White Chocolate Blondies

I'd been looking to try a recipe that used white chocolate for the past few weeks and I settled with one I found on the Ghiradelli wrapper. It uses 2 bars of white chocolate, as well as chocolate chips, but to be honest, you don't really taste the white chocolate. You can definitely smell it, and these blondies are dense, rich and delicious, (so no ones complaining) but I'm not sure I'd have noticed otherwise. But if you're bored of regular blondies/brownies, it's something new to try.

2 bars (8oz) White Chocolate baking bars, broken into 1" pieces
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup Semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet, since the whole thing is flavored with white chocolate)

-Preheat oven to 350
-Line a 9" square baking pan with waxed paper, then grease paper
-Melt white choc and butter in a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water
-Stir mixture occasionally until smooth. Set aside
-Add sugar, vanilla, melted chocolate and butter slowly
-Fold in flour, salt and choc chips till well combined
-Pour into pan, bake 25 min

IceBox Strawberry Pie

America's Test Kitchen does it again! I've tried 2 of their recipes so far and been really impressed. This latest recipe was in a sample issue I received of Cook's Country. Imagine a pie that tastes somewhere in between a strawberry smoothie and jam and because it's chilled it's great for warmer weather. It uses 3 lbs of strawberries...

Serves 8

Filling:
2 lbs frozen strawberries (I froze my own)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
1 (9") pie shell (I used deep dish) baked and cooled

1. Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over med-low heat till they start to release juice. Increase to med-high and cook till thick and jam-like (about 25 min). Mixture should measure EXACTLY 2 cups. Any more and your filling may be too loose.

2. Combine lemon juice, water and gelatin in a small bowl. Let stand until gelatin has softened and thickened (5 min). Stir this mixture into the cooked berry mix along with the sugar and salt. Return to simmer for 2 min. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temp (about 30 min)

3. Fold fresh berries into the filling. Spread evenly in your already baked pie shell and refrigerate till set (about 4 hours).

ilili

Went out with the ladies on Thursday to a meditarranean restaurant that was new to all of us, called Ilili (between 27th and 28th on 5th Ave). It's a pretty posh place, where we were all completely under-dressed. All the hostesses looked like they were probably models and there were a lot of rich old ladies with face-lifts around. The main dining area is pictured above. There was also a bar/lounge area to the left and a lower-key dining area to the right, both just as long.

If you're going here, expect to eat family style. We all shared the Mezza Royale (the biggest of the sharing menus) @ $139. You first get the cold appetizers:
Hummus, baba ghannouj, chankleesh (lentils/rice/onions), grape leaves, tabbouleh, fattoush (pita salad), falafel and Kibbeh nayeh - a paste of raw lamb mixed with spices, served with raw onions and mint (probably our least favorite),

Then the hot appetizers:
Moujadara (lentil/rice/onion), lahmajeen (middle eastern style pizza with ground beef on a thin crust), makanek, beef fried kibbeh (think meat and bulgur wheat falafel) and phoenician fries (think seasoned fries, really tasty)

We also ordered 2 main entrees and a side to split: their lamb kebab was was simple and delicious and their Citrus Trout, I'd suggest skipping. The brussel sprouts were recommended to us by our waitress as being one of their signature dishes. I passed on it due to the creamy sauce it was mixed with but I'm pretty certain the others enjoyed it.

For dessert we tried the Awaimat (lebanese beignet w/orange blossom syrup). This wasn't anything special and the syrup had too strong of an orange blossom taste for me.

The serving sizes are quite generous. We were definitely stuffed by the time we left. It's a very busy place, so definitely make a reservation before you go.

Marzipan Cake with Raspberry Coulis

Today was the first breakdown meeting of Season 3 of Team Umi Zoomi, where we watch the episode and discuss what needs to be done. I've been looking for an excuse to bake and this was it. I've had my eye on this recipe for a while, and I just happened to have a can of almond paste, so I crossed my fingers and hoped it would come out ok. It came out BETTER than ok. It's super moist and full of flavor. But the raspberry sauce really added the finishing touch, so don't leave it out.

Recipe from Joy of Cooking:

Marzipan Cake (8-10 servings)

7-8 oz almond paste or marzipan
6 Tbsp butter (3/4 stick)
2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp kirsch or brandy (I used amaretto)
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 and grease a 8x2" round pan, or line with parchment/wax paper (I recommend the latter, because I had trouble getting it out)

1. Beat almond paste and butter till well blended.
2. Gradually add sugar and beat on high speed until lightened in color and texture (2-3 min)
3. Whisk together then gradually beat in for a total of 3 min the eggs, alcohol and extract
4. Add baking powder, be sure to break up any lumps
5. Fold in flour. Scrape batter into pan and spread evenly.
6. Bake 35-40 min until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean
7. Let it cool completely, dust with powdered sugar

Raspberry Coulis

1 pint raspberries, or 12 oz frozen dry pack thawed
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp strained fresh lemon juice

Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Strain through fine mesh sieve, pressing firmly with rubber spatula. Continue to press till you are left with just a heaping tablespoon of seeds. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days

Lavender-Lemon Shortbread

I'd seen a lot of recipes around the internet that included lavender and I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical. Who wants to eat a flower associated with bath and body products? But while wandering around the farmer's market this week, I saw a stall selling locally grown lavender (lavenderbythebay.com). They had a small bag specifically meant for baking and tea.

All I can say is, these are delicious. And the fragrance, both when you are making them and baking them is really unique. The taste isn't too "flowery," but it's also distinct enough that you know it's there and compliments the lemon flavor. I now prefer this to regular shortbread.

Recipe from Food and Wine's website, by Allison Attenborough:

Servings (1 was able to make 20, but the recipe claims 1.5 dozen)

Lavender-Lemon Shortbread

1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp dried lavender blossoms, chopped (I ground them with a mortar and pestle) 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix the sugar, lavender and lemon zest. Using a mixer, beat in the butter at moderate speed. At low speed, beat in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a sheet of wax paper and refrigerate for 20 min. Form the dough into a 4 inch log and chill for 45 min longer.
(Note: I made the log right away and chilled it for several hours, wrapped in wax paper).

2. Preheat oven to 350. Slice the shortbread into 1/4" thick rounds and place on ungreased baking sheets. Freeze the rounds for 10 min
(Note: Since my dough had been chilled for several hours, I skipped the freezing)

3. Bake the shortbread for 20-25 min or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw slightly before slicing. The baked shortbread can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds

Recipe altered slightly from Allrecipes.com, by BJ

1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups whole almonds
3/4 cup sugar (I'd recommend brown sugar)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 250 F. Lightly grease a 10x15" jelly roll pan
2. Lightly beat the egg white; add water, and beat until frothy but not stiff. Add the nuts, and stir until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat, and spread evenly on the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 45 min-1 hour, stirring occasionally, until golden. Allow to cool and store in airtight containers

Note: If you eat them right out of the oven, they will be soft, so definitely allow them to cool

Tip: Keeping Pesto Bright Green

I've started subscribing to Cook's Illustrated. I resisted for the longest time because I loved the big glossy photos in all the other magazines. But after sifting through countless ads and whole pages devoted to one photo, you realize there's almost no useful content. Cook's Illustrated has NO ADS, and is the publication of America's Test Kitchen. They give tons of information and explanations as to why one technique is better than another. They also review kitchen equipment and have beautifully detailed artwork.

The above doodle will hopefully be the start of a series of illustrated tips/recipes I plan on doing, inspired by Cook's Illustrated and the website "They Draw and Cook" . I need to practice drawing, because in 2 weeks time I'll have to keep a regular sketchbook for class.

For any techies out there, I drew it in Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro. They have a free 15-day trial, which I downloaded. I'm liking it so far, because it strips down a program like Photoshop and takes the bare essentials needed for drawing, versus having a clutter of menus and palettes. The full version is actually pretty cheap, $68