"Big" dinner #2, part 4: Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze and Strawberries

The scent of actual vanilla beans (not candles or whatever else can be 'scented' as such) is nearly intoxicating to me.  Every time I have a recipe where I am using one, I confess: I spend at least 10 minutes just picking up the pod and smelling it.  So, enough about my strange habits lol...this cake is a great one to make when you are in the mood for a dessert that is just sweet enough to satisfy, and doesn't make you feel like you need to go spend 6 hours at the gym making up for 2 bites.

Link to original recipe:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/vanilla-bean-bundt-cake-with-vanilla-glaze-and-strawberries

Ingredients:

--cake--
butter and flour to prepare pan
1 tsp. bourbon
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, beans scraped out
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. plus 6 T. (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/2 c. buttermilk

--glaze--
2/3 c. powdered sugar
4 tsp. (or more) whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

strawberries and sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.  Butter and flour standard Bundt pan (recipe says to use non-stick spray on top of this, but I forgot and it was just fine).

2. Pour bourbon in to small bowl.  Add scraped vanilla bean seeds and stir to combine.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Cream butter and both sugars with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

5. Add eggs and yolk, blend well.

6. Beat in bourbon-vanilla mixture.

7. Add flour mixture in 2 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions.  Beat until just blended.

8. Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread evenly.

9. Bake for 55 minutes.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes on rack, then invert and let cool completely.

10. To make glaze, whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Add more milk one teaspoon at a time if needed (I did not need to do so).

11. Drizzle over cake, pouring in a zigzag pattern.

12. Toss desired amount of strawberries with a little sugar in a bowl and let stand for a few minutes to form glaze.

13. Serve a slice with some strawberries and enjoy!

"Big" dinner #2, part 3: Pan-Roasted Carrots with Leeks, Pancetta, and Thyme

When I announced what I would be making for this "big" dinner, the reaction for this part was met with skepticism by all.  Despite everyone's lack of confidence about it, I went ahead as planned--it sounded delicious to me, dang it!  And everyone (except me) was surprised at how yummy it turned out to be :)  I only used half the suggested amount of carrots and leeks and barely had enough room for them in the pan--would need a bigger skillet in order to accommodate the full amount.

Link to original recipe:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/pan-roasted-carrots-leeks-pancetta-thyme.aspx

Ingredients:

5 very thin slices of mild pancetta
2 1/2 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. leeks (light green and white parts only), cut in quarters
1/2 lb. carrots, cut in similar length to leeks and quartered
kosher salt
1/3 c. plus 2 T. Sauvignon Blanc (I used Barefoot brand)
1 1/4 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. ground coriander

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.

2. In a large ovenproof skillet, cook the pancetta for 5 minutes over medium-low heat (turn once) and then transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

3. Increase heat to medium and add 1 1/2 T. of the butter plus the olive oil.  When the butter has melted, arrange the carrots and leeks in a single layer in the pan.  Season with 1/2 tsp. salt and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.

4. Turn vegetables and add 1/3 c. of wine.  Cook for 3 minutes.

5. Add the chicken broth, 1/2 tsp. thyme, and coriander.  Remove from heat and place in oven.

6. Bake for 30 minutes.

7. Transfer vegetables to a platter or serving dish.  Put skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 T. wine.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring to scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan.

8. Remove skillet from heat and add the remaining 1 T. of butter and 1/2 tsp. thyme.  Stir to melt the butter.

9. Pour the sauce over the vegetables, crumble the pancetta over top, and serve.  Enjoy!

"Big" dinner #2, part 2: Potato Gratin with Gruyère

I was wrong in my last post when I said this big dinner was comprised of all 'new-to-me' recipes--just remembered that I have made this one before, but it's been quite a long time since I did.  Not sure why, either, as it's so tasty!  It's really easy, too :)

Link to original recipe:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/potato-gratin-with-gruy-re

Ingredients:

small amount of butter to coat baking dish
3/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 tsp. bottled minced garlic
1 1/4 lb. russet potatoes, peeled, sliced thin (I used food processor)
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
salt and coarse ground black pepper
1/4 c. whole milk
1/2 c. coarsely grated Gruyère

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Butter a 9" pie dish (recipe said glass dish, but I used ceramic and it worked fine.  It also indicated to place it on a rimmed baking sheet, which I completely forgot to do and was also not a problem.)

3. Combine garlic and cream in small saucepan and bring to simmer over low heat.  Remove from heat.

4. Arrange 1/3 of the potato slices, slightly overlapping, in circles in bottom of dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and 1/2 tsp. of thyme.

5. Pour 1/4 c. of garlic cream over top of potatoes.

6. Repeat layering two more times.

7. Pour milk over top, then cover with cheese.

8. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until top is golden and potatoes are very tender.  Let gratin rest 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

"Big" Dinner #2, part 1: Roasted Flank Steak with Olive Oil Herb Rub

Once again, we have a house guest for a couple of days, and this inspired me to have another "big" dinner.  This one consisted entirely of recipes I had never tried before, so I was hoping I had chosen them well (spoiler: I totally did!!)  This first one, the main dish, was actually the easiest part and relatively quick, too.  Here is a link to the original recipe:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-flank-steak-with-olive-oil-herb-rub

I followed the recipe almost exactly, including cooking and rest times.  It was medium rare, which did not suit all that would be eating it, so I ended up cooking it more on the stovetop at the end.  In the future, I will add time on to the oven part instead.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp. chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley
2 tsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
1 T. butter
salt and coarse ground black pepper
1 flank steak (1 1/2 lb.)
1/4 c. dry red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
1/4 c. beef broth

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Heat large ovenproof skillet (I used my cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat and add butter.

4. Salt and pepper steak on both sides, then add to melted butter in pan.  Cook 1 minute on each side.

5. Add wine and broth, cook 1 minute, then turn off heat.

6. Spread herb mixture over steak, then place pan in oven.

7. Bake for 10 minutes for medium-rare (add more time as desired for medium; it's not advised to go much past medium, though, as this cut of beef will become tough after medium).

8. Remove from oven and let steak rest in pan for 10 minutes.

9. Slice steak into serving portions, serve with sauce, and enjoy!

Cheese Ravioli in Pesto Cream and Tomato Sauce

This recipe is my own creation--I wanted to replicate a dish that I would get at Biaggi's restaurant when I used to go there a long time ago.  I searched for a pesto cream sauce recipe, but most were either too complicated for my time limit on this evening or listed ingredients I didn't have on hand.  Thus, decided to make my own.  A great decision--it turned out exactly how I wanted! This recipe is actually just one large serving; my family doesn't care for pesto, so it's another one of those cravings I have to satisfy solo.  I'm certain this recipe could easily be doubled or more, depending on need :)

Link to my YouTube short of the preparation of recipe: https://youtube.com/shorts/PZNaZzaa5Mo

Ingredients:

1 T. butter
1 tsp. bottled minced garlic
1/3 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 T. jarred/prepared pesto (personal preference note: do NOT use Prego brand. Rao's is best if you can get it!)
2 T. shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish (if desired)

frozen or fresh cheese ravioli (amount/number depends on how large the ravioli are)
~1/3 c. jarred/prepared tomato pasta sauce (I used Classico Four Cheese)

Directions:

1. Melt butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.

2. Stir in heavy cream and pesto, cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is homogenous.

3. Stir in Parmesan cheese until melted.  Remove from heat.

4. Meanwhile, cook ravioli according to package directions.

5. Drain pasta, return to pan, and add pasta sauce.

6. Pour pesto sauce onto plate and spread out.

7. Pour ravioli over top of pesto sauce and spread out.

8. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Brownie Cookies

When I went to make these today, I discovered that the bookmarked page I had for the recipe no longer existed (noooooooooooooo!!!)  Fortunately, memory served me well enough to find another one that I'm certain was the same or very close (even says at the end that it was adapted from the site I got it from originally; think her only change was to add more chocolate chips, which I did not do since I use the triple chocolate mix).  Anyhow, these are super easy--even the clean up is fast thanks to using a mix :)  Here is the link to the one I found to use now:
http://www.couponingncooking.com/2013/07/double-chocolate-chip-brownie-mix.html

Ingredients:

1 package Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix (the size that makes a small pan)
1/3 c. canola oil
2 eggs
1 T. all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Mix together all ingredients in one bowl by hand.  Dough will be a little oily-looking and thick.

3. Using 2 spoons (or cookie scoop), drop rounded tablespoon sized dough balls onto parchment.

4. Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool on cookie sheet for at least 3 minutes before removing to rack to finish cooling.

5. Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!

Strawberry Pistachio Millefeuillantines

I've only made this twice now, but that is not for lack of wanting to; thing is, you need good strawberries for this.  Even though there are many supermarkets to choose from here, decent strawberries aren't always easy to come by.  Having prepared this before, I am glad that I know how it is supposed to go--first time, I wasn't sure I'd done everything correctly and discovered the bake time in the original recipe is not accurate (I even tried making some thinner wafers and that was not the solution).  This is one of my very favorite desserts--indulgent, yet not over the top.  Here is the link to the original recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/strawberry-pistachio-mille-feuillantines-14025

Ingredients:

1/2 c. shelled pistachios
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large egg whites
5 T. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 c. heavy cream
1 T. vanilla bean sugar (or, seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean plus 1 T. sugar)
2 T. sugar

1 lb. small strawberries, hulled and sliced
sugar or turbinado sugar (optional)

powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.  Place a small mixing bowl in fridge to chill.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor, grind pistachios with sugar.

3. In a bowl, whisk together pistachio mixture, flour, and salt.

4. Whisk in egg whites, butter, and vanilla until well combined.  Mixture will have a sticky, thick consistency.

5. Drop about 1 T. of batter onto parchment and use back of a spoon to spread out to a thin circle of around 4 in" diameter.  Repeat to fill sheet.

6. Bake in middle of oven for 11-12 minutes.  They will look slightly golden and a little underdone.

7. After removing from oven, transfer parchment off of sheet and after 1 minute, remove circles gently by peeling parchment away from bottoms.  It may be sticky--if it is too sticky, wait 1-2 more minutes, but not longer, before trying again.  Turn them over (bottom side up) and leave on parchment (don't place on a plate or they will stick to it).

8. Into the chilled bowl, pour the cream and add the sugars (or seeds and sugar).  Whisk until mixture holds stiff peaks.

9. If using, sprinkle sugar over sliced strawberries and stir to form glaze.

10. Assemble the dessert: place one pistachio circle on plate.  Top with whipped cream and some strawberries.  Repeat layers again.  Top with one more pistachio circle and dust with powdered sugar, then top with additional strawberries.  Enjoy!