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.

If You Can't Stand the Heat....

             The word “smothered” can sometimes be a very off-putting descriptor. “Smothered” by a herd of stampeding elephants, for instance, can inspire a horrifying visual. On a personal note, the word “smothered” reminds me of a chilly, windy camping trip from my childhood when my mom broke into my tent and cocooned me in a ridiculous amount of blankets in the middle of the night…However, when describing food, the word “smothered” is usually code for “ooey”, or “gooey”, or “this-is-so-good-I-could-kiss-you-on-the-mouth”! I love my sundaes smothered in hot fudge, I love my pb and j sandwiches smothered in jelly until it oozes out of the sides, and I love this Southwest Smothered Chicken. I will warn you, if you are a giant pansy when it comes to spicy food, this could be a jolt to your delicate taste buds. I will include some variations to lessen the heat, but I encourage you to man up and try the original version. For this photo, I served the chicken with sides of refried beans and Mexi-rice. (Dump some salsa and cheddar cheese over leftover rice and heat). Feel free to substitute your favorite Mexican sides. 

Here’s what you do:

1.     Flatten 4 chicken breast halves to ½ inch thickness. Sprinkle sides with ½ tsp each of cumin and cayenne. In a large skillet, cook chicken in 1 tbsp. oil over medium for 4 to 5 minutes on each side. It should be golden before continuing.

2.     Combine 1 cup frozen corn and 1 cup your favorite medium (mild if you like) salsa and spoon over chicken. Top each chicken breast with 1 slice of pepper jack cheese (or Monterey jack for less spice) and 2 slices of pickled jalapeno. (Pick ‘em off if they scare you)! Cover your pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted. Top each with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.

What's Shakin' Bacon?!

      When I first set out to make this dish, I was not excited to try it. I thought, what is so exciting about some pasta with veggies and bacon?  Mind you, bacon and I have an excellent relationship, and I love pasta and fresh veggies, but just mentioning them does not do this dish justice. Something completely magical happens when you toss this Summer Carbonara together. Say it with me, folks, “car-bon-AH-rah.”A carbonara usually consists of spaghetti noodles and bacon, tossed with eggs and parmesan cheese. This variation adds all those yummy vegetables that are so perfect this time of year. Zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, basil…yum! Perfection! For a vegetarian version, you could omit the bacon, but let's face it, that would just be silly! Here’s how to do it:

1.     Cook 16 oz. spaghetti noodles in boiling, salted water. At the same time, place 12 slices bacon on a lightly-greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Both the noodles and the bacon should be ready at about the same time.

2.     While you wait, chop up one large sweet onion, 2 small zucchini (I cut it into fourths lengthwise and then slice the pieces), 1 medium yellow squash, ¼ cup basil leaves, and 4 tomatoes.

3.     In a large sauté pan, pour 2 tbsp. olive oil and toss in the onion, zucchini, squash, and 2 tsp. minced garlic. Cook over medium until veggies are soft and onion looks opaque.

4.     Dump the cooked veggies into your serving bowl and cover to keep warm.

In the same pan, with the heat off, crack in two eggs and whisk them until well-blended. Turn the heat on low, and stir the eggs until they look frothy and yellow, but not yet scrambled. The egg should coat the back of a spoon. **Don't even THINK about omitting the eggs in this dish. That is where the magic happens! I promise, you will not regret it.

5. Drain your noodles and crumble your bacon. Dump the noodles into the same serving bowl with your veggies. Pour eggs over noodles and toss to coat. Stir in 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, ½ tsp. oregano, ¼ cup chopped fresh basil and your bacon. Don’t feel tempted to add much, if any, salt. The bacon and Parmesan add plenty on their own. Toss well and serve!