Sunday, July 31, 2011

My Favorite Flourless Chocolate Cake - Chocolate With Francois

I think my first experience with flourless chocolate cake was twenty or so years ago when I worked with a girl who had gluten allergies. Unlike today, when it seems everyone has some sort of food allergy, no one had ever heard of someone being allergic to flour.

As I was preparing to make this recipe, I realized I didn't have the bottom for my 9" springform pan. I think I left it at my mother in laws when I made her a cheesecake for her birthday. I did some research on using an 8" for a 9" recipe. 10 cups for an 9" and 8 cups for an 8". Perfect, I can put the extra in my mini cheesecake pans and save the balance to serve for dessert when friends come over next weekend. When I poured the 8 cups into the cheesecake pan, I didn't feel like there was enough batter in the pan, so I added one more cup. In the end, I think I could have used it all since these cakes don't rise.

Watch your cooking time very closely, flourless cakes can be dry. I tasted the mini one on the day I made it. It was just okay, a little sticky and not as rich in chocolate as I would have liked. I froze the larger one for about a week. This resulted in the perfect flourless chocolate cake, moist and fudgy, like a decadent chocolate brownie. This recipe is a keeper. It's easy and can be made in advance, the perfect dessert to serve at a dinner party.


Joanne at Apple Crumbles is our host this month. You can find the recipe on her blog.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Grilled Kohlrabi - CSA

I joined a CSA this year. For those of you who don't know, a CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. You find a local farm who basically sells "shares" of the farm in exchange for fresh produce and sometimes a little manual labor at the farm.
Early in the Spring, I started researching the local CSA's. Since there's just two of us, I needed find a farm that offered half shares. I wasn't having much luck and had almost given up when my husband sent me an email, Wenninghoff's Farm was offering to deliver CSA shares to my husband's work. Even better, they offered half shares. I was so thrilled, I'd found my CSA.

We're in our fifth week of the CSA and we're loving it. Today I am sharing with you a recipe from our first week, Grilled Kohlrabi. Kohlrabi isn't an every day vegetable, I think we'd eaten it once before a few years ago. Kohlrabi is available in green or purple and tastes like broccoli stems with a hint of cabbage flavor. The word kohlrabi is German for cabbage turnip (kohl as in cole-slaw, and rĂ¼be for turnip).



Grilled Kohlrabi

1 medium kohlrabi, peeled and cubed
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar

Toss the kohlrabi in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil. Grill over medium heat for 45 minutes, until kohlrabi is tender. Remove from the foil. Adjust seasoning and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Asian Grilled Green Beans

I remember eating fresh green beans in the summer as a kid. Or at least I think they were green beans. Why is it a lot of my early veggie memories are of vegetables being cooked until they were almost mush? I remember my mom cooking green beans with onions and bacon for hours. I think I thought they were good but again I didn't know any better.

I soon realized green beans that aren't cooked for hours, are better than good, they're great! With the hot summer weather we've been having, anytime I can find a recipe suitable for the grill, it's a bonus! Since I didn't have any on hand, I omitted the fresh mushrooms. The red pepper flakes add a touch of heat and a nice kick to the green beans. This recipe is quick and easy, perfect for fresh green beans on a hot summer night!.




Asian Grilled Green Beans
Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1-1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
  • 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 6 medium fresh mushrooms, quartered

Directions

  • In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Add the beans, onion and mushrooms; toss to coat.
  • Place half of the vegetables on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square); fold foil around vegetables and seal tightly. Repeat with remaining vegetables.
  • Grill, covered, over medium heat for 18-22 minutes or until beans are tender, turning packets over once. Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape. Yield: 8 servings.
I am linking this to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table, and Tasty Tuesday.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Molasses Coffee Marinated Pork Chops

When Tim and I first began camping this summer, we purchased a Coleman Road Trip Grill. Although I love food grilled over an open fire, it can be a bit challenging especially when the temperatures are in the 80's and 90's. We enjoyed these pork chops on our recent Fourth Of July camping trip. No doubt our fellow campers thought we were a bit strange, always photographing our food.

When I first shared this recipe with Tim, he was a bit skeptical. I must admit, I wasn't 100% sold either but the reviews were excellent. Alton doesn't usually serve up disappointing recipes. I've always been a big Alton fan although he was a bit of a jerk on a recent episode of Food Network Star. Maybe it's all of the weight he lost? I know for a fact, people with a few extra pounds are happier :).

This recipe is a keeper. The molasses marinade makes a rich and delicious sauce. As it cooks down it thickens and the flavor develops. I wanted to eat it by the spoonful. This would be wonderful on chicken or even ribs. Give this one a try, you won't be sorry!!!





Molasses Coffee Marinated Pork Chop

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

1 cup cool strong coffee
6 ounces molasses, by weight
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6 to 8-ounce) bone-in, 1-inch thick pork chops

Directions

Place all of the ingredients into a 1-gallon zip top bag, seal, and shake to combine. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Remove the pork chops from the marinade. Transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and boil gently, stirring often, until reduced to about 1/2 cup liquid, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the thyme stems after the glaze has reduced. Meanwhile, grill pork chops 3 to 4 minutes per side or until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Allow the pork chops to rest 4 to 5 minutes before serving with the glaze.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

From The Good Life -



Over the 4th of July weekend, Tim and I camped at Prairie Rose State Park, one of our favorite state parks. Friday was hot and humid but Saturday brought cooler temperatures and the rest of the weekend was beautiful.



On Saturday, we took a drive to see the Bridges of Madison County. You know the ones from the movie with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. Tim was disappointed, he said he expected them to be larger, functioning bridges. After seeing the birthplace of John Wayne, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the park in Winterset.



From Winterset we headed east to St. Charles to check out the Madison County Winery. It so happened on this particular day they were celebrating the grand opening of their brewery. Despite the crowd, we managed to belly up to the bar. We were served by the owners daughter who shared with us the bar was made from the crushed wine bottles her father had saved for 5 years. After tasting seven wines, we purchased a bottle of Summer Blonde, a semi sweet white wine.

Our travels then took us north to to Adel and Penoach Winery. The tasting room is in a 1917 barn. Not sure how many wines we tasted, our cordial host just keep saying oh try this one, now this one. We chose a Windmill Red, a red that reminded us of a Pinot Noir, which is quite unusual since Iowa wines tend to be sweeter. The last wine we tried was an apple wine made from local apples. We've tried apple wines before but this one had a touch of cinnamon. It will be wonderful to enjoy this wine, warm around the campfire this fall.

The balance of our holiday weekend was spent enjoying the beauty of Prairie Rose State Park!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Wild Blueberry Chews - Cookie Carnival

This is my second month baking with Cookie Carnival. In addition to trying new cookie recipes, the thing I love most about this group is there is no certain posting date. Most of the groups I participate in have a set posting date. Sometimes it reminds me of a school assignment, it's almost due and I haven't even started!

The two recipe choices for Cookie Carnival this month were Wild Blueberry Chews and Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies. I chose The Wild Blueberry Chews because they seemed to be the healthier option, can you say that about cookies?

After mixing the recipe, my dough seemed dry so I added an additional tablespoon of water. The recipe calls for dropping the teaspoons of dough onto the cookie sheet. I used my medium size scoop. When I checked them at 11 minutes, they hadn't flatted at all. I quickly grabbed a fork and flattened them.

When you read the title of this recipe, you'd think these cookies are "chewy" but they're not or at least mine weren't. I love the tartness of the blueberries mixed with the sweetness of the chocolate and the crunch of the almonds! These cookies are delicious!


Thanks to Tami for hosting Cookie Carnival. You'll find a recap of all of the Cookie Carnival bloggers on her site after the end of July!

I am linking these to Tuesday's at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday , Tasty Tuesday's and
Sweet Tooth Friday.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Secret Recipe Club - Lavender Lemonade Martini

This is my second month participating in Secret Recipe Club. When I received the email with my assignment, I couldn't wait to see which blogger been chosen for me. I was assigned Creative Culinary. What a lovely and delicious blog!

On a Saturday morning I sat at my computer scrolling through the hundreds of recipes on Creative Culinary. As I was scanning the recipes, I ran across many things familiar to me. There were posts of recipes from Nordstrom's Cafe, drinks from Yia Yia's and several versions of St. Louis Butter Cake. I started out with a list of six recipes: Nutella Fudge Brownies, Potato Chip Cookies, Lavender Lemonade Martini, Best Coffee Cake Ever, Hamburger Baked Bean Casserole and Olive Oil & Rosemary Cake.

I've been wanting to bake with Nutella! Potato chip cookies sound so fun. Who can pass up a martini? The casserole would be perfect for camping! My rosemary is growing like crazy. Which recipe to choose?



Inspired by Tim's and my recent trip to the Missouri Valley Lavender Farm, I chose the Lavender Lemonade Martini.A couple of summers ago I made some lavender simple syrup to use for cocktails. I think it ended up in the back of the fridge and not in the cocktails. Infused simple syrup is perfect for cocktails. It adds sweetness, along with a nice hint of lavender. This is a perfect summer cocktail or if you prefer, this makes a refreshing lavender lemonade.


Lavender Lemonade Martini

Recipe Courtesy of Creative Culinary
Ingredients
  • 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 6-8 sprigs of lavender
  • sugar for rimming
  • Vodka, preferably chilled
  • lemon slices and lavender sprigs for garnish (optional)

Preparation Instructions

  1. Add sugar to water in pot on stove and bring to boil; cook only until sugar is dissolved. Add lavender sprigs and allow to cool completely.
  2. Put lemon juice in pitcher and strain lavender/sugar water into same pitcher.
  3. Add cup of ice to pitcher and stir well.
  4. Use a lemon slice to wet the edge of a martini glass. Rim the edge with sugar. I typically put a layer of sugar on a saucer and dip the top edge in it.
  5. Add ice to the glass and fill 2/3 with lemonade.
  6. Add 1/2 to a full shot of vodka, stir. Enjoy!