Profiteroles with Dark Chocolate Sauce

January 2nd is National Cream Puff Day. So to honor that, I decided to try a recipe I've had marked in a cookbook for quite some time. Profiteroles with Dark Chocolate Sauce adapted from Kitchen Library Desserts.

Cream Puffs have been in the US since 1880 but were actually invented in the 1540's by Catherine de Medici's pastry chef for Henry II.



The one issue I have with the recipe I used was that it did not tell you to cut them or pipe them immediately. It said to let them cool in the oven for 5 minutes so when I took them out they had deflated. BOO. However, deflated or not, these little bad boys are not only phenomenal but addictive. I am officially a Profiteroles fan. These remind me of my favorite Krispy Kreme doughnut: Custard filled, chocolate glazed. It's like little delicate bites of heaven.

Profiteroles (Cream Puffs) with Dark Chocolate Sauce
1/4 cup chopped butter
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup flour
3 eggs, room temp, lightly beaten

White Chocolate Filling
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tbs sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup white chocolate chips

Dark Chocolate Sauce
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Spray a baking sheet liberally with cooking spray. Put butter and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat and add flour. Return to heat and stir to form a smooth ball. Set aside and let cool slightly. Add eggs to flour ball with an electric mixer until dough is smooth and glossy (thick paste like consistency). Using a cookie scoop place balls evenly on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden and puffed. Turn off Oven and skewer a hole in the side/base of each puff and let dry in oven for 5 minutes. (When I took mine out they deflated immediately so I'm not sure how apt that direction is.)


For Filling:
Combine pudding mix and sugar in saucepan. Whisk in milk slowly until smooth. Heat slowly until boiling and thickening (mine thickened but I never quite let it boil, my fault). Remove from heat and add white chocolate. Stire until melted and let cool. Using a piping bag, filling each pastry with custard.

Combine dark chocolate and cream in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and drizzle over filled pastry.

Champagne-Soaked Baba

Okay, so actually It's Ginger-ale Soaked Baba but only because I'm pregnant. LOL

January is National Bread Machine Baking Month. Since my BFF Sarah bestowed upon me her Breadman (as she is now Gluten Free and those breads don't do as well with the Bread Machine) I decided to finally free it from the dark confines of my pantry and use it to honor National Bread Machine Baking Month. What better way to kick it off then with a New Year's appropriate bread?

Read your Bread Machine Instructions clearly as some machines prefer Wet/Dry/Yeast ingredients to be added in a different order. Breadman is a W/D/Y method. Seriously this is so easy my Dachshund could probably make this bread.

Champagne Soaked Baba
Page 521 of The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Baking Cookbook

For a 1 and 1/2 pound loaf:

1/3 cup water
3 large eggs
6 tbs unsalted butter, melted

2 cups bread flour (I used Gold Medal)
1 1/2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest (I used zest from one whole lemon)
1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 tsp bread machine yeast (I use Fleischmann's)

For Soaking Syrup:3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sweet champagne or Gingerale (for us pregnant people)

Directions:Add Dough ingredients to machine in manufacturer's order. Set crust for medium and program for Sweet Bread cycle; press Start.

My machine took about 3 hours to complete bread process, rise, baking time. So with about an hour left, I made the Soaking syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small sauce pan and heat until sugar is dissolved. cool until warm and add Champagne or gingerale. Set aside.

When bread is finished baking, poke wholes with a skewer and turn bread out onto a deep plate. Pour the syrup all over and let it stand to absorb. cover with plastic wrap until all liquid has been absorbed. Serve with warm fruit glaze. Recipe includes an apricot jam glaze but I chose to serve with homemade Pear Preserves or Applebutter.

Stephen and I are not huge fans of Soaked breads due to the soggy texture but this bread did have an excellent taste. Would have even been fine without the soaking mixture and just served with jam.

2010 Best Recipe Round-up

I think it has become tradition among food bloggers to re-visit their favorite recipes through the year at the close of the year. It's a place to start fresh just like every human does. You get to see how much you have grown, what you have accomplished and get ideas for what is to come in the New Year.

My qualifications for choosing recipes this year are simple: what did I love that I made over and over again. What recipe became a staple in my house. With those in mind, I reviewed all the recipes I posted over the year and there were some that stood out clearly.

2010 Garden Gourmet's Best Recipe Round-up

Southern Fried Chicken The easy fool-proof way to get great Fried chicken like Grandma used to make!

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones An amazing flavor combination in the perfect sweet breakfast concoction on the planet.


Vegetable Pot Pie Excellent for late summer and early fall or to clean out the cellar in spring. Hardy root vegetables make this a filling meal. It's a comfort food classic waiting to happen!

Spinach Lasagna This is probably my most requested dish at family dinner's now since I served it up during Easter. A great way to use up prolific spinach from the garden and get plenty of iron in the diet!

Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing Easy cupcakes that require little effort and ingredients are usually on hand for quick fixes for last minute birthday get togethers, impromptu girl's night etc.

Ina's Coleslaw A hearty twist to a simple coleslaw this version can be eaten alone or piled high on your favorite summer burger or dog. Much more colorful then the tired classic.

If you haven't done so already, definately add these great recipes to your collection. I promise you won't be dissappointed! I hope your year was as full of good food, family and joy as mine has turned out to be. May our New Year be just as adventurous and full of great flavor and family.

Boston Ho Cupcakes

This is where I talk about the Pioneer Woman disaster. My great plan (that I had been working on for a month) was to travel an hour and a half away with two great girl friends to go to the book signing of Pioneer Woman. We were going to meet several awesome girls (friends and bloggers) there. It was one of my BFF’s birthdays so I was surprising her with the trip. So imagine: Beautiful day, got off work early, had made awesome gluten free cupcakes the night before, chicken salad and a veggie tray. I got the oil changed in the SUV and had it cleaned. I stopped by the grocery store to pick up ice for the cooler. Came out, my car wouldn’t move. It was dead. Engine purred, gas pedal would not engage. After several hours of working with mechanics, the Mitsubishi dealer via phone, arranging towing etc. it was too late to travel to Charlotte and get there in time. My surprise for my BFF was blown. My chance to meet the Pioneer woman and have a girl’s road trip, GONE in the blink of a failed Pedal Pressure Sensor.

I was distraught. My BFF and I tried to salvage the evening with a trip to Outback, a browsing session at our local bookstore, and a rousing game of scrabble. We have our PW cookbooks and each other’s company, and delicious simple desserts. In honor of Sarah’s Birthday, I created an easy gluten Free Cupcake. Simple and sweet decadent with a fancy trashy name. So what’s in a name? Since these little cupcakes came out crossed somewhere between a backwards Boston cream pie and a Ho Ho cake, they are named Boston Ho’s. And well, it makes the 12 yo boy that lives in my brain giggle like a school girl. Deceptively simple, extremely good, funny name, gluten-free.

Boston Ho Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devils Food Cake Mix
Vanilla Pudding (I used Homemade and will post the recipe soon)
Vanilla Icing (I use a homemade Butter Cream but you can use your favorite store brand).

Directions:
Make batter according to package directions. Fill cupcake tins with liners about ¾ full. Bake per box instructions. Let cool completely. Using a pairing knife, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake. Cut tip off cone and save the top circle of each.

Gently spoon vanilla pudding into the hole. Cover with cake circle. Pipe with frosting. Serve.

Easy Flaky Pie Crust

I admit to taking the easy way out...a lot! When it came to pie crusts I mostly just did Pillsbury roll out. Easy, tasty. Yum. In my new quest for health I decided to go the unpreserved route and finally conquer my own. So I turned to my trusty "Joy of Cooking" book and applied their basic recipe to the method I've seen on the food channel, because well, I'm still lazy. LOL It worked GREAT! Not complicated, flaky and delicious. I'll probably never go back to ready made again.

Easy Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour
1 tsp white sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter (very cold and in small pieces-slice down center and chop at tbs marks)
1/3 cup plus 1 tbs ice water

Directions:
In food processor, combine flour, sugar and butter and pulse until butter is covered and in pea size pieces. As you continue to blend on low, add icecold water. When balls start to firm it will only take a few seconds before you get one big dough ball.

Roll dough ball out onto floured surface. Gently smooth the ball and wrap in plastic. Place in fridge for atleast thirty minutes to make sure it is nice and cold. Roll out gently (don't mash it) and place in pie shell. Trim extra and place back in fridge to chill until you need it!

Rosemary, Onion, Tomato Foccacia

This recipe was adapted from the book "Making Fresh Bread" by Love Food (an imprint of Paragon Books) that was given to me by my friend Rachel.

It is a lovely recipe that is simple and was a big hit with the guys at work. My darling husband was not too fond of it since he doesn't like cooked tomato on bread and it did send my allergies into overdrive (not sure if it was the yeast or the rosemary) but it had a nice crisp crust, fluffy inside, and light aromatic flavor.
Oh how I longed to eat more of this lovely bread. (sigh).

Rosemary, Onion, Tomato Foccacia Bread

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbs dried rosemary
6 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 fresh tomotoes, sliced and then halved
One onion sliced into rings
1 tsp sea salt

Directions:
Sift flour and salt together into bowl. Add yeast and most of rosemary (save some for sprinkling). Make a well in the middle and pour in 4 tbs of oil. Mix Quickly. Place in KAmixer turn on low using paddle and slowly mix in water. Dough will be crumbly. Turn onto dusted board and knead for 2 minutes.

Place ball into oiled bowl. Cover with plastic or a damp warm towel and set in a warm spot for 2 hours to rise. Brush a cookie sheet with oil. Turn out the dough onto the floured board and punch down. Knead for 1 minute. Put the dough onto cookie sheet and spread flat and even. Cover with plastic or damp warm towel and let rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 475. Whisk remaining oil with a little water. Dip your fingers in it and press into dough to dimple it. Sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary. Cover with tomatoes and onion rings.

Reduce the oven to 425 and bake the foccacia for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool and serve warm.

Simple Chicken Alfredo

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking Book. I needed a simple quick recipe for chicken and I really wanted a creamy pasta. With a little modification, this was perfect for what I had on hand.

Simple Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts
8 tbs butter (one stick)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded/grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb fettucine or angel hair noodles (any noodles will work really)

Directions:
Grill chicken (I use George Foreman Grill). Cook pasta in salted water till tender. In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add cream and stir. Season with Salt and Pepper. Add cheese and stir. As sauce gets thick with the melting cheese (one-two minutes) add drained noodles and toss gently until all noodles are coated. Serve with chicken breast or cut up the chicken into chuncks and mix in with noodles.

So easy, simple and delicious.

It's waffle time, it's waffle time. Won't you have some waffles of mine!

I love me some sour cream waffles. Light and fluffy and oh so delicious. I searched high and low for this recipe and finally found it in my Joy of Cooking book. It is so perfect.

1 Cup cake flour, sifted

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Beat in a separate bowl until light

3 egg YOLKS (don't toss your whites!)

2 cups sour cream

Combine your wet and your dry ingredients with a few swift strokes.

Beat until stiff, but not dry:

3 egg WHITES

Then fold the whites into the batter.

Pour onto your waffle griddle and thank me later.

I added some blueberries to some waffles too for a fun tasty twist.

Red Wine Risotto

My In-laws left earlier today, but the weekend was filled with family, children, laughs and lots of food. Whenever I have people over I tend to experiment on them as there are people to eat all the food I make. If you want to be a guinea pig, give me a call. *wink*

My FIL and I share a joy of wine. To dress up the traditional New Years fare of Seasoned Greens and Black Eyed Peas (representing Cash and coin), Pork (representing Renewal and success), I added a Red Wine Risotto.

Or as everyone else called it: Purple Rice. So the kids wouldn't eat it and my SIL tried "choking" it down because she didn't want to hurt my feelings, my husband and future BIL just picked on me about it though Josh (future BIL) did admit to me later that it wasn't that bad (ofcourse this was out of earshot of my husband and SIL..LOL). It really was enjoyable IF YOU LIKE WINE. It is very tangy and holds that merlot taste. I quite liked it and FIL went back for seconds so I consider it a success, jeers and all. Afterall, it could not have been that bad since it got gone VERY quickly. So quickly in fact that I didn't have time to snap a picture of it. (Just use your imagination, it really did look like purple rice).

Red Wine Risotto
Slightly adapted from Jane Price's Appetizers

Ingredients:
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 stick butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbs crushes/finely chopped garlic
1 tbs dried thyme (I would add 2 but I ran out)
1 cup risotto rice
2 cups Merlot (or dry Red wine)
1 cup grated parmesan

Directions:
Heat chicken stock on stove. After bringing to boil, put on low simmer.

In a skillet, melt butter and add onion and garlic. Saute until tender but not browned. Add thyme and rice. Stir until all are coated.

Add half the red wine and cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly. Add half cup of chicken stock, stirring until liquid is absorbed. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Add the remaining Red Wine and stir until absorbed. Repeat with two more additions of chicken stock. Once rice is tender and creamy add Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Recipe Extravaganza in 2010

I have some pretty amazing people in my life who support me, my "schemes", my endeavors and my dreams. I completely racked up on Kitchen stuff for Christmas! I can't wait to review some of this stuff as well as try new recipes.

I got THREE new cookbooks for Christmas and a year's subscription to Martha Stewart Living. I have read them all (including the one magazine that came with the subscription) from cover to cover.

I have dog earred the pages of the recipes I want to try. I have made a list and I'm itching to get started.

Dishes such as: Parmigiano Crusted Asparagus, Greek Olive and Feta Bread, Pecan Honey Bread, Red Wine Risotto, Herbed Ravioli (yes, I'm going to try homemade pasta again despite my recent failure), Sour Cream Tomato Pizza, Pimento Cheese (Pate of the South), Sweet Potato Brownies and Fried Peach Pies.

Can you imagine the yumminess that is going to come out of my kitchen? 2010 is definately going to be a flavorful year! So stick with me and plow your way through my cookbooks with me and we can all have a tasty new year!