Profiteroles

This recipe is a Salud recipe... very good!

Pate a choux dough:

1 cup water

pinch salt

2 oz butter

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Chocolate glaze:

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 oz bittersweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the water, salt, butter, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove pot from heat and stir in flour all at once, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Return pot to the stove and cook over medium heat until the dough begins to come away clean from the sides of the pan.

Place dough in the bowl of an electric mixer and let cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing at medium speed between each addition (with a paddle attachment).

Put dough in a pastry bag and pipe 1/2 inch high (balls for profiteroles, 4" long for eclairs) on a baking sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper. Bake shells 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Turn off oven. Make a slit in each shell and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes, allowing the insides to dry out.

Chocolate glaze:

Heat cream in a small saucepan until just simmering. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Let come to room temperature before using.

Slice profiteroles in half and place a scoop of gelato (or pipe some whipped cream inside) in the center. Cover with the top of the shell and drizzle with or dip in chocolate.

Pizza rolls

This is such a great idea! So versatile!

Pizza Rolls

1 refrigerated rectangular pizza crust

fillings (toppings and cheese)

olive oil or melted butter

salt, pepper

grated parmesan

marinara sauce (for dipping)

Stretch the dough into a 8x12" rectangle. Divide into 24 squares (4x6)

In each square, put a little cheese and a little topping. For mine, I made half red pepper and goat cheese and the other half ham, pineapple, and mozzarella... I just kind of put in enough to fit. Then fold the corners of each square and press to seal so you have a little dough ball. Put into a baking dish (a 9" round worked well) seam-side down. Brush the top of all of the stuffed dough balls with melted butter or olive oil and then sprinkle salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. Serve with warmed marinara and maybe some more grated parm. YUM!

Dark Chocolate Nut Cookies

I just made this easy recipe and the cookies are delicious!

Dark Chocolate Nut Cookies

¼ cup butter, softened
1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, etc.) coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together butter and sugar; add egg and beat until smooth and creamy.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir in the chopped nuts.

Bake for 8-10 minutes (be careful to not overbake). Allow to cool on pan for a few minutes, then move to cooling rack.

Mmmm Pot Pie

We used this recipe as a guide to make Chicken Pot Pie the other night... it was delicious!!

Delicious Pot Pie

2 unbaked pie crusts

5 small/medium red potatoes, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 cups shredded/chopped rotisserie chicken (I even tossed in a little extra Thanksgiving turkey... you could use all turkey if you wanted, or omit meat for a veggie pie)

heaping handful of frozen peas

2 cans cream of chicken soup (I used cream of mushroom and it was quite tasty)

salt and pepper

Unroll one pie crust into a pie plate, prick with fork, and bake at 400 for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add potatoes and boil until tender.

Meanwhile, sauté onion in butter until tender, add peas and carrots and sauté for a a few minutes.

In a large bowl, combine onion, carrots, peas, chicken, and cream of mushroom soup. Drain potatoes and mix in bowl. Pour mixture into the pre-baked pie crust. Next, unroll the other pie crust on top, folding up the overlapping edges. Brush the top crust with a little milk or a beaten egg (this is just for looks... either will do). Now cut 4 slits in the top crust to let air escape. Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is brown and filling is bubbly.

VEGETARIAN OPTION: omit meat, use a cream of veggie soup, and make it a veggie pot pie!

Easy Carrot Cake and C.C. icing

I just made this recipe and not only does it taste delicious, but the aroma coming from the oven was incredible! I cut the recipe in half and just used one dish. Here's what I did...

Carrot Cake

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 + 1/8 cup vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1/4 cup raisins (I let them soak in water for a couple of minutes so that they would "plump up")

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9" round or 8" square dish. Beat together eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Stir in carrots and raisins. Bake for 35-45 minutes. While it is cooling, make this icing:

Cream Cheese Icing

4oz cream cheese... or a 75g"carré frais" if you are in France :)

1/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Allow the cream cheese and butter to soften. Beat together the butter and cream cheese with vanilla. Add powdered sugar a little at a time to maintain a smooth consistency. Spread over top of cake and sprinkle with raisins or nuts, if desired.

For best results wait until the cake has completely cooled... I'm always to impatient for that, though :-) Thus my non-smooth icing coverage: