Ricotta Cheesecake

This recipe would definitely not make my WW list.  We made a cheese cake similar to this when I worked at Circle Pastry Shop years ago.  It was the size of a full sheet tray and probably weighed 25lbs.  This smaller version will be easier to maneuver in and out of the oven.

2 15oz. containers whole milk ricotta cheese
1 tbsp. unsalted butter @ room temperature
1 tbsp. plus 1 C. sugar
3 tbsp unseasoned dry bread crumbs
2 8oz. packages cream cheese @ room temperature, cut into cubes
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. salt free matzo meal
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
Powdered sugar for dusting

Put ricotta in a large fine mesh strainer set over a bowl.  Drain for 30 minutes.

Arrange rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Grease 8 inch springform pan with butter.  Mix 1 tbsp. sugar and bread crumbs in a small bowl; sprinkle over buttered pan to coat.  Tap out excess crumbs.

Transfer ricotta to a food processor.  Puree for 15 seconds.  Scrape down sides of processor, puree until smooth.  Add the remaining sugar and all other ingredients, puree, scraping down sides occasionally, until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Back cheesecake until golden brown and just set, about 1 hour 15 minutes.  Transfer to a rack and let cool in pan (cake will fall slightly).  Refrigerate uncovered until cool, about 3 hours.  Then cover and chill overnight.  To serve, wrap a warm towel around pan to release the cake.  Remove pan sides.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Cut into wedges.

Baked Chicken and Zucchini

I have loved zucchini since I was a kid.  Chris is not a fan of vegetables with 3 or more syllables but I might be able to sell the zucchini to him in this recipe and maybe to the kids as well.  We'll see.

1 egg
1 tbsp. water
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 C. dry bread crumbs
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 tbsp. olive oil, divided
5 medium zucchini, sliced
4 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 tsp. minced fresh basil

In a shallow bowl, beat egg, water, 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Set aside 2 tbsp. bread crumbs.  Place the remaining crumbs in a large resealable plastic bag.  Dip chicken in egg mixture, then place in bag and shake to coat.

In a skillet, cook chicken in 2 tbsp. oil for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown; remove and set aside.  In the same skillet, saute zucchini in remaining oil until crisp tender; drain.  Transfer to a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

Sprinkled the reserved bread crumbs over the zucchini.  Top with tomato slices; sprinkle with 2/3 C. mozzarella cheese, basil and remaining salt.  Top with chicken.  Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  

Spicy Honey Roasted Chicken

This is what I am going to make for dinner on Sunday.  We are in "empty the freezer" mode ahead of the children's arrival in June.  We go through as much as possible out of the freezer so we can stock up on stuff that I can cook ahead, freeze and then thaw and reheat when the kids are here.  So, currently I am thawing the chicken needed for this recipe, a small corned beef and a 3lb pork roast.  I see reubens and pulled pork in our future but we'll talk about that later.  Right now we need to concentrate on the chicken dish mentioned above.  I am going to serve it with sweet potato fries and salad.

1 whole roasting chicken
1/2 C. honey
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Rinse and pat dry the chicken; place in roasting pan.

In a bowl, mix together the honey, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and garlic powder.  Using your hands, rub the honey mixture all over the chicken.  Baste the chicken with the melted butter.

Roast the chicken in the preheated oven until the skin begins to brown 30-45 minutes.  Baste the chicken with the juices in the roasting pan.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Baste occasionally during roasting.  An instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh near the bone should read  180 degrees.  Remove the chicken from the overn, cover with a doubled sheet of foil and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing.

Blueberry Poppy Seed Mini Loaves

Here is the next great thing going into my pre- Christmas mini loaf baking frenzy.  Of course, I may have to try it before Christmas.  There are blueberries in the freezer...hmm...gotta go!

1 1/3 C. vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
3 C. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 C. sugar
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 C. whole milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Brush 4 mini loaf pans with vegetable oil.  Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Beat the milk, 1 1/3 C. vegetable oil, the eggs, poppy seeds and extracts in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle on medium speed until combined.  Gradually beat in the flour mixture until well combined.  Fold the blueberries into the batter with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; 60 to 70 minutes.  Transfer the pans to a rack and let cool about 10 minutes, then remove the cakes to the rack to cool completely.

Ginger Angel Food Cake

Make and angel food cake from scratch?  Me??  Really???  How many question marks can I post here without being annoying????  Just checking.  I'll cut it out now.  The photo of this cake is insane.  I wonder if I can do it justice.  You'll just have to wait and see....and keeping reading my blog!

Cake
1 C. minus 1 tbsp. cake flour
1 1/2 C. confectioner's sugar, plus more for topping
1/4 tsp. salt
11 large egg whites at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
3 tbsp. finely grated peeled ginger

For the sauce
3 half pints raspberries
1/3 C. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. finely grated lime zest
1 tsp. fresh lime juice

Make the cake.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sift the flour, confectioner's sugar and salt onto a sheet of parchment.  Sift again, then set aside.

Beat the eggs whites in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until frothy.  Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.  Gradually beat in the granulated sugar, about 1 tbsp. at a time, then increase the speed to medium high and continue beating until stiff, shiny peaks form, 12 to 15 minutes.  Add the vanilla, lime zest and ginger and beat a few seconds to combine.

Sprinkle 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and gently fold with a rubber spatula.  Fold in the remaining flour mixture in 3 additions.  Transfer the batter to an ungreased 10 inch tube pan.  Bake until cake feels springy and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.  Invert the pan onto a funnel or the neck of a bottle and cool completely.  Loosen the edges with a small knife, tap the sides of the pan against the counter and unmold.

Make the sauce.  Puree 2 half pints raspberries in a blender with 2 tbsp. water, the granulated sugar, lime zest and lime juice.  Strain to remove the seeds.  Top the cake with confectioners' sugar, sauce and the remaining berries.

Raspberry Rhubarb Slab Pie

As near as I can tell, slab pie is fruit pastry baked in a jelly roll pan to make slices like you would get in a bakery (read square or rectangle) as opposed to triangle wedges coming out of a round pie pan.  I chose this recipe because of my aunts who have rhubarb growing at their house.  Also, reading the recipe made my mouth water.  When is rhubarb ready??

3 1/4 C. all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 C. butter

3/4 C. plus 1 to 2 tbsp. 2% milk

1 egg yolk

2 C. sugar

1/4 C. cornstarch

5 C. fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed and drained

3 C. sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed and drained

Vanilla icing

1 1/4 C. confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

5 to 6 tbsp. 2% milk

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Whisk 3/4 C. milk and egg yolk; gradually add to flour mixture, tossing  with a fork until dough forms a ball.  Add additional milk, 1 tbsp. at a time, if necessary.

Divide dough in half so that one portion is slightly larger than the other; wrap each in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Roll our larger portion of dough between 2 large sheets of lightly floured waxed paper into a 18inch by 13 inch rectangle.  Transfer to an ungreased 15x10 inch jelly roll pan.  Press onto bottom and up the sides of the pan; trim pastry to 1/2 inch above the edges of the pan.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch.  Add raspberries and rhubarb; toss together to coat.  Spoon into pastry.

Roll out remaining dough, place over filling.  Fold bottom pastry over edge of top pastry; seal with a fork.  Prick top with a fork.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

For icing, combine confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve a drizzling consistency; drizzle over pie.  Cut into squares.

Lemon Vinaigrette Potato Salad

There is a potato salad recipe on the blog here that I have made many times.  It is mayonnaise based.  This is almost the same recipe minus the mayonnaise.  It's a great way to trim some calories and the lemon with just make the rest of the flavors in the salad pop.  If I am making this for the immediate family I will probably omit the onions; Mom doesn't like them.  If I am making it for a different crowd, I may switch out the regular onion for green or red; just to switch it up some.

3lbs. red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 C. olive oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. minced fresh basil
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 or until tender.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, herbs, vinegar, lemon peel, salt and pepper.

Drain potatoes.  Place in a large bowl; add onion. Drizzle with vinaigrette; toss to coat.  Serve warm or chill until serving.

Easter 2012 Wrap Up

The family must have enjoyed Easter 2011 because they agreed to come back this year.  I decided to switch up the menu as well.  This year we had beef tenderloin, Chris' world famous mashed potatoes, asparagus with garlic toasted panko, spinach salad, carrots and corn with butter and basil, and two distinct food groups in our family; jello and olives.  We finished the meal with my mother in law's citrus cake and not one but two lamb cakes and as I am typing this I am realizing that I didn't take pictures of the lambs.  Bummer, but I am guessing that you have seen a lamb cake or two before.  We had one coconut free and one covered in coconut.  Oh yeah, and candy...jellybean nests, truffles and what meal in my family would be complete without Fannie May?

These are my beef tenderloins seared and ready for the oven.

Chris' potatoes--> These are the bomb and not the slightest bit WW friendly!

Table setting still in set up phase.

I loved pinwheels as a kid and thought they would look great with the tulips for  our centerpieces.

Just about dinner time; yes, we're having beef and white wine.  I've never been one to follow the rules for wine.  We had Barefoot Riesling and it was delish!

If you're looking for recipes for what we ate yesterday, several of them are on the blog.  Beef tenderloin, herbed corn and carrots, and roasted asparagus with Parmesan garlic crumbs.  Chris' potatoes will be posted shortly.  My aunt made a spinach salad which consisted of spinach, red onion, mushrooms, bacon, hard boiled egg and croutons.  It was outstanding with balsamic dressing.  The jello was strawberry with mashed bananas in it--it's been a fan favorite since I was a child.

Beef Tenderloin

So, you might be wondering where I have been for the last week or so.  Or maybe not.  LOL  Chris and I hosted Easter and we had lots of planning and cleaning and cooking to do.  Our main dish was beef tenderloin.  I have cooked beef tenderloin before but as filet mignons.  I've never done a whole tenderloin before and I would be lying if I said I didn't have nightmares of ruining the meat and serving take out pizza for Easter dinner.  I can say (and I heard from our guests) that I ROCKED the tenderloin.  OK, so all of my guests were family and maybe they were just being nice; but I was beyond pleased with the way the meat turned out.  This video was a terrific guide.

http://www.finecooking.com/videos/how-to-roast-beef-tenderloin.aspx

I had 3 full sized tenderloins that I trimmed down into 7 roasts; 3 larger and 4 smaller.  My plan was to do the majority of the roasts to medium doneness; leaving a couple to go to well done for those who like their meat that way (Uncle Jim).  You may have some difficulty finding butcher's twine; I did.  Walgreen's saved me...check in the household section.

Beef tenderloin can be a little intimidating if you do your own trimming but I cannot say enough about the video.  It walked you through every step.  Now you can buy a beef tenderloin completely butchered but it costs a fortune.   I did not use the mustard shown on the video.  My tenderloin had truffle salt and freshly ground pepper.  Sometimes the best way to cook terrific meat is as simply as possible.

One thing I will say is that I checked those roasts every 10 minutes with a digital probe thermometer until I reached my desired doneness.  Most importantly, let your meat REST!  You won't regret it.  The meat melts in your mouth when the juices redistribute.