Whiskey-Glazed Steak with Shoestring Potatoes

This is sooo yummy--a 10 star for sure!  We had this to celebrate our "first date-a-versary" and it was so worth the effort.  Ok, it wasn't too much effort, actually--the only part that took time was cutting up the potatoes in shoestrings.  I don't have a mandoline with a julienne/shoestring attachment/setting, so I opted for slicing with my food processor, then cutting by hand for the strips.  I followed the recipe exactly with one exception--I did not put my oven on 500°F!  I started at 450°F, which made the potatoes crispy only at the very edges by the 20 minute-mark.  I raised the temp to 475°F to go about 7 more minutes and it was perfect.  Next time, I will use 475°F the whole time. And believe me, there will be a next time...soon!

Link to original recipe:
http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a50089/whiskey-glazed-steak-with-shoestring-potatoes-recipe/

Ingredients:

4 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into shoestrings
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 c. grated Gruyère cheese (2 oz.)
2 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 lb. skirt steak, trimmed, cut into ~4" pieces
Kosher salt
coarse ground black pepper
2 T. whiskey
1 c. low-sodium beef broth
1 T. heavy cream
1/4 c. chopped Italian parsley

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 475°F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Toss potatoes with 1 T. olive oil and the Gruyère.  Spread on parchment paper in pan to make an even layer.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown (I turned mine about 5 minutes before end, but this may not be necessary).

4. Dry steak with paper towels and season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 T. olive oil and 1 T. butter; when butter starts to bubble, add steak in a single layer.

6. Sear meat for 4 minutes, then flip and cook for 1 more minute.  Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

7. Return skillet to medium-high heat and add remaining 1 T. of butter along with flour.  Whisk constantly for 3 minutes.

8. Add whisky, broth, and 1/4 tsp. of pepper (**original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp. of salt as well; this made it a bit on the salty side, so I will be leaving out next time).  Whisk together, then let simmer for 5 minutes.

9. Turn off heat but leave on burner if cooking with gas stove (if not, you may need to move off the burner until it cools a bit).  Whisk in cream, parsley, and any accumulated juices from the steak.

10. Cut the steak pieces against the grain into slices and add back to skillet with sauce.

11. Serve immediately with the potatoes and enjoy!

Crack pie

I had originally intended to make this for pi day--started it that day, but didn't complete until day after pi day.  The name of this recipe is supposed to be due to the addictive nature of the pie.  While I do agree that it's a very tasty pie, I think calling it 'crack pie' goes a bit too far.  A better name would be 'cookie dough pie', as that's that the filling most resembles (very much like the cookie dough in cookie dough ice cream).  I give this 8 stars our of 10; hubby says 9 stars :)  It's quite rich, thus the small slice portion shown for serving.

Original recipe link:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/crack-pie

Ingredients:

Oat cookie crust--
9 T. unsalted butter, room temp., divided
5 1/2 T. golden brown sugar, packed, divided
2 T. sugar
1 large egg
3/4 c. plus 2 T. old-fashioned oats
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
heaping 1/4 tsp. salt

Filling--
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
6 1/2 T. heavy whipping cream
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line a 13x9x2" metal baking pan with parchment paper, then spray to coat with nonstick spray.  Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl (or stand mixer bowl), combine 6 T. of the butter, 4 T. of the brown sugar, and 2 T. sugar, beating with mixer until light and fluffy.

3. Add egg, beat until pale and fluffy.

4. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Beat until well blended.

5. Spread oat mixture onto prepared parchment paper in baking pan. Push/spread the mixture to the edges using your fingers (it is very sticky and not easy to do this--you've been warned!--I could only get it most of the way to the edges.)

6. Bake until light golden on top, 17-18 minutes (I only went 17).  Transfer baking pan to a cooling rack and cool completely.

7. Crumble the oat cookie into a bowl.  **The original recipe indicates to do this by hand.  Unless you really need a hand strengthening workout and/or an exfoliation via cookie crumbling, do what I wished I had done about 2 minutes into this: put it in a plastic bag and crumble it gently with a mallet!**

8. Now this part, yes, do this by hand: add remaining 3 T. of butter and 1 1/2 T. brown sugar by mashing/mixing/rubbing together with fingers until well combined (you should not longer be able to see any yellow butter spots and it will feel like you could press it together into a ball.)

9. Press the dough into a 9" diameter (mine was actually 9.5") glass pie dish.  Make sure it is as even as possible and comes up the sides of the pie dish--it will be slightly thick.

10. Place pie dish onto rimmed baking sheet. (I actually forgot to do this until halfway through baking--oops!)

11. Return oven to 350°F and begin making filling.

12. In a medium bowl, whisk together both sugars, milk powder, and salt until blended.

13. Add melted butter and whisk again until blended.

14. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla, whisk again until blended.

15. Pour filling into crust and spread to edges evenly.

16. Bake pie 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 325°F.  Bake until pie filling is browned in spots and set around edges but center still moves slightly when pie dish is gently shaken, 15-20 minutes.  Watch the oven carefully on this, as the reviews for this recipe indicated it can end up burnt easily.  Mine was brown all over the filling when I took it out at 17 minutes.

17. Cool pie for 2 hours in pie dish on cooling rack.  Refrigerate uncovered overnight (I went 8 hours, as I had baked early in the day and wanted it for dessert with dinner.  Seemed to be just fine.)

18. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar (I didn't, but original recipe suggests).  Serve cold and enjoy!

"Sakes Alive" Chocolate Fudge Bars

I've decided to start rating each of my blogged recipes on a scale from 1-10, with 10 being best.  Looking back at some recipes, I know they were good, but recalling just how good is getting more and more difficult as I try out more and more recipes!
These rate a solid 8--very yummy, easy to make (provided you do not buy an incorrect ingredient like I did...grrr!), but very heavy.  Yes, that's right, I was quite upset when, right in the middle of preparation, discovered that I has inadvertently picked up one chocolate chip muffin mix and one BLUEBERRY (!!!) instead of just two chocolate chip.  Needless to say, I'm glad Meijer (grocery store) service desk was still open when I had to go run back over there to exchange.  I shall check very closely next time!!

Link to original recipe:
http://www.marthawhite.com/recipes/sakes-alive-chocolate-fudge-bars-5209

I followed the original almost exactly--only difference is that I left out the walnuts (didn't feel like having nuts this time, and I doubt they need the added layer of richness, in all honestly).

Ingredients:

2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 packages (7.4 oz. each) Martha White chocolate chip muffin mix
1 1/2 c. quick oats
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 package (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Spray a 9" x 13" pan with non-stick baking spray and set aside.

2. Beat brown sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in vanilla and egg.

4. Stir in muffin mix by hand, followed by oats.  You may need to use your hands to mash/combine (I did), as it will be very heavy and dense.  Measure out 1 c. of the mixture and set aside.

5. Press remaining mixture into prepared baking pan.

6. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine condensed milk and chocolate chips until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat and pour over top of mixture in baking pan.  Spread evenly.

7. Top the melted chocolate layer with small dollops of the remaining mixture (1 c.) until all is used.

8. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown on the dollops (you will not be able to use "clean toothpick" test, as the chocolate layer will not yet be set).  **forgot to get pic right out of oven, oops!**

9. Cool completely and serve in small portions, ideally with a glass of cold milk.  Enjoy!

Beef with Red Curry Sauce

To go along with the soup I made the other day, I made another Thai dish as the main course.  While this was good, it wasn't nearly as good as the soup.  I doubt I'll make this one again, but wanted to blog it anyhow for the record.  It may be that it wasn't as good because I omitted the sugar snap peas--I kind of doubt it, though, as the sauce this made did not match the darker color of the original recipe's photo.  Not sure how they achieved that color given the amount of coconut milk used.

Link to original recipe:

http://atasteofthai.com/thai-recipes/beef-with-red-curry-sauce-recipe/

Ingredients:

1 lb. stir-fry sliced beef

1/2 tsp. salt

2 T. canola oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 1/2 T. red curry paste

1 can (13.5 oz.) coconut milk, divided

1 T. dark brown sugar

1 T. lime juice

2 tsp. Thai fish sauce

handful Italian basil, torn

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle beef with salt, stir, and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high (8 for my stove) heat.  Add onion and red pepper, cooking and stirring until tender-crisp and starting to brown.

3. Push the vegetables aside and add red curry paste.  Add 1/2 can of the coconut milk and stir to mix until paste is blended in milk.

4. Add remaining coconut milk, brown sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce.  Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add beef and cook until browned/no pink visible (I had to scrape sauce off of pieces in order to tell).

6. Lower heat and stir in basil.  Cook for 1 more minute.

7. Serve with desired side and enjoy.  I chose boiled plain Basmati rice.

Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup

I love going out to Thai restaurants and nearly every time I do, I order Tom Kha Gai soup, which is a coconut chicken soup.  I've been wanting to attempt making it at home for a while, but haven't made it by an Asian market to pick up the galangal (a root similar to ginger (but not the same exact flavor)).  I was considering a special trip for it when I stumbled upon this recipe that only used ginger and struck me as possibly being a close match.  While it isn't the same exact flavor, it is super tasty and similar enough to satisfy the craving for the real one--will be making again for sure!  I thought I had snapped a pic of it in my serving bowl, but apparently not, so I'll have to add a better pic next round...

Link to original recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/thai-coconut-chicken-soup-recipe
*amounts listed below are halved from original, as I only wanted to make for 2 people.  I omitted the chicken and added extra mushrooms, as I like them more in the soup than the chicken.

Ingredients:

2 c. chicken stock (I used my homemade)
4 pinches of bottled shredded kaffir lime leaves (or 2 small fresh leaves, hand torn)
1 small Thai chile, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 piece of fresh ginger, 1 1/2 inches long, peeled and cut into 2 chunks
1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, cracked open with handle of knife
6 1/2 to 7 oz. unsweetened coconut milk
1 can (13 oz.) straw mushrooms, drained
1 T. Thai fish sauce
3/4 tsp. dark brown sugar
juice of 2 limes

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, bring the stock to a boil.

2. Add lime leaves, chile, ginger, and lemongrass.  Lower the heat to medium-low (or in my case, LO--it was simmering too hard at any setting above that) and cover the pot, keeping at a gentle simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Uncover pot and add remaining ingredients, stir to combine.  Increase heat to medium to bring back to simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Remove ginger chunks (and chiles if you can find them).  Ladle up and enjoy!

Almond Cake with Cardamom and Pistachio

a.k.a. Persian Love Cake.  I found out about this type of cake (and its "legend") while trying to find something to make for my hubby for Valentine's day.  Many of the recipes I came across contained rose water, but given my last experience with that ingredient, I didn't want to go that route (I'll brave it again eventually).  I was delighted to come across this one--it looked just right. And oh, it ever was!  Hubby loved it, so it was a happy Valentine's day indeed :D

Link to original recipe:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013089-almond-cake-with-cardamom-and-pistachio

Ingredients:

1/2 c. canola oil (plus additional for oiling the baking pan)
7 large eggs, separated
1 c. sugar
1 T. almond extract
2 tsp. ground cardamom
420 grams/14.8 oz. almond flour/meal (you can grind up almonds in food processor for this, but be careful not to grind too much or you will get paste)
powdered sugar for dusting
chopped pistachios for garnish
optional: drizzle frosting to top (this is the pink that is in the picture, as I tinted it for Valentine's)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Oil a 9" round cake pan (I think mine is actually 9.5") and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar.

3. Whisk in oil and almond extract.

4. Using a stand mixer with whisk attachment, whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry.

5. While egg whites are whisking, add the cardamom and almond flour to the egg yolk mixture/bowl and stir to combine.

6. Gently stir in 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then use a rubber spatula to gently fold in remaining 2/3 of egg whites.  Batter will be thick and heavy.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in middle of pan comes out clean, around 40-50 minutes (mine was done at 40 min.)

8. Allow to cool on rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on rack.

9. Dust with confectioner's sugar and top with pistachios (and drizzle frosting, if desired--I used a thinned version of homemade vanilla frosting).

10. Slice up and enjoy!