Chocolate Bread Pudding

This is an utterly dangerous dessert. It's impossible to eat in small servings. I feasted on these leftovers all Thanksgiving break.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Dean

• 1 (1-pound) loaf French or Italian bread , cubed
• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated
• Whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and place the bread in the dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and liqueur. Using another bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder and mix well. Add the sugar mixture to the milk mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla and almond extract, and cinnamon to the beaten eggs. Combine the egg mixture to the milk mixture and mix well.
Stir the grated chocolate into the mixture. Pour the mixture over the cubed bread in the pan. Let the mixture stand, stirring occasionally for approximately 20 minutes or until bread absorbs most of the milk mixture. Bake pudding for 1 hour or until set. Check pudding by inserting a knife through the middle and it should come out clean.
Serve the pudding warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled with whipped cream if desired.

I used an assortment of breads for this recipe. I bought a small loaf of day old Ciabatta and a fresh loaf from a local deli. I cut these loafs into large cubes. For filler bread I used a light French loaf from the bakery cut into smaller cubes. For the coffee liquor I used Kahlua.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I made this as a first course for Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt Sharon's house. This is by far my favorite thing I've cooked lately. It has the perfect blend of seasonings and fall flavors. It's slightly spicy but doesn't overpower the butternut, only amplifies its flavor. This soup would be great a big sour dough bread bowl. No pictures unfortunately--got eaten too quickly!

Ingredients:

3 pounds butternut squash (about 2 medium squash), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
5 large whole sage leaves
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Crispy sage leaves or toasted pepitas for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Combine squash, olive oil, garam masala, ginger, salt and pepper in large bowl and mix until squash is well-coated. Arrange squash in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes or until soft and tender.

2. While squash is roasting, set a large pot over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onion, garlic and sage, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion just turns golden, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the sage leaves and discard. Add the stock and roasted squash to the soup pot and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

3. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor and return it to the pot. Stir in the cream and reheat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve garnished with crispy sage leaves and/or toasted pepitas.

Serves 8 as a first course.

I couldn't find garam masala in the grocery store so I googled this substituted:
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp crumbled bay leaves
1/8 tsp ground cloves

If you don't have a food possessor no biggy. You could serve this soup minus the processing step for a hardier texture.

Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I made a feast for the roomies. The menu consisted of roasted chicken, gravy, stuffing, baked yams, green beans in lemon sauce, ginger cranberries, rolls and eggnog for dessert. Needless to say it was a very delicious evening. This was the first time I've ever made stuffing. It was pretty easy and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I used a really nice loaf of sour dough from trader joes which I think is crucial. The better the bread the better the stuffing. I really like this recipe because the apples and raisins give the stuffing a natural sweetness without over doing it.

Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Golden Raisins (from bon appétit)
1 ½ lb loaf sourdough bread, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 lbs pork breakfast sausage
2 large onions, chopped
2 c chopped celery
4 tbsp butter
6 c ½ inch cubes Granny Smith apples (about 4 large apples)
¾ c golden raisins
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 ½ c low sodium chicken broth (I used 4 c)
3 eggs
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread cubes in single layer on baking sheet. Bake until golden, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes. Transfer into large bowl. Sauté sausage in skillet, break up into small pieces, 8-10 minutes. Use slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with bread. Add onions and celery to skillet with drippings. Sauté until golden brown, 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread and sausage. Melt 2 tbsp butter, add apples. Sauté until tender, 10 minutes, add raisins. Add to bowl with bread mixture. Melt 2 tbsp butter over low heat. Add sage, stir 30 seconds. Add to mixture, toss well. Whisk together broth and eggs. Poor over bread mixture. Transfer mixture into buttered 15X10X2 glass baking dish. Bake uncovered until top is crisp, 45 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes. 16 servings

Tips: You need a HUGE bowl to make this. I was not well equip and ended up dividing all the stuffing between three large tupperware bowls. I also used a bit more chicken broth that the recipe called for. I poured extra broth over the bread after I took it out of the oven to make sure it was moist enough.

Reese Cupcakes

Michelle and I made birthday cupcakes for our weekly dinner with the soil judgers to celebrate Matt's birthday. Matt and Phil always cook us the most amazing meals. This week was no different. In fact, I think it was one of the best meals they've ever made us. They made bean chili, soy chili, rice & vegetable grains, greek salad, and spring rolls from My.

The beginnings of chili.



Matt and Phil. Matching aprons this time!





When it comes to birthday cakes you can't go wrong with the Kraft Oil Cake. Don't let its simplicity deceive you. It always turns out moist and delicious. We frosted them with peanut butter frosting and sprinkled with chopped up Reese cups. We also got a little daring and tried putting a whole mini Reese cup in the center of the cupcakes before baking. The cups ended up sinking to the bottom of the cakes and getting stuck to the cupcake papers. In the future I'll try adding the candy halfway through the bake time in an attempt to keep them in the center of the cake.

Kraft Oil Cake

2.25 cup cake flour
1.75 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
.75 cup cocoa
1 cup oil
1.5 cup sour milk
1.5 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1.75 cup sugar


Beat eggs and sugar until thick and foamy in a small bowl
Sift dry ingredients together in separate bowl and add oil, milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Fold in egg mixture (2 minutes)Pour into cake tins. Bake 350F for 35-40 minutes.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1. Cream shortening and butter together with an electric mixer. Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat just until combined.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar. Once sugar is incorporated, add just enough milk to make it spreadable.

Chicken Coconut Soup

I found this recipe this summer in Clean Eating magazine. Despite the magazine's unappetizing title, it has a lot of really cool recipes and articles. This soup is a healthier version of most coconut soups which are heavy in fat. It uses half coconut milk half skim milk, giving it a lighter consistency but just as yummy!

Here's the Clean Eating recipe with a few of my own adjustments:

2 TBS evoo
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c carrots, chopped 1/2 in pieces
2-3 small white or red potatoes, 1/2 in pieces (I used both)
salt n pepper
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 c skim milk
1 c coconut milk
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c snow peas
juice from half a lemon
3/4 tsp chile powder
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 TBS cilantro

Heat oil in pot, add garlic onions carrots potatoes. Season w/ salt n pepper, saute. Add broth and milks bring to boil. Add chicken (I used the George Foreman to brown them before adding to the soup. Didn't cook them all the way through). Cover, simmer, for 10-15 minutes on low heat. Remove chicken, set aside. Add peas, chile powder, red pepper flakes. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Slice chicken and add to soup. Add lemon juice, sprinkle with cilantro. (~300 cals per serving, makes 4)


Used fresh cilantro from my backyard garden.


Served in my pretty flowered dishes from Thailand. Love them!


My lovely cooking assistant/brother demonstrating how to eat like a real adult.

Welcome!

So I've decided to start a blog to share recipes that I've made/want to try. Feel free to post recipes, comments, and tips. Cheers!