Lemony Kale Pasta

Always looking for a way to incorporate different veggies and greens into our meals, I stumbled across this on Annie's blog and had to make it. SO GOOD. Hubs wasn't a huge fan of the kale, but I can sub in spinach next time and it will be just as good!

Lemony Kale Pasta
as seen on Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
For the dressing:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
½ tsp. kosher salt, divided
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
5-6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
¼-½ tsp. red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the pasta:
1 lb. whole grain pasta, such as penne
1 large bunch kale (black/lacinato kale preferred), rinsed and dried, stems removed
Lemon slices, for garnish
Additional Parmesan, for serving

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.  Meanwhile, make the dressing.  Mince the garlic cloves.  Sprinkle the minced garlic with ¼ teaspoon of the kosher salt and smash the garlic into a paste with a fork or the side of a chef’s knife.  Transfer the garlic paste to a small bowl.  Add in the Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and black pepper.  Whisk together until well combined.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to the package directions.  Chop the kale into ½-inch ribbons.  Add the kale to a large bowl and toss with the dressing to coat well.  When the pasta is finished, drain well and let cool a minute or two.  Toss the pasta with the kale and dressing until well coated.  Serve with sliced lemon and additional Parmesan as desired.

Triple Citrus Cheesecake

A refreshing cheesecake with lots of zippy citrus flavors. Perfect for an Easter dessert!


Triple Citrus Cheesecake
from Kraft.com

Ingredients

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 tsp. grated lime zest
1 tsp. grated orange peel

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300°F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix crumbs, brown sugar and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. DO NOT OVER-BEAT. I apparently did, which is why my top cracked. Stir in remaining ingredients; pour over crust.

Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Chipotle Honey Lime Pork Chops

This marinade was intended for a pork tenderloin. I would have had to sear it and then bake it in the oven but let's be honest. The less time I have to spend on dinner the happier I am these days. I decided to do some porkchops and then have C toss them on the grill! And let me tell you...I wish I would have made more of them because I am pretty sure we all would have had seconds! I served this with cilantro lime rice and corn. It would also be an excellent marinade for beef or chicken!
Chipotle Honey Lime Pork Chops
adapted from Beantown Baker

Ingredients
4 pork chops (any kind will do)
Juice from 6 limes
Zest from 2 limes
1/2 C honey
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
1 tbsp adobo sauce

Directions:
-Place porkchops in Ziplock bag to marinate
-Mix together lime juice, zest, honey, salt, and garlic powder. Stir to combine and pour over chops.
-To chops, add chiles and adobo sauce. Seal and marinate in fridge as long as possible
-Remove from fridge and allow to rise to room temp. Cook on grill until done.

Blueberry Almond Cake with Lemon Drizzle

This recipe popped up yesterday from Beantown Baker and I knew I immediately had to make it. I made a list because I was missing a few things and ran to the grocery store. It was well worth the extra trip. It was simply amazing. The cheesecake filling covered in blueberries was an extra surprise and was creamy and delicious. It was pretty lemony, which is ok with me because I love lemon.

I would suggest using a springform pan; I used a 9-inch cake pan and it would have looked so much prettier had I been able to remove the cake from the pan. But my springforms are still packed away somewhere from when we moved (a year ago, yes). I also overbaked the actual cake part because the cream cheese filling wouldn't set. But, even with that, it was still AH-MAZING.

Blueberry Almond cake with Lemon Drizzle
as seen on Beantown Baker, adapted from Modern Comfort Food

Ingredients
For the cake: 1 1/2 cup flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt A pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2/3 cup plain yogurt 2 tsp fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp almond extract

For the topping:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp flour
1 egg
2 tsp lemon zest
2 C fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 C sliced almonds

For the drizzle:
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 C powdered sugar

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch round cake or spring form pan and lightly dust it with flour.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add 1 cup brown sugar and beat for approximately one minute until light and well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for approximately two minutes after each addition. Alternately, add one-half of the flour mixture and one-half of the yogurt, beating briefly on low after each addition. Repeat. Stir in the lemon juice and almond extract. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, 1 egg, and the lemon zest for approximately two minutes until very smooth and creamy. Spoon this cheese mixture over the cake batter and spread, leaving a one-inch margin of cake batter exposed around the perimeter of the cake. Sprinkle the blueberries over the cream cheese mixture and the sliced almonds around the perimeter of the cake.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake to room temperature and serve.
6. For the glaze, whisk together the lemon juice with the powdered sugar and drizzle the mixture over the top of the cake.

Another Marinade!

This marinade has a slight Asian-flair to it than the last marinade I posted, with the orange marmalade. It would be great for either beef or chicken. I let my chicken marinate overnight and the chicken was absolutely delicious! It was moist and flavorful and perfect for an unusually warm spring evening!
Orange Marmalade Marinade
slight variation of this recipe

Ingredients
4 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 heaping tbsp of dry mustard
1/2 large bottle soy sauce
1 16 oz. jar orange marmalade
1/2 C oil
1 heaping tbsp honey
1/2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves

Mix together and place meat in container. Cover with marinade and freeze or refrigerate overnight. If freezing, as you thaw the meat, it will marinate.

Symon Sundays: Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup & Shaved Fennel Salad with Oranges, Dill and Watercress

How is THAT for a title?

After missing our last Symon Sunday, I was all geared up for this week's menu, chosen by Tanya from The Brick Kitchen! I LOVE tomato soup and have never had fennel, so was excited to try these new flavors!

And clearly our grocery store sucks, because I could not find San Marzano tomatoes or sriracha sauce. And I had to settle for a different blue cheese, but it made no difference to me because I am not a huge fan of it. Instead of the tomatoes in the recipe, I used fire-roasted tomatoes to add another layer of flavor, especially since I was unable to find the sriracha sauce. I did not blend the tomatoes or strain them; I just used my immersion blender right in the pan which saved me a few steps. The verdict on the soup? C and I both really enjoyed it! I definitely think it needed more spice, so hopefully I can find the sriracha sauce because I will be willing to make this soup again.

As for the salad, I was leery because neither I nor my husband like black licorice and I was afraid it was going to be overpowering. Fortunately, the taste of the fennel was very mild and was offset by the delicious citrus. I really enjoyed the freshness of the flavor and if I was looking to impress, I would serve this at a dinner party, but not on a regular basis. I also would try it with arugula next time instead of the watercress.

Here are the original recipes from Michael Symon's book. My changes are in parenthesis.

Spicy Tomato and Blue Cheese Soup
from Live to Cook, Michael Symon

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
kosher salt4 garlic cloves, sliced1 (28 oz.) can of Marzano tomatoes, with juice (I used fire-roasted diced tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream (I was going to use FF half and half, but decided that for the first time with a recipe to leave it as such)
2 tbsp sriracha sauce (I omitted because I couldn't find it)
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves (I used dill)
1/2 cup Roth Kase Buttermilk Blue Cheese
Heat the oil in a 4 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add

onion and a three finger pinch of salt. Sweat for 2 minutes. Add garlic and sweat for 2 more minutes.

Add tomatoes, their juices and stock. Bring to a simmer. Stir in cream, sriracha sauce and oregano and simmer for 45 minutes.

Pour soup into blender, add blue cheese and

blend until smooth, working in batches if needed. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot, taste, adjust seasonings if needed and reheat to serve. (I did not strain the soup and just used my immersion blender right in the pot).

This soup will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for a few days.

Shaved Fennel Salad with Oranges, Lemon, Dill and Watercress
adapted from Live to Cook, Michael Symon

3 oranges

1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, thinly sliced, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes and drained (I used 1/4 of a red onion)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 small or 1 large fennel bulb, core removed and shaved (I used the side of my box grater)

1 tbsp coarsley chopped fennel fronds

2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh dill

freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground corriander (I omitted since I did not have any)

2 tbsp extra-vigin olive oil
1 cup loosely packed watercress or arugula

Grate zest of the one of the oranges and reserve. Segment all three oranges, by removing peel and pith with a knife and slicing through fruit along either side of the membrane to remove only the fruit sections. Once segments are removed, squeeze remaining juice from one of the oranges and reserve.

In a large bowl, combine the garlic, shallot, salt, lemon and orange juices and zests. Wisk to combine. Add the shaved fennel, fennel fronds and dill, tossing juice. Add the orange segments, a few grinds of pepper, the corriander, olive oil, and watercress. Toss gently and plate, spooning additional dressing over top.

Cranberry Orange Scones

One of my favorite combinations is cranberry and orange. I always order the cranberry-orange scone from Starbucks and when I stumbled across this recipe, I had to give it a whirl. And you know what? They are perfect. Tart and slightly sweet at the same time, and delightfully flaky.

Cranberry Orange Scones

(adapted from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen via The Way the Cookie Crumbles)

Makes 8 scones (but mine were HUGE so they can be made smaller)

1½ tablespoons freshly grated orange zest

2½ cups (12 ounces) all-purpose flour

½ cup (3.5 ounces) sugar plus 3 tablespoons

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1½ cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a small bowl, toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar. In another small bowl, lightly beat the egg and yolk, then stir in cream.

3. In a food processor, pulse the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and zest until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a large bowl. (You can also just smoosh the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers instead of using a food processor.) Stir the cranberries into the flour mixture. Then gently fold the egg mixture into the flour until just combined.

4. On a well-floured surface with floured hands, pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter). With a 2-inch round cutter or the rim of a glass dipped in flour, cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling the scraps as necessary. (Or cut the circle into wedges, which is my standard method.) Arrange the scones about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool about 10 minutes, then serve.

Italian Lemon Knots

Day 9 in the Control Freak's 12 Days of Treats

A staple in many Italian households, I was searching for a recipe and stumbled upon this blog and decided to give it a whirl. Although they are not exactly like Grandma's cookies, they are still delicious. Added to the slightly cakey, slightly crumbly cookie is a lemon glaze made with fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Italian Knot Cookies

Adapted from Proud Italian Cook

Ingredients:

5 cups unbleached flour

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 bottle of pure lemon extract or,( 1 oz.)

Grated lemon rind

5 teaspoons of baking powder

1 Cup of sugar

1 3/4 cup of shortening

Directions:
Mix together flour, eggs, milk, lemon extract and rind, sugar, and baking powder, in large bowl. Add shortening till it forms a dough. You might need to add some more milk or more flour to get the right consistency (I added an entire additional cup), but after doing so, take golf ball size pieces and shape them into balls or roll them like a log and tie them in a bow, or make a horseshoe shape and twist them over like I did. Bake at 350 degrees for exactly 15 minutes.

When they cool dip them in the icing and place them on wax paper untill they set.

Orange Almond Biscotti

REALLY LATE Day 7 of 12 Days of Treats from the Control Freak

Orange Almond Biscotti

America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
3/4 c. almonds, toasted, cooled and chopped coarse
2 Tbsp minced zest from an orange

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl and set aside.
-Cream the butter and sugar until light and smooth, about 2 min.
-Beat in eggs then the extracts.
-Stir in almonds and zest.
-Fold dry ingredients into wet until dough is just mixed.
-Halve the dough and turn portions onto prepared baking sheet.
-Stretch each portion into a rough 13 by 2 in. loaf and pat smooth.
-Bake about 35 minutes or until the loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top.
-Remove baking sheet from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
-Lower oven temp to 325 degrees and cut each loaf diagonally into 3/4 in. slices.
-Lay each slice cut-side up on baking sheet and return to oven.
-Bake, turning each cookie half way through baking for about 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown on both sides.
-Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

(Optional - dip one side in melted chocolate!)

Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti

Biscotti has become one of my favorite things to bake. I first gave it a whirl on Christmas Day last year, and when I saw this recipe, I could not pass it up. It is a delicious combination and I made them to send in my care package to my family in Idaho. Of course, I saved a few for us. Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea!

Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti

As seen on Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
3¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups sugar
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. orange zest
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl; stir together with a fork and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract and orange zest until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Stir in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries with a rubber spatula.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one portion of dough, shape into a 12″ x 3″ log on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough so that the logs are laying parallel and spaced apart on the baking sheet. Bake until the logs are golden brown, 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 25 minutes, maintaining the oven temperature in the meantime.

Carefully transfer the logs to a work surface and remove the parchment paper from the pan. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs into ½-inch slices on the diagonal. Lie the slices on one of their cut sides back on the baking sheet. Return to the oven and bake for 12 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Cranberry Orange Sauce

F0r a faux-Thanksgiving with friends, I was in charge of cranberries and dessert. I madepumpkin rolls, sugar cookie cutouts using Ashlee's recipe, and an amazing fresh cranberry orange sauce. It is not too orangey and the perfect combination of tart and sweet!Cranberry Orange Sauce

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh cranberries

2 tbsp orange zest

3 cinnamon sticks

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 pint orange juice

Approx. 2 C water

Place all ingredients in pan and make sure to add enough water to cover cranberries. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for one hour or until sauce has thickened. Add more sugar if necessary. Cool before serving.

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

Two weeks ago I needed to bring a dessert to my aunt's for a cookout and I wanted something with coconut, my favorite flavor of summer. I googled for cupcakes and came across these from Cooking Light. They were posted on several blogs and some people suggested the flavor was not coconut-y enough, so I followed their advice and substituted 1/3 coconut milk for 1/3 of the fat free milk. Definitely added more of a coconut flavor, but next time I am also going to add coconut extract instead of vanilla. The cupcakes were a total hit and I made them for the Fourth of July as well!

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

Courtesy of Cooking Light

CUPCAKES:

Cooking spray

4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp potato starch (I did not have this, so used regular corn starch)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 C sugar

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1 large egg

1 large egg white

2/3 C fat free milk (I used 1/3 C coconut milk and 1/3 C FF milk)

2 Tbsp flaked sweetened coconut

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (next time I will use coconut extract)

FROSTING:

3 Tbsp butter, softened

1 tsp half and half

1/2 tsp grated lime rind (you could also use lemon rind and lemon juice instead of lime)

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

4.75 ounces powdered sugar, sifted (about 1 1/3 C)

• Preheat oven to 350
• Place cupcake liners in pan and coat with cooking spray
• Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next three ingredients (through salt) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk
• Combing 3/4 C sugar and 2 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended (mixture will be consistency of damp sand). Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to egg mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in coconut and vanilla.
• Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in pan 2 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• To prepare frosting, combine 3 tablespoons butter and next 3 ingredients (through juice) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixture at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating just until smooth. Spread about 2 1/12 tablespoons frosting on to each cupcake.
• Yields 12 cupcakes

Luscious Lemon Party Cake

I love all things lemon, so when I saw this cake on Katie's blog, I knew I had to try it. My mom was having a Southern Living party on Friday, so I volunteered to bring it over. It was an excellent excuse to try out a new recipe and practice my decorating!

Katie is now my go-to girl for delectable baked goods. She has yet to fail me.

Luscious Lemon Party Cake
from Katie at Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
Cake -
2 1/2 c. cake flour
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 extra large organic lemons, washed thoroughly then zested and juiced separately
2/3 c. milk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 egg whites, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing -
4 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder
tiny pinch of salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 extra large lemon, juiced

Additional lemon for decorating

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two cake pans.
-In bowl of electric mixer sift and add flour, sugar, baking powder, meringue powder, salt, and zest of one lemon.
-Stir with mixer to combine, about 30 seconds.
-Add milk, oil, juice from two lemons, beaten egg whites and extract.
-Beat on medium to combine thoroughly, about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.
-Remove from mixer and stir with silicone spatula to thoroughly combine (making sure there is no flour mixture left unincorporated at the bottom of the bowl.
-Fill prepared pans 2/3 of the way full and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (about 25-28 mins for 8 inch pans)
-Remove from oven, let cool 15 minutes in pan and then turn onto wire racks to cool completely.
-Meanwhile, in the bowl of stand mixer, combine shortening, butter, and half of extract and lemon juice, stiring on low until relatively combined.
-In a separate bowl, combine sugar, meringue powder and salt, then add to mixer while still on.
-Stir, scraping down sides of bowl, until thoroughly combined, adding more lemon juice as needed.
(Add water if needed to reach desired texture.)
-Once cakes are completely cool, even out tops of cakes if needed.
-On cut side of one cake, spread generous amount of icing. (Instead of using frosting as a filling, I used seedless raspberry jam. It was awesome)
-Place cut side of other cake down onto filling and finish icing cake.
-Decorate with additional lemon and icing as desired.

The frosting tastes very close to a cream cheese frosting. And not gonna lie, Hubby and I ate the remaining frosting with a spoon.