thin and a couple burned. They tasted ok...but I was worried that I wouldn't have enough so I also made these...

Orangesicle Cookies (Pillsbury mix)

Pastry Chicken a la King (thanks to Taste of Home)

Slow Cooker Meatloaf I

Slow Cooker Meatloaf II after under the broiler for 5 minutes

Slow Cooker Meatloaf III (made from equal parts beef and pork)

April 21: Tex-Mex Chocolate Chipotle Cherry Cookies

Tex-Mex Chocolate Chipotle Cherry Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
2 cups extra dark chocolate chips
2/3 cup dried cherries

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and place a rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick foil.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, chipotle powder, and nutmeg together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter, both sugars, honey and vanilla on medium speed until creamy. Reduce the mixer speed slightly, and then add the eggs, one at a time. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the batter. Stir in the pecans, chocolate chips, and cherries. Chill the batter for about 15 minutes.
4. Scoop up tablespoonfuls of dough and shape into balls a little over 1 inch in diameter. Arrange about 2 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies appear set. Let cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry Ingredients

Butter, sugars, vanilla, honey

Adding egg

Mixing in the dry

Adding in the extras

Pop in the fridge for 15

Thoughts: These cookies yielded a lot! In the book it says 32, but I got 67 cookies! In the recipe it says "tablespoonfuls" and I used one tablespoon scoop. So I have 2 large and 1 small container full of these. So far at work, there are mixed reviews so I may have to toss some. I couldn't find "extra-dark" chocolate chips so I just used "dark" chocolate chips. The bag of chips in the picture wasn't enough for the 2 cups required but I had some extra in the pantry. The cookie definitely had a small kick, but it tastes more like a spice cake cookie. Patrick and I both liked it.

This Week's Concoctions Ending 4/16

Nothing to report....I haven't made anything special, but this upcoming week should be a little more exciting. I am making a dessert for a childrens' book club and hopefully a slow cooker meatloaf.

April 14: Split-Second Pecan Cookies

Split-Second Pecan Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (6 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup of your favorite preserves

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick foil.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed slightly and beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, add the flour mixture and stir until incorporated.
4. Divide the dough into 4 portions and shape each into a skinny log about 12 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Roll the logs in pecans. Place 4 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, 2 logs per sheet. With your fingers, press a long indentation down the center of the logs and fill with your favorite preserves. Bake one sheet at a time for 15-20 minutes, or until the logs begin to brown around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut crosswise slightly on the diagonal every 3/4 inch. Carefully separate into individual cookies and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry Ingredients

Adding the egg

Adding the flour mixture

I think 12 inches would be too skinny

Before...

and after

 Thoughts: I typically don't like making roll out cookies just because it's a pain. The counter gets gross and and I hate spreading them out especially with a rolling pin. These luckily didn't require it even though the counter did get a little gross. I didn't measure out the preserves, I just used as much to fill 4 logs. I made two without the pecan crust. I used seedless strawberry and seedless red raspberry jams. They went in for about 17 minutes. Patrick liked this cookie, but I didn't. I'm not crazy about nuts or jelly...

This Week's Concoctions Ending 4/9

Here is the only out of the ordinary item that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie".

Shrimp Pesto Salad

April 6: White Chocolate Mango Cookies

White Chocolate Mango Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups (6 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2/3 cup pecans, lightly toasted
3 1/2 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped dried mango

1. Preheat oven to 375 and place a rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and cream. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. When the flour mixture is absorbed, stir in the pecans, white chocolate, and mango.
4. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2 1/2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 12-13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.



Dry ingredients

Introduction of egg, cream and vanilla

 

Adding in the flour mixture

Thoughts: Another straightforward cookie recipe. The only alteration I had to make is that I only baked them for 11 minutes. I could've even baked them for 10 minutes and I think it would've been ok. The finished cookie picture is from 11 minutes and I think it's a little dark. Patrick and I both didn't like the cookie. I tend to dislike dried fruit (except maybe raisins but only then in Raisinette form) so I didn't like the bites with mango. Dough was ok.

Culinary Observations from Our Trip: Washington DC

We just got back from our 5 day trip to Washington DC. I could compose quite a long post about all the sights we saw, but it's the food that matters, right? It doesn't seem like Washington is known for anything in particular, however when we were there, the city was celebrating their Cherry Blossom Festival so many restaurants we went to had special cherry themed dishes and drinks. Other than that, the only other item that was often on the menu was oysters (which I never tried).

We left on Easter Sunday so we ran into a couple of issues when trying to find lunch on the road. We were on the highway in rural PA and finding that most restaurants even ones like Burger King and Subway were closed. We stopped in Tyrone, PA which in pretty much in the middle of the state near Altoona. We ate at a place called D'Ottavio Italian House (no website, 3 locations...I just added it on Urbanspoon). They had an Easter dinner special where you could get turkey or ham with mashed potatoes or stuffing, vegetable, salad and a scoop of ice cream for $11.99. Patrick, our friend Bob and I ordered the dinner special. I was just ecstatic to have ham, which is probably my favorite dinner meat. It turned out to be gross. Some ham pieces were fine, but others were overcooked, the (frozen)vegetables were very mushy and I thought Patrick's stuffing was the worst! Even the ice cream was a little gross. For dinner, we walked to Elephant and Castle (http://www.elephantcastle.com/). The restaurant is similar to a Gordon Biersch. I ordered the meatloaf with double green beans (bad picture):

It was very good especially the green beans! The service could've been better but it was holiday and there weren't too many servers.

Our hotel was across the street from a Starbucks so we ate/got a drink from there every morning. The boys got granola with fruit and coffee/milk and us girls got coffee/specialty coffee drinks.

For lunch on Monday, we ate at Potbellys (http://www.potbelly.com), which was also across the street from our hotel. Potbellys has soups and sandwiches. I built my own tuna sandwich and had a cup of spicy southwest vegetable soup. It was just ok, the soup was creamy which I didn't expected. I tend to like brothy soups. Everyone else liked their food. For dinner, we ate at Georgia Browns (http://www.gbrowns.com/), which our friends had been to and liked it. The food was very good...

Louisiana "Devil" Shrimp with Collard Greens

Blah, blah...the highlight of the dinner is that when we arrived, this man was leaving:

My biggest regret is that I didn't ask for a picture!!

On Tuesday, we took the advice of our legislator's intern (who is also from Buffalo) and went to We the Pizza (http://www.wethepizza.com/), which he said was the best pizza in the DC area. I was not crazy about it...the crust was definitely the issue. Everyone else liked theirs and I admit it could've been my pizza because I was the only one who ordered white pizza (they all ordered cheese and pepperoni) and half of the time I don't like the white (but when you get a good one, it is always worth it!).

For dinner, I met with my family who lives in DC and went to Gordon Biersch that just opened by them. We have a location here so food was fine and the waitress was very friendly. They still have a couple of opening kinks to work out still.

On Wednesday, we went to the other place that the intern suggested called the Good Stuff Eatery (http://www.goodstuffeatery.com/). It is burgers, fries and shakes. I got a burger, fries and a Milky Way malt. The burger was good but greasy, the fries mushy (I didn't mind) and the shake was very good. For dinner, we went to the 701 Restaurant (http://701restaurant.com/). The salmon which Patrick and I both ordered was phenomenal. It was the best salmon of recent memory.

Scottish Salmon with soy oil, bok choy and water chestnuts

 For dessert, we went to a place called FrozenYo (http://frozenyo.com/). Our friend had been there before and loved it. They have several locations in the city and surrounding areas, but none around here. It was delicious. I had 4 different flavors: cake batter, mint chocolate, chocolate, and banana cream with a couple different toppings like M&Ms, Oreo bits, fudge. You pay by the weight.

Thursday was our "Virginia" day. We went to Arlington National Cemetery and old town Alexandria. By the time we got to Alexandria, we were famished. We stopped at a place called Asian Bistro (http://asiabistrova.com/). We were banking on quick arrival of food so we ordered appetizers. The girls shared calamari and the boys each ordered crab wontons. I don't like crab wontons so I didn't try them but everyone else thought they were good. The calamari was also good but I didn't like the dipping sauce. Entrees were very standard. We were shocked when the bill came and it was $80!

Calamari

My hunan chicken...not very spicy!

Lo Mein

Sesame Chicken

We had a late dinner because we had gone on a walking tour that didn't end til around 8:30. We stopped at Old Ebbitt Grill. I ordered a cup of chili which was a little spicy and the chicken "cherryaki". The chicken was very tender, but the rice was too mushy. The "cherrytaki" sauce was good for the meat but it tasted weird with the rice. For dessert, we shared the chocolate layer cake with a raspberry sauce.

 

On Friday, my uncle had gotten us a tour of the Supreme Court so we ate at their cafeteria. It was very much "cafeteria" food...nothing special although Patrick liked his panini quite a bit. For dinner we were on the road so we ate at a Pizza Hut in Breezewood, PA.

 

Overall, all of our food experiences in DC were positive...YUM!