Red Velvet Cheesecake

Everybody deserves to have at least one person in their life that they can totally depend on.  Know, without a doubt, that this person has only your best interests at heart.  A person that you can trust to love and like you even when you have revealed the worst part of yourself.  Someone that makes you smile and just thinking of them not being there brings tears to your eyes.  I am so very blessed to have such a person in my life.  My sister Debbie.

Debbie loves cheesecake and I try and make her one on her birthday.  I decided to make her one recently just to let her know I love her and appreciate her.  Red is her favorite color and her favorite flavor.  She loves anything strawberry, cherry, or red velvet.  Anything red so Red Velvet Cheesecake is the perfect dessert for her.

This recipe was pretty easy as far as cheesecakes go.  Just make a simple crust and pour the filling over.  The recipe has you adding chocolate and red food coloring to a portion of the batter to create the swirl but you could easily increase the quantities of both and create a lovely solid red cheesecake.  The red velvet swirl had a light chocolate flavor and paired well with the deeper chocolate flavor of the crust.  Not the best cheesecake I've made, but still delicious.

Speaking of cheesecake crust, I love the chocolate wafer cookies most recipes call for but they can be difficult to find and expensive so I usually just use chocolate animal crackers of chocolate Teddy Grahams.  Great for snacking as you bake!  

I wish the top hadn't cracked and really do prefer to cook cheesecakes in a bain marie.  I recently read that over beating your batter can cause the cheesecake to rise and then crack as it deflates.  I think that may have been part of the issue here because I mixed the batter according to the directions and felt like it was way too long. 

Obviously this would be a lovely cheesecake to serve for someone special on Valentine's Day. It would be especially cute made as minis.  Heart shaped, even better.  

This one is for you Debbie!  I love you!

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Food Network Magazine

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups finely crushed chocolate cookies (about 28 cookies)

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

For the cheesecake:

4 8-ounces packages of cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon red food coloring

Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the cookie crumbs, butter, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Press into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Put the pan on a baking sheet and bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Make the filling: Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth, 3-4 minutes. Add the flour, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Transfer 2 cups of the batter to a small bowl. Stir in the cocoa powder and red food coloring. Pour the red batter into the crust, then pour white batter on top. Using a spoon, pull some of the red batter up from the bottom of the cake and swirl. Bake until the edges are set and the center is still wobbly, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Turn off the oven but keep the cake inside to cool, about 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake (don't remove the springform pan) and set on rack to cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before slicing.

Cook's Notes: I pulled my cake out of the oven after about an hour.  I would also suggest only beating the batter until it is smooth and combined, about 1-2 minutes.  

French Herb Bread

What do you think of the new look?  I'm pleased as punch with it!

I've had a Twitter account for a while now but didn't really understand how to use.  Now that I've (mostly) figured it out, I love it.  Such a fun way to share bits of information.  If you are a twitterer too, let's hook up.  (Probably too late to try and play this cool since I already outed myself as lame and out of touch.)  You can find me at @candygirlky.  

On to the food.  This recipe for French Herb Bread was included in King Arthur Flour's latest catalog.  My bread baking skills have improved to the point that I jump right in when I see a bread recipe I want to make.  I used my new kitchen scale for the first time here and am a convert.  I can't believe I waited so long to buy one.  So much easier.

By far one of the easiest and most delicious breads I've made.  Herbs de Provence are one of my favorite herb mixes to use and are perfect here to give the bread a lovely herbaceous flavor.    A perfectly crusty crust encases a light, yet hearty interior.  Dry milk and potato flakes are kind of oddball ingredients and by chance, I had them in my pantry.  If you don't have them, pick them up just for this recipe because you will want to make it again and again.

I made a full size loaf but plan on making mini loaves in the future to serve alongside bowls of steaming soup.  Or the next time we grill out to mimic the little loaves of bread popular at a lot of steakhouses.  Served with honey butter.  Or maybe with some Gruyere cheese sprinkled on top and baked into the crust.  Endless possibilities.

French Herb Bread
adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup potato flour or 1/2 cup dried potato flakes
2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead - by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle - until smooth, adding additional water or flour as needed.  If using a mixer, about 6-8 minutes.

Cover the dough and let it rise for about 1 hour.  

Shape the dough into a log and place in a lightly greased 9" x 5" inch loaf pan.  

Cover and let rise until the dough has crowned about 1" over the rim of the pan, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.  Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes.  An instant-read thermometer, inserted into the center of the loaf should register at least 190 degrees F.  Tent the bread lightly with foil if it appears to be browning too quickly.

Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out of the pan, and cool on a rack.  

Banana-Cashew Ice Cream with Caramelized White Chocolate Freckles

It's no secret that I love to make ice cream.  I love to make ice cream because I love to eat it.  A lot.

Far too much time had passed since I had made any ice cream so I pulled out my current favorite ice cream cookbook, Jeni's Spendid Ice Creams at Home.  One of the things I love about this cookbook is that Jeni has divided the recipes into seasons:  winter, spring, summer, and fall.  Flipping through the pages, I was surprised to find that most of the recipes I have tried have been from the winter section.  Probably because chocolate is season-less.

I decided on banana ice cream because I had a couple of bananas on the counter getting black and I wanted to try one of Jeni's recipes using freckles.  There are a couple of recipes in the book for bombe, basically a magic shell type syrup that hardens once it makes contact with the cold ice cream and creates a shell that really is magical.  Jeni uses bombes both in and on her ice creams.  In the ice cream the liquid syrup separates into 'freckles', little specks of hardened chocolate.  Nothing better than that snap of chocolate followed by the soft creaminess of the ice cream.  Yum.

Jeni's technique for making ice cream is completely different than traditional recipes.  It seems complicated but really is quite simple and results in a super creamy ice cream that I love.  The banana flavor really stands out here as well as the caramelized white chocolate bits, or freckles.  I added some lightly salted cashews for crunch and they were the perfect nut for this flavor combination.

Whatever the season, you will go bananas for this banana ice cream!


Banana-Cashew Ice Cream with Caramelized White Chocolate Freckles
adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, Jeni Britton Bauer

Makes a little over 1 quart

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ripe bananas
1/2 recipe Caramelized White Chocolate Bombe Shell (recipe below)
1/2 cup lightly salted cashews

PREP  Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.  
  Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
  Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

COOK  Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
  Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  
  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.

CHILL  Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.
  Cut the bananas into chunks and puree in a food processor or mash with a fork until smooth.  Blend the bananas into the hot cream mixture.
  Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.  Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

FREEZE  Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and spin until thick and creamy.
  When the ice cream is almost ready, melt the white chocolate:  melt gently until it is warm, liquefied, and smooth.
  When the ice cream is ready, drizzle the warm white chocolate into the top of the canister and continue spinning until it is completely incorporated.  Add the cashews and spin just until they are incorporated.
  Pack the ice cream into a storage container with an airtight lid.  Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

Caramelized White Chocolate Bombe Shell

12 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup refined coconut oil

Combine the white chocolate and coconut oil in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth.  Then continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes a lovely deep amber, for 12 to 15 minutes.  Continue to stir constantly, or the chocolate will burn as the color deepens.  Remove from the heat if it seems the chocolate is caramelizing too rapidly.

Store covered in the refrigerator.  It will keep for up to one month.

To melt the white chocolate, scrape it into a bowl, set it in a larger bowl of hot tap water, and let stand, stirring occasionally, just until liquefied and smooth.

Can be used to add into ice creams or to cover ice cream, creating a shell.

FFWD - Broth-Braised Potatoes

These potatoes may look boring but they are anything but.  Broth-Braised Potatoes are one of my favorite recipes to date from Around My French Table to date.  

I've actually enjoyed recipes for side dishes from Dorie most of all.  Maybe because side dishes often feel like an after thought and don't receive the attention they deserve.  Sometimes it's hard to get the creative juices following with only broccoli as an inspiration.  But Garlic Crumb-Coated Broccoli proves that it can be gussied up with little effort.  Spiced Butter Glazed Carrots are crave worthy and have graced my dinner table numerous times.  And now these Broth-Braised Potatoes.

Why didn't I think of this?  Simply cooking small potatoes in an aromatic chicken broth full of herbs, garlic, and my favorite part, a strip of lemon peel, results in potatoes that are so full of flavor you will be hitting yourself on the head for not coming up with this one your own.  (If you are already cooking your potatoes in this manner, I bow to you and your genius.)

More technique, than recipe, these lovely little potatoes will be a regular around my dinner table.

Be sure to check out what the rest of our group thought of this recipe at French Fridays with Dorie.  Run to get the recipe,here.

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

When I was a kid, and by kid I mean twenty, one of my favorite meals was a frozen meatloaf or salisbury steak sharing an aluminum tray with mashed potatoes.  Those were leaner times and these little meals were about a buck each.  And yummy.  While I would be hard pressed to pick up a similar frozen meal today, I still love salisbury steak.

I came up with this recipe one evening when I found myself missing the can of condensed soup the salisbury steak recipe I had used for years called for.  Initially I began looking for something else to cook when I said to myself, "Seriously, you can't come up with a substitute?  Not only a substitute, but something better?"  Anyone else talk to themselves in their pantry?  This little pep talk was just what I needed.  I made salisbury steak that evening and it was leagues better than the recipe I had been using.

After tweaking this each time I make it, I think I've got it down.  The steaks get injected with all kinds of flavor including Worcestershire sauce, steak seasoning, and one of my favorite ingredients, umami paste.  Onions are cooked for a few minutes and then become a bed for the steaks.  This allows the onions to absorb beefy flavor before everything is covered in a ketchup based mixture.  Toss a lid over the skillet, stir every few minutes.  Place a steak over a puddle of mashed potatoes and generously ladle the lovely gravy all over.  

Homey, simple, and delicious.  Every time I make this I am reminded of my younger days and the many frozen meals I consumed.  Nice memories, but this is so much better.

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I prefer ground round)
1 14 ounce can low-sodium beef stock, divided
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs (I use panko)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons umami paste, divided (optional)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, divided
1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly

In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, 1/3 cup beef stock, bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of umami paste, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and steak seasoning until combined.  Shape mixture into 4 patties.  Set aside.

Mix remaining broth, 1 teaspoon umami paste, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, flour, and ketchup in medium bowl until combined.  Set aside.

Melt butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add onions, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until onions have started to soften. Place steak patties over onions and brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Pour off excess fat if needed.

Pour gravy mixture over meat.  Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until meat is cooked through. Stir frequently.

Bacon Cookie Showdown

Does anybody not love bacon?  How can you not love something that makes your mouth water and immediately adds ridiculous amounts of flavor?  It always satisfies.  How many things can you say that about?

As badly as I wanted to try the bacon/chocolate trend, I purposely avoided it because, while it sounded like it wouldn't work, I just knew it would.  A couple of weeks ago I foolishly made Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Big mistake.  Huge.  They were as good as I hoped they wouldn't be.  Crispy, sweet, smoky, chocolately.  Just all kinds of yumminess.  

After inhaling about half of the dough, I decided it best to take the cookies to work where they were a big hit.  People posting on Facebook, asking for recipes, and begging (one co-worker actually did beg a little) for me to make them again good.  A colleague from another office complimented them and told me about another bacon cookie that was too-good-to believe.

Enter Bacon Ginger Cookies.  They not only contain bacon, but bacon fat.  You read that right, bacon fat.  Now I live in the South were bacon is practically a food group of its own and I use bacon fat whenever and wherever I can, but it never would have occurred to me to add it to cookies.  

All I can say is, genius.  The ginger cookies were divine.  Ginger cookies with crispy bacon, rolled in sugar, and sprinkled with salt.  Spicy, chewy, smokey, salty and sweet.  What more could you ask for?

I decided to bake another batch of the Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip and see how they fared when they went head to head with Bacon Ginger Cookies.  Which one won?  I think it was a tie.  Some preferred the chocolate and others preferred the spiciness of the ginger cookie.  I don't know that I could pick a favorite.  Both are so, so, so, so good.

Now that I've discovered bacon in sweet stuff, there's no turning back...

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Noble Pig

8 strips bacon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Chop bacon into small pieces and cook until crisp.  Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, soda and salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars; about three minutes.  Add egg, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat until just blended.  Add the dry ingredients, beat until just incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips, pecans, and bacon.

Drop large tablespoons of cookie batter onto baking sheet spreading cookies about 2-3 inches apart.  The cookies will spread while baking so make sure to leave plenty of room between cookies.  I bake 8 cookies per sheet.  Baked for 10-12 minutes, until edges are brown.  Do not over bake as they will continue cooking after you pull them out of the oven and will burn easily.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Bacon Ginger Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies

8 slices bacon, sliced into 1/4 inch dice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup sorghum (or molasses)
1/2 cup raw sugar (turbinado)
sea salt for sprinkling

Cook bacon until crisp, drain and set aside.  Pour off fat and reserve (let fat cool slightly before pouring as it can break glass containers - I'm speaking from experience).  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Place flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl and whisk to combine.  

Place butter and sugars in bowl of electric mixer and beat until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.  Beat in reserved bacon fat (about 1/4 cup).  Add egg and mix until blended, scraping down bowl if necessary.  Add sorghum and mix until blended.  With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and mix until blended.  Stir in bacon.

Shape dough into one inch balls.  Roll each ball in raw sugar and space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Flatten balls slightly with the palm of your hand.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  Bake until edges are set and tops are cracked, about 8 minutes.  

Let cookies cool on wire rack.  Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 3 days.  

Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup

With a package of ground chicken staring at me every time I opened the refrigerator, I set out to do something with it.  I've made a variety of burgers using ground chicken in the past but find they are always a little bland and dry.  It was a cold, rainy Saturday and soup seemed just the thing.  Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup.

Smitten Kitchen is responsible for introducing me to food blogs and therefore directly to credit (or blame) for my addiction to the genre and to starting my own blog.  Deb's photography and writing continue to inspire me so when I went looking for a chicken meatball recipe, hers was the one I used.  

These meatballs were delicious.  I rolled 'em up really small for the soup and made a few larger ones for tasting.  A panade is the secret to keeping them moist.  Panade is a fancy word for a completely unfancy mixture of bread and milk.  Ham adds a big hit of flavor here.  I would have preferred pancetta, but the Canadian bacon I had worked just fine.  One of the things I loved about this recipe was being able to use of bits and pieces of leftovers (hamburger buns, Canadian bacon from a Christmas gift basket, a couple of shallots).   Perfect to help me waste less food.  Don't skip over the tomato paste/olive oil topping.  It was my favorite part and added extra moisture and flavor.  

The soup was basic and the perfect backdrop for the meatballs.  A lovely, slightly different soup that we all enjoyed immensely.  

What was the first food blog that made you swoon?

Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup

Chicken Meatballs
Smitten Kitchen (originally adapted from Gourmet)

3 slices Italian bread, torn into small bits, 1 cup (I used leftover hamburger buns)
1/3 cup milk
3 ounces sliced pancetta or Canadian bacon, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped (I used 2 shallots)
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large egg
1 pound ground chicken
2 tablespoons tomato paste, divided
3 tablespoons flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven.  

Soak bread in milk until softened, about 4 minutes.

Cook pancetta, onion, and garlic in one tablespoon oil, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper in a large skillet until onion is softened, about 6 minutes.  Cool slightly.

Squeeze bread to remove milk.  Discard milk.  Lightly beat egg in a large bowl and add chicken, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, pancetta mixture, and parsley.  Mix together until all ingredients are well combined.  Form into meatballs and place on baking sheet.  Note:  If making meatballs for soup, make small balls, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter.  

Stir together remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon tomato paste.  Brush mixture over meatballs.  Bake until cooked through, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 thyme sprigs
8 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup egg noodles
salt and pepper
Chicken meatballs

Heat olive oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add onions and carrots and cook until onions are translucent and softened, about 6 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until it become fragrant, about 30 seconds.  

Add thyme and chicken stock and cook over medium-low heat until carrots are almost tender, about 15 minutes.  Add egg noodles and cook until they are done.  Remove thyme stems.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add meatballs (6-8 if you are using small meatballs) to bowl.  Ladle chicken noodle soup over and serve.