2 Sisters 2 Cities

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on February 8, 2010

Another appetizer I made for the Superbowl is Spinach Artichoke Dip. This is a recipe from the Cooking Light Cookbook, I changed the ingredients a little because I don’t like the taste of fat free sour cream and cream cheese. But if you want to make a healthier version use fat free sour cream and replace one of the blocks of reduced fat cream cheese with fat free cream cheese. Serve this appetizer with tortilla chips or toasted pieces of French bread.

Ingredients

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup light sour cream

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

2 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl, and stir until well-blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on February 8, 2010

One of my favorite appetizer to make for get-togethers is guacamole. It is incredibly easy to make and it is always a hit. Tonight for the Superbowl, I made this guacamole and it was fantastic! The recipe I use is from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook “Anyone Can Cook.”

Guacamole

Ingredients:

2 medium very ripe avocados, halved, seeded, peeled, and cut up

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 tablespoon snipped cilantro or parsley

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

2/3 cup finely shopped, seeded tomato (1 large) optional

Tortilla chips

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a large resealable plastic bag. Once all the ingredients are in (besides the tortilla chips), seal the plastic bag, then squeeze and knead the bag until all the ingredients are in a almost smooth consistency (I leave it a little chunky because that is the way I like my guacamole.) When you have the desired consistency, cut the corner of the bag off and squeeze the guac into a bowl. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on February 7, 2010

I made these cupcakes this weekend for the birthday of the guy I am dating ;). The recipe is from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC, and it is one of my favorite recipes for cupcakes. It is a little more labor intensive than the other recipe, but you won’t be disappointed. Also just in case you think this recipe is healthy because I try to cook healthy, this recipe is the complete opposite, but a great splurge.

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Vanilla Buttercream:

The vanilla buttercream we use at the bakery is technically not a buttercream but actually an old-fashioned confectioners’ sugar and butter frosting. Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Source: From Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on February 5, 2010

I love asparagus so every time it is on sale at my grocery store I like to buy it and make a meal out of it. To make roasted asparagus

Ingredients:

1 pound of asparagus

1-2 tsp of olive oil

Course Salt

Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash asparagus and break of the tough bottom part off, about 1-2 inches should break off. Place the asparagus on the baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil. Then roll the asparagus around so that they are evenly coated with olive oil. Salt and pepper them to your liking. Place baking sheet in heated oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Taste one after 15 minutes to see if they are soft enough, if not put them back in for a couple more minutes at a time (Don’t burn your mouth, they are HOT!).

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on February 3, 2010

Recently a lot of recipes I have been reading have recommended using a cast-iron grill pan. This of course made me really want one, so on Saturday I finally got one from Kohl’s. http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/saleevents/0202/kitchendining/sub3cookware/PRD~326934/Bobby+Flay+10+12in+CastIron+Grill+Pan.jspOn Monday night I made turkey burgers on my new grill pan and topped it with pepper jack cheese. When buying ground turkey you want to make sure to buy a lean ground turkey that has 7% fat or less, otherwise it might not be as healthy because they mix it with more dark meat.

(I had pictures, but they got deleted by accident on the camera. Sorry, more to come)

-K

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on February 3, 2010

I made sliders last night with ground beef and topped half of them with American cheese and the other half with pepper jack cheese. For buns I bought small dinner rolls that look like little hamburger rolls. They were breadier then hamburger rolls but they actually tasted really good with the burgers. The sliders cooked up really fast on my grill pan so make sure to keep a close eye on them. I served them with the sweet potato fries that I have blogged about previously http://2sisters2cities.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/sweet-potatoe-french-fries/ and they were both delicious!

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on January 31, 2010

Saturday morning I made pancakes from scratch to use up some of the buttermilk that I bought for the chicken tenders and coleslaw recipes. I didn’t really have one pancake recipe to follow so I combined a bunch to make my own recipe. I love all pancakes Bisquick and all but these pancakes were the best, so make them next weekend after you make the chicken tenders! You will thank me later.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tbsp sugar

Other ingredients:
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk
½ tsp vanilla extract

Couple dashes of cinnamon

3 Tbsp warm melted butter

Instructions:

1 Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and buttermilk in a separate bowl. Add the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter just comes together. Add the melted butter and mix lightly.

2 Heat a griddle or large frying pan to medium high heat. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the pancake batter onto the griddle to the desired size (I made mine about 4-5 inches big) When air bubbles start to appear at the surface in the center of the pancakes. The second side doesn’t need as long to cook so keep a close eye on them. When they turn golden brown they are done. I kept the finished ones on a plate in the warm oven until the rest were ready.

Serve with butter and syrup.

Serves 3-4.

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on January 31, 2010

Friday night B and I made “Oven-Baked Crispy Chicken Tenders With Coleslaw” from the Lifetime cookbook “Cook Yourself Thin” (yes we are officially obsessed with this cookbook, if you don’t have it yet… Go get it!) We didn’t end up eating it until later because we got a late start making them, but the chicken tenders were sooooo good. You can dip them in whatever sauce you want, I used barbeque sauce and B used ketchup. The coleslaw was good; I would probably cut out the mint if I made it again.

Oven-Baked Crispy Chicken Tenders With Coleslaw

Serves 4

Calories per serving, chicken with coleslaw: 519

Calories per serving, tartar sauce: 27

Ingredients:

For the chicken

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk

1 pound chicken tenders (about 12)

1 1/2 cups cornflakes, crushed to medium crumbs

Nonstick cooking spray

For the coleslaw

1 1/2 (10-ounce) bags cabbage slaw mix

1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

2 tablespoons thin-sliced red onion

1 tablespoon low-fat sour cream

1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk

1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar

2–3 dashes hot pepper sauce

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

8 cherry tomatoes, quartered, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. For the chicken: In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, spices and buttermilk. Add the chicken and turn in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

3. For the coleslaw: In a large bowl, combine the cabbage slaw mix, bell pepper, onion and shredded herbs. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.

4. Place the cornflake crumbs on a plate. Drain the chicken tenders. Pick up a chicken tender with one hand, and turn it in the cornflake coating, using the other hand to gently press additional coating onto the sides. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue on in this way to coat all of the chicken pieces, arranging them on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400 degrees until firm, about 15 minutes.

5. To serve, divide the coleslaw among 4 bowls. Arrange 3 chicken tenders, standing up with wide ends at the bottom and overlapping slightly, at one side of each mound. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken. Garnish bowls with chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by Keelin Hollenbeck on January 31, 2010

Thursday night we went back to the Lifetime “Cook Yourself Thin” cookbook and made Tuna Salad Rolls with Edamame. We already had iceberg lettuce in our fridge so we used that instead of Boston lettuce. We also decided to not use as much cilantro, mint and scallions because it seemed like a little much. I didn’t end up eating them because I didn’t feel well but B says they were delicious.

Ingredients

For the edamame
3 cups frozen edamame in the shell
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, for water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste

For tuna rolls
7 ounces water-packed albacore tuna, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
4 leaves Boston lettuce, bottom (1/2-inch) core removed
1 small bunches cilantro
1 small bunches mint
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, cored and cut into thin strips
2 cups broccoli sprouts
8 scallions, trimmed and cut into 3-inch sections, thick ends split in half lengthwise

* I know I forgot the lettuce in the picture…oops!

1. For the dipping sauce, stir together the ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

2. For the tuna, in a small bowl, combine the tuna and olive oil, and season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Arrange lettuce, herbs, bell pepper, sprouts and scallions on a platter.

4. To make each roll, overlap 2 lettuce leaves on a plate, stem ends facing up. Arrange 4 sprigs cilantro and 3 to 4 mint leaves horizontally in the center of the overlapped lettuce leaves. Spoon about one-eighth of the tuna on top. Arrange 3 to 4 pepper strips, and some of the scallions, horizontally on top, leaving 1 to 1 1/2 inches of the lettuce free at the bottom. Add about 1 tablespoon sprouts. Spoon some of the dipping sauce over. Fold the bottom of the lettuce up over the tuna and vegetables. Fold in the right side, and roll to the left to make a roll, open at the top. Spoon a little more of the dipping sauce onto the open top, and eat immediately over a plate to catch juices.

5. To make the edamame: Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan, add edamame and 1 teaspoon salt, and boil for 4 minutes. Drain and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt.

Enjoy!

-K

Posted by Meaghan Barry on January 31, 2010

This weekend was a pretty fun and productive one! We went out to dinner in Cambridge with another couple on Friday night at a French-Cambodian restaurant called the Elephant Walk. They are expecting a baby in May so it was fun to catch up with them on their big news. Saturday, we went to a paper supply store (Xpedx) to get some additional supplies for my letterpress. Who knew there were so many kinds of paper out there! While we in the ‘burbs, we also decided to do some stocking up at Costco. On Saturday evening, we went out for Mr. M’s uncle’s surprise 70th birthday party at a really cute restaurant in Harvard Square named Upstairs on the Square. Today, we headed over to the Whole Foods in Cambridge to stock up on groceries for the week (we spent a lot of time in Cambridge this weekend come to think of it).

I sat down this morning and mapped out the menu for the week. I may not get to making all of these dishes as we tend to order take-out or go out if work is particularly busy or I just don’t feel like cooking one night. It does feel good to have a game plan going into the week and being able to get all the groceries ahead of time so there is one less errand to run after work. I bought a lot of meat at Costco so this week’s menu is a bit more meat-intensive than normal:

Sunday: Rosemary-roasted rack of lamb with roasted cherry tomatoes (recipe from Bon Appetit Fast Fresh Easy)
Monday: Beef Medallions with Cognac Sauce with a side salad (recipe from Bon Appetit Fast Fresh Easy)
Tuesday: Shrimp & Scalli0n Stir Fry with Basmati Rice (Martha Stewart Everyday Jan/Feb ’10 issue)
Wednesday: Spiced Pork Tenderloin with side of steamed green beans (recipe from Bon Appetit Fast Fresh Easy)
Thursday: Curried Cauliflower with Chickpeas (Boston Organics e-mail)
Friday: Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon with a side of couscous (Bon Appetit May 2009…this recipe is amazing!)
Saturday: Pizza Night or go out to a restaurant
Sunday: SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! Bourbon-Glazed Chicken Drumettes with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce (Bon Appetit Feb ’10 issue…if you are still looking for Super Bowl snack ideas, check out this issue’s Super Bowl section. The recipes all look really good!), Veggies and dip, Homemade Chex mix (so gourmet!)

-M