Monthly Archives: October 2013

Witches’ Brew

When I first started this blog, I made a cocktail each week and posted it every Friday.  After all, when you’ve had a long week at work, what a better way to unwind than to sit down with a new tasty beverage? I love trying new drinks but as a result of making a cocktail each week, I ended up with an overstocked liquor cabinet and needed to slow things down.  Well, as the weather gets a little cooler, it’s got me in the mood for trying more new drinks.  With Halloween being this week, there is no better time than now to try this Witches’ Brew.

White beer (like Blue Moon) is jazzed up with pomegranate liquor and pomegranate juice.  That’s it.  Being a lover of white beer, I was curious to try this concoction but at the same time freaked out.  Why ruin a perfectly good beer? But it doesn’t ruin it. Instead, the pomegranate adds a little something-something and mellows out the beer’s flavor which makes this taste more like a cocktail than a beer. Pomegranate has a hearty flavor which you may or may not like.  I personally love the flavor of pomegranate so I think this works well with a white beer that already has citrus tones to it. Now, I have no idea why this is called Witches’ Brew as there really isn’t anything particularly Fall or Halloween-y about it.  But who cares? While I’m cuddled up on the couch shivering from watching Halloween for the millionth time, I’ll be glad I have this to calm my nerves a bit.

DSC04677

The ingredients:

DSC04670

Stir together beer, liqueur and juice in a pitcher.

DSC04673

DSC04674

Serve in a glass over ice.

DSC04676

Garnish with pomegranate seeds, if desired.

DSC04678

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Family Circle magazine

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I hope that putting vegetables in your baked goods doesn’t freak you out.  Some people are no stranger to zucchini bread, muffins or pancakes while others, who’ve never tried it, cringe at the very thought. These just might be the same people who can’t stand any fruit in their salad.  (Sorry, I just don’t get it.)  I know someone who would never go near a cake with zucchini in it like this Chocolate Zucchini Cake, but I’m all for it.  Would I ever sit down and make a chocolate cake for no reason if I couldn’t justify it?  Well…probably.  But regardless, somehow in my whacked out brain, zucchini justifies it.

Chocolate cake batter, flavored with cocoa, reduced-fat cream cheese and reduced-fat buttermilk, is made even more healthy with the addition of shredded zucchini.  An extra toss of chocolate chips in the batter along with the mocha-like chocolate drizzle on top only establishes this a decadent chocolate cake.  The zucchini not only adds a healthy component to this cake but it also helps it to stay moist so your aren’t left with a dry clunky dessert.  If you handed a piece of this cake to someone and didn’t tell them zucchini was in it, they’d never know unless they inspected the tiny green flakes in each piece. So why not give yourself a break and make yourself a chocolate cake? You really don’t need to justify it.

DSC04616

The ingredients:

DSC04603

Preheat oven to 350°F. To prepare cake, coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust pan with 1 tablespoon flour. Place sugars, cream cheese, and vegetable oil in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

DSC04605

DSC04607

Lightly spoon 2 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour and next 5 ingredients (2 1/2 cups flour through cinnamon) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

DSC04608

Stir in zucchini, 2/3 cup chocolate chips, and nuts.

DSC04609

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

DSC04610

To prepare glaze, combine 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons cocoa in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

DSC04613

Combine milk, 2 tablespoons chocolate chips, coffee, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in a 1-cup glass measure. Microwave at medium 45 seconds or until chocolate melts, stirring after 20 seconds. Combine powdered sugar mixture with chocolate mixture, stirring with a whisk.

DSC04614

DSC04615

Drizzle glaze over cake.

DSC04618

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light magazine

Chicken Stir-Fry with Corn, Pineapple and Red Pepper

If you’ve read my blog for a little while, you might have noticed that I have thing for stir-fries. When I’m trying to eat healthy, my brain goes right to chicken and vegetables.  And since sitting down with a plain plate of baked chicken and steamed veggies doesn’t really get my blood pumpin’, I’m more likely to chop everything up and turn it into some kind of stir-fry.  The thing is: I’m pretty boring when it comes to stir-fries. If it were left to my creativity, I’d make chicken and broccoli stir-fry every time. But that is exactly why I have this blog and why I have so many recipes tucked away waiting to be made.  This Chicken Stir-Fry with Corn, Pineapple and Red Pepper is exactly the type of stir-fry that never would have occurred to me to make on my own.

Chunks of boneless chicken breast are stir-fried with sweet corn, crispy red pepper and tangy pineapple in a flavorful sauce of ginger, cumin and chicken stock. A dash of Sriracha added at the end adds a kick to the whole dish which helps to balance out the natural sweetness of the produce. This stir-fry slightly reminds me of a healthy sweet-and-sour chicken mostly because of the juxtaposition of the sweet and spicy. It never would have occurred to me to mix these vegetable together, let alone paired with pineapple. I’ve never considered throwing together a stir-fry without any green veggies or soy sauce but now I realize that nearly any combination of fruits and vegetables could work together.  Nectarine, asparagus and pea?  Why not? Plum, cauliflower and spinach? Sure!  My mind is officially blown.

DSC04580

The ingredients:

DSC04575

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken and stir-fry over moderately high heat for 3 minutes; transfer to a plate.

DSC04576

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet. Add the onion and ginger and cook for 3 minutes. Add the red pepper, cumin and stock, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring a few times, for  4 minutes.

DSC04577

Add the corn, pineapple and Sriracha and stir-fry over moderately high heat until hot.

DSC04578

Add the chicken and stir-fry for 1 minute.

DSC04579

Season with salt and pepper; serve.

DSC04581

Additions:  None

Omissions:

  • Red onion

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Food & Wine magazine

1 2 3
Blog at WordPress.com.
%d bloggers like this: