April 2010 – Page 2 – First Look, Then Cook

Chewy Brownies

Published on April 10, 2010 by Dawn27 Comments

Ok – I made it to the chewy brownies – and I am so happy I did. Over the years I have occasionally made boxed brownies when absolutely necessary – like when we went to the Washington coast for a weekend, and I wanted to make brownies at the house we were staying at, but didn’t want to bring all the ingredients. Or in college when it was just too expensive to buy all the ingredients for just one pan of brownies. I have to say, whenever I have done that, the brownies are delicious, and they are usually very chewy. Could it be that you are adding oil to the mix, and not butter?

It just so happens that in Cook’s Illustrated last month, they had an article about the best chewy brownies – they say it is all in the type of fat you use. Well – I can’t refute them – I made their version, and they were amazing. Instead of using all butter, this recipe called for half butter and half vegetable oil. I actually didn’t use all of the oil it called for, and mine were plenty good, I wasn’t missing a thing. Also, I didn’t have any bittersweet chocolate in the house, so I used semisweet – so mine were more on the milk chocolate end, but still ridiculously good.

The best story that came out of these brownies? I served them for my daughter’s book club, and the next day I packed her on of the left-overs in her lunch. She happened to be eating lunch with one of the girls from the book club, and she asked if those were the same brownies that they had the night before. When my daughter said yes, her friend said, “You are lucky, those were the best brownies ever!”

Ingredients

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso (optional)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon table salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the oven rack on the lowest position. Using a 9×13 baking pan, cut two pieces of foil, and fold the edges over so they fit perfectly in the pan. Place on piece of foil lengthwise, and one width-wise. This will allow you to lift the brownies easily out of the pan after they are cooked. Once the foil has been fitted into the pan, spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Whisk cocoa, espresso powder (if using), and boiling water together in a large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Whisk in melted butter and oil. (Mixture may look curdled.) Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. Add flour and salt and mix with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack and cool for 1 1/2 hours.

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

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Chicken Parmesan Burger

Published on April 8, 2010April 8, 2010 by Dawn1 Comment

I am pretty fortunate that my kids both like meat. I know tons of parents who complain that their kids are addicted to carbs, but will not eat meat. I know that I can always serve them a piece of chicken, steak or pork (without sauce) and they will eat it. Of course their meat of choice is – hamburgers. They are both starting to get into cheeseburgers as well. My older daughter finally likes a nice roll around her burger, while my younger one still prefers the burger to be cut up into chunks just big enough to dunk into ketchup and pop into her mouth.

When I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit, I figured it would be right up their alley – and different enough that it would be right up my alley as well. I followed the recipe exactly, except that I didn’t have enough fresh basil leaves to layer with the radicchio. The burgers were excellent – the meat was flavored perfectly – and the fresh mozzarella on top was such a nice treat. In my opinion, these were pizza burgers – which is probably why the kids liked them so much – their two favorite meals wrapped into one.

Ingredients

10 1/2-inch-thick slices French bread (4 inches in diameter); 8 slices toasted, 2 slices (crust removed) diced
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons minced fresh basil, divided, plus 12 large basil leaves
3/4 cup purchased refrigerated marinara sauce
12 ounces ground chicken (white meat)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
4 large radicchio leaves

Preparation

Blend diced bread and Parmesan in processor to fine crumbs. Transfer to pie dish; mix in 2 tablespoons minced basil.

Mix marinara and 2 tablespoons basil in small saucepan. Transfer 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce to large bowl. Add chicken, 1/2 tablespoon oil, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle with pepper; blend. Shape into four 1/2-inch-thick patties; coat with crumbs. Heat sauce over low heat.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook patties until bottoms are crusty, 4 minutes. Turn patties over; top with cheese. Cook 3 minutes. Cover; cook until cooked through and cheese is melted, about 1 minute.

Assemble burgers with bread, radicchio, basil leaves, and warm marinara.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Chicken Parmesan Burger

Cappuccino Cheesecake

Published on April 6, 2010 by Dawn10 Comments

My earliest memory of cheesecake has scarred me forever. When I was probably around 13 years old, I was at my friend’s house and we decided to bake something. For some reason that I can no longer remember, we decided on a cheesecake – just a regular old-fashioned cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. This was the most beautiful cheesecake I have ever seen in my life – we did an outstanding job – especially given that neither of us had ever done that before. I am not even sure I had ever had a piece of cheesecake, but at that point in my life – since there were no sweets in my house – I was into pretty much anything that wasn’t chocolate.

We were so proud of this cheesecake – that yes, we took a picture! Little did I know that someday this would be something I do constantly… We found her mom’s camera, and took a picture of this beauty. Mind you – we have still not had a piece at this point. My friend was putting it into the refrigerator to chill – when she stumbled just a little, and there went the cheesecake onto the floor. We just couldn’t believe it. We were so upset. We salvaged what we could – but thank goodness for the pictures. We never forgot that day – in fact, even though we grew apart later on in high school – whenever we saw each other, we would talk about our stunning cheesecake that ended up on the floor.

To this day, whenever I think of cheesecake, I think about that day. When I carried this cake outside to photograph it, I thought how classic it would be if it ended up on the floor.

This recipe is one of my favorites from Bon Appetit – I have adapted it slightly below by changing the crust. I love the chocolate wafer cookies and think they make an excellent crust. This was the first time I made the chocolate curls on top – the cheesecake had such a big crack in it, that I had to cover it up – especially because this was for a school auction. The curls were SO EASY to make, I will definitely do it again. This is a great method – I highly recommend it – even if your cheesecake doesn’t crack!

Ingredients

Crust

20 chocolate wafer cookies, crushed
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar

Filling

1/2 cup whipping cream
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder or coffee powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate curls (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix crackers, butter and 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl; press onto bottom (not sides) of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Bake crust 10 minutes. Cool. Maintain oven temperature.

Combine cream, espresso powder and vanilla in small bowl; set aside. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in 1 1/4 cups sugar, then eggs 1 at a time. Beat in flour. Stir espresso mixture until powder dissolves; beat into cream cheese mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter over crust. Bake cake until edges are puffed and beginning to crack and center is just set, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Cool on rack 30 minutes; chill cake uncovered until cold, about 6 hours. Cover; keep chilled at least 1 day and up to 2 days.

Cut around cake to loosen. Release pan sides. Top with chocolate curls, if desired.

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Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts with Lemon and Chive Pan Sauce

Published on April 4, 2010April 4, 2010 by Dawn2 Comments

For the first few months of this blog, I was pretty quiet about it at work. I told a few people, but didn’t want to make a big deal about it. A couple of months ago I was in a meeting, and my boss told some people about my blog. They couldn’t believe it, and went right to the site to see for themselves. One of the women was very impressed – it turns out her mother was a chef and she loves to cook – although she doesn’t have nearly as much time for that as she would like. I happened to be working on a project with her – and when it was done, she surprised me by buying me a subscription to Cooks Illustrated. I was completely blown away, and so honored.

Since the ending of Gourmet, I have definitely missed my trifecta every month (Gourmet, Bon Appetit and Cooking Light) – now I am back to having three magazines to create my menus for the month. This month Cook’s Illustrated did an article on the best way to cook chicken breasts. They wanted a chicken breast that was tender on the inside and browned nicely on the outside, without over or under cooking the chicken. I think they got it right. This technique worked like a charm – I did have the added hassle of cleaning an additional baking dish at the end, but I think it was worth it. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and had a nice brown crust around the outside – oh and the sauce, just marvelous! I served this with some mashed potatoes, and we were pouring the extra sauce on top of the potatoes not to waste a single bit. Cook’s Illustrated definitely knows what they are doing…I can’t wait for the next edition.

Ingredients

Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6-8 ounces each)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce

1 medium shallot, minced
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, chilled
salt & pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees and adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Using a fork, poke the thickest part of each chicken breast 5 to 6 times. Sprinkle the breasts evenly with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Places the chicken breasts in a 9×13-inch baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake until the thickest part of the breast registers 145 to 150 degrees on an instant read thermometer – around 30-40 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts.

Remove the chicken from the oven and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and pat dry. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium high heat until smoking. While the pan is heating, whisk the butter, flour, cornstarch, and pepper together in a small bowl. Lightly brush the top side of the breasts with half the butter mixture. Place the chicken in the skillet (butter side down) and cook until browned, about 3-4 minutes. While the chicken browns, brush the chicken with the remaining butter mixture. Using tongs, flip the chicken, reduce heat to medium, and cook until the second side is browned and the thickest part of the breast registers 160-165. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let rest while making the pan sauce. If you are not making a sauce, let the chicken rest for 5 minutes anyway before serving.

Add shallot to the skillet and cook over medium heat until softened about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir constantly – around 30 seconds. Add broth and increase heat to medium high, and bring to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer rapidly until reduced to about 3/4 of a cup, 3-5 minutes. Stir in any accumulated juices from the plate holding the chicken, and return to simmer and cook 30 seconds more. Turn off the heat, and whisk in the lemon juice, chives and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over chicken and serve immediately.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Pan Seared Chicken Breasts