Brunch

Brunch at 7 Quarts Tavern on August 7 2016

https://sevenquartstavern.com/

Bloody Mary

Eggs Benedict

Thai red curry

Was inspired by my cousin Nick's lovely wife Ott to try my hand at a Thai dish after she shared some of her skills and talent with us as we helped her prepare a meal. It came out good and was easy to make.

Here's a look at the finished dish.

What you need to make it:
Red curry paste, I found it in my supermarket in a jar, just had to spoon it out, easy right?
garlic
grated ginger
lime, zest and juice
red pepper
carrots
scallions
Thai basil, keep some for garnish on top 
coconut milk
rice
coconut oil and sesame oil


Just chop up your veggies, zest your lime. 

 There really is no recipe for this that I followed. You can make any quantity that works for you.  

Started with the garlic in some coconut oil and sesame oil., and added the curry paste by eye. Then added the zest and juice of a lime. Next up was grated ginger and scallion. 

As these cooked a while I added the coconut milk and the rest of the veg, I just let it simmer until veggies were cooked. Cook up some rice spoon some on top of rice when it's done and some of the thai basil on top, grab a spoon and dig in!

Cannoli Cupcakes

 Had this idea to make a cannoli cupcake, so here's how it went:

I started with a chocolate cupcake recipe 

Devil's Food Cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Fine salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line one 12-cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix together the  milk and vanilla in a measuring cup. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beat to combine, and then add the milk mixture and continue to beat. Then add the remaining dry mixture. The mixture will look thick and airy.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner three-quarters of the way full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack; let cool before frosting.


Cannoli Filling:

1 cups ricotta cheese

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

2 tablespoons orange zest

Pinch of cinnamon

For the filling: With a large wooden or metal spoon, mix the ricotta, confectioners' sugar, chocolate and orange zest in a medium bowl until combined.

What I should have done was drain the ricotta better, it was very thick until I started adding the other ingredients. It got looser and looser as I stirred. I was hoping for a thicker frosting than I got but it tasted great!

I also filled the cupcakes with the mixture and added some chopped pistachios for garnish!!!

MOLTO BUONA!!!!

Pizza

There really is no recipe for these, that's what makes them so easy to make. I just get some store bought pizza dough in the refrigerator section at the supermarket, and top with whatever suits my fancy, or whats left in the fridge :)
This was tomato sauce, fresh basil and cheese.

This has red onion, asparagus, and cheese with some olive oil drizzled on top.

This is Serrano ham, spinach, and of course cheese :)

All you do to make these is put the pizza dough in a flat pan, you dont' need anything special a pie pan or a baking dish work fine. Spread out the dough. Add your toppings. Pop it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. When it gets brown and bubbles up and the cheese gets melty, it's done. Pizza!!! I use a half of the dough to make a pizza for one and keep the rest in the fridge. A little drizzle of EVOO on top if you want and thats it. 

BUON APPETITO!!!

                                                                                                                                                                    

Almond Cookies

I just think these cookies are so pretty and they taste really good!!! Almond is another of my favs and these are full of almond flavor. There aren't many ingredients and they are super easy to make.

Cookies

1 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze


1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
water to thin glaze as needed (start with small amount)

sliced almonds


Heat oven to 400°F. Combine all cookie ingredients in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten balls to 1/4 inch thick with bottom of buttered glass dipped in sugar. Bake 7-9 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.

Combine all glaze ingredients except almonds in small bowl with wire whisk. Decorate cooled cookies with glaze and sliced almonds as desired.

Thats all there is too it!!! These are probably my favorite cookies, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!!!

White chocolate covered macaroons

OK so you know I loooove coconut and these are all coconut and covered with chocolate even better right??? And so easy to make. 

Heres what you need: 

INGREDIENTS:
1 14-oz bag of sweetened shredded flaked coconut
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 - 3 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour 

Chocolate for dipping

DIRECTIONS:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut, condensed milk, flour and extracts until well incorporated. Cover and put bowl in the fridge for several hours; overnight if needed.
Use a spoon to scoop batter and then roll with your hands to form 1 1/2-inch balls. Place each ball on baking pans lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, leaving about 1-inch of space in between each. Preheat oven to 330 degrees. Bake for 20 - 23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

Let them cool and then cover them in melted chocolate. I sprinkled some sugar on top to make them pretty.

There you have it, sweet treats enjoy!!!!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

 I know Brussel Sprouts, you either love them or hate them, but I love them, especially roasted with some EVOO. And of course this is another quick & easy dish to make. Its also yummy & healthy. 

These were roasted just with olive oil, but I have used oil and added  lemon zest, garlic, even honey, it gets all caramelized, soooo good! Depending on what you like and what veggie you use, its super adaptable.

This works well with  whatever veggies you like too. I have used asparagus, broccoli, broccoli rabe and they all have  come out great. Just put your EVOO in a roasting pan with your veggies add whatever extras you want to use. Put the oven on 350 degrees for about a half an hour or so and done! You know I am a pasta lover, this works well over pasta on its own or I sometimes add it to tomato and make it a sauce. 

There you have it another quick & easy satisfying meal! Hope you enjoy!

Hainanese Chicken & Rice

This is a really comforting dish, a chicken soup for the soul type meal. I start with poached chicken breasts but you can use a whole chicken if you want to make a bigger batch.

Poach chicken recipe:

  1. Start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Place the chicken breasts at the bottom of a wide pan. 
  2. Add enough water or chicken stock so that you cover the chicken breasts with at least two inches of       water.
  3. Add some chopped veggies, for this recipe I used garlic, ginger, scallion, red chile pepper and some       sesame oil.
  4. Bring the water to a boil, then lower it to a simmer.
  5. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover the pot tightly and let the chicken breasts       stand in the hot water for another 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how big the chicken breasts are.

Cook your rice and when done spoon chicken and broth mixture over the rice. I added some more sesame oil. You could sprinkle some sesame seeds as well. I also added some fresh ground pink Himalayan salt on top. Yummy!!!

This is a real treat on a rainy or cold day.

 

Stir fry veggies

Here's a healthy quick meal and again use whatever you like. I used asparagus, carrots, scallions and some garlic. 

Slice up all your veggies so they are about the same size. I like the carrots on the diagonal. I think they are prettier that way.

Add some fine chopped garlic.
Toss everything in a pan with some oil. I used some olive and some sesame oil for a little Asian flavor.

You can adapt this to whatever flavors you like. Any veggies and oils. Make it how you will like it. I am a pasta lover so I cooked some up and put it all together, you can put it on rice as well. It makes it a little heartier. I sprinkled some sesame seeds on top and voila!!! Dinner.

                                                ENJOY

Butterscotch butterscotch chip cupcakes

I love butterscotch, but why dont I see any recipes for it anymore??? Is it old fashioned?? maybe, but I still love it and if you do too here is a great recipe for cupcakes filled with butterscotch goodness.

Butterscotch Cupcakes:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butterscotch chips


Preheat oven to 350°.  Line a 12 cupcake pan with paper liners.  With electric mixer in large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.  In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add flour mixture alternately with milk and vanilla to creamed mixture, beating until smooth and light.  Mix chips into cake batter.  Scoop batter into muffin cups distributing evenly.  Bake for 22-25 minutes or until center is set.  Cool in pan about 10 minutes, remove and finish cooling on rack.  Cool completely before frosting.


Frosting:

1 cup of butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, a tablespoon or two of milk if needed, and 1-3 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

So good, so sweet, love them hope you do too!

Burger & fried potatos

Sometimes I just crave a nice juicy burger!!!! add some fried potatos and it just doesnt get any better than that. I just get some ground beef I like 80-20 ratio otherwise its too dry, hey I dont eat these too often so if I am going to indulge I might as well go for it. Just shape the meat into patties, nice and thick. I dont add anything to the meat but you can season it if you like. Fry it up in a skillet, it will brown in its own juices since there is some fat in the meat.
Add whatever toppings you like, I added cheese, I like American because it melts easily, all gooey and yummy! pickle and ketchup and I am done. Again make it however you like it.

Fry up some potatos in some EVOO add a little salt when they are done and enjoy!!!

Dont they look good, all crispy and golden brown.

 

Brown sugar pineapple filled cupcakes with pineapple frosting

These were really good, nice flavor but not too sweet. Heres the recipe.

Brown Sugar Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt, stirring to mix. Set aside. Line a cupcake tin with liners.

In a large bowl, whisk brown sugar and egg until smooth. Add in vanilla extract and milk, again mixing until combined. Slowly pour in melted butter, continuing to whisk. Add in the flour, soda and salt, mixing with a large spoon until batter is smooth.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to liners. Bake for 16-19 minutes, or until tops are puffy and golden, and don’t jiggle when touched. Let cool completely.

When cool use that handy little tool to make room for the pineapple filling. I used a can of crushed pineapple and just strained the juice out really well so the cupcakes wouldnt get soggy.

Frosting

1 cup of butter

4 cups of powdered sugar

 A tablespoon or two of milk if needed, and 1-3 teaspoons of some pineapple juice, I used the juice I strained from the canned pineapple.

Here they are all decorated and ready to eat!!!!!    Enjoy!!!

 

Coconut macaroons

I love love love coconut!!! And these are so quick and easy to make. A few simple ingredients and a few minutes is all it takes. Heres the recipe.


INGREDIENTS:
1 14-oz bag of sweetened shredded flaked coconut
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut extract
2 - 3 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour as needed 


I like the additional coconut flavor from the coconut extract the original recipe calls for 2 tsp of vanilla.



DIRECTIONS:
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut, condensed milk, flour, extracts, until well incorporated. Cover and put bowl in the fridge for several hours; overnight if needed. (its very sticky)

Use a spoon to fill in the molds and press down so its nice and tight inside.  I placed the mold onto the pan lined with parchment paper and filled it in on the pan, leaving about 1-inch of space in between each. 
Preheat oven to 330 degrees. Bake for 20 - 23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
Immediately transfer macaroons to a plate. 

When cooled dip into melted chocolate and decorate how ever you wish. I actually melted the chocolate in the oven since I didnt have a double boiler and seized up the first batch with a splash of water. Live and learn, right? A low temp oven  250 or so and just keep an eye and stir as needed.

Then eat and enjoy!!!

Cookies

OK remember I told you this blog was EVERYTHING that happens in the kitchen?? Well this is one of those moments that didnt turn out like I had planned..at all! There is no recipe with this post because these were supposed to be, get this Linzer tarts, obviously they arent. The recipe is actually very good but not for Linzer tarts so I will save it for next time I make those cookies so you can see it as its supposed to be.  Anyway I was so excited to make these, I had bought some heart shaped cookie cutters and was going to make tarts or so I thought, the dough was too soft and most of them just melted into round cookies, the ones that had the heart shape I decided to fill with icing. I am sure you can guess what happened to that idea...it all ran out the bottom. I was determined so I let the icing set so it wouldnt leak and then filled them again and again and sometimes again! They did taste good but this experiment just didnt work! 

I would love comments and apologize to anyone who has tried but couldnt, I adjusted the settings so hopefully now you can.

HAPPY BAKING! Even when its a surprise :)

Portobello burger & crispy potatoes

One of lifes pleasures is a good burger and some crispy potatoes. I like a portobello mushroom burger as much as a beef burger.  I find I can make it juicier than beef, I guess the beef theses days is so lean, you dont get the juiciness that makes a burger  taste so good. This is also a great option if you are vegetarian. So here goes, a medium size portobello mushroom works well. I just saute it in a little EVOO, kind of searing it, then flip it over, do the same to that side, then turn down the heat and put a lid on the fry pan, thats what makes it juicy.  Add a slice of cheese if you like, thats how I like mine some ketchup and a dill pickle on a nice roll and its done.

I do the potatoes in the oven with a little EVOO toss them together and bake them on 350 or so for about 45 minutes.  I like Yukon golds. I find using the oven rather than a fry pan I can use less oil, gotta watch that waistline. I grind some sea salt on top and dinner is served.

Pizza

 OK here is another quick easy dinner to make PIZZA!!!! Who doesnt love pizza and its so easy to make at home and its quick! I use the pre made dough that you find in the dairy aisle of any supermarket. I cut it in half for a single serving and add a nice salad and there is dinner. You can top it with whatever your heart desires. This has red onion, spinach & mushroom and some cheese grated on top. I take an enamel baking pan, you can use any dish thats good for baking and I put a little EVOO on the bottom so it doesnt stick, add your veggies, grate some cheese, bake for about a half an hour or so on 400. Done...hot pizza. Delish.

  This one has tomato, garlic & cheese. Its so easy and the possibilities are endless. Its also really fun for kids they love to make their own meal and this works out really well.

Creamy spinach pasta

OK I admit this came to me on one of those rare days I just didnt feel like cooking. I looked at what was in the fridge, found some cream cheese, knew I had some spinach and I always keep canned  tomato & pasta thanks Grandma! She always had some in the pantry. It comes in really handy on just such occasions. No running to the store on lazy days.

 I chopped some of the spinach and sauteed it in a little olive oil and then added the tomato. You can add garlic, onion whatever makes you happy, thats the beauty of these types of dishes. I added the cream cheese and let it melt into the mixture. Boil some water to cook your pasta. Toss the mixture with your pasta and add a salad youre done! Dinner is served!