esquites…..mexican street corn salad

I LOVE Mexican street corn. 
But what I don't love is corn stuck in between my teeth. 

Well, you don't have to wait until corn is in season or get it stuck between your pearly whites to make this recipe. I use organic frozen corn straight from the freezer to make this summertime favorite.

Happy Summer!!!

faux oreos - recipe #4 of 7 days of sweets

I'm a freak about "faux" foods and when I find a recipe that sounds like the real deal, I make it immediately. Like faux Oreos.....The original reipe is from one of my favorite blogs, Serious Eats, and back in December they featured these in a peppermint holiday version. I'm sticking with the original.


For Valentine's Day, cut the chocolate cookies out with a heart cutter and tint the white filling pink. Wish I thought of that when I was making these......


Fauxreos
borrowed from the blog Serious Eats 


INGREDIENTS
3 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
3 3/4 ounces sugar
1 1/2 ounces brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
4 ounces all purpose flour, sifted
3 ounces cocoa powder, sifted
 
FOR THE FILLING
from Martha Stewart
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


TO MAKE THE CHOCOLATE COOKIES Using a hand or stand mixer set to medium speed, cream together butter, both sugars, salt baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla extract until combined. With mixer still running, add in egg yolks one at a time. Once incorporated, shut off mixer and scrape bowl down with a rubber spatula.

Turn mixer to its lowest setting. Dump in flour and cocoa all at once. The mixture will be stiff. Continue mixing until uniform. Shut off mixer. Use a spatula to scrape the dough from the bowl and knead lightly to form a smooth ball. Use your hands to flatten into a disc.

***You may begin rolling the dough right away, or you may wrap it with plastic and refrigerate for up to a week.
***If you've kept the dough refrigerated, let it sit at room temperature to soften before starting to roll.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Sift some cocoa powder onto the counter (using cocoa instead of flour gives the Fauxreos their uniquely dark color). Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/8" thickness (as thick as 3 dimes, stacked).

When finished, slide a metal spatula between the dough and counter to loosen. This will prevent the cookies from sticking.

A 2" round cutter makes perfect "Oreos" but use any cutter you like. Cut out the cookies and use a metal spatula to lift and transfer to cookie sheet.

Arrange cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. The cookies will not spread during baking, so they may be arranged quite close together. Set the sheets aside.

Gather up, knead, and re-roll the remaining dough scraps, likewise cutting and arranging on a cookie sheet.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until quite firm to the touch. If your oven has an uneven heating element, rotate the cookie sheets after six minutes. Once the cookies have baked, cool thoroughly, directly on the cooling rack.

TO MAKE THE FILLING In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, granulated sugar and pinch of salt, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla extract.

Using a spatula, transfer half the filling to a small pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. Alternately you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off as a makeshift pastry bag. ***I found this filling to be a little "stiff". I just spooned small amounts onto my cookies.***

TO ASSEMBLE THE COOKIES Flip half of the wafers upside down. Onto each, pipe or spoon vanilla filling. Place a cookie on top and press down with your fingers, applying very even pressure so the filling will spread uniformly across the cookie. 

Transfer cookies to an airtight container and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Refrigerating the cookies will solidify the filling and bonding it with the chocolate cookies. 

***My apologies for the weight measurements. If you don't have a scale, I'm sure there is somewhere on the web to convert. If not, drop me a comment and I will send you the measurements. Sorry!!!***

meyer lemon meringue tarts

A bitter blast yesterday officially marked winter on the East Coast. The temperature has been strangely mild so far but on the third day of 2012, it hit a high of 24˚F. Today is going to feel somewhat the same, COLD!!! You can guarantee if it's cold outside, I'll be in the kitchen baking something. And since yesterday was bone chilling and I was longing for the warmth of California's sunshine, I made meyer lemon meringue tarts.

Meyer lemons are sweeter than ordinary lemons. Their peel/zest is smoother, brighter and extremely fragrant and let's not forget...juicy! They're easily grown in California and if you've ever purchased meyer lemons in a specialty food shop in NYC, they can start at $1.25 a lemon. I originate from California and luckily my Dad and both of my sisters all have meyer lemon trees. In fact my oldest sister has planted in her backyard my husband's meyer lemon tree that we had to leave with her 11 years ago when we moved to NY. So when we go home for the holidays, I stock up on my meyers. I love bringing home to NYC some California sunshine.....

Lemon Meringue Pie
the original recipe, a pie not tarts, comes from the blog serious eats was made with ordinary lemons

***The juice and zest of 2 meyer lemons were perfect for this recipe. Since meyers are sweeter in taste, I cut the sugar down to 10 ounces or around 1 1/2 cups. And if you're making little tarts, depending on the size, will yield 12 - 14 more or less***
  

• One half recipe Easy Pie Dough, shaped and chilled in a pie plate or tart pans ***I made the whole pie dough recipe and froze the other half for future baking***

zest of 2 - 3 lemons, depending on their size and how juicy they are

• 4 3/4 ounces (1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon) freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice

• 14 ounces (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) water

• 17.5 ounces (2 1/3 cup) granulated sugar, divided

• 1.5 ounces (1/4 cup) cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 4 egg yolks

• 1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into small pieces

• 4 egg whites

• Pinch salt

• Pinch cream of tartar

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat he oven to 425°F. Line the shaped, chilled, pie crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with weights (or reuse dried beans) and bake for 15 minutes on the lower rack. remove the liner and weights and bake until the whole crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 

2. Place the lemon juice, water, and zest in a medium sized saucepan. Whisk together the cornstarch, 9 ounces (1 1/3 cups) sugar, and salt, and add it to the saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks then add them to the mixture and whisk continuously over medium heat until the mixture becomes thick and bubbles, 7 to 8 minutes. ***It was closer to 10 minutes for me*** Whisk for an additional two minutes once it's begun to bubble, without stopping, then remove from heat. Whisk in the butter until it's completely melted. Pour the mixture into the baked pie shell/shells and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Allow the pie/pies to come to room temperature, then chill for at least four hours (ideally, overnight) with the plastic wrap still on top.

3. Before serving: Fill medium saucepan one quarter full with water. Set the saucepan over medium heat, and bring water to a simmer. Combine egg whites, remaining sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, and whip, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Remove the plastic from the top of chilled pie/pies and top with meringue. ***I used a large star tip to pipe out my meringue*** Place the pie/pies under the broiler and watch it carefully, the top should brown but not burn, and it changes quickly. ***If you feel safe and you have one, you can use your blow torch*** Chill for 10 minutes, then serve.

One taste brings me back to California but in my head I'm still singing "Baby It's Cold Outside".....

hot chocolate bread pudding

Ok folks.....This is my last post for 2011. 
I swear!!! This hot chocolate bread pudding is a must before any of you start on your 2012 diets. Even I need to think about "cutting out" or "cutting back" on certain foods I eat. But sweets? No, never!!! Just a few decadent treats once in a while is totally OK in my book.....

Hot Chocolate Bread Pudding
This recipe comes from an amazing food blog that my husband turned me on to....Serious Eats. And trust me....What they blog about is serious!!!
Serves 12 - 16

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature for pan
6 large eggs
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
12 ounces French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes ***Soft or stale bread is perfect for this recipe. No need to use toasted bread.***
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

For the WHIPPED CREAM
12 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
***This recipe can be easily halved. Use a 9x9-inch pan and decrease baking time to approximately 25 minutes.***

1. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish or individual ramekins; set aside. In large bowl, whisk eggs, granulated sugar, and salt until lightened, about 30 seconds; set aside. 

2. In medium saucepan, whisk brown sugar with cocoa to combine. Whisk in milk and cream and heat over medium heat until warm. Whisk in bittersweet chocolate, espresso powder, and cinnamon until chocolate is melted. Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until combined. Whisk in vanilla extract.

3. Add bread cubes to chocolate mixture and gently toss to evenly moisten bread. Let sit to allow bread to thoroughly saturate, 30 to 45 minutes, occasionally pressing bread gently with rubber spatula. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees F.

4. Gently pour bread mixture into prepared baking dish. Tuck chopped semisweet chocolate into bread pudding, evenly distributing. Bake until pudding is just set in center, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool about 30 minutes before serving.

5. In chilled bowl of standing mixer fitted with whip attachment, whip cream, sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until soft peak. Serve with warm bread pudding.

HAPPY
NEW 
YEAR!!!