kitchengenie

[kitchengenie]

Baklava

One of my coworkers at work brought in The Complete Book of Greek Cooking cookbook for us to photocopy and this was one of the recipes :) She had brought in some Spanakopita se Forma which smelled and looked delicious, but I was unable to taste some because I had been sick with the flu and stomach flu (double whammy). That was not fun. I did get the recipe for it however, so I shall make some later on :) So without ado, here we go.

Ingredients

-1 pound (4 cups) blanched almonds or walnuts or a combo of both, finely chopped

-¾ cup sugar

-1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

-1 pound phyllo pastry (equivalent to 1 box - I used only one roll)

-3 sticks (¾ pound) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing phyllo (I only ended up needed 1 and a quarter sticks of butter).

Syrup

-2 cups water

-¾ cup sugar

-1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

-1 2-inch strip of lemon rind

-¾ cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the nuts, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

3. In the bottom of a deep pan, place a sheet of phyllo dough and butter. Repeat this process until you have laid down about 8-10 sheets.

4. Sprinkle with nut mixture. Add another 3-4 sheets of phyllo dough, buttering each one and repeat this process until all is used up. 

5. Cut into small diamond shaped pieces with a sharp knife.

6. Place it in the oven for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

7. While the baklava is in the oven, make the syrup. Combine in a saucepan the water, sugar, lemon juice, and rind.

8. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add honey and simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove the lemon peel and cool. 

9. Once the baklava is done, take out of the oven and pour syrup over the hot pastry. Cool and serve. :)

—Side Notes—

I decided to make this for dessert this Thanksgiving since the taste of chicken has gone out the window :( I had a bag of walnuts in the cupboard that I’ve been meaning to use, but it seemed that it had started to go stale. The baklava came out really well and delicious, but it had that stale taste to it :((((( So disappointed, but it was still pretty good :) I think the next time I make it, I’ll use pistachios :D

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Gobble gobble!

[kitchengenie]

Poundcake

I decided to make some poundcake from scratch. It was surprisingly good.

Ingredients

2 ¼ sticks of butter

2 cups flour (said sifted but it doesn’t matter)

1 tsp. baking soda/powder

½ tsp. salt

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

cinnamon (optional) - i added for extra taste

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F with rack in the middle.

Butter a loaf pan

Heat butter over medium heat (optional. I didn’t do this)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt.

Beat together brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and a couple shakes of cinnamon with the mixer until fluffy.

Add eggs 1 at a time.

Beat in vanilla.

At low speed, add in flour until well incorporated.

Transfer batter to the pan and smooth out the top and rap the pan on the kitchen counter until the batter settles.

Bake until golden brown (check with wooden pick) 1-1 ¼ hours.

[kitchengenie]

French Macarons

So this was my first time making macarons. These didn’t turn out all too well even though i followed the instructions. When I made these particular macarons I didn’t have any almond flour or almond meal. So these ended up turning out like meringues but they still tasted awesome. When I went back and added the almond meal the macarons were flat and chewy like molasses. Didn’t really like that so I recommend not adding almond meal. I feel like almond flour would prob work better so try that out if you want.

Ingredients

3 egg whites

¼ cup white sugar

1 2/3 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 cup almond meal (optional)

2 teaspoons-ish cinnamon (When I cook, I usually don’t have specific measurements. I usually just eye it.)

food coloring

flavoring (optional)

filling (Nutella, Peanut Butter, frosting, jam, etc)

Directions

Put parchment paper down on a baking sheet.

Beat egg whites in a bowl and mix until egg whites are foamy.

Beat in white sugar and continue to beat until egg whites are glossy, fluffy and hold peaks.

Add powdered sugar and cinnamon a little bit at a time as you mix.

Add a couple drops of food coloring if you want some color and mix.

Put the mixture in a pastry bag and make small disks. Put evenly on a pan spaced about 1.5’’ apart.

Let stand for 1 hour.

Bake at 285 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

Once they cool, take it out of the oven and gently peel off from the parchment paper.

Choose your filling (I used peanut butter because that’s all I had) and scoop some on and sandwich between two disks.

I would recommend that you check in on the macarons during the time it’s in the oven. If they start getting golden brown on the edges then they are done, but DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR OF THE OVEN. Turn off the oven and  just let it sit in the oven until they cool. If you open the door too early, they will start to crack because of the temperature difference. I used peanut butter for the filling because I didn’t have any other kind of filling or frosting at my house at the time. It worked nicely because it cancelled out the sweetness of the “cookie” and added a good balance of sweet and salty. :)

[kitchengenie]

Korean Mung Bean Pancakes

During Korean Thanksgiving or Choo-suk, my mom always made these pancakes that are so crispy crunchy on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside. It’s usually made during choo-suk, but it can be made at any other time whenever you want as well. It’s a healthier alternative to hashbrowns I’d like to say. It’s also very similar to latkes. It’s good with a soy sauce dipping sauce as well.

Ingredients

-½ bag of mung beans (you can find this at any specialty or asian markets)

-1-1.5 onions, chopped

-2 carrots, minced

-½ cabbage, chopped

-1 bag bean sprouts (optional)

-1 tbsp. sesame seeds

-salt and pepper (to taste)

-1 tbsp. sesame oil

-1 tsp. red pepper flakes (Korean)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, rinse ½ the bag of mung beans and then soak overnight uncovered (If you put it in the fridge, cover with plastic wrap).

2. Rinse the mung beans the next morning and drain all water. In a blender add water (enough for it to be blended - you don’t want this mixture becoming too watery). Set aside.

3. In a bowl, place cut/shredded cabbage with salt and soak until soft. Once soft, drain and rinse the cabbage and wring out the water as best you can.

4. In a pot, bring some water to a boil and add the bean sprouts. Cover the pot. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain and chop.

5. In a large bowl, pour mung bean mixture. Add all the other ingredients and mix until well combined.

6. On a skillet, add canola oil and place a few dollops of the mixture and pan fry until golden brown on both sides.

These are really really tasty. It’s best eaten right away! To create the sauce just put some soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes. Vinegar is optional. :) ENJOY!

[kitchengenie]

Charcuterie 101

This last December/New Years, my friends and I always celebrate together. We first discovered charcuterie different ways and at different times, but we eventually decided to grab charcuterie plates wherever we go out and if the restaurants have them. They’re so tasty (and fancy)!

So, for the holidays, we decided to make our own charcuterie board while playing games and being in each other’s company. We took a short trip over to our friendly neighborhood Trader Joe’s (who does not like this place? It’s awesome!) and looked around for different cheeses that we’d like to try and or liked. My other girlfriend and I had stopped by Vin Goat (see what they did there? lol) earlier on in the day to go check out pricing and cheeses and we found this amazing brie cheese that was so mouth-wateringly tasty. It was smooth, soft, and creamy. I want to say it was one of the best cheeses I’ve everrrrr had in my entire life. Then again, I probably shouldn’t say that until I’ve been to France right?

So below, you can see that we got some marmalade, pecans, and some other sides as well as the main: CHEEEEEEEEEESE. Oh and salami and either prosciutto or pancetta. lol. I believe we had a sharp cheddar, an apricot cheese, smoked gouda (OMG YUM), a manchego, and a trio of cheeses.

On a big cutting board my friend’s mom provided for us, we arranged the cheeses, meats, and fruits. How beautiful is that? So beautiful. 

There was also some olives, jams, nuts and crackers. It came out so well. Definitely will be one of new traditions. :)

[kitchengenie]

Stuffed Pasta with Squash and Corn

This is a recipe that I “created” with whatever ingredients I had lying around in the house. Talk about an impromptu pasta.

Ingredients

-1 bunch Sage, minced

-1 bunch oregano, minced

-1 box shell pasta

-Prego tomato sauce

-1 ear of sweet corn, cut from ear

-1 packet of ground beef

-½ of gabocha pumpkin, coarsely chopped

-cinnamon

-brown sugar

-1 carrot, coarsely chopped

-salt and pepper to taste

-2-3 cloves of garlic

Directions

1. Boil corn in a small pot and microwave the gabocha pumpkin for 3 mins on high.

2. Boil pasta until al dente and drain.

3. In a food processor add corn, pumpkin, cinnamon, brown sugar, carrot, garlic, and herbs. Blend until well mixed.

4. In a large bowl, add meat and veggie mix and mash together with gloved hands until combined.

5. Saute meat mixture on a skillet until well done. Taking a small spoon, take a pasta shell and stuff with the meat. Repeat this process until done.

6. Place a dollop of cooked pasta sauce on a plate. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese and arrange stuffed pasta and enjoy!

[kitchengenie]

Knockoff Cheesecake Factory Bread

So I have no idea where I got this recipe off of…. I must look for the link, but it is not my creation. I might have not let the yeast dissolve fully because it did not rise very well. :( It still tasted pretty good, but obviously no where near as close as the Cheesecake Factory’s.

Ingredients

¾ cup warm water ¼ cup molasses 1 1/8 cup all purpose flour 3/8 cup wheat flour ½ tbsp. cocoa ½ tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. instant coffee ½ tsp. salt 1 1/8 tsp yeast (½ packet) ½ tbsp. oil egg white (optional - for egg wash) oats (optional)

Directions

1. Dissolve the coffee in water. Add yeast and let bubble.

2. Add cocoa, sugar, salt, and oil.

3. Add ½ of the flour and molasses and knead. Continue adding flour until dough pulls away from the bowl. You want it sticky but manageable.

4. Allow dough to rise until it doubles in size.

5. Shape into rolls or loaf.

6. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with oats.

7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes (the time will vary depending on size).

[kitchengenie]

Complete Turkish Dinner

One of my close gal pals, just got back from a (almost 3 month) European vacation and she invited us over to cook some Turkish dishes. I think we’ll have more of these nights throughout the year and I cannot wait. My friend took some cooking classes while she was abroad and she brought back a booklet with all these different recipes. Credit for these go to www.cookistan.com. I tried to do a step by step picture documentation of each dish (keywords: tried to. lol.) I hope you guys enjoy!

Dish #1: Cirkassian Chicken

My friend basically said that this was a kind of chicken salad or something very close to it. It was indeed very tasty. I will write out each of the directions and ingredients in case it’s hard to read for each.

Ingredients

-½ chicken breast

-2 cups chicken broth

-Walnuts

-½ cup bread (stale)

-1 clove of garlic

-1 tbsp. mayonnaise

-1 tbsp. yogurt (we used greek yogurt)

-¼ tsp. cumin (or more depending on how much you like)

-¼ tsp. black pepper, red pepper, salt

Directions

1. Boil the chicken breast in about 2 cups of water.

2. Cut, shred the chicken so it looks like the picture below.

3. In a ziploc bag, place the garlic and smash as fine as possible with something heavy. In this case we used a wooden rolling pin to crush it. Then open the bag and add the walnuts (add as much as you’d like. I personally think if you have more it tastes better). Crush them as well, but not too fine. We left ours kind of coarse. Then just mix thoroughly with the garlic in the bag. Set aside.

4. Add mayonnaise, yogurt, spices, and the walnut garlic mixture we just made to the chicken.

5. Mix well (we just used our hands because it incorporates everything together well.). You can put in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Dish #2: Stuffed Dried Eggplants

There is a very similar dish in the Asian culture where they make a similar food inside of bamboo. This was really good. If you covered the top with cheese I imagine it to taste brilliant. haha. Just an idea.

Ingredients

-8 dried eggplants (we used 3 Persian eggplants since they are round, however slightly bitter, and the rest with zucchini and they do not have to be dried.)

-¼ cup rice

-1/3 package of ground meat (we will be using the rest of the meat in the third dish).

-2 tbsp.Tomato and red pepper paste (I think we only used red pepper paste)

-Olive oil (eyeball it..maybe 1-2 tbsp.)

-3 cups yogurt

-Pepper and salt

-1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses (I don’t know of a substitute for this…she brought some from Turkey. It’s not like molasses where it’s super thick. It’s kind of vinegar-y with a sour-ish pomegranate flavor.)

-Cumin (a hefty pinch)

-1 onion, minced

-½ cup of water

-1 clove garlic (large), minced finely

Directions

1. Cut both ends of the veggies you are using and then hollow out from one side. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine rice, meat, tomato paste, olive oil, yogurt, salt, pepper, pomegranate molasses, cumin, onion, water, and garlic. 

This is the pomegranate molasses or pomegranate sour. Not sure if they have these here in the states, but I’m sure you can find something similar here.

3. Stuff the eggplants (and other veggies, if you are using) with about a small amount of space at the top so they don’t over flow as they cook.

4. Place in a pot with a steaming contraption (which I can’t recall for the life of me right now), and steam them until the rice and meat are cooked. (~45 mins)

This is a picture of the veggies halfway done. The rice is almost fully cooked but not really.

Here is the finished product.

5. You can add garlic yogurt on top if you wish.

How to make the Garlic Yogurt sauce

1. Get as much yogurt as you like in a bowl.

2. Crush about 2-3 large cloves of garlic and mix together.

You are done. :) Simple sauce.

Dish #3: Borecik

This is a really really yummy dish. It’s like a taquito shape that turned into a shape of a cinnamon roll. Best way I could describe it haha.

Ingredients

-1 yufta dough sheet (We substituted this with fillo dough. Just get 1 package)

-The rest of the ground meat that we had left over from the stuffed eggplant dish.

-2 Onions

-2 garlic cloves

-2/3 cup milk

-1 egg

-250 g. yogurt

-salt, pepper

-olive oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine meat, onions, garlic, egg, yogurt, salt and pepper.

2. In a bowl, combine milk and 2 tbsp-ish of olive oil. This will act as our adhesive.

3. Take about 3-4 fillo dough sheets. Take a spoon and put some of the milk and oil mixture onto the fillo dough. Spread it so it covers the whole sheet. Be careful here because it will stick and rip and everything you don’t want the dough to do.

4. Leaving about a two-two and a half finger width from the top edge and sides, spoon some of the meat mix and make a “snake” across the top that you have a line of meat.

5. Fold over the edges and the top, and then roll down towards you.

6. once you have your “taquito” or “sushi roll” shape, roll it like you would when you’d make a cinnamon roll.

7. Repeat steps 3-6 until you use up all the meat.

8. Once done, brush each with an egg wash and bake at about 200 degrees C (I think we did 375 degrees F) for 35 minutes or until the outside is golden brown. I suggest you put it on a pan that has edges because the juices will run.

And below is the finished product. :)

Dish #4: Strawberry Gallete

A very simple dessert dish.

Ingredients

-Strawberries, sliced

-Puff pastry sheet

-sugar

-cornstarch

Directions

1. Thaw puff pastry sheet and try to roll it out a little bigger than it is.

2. In a bowl, add sliced strawberries, sugar and cornstarch (eyeballing all the amounts for the sugar and cornstarch) and mix thoroughly.

3. Add the strawberry mixture in the center of the pastry sheet.

4. Fold in all sides.

5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes (You can do an egg wash and sprinkle some sugar on the outside if you like to).

6. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

So there you have it. A quick Turkish dinner. It was really quick and easy to my amazement. I thought it would be more intricate and complex, but with three people, it went by fast. :) Everything was so delicious! I hope you guys enjoy!

[kitchengenie]

Jeannie’s French Toast

Here’s my version of french toast. :) I like to add fruit and use honey instead of syrup.

Ingredients

-2-3 Eggs

-½ cup milk (if you have it)

-Cinnamon

-granulated sugar (eye ball a good amount)

-butter

-bread slices (I like using Paris Baguette sandwich bread/asian toast because it’s thick and fluffy. You can use regular bread too)

Directions

1. In a bowl mix eggs, milk, cinnamon, and sugar.

2. In a pan/skillet, add some butter. Dunk bread slice in the egg mix and then cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

3. Top with powdered sugar and your favorite fruit along with a drizzle of syrup or honey and enjoy! :)

[kitchengenie]

Jeannie’s Apple Pie

Over the course of many Thanksgivings, I’ve always made an apple pie. The only problem that I kept having with my apple pies were that they were so soggy and or watery after I would take them out of the oven to eat. Who want’s watery or soggy pie? Not I. So I did some of my own research to try to find a method that would give me better results.

What I found out is that there has been research done specifically for apple pies in the fact that surface area of apples pay an important role in how much water is present after it’s baked. Interesting. Once I find this study that I read online I shall post it here. I don’t remember the website -___-’‘ fail. So long story short, the thinner the apple slices, the better.

This was my result. Here is the recipe that I used to make mine.

Ingredients

-1-2 lbs. of apples (I used gala)

-2/3 cup brown sugar or white sugar

-½ - 1tsp. ground cinnamon (or more)

-Pastry sheets

-1-2 tbsp. water

Directions

1. Peel, core and slice the apples (Make sure that when you slice the apples that they are cut in very thin slices, about 1/8″).

2. Mix with sugar and cinnamon thoroughly. Let sit. The water will come out and you can drain it before you put it in the pie pan.

3. In a pie dish, place thawed out pastry sheet. Cut off excess pastry sheets around the edges.

4. Place the apples layered in the pie dish.

5. The filling can come past the rim. Cut strips of the remaining pastry sheet and make a design or you can just cover the whole thing. It’s up to you how it looks. I usually do a weaving pattern on top. Use water as adhesive.

6. Glaze the top of the pie with an egg wash and sprinkle sugar on top.

7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F and then reduce the heat to 350 F and cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Let cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or cool whip. :)

[kitchengenie]

Arugula Salad with a Poached Egg and Tangerine Balsamic Vinaigrette

I was in a salad eating phase for a while and this was one of my favorites. It involves arugula, fruit, and veggies! Yum! Here we go!

Ingredients

-1-2 eggs, poached

-Baby Arugula

-Tangerine Balsamic Vinaigrette (whatever balsamic vinaigrette that you like)

-Blood Orange Olive Oil (Or whatever olive oil flavor you would like)

-½ of a red onion

-½ gala apple

-½ Avocado

-Thyme

-Parsley (dried herb)

-Snap Peas

Directions

1. Wash all veggies and fruit!

2. Slice up apples, avocado, and onion.

3. In a boiling pot of water, add the eggs that have parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Let it sit and form for about 3 minutes. Take out.

4. Arrange arugula, veggies, etc. onto plate and top off with the poached eggs.

5. Pour the olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad and you are done and ready to eat it!

[kitchengenie]

Flourless Banana and Banana Strawberry Pancakes

This is straight from Buzzfeed! Sure, I’m a Buzz Feed video fan haha. I saw this and I absolutely had to try this recipe out. It’s light, fluffy and you would never know that it didn’t have any flour. This was by far the “healthiest” pancake I have ever eaten in my life.

Ingredients

-2 bananas (or 1)

-1 egg

-Cinnamon

-Vanilla

-Strawberries

Directions

1. In a bowl, mash bananas and strawberries.

2. Add egg and vanilla. Mix together well.

3. Add a dash of cinnamon (as much as you’d like)

4. In a pan, put some butter and pour batter. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and flip.

5. Enjoy!!!!

I found that adding the strawberries increases the sweetness to the pancakes so you don’t have to pour syrup. You can though because syrup is always good haha. It’s really really good. The pancakes become more pink in color when strawberries are added and they take slightly longer to cook. However, they are more softer and fluffier than just the bananas.

[kitchengenie]

Apple Blossoms

This is my most recent discovery that I absolutely fell in love with. It’s the easiest and somewhat “healthy” treat that I have ever made. I made it for staff appreciation day and they were so tasty. Thanks to one of my friend’s mom for sharing it on FB. :)

Ingredients

-Thawed Pilsbury Pastry Sheets (2 boxes) [you can find these in the frozen food section]

-2 Red delicious apples (the redder the better)

-2 Gala apples (get the ones with mixed colors of red, pink, yellow. This adds color)

-Orange marmalade (or apricot preserves. Whatever you like)

-Cinnamon

-Confectioner’s sugar/powdered sugar for dusting afterwards

***You can also use other fruits (I have yet to try –I’ll let you know how they turn out when I do try them– but strawberries work although they do get a little wilty. I want to try nectarines and pears.)***

Directions

1. Cut the apples in half and core them (Make sure you’re cutting them in half from the end with the stem to the bottom if that makes sense).

2. Slice the apples thinly and place in a large microwavable bowl (When slicing the halves, cut fairly thinly –maybe 1/16″–cutting off the end and working your way up so the slices look like distorted crescent moons).

3. Add water so that it’s covering all the apple slices and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. Be careful when you’re taking them out not to burn yourself. The bowl will be hot.

4. Heat a generous dollop of the marmalade in a small bowl for 1 minute and set aside.

5. Take out the pastry sheets. Each sheet will be folded so that it looks like they are divided into 3 sheets. Cut each in half so you end up with 6 pastry strips.

6. Drain the water containing apples. The apples should be somewhat flexible now. Spread some marmalade onto one strip of the pastry sheet.

7. Layer/overlap the sliced apples so that the cored edge of the apple is facing down and the apple skin is facing up. Make sure half of the apple (skin end) is off of the pastry strip and half of it is on the pastry strip. About 6-8 slices will fit on one strip.

8. Dust with cinnamon. Then fold the pastry in half so that it holds the apples in place. Pinch the ends and then roll them like you’re rolling up a rug. With a little dab of water on your finger, seal the end. It’ll look like a rose now.

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until you finish.

10. Using a cupcake tin lined with cupcake cups, place the pastry in each one. Bake at 375 degrees F for 40-45 minutes.

11. Once the pastry are cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

[kitchengenie]

Garlic Butter Roasted Chicken

Thanksgiving was done a bit differently this year. Instead of my usual Orange Glazed Chicken recipe, I made this. This is of my own recipe.

Ingredients

-1 small chicken

-12 roasting potatoes (or more)

-½ red onion (thinly sliced)

-½ white onion (thinly sliced)

-Candied walnuts

-Butter (~2 tbsp.)

-Parsley (dried herb ~3-4 tsp.)

-Salt and pepper to taste

-Cayenne pepper (just a few dashes)

-1 whole garlic

-Thyme (dried herb - 1-2 tsp.)

-3 carrots, cut

Directions

1. Create the “glaze” for the chicken. Melt the butter and add the parsley, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, cayenne pepper, and thyme. Set aside.

2. Clean the chicken thoroughly.

3. Take the clean chicken and dry with paper towels. Take the “glaze” and slather the chicken as best you can. Cover the whole chicken with it.

4. In a deep dish pan or casserole dish, place the chicken in it.

5. Put in the stuffing (ready made or from scratch).

6. Place cut veggies around the chicken in the dish. Season with salt and pepper if you wish and with the “glaze” for it to have more flavor and crispy.

7. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour or until juices run clear when inserted with a fork.

[kitchengenie]

Unconventional Gingerbread Cookies

I definitely thought that I had posted the recipe that I used to make my gingerbread cookies last year on my blog, but I guess I was mistaken. This was the first time I ever made gingerbread cookies as well as royal frosting from scratch. I found a recipe online and decided, why not and made these last December. Now, I did make traditional shaped gingerbread cookies since I had the cookie cutter, but I also decided to experiment and make other shapes using a knife. Yeah. Well, it turned out way better than I thought so I was happy. Enjoy!

Ingredients

-3 cups of all purpose flour

-1 ½ tsp. baking powder

-¾ tsp. baking soda

-¼ tsp. salt

-1 tbsp. ground ginger

-1 ¾ tsp. ground cinnamon (or a little more if you like cinnamon. I usually put in a little more around 2 tbsp.)

-¼ tsp. cloves

-6 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature (or regular butter works fine)

-¾ cup dark brown sugar (packed)

-1 egg

-½ cup molasses

-2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended. 

3. In a large bowl (your mixer bowl), beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.

4. Add molasses and vanilla. Mix well till blended.

5. Gradually stir in dry ingredients about 1-2 cups at a time until blended and smooth. After you put in about 2/3 of the dry mixture, change the whisk attachment to the beater and continue using that. The mixture will become more doughy and the mixer will kind of start to bounce a bit. Once it’s all well mixed, stop the mixer and start making a ball.

6. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap or a ziplock bag without air and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. I usually do 3, but if you’re in a hurry, 2 will work fine.

7. Knead the dough a few times as it will crack a lot and not stick together if you just unwrap it and start rolling. Then place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out dough to preferred thickness. You may want to lightly flour your rolling pin as well to prevent it from sticking. I would also roll it out somewhat thin (not paper thin though) because this dough will puff up.

8. Cut out and bake 8-10 minutes or until edges start to turn light brown. If you leave this dough in the oven too long, after it cools, it will be rock solid and hard to eat. Make sure the dough isn’t too lightly colored and not too darkly colored. Look for a mid point. You may need to do a few trial runs depending on what oven you are using. I have a Breville Smart Oven Air and it takes about 5 minutes or sometimes less to bake it fully. So just keep an eye on your dough while baking.

How to make the Royal Icing:

Ingredients

-1 box Powdered sugar

-2 large egg whites

-Vanilla or flavoring (optional)

Directions

1. In a mixer, add the powdered sugar and the 2 large egg whites and beat until combined. You can also add a little bit of vanilla or other flavorings if you want the frosting to have a specific flavor.

2. While on low mixing speed, add ½ a cup of water. Add little by little so you know what kind of consistency you want your icing to be. Too much, will be too watery (usually used for flooding) so be careful.

3. Mix until you get a ribbon-like trail when you lift the paddle.

Here I divided up the frosting into four small bowls with different gel food coloring for flooding. It’s a more watery consistency than the above picture of the regular royal icing.

After I finished frosting all the cookies, I made “frosting trees” with the left over frosting. They will harden.

I hope you enjoyed this! :)

This is why I said it was “un-traditional” gingerbread cookies. I made one for each of my closest friends :) I cut this one out with a knife and outlined the face gently with the tip of the knife, being careful not to puncture it all the way through. My best guy friend loves buster bunny so I made this one specially for him haha. He loved it.

[kitchengenie]

Updated Ratatouille Recipe :)

So after trial and error of making multitudes of ratatouille since I first discovered it, I’ve made some tweaks to the recipe because it’s so much better and tastier. :) I don’t like to make my own tomato sauce now, just because I’m that much lazy and plus it’s cheaper to buy it than make it. Either way, whatever floats your boat, do it! I’ll be using the original ratatouille blog post to edit and correct :)

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After watching Pixar’s Rataouille I’ve always told myself I would make it the exact same way Remi did in the movie (or similarly anyways). So I watched and re-watched the movie trying to see what they put in. So finally I had made some a couple years ago. This is what you’ll need.

Ingredients

2 Butternut Squash

2 Zucchini (if you’re making one for yourself, just 1 will suffice.)

2 Yellow Squash (again, just 1 will suffice.)

2-3 Japanese Eggplants (They must be these since these are smaller than the normal giant eggplants you find in Ralphs, Pavillions, etc.)

4-5 Campari Tomatoes (or small bell tomatoes) Roma Tomatoes (These are much better since they are more ovular and better to work with.)

1 can of tomato sauce or Prego Pasta Sauce (if you are going to use the Prego pasta sauce, get the original that has nothing in it.) (No, haha. Get the Prego pasta sauce with the garlic and basil. It adds more flavor)

Basil, Oregano, Olive Oil, Cumin or Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Mozzarella Cheese (I use the Sargento brand that’s already pre-sliced. You’re going to need 1 packet).

Tools

sauce pan (optional)

sharp knife or mandolin (mandolin is preferred) (Not really. You can use a mandolin if you don’t have great knife skills and if it’s got a sharp blade. Mine kind of crapped out and so I have been cutting my vegetables which works just as great).

pie pan or casserole dish

parchment paper (optional)

pen

scissors

Directions

Slice the vegetables into thin slices about ¼’’ thick 1/16″ thick with a sharp kitchen knife or if you’re using the mandolin put it on the very lowest/second lowest setting so you can get it somewhat thin but not paper thin.

If you are going to use the basil, oregano, olive oil, and cumin – in a saucepan over medium high heat, add the tomato sauce and olive oil (just about half a tablespoon full) and mix in finely chopped basil, oregano and pepper. Mix well. Once it kind of starts bubbling, turn off the heat and set aside for later. (In place of making your own sauce –you can if you want to– I substituted this for the Prego pasta sauce)

Taking a pie pan (or casserole dish), get some parchment paper. Flip the pie pan over on top of the parchment paper and then taking a pen, outline the pie pan. Then with scissors, cut out the circle. You will cover it later. (This is optional. You can cover the dish with parchment paper if you like. You do not have to.)

In a small pie pan, pour in the tomato sauce only up to about half way. Line the sauce about 1/4″ thick on the bottom of the pan or casserole dish.

Line the pan with the sliced vegetables. You can make patterns with the different colors that you have with the vegetables (alternating) until you fill the whole pie pan. If one pie pan isn’t enough you can make more or layer on top of what you have :) (I discovered that cutting up about 3 slices of mozzerella cheese into small squares and putting them in the alternating pattern makes it better as well as covering the top layer with cheese as well.)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F 375 degrees F.

Once you line the whole pan, cover the top of the vegetables with mozzarella cheese. Take that parchment paper circle you made and cover it. Place it in the oven.

You will cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked all the way through when a fork is inserted to check if it’s soft.

After it’s done, let it cool on a rack and then serve. Enjoy! :)

[kitchengenie]

Fluffy Orange Caramel Pancakes

Ok so this was very substituted and it’s not a pancake batter recipe. It’s actually a Belgian Waffle recipe. Now why did I not make waffles instead? Because I couldn’t find my waffle press. :( I wanted waffles but because I don’t have the waffle maker I made pancakes instead, but didn’t have a lot of the ingredients so I had to substitute it.

I tried a small one as I was cooking it and immediately fell in love with how light and fluffy they were with the hint of orange (it wasn’t too much that it was completely overpowering but just enough to be perfect). You also get that creamy caramel flavor afterwards that isn’t too overpowering either. It’s surprising how not as sweet it was as I thought it would be. You can add fruit, jams, honey or a drizzle of maple syrup and whipped cream if you wish. Absolutely one of the best pancakes I’ve had and made myself. YUM.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

¾ cups sugar (I didn’t have enough so I only put in 1/3 ish)

3 ½ tsp. baking powder

2 eggs separated

1 ½ cup milk (substituted with Bailey’s Irish Caramel Coffee Creamer. Also I only put in 1 cup)

1 cup butter melted

1 tsp. vanilla (I ran out of vanilla when I was making my banana bread muffins so I did not have any. I figured the caramel flavoring would compensate for that)

Blood Orange flavored olive oil (or whatever flavor you choose except plain. It tastes bitter and greasy)

Directions

Combine in a bowl all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and baking powder). Whisk it together until combined.

Lightly beat egg yolks in a separate bowl. Add the milk (caramel coffee creamer), butter, and vanilla (not present). Stir well.

Add this to dry ingredients. Fold it in.

(Note: As I was mixing these ingredients together, the mixture had the consistency of dough for cookies/bread. I added ~1 cup of water, little by little mixing and adding, until I thought it was the right consistency. It should fall back into the bowl but not be too runny.)

     4. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (~20-30 minutes by hand          with whisk).      5. Fold this into the batter until combined.      6. Drizzle a good amount of Blood Orange Olive Oil and cook on a          griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. 3-5 minutes on each          side or until golden brown and slightly crispy at the edges.      7. Serve immediately and enjoy!