Catching Up

 So, it has been a while since I made any updates and that is because this summer was CRAZY! New job, new home in a new state certainly upended our lies for a while and we have been balls to the wall since July. But things are finally starting to calm down a bit allowing me to catch up on the recipe thing. First off is an ode to Autumn in Maine, where I now reside. This is a twist on a Cinnamon Roll Whoopie Pie recipe I saw over on evil genius Peabody's website (LINK). In her recipe she piped the cinnamon swirl to make the cakes look like cinnamon rolls - I truly suck with a piping bag and I cold not for the life of me get the cinnamon mixture to flow out nicely so I just ended up putting globs of it on the cakes more like a streusel. Wasn't pretty but they tasted fantastic. My husband and I brought the extras to work and got thumbs up all around.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll/Streusel Whoopie Pies

Cake
2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 small can pumpkin

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 C granulated white sugar

1/2 C brown sugar (preferably dark but light works too)

1 large egg

1/2 C vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon Swirl/Streusel Topping

1/4 C + 1 Tbs brown sugar

2 Tbs melted butter

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling

1/2 C butter

1/2 C shortening

1 C marshmallow fluff

1/2 Tbs maple extract

1 Tbs maple whiskey

1 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 C powdered sugar

1 Tbs cream

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Line two baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.

Make the filling first:

Combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Place a 1-quart resalable bag into a glass or cup.

Pour cinnamon mixture into the bag; refrigerate until filling is as thick as toothpaste, about 10 minutes.

To make the whoopie pies: Beat together the oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add pumpkin.

Combine the dry ingredients.

Mix into the wet mixture, stirring until well combined.

Drop the batter by heaping tablespoonfuls or pipe batter onto the pans.

Fill a piping bag with the cinnamon swirl filling and cut a very tiny hole at the bottom for the filling to come out.(This Didn't work for me so if you have the same problem just sprinkle on top!)

Swirl the filling on to the tops of the whoopie pies being careful to leave an edge for the cookie.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until firm to the touch.

For the frosting:

Beat softened butter and shortening and full until well blended. 

Add whiskey vanilla, maple extract, vanilla and cream

Add powdered sugar and mix until combined

Once cakes are completely cooled. Place a heaping spoonful of filling on flat side and topped with another cake. ENJOY!

Say Yes to the Dress(ing)

 This post has nothing to do with weddings, although I do admit that I love that show. This is all about my favorite salad dressing. It is a copycat of the roquefort dressing served tableside at the Student Prince in Springfield, MA. I have not dined there since it changed hands a few years ago but the dressing has never left my thoughts. While the restaurant has sworn to never give out the recipe, they did hint that a base or creamy french dressing is a similar base. I did some searching and I came up with something pretty darn close tot he real thing and I couldn't be happier. 

1/2 C mayo

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 medium onion chopped fine

1 tsp hungarian paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 lb roquefort cheese (or quality blue cheese)

Mix together everything but the cheese, then break the cheese up and stir in. Let rest 1 hour before serving

How Low Can You Go.

  Yep, I am doing the low carb thing again and it seems to be working, albeit slowly. The hardest part is coming up with creative and tasty dishes to keep things from getting too repetitive. I can't live on zoodles and salads. I need variety! This weekend I wanted to try and use up some of the REALLY god ricotta that I got at the Italian deli and some zucchini that had been sitting in my fridge too long. I made a low-carb stuffed zucchini that was really out of this world and very easy to make. It did require 1 sort of specialty ingredient and that was a pre-cooked chicken Italian sausage that I get at Aldi. So not super special and you can certainly sub it with regular old Italian sausage if you prefer. I liked the Aldi sausage because I didn't have to cook it ahead of time cutting down on the prep work.

Low-Carb Stuffed Zucchini

1 medium zucchini, split lengthwise with centers removed (I use a melon baller to scoop out the insides)

1 Aldi pre-cooked Italian style chicken sausage

2 handfuls fresh spinach

3 cloves garlic

1 Cup GOOD Ricotta (The stuff that comes in a metal can, not plastic containers), drained

1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1 Tbs balsamic glaze

1 Roughly cut up sausage and place in a food processor with spinach and garlic. Pulse until everything is chopped fine but not pasty. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

2 Add ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and stir to combine thoroughly. S & P to taste.

3 Scoop cheese and sausage mixture into zucchini shells

4 Bake at 400F for 45 minutes or until zucchini is soft.

5 Drizzle with glaze and enjoy!

Tenderloin TIP

I came up with this marinade for tenderloin tips and it was fantastic. It even works great as a glaze for sautéed vegetables so reserve some after you've finished marinating the meat!

 Beef Tenderloin Tip Marinade (and vegetable glaze)

1 C Italian dressing

1/2 C brown sugar

1/4 C ketchup

1 Tbs yellow mustard

Up for the Challenge

 Over the Christmas holidays I generally bake anywhere from 8-12 varieties of cookies to give to family and friends. Well, I have one friend that is allergic to gluten, nuts, and dairy and could never eat them. I felt bad giving her cookies she could not eat but I also didn't want to leave her out and not give her anything while everyone else got cookies. So, this year I decided to try and make a cookie that she could eat that didn't suck. I am happy to say that they came out WAY better than expected and she claimed them to be "dangerously good". BIG win! Now I came up with the recipe on the fly and hope I remember everything that I did. I had been baking cookies all day and was in the cookie groove so I went by eye and when the dough looked right I baked them up and hoped for the best. I thought I had written down what I did, but if I did so, I can't find the notes anymore. But, seeing as will likely make these again next year I don't want to forget and so I am documenting it here for eternity.

Allergy Free Blueberry Lemon Cookies

3/4 C vegetable shortening
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 C brown rice flour
1/2 C coconut flour
1 tsp ground chia seeds
1 tsp ground psyllium husk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup dried blueberries

In a stand mixer, beat together shortening and sugars until smooth

Add eggs and vanilla

Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT blueberries

Once the dry ingredients and lemon juice/zest are incorporated, test the texture of the dough. If too dry and crumbly add more shortening, if sticky add more rice flour. The dough should be easy to handle without being too stiff. If you are not intimidated by raw egg, give the dough a taste to make sure the lemon flavor shines through and the dough is sweet enough.  If the texture and taste are OK, add blueberries.

 Scoop into a cookie sheet and flatten with the back of a fork (like we do for peanut butter cookies). I made big cookies and used my meatball scoop. Bake at 325F for 10-12 minutes or until set. Let cool before handling. The finished cookies will be delicate as there is no gluten to hold them together but will firm up a bit upon cooling.

Comfort Food from Leftovers

 I had this big prime rib roast sitting in my deep freeze for a while now and I was getting concerned that it had been in there too long. Since my husband's birthday was around the corner, I decided it would be the perfect occasion to make it since I have no idea when I would have a crowd at my house large enough to justify making it. (Thanks China and your fucking diseases!) I knew I was going to have a ton left over but I figured that too many leftovers was a better alternative than letting it get freezer burned and wasted. For dinner, I made us a nice classic steak house style dinner with creamed spinach and baked potatoes. Hubs was a happy birthday boy. Then came the leftovers. I came up with this riff on shepherds pie/French onion soup and I have to say it was a hit. It incorporated the leftover meat and the leftover creamed spinach. I was concerned that Hubs would turn his nose up at the spinach but surprisingly he tried it and also really liked it. While I don't have a traditional recipe per se, here is what I did.

1 -  I took a couple pieces of left over rib and cubed it up and simmered low and slow in beef broth to which I had added and envelope of onion soup mix and a dash or worcestershire sauce. Once the beef was shreddable, I shredded it into bite sized bits and thickened the liquid with a slurry of cornstarch and water to make a nice rich gravy.

2 - Next I cooked up a bag of extra wide egg noodles until al dente. 

3 - Next I took two 4-inch ramekins and placed a layer of leftover creamed spinach on the bottom of each one. If you don't already have leftover creamed spinach on had, green giant makes a frozen version that is pretty decent. On top of the spinach I placed a layer of egg noodles. Then, I ladled the beef and gravy mixture over the noodles being sure that all the noodles got hit with some of the gravy. This required some gentle shifting around with a fork to distribute everything evenly.

4 - Finally I topped it all of with a bit of shredded mozzarella cheese and baked it all in a 350F oven until the cheese was melted and bubbly and the casserole was nice and hot throughout. Delicious!

Mediterranean Vibes

 I turned hubs on to real souvlaki this weekend. Let's just say he is a BIG fan. This was the recipe I used and now it is here for posterity! Thank you to the https://www.themediterraneandish.com/ for the recipe.

• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp each Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 bay leaves
• In the bowl of a small food processor, add garlic, oregano, rosemary, paprika, salt, pepper, olive oil, white wine, and lemon juice (do NOT add the dried bay leaves yet). Pulse until well combined.
• Place chicken in a large bowl and add bay leaves. Top with marinade. Toss to combine, making sure chicken is well-coated with marinade. cover tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight 
• We cut 2 very large chicken breasts into cubes and then marinaded them for a few hours before threading the pieces on skewers and grilling them. We served it with flour wraps (couldn't find greek pitas), tzatziki, and an array of fresh vegetables and greens (It was a build your own sandwich type set up). Although, most people just ate the meat right off the skewers, lol.