Pan-Roasted Pear Salad with Radicchio, Blue Cheese, and Walnuts

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe but firm pears (about 1 1/2 pounds), quartered and cored (see note above)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus an additional 2 teaspoons
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 small shallot , minced (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1/2 medium head green leaf lettuce , washed, dried, and torn into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 1 large head radicchio , quartered, cored, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 4 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 1 cup) or Stilton cheese
• 3/4 cup walnuts , toasted and chopped

 Directions:
      1. Toss pears, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add pears cut-side down in single layer and cook until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Using small spatula or fork, tip each pear onto second cut side; continue to cook until second side is light brown, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Turn off heat, leave skillet on burner, and add 2 tablespoons vinegar; gently stir until vinegar becomes glazy and coats pears, about 30 seconds. Transfer pears to large plate and cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Cut each pear quarter crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.
      2. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons oil, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and shallot together in large bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add lettuce, radicchio, and cooled pears to bowl; toss and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Divide salad among individual plates; top each with portions of cheese and nuts. Serve immediately.

Lemon Bar with Strawberry Glaze and Candied Lemon Peel

Ingredients:
    Crust
    1 3/4cups unbleached all-purpose flour
    2/3cup confectioners' sugar , plus extra to decorate finished bars
    1/4cup cornstarch
    3/4teaspoon table salt
    12tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at very cool room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
    Lemon Filling
    4 large eggs , beaten lightly
    1 1/3cups granulated sugar
    3tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
    2teaspoons grated lemon zest from 2 large lemons
    2/3cup lemon juice from 3 to 4 large lemons, strained
    1/3cup whole milk
    1/8teaspoon table salt
    Strawberry Glaze
    Candied Lemon Peels

Directions:
    1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and line with one sheet parchment or wax paper. Dot paper with butter, then lay second sheet crosswise over it.
    2. Pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second bursts. (To do this by hand, mix flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl. Freeze butter and grate it on large holes of box grater into flour mixture. Toss butter pieces to coat. Rub pieces between your fingers for a minute, until flour turns pale yellow and coarse.) Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and, press firmly with fingers into even, 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/2-inch up sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
    3. For the filling: Meanwhile, whisk eggs, sugar, and flour in medium bowl, then stir in lemon zest, juice, milk, and salt to blend well.
    4. To finish the bars: Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir filling mixture to reblend; pour into warm crust. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to near room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, fold paper down, and cut into serving-size bars, wiping knife or pizza cutter clean between cuts, as necessary. Sieve confectioners’ sugar over bars, if desired.

Teriyaki Sauce

Mike and I were going to make beef teriyaki about a month ago, when we happened upon the fact we were out of teriyaki sauce. Found this recipe (halved the sugar) and have decided to never go back to store bought sauce again. (Apologies for the shoddy photo again; I took this photo with my phone.)

• 1/2cup soy sauce
• 1/2 1/4cup sugar
• 1/2teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1clove garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
• 2tablespoons mirin
• 1/2teaspoon cornstarch

Combine soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic in small saucepan; stir together mirin and cornstarch in small bowl until no lumps remain, then stir mirin mixture into saucepan. Bring sauce to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to 3/4 cup and forms syrupy glaze, about 4 minutes. Cover to keep warm.

Cherry Lime Cupcakes

Asked a friend what his top two favorite flavors were: cherry and lime (aka time to start combining recipes):

Cupcake: Key Lime Pie Cupcakes
Frosting: Margarita Cupcake Recipe

That covered the lime basis; to cover the cherry flavor, I stuffed (and topped) the cupcake with maraschino cherries.

(Apologies for the shoddy photo, but I was in a rush.)

Christmas 2013

Pumpkin Roll

Chocolate Mousse


I also sent out tins of snickerdoodles to my raid team:

Oatmeal Cream Pies

While I was going through a rough patch in the past year, I had a hankering for the Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies, but wanted to make my own: Oatmeal Cream Pies

Piña Colada Cupcakes

I've been absent for a good long while and am just now starting to play catch-up with some old photos.

Made these delicious treats for my mother's birthday in April 2013: Piña Colada Cupcakes

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberries were on sale for $1.99 a pint... so of course... I buy a ton of them. But looking at the pile of blueberries, there was no way I was going to munch my way through all of them. Time to make blueberry muffins. (Cooks Illustrated Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping).

Spring Birthdays

As happens, a lot of the birthdays of friends and family fall into the months between April and June. Lots of frisky between July and September. I present three different cupcakes: Cherry Cola Cupcakes (the remake),  Jasmine Cupcakes with Raspberry and Honey, and Limoncello Float Cupcakes.

A couple of notes:
-The cherry cola cupcakes I had made sometime last year, I couldn't stand because of how oily they came out. This time around, I replaced the oil with butter. I was much happier with the consistency.
-The Jasmine cupcakes gave me a chance to use this delicious raspberry vinegar I had bought at a local food and wine festival last August. There were no raspberries at the store, so I replace the berry on top with blackberries.
-I did not have enough time to make the ice cream for the limoncello float cupcakes.

Jasmine Cupcake with Raspberry and Honey

Cherry Coke Cupcake

Limoncello Float Cupcake (Ben &  Jerry's Lemon Cookie Ice Cream)

Limoncello Float Cupcake (Vanilla Ice Cream)

Limoncello Float Cupcake with a Happy Mother

Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day, I decided to try a classic red velvet from a cookbook I got for my dad a couple years ago (The Complete Southern Cookbook)... I'm always so nervous about cupcakes tasting like food dye that I never put enough in to give it that vibrant red color... I rely on the chemical reaction between acid and buttermilk to bring out a red color from the anthocyanins in the chocolate. Does anyone have any tips for not over coloring your baked goods? Especially red velvet cakes?

Holiday Cooking 2012

Alright... it was the holidays.. Twas hectic, wonderful, and unfortunately a little sad.

Thanksgiving brought cupcakes for my coworkers and the usual spread for my family. The cupcakes (apple cobbler cupcakes with literal pumpkin pie frosting) turned out alright. The literal pumpkin pie frosting left some to be desired, but I did enjoy the apple cobbler bit.

While the Thanksgiving spread was normal (same turkey, stuffing, potatoes, rolls...), I had still yet to find a good sweet potato dish. I found one! It's a sweet potato casserole that is still sweet, but not too sweet. My family agreed that this was the sweet potato dish that was going to stay. 

Christmas season started out with cake balls being shipped out to my wonderful raid team. We were recently able to finish 6/6 bosses in Mogu'shan Vaults! (Guess they deserved the cake balls!) Granted... the cake ball part was too little cake and too much frosting for my taste. I will probably try a different recipe next time around.

With  my raid team taken care of... it was time to tackle the cupcakes for the coworkers. Recently I have been going out for a rum & coke with a couple of buddies at work. Not coincidentally, hot buttered rum is my favorite holiday beverage. I decided to make rum and coke cupcakes. Unfortunately, I had no cola extract. I tried to make a frosting with using straight up cola. This made the frosting too watery and didn't have that cola punch I was looking for. The rum cake part was still delicious though.

After presents had been shipped and cupcakes dispersed, it was time for Mike and I to start packing. We headed to Florida for Christmas. First time I've been able to see my cousins in over 10 years. Was a happy reunion full of good ole Southern cooking... not that I wasn't happy to make my way back to California cooking. 

We arrived back Christmas Eve and I still cooked for my parents the next day. Did the same meal as last year: prime rib, greens, and roasted potatoes  Simple, delicious, and perfect to come back to after travelling.

It was time to start planning for New Years Eve. This year, my usual group of friends decided to do a formal pot luck complete with board games. Somehow, the potluck turned into me supplying the meal.

I made slow-cooker barbecued sticky ribs, salad, roasted potatoes, and cherry-coke cupcakes. Mike made fried rice.

Alright, so you would think that the holiday baking would be over... My brother had a few weeks off after New Year's Eve. Him and his friends would come over for beers and board games. Eventually one of his friends turned me onto food porn daily and somehow the topic of cupcakes had come up. Long story short, I decided to make a batch of cupcakes that my brother would enjoy as well as a "belated birthday present" for his friend. My brother's requirement for cupcakes was "cream flavored". A short story short, I made Boston Cream cupcakes (you need to be logged in to America's Test Kitchen to see the recipe). This is probably one of the best cupcakes I have made.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy (Pulled Pork Sandwich)

Oh alright, there isn't actually lemon is this. The last few months  have been particularly challenging in finding motivation to cook. I started experimenting with different Trader Joes deli packages to try to find easy meals that I wouldn't get sick of after 2 days. I hit jackpot.

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Roasted Potatoes

Potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg.
2. Cut assorted baby potatoes into  quarters.
3. Spray with a light coating of olive oil. 
4. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper.
5. Cover with aluminum foil. Roast for 10 minutes and then remove aluminum foil.
6. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until tender.

Sandwich

1. Saute some onions with a dash of red pepper flakes until they've just started caramelizing.
2. Spray some multi-seed sourdough with a light coating of olive oil and sprinkles with ginger. 
3. Toast the sourdough. 
4. Pile onions, heated up pulled pork, greens, and cheese on the bread.

Slow Cooker Asian Spiced Pork Ribs with Noodles

The past few months I have pretty much not cooked. I was flipping through my Cook's Illustrated Cover & Bake when I came across a particularly appetizing photo and panicked... it was a Chinese food recipe. It's been a long time since I've attempted Chinese food. Last time I managed to burn noodles. For whatever reason, I was feeling particular inspired last weekend...who knows why. And what do you know? Victorious. Oh so victorious. Supposedly they are reminiscent of real Chinese spare ribs. Super tasty and did not take that long to get all of it together (granted I took my time in consideration of my last attempt at Chinese food).

LAN Party (And Cupcakes)

Went to a LAN party over the weekend... so of course I had to make something for the boyos. Cupcake Project's "Chocolate Peanut Butter Hi Hat Cupcakes" seemed to do the trick.

A Farewell for My Amazing Boss

My boss is leaving to work for another company and as a farewell, I asked him what his two favorite cupcake flavors were: chocolate and cherry. I set out to make black forest cupcakes, but I didn't want to use stock maraschino cherries, I went all the way. I made both cupcakes, cupcake filling, and maraschino cherries.

First Attempt:
I accidentally simmered the maraschino cherries for too long. A lot of them fell apart when I tried to take them out of the container.

 Second Attempt:
I changed the frosting for this batch. The Luxardo maraschino liqueur was too harsh for a frosting in my opinion. I substituted with 6 tbsp of Herring's Cherry liqueur.

Easter Dinner & Mom's Day

Most of my family was out of town this year for Easter, but I made a easy-ish dinner for Mike, my dad, and I. Turned out pretty well. I hadn't made ham in years.

My mom was out of town for her birthday unfortunately, so I went to town on her mother's day cake. I ended up with a layered carrot cake and some homemade vanilla ice cream. The carrot cake didn't end up with as many layers as I wanted because I didn't have the right sized pan. It ended up still being delicious though. Wasn't as much of a fan of the frosting as I was for her birthday cake last year.

Carrot Layer Cake

Pi Day in Conjunction with St. Patrick's Day

So... apparently I forgot to post my pi day cupcakes and St. Patrick's Day dinner. So sorry guys!

I didn't want to have to make separate cupcakes for both holidays. That's way too many cupcakes in the span of 3 days. Cupcake Project had posted upside-down key lime pie cupcakes for pi day a bit ago. As a Southern girl, those had a very strong appeal. Granted, it takes an arm and a leg to find key limes around here this time of year.  They turned out supreme even though I used ordinary limes.

As far as St. Patrick's Day goes, Mike had never had corned beef before. I felt oddly inspired to try making it this year. I also made purple cabbage, carrots, and roasted potatoes (a meal inspired by one of my best friend's chemist girls' nights events). I even made some quick homemade rolls. I must say, best meal I've made for us in a very long time.

One thing to note is that my purple cabbage is blue. It turns out, that red cabbage can be used as an at home pH kit. If your cabbage is blue, your solution is basic; if your cabbage is red, your solution is acidic. I've also noticed, that in cabbage recipes, people tend to add some vinegar; this helps it retains its red/purple color.

Pi Day is Almost Here!

Pi Day is just around the corner. Comment on this post to tell me what type of pie I should make this year. ^_^

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day All!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I have group meeting at work. I cannot justify going to a meeting on a holiday without bringing some cupcakes. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I decided I wanted to eat hot tamales in cupcake form.

Throughout the search I found two types: #1: cayenne pepper and cinnamon #2: melted red hots...

I ended up doing a combination of the two. The actual cupcake uses the cayenne pepper and cinnamon and the frosting uses cinnamon schnapps. However... I topped it with gummy red hot hearts and sprinkles. They definitely have a kick and I will definitely have to bring a jug of milk to work tomorrow. (The actual recipe was taken from the Food Network.)

Thank you Mum and Dad!

My parents got me a double boiler for Christmas! ^_^