Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

I had an excess of eggs and some mushrooms. I thought it would be nice to make a mushroom quiche and here's what I found... What is that in the center?? Scroll down to see  Mushroom Quiche (Adapted from Martha Stewart ) 1 pie crust 2T olive oil 2 shallots, thinly sliced 2 clove garlic, minced 1lb mushrooms, quartered (Baby Bellas or White Mushrooms) fresh thyme 1t dried sage 1/4 t fresh nutmeg 1/2 c white wine 1/2 c milk 1/2 c heavy cream 3 eggs 1/4 c parsley, chopped 6 oz (1 1/2 c) cheese (Gruyere, Fontina, Colby) grated salt/pepper Have a blind baked pie crust cooled. Place shallots, 1T olive oil, and salt in a skillet. Saute until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Set aside in bowl. Add remaining olive oil to skillet. Add mushrooms, thyme, and sage. Cook about 8-10 minutes until mushrooms release their liquid. Add white wine and let cook until almost all evaporated. Set aside. Add salt/pepper. In the bowl with the shallots, add milk, heavy crea...

Sometimes you just don't want to mess around with a butter-based crust. This crust gives nice support for a tart or quiche. It comes together easy and is tasty. pre-bake Savory Olive Oil Crust (Adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini ) 8.8 oz flour (about 2 cups) 1t salt 1/2 t dried thyme 1/2 t dried sage 1/4 c olive oil about 1/2 c cold water Mix flour, salt, and herbs in a bowl. Add olive oil and mix together with a fork. Add some of the water and mix together until dough just comes together, adding additional water as necessary. You might not need all the water. Knead briefly and turn dough out onto floured surface (or silpat). Firmly roll dough out into in a 12"or so circle, continually turning 1/4 turn as rolling. Place into a greased 10" pie dish or 11" tart pan. Cut edges even (for the pie dish there is no need to flute the edge. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Prick dough with a fork. Lie the pie shell with foil and add pie weights. Bake for 1...

I know, I know yet another brownie recipe. I just can't seem to help myself. These were called chewy brownies. I don't know why they're called that; they were not what I would consider chewy. They were very fudgey. They did call for an egg yolk (Drat - that darn leftover white again! I can't seem to get away from them). Brownies (Adapted from Handle the Heat) 1 1/4 c sugar 5T butter 3/4 c cocoa powder 1/3 c canola oil 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk 1 t vanilla 1 t chocolate extract 1/2 c flour 1/8 t baking soda 1T cornstarch 1/4 salt 3/4 c chocolate chips (name your poison - I used bittersweet) Place butter and sugar in a bowl. Microwave until butter is melted. Stir in oil and cocoa powder. Set aside to cool. Line a 8x8 pan with foil. Whisk in eggs, yolk, vanilla, and chocolate extract. Add flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Stir until just combined. Spread half of the batter into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Cover with remain...

What is going on this year? Music is losing some real talent. First, it was David Bowie (which I still have not gotten over. I still can't listen to his music without feeling really sad). Now Prince. There must be a big Glam Jam Session going on somewhere up there? So sorry I never got to see him live. "I never meant to cause you any sorrow, I never meant to cause you any pain, I only wanted to one time see you laughing"

When I started to make this recipe, I thought it was going to be a real clunker. Even up to the point of serving it, I thought oh no this is not going to be blog-worthy. But it is definitely a nice quick weeknight meal. It had gotten good reviews on Food52, and that was what prompted me to give it a try. Pretty Plain of a Looker Pasta a Ceci (Adapted from Food52 ) 15 oz can chickpeas 1-2 c chicken stock* 1 bay leaf 4 garlic cloves, chopped 1 sprig fresh Rosemary dried chili (optional) 28 oz can whole tomatoes 1 lb small short pasta Parsley, chopped (optional) Olive Oil Salt/Pepper Parmesan Cheese Puree about 1/3 c of chickpeas in mini food processor. Add a little bit of the stock to loosen it up. Set aside. Add bay leaf, garlic, and 1T olive oil to dutch oven. Saute until garlic is fragrant. Add Rosemary (chili if using) and tomatoes. Break tomatoes up with the side of a spoon. Add chickpea puree and remaining whole chickpeas. Add about 1 cup of the stock and pasta...

I've made this Mushroom Casserole dish a bunch of time as is, and it is quite good. I was in the food store and thought oh I should make that mushroom casserole dish. I wanted to add some sausage to it. I thought it would go well. Well, I thought it called for more mushrooms than what it does and I also forgot the sour cream. Never fear it still came out good. Mushroom Casserole (Adapted from 101 Cookbooks ) 3 c brown rice, cooked and at room temperature 1 onion, chopped olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1lb Italian Sweet Sausage, removed from casing 12 oz mushrooms (Baby Bellas and portabellas) 1t thyme, dried 1/2 t sage, dried ground 3 large eggs 16 oz cottage cheese 1/3 c Parmesan Cheese salt/pepper Butter casserole dish and set aside. In a skillet add 1T of olive oil, onion, and salt. Saute about 10-15 over low flame; stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add onions to rice. Add the sausage meat to the skillet, breaking up into small piec...

I ripped this recipe out of a magazine (I'm not sure which magazine it was - BonApetit? Cooking Light? Some other one? When? Where? I do this all the time so I apologize for not giving credit, but I did change the ingredients up quite a bit. Honey Chicken Wings (Adapted from ???) 2lbs chicken wings 2T olive oil salt/pepper 2T toasted sesame oil 1/4 c rice wine vinegar 1/2 c honey 3T soy sauce 1t fresh ginger, grated Preheat broiler. Cut wing tips off of chicken wings (save for stock).  Place on foil lined baking sheet. Toss wings with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place chicken under broiler for about 45 minutes tossing a few times until wings are almost done. While chicken is cooking, whisk remaining ingredients together. Brush wings with sauce and let slightly brown. Toss wings with remaining sauce and serve. I don't really use my broiler to actually cook that often. Usually, I use it to just finish off dishes. I think this recipe has convinced me that I need...

I saw this recipe in the NYT and thought I would give it a try. I always have some extra sourdough starter hanging around come feeding time. It really produced a nice light waffle. Even lighter than the recipe I use with beaten egg whites. It's easy enough. You just need to start it the night before - or the morning of, if you want waffles for dinner. Sometimes they do make a nice dinner. Breakfast for dinner can be quite nice - especially on a Sunday. Sourdough Waffles (Adapted from The New York Times ) 1 c sourdough starter (unfed 1 c buttermilk 2T brown sugar 1 c flour Stir together, cover, and let sit overnight at room temperature. 1 egg 1/4 c butter melted 1 t vanilla 1/2 t salt 1t baking soda Combine ingredients and mix into the sourdough batter. Pour batter onto waffle iron and cook. Repeat, repeat, and repeat (I did this 3 more times for a total of 6 large waffles). The recipe said you could also use this to make pancakes. I didn't try this but I ...

I have a love/hate relationship with muffins. I do love them but sometimes hate them. They can be so dry and boring. I generally won't eat them out because they are such a crap shoot. These looked interesting because you macerate the strawberries - although I was worried they might be too wet. Strawberries are like little mini sponges. They also had yogurt to add moisture. I decided to give them a try and was pretty pleased with the results. Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins (Adapted from TakeAMegaBite ) 1 1/4 c oats (I used old-fashioned) 1 c greek yogurt 3 T buttermilk 1 1/2 strawberries, chopped 2 t sugar 1T balsamic vinegar 1 c flour 1 T baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1/2 t cinnamon 2 eggs 1/2 stick butter, melted 1/2 c brown sugar 1t vanilla Mix oats, yogurt, and buttermilk together and set aside. Toss strawberries with 2t of sugar and balsamic vinegar. Set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. Add th...

I decided to go with Lemon Cream Pie rather than Lemon Curd Pie. Curd just does not sound pleasing. I had some Meyer lemons hanging around and seriously needed to use them. I also had some coconut wafers that I bought from Trade Joe's with the intent of using them for a pie crust and never used them. It just seemed like fate that I needed to make this pie. Pie Crust 1 1/2 c coconut cookie crumbs (feel free to use graham crackers but then add 1/4 c sugar) 4 T butter, melted Combine crumbs and butter until moistened* Press into 9" pie plate. Bake 10-12 minutes in 350 oven. Lemon Curd (Borrowed from Joe Pastry ) 4 egg yolks 5 oz sugar 3.25 oz (by weight) lemon juice 2 oz softened butter pinch salt zest from lemons, reserving 1T for topping Whisk yolks and sugar together until combined in a heavy saucepan. Add the lemon juice, butter, and salt. Heat, whisking constantly, until mixture reaches 196 degrees or coats the back of a spoon.  Strain through a fine mes...

I don't get to make this cake often - the Sous Chef is not a fan. So if I make it, I have to eat the whole thing, which is not really so much of a chore, but still I shouldn't be eating a whole cake myself. I often make it when I need to bring a cake somewhere or if we are having guests over. Easter seemed like a good opportunity to make it so I did. Banana Cake (Adapted from some page photocopied out of some cookbook at some point) 1 c butter (2 sticks) 1 c sugar 2 eggs 1 c mashed bananas 1 3/4 c flour 1/2 t salt 2/3 t baking soda 5T buttermilk 1 t vanilla 2 bananas, sliced Frosting: 8 oz cream cheese, softened 6T butter, softened 3 c confectioners' sugar, sifted 1t vanilla juice 1/2 lemon and zest (optional) Grease and flour 2 - 9" cake pans and set aside.  Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add mashed bananas. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add half...