Plenty of Pizza

March is officially underway. Every year, almost without fail, I mentally prepare my list of favorite things about this month. In recent memory, this list has remained the same--my birthday, St. Patrick's Day, and March Madness. With so much excitement abounding this month, April can never live up. But that's a worry for another day.

No matter how old I get, I'm fairly certain that pizza will always be one of my absolute favorite foods. In my perfect world I would eat pizza every day, I love it that much. In the real world, I recognize that's not the best choice, so I've resigned myself to pizza once a week.

I don't remember how it started exactly, but at some point over the course of the last year, Bax and I started making Fridays pizza and wine night. As the work days began to get harder and longer, I began to find that I was too tired to socialize on Friday nights, preferring instead to spend the time recuperating from the week that just was. It evolved from picking up pizza at my favorite DC joint (which was also around the corner from my abode...it's one of a few things I miss about DC) to dishing up homemade takes on my favorite dish. There are really no rules, which is one of the things I find most enjoyable after an extremely taxing work week. Each week's pizza is based solely on what I'm most feeling in the mood for as I make my way across the finish line to the weekend. 

Pizza Fridays have been kicked up a notch lately thanks to two wonderful changes. First, moving to Bmore and living super close to market. Second, working from home on Fridays. These two factors combine to allow me to spend the morning thinking about what I want for dinner (I spend a lot of time thinking about food, so this in and of itself is exciting for me) and then I can actually go to the store during lunch and make my dreams a reality. Just being able to drive to the store is still something that, after 4 years of having to schlep my groceries around in a little cart, makes me so incredibly happy I can barely stand it.  

On this particular Friday I found myself recalling an instagram post from one of my favorite bloggers (and fellow Baltimorian)--Sally, a la Sally's Baking Addiction. I'm kind of obsessed with her recipes in general. They're so easy and accessible no matter what your cooking-skill level and I've yet to have something that I didn't love. She also shares my love of sprinkles. which is an added bonus. A while back she posted the fluffiest looking homemade pizza dough that I'd ever seen and I vowed to one day make it mine. 

Finally, after weeks of waiting (mostly because I kept forgetting about it) it was go time. In making this crust I was forced to exercise great patience...there's a lot of "let the dough rest" that goes into crafting the finished product, and I'm not known for my ability to relax. But I promise it's worth it. Also, fun fact, the recipe makes enough for two 12 inch pizzas, so you can freeze one for another pizza day (whereby you can skip most of the resting and just defrost the night before and go). So, when you're ready to make the best homemade pizza of your life, start with this dough and get ready for some happy taste buds!  

Pizza Heaven

Ingredients

• Pizza crust (recipe here)
• Sauce
• Toppings of choice
• Cheese for topping (I'm a sucker for a good blended number)

Preparation

 [which I'm retelling through pictures today as a fun twist]

Break out the mixer and dough hook for use in prepping the yeast

[Mr. Red rarely gets to use his dough hook, so he was in all his glory]

After yeast is ready, add flour and remaining ingredients and let the dough hook work its magic

Finished product

The instructions were to lightly coat the bowl with olive oil, but by the time I settled on a picture the oil had run to the bottom. It didn't obstruct the process so, that's all that matters.

After the magic rising process takes place, he'll look like this. I squealed a little when I opened the oven and saw how big he'd gotten!

This was my absolute favorite part. I got to punch the now-massive dough to let the air out. I was pretty much having a blast by this point.

While dough is resting yet again, and oven is preheating, prep pizza toppings. This week, I used up the remainder of my baby leeks, chopped up some spinach, and as the grand finale, took advantage of my return to white meat (that's a story for another day) and topped things off with some turkey pepperonis. 

Once dough is ready, top with sauce, toppings, and cheese before baking.

Bake and ta da! It's alive! Pizza time is here again!

Can it be Friday again already?! 

Seafood Sunday

In the past I've lamented about my love for Sundays, however, with the holidays and then moving into my new abode, I hadn't yet had the chance to thoroughly enjoy a relaxing Sunday in a really long time. Yesterday,I finally got to change that! 

After several weeks of winter, Baltimore got a brief glimpse of spring this weekend. It's possible that I love winter more than anyone you'll ever meet. I run faster in winter, I'm happier in winter (nothing makes me fussy like being hot and having sweat running down my face), and I truly love being cold. I lived in my last apartment for almost 3 years and never once turned on the heat. My new apartment is so warm without heat that Sheppie and I actually have to open a window at night to get the apartment to what we consider an appropriate sleeping temperature as we both enjoy a nip in the air and snuggling under blankets. Have I mentioned that Aussie is basically me in dog form? 

In writing about my love for cold, I was instantly reminded of one of the first times sister came sleep over at my first DC apartment. Unlike in my last home, my first DC casa only had a window unit air conditioner. Because it was a studio apartment, there also weren't a lot of options when placing furniture. As a result, the bed was placed in such a way that the window unit blew directly onto the bed. Delightful for people that like to be cold when they sleep, hell for poor sister. I shouldn't laugh, but this is one of my all time favorite pictures and I feel like it depicts so well how cold I like to keep a home:

Yes, she's created a fort out of the pillows to help block the air conditioner. In hindsight, I should have traded sides with her. 

I said all that to say, despite my affinity for winter, I truly enjoyed the warm weather this weekend. I spent Sunday doing so many of my favorite things. If I'd squeezed in time to paint it would've been perfection. 

Following a delicious brunch at a new neighborhood joint (whereby I had bacon for the first time in many years and realized how much I'd missed it), I finally got Aussie to check out the park in our new hood. I'd tried to get her to go once before when it was semi-nice out and there wasn't snow on the ground, but alas, strong-willed to the end, she got to the base of the park (it's on a hill) and decided she was done with adventure for the day (mind you the base of said park literally touches the parking lot of my apartment building, so it's not like I made her hike for days to get to it). Today I had the magic ingredient (other people in our midst). She's such a ham and loves the attention she gets when friends come over, so she wasn't about to give that up for the sake of not venturing into uncharted territory. And what do you know, she had a grand time! We've been fortunate enough to live by two huge parks in both of our city apartments together and I'm hopeful that our new park will provide the same solitude from city life that the last one did. 

Living puppy life. She's secretly excited to spend more days here once it gets permanently warm.

After shooting the breeze at the park and parting ways with friends, I found myself desiring to cook an inventive Sunday dinner. One of my favorite things about having a car again is being able to run to the grocery store and pick up something for dinner without it being a huge production. Plus, I can take Aussie with me on my journey. She loves car time almost as much as park time, so she's always up for accompanying me on the ride.

For some reason, I never buy fresh fish from the seafood counter. It's not something I really gravitate towards, but for the life of me I don't know why. I love seafood, it's what prevented me from becoming a full on vegetarian for all these years, and I'm a good enough cook that I could easily make some divine dishes with it. But alas, I haven't. As with so many things this year, I decided to change that on Sunday. I picked out a piece of fresh salmon and decided I was going to make magic in the kitchen. And I did....plus if points were being given out for this dish, I would've gotten bonus ones for using one of my two FOTYs as one of the focal points. It's possible I watch too many cooking shows.

I ended up enjoying this little impromptu meal so much that I think Sunday dinners may become a new staple around the casa. Stay turned. For now, a 30 minute meal Rachel Ray would be proud of.

Salmon with Roasted Sweet Potato, Asparagus, and Leeks

Ingredients

• Salmon
• 1 lemon, half sliced and juice from remaining half
• Asparagus, rinsed and stems trimmed
• 1 large leek, washed and sliced in half longways
• 1 medium sweet potato
• Fresh thyme
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

* I drew inspiration from all over for this recipe, so there aren't clear measurements yet again. Instead, I'm going to tell you basically what I did and then send you off to interpret in a way that works for you. Good luck, you can do it!

1. Rinse salmon, place in baking dish. Sprinkle with olive oil, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper to taste. Drizzle lemon juice from half a lemon and top with lemon slices before baking. 

2. Insert salmon dish into cold over and turn temperature to 400F. Bake for 25 minutes. Almost every recipe I looked up swore by this method for the most tender salmon results. They did not lie. 

3. Whilst salmon is baking, peal and slice sweet potato, leeks, and asparagus. Place sweet potato and asparagus into large bowl and lightly toss with olive oil. Lay out, single layer, onto baking sheet. Add sliced leeks to the fun (and lightly drizzle with olive oil). Sprinkle all with salt and pepper before baking.

4. Bake for 25 minutes or until leaks are slightly brown and others are at desired level of tenderness.

5. Plate. Eat. Enjoy.

Stir Fry Time

Oh Thursday, how I both love and loathe you.

Since moving to Baltimore I have come to greet Thursday with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I'm only one day shy of the weekend, and even closer to my favorite day of the week (Friday). On the other hand, it's the second of two days in the week that I have agreed to spend in our Bethesda office.

While I love a majority of the changes that have come with life in Baltimore: more space, car ownership, cheaper wares, closer to my family, there is one thing I loathe about my new life....the commute to Bethesda. To put it bluntly, it's a bitch. It takes me a solid 2 hours, door to door, to get from my apartment in Baltimore to my office in Bethesda. When I actually stop and think about all that goes into the commute (the insanely early rising, driving to the train station, taking the train to DC, and taking the Metro from DC to Bethesda) I get a slightly angry. 

The train isn't all bad. I'm learning how to make the best of it from my fellow riders. 

As you may suspect, alcohol is part of the solution to this problem.

Thus, I force myself to focus on the silver ling: my train and metro rides are paid for by work, I get to use my beloved noise canceling headphones to pass the time (in addition to reading, sleeping, and getting caught up on emails), and I only have to do it two days a week. The latter makes me so giddy that come Thursday afternoons I'm as anxious as a child on Christmas Eve. I cannot get off the train and home to my abode fast enough, all the while knowing that I won't have to return to life on the train until the following Tuesday. 

Today I found myself especially anxious to get home as I'd failed to adequately pace my snacks throughout the course of the afternoon and thus was on the cusp of ravenous. Because I start my Bethesda days before the sun (4:30 to be exact), I'm beyond exhausted by the time I finally get home at the end of the day. Despite being both tired, and today hungry, I still usually want to cook something for dinner. As I've grown to enjoy, and dare I say love, cooking over the past couple years, cooking has become more a form of relaxation than a chore for me. I don't really make a menu or plan what I'm going to eat during the week ahead of time. Instead, I pick up things I think I'll likely be hungry for or want to eat during the week (along with the usual staples) and then just go where the wind (and my stomach) take me. One benefit to a long commute: I have lots of time to think about what I want for dinner and to research recipes if need be. 

Tonight's dish de jour was one I've made before, but have to really be in the mood for to pull out of my tiny top hat: stir fry with peanut sauce. It's super easy, so I really wish I was hungry for it more than once every 6 months...and it's a great way to use up the hodgepodge of fresh veggies I so often have left in my fridge. This is a very free spirit dish (which is the complete opposite of my type-A personality) and perfect to round out a crazy work day. 

Stir Fry with Homemade Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

Makes 2 servings 

• 2 cups Shandong noodles (or an Asian variety of your choosing) 
• 4 medium Brussels Sprouts, stems trimmed and halved
• 1/2 cup broccoli, stems trimmed
• 2 small carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 small leek, chopped
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• olive oil, salt, and pepper, to taste

For Peanut Sauce

• 1 Tbsp peanut butter
• 2 Tbsps soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps sesame oil (I substituted olive oil because I didn't have sesame on hand)
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Things started out a little bumpy when I went to pick up the package of noodles and didn't realize I'd put in on the shelf upside down, thus spilling it all over the floor. Luckily, the package was huge so I was able to salvage the ones that weren't touching the floor (which was most of them) and press onward.

1. Bring pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions.

2. Meanwhile, wash and chop veggies as desired. In addition to cooking, I've discovered peeling carrots to be extremely calming. I honestly think it's one of my favorite things, so if you ever need a bunch of carrots peeled, you know who to call!

3. Mix peanut sauce. Bax loved this part because she loves peanut butter more than anything else in the world...and because she knows that if she looks at me with her sweet puppy eyes I will put a little on a tiny biscuit treat for her. Sly, very, very sly. 

4. Heat a Tbsp or two of olive oil in large sauce pan (I prefer my wok) and add in larger veggies first, then smaller ones after a couple minutes and cook until warm and at desired tenderness.

5. After noodles are cooked, drain and add to veggies. 

6. Toss a time or two to combine, then add in peanut sauce. Toss until well coated.

 7. Heat through and serve.

Hello perfection

FOTY Take One: Leek Time

The onset of the new year not only brought with it a slew of life changes, but also the return of my annual Food of the Year (FOTY) program! As you may recall, this is something I started doing a while back to get myself to expand my eating horizons. I detailed the history behind my FOTY program here and to be honest, I'm surprised at how long it's lasted. I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was starting to worry about running out of foods to conquer.  

The last couple years have brought some fun ones, with artichokes taking the prize last year and oysters the year before, but this year I was a little stumped for ideas. In general, I've been trying to work my way through the vegetable circuit with the goal of never finding myself in the presence of a vegetable that I didn't like. With that thought in mind, I decided to choose leeks as my FOTY for 2014. 

My leek choice was admittedly somewhat rushed. January snuck up on me and decisions needed to be made. It's not that I regret my leek choice, so much as I've been near certain from the start that I would like them instantly and there would be nothing to really conquer this year. With this conundrum at hand, I used some of my train time, or thinking time as I sometimes I like to kindly characterize my 2 hour commute to Bethesda, to land on a secondary food of the year: beets. 

 

Unlike leeks, which I chose mostly because I'd never cooked with them and wanted to start, I've had beets in recent years and do not care for them....making them perfect for the FOTY challenge! I liken this year to my second time oatmeal and I came together. At first it was my only FOTY failing, but at second pass a few years later (after I'd quickly conquered another FOTY) I found a love for it and now joyously start most days with a delightful bowl of it warming my insides. I can only hope for a similar go-round with beets back on the table. But for now, it's leeks' time to shine!

Today's recipe features not only leeks, but one of my favorite adult vegetables, brussels sprouts. Those little green balls of heaven never fail me and, as expected, the leeks were a hit with my palate too. They only had baby leeks at the HT when I went, so I'm hoping to try them out in normal size, and prepared in a more roasted form, over the weekend. But for now, baby leeks it is!

Baby Leek, Brussels Sprout, and Tomato Lemon Quinoa 

Ingredients

*Makes 2-3 servings

• 3 baby leeks, diced
• 8-10 medium brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and halved
• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into fourths
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• A couple tablespoons olive oil (sorry I didn't measure, just put enough so the veggies didn't stick when cooking in the wok)
• Feta cheese, optional for topping

Preparation

1.   Bring two cups water to a boil, add quinoa, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.

2.   Meanwhile, prepare veggies for cooking (wash and chop)

3.   Heat olive oil in wok, then add brussels sprouts first. They take the longest to cook, but you also have to watch them closely so they don't get overcooked and taste bitter. They're a tricky beast!

4.   After a couple minutes, add garlic and leeks, plus salt and pepper

5.   Finally, add tomatoes and lemon juice. Cook until everything looks done

6.   Once quinoa is done, add it to the party in the wok and mix everything together

7.   Top with feta before serving and enjoy!

Blogging from Baltimore

Hello world, I’m finally back in blogging action! I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last post, and even more so, how much has gone on between then and now. I barely know where to begin!

Lots of changes for my Shepherd dog and I. Is it really only February?! The last month alone has been enough of a whirlwind to last me for the rest of the year. I’ve desperately wanted to get back to blogging, and more specifically, cooking and writing. I've desperately missed both of these in my life and have vowed to do much more cooking and writing this year.

Of the many changes that abound in my life as of late, the biggest came when Bax and I bid DC ado after almost 4 years and moved to a Fed Hill in Baltimore, a city that has always been like a second home to me and that I’m beyond thrilled to finally be residing in. Moving out of DC brought lots more space (we literally tripled our living quarters) and returned me to a life of driving and car ownership. We've only been in our new life for a little under a week and still words cannot express how much I’m loving having walls around my bedroom, a washer and dryer in my abode, and the ability to drive myself to the grocery store. Never will I ever live in a studio apartment, have to keep a roll of quarters on hand for laundry, or schlep my groceries to and from market on foot again.  I learned a lot from these experiences, but mostly they made me appreciate some of the simple pleasures in life that I had previously taken for granted. 

There is so much that I love about my new apartment I feel like I'm betraying parts of it if I favor some rooms or spaces more than others, but there are definitely some stars in our midst. First, the giant wooden beam that runs from floor to 15 foot ceiling just outside the kitchen. I'm a sucker for refurbished buildings and exposed wood and brick. Since beginning my city life, it's been a long standing dream of mine to reside in an old factory (I also love a good factory tour, so the mash-up is kind of perfect). In DC that wasn't really an option, so imagine my excitement upon finding an old factory to reside in in Baltimore...with a little exposed wood on the side. Yes, I was giddier than a child on Christmas. 

I'd initially looked at a unit in the building that had the original wood floors (something else I love) and while the competition was stiff for that one, not getting it led me to discover the place I now call home. Unfortunately, when I found my abode it had this heinous hotel-like carpet engulfing it. Carpet is nice at times, but similar to summer, I prefer it in small doses. Seeing potential in my beloved beam, I was able to talk the building manager into removing the carpet throughout most of the apartment (it now only remains in the bedroom), thus making the place look infinitely better and really bringing the beam to life. There have been too many boxes to allow for proper photography up until this point, but once I get the place a little more together I will give beam his time in the spotlight.

In addition to beam, the kitchen is another of my favorite things. Despite how tiny my DC studio was, its kitchen was surprisingly spacious and a place I loved to be. It was actually because of how much I loved my DC kitchen that I decided to teach myself how to cook so that I could put it to good use. I made lots of wonderful things in there that made a lot of people very happy and hope to do the same in my new kitchen. 

Since everything is bigger in Baltimore, so too is my kitchen. It's the only room in the house that's really together at this point, which is due both to the fact that I hate working in a messy kitchen and that I got another round of fun kitchen tools for Christmas that I was excited to finally unwrap and play with. While my DC kitchen was great, it wasn't very open. My new kitchen has a bar top counter and overlooks the living room and the home office I've erected for myself so I can watch TV or talk to guests while I practice my craft....now I just need to get all these boxes unpacked so I can actually have people over.

While there is a lot that I love about my new life and plethora of space, there is one thing I'm still struggling with: my commute. My office is in Bethesda, and while I work from home two days a week, I still have to spend the other three days traveling 2 hrs each way to and from Bethesda via both Marc and Metro. It's a lot of trains and a lot of time, during which I can only take solace in the fact that I'm able to work (thanks to noise canceling headphones) or sleep to help pass the time, two things I wouldn't be able to do if I was driving and sitting in traffic. In addition to the time spent commuting, I also start the days that I go into the office insanely early (like 4:30 early) because I insist on working out before work because I'm too exhausted to even think about doing so after work. In fact, I'm so tired after work that I pretty much just want to curl up and go to sleep, and most definitely don't want to spend a lot of time making dinner. Enter: easy guacamole.

I promise, I usually have more well balanced meals than a bowl of guacamole, but today felt especially draining and sometimes you just need a good, comfort, go-to meal that's both quick and delicious. I'd picked up a couple avocados at market over the weekend because my oven wasn't working when I first moved in and I wanted to have some things on hand that I could either make in the microwave or that didn't require cooking at all. One of the avocados was ripe to perfection today and I couldn't wait to dive in. Guacamole is definitely one of my favorite grown up comfort foods. Nothing makes me happier than sitting with a bowl of fresh guac...except maybe pizza and wine, both of which I could consume on the daily and not grow tired of them. This recipe is super simple and really just involves throwing a bunch of stuff in a bowl and letting the mixing magic take over. It's one of the few recipes where I don't measure anything, which is how I one day hope to cook all my meals. But for now, it's just guac.

Easy Peasy Guacamole 

Ingredients

• 1 medium avocado, ripe
• Cherry tomatoes
• Red onion
• Cilantro
• Garlic salt
• Lime juice

Another bonus to making guac tonight-I got to break out the new guac bowl Sister gifted me for Christmas

Directions

1. Slice avocado in half, length wise, and remove pit with a knife. Scoop out insides into bowl.
2. Mash avocado in bowl with mortar or fork.
3. Add onion, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and stir until combined.
4. Add garlic salt and lime juice to taste. 
5. Serve with your favorite chips and enjoy! 

I miss it already

Mother's Day Baking

Sadly, it seems the only time I get to bake anymore is for an occasion  I miss baking just for the hell of it. When things were calmer at work I'd sometimes concoct a dream dessert and before I knew it, BAM, it was coming out of the oven preparing to be devoured. One day I hope to return to a more pleasant and care-free existence. In the meantime, my skills shall be kept alive by the fact that Mother's Day kicks off what I like to refer to as "Family Birthday-Holiday Season."

Because I enjoy giving gifts (and belting out "Happy Birthday" at full volume), this time of the year (May-August) isn't as unpleasant for me as it could otherwise be. In addition to Mother's and Father's Day, mother's birthday is in June and Father, Sister, and Grandmom round out the summer with their August trifecta of birthdays. If I didn't hate summer so much I'd plot to one day wed amidst it just to give myself a holiday to call my own (and more importantly, for which I could receive gifts). But alas, always a bridesmaid and never a bride, I shall resign myself to another summer of gift giving and baking. 

This year, Sister was absent from our Mother's Day festivities (and if you're wondering, yes, she was still the favorite despite being absent), so I found myself with a smaller audience for which to bake for. Since Mother's Day is a shared occasion amongst the women-folk, I had to be respectful of all dessert preferences. AS and Grandmom can't have chocolate and mother loves chocolate more than anything. I struggled with how to reconcile these competing interests, not wishing to make one chocolate-free dessert for the group since I'd just made this lemon cake for Easter. After giving it some thought my eureka moment happened. I'd make two desserts, but half both the recipes as to end up with an acceptable amount for our small group. It was a stroke of genius that I remain proud of. 

First up, for the woman that birthed me and has since had to put up with, as she likes to refer to it, "my strong-will and difficult personality," I created these:

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

*Original recipe courtesy of Sophisticated Gourmet

Ingredients 

[Note: these measurements are for the half version I made (6 extra-large cupcakes), follow original for a larger batch]

For Cake

• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 3/8 + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/8 cup + 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/8 tsp baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 of 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup boiling water

For Icing

• 6 Tbsps unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 ¼ cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
• ¾ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp light corn syrup

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line muffin tins with paper liners. [I'd discovered my Sister's giant muffin pan in the basement while gathering supplies and thus decided to make 6 giant cupcakes/mini cakes....a little secret, I hate making cupcakes because then you have to icing them all individually, so the fewer cupcakes I ultimately have to icing, the better.]

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt

3. Mix in half an egg, Greek yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth and combined

4. Bring water to a boil (this takes literally no time with such a small amount). Pour boiling water into the mix and slowly mix starting from the center. The batter will be liquidy, but this is normal

5. Divide batter evenly among the lined cups and bake for 15-19 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean

6. Allow cupcakes to cool for a few minutes in their tin post-bakng, then transfer to wire racks for the remainder of their cooling process. Let them cool completely before applying icing

7. While they're cooling, you can prepare the icing. Begin by combining the melted butter and cocoa powder in a stand mixture until smooth

8. Alternately mix in milk and powdered sugar, mixing at medium speed in between. Add additional milk if icing is too dry. Finish by adding vanilla extract and light corn syrup

9. Once cupcakes are cool, dress in icing and top with sprinkles (because I love any excuse to use sprinkles)

And for the woman who birthed my mother, I created these:

Lemon Tartletts

*Original recipe found here

Ingredients
[Note: I also went a little rogue in the portion size on these, although instead of halving the recipe, I made them in a slight smaller than normal muffin tin rather than the mini version called for in the original version]

For Tart Shells

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

For Filling

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp butter melted 
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Preparation

1. Preheat over to 325F and spray muffin tin with Pam

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg white and blend well

3. Next, add flour and mix until well blended. (You can chill dough slightly at this juncture or just power through. I did the latter and it wasn't as sticky as I fear it would be). Divide dough into muffin cups and press into tart shells

4. For filling, lightly whisk eggs. Whisk in sugar and butter, lemon zest and juice. Mix well. Pour filling evenly into tart shells

5. Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Remove pan to cooling rack for 5 minutes, then remove tartletts from pan and cool on rack. Cool completely before storing in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator

6. At serving time, give them a little dusting with powdered sugar and yell "TaDa" for dramatic effect!

Happy Mother's Day!

With Grandmom and Mother after they enjoyed my baked goods

2013: The Year of the Artichoke

For those of you that have been following my blog for a while now, you know that I love a good food of the year (FOTY). I explained how this process began last year as part of my 2012 FOTY triumph. Basically, I pick a food every year that I want to like but currently don't and spend the year learning to love it. 

This year, I picked the artichoke. Unfortunately, unlike last year, it took me some time to work up to it. My hesitation was driven partially by fear, but mostly by my absentmindedness whilst at market. Unlike some of the more popular fruits and veggies, artichokes are relatively hidden at market, making it difficult for me to remember that I want to try one! I took a baby step in the direction of artichoke eating with this yummy dip back in March, but still cooking with the real thing eluded me. Finally, last week, I remembered to buy a full artichoke. Let the experimentation begin! 

Buying the artichoke was just half the battle. I then had to decide what I wanted to do with it....the options runneth over. After spending some time on my idea boards (also know as Pinterest) I came up with my first artichoke recipe:

Stuffed Artichoke with Orzo and Veggies

Ingredients

• 1 medium artichoke (roasted)
• 1/4 cup orzo 
• 1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/3 cup yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/3 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 cup mushrooms, diced
• 2-3 garlic gloves, halved
• Feta cheese (for sprinkling on top)
• Lemon juice (2-3 Tbsps)
• Olive oil (for drizzling)
• Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425F

2. Wash and prep artichoke for roasting. I found this process to be super helpful for my first go-round at artichoke roasting. My spin on the process through photos:

Wash and prepare for cutting

Chop top of artichoke off

Gently spread out leaves and insert garlic halves

Place on a piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt 

Wrap artichoke in two pieces of foil to avoid any leaks

Bake for 35 minutes or until tender

3. While artichoke is baking, cook orzo according to directions on package

4. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet or wok, then stir fry peppers, mushrooms, and onion until tender and onions are lightly browned

5. Toss cooked orzo with veggies and season to taste

6. Remove garlic cloves from artichoke once finished baking. Remove artichoke heart and spread leaves apart to create a hole in the middle of the artichoke

7. Fill artichoke with orzo-veggie mixture and top with feta before serving

Pure deliciousness ensued

FOTY 2013 officially conquered!