Coco Penny Launch Party

As long as I'm posting about parties, here is a menu I did last spring for my friends Mary and Marianne. They started a business called Coco Penny and needed some food for their launch party.

These Caprese Skewers were a hit. Mostly because I've recently discovered high end balsamic vinegar. It will transform your dish and (I don't want to be dramatic but...) your life. I get mine at a culinary boutique in Old Town, Alexandria, but I'm sure there are a million places you can find the good stuff. Just make sure the only ingredient listed is grape must.
Ignore my hand here. What am I doing? The top two platters are Herb Gruyere Thumbprints and the bottom platter has Caramelized Onion, Mushroom and Gruyere Tartlets.
And for the sweet tooth, we had Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles rolled in pistachios.

And mini lemon cheesecakes. I substituted lemon for the orange in this recipe, put some lemon curd on top, and then used an animal cracker crust recipe I found on CooksIllustrated.com

And there you go. All these parties, maybe that's why I haven't gotten around to blogging over the past year. I think I'll use that as my excuse anyway :)

Best Brownies

Check out Kitchen Addiction for my favorite brownie recipe. I will never make brownies from a box again.

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

You're going to want to try these. I've made them three different times and they're always a big hit. I found them at Kayotic Kitchen. I think she uses frozen raspberries, but I use fresh and I love how they turn out.

Chocolate Zebra Cheesecake

I made my first cheesecake. I'm quite proud of myself. My mom got this from her friend Kathy (remember the stacked enchiladas...?) and has made it several times, but since I'm a little intimidated by baking, I've never attempted it until now.

I would recommend making this recipe a day ahead. It just takes a lot of time and I don't want to see you sending your husband home in the middle of church so he can put it in the fridge so it has enough time to cool before dinner. 'Cause I would never do that.

Let's get started, shall we?

Ingredients

1 1/2 c chocolate wafer crumbs (about 30 wafers)

3 T butter, melted

1/2 c (3 0z) semi sweet chocolate chips

4 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 c sugar

3 T cornstarch

1/4 t salt

5 large eggs

8 oz sour cream

2 t vanilla extract

1 c whipping cream

8 oz semi sweet chocolate (if you like dark chocolate you can use up to 12 oz)

8 oz white chocolate

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9" spring form pan. Mix chocolate wafer crumbs and butter; firmly press onto bottom of spring form pan for crust. Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove crust from oven; sprinkle 1/2 cup chocolate chips over hot crust. Let stand for several minutes until chocolate pieces soften, spread softened chocolate evenly over crust (if you can get it to spread evenly, don't worry about it, just leave it as is). Refrigerate while preparing filling.

In a large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. In small bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt; gradually beat into cream cheese until blended with mixer at low speed. Gradually beat in eggs, sour cream, vanilla and 1 cup heavy cream until bleded and smooth. Divide batter evenly into 2 containers with pouring spout.

In small saucepan over low heat, melt 8 oz semisweet chocolate. In another small saucepan over very low heat, melt white chocolate. Stir melted semisweet chocolate into batter in one container and stir melted white chocolate into batter in second measuring cup.

To create Zebra design, pour 1/2 of dark batter into spring form pan. Holding white batter about 2 feet above pan, pour about 1/2 batter directly into center of dark batter (pouring at this height will cause batter in the center of the cake to be bushed toward the edge of the pan, forming zebra or bull's eye design). Repeat procedure 3 times, decreasing the amounts of batter each time and pouring from high about pan only into center, ending with white batter.

Bake cheesecake 30 minutes. Turn oven down to 225 and bake 1 hour and 45 minutes longer or until center is set. Turn off oven, let cheesecake remain in oven 1 hour. Remove cheesecake from oven. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen from side of pan. Cool cake in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate cheesecake at least 6 hours.

Raspberry Topping

12 oz. pkg frozen raspberries, thawed

3/4 cup sugar

1 t lemon juice

Puree raspberries. Separate the seeds by pushing puree through a strainer. Combine puree (without seeds), sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat on medium until sugar is disolved.

Chocolate Coconut Toffee Delights

I call this a conversion recipe. Previously, I was never a fan of chocolate cookies. However, when my mom came home from Australia and made these for me, I couldn't stop eating them. And neither can anyone else.

I also like it because any recipe that sticks "Delight" at the end of the title makes me smile.

Ingredients

1/2 c flour

1/4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/4 c butter, cut in small pieces

1 12 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

3/4 c packed light brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 c flaked coconut

1 c English toffee baking bits (if you can't find them, you can chop up Heath or Skor bars)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; set aside. Place 1 cup of chocolate chips in microwavable bowl and melt, stirring well. Add butter to chocolate; stir until melted. Beat in brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla with wooden spoon until well blended. Beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in coconut, toffe bits and remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto prepared cookie sheet. Flatten with rubber spatula. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are just firm to the touch. Cool cookies on cookie sheet two minutes; slide parchment paper and cookies onto countertop. Cool completely.

Strawberries Romanoff

My sister Shauri took engagement photos for Abram and I.  She told me that the key would be getting out early enough for good lighting.  I told her that the key would be making sure we got a good breakfast.  We took some before and some after we ate at La Madeleine.  We are decidedly happier in the post-breakfast pictures.  These strawberries were part of the reason.  

I should mention these berries make a great dessert too. 

Ingredients

1/2 c sour cream

3 T brown sugar

1 T Cognac (I omit this ingredient and it still tastes great)

1/2 c heavy cream

3 T granulated sugar

4 c (2 pints) fresh strawberries

Instructions

Mix the sour cream, brown sugar and Cognac together in a medium bowl. 

In a separate bowl, whip the cream with a whisk or an electric mixer until it starts to thicken.  Add the granulated sugar and whip until thick. 

Using a rubber spatula, fold the cream carefully into the sour cream mixture until well blended. 

Just before serving, rinse the berries and trim off the green stems with a sharp paring knife.  

Put the berries into stemmed wineglasses and top with the Romanoff sauce.

Lemon Yogurt Cake and Lemon Curd

As you may have noticed if you follow my blog, I'm not always on the lookout for the next best healthy recipe.  My sister gives me a lot of flack about that, so when I came across the Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Yogurt Cake (no butter) I decided to make her day.  

So I made the cake (minus the glaze), spread lemon curd (for which I'm sure you can find a recipe, but I just picked some up at the store) on each piece, and topped it with freshly whipped cream and boysenberries.  It was delish. 

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

Janie's back folks!  Check out this beautiful cheesecake.  If there was ever any question, your Valentine will be yours after getting a taste of this.  

Cake can be completed up to one week ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.

Serves 12

Crust

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs

1/2 stick butter, melted

Filling

3 bricks (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 T cornstarch

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

2 t vanilla extract

1 cup (6 oz) milk-chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1 cup canned 100% pure pumpkin

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Chocolate glaze

3 oz bittersweet baking chocolate

2 T butter

1 T light corn syrup

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350.  Coat an 8-inch spring-form pan with nonstick spray.  Have ready a roasting pan larger than the spring-form pan.
2. Crust: Put crumbs in a small bowl; stir in butter until evenly moistened.  Press firmly over bottom of pan.  Bake 8-10 minutes until set.  Cool on rack.  Wrap outside of pan with heavy duty foil.  reduce oven temperature to 300.  
3. Filling: Beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, scraping sides of bowl several times with a rubber spatula.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended.  Beat in sour cream and vanilla to combine.  Divide batter evenly between 3 medium bowls.  Stir melted milk chocolate into one bowl; pour into crust in an even layer.  Whisk pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice into another bowl.  Carefully spoon over chocolate layer to cover, then gently smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula (take care that batters don't run together).  Stir semisweet chocolate into remaining batter.  Carefully spoon over pumpkin layer; spread carefully as above.  
4. Set spring-form pan in center of roasting pan.  Place roasting pan in oven rack and add boiling water to come halfway up sides of spring-form pan.
5. Bake 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours until set, but center still jiggles slightly when shaken. 
6. Turn off oven (leave door closed); let cake cool in oven 1 hour (if cake hasn't pulled away from sides of pan, carefully run a thin knife around edge of pan to release cake).  Remove foil.  Cool cake in pan on a wire rack.  Cover; refrigerate at least four hours, overnight, or up to one week. 
7. Chocolate Glaze: Stir ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat; cool slightly. 
8. Remove pan sides; place cake on serving plate.  Spread glaze over top to edge (some may drip down side of cake).  Refrigerate until glaze sets.

Chocolate Mint Bundt Cake

I've had this recipe bookmarked for a long time from The Sisters' Cafe and I finally got to try it when Abram made it for me for my birthday.  It is fantastic.  And dare I say even better the next day for breakfast?  

Aunt Carolee's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies by Guest Chef Shauri Quinn

Golden brown on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside with gooey-melty chocolate chips and a little kick of salt. It's the ultimate answer to PMS: a little chocolate, a little salt. Everyone loves the classic chocolate chip cookie, but this one is over the moon, die and go to heaven delicious. Not to puffy, not too flat.

Truth be told, this cookie only recently entered my consciousness in the past couple of years. I made it once and it was so delicious that Lisa, my sister-in-law, insisted I make them on a weekly basis. Every time we got a craving, she told me that I had to make them because no one else could make them as good as I could. I totally bought it because I am a bit of an ego-maniac which she shamelessly targeted, but I just tasted them at her house recently and noted no difference whatsoever, so rest assured that if you give these babies a whirl they'll be equally delicious.

One important note - only bake them for 10 minutes and let them bake a bit on the pan out of the oven. This is something Lisa insisted up on and I eventually owned was a good decision (internally - never to her out loud). AND put the leftovers in the freezer and pull them out as you eat them with a 30 second zip in the microwave for a fresh just out of the oven taste.

Ingredients

1 c brown sugar

1 c sugar

1 c shortening

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

2 c flour

1 1/2 c oatmeal

1 c chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together sugar, brown sugar and shortening. Add the next 7 ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake 10 minutes.

Peanut Butter Candy Cookies

This recipe comes from some recipe booklet my mom bought in the check out line one day. I can't even tell you the name because the cover has been ripped off. What I can tell you is that they made my favorite cookies list.

Ingredients

3/4 c Chunky Peanut Butter

1/2 c butter, softened

1 c packed light brown sugar

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 egg

1 1/2 t vanilla

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

2 c quartered miniature peanut butter cups

1/3 c milk chocolate chips

1 small plastic bag

Instructions

1. Beat peanut butter and butter in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Beat in sugar, baking powder and baking soda until well blended. Beat in egg and vanilla until well blended. Beat in flour at low speed just until mixed. Stir in peanut butter cups. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Form 1/4 cup dough into a 1/4-inch-thick disc.
3. Place dough on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
4. Place chocolate in small resealable plastic freezer bag; seal bag. Microwave at MEDIUM 2 minutes, turning bag once. Knead bag until chocolate is smooth. Cut off tiny corner of bag; pipe chocolate onto cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set.

Chewy Cinnamon Cookies

My friend Andrea recommended the blog Kitchen Addiction to me and I'm loving it. This girl is hardcore. She comes up with her own recipes and I have been loving the ones I've tried. My favorite are her Chewy Cinnamon Cookies.

Peanut Blossoms

My mom would make these cookies every December along with her Christmas candy. Actually, knowing her, she was probably done with them in October. But in any event, she would put everything out in the freezer so it would be fresh for Christmas.

Enter Kristin. I would then sneak out to the freezer in the garage and sneak as many cookies and candy as possible before I estimated she would start to notice. And to this day, I prefer my Peanut Blossoms frozen.

Ingredients

1 3/4 c flour

1 t soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c peanut butter

1 egg

2 T milk

1 t vanilla

24 Hershey's Chocolate Kisses, unwrapped

Instructions

Preheat oven at 375. Combine all ingredients except for candy. Mix at low speed until dough forms. Shape dough into 24 balls. Roll balls in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Top each cookie immediately with candy kiss. Press down firmly so cookie cracks around edges.

Baked Apple Pudding with Butter Sauce

This is one of those recipes that got lost in the shuffle.  My mom recently found it and starting making it again.  And I'm so glad she did.  It's a really moist cake that it very good in it's own right, but the butter sauce puts it over the top.  

Ingredients

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

4 cups ground or shredded apples

2 cups flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

2 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

2 t vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.  Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together, set aside.  Cream sugar and shortening together.  Add eggs and shredded apples, mix well.  Mix in dry ingedients, then stir in vanilla.  Pour into greased pan and bake for 45 minutes. 

Butter Sauce Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1 cup cream or evaporated milk

1 cup butter 

1 t vanilla

Butter Sauce Instructions

Simmer until dissolved.  Serve warm over pudding.  

Award Winning Pie Crust by Guest Chef Tara

First of all, I have to give a shout out to the queen bee of pie making, Martha Edgren. She is my mom's best friend and is well known in our area for her pies as well as her cooking/baking all around. When I was 12 she taught me how to make pies at mutual, and I've been making our family's pies ever since.

So my family was over at the Edgren's house for Thanksgiving one year and my younger brother, Justin, was good friends with Martha's nephew, Ben. Boys being boys and these particular boys being about 15 years old, they got into the competitive mode. They were arguing over who could eat more at Thanksgiving. Well they ate. And ate. And ate. And then Justin puked. Then he filled up another plate of food and ate again, because hey, how can you not take advantage of a second chance of eating Thanksgiving dinner and pie?

Ingredients

2 c flour

1 t salt

2 pinches sugar

1 c Crisco (I prefer butter-flavored, but do what you must)

Scant 1/2 c cold water

1/4 t salt

Instructions

Mix first three ingredients together, cut shortening into flour mixture (I use a pastry knife) until it is uniformly the texture of cornmeal (less is more here). Pour cold water, about 2 tablespoons at a time, evenly over all and mix quickly with a fork. Shape into a ball, then divide ball into two equal pieces. Cover one ball with a towel.

Using a floured, flat napped tea towel, roll the other ball flat, evenly rolling from the center outward with a rolling pin (nonstick or silicone works best here). Be careful to keep the circle even and round as you roll. Don’t be afraid to patch, either. You will have to occasionally add flour as you roll when the dough begins to stick. When the circle becomes approximately the size of your pie tin in diameter, fold in half, and place inside the pie plate. Unfold the pie dough and adjust to fit your pie plate. Patchwork is not frowned upon.

After you have filled the pie, repeat with the other ball of dough. Place the second crust over the filling and press the two crusts together at the edge of the pie plate, sealing them to each other. Using a sharp knife, cut off both crusts evenly, slightly larger than the pie plate. Tuck the excess under the edge of the plate and crimp the edge of the crusts with your fingers in a decorative pattern all of the way around the pie. Optional: Brush egg-white over the top for a nice glossy finish. Cook until lightly browned.

Razzleberry Pie by Guest Chef Tara

Ingredients

12 oz package frozen raspberries

16 oz package frozen boysenberries

1 1/2 c - 1 2/3 c sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

1/3 c flour

2 T butter

1 T vanilla

Instructions

Fill the unbaked pie shell with berries. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar. Pour over the berries. Cut butter in small chunks and place evenly over flour and berry mixture. Drizzle vanilla over the top of everything. Place second crust on top with the vents. Place in 375 degree oven for about an hour. Don't forget to put a baking sheet on the shelf underneath to avoid a messy cleanup. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Vanilla/Banana/Coconut/Peach Pie by Guest Chef Tara

Ingredients

3/4 c sugar

1/3 c flour

1/4 t salt

2 c milk

3 slightly beaten egg yolks

1 t vanilla

1 T butter

Optional Fillings:

3 sliced bananas

1 c toasted coconut

3 sliced sweetened fresh peaches (sweeten the peaches just before filling the shell as the sugars draws out the juices)

Instructions

Combine sugar, flour, and salt. Slowly stir in milk. Cook and stir until the mixture bubbles. Then cook for two minutes. temper the egg yolks by stirring in a little of the hot mixture. Add several spoonfuls. Then add the yolks into the hot mixture in the pan. Cook an additional two minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap with the wrap touching the top. cool completely. Pour into pie shell after filling the shell with desired filling.

Chocolate Pie by Guest Chef Tara

Ingredients

1 c sugar

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

1/3 c flour

1/4 t salt

2 c milk

3 slightly beaten egg yolks

1 t vanilla

1 T butter

Instructions

Combine sugar, flour, and salt. Add chocolate. Slowly stir in milk. Cook and stir until the mixture bubbles. Then cook for two minutes. Temper the egg yolks by stirring in a little of the hot mixture. Add several spoonfuls. Then add the yolks into the hot mixture in the pan. Cook an additional two minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla. Strain through a large strainer if you have lumps. Cover with plastic wrap with the wrap touching the top. Cool completely. Pour into pie shell.

German Chocolate Pie by Guest Chef Tara

Ingredients

1 c miniature chocolate chips

1/2 c toasted almonds or pecans

1/2 c toasted coconut

chocolate pie filling

1 pint sweetened whipped cream

extra toasted coconut

extra toasted almonds or pecans

milk chocolate shavings from a chocolate bar

Instructions

Make chocolate pie filling. Fill pie crust with chips, nuts and coconut. Pour chocolate filling over. Spread whipped cream on top of chocolate filling. Sprinkle with coconut, nuts and milk chocolate shavings.

Pecan Pie by Guest Chef Tara

Ingredients

1/3 c butter, melted

3/4 c sugar

dash of salt

1 1/2 c toasted pecans

1 c light corn syrup

3 eggs

1/2 t vanilla

Instructions

Toast pecans on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix everything but the pecans together in a mixer. beat well. Then add toasted pecans. Pour into un-baked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until the mixture doesn't wiggle. You should be able to insert a knife and have it come out clean.