Garlic–Tarragon Green Beans

I don’t know if I’m the only one that struggles to find side dishes for meals, or even forgets to include a side with dinner. For me, sides are almost an afterthought. I’m trying to do my best to find some new side dishes to serve that are different from our regular  rotation. When I was looking through one of my favorite recipe sites, I came across this recipe. I always have garlic and tarragon on hand so I knew this would be a good dish to add to our rotation. Garlic compliments green beans really well and I was interested to taste how the tarragon would add to the flavor. Overall it was really good dish. My husband claims he can’t stand green beans and even he enjoyed it!

Garlic-Tarragon Green Beans

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2  quarts water

2  tablespoons  salt

2  pounds  thin fresh green beans

2  garlic cloves, minced

1/2  teaspoon  dried tarragon leaves

2  tablespoons  olive oil

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1/2  teaspoon  pepper

Bring 2 quarts water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil in a Dutch oven; add beans. Cook 6 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain.

Sauté garlic and tarragon in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until garlic is tender. (Do not brown garlic.) Add beans, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Source: www.myrecipes.com

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Garlic is one ingredient that I use in almost every dish, so when I saw this recipe floating around my Google reader from so many different blogs, all giving the dish such rave reviews, I knew I had to try it! For those that aren’t as sure about using garlic, don’t be afraid! When garlic is roasted, the flavors tend to become much more mild and subtle.  The recipe calls for the use of a whole chicken, but I happened to have only chicken thighs on hand, so I used what I had. Overall, the chicken was really moist and tender and the sauce added an extra punch of flavor. I happen to have the flexibility of living close to work, so I actually roasted the garlic and shallots on my lunch break in order to get a head start. I’m sure you could do the same the morning of or maybe even the night before if you are in a time crunch.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

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1 whole chicken (3½ to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces and trimmed of excess fat (I used 6 bone-in chicken thighs)

Ground black pepper

3 large heads garlic (about 8 ounces), outer papery skins removed, cloves separated and left unpeeled

2 medium shallots, peeled and quartered pole to pole

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 bay leaf

¾ cup dry vermouth or dry white wine

¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Dissolve ¼-cup salt in 2 quarts cold tap water in large container or bowl; submerge chicken pieces in brine and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 30 minutes. Rinse chicken pieces under running water and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides of chicken pieces with pepper.

Meanwhile, toss garlic and shallots with 2 teaspoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in 9-inch pie plate; cover tightly with foil and roast until softened and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes, shaking pan once to toss contents after 15 minutes (leave foil on during tossing). Uncover, stir, and continue to roast, uncovered, until browned and fully tender, 10 minutes longer, stirring once or twice. Remove from oven and increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.

Using kitchen twine, tie together thyme, rosemary, and bay; set aside. Heat remaining 1-teaspoon oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke (I used a cast iron Dutch oven); swirl to coat pan with oil. Brown chicken pieces skin-side down until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown until golden on second side, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate and discard fat; off heat, add wine, chicken broth, and herbs, scraping bottom of skillet with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Set skillet over medium heat, add garlic/shallot mixture to pan, then return chicken, skin-side up, to pan, nestling pieces on top of and between garlic cloves.

Place skillet in oven and roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers about 160 degrees, 10 to 12 minutes. If desired, increase heat to broil and broil until skin is crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer chicken to serving dish. Remove 10 to 12 garlic cloves to mesh sieve and reserve; using slotted spoon, scatter remaining garlic cloves and shallots around chicken and discard herbs. With rubber spatula push reserved garlic cloves through sieve and into bowl; discard skins. Add garlic paste to skillet. Bring liquid to simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally to incorporate garlic; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in butter; pour sauce into dish and serve.

Source adapted from: The Way the Cookie Crumbles, originally from Cooks Illustrated

Bananas- n-Cream Cake

A co-worker of mine brought me some really ripe bananas and asked that I make something with it and bring it to work the following Monday. I was happy to take them since I have lots of recipes I wanted to try out that have banana in the mix. This cake was so good. The sour cream made it super moist and the bananas were the perfect flavor. The original recipe is from Taste of Home, but I found the recipe on Amanda’s blog, Amanda’s Cookin. The cake can be served plain, but the addition of the brown butter glaze makes it super tasty!

Bananas-n-Cream Bundt  Cake with a Brown Butter Glaze

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For the Cake:

1/3 cup shortening

1  1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1  1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add bananas and mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, stirring just until combined. Stir in walnuts. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Brown Butter Glaze (recipe halved):

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

In a medium bowl, add powdered sugar. Place butter in a small saucepan. Melt butter over medium heat until bubbly. Cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Remove from heat and pour butter into the bowl of powdered sugar. Add milk and vanilla, stir until smooth.

Pour over the top of the cake and let it ooze over the sides.

Sources adapted from: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Bananas--n--Cream-Bundt-Cake

http://www.recipezaar.com/Pumpkin-Cookies-With-Brown-Butter-Glaze-189673

A Coffee Lover’s Cookie

I saw this recipe pop up on my Google reader from Joy the Baker and I knew I needed to make them sooner rather than later. Oh my, am I glad I did!! These cookies are heavenly! My hubby’s birthday was in August and since I had been making cakes every weekend for my decorating classes, I knew I wanted to surprise him with something other than cake. The hubby has an obsession for coffee, I won’t bore you with the details, but we have an endless supply of coffee/espresso machines in our kitchen, so I knew these would be perfect for a sweet birthday treat. Little did I know that these cookies would become my obsession!! The cookie itself is like a salty chocolate wafer, but when you add the filling it becomes a perfectly balanced sweet and salty treat, my favorite combination.
Tip: If you like the texture of a crunchy cookie, serve the day they are made. Once the filling is added, the cookie begins to take on a softer texture. I actually liked the cookie better the second day when they were nice and soft, but the hubby liked the crunch from the first day.


Chocolate Espresso Sandwich Cookies
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For the Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
heaping 1/4 teaspoon  instant espresso powder


For the Cookies:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
15 Tablespoons (7 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, but into 3/4-inch cubes, at room temperature


To make the filling:
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to boil over medium heat.  Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate and espresso powder.  Make sure all the chocolate is covered by the cream.  Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk the white chocolate until completely melted. 
Transfer the filling to a small bowl and let stand until room temperature.  You’ll need the filling thicker to assemble the cookies, so cover the filling and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or an hour, until a thick consistency is reached.  If the filling hardens too much, it can be re-warmed in the microwave for a few seconds. 


To make the cookies:
Position the racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder and mix on low speed.  With the mixer running, add the butter a few pieces at a time.  The mixture will have a sandy texture at first and then will begin to form peddle-size pieces.  As soon as the dough starts to come together, stop the mixer. 
Form and roll the dough straight from the mixer.  The dough becomes hard to work with if chilled. 
Transfer the dough to a board and use the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper to shape the dough into a block about 5 x 7 inches.  Cut the block into two pieces. 
One at a time, roll each block of dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper until about 1/8-inch thick.  Using a cookie cutter, cut into 2 inch rounds.  Place 1/2 to 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.  You can form and roll the dough scraps once after the first roll.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking.  Remove from the oven and cool on the sheets for 2 to 5 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely. 


To assemble the cookies:
Place half of the cookies upside down on a work surface.  Whip the filling lightly with a whisk to loosen it.  It will lighten in color and fluff up.  Don’t over whip or the filling may begin to separate. 
Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip.  I just scooped my filling out by the scant teaspoonful.  Pipe or dollop one teaspoon of filling in the center of each upside down cookie.  Gently, using your fingers, press the cookies together until the filling comes just to the edges. 
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Source: Joy the Baker, adapted from The Essence of Chocolate

Praline-Apple Bread

It’s apple season!! Before I start breaking out some pumpkin recipes, I have to pay respect to the apple. I decided to try a new apple recipe that I found in my most recent Southern Living Magazine. Who can resist a praline topping! This was a really good bread, only made better by serving warm with some good ol’ butter.  The only thing missing from this recipe for me was cinnamon. I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of it while I was putting the batter together, but I will definitely add it in next time.

Praline–Apple Bread

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1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 (8-oz) container sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, (optional)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 3/4 lb)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.

Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until blended.

Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in apples and 1/2 cup toasted pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, shielding with aluminum foil after 50 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 1 quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, and spoon over top of bread; let cool completely (about 1 hour).


Source: www.MyRecipes.com