Thai Pan-Grilled Skirt Steak

MMM. This is incredibly tasty and super easy! 10+/10 for sure. Served with boiled Basmati rice. 

Link to original recipe: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/thai-grilled-skirt-steak

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. toasted sesame oil

1/4 c. soy sauce

2 T. finely chopped fresh ginger

2 1/2 T. S&B brand crunchy garlic with chili oil (umami topping) --found at Meijer

2 T. salted cocktail peanuts (I will chop these next time I make this, though they were fine whole)

1 T. light brown sugar (packed)

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 lb. skirt steak (can be up to 2 lb; I just didn't have nor need that much)

1/4 c. chicken stock

pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, crunchy garlic paste/topping, peanuts, brown sugar, and lime juice. Add the skirt steak and move around to coat in the marinade. Position the steak so it is as covered as possible, then cover the dish and refrigerate overnight.

2. Set steak/marinade mixture out 30 minutes prior to cooking (to come up in temperature). Heat a cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat (or light an outdoor grill instead). Pull steak from marinade, let excess drip off, then place in grill pan. Cook 3 minutes per side, then place on a plate to rest for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a small saucepan. Add the chicken stock, season with pepper, and heat over medium heat until reaches simmer/boil. Modify heat as needed to maintain low simmer for 3-5 minutes (I am not sure exactly how long I went).

4. Slice steak across grain, serve with cooked marinade sauce and enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcakes

Happy National Vanilla Cupcake day! In honor of this lovely day, I decided to try a recipe to make these from scratch. These turned out great! The texture is perfect, and I love that it only makes a dozen. And it's a very easy recipe. Note that you will need to set out 2 of the ingredients about an hour ahead of when you want to start, as they need to be room temperature (the eggs and milk).

Link to my YouTube video of preparation: https://youtu.be/ppJQPVlIkoM

Original recipe credit: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/golden-cupcakes

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

135g (1 1/8 c.) all-purpose flour

2 T. cornstarch

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

3/4 c. sugar *(in video, I subbed 2 T. of this with vanilla sugar instead of using vanilla extract)

1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/4 c. (4 T.) unsalted butter, melted

1/4 c. canola oil

1/2 c. milk, room temperature (I used 2%, but think I will go with whole next time)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld electric mixer on medium high speed to combine the sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. You will need to mix for 3 minutes.

4. Add the butter and oil. Mix until combined and well incorporated, being sure to scrape the bowl as needed.

5. Add the dry mixture and milk one-third of each at a time, mixing well after each addition.

6. Scoop/pour batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each liner/cup to around 2/3 full.

7. Bake for 20-23 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. (I went 21 min; next time, will stop at 20 or possibly before, as a few of the edges were a bit brown on a couple of the cupcakes this time).

8. Let cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then remove and transfer to cooling rack to finish cooling. Top with your favorite frosting (and sprinkles, if you like them like I do :)) and enjoy!

Basil Cream Parmesan Pasta with Pine Nut Topping

Need to use up some basil? Or just love basil? And delicious pasta? Here is the recipe for you! I came up with this by reading a couple of recipes and combining ideas from each. Enjoy! 

note: amounts are in metric because one of the recipes used for inspiration was on a French website and I decided to 

Ingredients:

200 g (dry weight) short pasta, such as mezzi rigatoni or penne

reserved pasta cooking water

200 mL heavy cream

10-15 g fresh basil leaves (no stems), chopped

50 mL Chardonnay (I used Barefoot brand)

50 mL chicken broth

pinch of ground nutmeg

pinch of salt (plus some for salting the pasta cooking water)

60 g finely shredded Parmesan Reggiano, plus more for topping

a small handful of pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. When draining, reserve a small amount of the pasta cooking water (around 1/4 c).

2. Mix the chopped basil leaves into the cream, then pour into a large saucepan. Stir in the Chardonnay and chicken broth, then heat over medium heat until simmer is reached, stirring occasionally. Once simmer is reached, lower heat to maintain a low simmer.

3. Stir in the nutmeg, pinch of salt, and Parmesan. Continue to barely simmer while pasta finishes cooking.

4. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the pine nuts until reaches a breadcrumb-like texture (if you go too long, you'll have paste, so pay attention :)) 

5. Once pasta has finished and has been drained, add a small amount of its cooking water to the cream sauce. Stir to combine and simmer for about a minute.

6. Remove sauce from heat and stir in the cooked pasta until well coated. Serve topped with a sprinkling of the ground pine nuts and some additional finely shredded Parmesan. Adjust salt level if needed. Enjoy!

Pappardelle with Fresh Tomatoes & Aged Parmesan

Oh, how very yummy this is! 

Link to my YouTube of preparation: https://youtu.be/CSP_yhpd4sE

Pardon my dust, will have the entry written correctly soon!

Original recipe credit: https://www.sargento.com/recipes/meals/dinner/pappardelle-pasta-with-aged-parmesan-cheese/

heavy mods. used the tomatoes I had from garden (around equivalent of 6 full large ones)

part of a normal (large) sweet onion

used barefoot Chardonnay as white wine

used fresh instead of dried rosemary

used around 2 T of butter, did 8 oz cremini, took only around 4-5 min to cook

omitted all meat, subbed 1 oz dried porcini, reconsit, and used a splash of that liquid in the sauce

only 8 oz of pap pasta, was PLENTY

• 6 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut in half
• 1 small sweet onion, peeled, quartered
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups Sargento® Reserve Series™ Aged Parmesan Cheese
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 8 oz. wild mushrooms (shiitake, crimini, porcini, chantrelle)
• 8 oz. ground sirloin
• 8 oz. ground pork or veal
• 1 lb. pappardelle pasta, cooked and rinsed
• parsley? (it is in the recipe final step, used dried since none was listed)
• Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Place tomato halves cut side up in a 13" X 9" casserole dish. Add onion and garlic cloves. Pour in chicken stock and white wine. Drizzle oil over the top. Sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper over tomatoes. Place pan in oven and roast uncovered for 1 hour.
• Sprinkle 1 cup of Sargento® Reserve Series™ Aged Parmesan Cheese over the top. Roast an additional 20 minutes.
• While tomatoes are roasting, pre-heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add butter. When butter has melted and stopped foaming, add mushrooms. Saute' for 10-12 miunutes or until lightly browned and softened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Brown ground beef and pork in the same pan until cooked through.
• When tomato mixture is done cooking, transfer to a blender with a large spoon, making sure to add all cheese and liquid to blender. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Pour the sauce into the skillet of browned meat. Stir to combine. Gently stir in pasta. Remove from heat and transfer to shallow pasta bowls or plates. Spoon mushrooms on top and add remaining aged parmesan on top. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Two Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, I tried yet another version of chocolate chip cookies lol. And glad I did--these are easy, quick, have a perfect texture...a win all around! 10/10. The only change I will try next time I make these is to use parchment, as they seemed to want to stick just a little to the baking sheet. Makes about 36-40 cookies.

Original recipe is from the label of Butter Flavored Crisco.

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. brown sugar (packed)

3/4 c. butter flavored Crisco

2 T. milk (I used whole, think you could use any type)

1 T. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 3/4 c. (210 g) all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. mini semi-sweet morsels

3/4 c. regular semi-sweet morsels

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. In the bowl of a stand / electric mixer, cream together the brown sugar, Crisco, milk, and vanilla.

3. Mix in the egg.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add this mixture to the stand mixer bowl while running the mixer on low speed. (I took the pic after this step was done but already had put the wooden spoon in bowl for next step.)

5. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the morsels (by hand).

6. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop and place balls of dough 2" apart on baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake for 8-10 min (I went 9.5 min).

7. Let cookies rest on sheet for 1-2 min. before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Butter Bars

These are seriously delicious and worth the effort, 10/10! I used a 9" x 9" pan and it worked just fine, bake time was 27 minutes.

Link to my YouTube of preparation: https://youtu.be/ULwXGzkpLIY

Original recipe credit: https://butternutbakeryblog.com/cookie-butter-bars/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

for the cookie dough layers--

2 c. (240 g) all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. mini chocolate chips

cookie butter / middle layer--

1/2 c. cookie butter

1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

for the chocolate drizzle--

1 T. dark chocolate chips/chunks

2 T. heavy cream

for the cookie butter drizzle--

2 T. cookie butter

1 tsp. powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8" x 8" (or, as I used, 9" x 9") pan with parchment paper.

2. Prepare the cookie dough layer: In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand / electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.

4. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

5. Slowly mix in the reserved dry ingredients.

6. Use a wooden spoon to mix in the mini chocolate chips by hand. Place dough in fridge.

7. Prepare the cookie butter layer-- in a medium bowl, whisk together the cookie butter and melted butter, followed by the vanilla, salt, and milk.

8. Switch to a wooden spoon. Mix in the powdered sugar 1/2 c. at a time. You may need to use your hands to fully combine by the end. It will be a thick dough/paste consistency.

9. Remove the cookie dough from fridge. Divide in half. Press one half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, in an even layer that reaches the edges of the pan.

10. Using your hands, flatten the cookie butter layer as much as you can, then lay it atop the layer of cookie dough in the pan and press it out to reach the edges / make a second layer.

11. Crumble the other half of the cookie dough atop the cookie butter layer.

12. Transfer to oven and bake for 25-30 min, or until edges are light golden brown (I went 27). Remove from oven and let bars cool in pan completely. Once bars have cooled, use the parchment to lift them out of the pan.

13. Make the drizzles: for the chocolate drizzle, microwave the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a small bowl, 10-15 sec at a time, stirring between each time (watch carefully or you will scorch them!), until smooth consistency is reached. Drizzle across the bars.

14. For the cookie butter drizzle, microwave the cookie butter for 15-30 sec (watch for it to start looking liquid-y). Mix in the powdered sugar. Drizzle across the bars.

15. Cut up and enjoy!

Pressure Cooker "Viet" Beef Stew

Wonderfully complex flavor and sooo delicious, 10/10 all the way!!

Link to my video of preparation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lS23IpOGiEY

Original recipe: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/instant-pot-viet-beef-stew-star-anise-and-lemongrass

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless beef chuck / stew meat, cut into 1 1/2" chunks

1/2 T. five spice powder

2 tsp. brown sugar (can be light or dark)

3 T. fish sauce

3 T. canola oil, plus more as needed

1 c. chopped onion

3 T. finely chopped fresh ginger

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped (~ 1 T.)

1 1/2 c. canned crushed tomatoes (or 2 c. chopped peeled tomatoes)

2 large or 3 medium lemongrass stalks, trimmed, cut in 3" lengths, bruised with meat mallet

2 whole star anise

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

2 c. water

1 lb. baby carrots (or regular carrots, peeled and cut in 1" chunks)

chopped fresh basil (or cilantro)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the beef, five-spice powder, brown sugar, and fish sauce.

***in progress, pardon my "dust"!

• Step 2

  Program a 6-quart programmable electric pressure cooker to sauté. Add canola oil; working in batches, sear beef on all sides, about 3 minutes, adding additional oil between batches as needed. Transfer seared beef to a plate. Reserve any leftover marinade in bowl.

• Step 3

  Reduce heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic to pressure cooker, and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Increase heat to sauté; add tomatoes, lemongrass, star anise, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture resembles a rough wet paste, 4 to 6 minutes.

• Step 4

  Return beef and accumulated juices and any reserved marinade to cooker. Stir to combine, and add 2 1/2 cups water to cover beef. Lock lid. Program cooker to cook at high pressure 10 minutes. Turn it off or unplug it, and naturally depressurize for 18 minutes; carefully turn pressure release valve to venting position to release remaining pressure from cooker until float valve drops.

• Step 5

  Unlock lid. Beef should be chewy-tender and should feel firm but yield when pressed. Skim off fat, if needed, and add carrots. Set cooker to sauté, and cook, uncovered, until beef and vegetables are tender and sauce has intensified, about 30 minutes. Add additional water if sauce reduces too much. Let stew rest, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes. Add additional salt or fish sauce to intensify flavor if needed, or splash in additional water to lighten it.

• Step 6

  Remove and discard lemongrass, bay leaf, and star anise (warn guests of potential lingering bits). Divide stew among shallow bowls, and garnish with cilantro. Serve warm.