Simple For Recipe: March 2019

Sunday 31 March 2019

Black Radish Salad with Radicchio and Cucumber

A platter of cucumber, black radish and radicchio topped with black sesame seeds and tossed with a homemade yoghurt dressing. Add a few olives and some crumbled Feta or Cheddar bites and you have a complete meal.

	Tzatziki
1 Cucumber, ends trimmed and thinly sliced 1/3 Black radish, shredded 1/2 head Radicchio, thinly sliced 1-2 tsp Black sesame seeds, toasted Fresh parsley leaves as garnish, optional	100 g Full-fat Greek yoghurt 1 Cucumber, deseeded, grated 2 Garlic cloves, crushed 1 Lemon, rind finely grated, juiced Pepper and salt to taste

Combine yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon rind, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover. Refrigerate until required.
Arrange sliced cucumber on a platter. Top with sliced radicchio and shredded black radish. Sprinkle the toasted black sesame seeds over. Garnish with parsley leaves if using. Serve with prepared tzatziki.

Labels: Salads

Friday 29 March 2019

Butterscotch Banana Bread

This base banana bread recipe has been my go-to recipe for years. It has gotten nothing but rave reviews since the day I posted the original version. I just recently started adding butterscotch chips and OH MY, it is amazing. Something about the flavor of the bananas, cinnamon and butterscotch just warms the soul.

This bread is soft and tender and stays fresh for several days. The butterscotch chips melt and leave little pockets of rich and creamy toffee flavor. I can't wait for you to try this comforting and delicious bread.

Butterscotch Banana Bread
From: Jenn@eatcakefordinner
(Printable Recipe)

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, opt.
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (2-3 large bananas)
5 Tbl. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 c. sugar
1 large egg
1/3 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, melted butter, sugar, egg, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir together until almost combined. Add the butterscotch chips and gently stir just until combined.

Pour batter into a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake for 42-44 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top begins to get too brown, tent a piece of foil over the top while it finishes baking. Allow to cool. Then, slice and serve.

Labels: banana, bread, My Favorite Breads, Quick Bread

Wednesday 27 March 2019

Chocolate Cake Squares (Grandma Hermalin's)

Chocolate Cake Squares (Grandma Hermalin's)

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 42.

I made these for Oscar night and they were a big hit. These is a plain Devil's Food-ish cake with a delicious ganache icing. Compare it to a general boxed cake mix and it is easy to see why baking from scratch is superior. These are excellent with ice cream or a glass of milk!

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 TBS. instant coffee
1/2 cup boiling water

The recipe is very easy to make - you basically mix all the ingredients together! It is baked in a 9 inch square pan.

The icing is made with 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate and 2 ounces of butter.

The icing is poured over the cake and it will run over the sides.

Divine!

Yum

Labels: cakes

Sunday 24 March 2019

Soft Sandwich Loaf with Pumpkin Seed Oil

The sandwich loaf bakes up tall, soft and bouncy, yet sturdy enough to slice nicely. It's perfect for tuna or egg sandwiches and jelly/peanut butter smeared toast for the breakfast. You can use the same dough to make cinnamon rolls, dinner buns or savoury bread.

Dough	Others
280 g Bread flour 70 g Red wheat berries, milled into flour 1/2 tsp Sea salt 5 g Instant dried yeast 1/2 tbsp Coconut sugar 170 ml Buttermilk, lukewarm 60 ml Pumpkin seed oil 1 med. Egg, room-temperature	Egg wash Sunflower or pumpkin seeds for the topping

In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, combine all of the ingredients and stir on slow speed until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed or knead until it begins to become smooth and elastic.
Turn out the dough and shape into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl and return the dough ball to the mixing bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise until about doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
Gently deflate the dough and transfer it to a lightly oiled work surface. Shape the dough into 20 cm roll. Place it into a greased or lined 26x14cm loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60-90 minutes until the center is about 2.5 cm above the sides of the pan.
Towards the end of the rise, preheat your oven to 190C/375F. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle the seeds over. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until it's light golden brown. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack before slicing.

Labels: bread, Nuts and Seeds

Sunday 17 March 2019

Gorgonzola Almond Scones

These savoury blue cheese scones are perfect as a weekend breakfast paired with some homemade fig jam or a nibble for cocktails. Next time I will definitely add some bacon bits and use pecans instead of almonds. Not only delicious, this is also a very versatile recipe. Use any desired blue cheese, creamy and mild, like Danish Blue, or piquant and bold, like French Roquefort or Italian Gorgonzola.

250 g Refined spelt flour
12 g Baking powder
1 tbsp Coconut sugar
100 g Cold salted butter, diced
60 g Gorgonzola, crumbled
50 g Almond, chopped and toasted
120 ml Heavy cream plus more for brushing
Black peppercorns, crushed

Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Whisk flour, baking powder and coconut sugar in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like flaky breadcrumbs. Add crumbled blue cheese and toasted almonds and toss to coat.
Drizzle in cream and mix with a wooden spoon until dough just begins to come together with a few bits of dry flour remaining. Transfer dough and any loose flour to a lightly floured work surface and briefly knead to bring everything together.
With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to about 2.5cm thick. Use a 5cm-diameter fluted pastry cutter dipped in flour to cut out 8-9 scones.
Place the scones on a baking tray, about 1cm apart, and brush tops with the extra cream. Sprinkle with crushed black peppercorns and bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Serve with sour cream or room-temperature butter.

Labels: Cheese, Nuts and Seeds, Pastries and Pies, Spelt

Wednesday 13 March 2019

Mint Oreo Brownies with Oreo Creme Buttercream

What the heck is going on with Utah weather? Yesterday was warm and sunny and I was even outside in a t-shirt and was fine. Today, I wake up to a lot of snow and it's still snowing. You never know what you are going to get when you wake up this time of year. If you want consistency, then make these brownies ASAP! Since they start out with a brownie mix, it's a no-fail recipe, unless you over bake them of course, so don't do that :)

These might possibly be the most DIVINE brownies ever. The flavor is outstanding and the texture is soft and chewy and fudgy and exactly what I like in a brownie. The buttercream uses the filling of Mint Oreos and has a nice subtle mint flavor. I like to add a tiny bit of almond extract to enhance the flavor just a little bit. The flavor combo is perfect. You can always leave that out or add a tiny bit of mint extract instead.

Seriously . . . these will disappear in no time.

You might also like:

Thin Mint Fudge Ribbon Cake

Andes Mint Brownies

Swirled Mint Chip Brownies

Mint Cookies 'n Cream Pudding Cookies

Mint Cookies 'n Cream Fudge

Mint Oreo Brownies with Oreo Creme Buttercream
From: Jenn@eatcakefordinner
(Printable Recipe)

1 Fudge Brownie Mix (I prefer Betty Crocker)
Ingredients called for on the brownie mix
8 Mint Oreos, roughly chopped
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mint Oreo Creme Buttercream
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
pinch of salt
8 mint creme fillings from Oreos, save the cookies for garnish
3 c. powdered sugar
1-2 Tbl. milk, if needed
a few drops green food coloring, opt.
1/8 tsp. almond extract, opt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions with the addition of vanilla extract. Gently fold in chopped Oreos. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Spread out evenly. Bake according to package directions. I bake mine for 23 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Top with buttercream and crushed cookies.

For the buttercream: Add butter, salt and the creme filling from 8 Oreos (reserve cookies for garnish) to a medium mixing bowl. Mix until smooth. Mix in one cup of powdered sugar at a time, adding milk as you go, if needed until desired consistency is reached. Last, mix in a few drops of green food coloring and almond extract and mix until smooth and creamy. Spread over cooled brownies. Crush reserved Oreo cookies and sprinkle over top of brownies, for garnish. Cut and serve.

Labels: Bars and Brownies, Dessert

Sunday 10 March 2019

Hokkaido Coconut Soup

Super creamy and deliciously nourishing, this pumpkin soup with coconut milk is the ultimate warmer for cold rainy days. The warmth of fresh ginger adds a lovely kick to the soup. If you like, serve the soup with some roasted poultry leftover, a sprinkle of coconut flakes, pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs. It's also very easy to veganize the soup by using vegetable stock and leaving out the meat.

1 tbsp Coconut oil
1 Large shallot, coarsely chopped
30 g Fresh ginger, peeled, coarsely chopped
1.5 kg Hokkaido or other squash, deseeded, chopped
400 ml Coconut milk
400 ml Chicken broth or water
1 Lime, juiced
Salt and pepper
300 g Roasted duck breast, sliced
Parsley for garnishing
Desiccated coconut flakes for garnishing
Pomegranate seeds for garnishing

Heat oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped shallot and ginger and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add pumpkin, coconut milk, chicken broth or water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is soft.
Remove saucepan from heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Add in lime juice and season with salt and pepper.
Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with roasted duck breast slices, chopped parsley and desiccated coconut flakes and / or pomegranate seeds.

Labels: Fruit, Poultry, pumpkin, Soups

Sunday 3 March 2019

Beef Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce

This simple blue cheese sauce recipe is a really easy one to whip up and so delicious too. Serve it on the side, or spooned over the meat. The sauce is so rich that a little bit goes a long way. I have used Gorgonzola because of its smooth texture and strongly aromatic flavour that make it perfect for sauces. But any variety of blue cheese (Roquefort or Blue Stilton) will work just as great.

300 g Beef filet steak
100 ml Heavy cream
150 g Gorgonzola, crumbled
1 clove Garlic, finely minced
Pink peppercorns and parsley leaves for garnish, optional

Heat a grill pan over high heat. Season the steak with salt and pepper. Cook steaks in the hot pan until beginning to firm and hot and slightly pink in the center, about 4 minutes per side for medium.
In a small pan over medium-low flame, add heavy cream, crumbled Gorgonzola and finely minced garlic in a small pan over. Stir until blue cheese melts completely, 3 to 5 minutes.
Pour the sauce over the steak or or on the side for dipping and garnish with pink peppercorn and parsley leaves if desired.

Labels: beef, Cheese

Thin Mint {Grasshopper} Fudge Ribbon Cake

It's Girl Scout Cookie time. I give in every time I see those delicious little cookies. My absolute favorite are the Savannah Smiles (lemon ones). I've already bought 5 boxes of cookies this year and two of those were Thin Mints. The funny thing is, I have zero intentions of eating those Thin Mints plain. I plan to add them to delicious desserts . . . like this amazing bundt cake.

This cake is incredible. I used this Fudge Ribbon Cake recipe, but added crushed up Thin Mints and a little green food coloring to the cheesecake layer. The mint flavor from the cookies is subtle, so if you want a stronger mint flavor, then add a little mint extract.

The cake is dense and chocolatey, the cheesecake layer is smooth and creamy and the glaze on top is rich and adds the perfect finishing touch to this divine cake.

It's the perfect cake for Girl Scout Cookie season and St. Patrick's Day!

You might also like:

Mint Cookies 'n Cream Pudding Cookies

Swirled Mint Chip Brownies

St. Patrick's Day Pistachio Bundt Cake

Pistachio Blossoms

Thin Mint Fudge Ribbon Cake
(Printable Recipe)

Cake Layer:
1 (15.25 oz.) Devil's Food Cake Mix (I use Betty Crocker)
1 1/4 c. water
1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cheesecake Layer
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbl. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tbl. cornstarch
1 large egg
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 Thin Mint cookies, crushed (or Grasshopper cookies)
5-6 drops green food coloring

Chocolate Glaze
2 Tbl. unsalted butter
2 Tbl. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbl. milk
3 Thin Mint cookies, crushed, for garnish (or Grasshopper cookies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a large 12-cup bundt pan; set aside. For the cake layer:  Combine dry cake mix, water, oil, eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth and well combined. Pour into prepared bundt pan and spread batter out evenly.

For the cheesecake layer:  Combine cream cheese, butter and cornstarch and beat until creamy. Add the egg, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and green food coloring and mix until smooth and creamy. Fold in the crushed cookies. Spoon cream cheese mixture around the center of bundt pan, making sure to leave a border of chocolate cake mix around the edges. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert to a cooling rack and cool completely. When cool, prepare the glaze.

For the chocolate glaze:  Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder. Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add just enough milk to reach desired glaze consistency. Pour over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle with crushed cookies. Allow glaze to set, then slice and serve. Store leftover cake in the refrigerator.

Jenn's Notes: If you want a stronger mint flavor, add 1/2 tsp. mint extract to the cheesecake batter.

Base Recipe adapted from: Vanessa C.

Labels: cake, Dessert

Simple For Recipe

Sunday 31 March 2019

Black Radish Salad with Radicchio and Cucumber