Oodles of Strudels!

My husband and I try to eat vegetarian a few times a month, (which is impressive since my husband is from Omaha, Nebraska, where steak rules all). Generally, we will have bean and cheese burritos, or a big salad, or soup. Recently, I stumbled on this delicious strudel, and I did not miss the meat at all. Not to mention, I will take bread and cheese over meat any day. (I should just move to Paris and get one of those bicycles with the basket in front so I can load it up with baguettes, cheese, chocolate and coffee and then bicycle to my little French loft and go “le crazy”…all while wearing a beret, of course). Anyway…this strudel looks very impressive when it’s finished, and is substantial enough to make a complete meal. If you absolutely MUST have meat at every meal, you could chop up some pepperoni or Italian sausage and toss it in. However, I DARE you to try it vegetarian just once, and then decide.

Tuscan Artichoke and Spinach Strudel

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups chopped baby Portobello mushrooms

1/3 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

4 tsp. oil from tomatoes, divided

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 tbsp. pesto

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 cup coarsely chopped artichoke hearts

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup parmesan, divided

8 oz. tube reduced-fat crescent rolls

1 egg

3 tbsp. finely chopped walnuts

Steps:

1.   Saute mushrooms and tomatoes in 2 tsp. of oil from sun-dried tomatoes until tender. Cool.

2.   In a large bowl, combine spinach, pesto, and pepper. Add artichokes, mozzarella, 5 tbsp. parmesan, and cooled mushroom mixture. Mix well.

3.   Unroll crescent dough onto lightly greased baking pan. Seal perforations and roll out into a 14x9 rectangle.

4.   Spread filling in a 3-inch wide strip down the dough. On each long side, cut 1 inch wide strips to within a ½ inch of filling.

5.   Starting at one end, alternate folding strips at an angle across filling.

6.   Whisk egg and remaining oil and brush over pastry. Sprinkle with walnuts.

7.   Bake 20 minutes at 350. Remove, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and bake 10 more minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing.

Peace, Love, and Cheesecake

            Coffee and I go way back. When I started middle school, my mom would drop me off at the mall with a friend, and I would make a beeline to the coffee shop on the second floor. I would order a blended mocha, stop by See’s candy to get a chocolate lollipop, and feel like the coolest eleven year old ever, walking around the mall with my coffee and candy. Since then, I have collected many fond memories that include coffee. Like, the time me and three friends took a road trip with my mom and ended up at an antique shop…I was so bored that I drank cup after cup of coffee from a vending machine at the shop, until I was so caffeinated that you could hear me laughing from across the store. It was a long drive back to Vegas that night…Or, all those Saturday mornings as a student teacher when I would make a huge pot of black coffee and drink the entire thing while I meticulously wrote my lesson plans and graded papers. Or, memories with my friend Brittany, who loves coffee as much as I do, and would dodge traffic to cross Maryland Parkway with me during college, just to get to the Starbucks. These days, coffee and I meet on Friday nights and weekends like old friends. I hardly ever make it to Starbucks, but when I do, I always order the same thing…grande non-fat caramel macchiato. This cheesecake, which is ridiculously easy, tastes just as rich and caramel-y. (Though, sadly, it is not non-fat).  Make sure you invite friends over to share this one…and brew a big pot of coffee to go with it.

Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake

Ingredients:

18 Oreo cookies

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup chocolate chips

¼ cup instant coffee

½ cup plus 3 tbsp. caramel ice-cream topping

½ cup whipping cream

1 pkt. Unflavored gelatin

24 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 ¼ cups sugar

Steps:

1.     Grease 8 inch springform pan.

2.     Process cookies until fine. Add butter and mix. Press into bottom of pan. Freeze pan.

3.     Place chips and coffee granules in medium bowl. Pour ½ cup boiling water over and stir. Let stand 1 minute. Add ½ cup caramel topping and whisk to blend. Let stand 10 minutes.

4.     Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup cold water in a small saucepan. Let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves. Whisk into coffee mixture.

5.     In a mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Reduce speed to low and beat in coffee mixture. Pour into crust and refrigerate at least 6 hours until firm.

6.     Beat cream and 2 tbsp. caramel topping until soft peaks form. Add a dollop to each slice, or spread over entire cheesecake, and add extra caramel drizzle.

I'm Called "Punkin" for a Reason!

I love Fall! As soon as September begins, even here in Vegas where it is still 100 degrees, I immediately declare it Fall and begin my annual…PUMPKIN PALOOZA. Basically, that means that every weekend I make a new recipe that includes pumpkin. So far this year I have made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin mousse pie, pumpkin spice cake, and a delectable Portobello mushroom ravioli in pumpkin alfredo sauce. However, this recipe for pumpkin-chocolate whoopie pies might be my favorite pumpkin-inspired recipe. First of all, how can you not get excited about a treat that has the word “whoopie” built in? You can’t help but smile! Plus, I find that when a cream-filling is sandwiched between two cookies, it is usually a recipe for success. This creamy filling is a pumpkin cream cheese with a touch of cinnamon, and the chocolate cookies are pillowy soft, almost like cake. If, for some ridiculous reason, you are not a chocolate lover, you could substitute ginger cookies or oatmeal cookies and still enjoy the pumpkin filling. However, chocolate is always best, and that is that.

Ingredients:

½ cup room temperature butter

1 ¼ cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup room temperature buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ¾ cup flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

Pinch of kosher salt

Filling:

4 oz. room temperature cream cheese

¼ cup room temperature butter

2/3 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup canned or fresh pumpkin

¼ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of kosher salt

Steps:

1.     Make the cookies: Grease 2 baking sheets. Preheat oven to 400. With a mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, then buttermilk and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, soda, powder, and salt. Gradually add to wet ingredients.

2.     Drop 2 tbsp. scoops onto each sheet, 3 inches apart. Bake 8 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on pan and then remove to cool on countertop.

3.     Make the filling: Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Slowly beat in powdered sugar. Add the pumpkin, cinnamon and salt.

4.     To assemble, spread heaping tablespoonful between two cookies.

Keep Calm and Curry On!

     Here in Vegas, there is a very renowned restaurant called “Lotus of Siam.” It’s not in the greatest part of town, it’s in the middle of a shopping center, and you wouldn’t take a second look at it if someone hadn’t passed along their secret. Inside that tiny restaurant, they make an amazing curry. Technically, multiple amazing curries, as well as lots of other delicious dishes. A woman and her daughter run the restaurant, and your order is served in a covered dish where you scoop hot rice from a rice cooker onto your plate and then pour your curry over it at the table. The walls are lined with signed celebrity photos of all the stars that have made a trip to their restaurant.

     I have made the trip there with friends and co-workers several times, and without fail, I spend the next month or so obsessed with ingredients that will get me those Thai flavors. This dish is so comforting and so delicious. It can be made with beef, chicken or shrimp and the sauce has that perfect balance of red curry and coconut milk. That sweet and salty balance is perfect over rice, and the addition of veggies and salted cashews pushes this over the edge. I think I could eat it every day.

     Before sharing the recipe, I must stress that curry powder cannot be substituted for Thai red curry paste. Curry powder is used in Indian curry, while red curry paste is a Thai curry. Indian curry has a sweet, slightly cinnamon-y flavor, while Thai curry has a salty-nutty flavor. It is my favorite curry by far. Now that we have cleared that up:

Ingredients:

1 lb. thinly sliced sirloin (or chicken or shrimp)

2 tbsp. canola oil

14 oz. can coconut milk

1 tbsp. red curry paste

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. soy sauce

8 cups chopped bok choy

1 sliced red bell pepper

½ cup salted cashews

½ cup chopped cilantro

Cooked rice

Steps:

1.     In skillet, sauté beef in 1 tbsp. oil until browned. Set aside.

2.     Spoon ½ cup cream from top of coconut milk and place in pan. Add remaining oil and bring to a boil. Add curry paste; cook and stir 5 minutes or until oil separates.

3.     Stir in brown sugar, soy sauce, and remaining coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. Add bok choy and red pepper. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes until vegetables are tender. Stir in cashews, cilantro and beef. Heat through and serve over rice.