Coffee Cake

I tend to enjoy recipes by Alex Guarnaschelli. She seems relatively normal for someone on Food Network and I've had good success with the things I've tried before that she has created (or I assume she's created). I've been needing something good for breakfast, and since I still have this fear (unrealistic, I realize) of yeast, I've avoided breakfast breads so coffee cake seems to be a decent alternative. So here goes.

You can get the recipe here.

Carrot Cake

One of the Boy's favorite cakes is Carrot Cake. I've been making it from the same recipe for what seems like eons. For his 18th birthday I made this favorite. I thought I'd try cupcakes, but ended up being a little behind in the schedule so, it's a cake instead of cupcakes. It will still taste amazing, as it always does, but I really did want to try cupcakes. I'll put that in the file for the future.
The recipe I received from a friend, so I don't know its origins (this was back way before I started to care about that kind of thing, so I apologize in advance). I have made a few changes to the methodolgy and a small change in ingredients. That said, this is an amazing recipe for Carrot Cake. I've  put half recipe ingredients in parentheses because often I don't do the full two layer cake, but just one for a quick cake.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (1 1/4)
2 tsp. baking soda (1 tsp.)
1 tsp. salt (1/2 tsp.)
2 tsp. cinnamon (1 tsp.)

Mix these all together in a bowl and have ready when the time comes. Easy.
1 1/2 cups of butter, unsalted (3/4 cup)
1 cup granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed (1/2 cup)
2 tsp. vanilla (1 tsp.)
3 eggs (1 egg)
Put butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until all incorporated. Add vanilla and mix in. Add each egg, one at a time and mix until incorporated. Now you're ready for the flour mixture. Add it in heaping spoonfulls, but make sure it is mixed in before adding more. Stop the mixing and scrape the bowl often to not have bits of flour in the bottom of the mixing bowl.
2 1/2 cups of carrot, grated on the large hole of box grater (1 1/2 cups)

1 cup raisins (1/2 cup)
1 cup nuts, chopped I'm a fan of walnuts, but this is optional esp. if you're allergic. (1/2 cup)
Toss all this in the batter and mix, on low, until combined. Divide mixture into two 9" cake pans that have been sprayed w/Baker's secret (great stuff, that). Bake for approximately 30 mintues, rotate and bake for 25 or so more - checking towards the end. Use the toothpick test to verify doneness. Let cook on a rack while you consider the frosting (do I sound like AB?).
2 8 oz. bars cream cheese, softened (8 oz.)
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened (1/4 cup)
juice from one large lemon, strained (wing it, whatever tastes good)
2 tsp. vanilla (1 tsp.)
3 cups powdered sugar give or take (1 1/2 give or take)
Mix cream cheese and butter together, add everything else (and lemon zest if you like) and mix slowly until the sugar is incorporated.

Once cake is cool, frost as you see fit. Pretty simple as things go, but w/a decent amount of prep and around an hour in the oven this isn't something you rush. But it's well worth the time you put in. Enjoy.

Croque Monsieur

Ready for the broiler

Croque Monsieur
3 tbs butter, unsalted
4 tbs all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (or thereabouts)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
1 lb Fontina, grated
1/4 c Parmesan, grated
Dijon mustard
1/2 lb ham, sliced thin
10 slices of firm white bread (remove crust or not, as you like)


First toast the bread - in the oven. It takes about 5 minutes at 375 and then flip for 3 minutes more.
Mornay Sauce - melt the butter, once the butter is bubbly, add flour and cook together for a few minutes to cook off the flour taste. Add a small amout of the milk first and stir in, let it cook for a bit. Then add the rest of the milk. You can heat the milk and this process will go quicker, but I never bother to do that. It's the same method I use for making macaroni and cheese. You have to heat this over medium heat and it requires pretty much constant stiring so you don't burn the mixture. But given a few minutes, it will thicken until it coats the back of a spoon. Once this is accomplished, remove it from the heat and add about 8 ozs. of Fontina and all the Parmesan.  You could use Gruyere, which is more traditional, or as I have before, use a combination of Fontina for melt-ability and cheddar for flavor. Set aside.
Now assemble the sandwich. Take once piece of toasted bread and coat with Dijon mustard, add a slice or two of ham, a little grated cheese and top with another piece of bread. Then do the fun thing - top sandwich with the mornay sauce and top with a little more grated cheese.

Sure, it's white on white, but it taste amazing. 

Now for the finish - heat the sandwiches in the over for a few minutes in the oven, that I'm sure you left at 375 degrees. If you want to broil to get the cheese on the top brown and bubbling - go for it.

Eggs Benedict & um, Ribs. Really?

One of the reasons, or perhaps the only real reason, I write in blog form is that it makes it easy for me to find things again. No matter if it's a name of a plant and when I planted or when it typically blooms or what I thought of a book (ie. should I read it again) or some recipe that I like and make often. This is the place that I can have both the words and pictures together. I'm hoping that eventually I will not need all my recipe books or garden journals, but can use this blog to keep up with things. Right now, it's serving its purpose. I needed the recipe I used to make hollandaise sauce to make Eggs Benny (too cutesy?), and guess where the easiest place to find it was? Right here. Just what I wanted.
I cannot even think about how many times I made this recipe after first reading it in Cook's Country magazine  - I stopped trying long ago to keep up with it, but it is just amazing to me that something that seems so complex can be made simple and still amazingly flavorful.
But you know, America's Test Kitchen has this way about them. I've read for about a hour this evening regarding ribs. I would like to cooks some on the grill next weekend and so I'm reading several parts of The Cook's Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue: A Practical Guide for the Outdoor Cook this evening. I'm trying to decide between the Texas Beef Ribs, the Baby Back Ribs, and the Short Ribs. Oh and BONUS, I found what I think will be my recipe of choice for German Potato Salad (chapter on sides). Lucky me. That's just one of my favorite things in the entire world. I really have no idea why that is, but it is. Right now, the Texas Beef Ribs are seriously in contention. That may change when I get to the store and look at costs, but what will be, will be. Looking forward to some ribs, with garlic bread, and german potato salad next weekend. Lucky me.

Soft Polenta with Asparagus, Prosciutto, Garlic and Scallions

Okay, sad but true, I've never made polenta before. If I have, I don't remember it. I had no idea how easy it was. This recipe and variations of it will be on my menu rotation. The original recipe was from Mario Batalia, but I made changes to it - I just can't help myself. He called for 5 cups of water, but all the other recipes for firm polenta said 3.5 cups of liquid for 1 cup of polenta. I went in the middle and did 4 cups of water and that worked well, the polenta was soft, but not runny. I also cut my asparagus. This doesn't seem like a knife-needed recipe so I cut them. I used more garlic that 3 cloves, but that's just because the cloves were small. I doubled the prosciutto and halved the spring onions. The lemon, to me, is absolutely required. It makes all the difference in the dish.

Soft Polenta with Asparagus, Prosciutto, Garlic and Scallions
4 cups water
1 pound asparagus, trimmed, and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup mascarpone cheese
6 Tbs butter, divided
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 slices of prosciutto, julienne
1 bunch scallions or spring onions, slices
juice and zest of one lemon

Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Add asparagus and cook until tender, about 30 seconds to one minute. Remove from water and hold in a bowl until needed. Return water to a boil and whisking constantly, add the cornmeal. Stir until thick. Remove from heat, stir in
mascarpone cheese, cover and sit aside.

In a saute pan, heat 4 Tbs of butter until foaming over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and prosciutto and saute until the onions are wilted. Add asparagus and lemon juice and zest. Add remaining butter to make a sauce. Taste and season with salt. To serve, place polenta in a soup plate, top with onion/asparagus mixture. Serve with grated Parmesan on the side.

Evaluation: The consistency of the polenta was just what I wanted. I think the Parmesan was helpful as I didn't salt the polenta very much not knowing how much salt the prosciutto would bring to the party. Lemon - absolutely necessary. I might cut back on the amount of the asparagus to balance it a bit more with everything and likely double the amount of prosciutto. I think this presents lots of opportunities to change ingredients, such as half some cherry tomatoes or some sliced mushrooms with garlic, use some spinach - changing the sauteed ingredients as different vegetables come into season.

Guinness Brownies

Finished

We were talking about brownies at work the other day and I mentioned my Guinness Brownies. The Boy loves these and the MotH enjoys them as well, I think. They are based on Grace Neill's Chocolate and Guinness Brownies (from The New Irish Table), but I've changed the chocolate ratio and the amount of Guinness. I don't care much for chocolate, so I really make these for others to enjoy, but I will always have at least one. The are rich and chocolate flavored without being super sweet, which we all enjoy. Will you like them if you don't like Guinness, um, yes. I, on the other hand, happen to think that Guinness is one of the most sublime things on this lovely little planet. That, I'm sure, stems from the fact that I started drinking beer in England and had many (many) Guinness drafts at many (many) pubs across the Midlands and in London. They always say, "the alcohol cooks out," and in this case that is true (as opposed to rum cake - yuck), so no worries there. Just a rich, chocolate, coffee-ish, flavor and and excellent smooth texture for a simple (really) brownie.
Notes: there are a few sips of Guinness more than a cup in a bottle - enjoy.
Also, based on today, it is not easy to sift anything with the windows

My favorite!

open and the winds blowing. I'm covered in cocoa. ugh.

Flour and chocolate - sigh.

Here 'tis:
4 eggs
3/4 cup superfine sugar (take the same amount of granulated sugar and whir it up in the food processor, or not as you prefer)
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 oz. semisweet chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup Guinness Extra Stout (not Guinness draught - my preference anyway)

Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a mixer, blend eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. In a medium sauce over low heat, melt chocolates and butter (you can chop if you want, but it pretty much melts all the same anyway) stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and add to egg mixture. Mixing to combine.
Sift flour and cocoa together and mix into chocolate mixture. Whisk in Guinness a little at a time, until incorporated. Pour into prepared 8" x 8" pan (coat w/cooking spray or butter, either works). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center almost clean (key word there, almost). Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
You can dust with confectioners' sugar, but I usually prefer not to. Your call.

Mushroom and Watercress Pate

Mushroom & Watercress Pate

It seems I have several recipes (or things I create on auto-pilot) that I've been doing for so long I have no idea where the recipe originally came from. This definitely fits into that category. Let's see, the Boy is almost 18 and I was making this long long before he made the scene - geez I'm old. The Boy, as a young child and still today, will take the pate and make a sandwich and carry it to school with him. Can't say that I blame him really. It's good. The bitterness of the cress, the deep flavor of the mushrooms, the oniony bit, and the creaminess of the cream cheese make this a standard for me. 
Watercress grows in cool running water and is a member of the mustard family. I understand that it grows wild in certain parts of the country, but not here. Watercress, so often ignored, is a wonderful green. I love love love it on an egg salad sandwich too. It's peppery/bitter/something. I don't know, but I know I like it. 

Mushrooms, scallions, watercress

Recipe:
4 oz Watercress, rinsed and dried
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz crimini or white mushrooms, sliced
Scallions, 4-6, sliced or other oniony type thing you like, shallots, perhaps?
Balsamic vinegar
Lime wedges


Heat a saute pan on medium-low heat and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the scallions until soft, add sliced mushrooms and saute until they release liquid and then begin to dry a bit. Add about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and let it cook out. Add the cress and mix to wilt. Remove from heat. Let veg mix cool a bit. To the bowl of the food processor, add the veg mix and the cream cheese. Blend until throughly mixed. Turn out into ceramic or glass box. Cover and refrigerate. 

Ready to be processed

To serve, slice a baguette and toast lightly in the oven. Top with pate and serve with wedges of lime to squeeze over the toasts. (Lime is not optional)

Cook's Illustrated - March & April 2011

Why is it magazines always arrive weeks ahead of their dates? I received the March & April 2011 edition of Cook's Illustrated weeks ago. I don't get it, but I also don't get why you receive a renewal bill a year in advance either - I won't pay one more than three months out - it seems like a racket to me.  But I'm me, so no big surprise there.

So I love to go through anything I get from Cook's Illustrated or Cook's Country magazines and pick out the recipes that I want to make. The trouble is that I sometimes don't go back and make any of it and I need to figure out a way to how to keep these good ideas to the front of my mind. Perhaps going to my online version of their websites and printing the recipes to add to my notebooks.

So here is what I have picked from this magazine:

p.  6-7 - Ultimate Steak Sauce - What a cool idea. Make your own steak sauce. Really? I must try this. It also has a recipe for cooking steak inside - which we rarely do since we can grill out the vast majority of the time.

p. 8-9 - Simplifying Potato Galette - This looks simple with only a few ingredients. But you know with Cook's Illustrated, it won't be or if it is, it will involve lots of dirty dishes.

p. 13 - Quick Mushroom Ragu - So will it only take 30 minutes to make it? I doubt it. Sauce needs to take longer - to me, it's a weekend thing - that you serve during the week after it sits in the fridge for a couple of days. I'll give this a go - on a weekend.

p. 14-15 - Wicked Good Boston Cream Pie - I have never made a Boston cream pie before, even though it's not a pie per se. It does seem like something I would like and it's components, well, I could really like it. I hope.

Pasta Sauce

Sweating onions

I have, unsurprisingly, no recipe for pasta sauce, but I like my sauce thick and with veggies. I use it for pasta, for lasagna, or just to eat with crusty Italian bread.  I start by sweating an onion - usually yellow onions are my onion of choice. They aren't too sweet. This is three relatively small onions, so one large or two medium would work. More would be good too.

Carrots added

Next I add grated carrot. This is a great trick to add some veg and some thickness to the sauce without anybody really noticing. This is 3 medium-ish carrots grated on the small holes of a box grater. More would never hurt. 

Spices and garlic added

I add dried basil and dried oregano (palm-full of both) to the mixture after the veg are softened. I also add a few cloves of minced garlic to the sauce base. 

Sliced mushrooms added

I then add sliced mushrooms. I either use white or crimini mushrooms. They add texture and flavor - I think this is the reason that meat is unnecessary in this pasta sauce - you just don't miss it. 

Wine added

I add red wine at this point, about a cup to a cup and a half, depending on what I have available. I don't drink a lot of wine (I'm a beer girl), but I purchase the small four packs of dry reds (usually Australian reds like a syrah) and these are easy to keep and are the perfect amount for this application.  I do this after the mushrooms have cooked enough to release their liquid and then start to dry out a bit. Then they and the onions and carrots soak up all the wine. I cook this until the wine is about gone. 

Tomatoes added

I add two 28 oz. cans of tomatoes, usually one diced and the other crushed and bring up to a good simmer - then reduce to slightly bubbly. This simmers on the stove for a few hours - lid on mostly and stirred every so often. I usually add a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar as I'm near the end of simmering - I wish I knew the science of what it does, but it's subtle and adds a extra layer of good. I almost never eat the sauce the day I make it - I usually make it during the weekend for later in the week, but typically I start using it on Monday - can't help it. This makes enough for at least two applications. 

Yes, this takes a little time, but it's well worth it to have a rich, flavorful sauce to use for anything during the week. It also freezes very very well. So make a big batch, freeze half (I freeze in gallon zip top bags) and use half this week. 

Mac n Cheese

I've often been asked for my recipe for Mac n Cheese. I don't have one. I just make it and this is sort of ... how it goes. 

Melted Butter

Start with a roux. Melt butter over medium heat - usually about 3 Tablespoons. Add flour, about the same amount. Cook the flour for a bit so it doesn't taste like flour. Add milk or cream. How much, well, probably about 2 cups or so. Whisk the milk into the butter mixture slowly so it doesn't lump up. 

Roux

Stir frequently so the mixture will not burn. Once the mixture is thickened, take it off the heat and add cheese. I use a sharp cheddar, but sometimes I add other grated cheeses that I have on hand - the majority is still sharp cheddar because I want that flavor. Taste the mixture - see if it needs salt, and add some black pepper (a requirement to me in a good Mac n Cheese). 

Cheese sauce

While all this is taking place, cook the pasta. Anything with a hole in it is good and if the pasta is ridged - like a penne for example, all the better, more for the sauce to stick to. The way I measure the amount of pasta for a vessel is by taking the vessel I plan to bake the Mac n Cheese and pour in uncooked pasta to measure half full of the vessel. Then cook that amount of pasta. It will fit the vessel when the cream/cheese mixture is added. Drain the cooked pasta, add to the cheese mixture and then pour into vessel (that you've sprayed w/cooking spray - after measuring the pasta amount). Top with a bit more grated cheese. 
Cover with foil that has also been sprayed with cooking spray (so the cheese won't stick to the foil). Bake at 350˚for about 30 minutes. Uncover the pasta and then bake a few minutes more - until the cheese is bubbly. Let it rest for a few minutes and then serve. 

Small portion for the freezer

This is a great recipe for the freezer. You can make it all the way through and cool and freeze, or make it until it's added to the vessel for baking, cool, cover with cling film, then cover with heavy duty foil. Make a note on the foil to remove the cling film, replace foil and cook in a 350˚oven until cooked through, remove foil, etc. etc. 

Mac n Cheese

If this seems much more difficult than boxed mac n crap, well, you're wrong. Perhaps, it's best to try on the weekend first to give you the time you need to try something new, but it's not a complex thing and it will be part of a great meal later in the week. 
This is a decadent side for Spinach and Mushroom Quiche.

Glazed Meatloaf - Cook's Country TV recipe

I am not a huge fan of meatloaf. The MotH does like it and has been suggesting for weeks (months) that I make it for dinner sometime. I tend to ignore him. That said, I like meatloaf sandwiches made from the leftovers so this is likely to be a win win. Watching an episode of Cook's Country lately inspired me to make their recipe (w/only a few modifications). The one thing I think is most important is not to bake meatloaf in a loaf pan - yuck, it's just, by definition, sitting in grease. That's a lesson learned from Alton Brown years ago, but it is well worth repeating. Cook's Country (and America's Test Kitchen et al) often uses a panade when making meatballs and other things involving ground meat to help it keep its moisture and be tender - that's employed here as well. I like the fact that there aren't a gillion vegetables in this --- it's meat loaf - not veg loaf - onions, garlic, and the only green added is the parsley - basically just aromatics. It was funny watching Bridget at this part of the show (episode: Family Supper) - she doesn't seem to be a fan of too much veg in meatloaf either. Works for me. 


Glaze:

1 c. ketchup
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 T. cider vinegar
1/2 t. hot sauce (I used original Tabasco)
Whisk all ingredients in a sauce pan until sugar dissolves. Reserve 1/4 c. glaze mixture, then simmer regaining glaze over medium heat utnil slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm. 


Meatloaf:
2 t. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced (used 4 cloves because the were, in my estimation, small)
2/3 c. Saltine crackers (c. 17 crackers)
1/3 c. whole milk (I used 2% because it's what I had)
1 pound 90% lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk (I used 1 egg and 1 yolk)
2 t. Dijon mustard
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. dried thyme

1/3 c. fresh parsley, finely chopped


Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray. Heat oil in nonstick skilled over medium heat until shimmering. Cook onions until golden (8-12 minutes). Add garlic, stir and cook until fragrant (30 seconds). Transfer to large bowl. 
Process saltines and milk in food processors until smooth. Add beef and pork and pulse until well combined, about 10 1-second pules. Transfer meat mixture to bowl with cooled onion mixtures. Add eggs and yolk, mustard, Worcestershire, thyme, parsley, salt (1 t.) and pepper (3/4 t.) and mix with hands (fun fun) until combined. 
Adjust oven racks to upper about 4" away from broiler. Transfer meat mixture to  prepared baking sheet and shape into 9" x 5" loaf (or in my case, 8" x 6" loaf). Broil on upper rack until well browned, about 5 minutes (8 more like). Brush two T. of reserved glaze over tops and sides of meatloaf and return to oven and broil until glaze begins to brown (2 minutes).
Transfer meatloaf to middle rack and brush with remaining reserved glaze. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake until meatloaf registers 160 degrees - 40-45 minutes. Transfer to carving surface, tent w/foil, let rest 20 minutes. Slice and serve with cooked glaze.
ATK = damn good! 

Baked Ziti - doesn't sound that interesting, but it is, if the recipe is from ATK.

Baked Ziti
Serves 8 to 10

Baked Ziti - damn good

America's Test Kitchen is great and joining up is easy - it's a sort of cult experience - you just keep joining, but in a good way. This recipe was wonderful! We saw this Baked Ziti on the TV show and I just had to make it. By the way - it's so much better the second day - no duh -- it's a pasta dish. America's Test Kitchen is an amazing resource!


Ingredients:
1 pound whole milk cottage cheese or 1 percent cottage cheese 
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)
Table salt
1 pound ziti or other short, tubular pasta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons)
1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
Ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream - you could use milk, but why?
8 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese , cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 8 oz)

Cottage Cheese Mixture

Instructions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together in medium bowl; set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain pasta and leave in colander (do not wash Dutch oven).
Meanwhile, heat oil and garlic in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in ½ cup basil and sugar, then season with salt and pepper.

Cream Sauce w/Tomato Sauce

Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in small bowl; transfer mixture to now-empty Dutch oven set over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup tomato sauce, and ¾ cup mozzarella, then stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat thoroughly with sauce.
Transfer pasta mixture to 13- by 9-inch baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle remaining ¾ cup mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan over top. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.

Comments: Lots of this recipe can be prepped ahead. I cubed the mozzarella, grated the parmesan and minced the garlic. I could also have cooked the pasta and made the sauce. It's also highly likely the entire dish could be made ahead and baked the next day.
I used dried basil since it's not the time of year for fresh and I didn't move any into the house from the garden last fall - it had all gone to seed. Unfortunate.
It's difficult for me to under cook pasta - it makes me nervous that it won't be fully cooked in the dish (shouldn't have worried - it was fine).
Next time I might just make a bechamel, need to research. Use cooking spray on the pan and the foil so the cheese won't stick. Used heavy cream, did not use milk. Next time, use petite diced tomatoes. House smells like garlic, but that is a good thing.

Perhaps not as pretty as ATK, but amazingly good!

Oreo Cookies & Cream Cheesecakes

Oreo Cookies & Cream Cheesecakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart via gimmesomeoven.com)
Ingredients:
42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds (4 blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch of salt
whipped cream, (optional)
Method: Preheat oven to 275° F. On the bottom shelf, place an oven-proof pan (a half sheet pan will work) and fill with 2 cups of water. This will heat and make the bain marie or  "water bath" so that the cupcakes do not crack when baking (but who cares when it comes to eating cheesecake really?)

Cupcake pan ready

Line standard muffin tins with liners (prefer metallic liners). Place 1 whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each lined muffin cup. 
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in the vanilla.
Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add sour cream and salt, beat to combine. Using a large spatula, fold in the chopped Oreo cookies.
Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled muffin cups, fill each cup almost to the top. Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through, until the filling is set, about 22 to 28 minutes. If you are like me and have only one muffin pan then you will need to reuse muffin pans and place batter in the fridge between refills and check the water in the half pan at the bottom of the oven. This worked for me, but I didn't realize I'd be making so many cheesecakes.   Transfer the muffins tins to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate (in the muffin tins) at least 4 hours (or overnight). Remove from tins just before serving. Top with whipped cream if you'd like. Or just serve like cupcakes. 

Finished Cheesecakes

Comments: Not many photos of these while making them because who, really, wants to look a lot of photos of white/beige stuff - boring. However, the results are lovely. Seems to be driven by number of cookies in a pack, but certainly not by a standard cupcake/muffin pan.
My numbers aren't working with this - 12 cookies seems too little for the filling (oops - it wasn't) and I have batter left after 30 mini cheesecakes... What to do? What to do? So the fix is to use vanilla wafers in case one runs out of Oreo cookies.
Difficult to tell when they are done. I finally decided that 25 minutes seem to work well and no one has died from them yet - the Boy has eaten at least six or so (probably more, but I won't ask). I have had one request for the recipe and the office loved them, so ... they seem to be popular.  Hope the office is not trying to humor me ... 
I need to work on better photos - these mini cheesecakes really deserve better. 

Vanilla Bean Caramels w/Fleur de Sel

Cut Caramels

I realized I had two recipes for Fleur de Sel Caramels that were almost identical and a third that used much more sugar. This made me nervous. I have made Vanilla Taffy (from an old family recipe) all my life, and several different toffees, though none this winter so far, but never have I made caramels. The idea of a salted caramel was enough to get me in gear - that and having all the ingredients on hand - including the vanilla bean (so there). 
That said, how to sort out the discrepancies - the biggest one being the amount of sugar. One recipe suggest 1/2 c granulated sugar -- really, for a caramel? That didn't seem right and then I found the recipe below. I'm a girl to give credit where it is due. These are wonderful and that's no reflection on me, but on those who have tackled (although this isn't really hard once you get down to it) this recipe before me. Comments below.


Recipe: Vanilla Bean Caramels with Fleur de Sel
From: Annie's Eats via mybakingaddiction.com Yield: 64 caramels
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream (8 oz)
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise and scraped
1 tsp. fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
Directions:

Cream Mixture

Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Lightly butter the parchment. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, butter, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, pods, and fleur de sel. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside. 
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture is a light golden caramel color.

Light Golden Brown Syrup

Remove the vanilla bean pods from the cream mixture and carefully stir the cream mixture into the caramel – the mixture will bubble up, so pour slowly and stir constantly. Continue simmering the mixture until it registers 248˚ F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat and pour into the prepared pan. Let cool for 30 minutes, then sprinkle lightly with additional fleur de sel. Continue to let sit until completely set and cooled. Cut into 1-inch pieces (a buttered pizza cutter works well). Wrap the individual caramels in small pieces of wax paper, about 4-inch squares.


Comments: Just a few notes as I put these together - How long will it take until your sugar mixture is a "light golden caramel color?" Longer than you think, but keep your eye on it very closely from about 260˚. When it approaches 280˚, you're almost there - at least in my experience. The sugar mixture can go from perfect to a disaster in a millisecond. Really. Just when the sugar starts to color, it's time to add the cream mixture. 
248˚ F is also 120˚ C which is much easier to read on the thermometer. 
I needed to put my salt Fleur de Sel on the caramels before 30 minutes were up - they didn't stick as well as I would have like. I used Fleur de Sel de Guerande from The Meadow

Nicely wrapped caramels

Buttering the parchment is easy if you fit the parchment into the pan first, then remove it and butter the parts of the parchment that will be exposed to the caramel  - worked like a charm, first time out of the box. 
I needed a chef's knife to cut the caramels, but did not need any butter or cooking spray to help. Pizza cutter was a non-starter. 
These were a huge hit at home and at work ... I loved that it took a bit for everyone to realize that the secret ingredient was simply ... salt. It makes all the difference.