Melissa's blog

Apples and Honey Muffins

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Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. skim milk
1/2 c. oil
2/3 c. honey
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 apple, chopped

Preheat oven to 400. Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients. Add apples. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes.

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I love using things other than granulated sugar to sweeten my baked goods. I've been eating a lot of apples with honey drizzled on top the last week or so, and muffins seemed like a good extension of that. They're easy and pretty fast to make. Enjoy!

Mock European Truffle Pie

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Ganache
2.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/4 c. heavy cream
2/3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Oreo crumb crust

Break chocolate into small pieces in a small stainless steel bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat cream and butter over medium heat, until it just begins to boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for five minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Pour ganache into the bottom of the pie crust while the ganache is still warm. Set in freezer until solid.

Bittersweet silk
1 stick of butter, room temperature
3/4 c. white sugar (ultrafine, if possible)
2.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Cream butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually beat in sugar with electric mixer. Stir in the cooled chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating mixture for 5 minutes on medium speed after each egg. Spoon the silk into the baking shell. Place pie in refrigerator.

Oreo Crumb Layer
1 row of Oreos from package

Scrape out filling from Oreos and place cookies in bag. Smash the cookies until crumb size is small. Spread crumbs evenly on silk.

Whipped Cream:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 tablespoon granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

In a large bowl, combine whipping cream, cocoa, vanilla, and sugar. Cover the bowl and place bowl and beaters in refrigerator for at least 60 minutes. After chilling, beat the mixture until soft peaks form. Take care not to overbeat, in order to avoid having chocolate butter. Pipe whipped cream onto pie and place in freezer. If desired, sprinkle chocolate shavings on top of whipped cream.

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This was a celebratory end-of-the-first-year-of-medical-school pie. It's a riff on a "Feature Pie" from Baker's Square - my friend, who considers this "his" pie says that my version is a little bit lighter. I'm pretty sure he means "fluffier," or at least less heavy. Regardless, the pie didn't last very long! This was a surprisingly easy pie to make, and not just because the crust was store-bought. The silk can be made up to a day ahead, and you can crush the Oreos whenever you want; the whipped cream can also be prepared ahead, but not too far ahead or it will start to separate.

Oreo Ice Cream Pie

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Ingredients:
Oreo pie crust
1 package of Oreo cookies
1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. gelatin
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Bake the crust for 4 minutes. Let cool completely.
Place in a ziplock bag, take one row of Oreo cookies from the package and crush. (Fun to do with your hands.)
Soften ice cream (in fridge for 30 minutes, on counter for 15). Spread vanilla ice cream about 3/4 inch thick in the bottom of the crust.
Place pie crust in freezer. Mix remaining ice cream with the crushed Oreos. Remove pie from freezer and spread the Oreo ice cream over the vanilla layer until slightly below the level of the crust. Place in freezer to solidify.

To make stabilized whipped cream:
In a heat-proof bowl/cup, place 1/2 tsp. gelatin in 1 tbsp. cold water. Do not mix, allow to soften for five minutes. Heat water in a small saucepan. Place cup with gelatin into the pan and allow to melt. When melted (clear and liquid), set aside and allow to cool, but not completely.

In a large bowl, whip together cream, sugar, and vanilla. When the mixture begins to thicken, add gelatin and whip until it looks like whipped cream. Take care not to overwhip, to avoid having butter. Refrigerate, covered for 2 hours. Spoon whipped cream into icing bag and pipe onto the pie. Return pie to freezer until 10-15 minutes prior to serving. Optional: use remaining Oreo crumbles to top the pie.

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Very easy, and very tasty. I was pleased with how pretty it turned out!

Cheese and Shells

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Ingredients:
4 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1 3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. chardonnay
1 1/4 c. sharp white cheddar, shredded
3/4 c. Italian cheese blend (I use the Sargento with the asiago and fontina)
2 tbsp. dried rosemary
2 c. shells

Boil shells.

Melt butter in the saucepan. Stir in flour and rosemary. Add wine. Gradually add milk. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is thick and smooth.

Add cheeses and stir until cheese melts. Combine shells and cheese and serve.
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Macaroni and cheese with a little bit of a grown-up twist. Tastes really good, and it's fast and easy!     

Cranberry Orange Biscotti

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3/4 c. sugar
3 tbsp. grated orange rind
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lime juice
2 large eggs
1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix with a blender at medium speed until blended the sugar, orange zest, vanilla, lime juice and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Gradually add to the sugar mixture. Fold in cranberries.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 2 minutes. Divide dough in half and roll each half into 2 loaves, 11 inches long. Bake on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Cut each roll into half-inch slices along a diagonal and place the cut sides down. Bake at 300 for 10-12 minutes. Turn over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

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Stress-baking is my thing. I've got four more finals this week, and nothing does a better job of centering my head than dough in my hands (and more often than not, flour in my hair). Because I was going to be in the late testing group for my anatomy practical, and was required to sit in a room for three hours before taking the exams, I decided to bake a batch of cookies to share with my friends. Medical students being quite the coffee connoisseurs, and biscotti being the perfect dipping coffee, I went for it.

One of the hardest things about baking biscotti is that it doesn't harden so much in the oven. This recipe is more dough-like, and less "cookie", and as such, is not quite so moist. It doesn't take as long for the cookies to bake up in the oven or harden when you take them out. And because there is no butter or oil, it's not totally awful for you. I did add some milk chocolate chips to one of the loaves, but it drowned out the orange flavor enough that, if I was baking for myself, I wouldn't do it again.

Chile-Lime Salmon

Ingredients:
2 fresh limes
1 tbsp. lime zest
2 serrano peppers, minced.
1/2 c. butter
Dry white wine (or vegetable/olive oil)
4 pieces of salmon

Chile Lime Butter
Can be made up to a day ahead. In a sealable bowl, with the lid off, soften butter. Squeeze the juice of the limes into the butter, and add the pepper pieces. Wash your hands NOW. Refrigerate the butter mixture, cooling at least until solid.

In a 12" skillet, heat enough white wine to cover the bottom of the pan. Place fish in pan, and drop spoonfuls of chile lime butter (about half the bowl) into the pan between fish pieces. Cook on each side for 4-5 minutes or until done. Just before finishing, place a spoonful of butter on each piece of salmon and allow to melt on top.

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I'm getting ready to start finals in a few days, and decided that this time, I would make a concerted effort not to eat like a student - you know... Lean Pockets, pizza rolls, grease fests. I stumbled across some really good-looking, reasonably priced salmon, and decided this weekend that it was time to use it. It's a good, easy recipe. Make sure you wear gloves, or at least wash your hands immediately after mincing the peppers. If you want the extra heat, you can throw the seeds in the butter as well. I think it's fine without, especially if you're cooking for others.

There are sadly no pictures of this dish while it was hot, as I had a friend for dinner last night and it was ready to be eaten pretty much as soon as it was plated. It was served on a bed of Bhutanese red rice, another heirloom variety that has a slightly sticky consistency and somewhat nutty taste.

White Chocolate Key Lime Macadamia Nut Muffins

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Ingredients
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. key lime zest
1/3 c. key lime juice
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped macadamia nuts

Mix flour, baking powder, salt. Make a well in the middle of the mixture.
Combine milk, sugar, eggs, oil, lime juice and zest, chips, and nuts in a separate bowl.
Mix liquid and dry ingredients, beating at medium speed until just moistened.
Spoon batter into greased muffin tins or papers, about 3/4 full.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and let cool on wire rack.  

I took these muffins to lunch, where my classmates looked at them uncharitably until one brave soul grabbed one and said, "It's weird, but it tastes amazing." The nuts give a nice texture difference, and the sweet/tart combination of the lime and white chocolate works really well.

Triple Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies

Triple Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. dark chocolate cocoa powder
1/2 c. milk chocolate baking chips
1/2 c. white chocolate baking chips
3/4 c. pomegranate seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper (optional, but makes for faster cleanup and easier cooling).

Cream together the butter and sugars with electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla.

Mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt until uniform in color. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing with electric mixer. Add baking chips and mix. Add pomegranate seeds, mixing on low, so as to avoid breaking too many seeds.

Bake for 12-14 minutes depending on your oven. Remove and let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Forbidden Rice Pudding

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Ingredients:
1/2 c. forbidden rice
2 1/2 c. skim milk, divided
1/3 c. white sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tbsp. low-fat butter
1 tbsp vanilla
Raisins or other dried fruit (optional)

Boil rice in 1 1/2 c. water. Reduce heat when water reaches boil, cover and simmer until rice is soft. Drain any remaining water and rinse rice with cold water until water runs clear.

Combine cooked rice, 2 c. milk, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until creamy, stirring occasionally (every two or three minutes). Add remaining milk, egg, and dried fruit. Cook for two more minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in butter and vanilla. Eat warm, or

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chilled.

I adore heirloom varieties of everything, so I was so excited and surprised when I stumbled across a collection of heirloom rice at my local grocery. The Forbidden rice piqued my interest the most - it is a dark rice, black in the bag that boils out a deep purple, and of course turns everything it cooks in the same color. I rinsed the rice in hopes of a nice lavender, but probably only prevented a dark, dark purple pudding. Nonetheless, this recipe cooks up nice and easy, and it's pretty to look at.

The forbidden rice lends a nice nutty flavor profile, and has a lot of protein for rice. This is also a comparatively low-fat recipe, with the skim milk and the low-fat butter. The egg yolk adds instant thickness, so just when you start getting anxious that you're going to have soupy rice pudding (after about 25 minutes or so), add the egg yolk, and it starts to look and feel like pudding. Adjust the sugar according to your preference. A dash of cinnamon or five-spice wouldn't be out of the question. I'm not crazy about raisins in my rice pudding, but I can't imagine them detracting if you think it'd be good! Enjoy!

Rosemary Onion Foccacia

Rosemary Onion Foccacia

Ingredients:
1 1/3 c. warm water
1 package active dry yeast
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. salt
Additional olive oil
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. margarine
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. thinly sliced onions
1/4 c. white wine

Combine yeast and warm water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add flour, 2 tbsp. olive oil, and salt. Flour hands, and mix by hand for about 10 minutes until dough is elastic and well-mixed. Divide in half and roll each into a half-inch thick round. Place each round on a greased cookie sheet, and cover with a towel. Allow to rise for 90 minutes.

Prehead oven to 400 degrees. To caramelize onions, heat margarine and 1 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet. Add onions, cook for a few minutes, then add white wine. Cook until soft and lightly browned. Remove from heat and drain in a bowl over a paper towel.

Uncover dough. Drizzle top with olive oil. Scatter onions on top of bread. Sprinkle rosemary and cheese on top of bread. Bake for 25 minutes.