Strawberry Jam

OR we could call it Strawberry Sauce too...

I had never made jam before, and after looking at a bunch of recipes online I settled on Ina's recipe, because Ina is a superhero.  It was very simple, although I got slightly tired of hulling and halving pounds of strawberries.  But it was worth it!  Her recipe didn't call for smashing the berries at all, but I like my jam less chunky, so I used my handheld mixer to blend them a bit.  It's definitely on the thinner side of jams (maybe I could have thickened it by simmering longer?) but that doesn't bother me, because you can drizzle it on top of vanilla ice cream and that is a good thing.  

 sterilizing the jars...

berries and citrus...

sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice...

simmering jam...

 

Instagram Friday

Earlier this week I FINALLY ate at Pizzeria Mozza.  It's only been a five-year-or-so dream of mine.  It was worth every last ounce of bread, oil and cheese.  We ate a lot... meatballs, fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta (my favorite), tuna stuffed in marinated peppers, fried risotto balls, a burrata caprese salad with garlic bread (oh my), a bianca pizza with truffle oil and fennel sausage (another favorite) and another pizza with slow cooked broccoli.  Did you not want to know all of that?  Sorry.  

I made another birthday cake in a soup can.  This time I made my own cream cheese frosting with a couple tablespoons of softened butter, a couple tablespoons of softened cream cheese, a half cup or so of powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla.  Dyed pink for my niece who just turned 3!  

And finally, if you live in the LA area, have you ever been to M Street Kitchen in Santa Monica?  Run there.  The food at the restaurant is really good but the bakery, THE BAKERY.  Ridiculous cookies (the size of your head) and they sell their famous Homemade English Muffins by the 6 pack.  I just ate one and I'm trying really hard not to go back for a second.  Only wish I had jam.  

Speaking of that - I want to make some strawberry jam this weekend but I've never done it before - anyone have a recipe they love or any pointers?  Sterilizing the jars seems like a whole thing...

Happy Weekend!  

Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles

These are good.  Like, really good.  In fact, I just rewarded myself with one even though I was trying to start out my day with just a grapefruit.  Doh.  Dough!  (See what I did there.)

I researched a lot of basic Snickerdoodle recipes before coming up with my own.  Most called for only granulated sugar, but because I'm such a brown sugar fan I opted for more of that.  I also increased the salt a bit because I'm a big advocate of salty cookies.  I kept the 2 tsp of cream of tartar - even though I have no idea why Snickerdoodles call for that ingredient.  Anyone?  Care to learn me?  And then, of course, I added chocolate chips, because I'm mad wild like that.

These are really good.  

Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles

(Makes approx. 3 dozen)
Printable Recipe

2 sticks good butter (European style if you can find it), softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
For dusting:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp organic cinnamon
Chocolate chips (1 bag)

Preheat oven to 325.  With an electric mixer, cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking powder and salt.  Add to butter/sugar combo and mix until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for dusting.

Take an ice cream scoop sized ball of dough and roll in cinnamon sugar until fully coated.  Place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating baking pan halfway through.  Let cool.  

Avocado and Egg Pizza

Thanks to the blog A Cup of Jo, I found THIS amazing post about an Avocado and Egg Breakfast Pizza and nearly licked my computer screen.  I wondered how I could put it in my belly immediately.  And then I remembered that I had leftover unbaked balls of naan in my fridge!  So I quickly whipped one up, smothered it with avocado, drizzled it with lemon juice and olive oil and topped it with a fried egg, salt and pepper.  I thought I'd only eat maybe half.  Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa no.       

Homemade Naan

Last week, I decided to make Indian food for dinner and at the last minute I thought, gee, I wish I had some naan... maybe it's not hard to make myself?  After doing some research I discovered just that... it's not hard to make yourself!  You don't even need your oven necessarily and you definitely don't need ghee.  I mean, who has ghee.  What even is ghee?  I like saying ghee.  In fact, I didn't use butter at all!  Just some olive oil for the pan.  I followed this recipe and added some garlic and cilantro cubes (I love you Trader Joe's) to the pan before cooking the naan.  It was the perfect addition to dinner.  

Chicken Tikka Masala

A couple of weeks ago we ordered Indian (from here) for the first time in a long time and I've been craving it ever since.  Our favorite is Chicken Tikka Masala - chicken marinated in spices and yogurt, served in a creamy sauce of tomatoes, garlic, ginger and spices such as curry, paprika, turmeric and cumin.  All served over yellow rice and peas.  Ridiculous!  I would eat it way too often if I didn't care about my figure (I don't).      

I found this recipe and modified it only slightly by using nonfat Greek yogurt instead of whole milk regular yogurt, brown basmati rice instead of white and olive oil where it called for butter.  Next time I might try coconut milk instead of cream.  *I also made my own Garlic Naan from scratch, but I will share that with you next week.  Happy Weekend You!   

chicken, spices and yogurt...

broiled...

onions, garlic, ginger and garam masala...

tomatoes, chicken, cream and cilantro...

brown basmati rice and turmeric...

with peas...

all done...

p.s. I didn't touch that broccoli on the plate.

Baked Eggs

I had never baked an egg until this morning.  I don't know why, I don't know why you guys.  It was so easy and the egg turned out so uniformly perfect.  I overcooked mine a little because I wasn't in the mood for runny, but you can keep yours in the oven for as long as your heart desires.  Follow these simple, simple steps and you will be happy.

1. Butter a ramekin.  (Or a Mini Le Creuset dish, oh how cute.)

2. Carefully crack one egg into dish.  

3. Sprinkle with a little heavy cream or milk.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes (runny) or 15 minutes (hard).  

*The toppings are endless.  Herbs, bread crumbs, tomatoes, spinach, cheese, etc.

The Hungry Cat Burger

Last night we went out for dinner after the Voice taping to one of our favorite spots, The Hungry Cat.  It was late.  Not late by "couples sans children in New York" standards, but late by our "we had our kid and are all usually asleep by 9pm" standards.  Since it was so close to bedtime, you'd think I would have chosen something nice and light to send me off to dreamland.  No.  That's not what happened.  I ordered the burger with cheese, canadian bacon and a fried egg on top.

Hey, chicken, cow and pig - come get in my belly!

Let's just say, the burger was fantastic.  Let's also say, that I felt like a carnivorous monster and a night of disturbing dreams ensued.  

(image here)

Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins

Do you like raisins?  I think you either like raisins or you despise raisins.  The boys in my house fall into the latter category, but I don't mind them.  Especially when they come in a bagel, cookie, English muffin or are covered in chocolate.  Ever since I made Homemade English Muffins awhile back, I've been dying to try them again in different variations and so I thought of raisins!  And cinnamon, what a glorious combination.  Besides, Carson is sick of me baking and I knew he wouldn't be tempted by these.

Win, win.    

Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins

(Makes 12)

Adapted from here

Printable Recipe

1 cup whole milk

2 T granulated sugar

1 .25oz package of active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted

5 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tsp salt

2 T cinnamon

1 cup raisins

Cornmeal for dusting

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat milk in a small saucepan until it begins to bubble.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar until it dissolves.  Let cool to lukewarm.  Then, combine yeast mixture, milk and shortening in a standing mixer fitted with a dough attachment (you could always do this by hand if you don't have one!).  Add 3 cups of flour and beat until smooth.  Add the rest of the flour, salt, cinnamon and raisins.  Mix until dough forms, do not over-mix!  You might have to combine some of it by hand.  Place in greased bowl and cover, let rise for an hour.    

Once dough has risen, punch it down.  Remove from bowl and knead on a lightly floured surface.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thick.  Using a biscuit cutter or empty soup can, cut out circles.    

Place on cornmeal dusted parchment paper (dust tops with cornmeal too).  Cover again with towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Heat greased griddle over medium-low heat.  Cook muffins for 10 minutes per side.  

Serve warm or toasted.  Place muffins in plastic baggie or tupperware for storage.  

Meyer Lemon Bars

Do you know I have a lemon tree?

Better question.  Did I know that I have a lemon tree???

I'm not sure how I'm able to raise a child because give me a plant and I will murder it within a few short hours.  Our poor little lemon (and lime) trees are a perfect example.  I just forget!  And then maybe I remember for a brief moment, but move on to forgetting seconds later.  It's a good thing we have a family friend that keeps dropping off the leftovers of her big, beautiful, bountiful lemon tree.  

Meyer lemon tree, to be specific.  

Meyer Lemon Bars

(Makes 24 bars)

Slightly adapted from here

Printable Recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 T zest from Meyer lemons

1/3 cup juice from Meyer lemons

4 T all-purpose flour

Powdered sugar for sifting

Preheat oven to 325.  Blend together butter, flour and powdered sugar.  It will look crumbly, that's okay.  Place in lightly greased 13x9 baking pan and press down with fingers or spatula until smooth and even.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until very lightly browned.

Blend together eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice and remaining flour until smooth.  Pour over first layer.  

Return to oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Sift powdered sugar over top while warm.  Cut into squares. 

Happy Weekend!