Pomegranate Balsamic Glazed Salmon

Want an easy salmon dinner midweek that comes together in minutes?! This is it! I absolutely love making salmon for weeknight dinners because it's so easy and quick. Thanksfully, Dr. Sweetpea loves salmon for dinner regularly. I saw the recipe for the Pomegranate Balsamic Glazed Salmon on America's Test Kitchen and knew it would be a hit. It's sweet, tart, and thick so it doesn't drip off the salmon. Dr. Sweetpea raved about how good salmon was and ate two servings for dinner! 

Pomegranate Balsamic Glazed Salmon

(Source: America's Test Kitchen) 

1              teaspoon light brown sugar

1/2         teaspoon kosher salt

1/4         teaspoon cornstarch

4              center-cut skin-on salmon fillets, 6 to 8 ounces each (see note)

Ground black pepper

1              teaspoon vegetable oil

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine brown sugar, salt, and cornstarch in small bowl. Pat salmon dry with paper towels and season with pepper. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture evenly over top of flesh side of salmon, rubbing to distribute. Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place salmon, flesh side down, in skillet and cook until well browned, about 1 minute. Using tongs, carefully flip salmon and cook on skin side for 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat and spoon glaze evenly over salmon fillets. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until center of thickest part of fillets registers 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer and is still translucent when cut into with paring knife, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer fillets to platter or individual plates and serve.

3              tablespoons light brown sugar

3              tablespoons pomegranate juice

2              tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1              tablespoon whole grain mustard

1              teaspoon cornstarch

pinch cayenne pepper

Whisk ingredients together in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat; simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Christmas Cookies 2017

It's December, so that means it's Christmas cookie baking season!!! I made a plethora of cookies to be mailed out this year again and they are all DELICIOUS!! Dr. Sweetpea brought some of the cookies to work to share with his colleagues and everyone asked for my recipes because cookies were addicting. So without further a do, below are the recipes for the cookies that I baked this year:

Cherry Pistachio Biscotti

(Source: Ina Garten) 

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, one separated (I used regular large eggs)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups almond meal or almond flour, such as Bob's Red Mill

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

1/2 cup whole dried cherries

Turbinado sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, gradually add the 2 whole eggs, the egg yolk (reserve the egg white), and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula.

In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, mixing only until combined. Scrape down the bowl and beater and make sure all the ingredients are combined. Stir in the pistachios and cherries.

Roll the dough into a ball on a well-floured board and cut in half. With floured hands, roll each piece into a cylinder about 11 inches long by 2 inches in diameter and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared sheet pan.

Place the reserved egg white in a bowl and beat with a whisk for 15 seconds. Brush the logs with the egg white (save the rest!) and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of turbinado sugar. Bake for 45 minutes, until lightly browned (the logs will be soft). Cool for 30 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 275 degrees F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. With a serrated knife, slice the biscotti 1/2 inch thick at a full 45-degree angle. Place the slices cut-side up on the prepared sheet pans. Brush them with the egg white and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar (I didn’t do this part). Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, turning each slice once, until browned and fully baked. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

(Source: Fine Cooking)

8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

3 oz. cream cheese (I use Philadelphia brand), softened at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

11 1/4 ounces (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, sifted

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Colored sugars or other decorations for sprinkling (optional)

Heat the oven to 375°F. With a stand mixer (use the paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat again until blended. Add the flour and mix on low speed until blended. Fit a cookie press with a die plate. Scoop up about a quarter of the dough and, using a small amount of flour if needed, shape the dough into a log just narrower than the barrel of the cookie press. Slide the log into the cookie press and spritz the cookies directly onto ungreased baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Brush the tops with the beaten egg white and sprinkle with colored sugar if using. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake until the cookies are just golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes (it’s best to bake one sheet at a time). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet on a rack for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Be sure the baking sheet is cool before spritzing more cookies. Store at room temperature or freeze in an airtight container, separating the cookie layers with waxed paper.

Chocolate Toffee Butter Cookies

(Source: Cooks Country) 

2 1/3      cups all-purpose flour

1/2         teaspoon baking powder

1/2         teaspoon table salt

16          tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool

1            cup packed light brown sugar

1            large egg

1            teaspoon vanilla extract

1            cup Heath Toffee Bits (without chocolate)

1 1/2      cups semisweet chocolate chips

1            tablespoon vegetable oil

2/3         cup pecans, toasted and chopped fine

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. With electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture in two batches, and mix until incorporated. Stir in toffee bits. Divide dough in half and roll each piece into log about 9 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Flatten logs until 2 1/2 inches wide. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 1/2 hours. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using chef’s knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch slices; transfer to baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake until just browned around edges, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating rack position and direction of baking sheets halfway through baking time. Cool cookies completely on baking sheets. Use remaining dough to make second batch of cookies. Transfer baked cookies to wire rack set in baking sheet. Melt chocolate and mix with oil in bowl until smooth. Dip part of each cookie into melted chocolate or drizzle chocolate over cookies with spoon. Sprinkle pecans over cookies. Don’t touch until chocolate sets, about 1 hour.

Linzer Cookies

(Source: NY Times)

3  cups/435 grams all-purpose flour

1  cup/156 grams raw, skin-on almonds (or 3/4 cup/75 grams almond flour)

1 1/2  teaspoons ground cinnamon (I omitted)

1  teaspoon baking powder

1  teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2  cups/341 grams (3 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/4  cups/250 grams granulated sugar

2  large eggs

1  teaspoon vanilla extract

1  cup/290 grams raspberry jam

 Powdered sugar, for dusting

Pulse together flour and almonds in a food processor until the almonds are very finely ground. Add cinnamon, baking powder and salt, and pulse to blend. (Alternatively, whisk together flour, ground almonds or almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.)

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together on medium-high until the mixture is light, fluffy and pale, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, and beat until everything is well combined, again stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary.

Add in dry ingredients all at once and mix on low speed, just until incorporated.

Divide dough in 2 equal pieces, and wrap each piece in cling film, patting into a 1-inch-thick disk. Chill at least 2 hours, up to 5 days ahead.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper so it's about 1/8 inch thick. (Because of the almonds, the dough may crack in places while you’re rolling it out. This is O.K., just patch it up with scraps.)

Using a round cookie cutter 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out as many circles as possible. Take half of these circles and cut out a 1-inch circle from the interior of the larger circles, creating a doughnut shape that will become the top of the cookie. If at any point the dough becomes too soft to cut and cleanly remove from parchment paper, slide it onto a cookie sheet and chill for a few minutes in the freezer or refrigerator. Gather any scraps of dough, combine them and roll them out, chilling as necessary. Transfer dough circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart and bake until the edges are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

To assemble the linzer cookies, spread about a teaspoon of raspberry jam onto the flat sides of the larger circles. Dust the tops of the cutout circles with powdered sugar and place on top of raspberry jam.

Chocolate Blossoms

(Source: America's Test Kitchen)

1 cup (5 ounces) all purpose flour

1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) Dutch processed cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup (4 2/3 ounces) sugar

1 large egg plus 1 large egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

24-26 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heave oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Microwave butter and chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring often, until melted, 2 to 4 minutes;  let cool slightly. Add sugar, egg and white, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just incorporated. Let dough sit until thickened, about 5 minutes. 

Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll into balls; space balls 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake until puffed and just set, 10 - 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Working quickly, remove sheets from oven and place 1 candy in center of each cookie, pressing down lightly. Return sheets to oven and bake 2 minutes longer. Let cookies cool on sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool completely before serving.  

Homemade Marshmallows

If I knew making marshmallows at home would be so easy, I would have made them from scratch YEARS ago! They are SO much better than the stuff that you buy at the grocery store. Dr. Sweetpea kept raving about how tasty the homemade marshmallows are and kept grabbing one or two whenever he was in the kitchen. I'm planning on dipping these in chocolate next year and giving them away in the cookie tins. Definitely a keeper! 

Homemade Marshmallows

(Source: Ina Garten) 

3 packages unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. With a sieve, generously dust an 8 by 12-inch nonmetal baking dish with confectioners' sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more confectioners' sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out. Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. Dust them with more confectioners' sugar.

Oven Fried Chicken

Dr. Sweetpea loves loves LOVES oven fried chicken. He has mentioned over and over again how his mom made the best oven fried chicken while he was growing up. I've made a few different varieties over the last several months, but I think I finally found the recipe that is really better than what he ate as a child. It's super easy to make and the chicken is perfectly crispy, juicy, and flavorful after it's baked. Dr. Sweetpea kept commenting on how this is the best oven fried chicken he's ever had. This will be something I make regularly for us.

Oven Fried Chicken

(Source: Melba's American Comfort Cookbook)

6 chicken thighs (I removed the skin) 

6 chicken drumsticks (I removed the skin)

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (I used ground poultry seasoning)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I increased the cayenne pepper to 1/2 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

3/4 cup dried panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup dried Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons whole milk

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. 

Put the chicken in a bowl and season with poultry seasoning, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. in a second bowl, combine the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper to taste. Combine the milk and mayonnaise in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken pieces in the milk mixture and then in the bread crumbs. 

Lay the breaded chicken in the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes. Then turn it over and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until it is done. When done, it should register 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer and when pierced with a fork, the juices run clear. Transfer to paper towels to drain before serving. 

Beef Stroganoff

While I was flipping through the latest Cooks Country magazine, I realized they had a beef stroganoff recipe using ground beef. This immediately brought me back to my days in college where I made the Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff in my apartment regularly since it was filling, easy, and cheap. Needless to say, I wasn't a very healthy eater when I was in college since I hate a TON of processed food. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 2009 so it's been several years since I stopped eating eating processed foods and making everything from scratch at home.  Anyway, when I started making this recipe, not only did it smell amazing but it came together incredibly fast. Another perk? It's absolutely delicious with no preservative laden ingredients!!! It's definitely a keeper for easy week night meals for us.

Beef Stroganoff 

(Source: Cooks Country)

2              tablespoons vegetable oil

8              ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin

Salt and pepper

1              onion, chopped fine

2              garlic cloves, minced

1              pound 85 percent lean ground beef

3              tablespoons all-purpose flour

4              cups chicken broth

1/4           cup dry white wine

8              ounces (4 cups) egg noodles

1/2           cup sour cream, plus extra for serving

2              tablespoons minced fresh chives

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to bowl.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty pot and return to medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add beef, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up meat with spoon, until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add flour and stir until beef is well coated; cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth and wine and bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in noodles, reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until noodles are tender, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Off heat, stir in sour cream and mushrooms until fully combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to shallow platter and sprinkle with chives. Serve, passing extra sour cream separately.

Chocolate Glazed Doughnut

Dr. Sweetpea has been asking me to make doughnuts for him again, so I tried out a recipe from the NY Times. It's super straight forward and absolutely delicious. In fact, this is the recipe that I'll be using going forward for all our doughnuts because they were so dang delicious. As for the chocolate glaze, I whipped up a batch of Chocolate ganache (no recipe since I didn't measure) and dipped the doughnuts in the chocolate. 

Doughnut 

(Source: New York Times) 

1 1/4 cups milk

2 1/4 teaspoons (one package) active dry yeast

2 eggs

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough

2 quarts neutral oil, for frying, plus more for the bowl

Heat the milk until it is warm but not hot, about 90 degrees. In a large bowl, combine it with the yeast. Stir lightly, and let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, beat the eggs, butter, sugar and salt into the yeast mixture. Add half of the flour (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons), and mix until combined, then mix in the rest of the flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time, if the dough is too wet. If you’re using an electric mixer, the dough will probably become too thick to beat; when it does, transfer it to a floured surface, and gently knead it until smooth. Grease a large bowl with a little oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, and cover. Let rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and roll it to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out the doughnuts with a doughnut cutter, concentric cookie cutters or a drinking glass and a shot glass (the larger one should be about 3 inches in diameter), flouring the cutters as you go. Reserve the doughnut holes. If you’re making filled doughnuts, don’t cut out the middle. Knead any scraps together, being careful not to overwork, and let rest for a few minutes before repeating the process.

Put the doughnuts on two floured baking sheets so that there is plenty of room between each one. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until they are slightly puffed up and delicate, about 45 minutes. If your kitchen isn’t warm, heat the oven to 200 at the beginning of this step, then turn off the heat, put the baking sheets in the oven and leave the door ajar.

About 15 minutes before the doughnuts are done rising, put the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, and heat it to 375. Meanwhile, line cooling racks, baking sheets or plates with paper towels.

Carefully add the doughnuts to the oil, a few at a time. If they’re too delicate to pick up with your fingers (they may be this way only if you rose them in the oven), use a metal spatula to pick them up and slide them into the oil. It’s O.K. if they deflate a bit; they’ll puff back up as they fry. When the bottoms are deep golden, after 45 seconds to a minute, use a slotted spoon to flip; cook until they’re deep golden all over. Doughnut holes cook faster. Transfer the doughnuts to the prepared plates or racks, and repeat with the rest of the dough, adjusting the heat as needed to keep the oil at 375. Glaze or fill as follows, and serve as soon as possible.