Anyway, I made a 3 course thank you dinner. It started with these baked crab rangoons. Followed by a Chinese chicken salad with a home made sesame soy dressing and ending with a brookie (brownie cookie, aka cookie in a brownie). While all parts were good, I think the crab rangoons were best. I made 13 rangoons and the 2 of us ate every last one.
These guys are SO easy too. Mix, place in won tons in muffin cups, bake. Done.
Baked Crab Rangoons
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided use
2 ½ tsp active dry yeast
1 TBSP granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ¼ cups warm water (110F)
1 TBSP canola oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
olive oil for brushing
1. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside.
2. Combine half of the flour with yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl; add warm water (110F) and oil; mix until smooth.
3. Stir in garlic and as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a stiff dough (usually I need all of it).
4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times or until smooth and elastic.
5. Divide dough into fourths; shape each portion into a ball then divide each ball into 10 portions. Shape each portion into an 6-inch stick. Brush 1 stick with water and twist it with another stick, pressing at the top and the bottom. Arrange the twists on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sticks.
6. Place twists 2-inches apart on baking sheet. Brush the twists with olive oil and sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 50 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake until lightly browned (just a very light brown in places), 12 to 15 minutes.
This has been floating around my "to be blogged" area for a while. It is a great bread (crusty outside, firm but not at all hard inside) and it is super easy to make (put ingredients in the machine). I served it with baked ziti and the tomato and green bean salad and it perfectly complemented both flavors. You can add any spices you like, but as I note below, my favorite so far is oregano and garlic.
Bread Machine English Muffin Bread (from "The Bread Machine Baker")
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 heads roasted garlic, recipe below
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/2 tsp. salt
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
Take a large piece of parchment paper and pile the butter at one end of the paper, forming it into a log as best as you can.
Begin rolling the paper and the butter up, jelly-roll style, rolling tightly as you go and smoothing the log.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
1.3 lb ground
4 tbsp chopped Onion
1 can Corn
½ - 2/3 can Black beans, drained and rinsed
3-4 tbsp Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili powder
2/3 tsp garlic Salt
1/8 tsp
19 flour tortilla
pam
1. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, cook turkey most of the way. Remove from heat, drain, return to pan.
2. Heat to medium high again. Stir in onion. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until onions are tender and meat is cooked.
3. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, cumin, chili powder, garlic salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat
4. Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute, or until hot and pliable.
5. Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture.
6. If you are freezing and eating later: Secure with toothpicks. Arrange in a medium dish, cover with plastic, and place in the freezer. When ready, continue to next step without defrosting, but add another 5 minutes of baking time
7. When ready to eat, remove toothpicks if you used them. Place the egg rolls seam side down on an aluminum foil and pam covered baking sheet. Spray the egg rolls with pam, and bake at 475 degrees for 15 minutes. May take longer if there are too many rolls on the baking sheet
When I was young, I NEVER ate bell peppers. I was certain that they were spicy. I never knew that any sort of pepper could do anything but hurt my little 3rd grader tongue! Then, one day in school, a nutritionist came in to talk to us about why veggies were good for us, and she mentioned how bell peppers were really high in vitamen C. The lady said they weren't spicy and made me try. I hated admitting it, but not only was it not at all spicy, it was super sweet and delicious. I have loved bell peppers ever since.
For the engagement party, I am making roasted red pepper dip, and, much like I was when I was younger, both J and O'L feared the heat of peppers. Don't worry guys, it is just sweet and smoky, with just the slightest bit of tang...oh, and a LOT of cheese! And, who has a problem with sweet, smoky and cheesy? Certainly not me!
Roasted Red Pepper Dip
This is not my average post. Ok, so maybe it is average in that it has an opening picture, a story, another picture, and a recipe, but it is still different. The cake you see above is a symbol of women’s health and wholeness. I have alternately called this cake by a name I have dubbed her and what it symbolizes to me. The cake is either Jane (like in Jane Doe) or the “We are more than the Sum of Our Parts” cake.
I’ll back up a bit. I am currently in a women’s health class, and, as my final, creative project for the class, I did what I do best. I baked. I baked a cake to represent what I have learned, and what I feel every woman (and many men!) should know.
First I made the bikini portion. I used a boxed cake mix (yellow or white cake, I forget which), added the zest of one lemon and replaced about 1TBSP of water in the recipe for lemon juice. I made an 8” square and 4 souffle cups of cake. Once cooled, I cut the square into the bikini bottom and used the 2 best soufflé cakes as the bikini top. I whipped up the lemon frosting recipe from this month’s “Everyday with Rachael Ray” (recipe at the bottom) and frosted. I then used pull and peel twizzlers for the detail.
Healthy Facts: Did you know that 1 in 8 women experience breast cancer within the course of their lives? 1 in 8. I have about 16 food blogs I try to check at least once a week. Based on that statistic, about 2 of these women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimes. So, keep your little “soufflé cakes” safe and do your monthly self exam. More information is available at the Komen for the Cure.
More Healthy Facts: About 75 percent of sexually active people will get HPV sometime in their life. Ok, now assuming that all my lovely bloggers are sexually active, then 12 of them will get HPV. And, let us not forget that some of those forms of HPV cause genital warts, and others can lead to cervical cancer. Yeah, cancer from an STD. And, the forms of HPV that lead to cervical cancer are not the ones with symptoms like warts, so going in for your yearly gynecological exam is really the only way to be safe. Your Pap Smear and the rest of your exam should not hurt, so don’t be scared, set up your appointment ASAP! (Facts from 4women.gov)
Next I made the chest/stomach section. I made my calimocho cake and frosting, just baking it in a 9x13 and cutting off the ends to it fit in the middle. I used twizzlers and blue writing icing for the heart and gummy fruits and some green icing for the belly button and digestive system.
who smoke “risk having a heart attack 19 years earlier than non-smoking women,” and womenHealthy Facts: Did you know that heart disease is the number 1 killer of women, and, in fact between 40 and 50% women’s deaths are from heart attack or stroke? Let’s go back to those 16 bloggers. According to the facts, about 8 of them will die from a heart attack or stroke. Women with diabetes “are two to three times more likely to have heart attacks.” Yes, heart disease is partially hereditary, but we can do our part to help our chances. Eat right, exercise, don’t smoke, and always be honest with your doctor about your family history. (Information Courtesy of WomenHeart.Org)
More Healthy Facts: We all know the sayings. “Get your daily fruits and veggies.” “Count your calories.” We also all know the consequences, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis and increased risk of cancer. So let’s get right to the easy stuff we just may not think about on a daily basis. Tips from womenshealth.gov recommend making half your grains whole, focusing on fruits, and going lean with protein. We all know that whole grain foods are good for us, but next time your at the store, spend that extra couple of seconds to check the ingredients and make sure you are really getting whole grains. Yes, some sugary cereals say they are made with whole grains, but a sprinkling of whole wheat does not a healthy Count Chocula make! You should “Look to see that grains such as wheat, rice, oats, or corn are referred to as 'whole' in the list of ingredients,” and not just at the bottom of the list. They also recommend you “eat a variety of fruits – whether fresh, frozen, canned or dried – rather than fruit juice for most of your fruit choices.” Not only do you usually lose the fiber, you also feel less filled by the same number of calories when you just drink your fruits. Finally, “choose lean meats and poultry. Bake it, broil it, or grill it. And vary your protein choices – with more fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.” Remember, not all protein is in meat. Peanuts, soy nuts, lentils and seeds are great ways to limit your cholesterol intake from sources of protein.
Since I feel like I am cheating any foodies reading this by just giving the basic frosting recipe, I will also follow it up with a recipe that can boost a woman’s health. In support of Mele Cotte’s Cooking to Combat Cancer event, here is my California Roll. California Rolls are doubly powerful at fighting cancer because of their avocados and seaweed (nori). According to the Cancer Cure Foundation, “Avocados are rich in glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that attacks free radicals in the body by blocking intestinal absorption of certain fats. They also supply even more potassium than bananas and are a strong source of beta-carotene. Scientists also believe that avocados may also be useful in treating viral hepatitis (a cause of liver cancer), as well as other sources of liver damage,” and “Seaweed and other sea vegetables contain beta-carotene, protein, vitamin B12, fiber, and chlorophyll, as well as chlorophylones - important fatty acids that may help in the fight against breast cancer. Many sea vegetables also have high concentrations of the minerals potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and iodine.” So eat on sushi lovers and help combat cancer!
California Rolls
Cut krab into long thin strips (you need to be able to roll around them).
Peel cucumber and cut into the same sized pieces. 
When you are ready to make rolls, create same sized pieces of avocado.
Use a combination of your hands and the rolling mat to do 1 roll over, enclosing your filling. 
Then just use the mat to roll your sushi (but do not roll the mat into the sushi!). Once the roll is done, use the mat to press the roll so it doesn’t open up. Wet a very sharp knife and cut the roll into about 8 pieces. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Rachael Ray’s Lemon Frosting
Joelen’s Culinary Adventures is hosting what I think is an AWESOME idea for a blog event. She is dubbing it “Tasty Tools” and this month’s focus is on graters and microplanes. Hmm, well my room mate did just buy a grater…so I’m in!
I decided to make gougeres…aka French cheesepuffs. I had never made them before and, well, they are cheese puffs! How bad could they be? Oh, and they use a ton of cheese which you need to grate. Perfect.
I ended up using a recipe from Nook and Pantry for its ease and the fact that it included spices. The other recipes just seemed bland.
Issues I had: knowing when to take the dough off the heat. After the 30 sec to a minute back on the stove, I didn’t see any difference. After a minute 30 sec I just gave up and took it off the heat. I also had an issue with the flavor. I ended up doubling some of the spices because I felt the flavor as listed was still flat.
I ended up having to add the fourth egg…but it was hard to figure out! The mixture kind of drooped from the beaters…so I am pretty sure I was right in adding it. Next issue was sizing. These babies poof up a lot when baking, so don’t make your scoops too big or they won’t be bite size, but meal size.
Finally, to up the cheesyness, I added the cheese on top as directed, but then, in the last 2 min of baking, added a little more cheese to melt on top.
Turned out deliciously. Would be great to serve with a dip or filling at a cocktail party. And, they are so airy, you don’t mind eating a whole bunch of them. But remember, serve warm and fresh. They lose crispyness when they sit for a while.
Gruyere Gougeres
1 C water
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1 C AP flour
3/4 C + 2 Tbsp grated Gruyere (I ended up using a combo of swiss and parmesan since my store didn’t sell gruyere) (will need extra for the extra top cheese)
1/8 tsp black pepper (I used ¼ tsp)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional (I used about ¼ tsp)
(I added ¼ tsp garlic powder)
3 to 4 eggs
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Add the water, butter, and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Take off heat and add the flour all at once. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon for 30 to a minute.
Put the pan back on heat and stir for 30 seconds to a minute to evaporate excess moisture.
Scoop the mixture into a mixing bowl and let cool for a bit.
Add the Gruyere, black pepper, (garlic powder) and cayenne pepper. Beat in 3 eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each egg. It is easiest to do this in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. After the third egg, see if the mixture falls from the beaters. If the mixture still clings to the beaters, add the fourth egg.
Pipe or spoon 1 Tbsp (cookie scoops are pretty handy for this task) of the mixture onto a parchment sheet lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
Add a small pinch of cheese of the remaining 2 tbsp of cheese on top of each puff.
Bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature down to 375ºF and bake for another 15 minutes, until puffs are golden brown. In the last 2 minutes you can add extra cheese on top, but try not to open the oven very much during baking.
They're delicious fresh out of the oven. You can store them in the fridge or freezer but reheat them in an oven to crisp them up. You can also fill them.
Yield approximately 30+ puffs.
