Archive for Recipes & Food
December 22, 2009
· Filed under Gift Ideas, Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged cookie swap, holiday baking, holiday cookies, mint chocolate cookie recipe
…are totally delicious, especially when you store them in the fridge, which enhances the mint. Mmm, chilled mint chocolate cookies. Here’s the recipe from Bon Appétit (December 2000):
Mint Chocolate Cookies
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs and peppermint extract. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt and beat until well blended.
[I added chocolate chips and beat until just mixed in]
Form dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly to 1 1/2-inch rounds.
Bake cookies until edges begin to firm but center still appears soft, about 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.
* * *
I made the mint chocolate cookies for a cookie swap I had with my friends. Just six of us, and look at the variety of cookies we baked! Cookie swaps are awesome. Or as Melanie would say, “Cookie swaps are my fave.”
December 15, 2009
· Filed under Crafty!, Family Fun, Good Books, Holidays, Kids, Kids Crafts, Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged holiday gifts, holiday recipes, Kids Crafts, marshmallow treats, party favors
Marshmallows on a stick, dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. What could be better? They’re easy to make with the kids and make nice little party favors or gifts. I made them with the girls last night. Here’s the how-to, from the Kids in the Holiday Kitchen cookbook:
Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable or canola oil spray
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 bag of large marshmallows
lollipop or wooden popsicle sticks
assorted toppings (sprinkles, nonpareils, sugar, coarsely chopped candy canes, etc)
Instructions
1. Clear out a space in your refrigerator for one baking sheet (make sure the space is tall enough to accommodate the lollipop sticks)
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly spray it with oil, and then wipe the oil evenly across the parchment paper.
3. Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, or in a stainless steel or Pyrex bowl over a saucepan with 1 inch of hot water. Melt the chocolate chips over medium-low heat until the chocolate is smooth (about 8 minutes). Transfer the melted chocolate to a room temperature bowl.
4. Put each topping in a separate shallow bowl. (I found what worked better, actually, was to just sprinkle the topping over the chocolate dipped marshmallows, rather than to dip them into the toppings. It kept the toppings from clumping).
5. Put a lollipop/popsicle stick into each marshmallow, making sure the stick is secure. Then dip the marshmallow pop into the chocolate, cover the marshmallow as evenly as possible. Dip your marshmallow into a topping (or, again, sprinkle the topping over the marshmallow). Place on parchment paper. Repeat until done.
6. Refrigerate the marshmallow pops until the chocolate has completely hardened (about 45 minutes).
Makes 20 pops. 20 delicious pops. Trust me. (Well, I can only vouch for two three, and they were delicious).
(I seriously need a lightbox)
I like this Kids in the Holiday Kitchen cookbook, but here’s my one (small) gripe: they don’t have pictures with all of the recipes, and there are some recipes I would really like to visualize before making them. But this is a fun book if your kids like baking, and if you want some nice little holiday gift ideas.
December 8, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, Holidays, Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged Christmas cookies, cupcakes, holiday baking, holiday cookies, pastel cookies
Pastel perfection.
If these photos from Hello Naomi don’t get you into the holiday baking spirit, I don’t know what will.
And I’m seriously considering these for Rosa’s birthday:
Looking at these pictures makes me feel so cheerful and excited for Christmas. For more of Hello Naomi’s gorgeous creations, check her out on Flickr.
December 1, 2009
· Filed under Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged desserts, holiday baking, Martha Stewart recipes, peanut butter tart recipe
December?! Wow.
I’ve been craving a peanut buttery dessert lately. Serendipitously, as I was looking through my files last night looking for a little craft inspiration, I came across this recipe, which I’d torn out of an old issue of Martha Stewart Living. I’m definitely making it this week. I hope my family likes it, because I don’t want to be forced to eat it all.
(Because you know I would).
Peanut Butter Tart
For the crust:
Ten full size graham crackers, broken into pieces
For the filling:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 ounces best-quality milk chocolate, plus more for curls
1 ¾ cups heavy cream
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup cream cheese (4 ounces)
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
Directions
1. Place graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until fine crumbs are formed. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add butter. Stir with a fork until thoroughly combined. Place crumbs in a 13 3/4-by-4 1/4-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. Press crumbs up the sides of the pan to form the edge of the tart and then evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place in the refrigerator while making the filling.
(Presumably you can use a different shaped/similarly sized pan – I know I don’t have one like this – or make individual tarts)
2. Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Finely chop chocolate, and place in a medium bowl. Place 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate, and set aside for 5 minutes to yield chocolate ganache. Whisk to combine. Set in ice bath until ganache is cool, whisking constantly. Once cool, remove from ice bath, and whisk until ganache is just thick enough to hold its shape; do not overbeat. Spread in the bottom of the prepared crust, and return to the refrigerator until set.
3. Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, and sweetened condensed milk in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
4. Whip 3/4 cup heavy cream to soft peaks. Add whipped cream to peanut butter mixture; whisk to combine.
5. Spoon mixture into prepared crust; return to the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. Remove tart from refrigerator, and transfer to a serving platter 10 minutes before serving. Whip remaining 1/2 cup cream. Top tart with dollops of whipped cream. Use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls for garnish.
Recipe and all images courtesy Martha Stewart
November 24, 2009
· Filed under Holidays, Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged holiday recipes, hollandaise recipe
I eat hollandaise exactly one time each year. Thanksgiving. With broccoli (though judging by all the pictures on Flickr, most people seem to eat it with asparagus).
Hollandaise is pretty easy to make, if you’re paying attention, but it can curdle if either the heat is too high or if you’re trying to rewarm it.
My dad used to make this every year. This is his recipe (which came from his mother):
Ingredients:
2 egg yolks, beaten with a fork
2 T cream
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 stick of softened butter, cut into pieces
Directions:
Place a thick pan over low heat, or in a double boiler over hot water barely boiling. Stir in all the ingredients except the butter until it begins to thicken. Add butter a piece at a time, stirring constantly as the sauce thickens. If you want to make more sauce, simply add more butter. [I love that part of the recipe - you'd never know my family is from Wisconsin].
If your sauce happens to curdle, return it to heat and whisk in an egg yolk, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens again.
You should make the hollandaise when you’re almost done cooking your Thanksgiving meal, so that you can serve it warm (without having to reheat it).
Spoon it over steamed broccoli or asparagus and enjoy!
Photo courtesy fotocuisine
* * *
Tomorrow: My picks for Handmade Wednesday and then I’m taking Thursday and Friday off to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at my sister’s house.
November 17, 2009
· Filed under Gift Ideas, Holidays, Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged donating to food banks, feeding hungry families for Thanksgiving, food banks, food pantries, food security, hunger
I updated the “About” section on Charlotte’s Fancy this weekend – it was overdue. If you already read it, you’ll know that I mentioned my real job: working for a philanthropic foundation, which gives grants to deserving non-profit organizations. As Thanksgiving is almost here, I’m thinking about the social service non-profits that provide the basics, like shelter and food, and how local food banks are scrambling to feed as many families as they can. And this year, there are a lot more families struggling with hunger.
According to the New York Times, hunger in the US is at a 14 year high:
17 million American households, or 14.6 percent of the total, “had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year.” That was an increase from 13 million households, or 11.1 percent, the previous year.
I sent Elena off to school with a bag full of groceries to donate to our local food pantry yesterday, and I’ve given some money too, but it never feels like enough. There is nothing so fundamental as the need to eat, and I can’t help but think how it must feel both emotionally and physically not to have enough for yourself or your family.
So, if you’re wondering where and how to help families in your community, you can look up your local (US) food bank on the Feeding America website. Every little bit of help counts.
And by the way: Rosa’s sweet paper bag house craft made its way to the One Pretty Thing website yesterday, which is very exciting for me. I adore One Pretty Thing – I don’t think there’s any other website with such a variety of inspiring crafts and projects.
Thanksgiving dinner photo courtesy Tree Hugger
November 13, 2009
· Filed under Etsy Finds, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged edible gifts, handmade gifts, holiday gift ideas
What to do when you have people on your list who either have it all, mumble that they don’t want anything, or would prefer not to have more “things” to add to their homes? Give them some gourmet food, of course! Everyone has to eat, right?
I like the idea of giving gifts that someone can “use up” – and Etsy has a lot of edible gift choices:
Caramel with Nougat Pinwheels, ½ lb. ($10) by Vintage Confections
Custom Spice Mix (Small) ($17) by Purpose Design
9 French Macarons ($14) by Lemonade Stand
Blueberry Lime Jam ($6) by JustbHandmade
Original Teton Hot Chocolate, ½ lb. ($14) by the Teton Cocoa Company
Pure Raw Honey ($6/ 12 oz.) by Green Leaf Apiary
3 Tea Tin Gift Set ($12) by ruaTEA
Hazelnut Chocolate Whisky Cookies ($9 per ½ dozen) by Whimsy and Spice
16 Apricot Ginger Scones ($22) by the Kitchen Witch
Organic Popcorn ($2.80 per 500 g.) by The Organic Home
Creamy Yogurt and Boursin Dip Spice Blend and Recipes ($4.50) by epicerie
Fair Trade and Organically Grown Papua New Guinea Coffee ($13 per lb.) by The Roaster
So there you have it! Two weeks of holiday gift and card ideas. Did you buy anything from our guides? Get inspiration? We hope so.
Monday, we’ll be back to our regular schedule, with a craft waiting for you. Have a good weekend!
October 27, 2009
· Filed under Molly, Pretty Things, Recipes & Food · Tagged candgrams, candy, Flickr, photos of candy
The other day, I fell in love with this blog post by Brooke Reynolds of inchmark (perhaps it won’t surprise you to learn that she used to be a senior art director for Martha Stewart Kids – all of her blog posts are beautiful to look at).
Isn’t this a wonderfully cheerful (and easy!) idea?
I also happened upon some other photos of beautiful candy, notably, these “sweet pink” candies (below, left), which I saw on the Epicute blog (thanks to my sister). The photo comes from anzyAprico’s photostream on Flickr. The photo on the right is “Dutch Candy” by Chrizzie.
I was inspired to have a look around Flickr for other beautiful candy photos, and boy did I find them easily. Take a look. I’m pretty sure you’ll be running for the candy jar.
“Candy jar” by Moa Maria
“candies” by red64
“Candys from Japan” by miumiu
“candy” by yomi955
October 20, 2009
· Filed under Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged butternut squash, cold weather comfort food, Martha Stewart recipes
This is an old recipe from Martha Stewart that I use quite a bit, especially at this time of year. I love butternut squash – how about you?
Squash With Couscous
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, (about 1 cup), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger and ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound (about 2 cups) butternut squash, peeled and seeded, flesh quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1-1/2 cups low-sodium canned chicken broth
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
3/4 cup couscous
1/3 cup golden raisins
Directions
1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cook 1 minute. Add squash and tomato paste; cook 3 minutes more.
2. Stir in broth and zest; simmer until squash is tender and sauce is thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Put couscous and raisins in a glass bowl; pour in boiling water. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; let stand 5 minutes. Uncover; fluff with a fork. Serve couscous with squash and sauce.
(Sometimes I sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese, too).
Last night I served this with a green salad and garlic bread. Yum.
October 13, 2009
· Filed under Molly, Recipes & Food · Tagged least favorite candy, unpopular Halloween candy
Let’s not beat around the bush about this, because this is serious business. Please DO NOT give me my kids any of the following Halloween candy this year:
Good & Plenty – The worst of the worst. ‘Nuff said.
Necco Wafers – Clinically designed to break your teeth.
Now and Laters - Or as I call them, “Never. Ever.”
Peanut Butter Kisses – An abomination of candy and peanut butter.
Almond Joy and Mounds – Coconut. Ew.
3 Musketeers - Look at that whipped center. It’s creepy and unnatural.
I hate it when I am forced to sneak all the good stuff (Butterfingers, Reese’s PB Cups, Snickers, Kit Kats, Dum Dums), leaving my kids with the weird hamburger shaped gummy candy at the bottom of their buckets. If they got only the good stuff from you, neighbors*, there would be plenty to go around.
*My next door neighbor is totally exempt from this post. She hands out full size chocolate bars. I love her.
What’s your least favorite candy? I googled this, and the overwhelming majority seems to think that candy corn is the worst. Which can only mean that people have completely lost their minds. Candy corn (the first handful, anyway) is delicious. Indian corn, on the other hand, is just plain gross.
