Fresh Cranberry Relish

Yes, Thanksgiving has come and gone and I failed to post this in time for the festivities, but fresh cranberry relish is a great addition to a Christmas Turkey dinner too!

It is a super easy and simple addition to any turkey dinner!

All you need is:

1 bag of cranberries

2 oranges

2/3 c. sugar (I used 1/3 c. sugar and 1/3 c. Splenda)

Get the zest from the oranges! Then, peel them and chop them into 1-inch-ish pieces.

Place them and the cranberries (rinse them first and discard any bad ones) in your blender/food processor/whatever you have. I used my new Ninja food processor/blender.

Add the sugar/sweetener.

And pulse a few times until you get to your desired consistency. Taste to see if you need more sugar - depending on the tartness of the berries and your personal preferences, you may need to add more sugar. Enjoy with turkey and all the trimmings!

Pork Tostadas

Wow. I've been meaning to post the recipe for these tostadas for over a month. Lately, it's been so crazy that we've been eating Chipotle and pizza all the time...

These tostadas are great. They take a while to cook, but most of it is inactive cooking time so you can start them and then do other things while they are cooking. Also, I absolutely LOVE the freshly fried tortilla tostada shells... yum, yum, yum! The recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen... enjoy!

Pork Tinga adapted from ATK

2 or 3 pounds boneless pork butt, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium onions, 1 quartered and 1 chopped fine
5 medium garlic cloves, 3 peeled and smashed and 2 pressed through garlic press
1 T dried thyme
Salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon ground chipotle powder OR 1 to 2 chopped "Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce" (comes in a can)
2 bay leaves

Tostadas
3/4 cup vegetable oil
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas (see note)
Salt

Garnishes
Queso fresco or monterrey jack cheese
Fresh cilantro leaves
Sour cream
Diced avocado
Lime wedges

Another great garnish is roasted corn salsa - Click Here to see Mark Bittman's corn salsa recipe.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE TINGA: Bring pork, quartered onion, smashed garlic cloves, thyme, about 1 teaspoon salt, and 6 cups water to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to surface. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook until pork is tender, 75 to 90 minutes. Drain pork, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Discard onion, garlic, and thyme. Return pork to saucepan and, using potato masher, mash until shredded into rough ½-inch pieces, and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shredded pork, chopped onion, and oregano; cook, stirring often, until pork is well browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in tomato sauce, chipotle powder or chiles, reserved pork cooking liquid, and bay leaves; simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves and season with salt to taste.

4. TO FRY TOSTADAS: Heat vegetable oil in 8-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat to 350 degrees. Using fork, poke center of each tortilla 3 or 4 times (to prevent puffing and allow for even cooking). Fry 1 at a time, holding metal potato masher in upright position on top of tortilla to keep it submerged until crisp and lightly browned, 45 to 60 seconds (no flipping is necessary if you use the masher). Drain on paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

5. TO SERVE: Spoon small amount of shredded pork onto center of each tostada and serve, passing garnishes separately.

 

 

Apple Bake 2011!

Apple Bake 2011 was a huge success!!

And it all started with a fire alarm... At around 3PM, 30 minutes before the dishes were due in to the event, the fire alarm went off! Some students just kept on going, cutting up their apples on the sidewalk:

Despite the craziness, Apple Bake 2011 went on and we received some exciting entries this year!

After the judging took place, the students came down to feast on all of the wonderful food.

AND Tim the Beaver joined us as well!

We tallied up the scores and determined the winners...

... which we had so many of!!!

 

Brownies

America's Test Kitchen took on Copley Square in Boston with the question of, "Which is better: homemade or boxed brownies?". To their dismay, they found that people preferred the taste of boxed brownies to homemade, largely because the boxed variety were much chewier, more moist, and overall just better. They also determined that the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fat really matters, claiming that homemade brownies usually have too much butter and not enough vegetable oil. And as always, they said that the chocolate flavor of boxed brownies is not chocolatey enough for them.

Boxed brownies will usually satisfy me - especially the Ghiradelli brand, whose boxed brownies are AMAZING. But I wanted to try the ATK recipe just for kicks AND I like knowing what is in my brownies, so I do prefer homemade when I have the time. They came out really good, and they aren't too crazily complicated, like some of the ATK recipes can be.

Here is the recipe, slightly modified from the original version.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup cocoa  
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
  
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate , cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13X9 pan with 2 pieces of foil, so that the foil hangs over all four sides of the pan, creating handles by which you can lift the brownies out of the pan with. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. 

2. Whisk cocoa, instant coffee, and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Whisk in melted butter and oil. Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. Add flour and salt and mix with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces.

3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and cool for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

4. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

Lemon Cheesecake

No-bake Lemon Cheesecake! Yum!

I made this cheesecake in honor of those C5ers who listed cheesecake as their favorite dessert. We like to have our freshmen students over for dinner every fall, and I like to make their favorite desserts if I can. I don't normally make or even really like cheesecake - it is not one of my favorite desserts - but this cheesecake was GOOD. I liked it, and I decided that I would make it again, so I decided to share it here.

The recipe is adapted from Cook's Country's Lemon Icebox Cheesecake. I had to make it in a pie dish instead of a cheescake pan but it worked out okay. Next time, I would just make sure to spray the pan before putting the crust in because it was a pain to get the crust out of the pan! Seriously, it was very difficult.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

Crust

15 lemon sandwich cookies, processed in a food processor

3 T melted butter

1 t. (or so) grated lemon zest.

Curd

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1/4 c. sugar

pinch of salt

2 T lemon juice

1 T butter

1 T heavy cream

Filling

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/4 c. lemon juice

1 1/2 pounds cream cheese

3/4 c. sugar

pinch of salt

1 1/4 c. heavy cream

Preparation Instructions

Crust Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cookies, butter, and zest either in the food processor or in a bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9 inch pie dish or cheesecake pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Curd Whisk egg, egg yolk, sugar, and salt together in a small saucepan. Add lemon juice and cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and pudding like. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes. If it doesn't start thickening after 4 minutes, turn the heat up a bit but keep stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and cream. Strain the curd to get out any clumpy parts, and refrigerate until you need it in the next step.

Filling First soften the gelatin by mixing the lemon juice and gelatin in a small bowl and letting it sit for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, microwave about 30 seconds, or until the gelatin has dissolved. Set the gelatin aside. Then, beat cream cheese, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the cream and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes. Then add gelatin mixture and 1/4 c. of the curd. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth and airy, about 3 minutes.

Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth out the top. Put the rest of the curd in a small ziploc baggy and cut a small slit in the corner of the bag. Pipe lines of curd on top of the cake and lightly drag a knive or skewer through the lines to create a marbled appearance.

Refridgerate at least 6 hours. Serve!

Enjoy!

Apple Bake 2011

Burton Conner Apple Bake 2011 is right around the corner!

For those of you who may not know what Apple Bake is, here is how it works: Every year, the residents of Burton Conner (MIT undergraduate dormitory) cook and bake apple recipes and submit them into a bake-off competition. Hundreds of students submit hundreds of entries every year.

Last year, the event was a great success!

We were featured in MIT News:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/apple-bake.html

We also began the tradition of apple bake mugs, and had the fun theme of Peace, Love, and Apple Pie!

This year, we made a website (Click to check it out).

and are really excited about our theme: Keep Calm and Bake Apples!

It will all be happening on November 6, 2011!!!

 

 

Iced Coffee

This summer I became addicted to iced coffee. Having to wake up early every day all summer long was not easy, but this coffee got me through. Just think - ice cold coffee over ice mixed with Splenda and milk - it was a yummy way to start the morning.

My favorite coffee combo is french vanilla coffee - I fill a glass with ice and then about 3/4 full of coffee - mixed with a packet of Splenda and topped off with 1% milk. I started using a combo of half and half and skim milk, though, because Cambridge Cowboy is worried about his saturated fat intake.

Here's how to make the coffee (adapted from PW's iced coffee recipe):

1. Measure out about a cup of ground coffee. My favorite is French Vanilla from New England Coffee, but any coffee you like should work.

2. Pour the coffee into a 1/2 gallon pitcher

3. Fill the pitcher with water and let sit for 8 - 12 hours.

4. Using a strainer and coffee filter, cheese cloth, or paper towels, strain the grounds out of the iced coffee. Funnell the coffee into a container you can keep it in the fridge in.* Refrigerate overnight, and enjoy.

*Any pitcher would work, but I have found that a growler is the perfect size to store this amount of coffee in.

 

Oatmeal Cream Pies

When I was a kid, I loved Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.

I came across a recipe for Oatmeal Cream Pies, and decided to give it a try.

These cream pies are 100 times better than the ones I fell in love with as a kid. 

Note: For me, the recipe made about 40 cookies and enough filling to make 14 cream pies.The cookies are good on their own, though, so I think it turned out well.

INGREDIENTS

For the cookies:

3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp honey
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

For the marshmallow frosting:

2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

---

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Set the baking sheets aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and honey and beat until the ingredients are incorporated.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Carefully stir in the oats until evenly distributed. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the bowl from the fridge and drop 1 tbsp size pieces of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies 8-10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. The cookies will be soft and appear slightly undercooked in the middle when removed from the oven; however, they firm as they cool. Cool on a baking sheet until they set and then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the marshmallow frosting. In a double boiler (or using a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water) combine the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tarter. Whisk the mixture frequently until it is very frothy and measures approximately 160 degrees. Carefully add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the egg mixture holds stiff peaks and is a light texture (several minutes). Carefully fold the vanilla into the egg whites mixture. Add the frosting to the underside of one cookie and assemble.

Chicken Piccata

This is an easy weeknight meal that is also incredibly delicious! It is also a great meal to make for a large group of people because it is simple and features classic flavors. The method I use to make this recipe comes from my uncle Wiley. It was also one of the first recipes I ever learned to make.

You need:
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts, sliced thin and sprinkled with salt and pepper
1 or 2 T olive oil
1 or 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
about 2 c. chicken broth
juice from 1 lemon
spoonful of honey
capers (optional)

The Method:
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in large skillet. Add garlic and saute chicken in garlic and olive oil. Remove chicken from pan when it is cooked through and nicely browned (about 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness of chicken). Turn heat to medium and melt 2 T butter with the leftovers in the pan. Add 3 T flour, stir, and cook for a minute. Whisk in chicken broth and lemon juice. Let cook for 5 to ten minutes until sauce thickens. Add honey and capers (if desired) to taste.

Serve chicken and sauce over angel hair pasta with a salad.

House Salad

This "house salad" gets made quite often at our house! 

It consists of:

• mixed greens
• sliced grape tomatoes
• sliced Persian cucumbers
• chopped green onions
• some kind of dressing (I enjoy Brianna's french vinaigrette or Trader Joe's balsamic vinaigrette)

Home-made dressings are only usually made for special occasions, but "house salads" are pretty much an every day food!