You say tomato, I say delicious!

One of my favorite parts of summer is the abundance of fresh, sweet tomatoes.

To my suprise, I have discovered that my neighborhood fish market, Black Salt, is my source for the sweetest locally grown tomatoes I have ever tasted.  Two weeks ago, along with the fish I purchased, I picked up a couple red tomatoes to go along with dinner and I couldn't believe it when I took a bite of the tomatoes!  Sweet beyond belief.  Almost like eating candy!

Tonight I remembered what a chef at one of my cooking classes taught me.  She used to say that the best dishes are not those with the most ingredients but rather a dish concocted with the freshest, best ingredients you can find.  For example, her theory was that a dessert made with the best eggs and a quality vanilla bean would be better than an overly complicated dessert made with processed ingredients any day.

This brings me to the side dish I prepared for dinner tonight.

I stopped at Black Salt to pick up scallops for dinner and told the chef of the restaurant (who happened to be in the market) about the amazing tomatoes I had purchased two weeks ago.  He suggested I try orange sunburst tomatoes he had in the market.  The tomatoes were the size of a cherry tomato but sweeter than any tomato I have ever tasted.  The chef said the tomatoes were particularly sweet given the hot weather this area experienced in August.

Once at home, I cut the tomatoes in half and cubed some fresh mozzarella cheese.  After depositing the tomatoes and cheese in a bowl, I added a pinch of sea salt and a few dashes of good balsamic vinegar.  

The result was delicious and frankly, almost like eating dessert for dinner.  What could be better?

And, since it is the middle of the week and my husband and I work full-time, being able to prepare a tasty and healthy dish in under five minutes makes this dish even better.

So remember as the final days of summer are upon us, take advantage of the farmer's market in your area to buy fresh, quality ingredients and keep it simple for a guaranteed delicious dish!

Sunburst Tomato Salad

Ingredients

1 small container orange sunburst tomatoes

1/3 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

Balsamic Vinegar

Sea Salt

Details

*Cut tomatoes in half and deposit in a bowl along with the diced mozzarella cheese.

*Toss tomatoes and cheese.

*Add a pinch of sea salt and 2-3 dashes of balsamic vinegar.  Toss and serve.

Giving in to the Cupcake Craze with Bite-size Goodness!

Has anyone else noticed that cupcake mania has consumed our country? No longer are cupcake consumers relegated to the sad looking cupcakes in the plastic containers at the grocery store topped with inedible wannabe buttercream frosting and sprinkles or tacky seasonal decorations. Instead, cupcakes of every imaginable flavor are accessible topped with real-deal buttercream or cream cheese frosting.

I should preface this by saying that I got burned out on cupcakes by the end of middle school. It seemed like for every birthday of a student in the classroom, we were “treated” to cupcakes. Yellow cake cupcakes with bad chocolate frosting or dry chocolate cupcakes with boring and sad buttercream frosting.

So it took a lot for me to try a cupcake again and I was very skeptical.

Clearly, the cupcake has been due for an extreme makeover for quite a while.

Or at least it needed one before I could look at a cupcake again.

And I have to admit, I got swept up in the craze a couple years ago. As you may know, Washington, DC is home to the now famous-because-of-a-reality-tv-show, Georgetown Cupcake. I am a frequent consumer of their vanilla cupcake with the most glorious cream cheese frosting you could ever imagine.

A recent visit to Georgetown Cupcake prompted me to try to make my own cupcakes. After waiting in the car with our son while my husband braved a one hour wait in a neverending line for the goodness that is a Georgetown Cupcake, I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. The Georgetown Cupcakes were absolutely delectable but sitting in the car for an hour with a little boy who is ready to go to bed and desperately wants his nighttime bottle and pajamas is not pretty and not fair to the Little Man! Before Davis, it wouldn't have been the end of the world to wait in line that long but life with a one-year-old changes these little luxuries.

I mean, what were we thinking? One hour for four cupcakes? Really? Were they that good?

Sadly, the answer is yes, they are that good.  However, the waiting game is definitely not practical most days in our life.

I finally decided to take matters into my own hands.  This is how I found myself making mini-vanilla mascarpone cupcakes with a strawberry glaze on a recent Saturday afternoon.  In fact, I served them as an extra dessert at Davis' birthday party as they are so good.

The recipe is very simple and the mascarpone cheese is definitely the secret weapon to keep the mini-cupcakes moist.  Plus, the addition of the strawberry glaze which tops the cupcake doesn't overwhelm the cake portion but adds a little tinge of sweetness.  The end result is 48 bites of cupcake goodness.  Yes, you can really eat the mini-cupcake in one bite, too.

I loved the idea of mini-cupcakes because as I found, I didn't feel as bad popping five mini-cupcakes in my mouth as I did eating two regular-size cupcakes.  In addition, if you serve these for a party, tea or even as a light dessert at a late morning/early afternoon brunch, they are easy to eat without creating a mess when you are trying to chat with folks.

The best part is these will take you approximately 30 minutes from start to your mouth.  As I found, preparing the mini-cupcakes in the comfort of my own home in less time and for less money than it costs to buy four Georgetown Cupcakes is a win-win situation.

Vanilla Mascarpone Strawberry Mini-Cupcakes
Makes 48 mini-cupcakes

For the mini-cupcakes:
8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened
2 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 box white cake mix
1 cup water

For the glaze:
1/3 cup frozen strawberries, unfrozen and strained
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Details:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Spray mini-muffin pan with cooking spray
*Combine mascarpone cheese, egg whites and vegetable oil in bowl of a standing mixer.
*Once blended, add in white cake mix and water.  Mix until smooth.
*Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough into the muffin pan.
*Bake for 18-30 mins.
*While cupcakes cook, puree strawberries in a food processor.
*Mix strawberry puree with the powdered sugar and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
*Once cupcakes are cool, dip the tops in the strawberry glaze.
 
Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis

Plain Jane Granola

When it comes to certain foods, I have always been somewhat of a Plain Jane.

Hamburger?

Plain, please. Maaaybe with cheese if I am feeling crazy.

Pancakes?

You can keep the butter but I’ll take the syrup. But just a little bit.

Ice cream sundae?

I'll pass on the whipped cream, cherry and nuts. Just the ice cream and the hot fudge, please.

This brings me to my recent quest for the perfect granola. I really like the idea of granola.  However, the granola I find at the store either tastes like the plastic bag it is sold in or else has an untenable amount of nuts and raisins to suit my taste. Because I now have a bit longer commute to work and am always trying to find ways to save money, I am trying to eat a healthy breakfast at home prior to leaving for work each morning. And, because I want to spend as much time as I can with my son before I leave home for work, I want something that is easy and doesn’t require cooking each morning.

Finally I decided, why not make my own granola? Significantly modifying a recipe I found online, I omitted most of the nuts and a few other ingredients to create a delicious and stripped down granola. For me, the rolled oats and what they are coated in makes or breaks granola for me. During summer, there is a variety of fresh fruit in season that nicely compliments granola so I was even more eager to go sans the copious nuts and raisins in my granola.

All you need to make this hearty granola is rolled oats, maple syrup, butter, pecans (or any nuts you want to add) and cinnamon.

I melted the stick of butter (you can use less than a stick if you prefer) and added the melted butter and maple syrup to the oats and mixed thoroughly. Next, I added in cinnamon and stirred the mixture one last time. Then I spread the oats on a baking sheet and baked for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. I turned the oats with a spatula half-way through the baking process.

I would also highly recommend using a silpat mat when baking the granola. It makes clean-up so easy and nothing sticks to the pan nor do you have to worry about greasing the pan.

Over the weekend I layered granola between layers of organic, low-fat vanilla yogurt and topped it with fresh raspberries. My Plain Jane Granola was crunchy and a little sweet. The chopped pecans were about the same size as the oats and therefore blended together perfectly so that each bite of granola was a perfect harmony of oats and nuts and one ingredient did not overpower the other.

As I mentioned, you can personalize your granola. Adding dried fruit like unsweetened cranberries, different kinds of chopped nuts or fresh fruit to top your own granola parfait are all great options. This is delicious for breakfast layered between yogurt or even as a snack on the run. My husband said he will take the Plain Jane Granola with him for a healthy snack on the golf course and I caught myself grabbing a handful here and there while I worked around the house this weekend.

Plain Jane Granola
Ingredients
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon (you can use more if you prefer)
 
Details
*Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
*Pour four cups old-fashioned rolled oats into medium bowl.
*Melt butter and add to oats along with the maple syrup and cinnamon. Stir well with a spatula.
*Spread mixture evenly on a baking sheet using a silpat mat if you have one.
*Bake for 30 minutes and turn the oats with the spatula half-way through baking.
*Add dried fruit if you'd like or serve with yogurt and top with fresh fruit.

A Chocolate Cake Fit for a Sous Chef

When my son was born a little over a year ago, I made a pact with myself that I would teach him the joys of food that my dad taught me.  Since my dad is no longer with us, I felt that it was my duty to make sure Davis understands that not only does food nourish us physically, it feeds our soul and is a wonderful way to bring people together.  

One of the joys of being a mom has been introducing my son to new foods and watching him either cringe with disgust or open his mouth and lean forward like a baby bird looking for more food while pounding the tray of his high chair in a MOMMYIWANTMORERIGHTNOW manner as he sought out more of the food that he decided he liked.  It may be silly, but I rejoiced the day he ate a homemade quesadilla that he watched me prepare for him.

As my son grew over this past year, I made him a part of anything I was doing in the kitchen, just as my dad had done with me.  Once Davis started to enjoy his bouncy seat at around 1 1/2 months old, he would sit perched on the island in our kitchen as I prepared dinner for myself and my husband watching with interest as I chopped and sauteed.  

As he got bigger, I gave him a spatula to play with while I cooked.  He was in the kitchen with me as we prepared pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  He even started to cry after my husband moved him to his toys away from the kitchen action ... the child didn't want to miss a thing in the kitchen!  He has evolved into my taste-tester as well.  On Christmas Day, he sampled the harvest squash bisque I prepared.  Davis was also my company at 5 am as I rose early to begin prepping a Southwestern Brunch for our New Year's Day party.  As he grew out of his bouncy seat, he began supervising the action from his exersaucer, jumping up and down whenever he heard the whir of the food processor or the standing mixer. 

As he began walking over the past few months, Davis plants himself underfoot in the kitchen as I prepare lunch for him, dinner for our family or prep for a party.  He even loves kitchen tools like I do as observed from his fascination with my whisk (which has now seen better days since he got his hands on it), spatulas and mixing bowls.  

Given my love of food that I am passing on to Davis, I felt an intense need to make Davis' first birthday cake from scratch and ensure it would be especially delicious should he decide to take a bite of the chocolate goodness that awaited him.  So as not to be disappointed if Davis dissed his cake, I did keep in mind that although I enjoy sweets a great deal now, I was the child who would pass up ice cream in lieu of french fries during summer trips to the Dairy Queen.

For my little sous chef's birthday, I prepared a decadent double-layer chocolate cake with a recipe I found on the back of a Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder can.  And delicious and decadent it was.

Now, please do not think this cake is just for kids.  It is not.  As expected, my son didn't even take a bite.  The adults at the party seemed to enjoy the cake immensely.  The cake turned out moist and rich with a perfect chocolate flavor.  I frosted it with a vanilla buttercream frosting which was the perfect compliment to the cake.  I also channeled my inner Martha Stewart and with an idea from her website and made the frosting a light blue color and placed fish made of sugar cookies on the side of the cake.  To top it all off, I used her blueprint to make a paper sailboat to top the cake.  Origami is not my strong suit but it turned out pretty good!  Feel free to omit the fish, blue food coloring and origami and you will have a very chic chocolate cake to serve your guests.

The cake is extraordinarily easy to make as is the frosting.  I did make the cake a day ahead and frosted it the day of the party and it still tasted perfect.  Davis was not content to watch the cake-making from the floor of the kitchen so I ended up making most of it while holding him.  The whir of the mixer caught his attention and he wanted to be eye-level with whatever was mixing up the sweet goodness that would become his birthday cake.

When I went to frost the cake the next day, I gently sliced off the top of one of the layers so that the other would lay flat upon it.  My mother-in-law passed on a great tip when I shared with her my frustration of chocolate crumbs in my blue frosting acquired as I tried to frost the cake with care.  She suggested freezing the cake though not fully and then frosting so that the crumbs would not come up off the cake as I frosted.

At last the big moment came for cake and we had to pry Davis away from his 1950s diner/kitchen he received as a birthday gift where he had been playing intently for over an hour.  Once "Happy Birthday" had been sung, the Birthday Boy looked at the cake with minimal interest, attempted to touch the still burning candle, and rebuffed my efforts to encourage him to take a bite or play with the frosting.  He then squirmed out of my arms and high-tailed it back to his playroom and got back to whatever he was cooking up in his kitchen to entertain his guests.

And I couldn't have been more proud of my son and partner in crime in the kitchen.

I can't wait for another year of kitchen adventures with my cooking partner in crime and the best sous chef a Mommy could ask for.

Davis' Birthday Cake

(Serves 8-10)

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Details

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Lightly flour and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

*In a medium blow, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

*In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

*Reduce speed to low and add vanilla and eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition.

*Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with the flour mixture), while on low speed.

*Continue to mix until smooth.  Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.

*To frost, wait until cakes are fully cooled.  Place one cake on a plate and cut off top so it is flat.  Spread frosting on cake, top with second cake.  Using an offset spatula, continue frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

(enough to cover two 9-inch cakes)

Ingredients

3 cups confectioner's sugar

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 tablespoons heavy cream

Details

*In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter.  Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

*Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Cake recipe from Ghirardelli Grand Fudge Cake recipe.  Frosting recipe from Gale Gand, Food Network.

Divine chocolate cake and easy entertaining tips on the way ...

It was a big weekend at the Turrentine house!  My sweet baby boy, Davis, turned 1 year old.  You can see from the picture of my husband and Davis that it was a great time.  Check out the blog later for details on the festivities including the most delicious chocolate cake (not pictured in this photo so you'll have to check back) and easy entertaining tips for putting together a sophisticated yet not fussy party when you don't have a lot of time.

Crumblies -- they're not just for dessert!

I’ve discussed my affinity for crumblies as part of a dessert before on the blog.

But, crumblies are not just for dessert.

Thank goodness!

Lovers of crumblies, fear not as there are way to incorporate savory crumblies into many dishes. Early last week, I was looking for a quick dinner to make. My husband and I both work full-time and therefore when we get home at night, we want to spend as much time as possible with our son yet still be able to have a delicious dinner. As many of you know, this is sometimes easier said than done.

This mission led me to the recipe below.  I recently discovered my son enjoyed tortellini and I purchased a bag of tortellini at the store which turned out to be quite delicious. I sampled the tortellini as he ate his dinner and decided that I was going to make them for dinner but rather than the parmesan and butter that topped his dinner, I decided to integrate bread crumbs and sage as well as omitting the butter for olive oil.

And thus, my tortellini with savory crumblies was born.

If you can boil water and mix together parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and olive oil, you have a great and easy dinner! I also added a bit of chopped sage from my new herb garden (thanks to L and family for the herbs). Once you sprinkle the crumblies over the tortellini, you can also put the dish in the oven for a few minutes to crisp the topping much like you would for a sweet dessert with crumblies.

Use as much or as little of the crumblies as you wish. Within minutes, you are left with tender tortellini with a flavorful topping. Trust me, this is much better than warming a jar of pasta sauce!

C’s Tortellini with Savory Crumblies
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 cups tortellini
¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs
2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (more or less to taste)
Fresh Sage, finely chopped (1-2 leaves)
Olive oil

Details
*Measure out 4 cups of tortellini and boil until tender. Drain, rinse and place in serving bowl.
*In a separate small bowl, mix breadcrumbs, chopped sage and parmesan cheese together. Add olive oil until the mixture is slightly mushy and binds together.
*Drop spoonfuls of the mixture over the tortellini.
*Place in the oven heated to 375 degrees for a few minutes to crisp the crumblies.

The Madonna of Pasta

True stars are often known by his or her first name only.

Madonna.

Oprah.

Beyonce.

Bono.

Move over Madge, Queen of Pop and Oprah, Queen of Talk because there’s a new Queen in town: Pecorino, Queen of Pasta.

Commonly called Cacio e Pepe, I shortened the dish to simply: Pecorino. There is a reason Madonna does not go by her real name Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. If you are a true star, one word says it all!

I had my first Pecorino experience while dining at a Mario Batali restaurant. I ordered a very simple dish on the menu listed as Cacio e Pepe. It was described as pasta with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper with a dash of olive oil and butter. As my husband will attest since he was there to witness my first meeting with the dish I call Pecorino, it was love at first bite. My eyes may or may not have rolled back in my head with the first bite as it was THAT good.

After my dinner of Pecorino, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Probably much like if you met Oprah or Madonna, it would be hard to stop recounting the experience of the meeting. A true star makes a lasting impression, right? As soon as we were wheels down in DC from Vegas, I immediately set out to re-create this amazing pasta dish and discovered it was surprisingly easy. In fact, I actually liked my version better than what I ate at the restaurant.

As my family of three is in the midst of packing for a move to a new house later this week, I prepared Pecorino over the weekend as it was quick, easy and filling and is great the next day.  To begin, you only need three ingredients: Pecorino Romano cheese (this is a sheep’s milk cheese), black pepper (preferably from a pepper grinder) and a medium thickness pasta. I prefer Bucatini for this recipe but a standard spaghetti will work fine.

If you can boil water, you can make Pecorino. Boil the water for your pasta and while the pasta boils, grate your Pecorino Romano cheese. I use the cheese quite liberally in this dish so you can figure on a little less than ½ pound of grated cheese for one pound pasta. When I am in a hurry, I often buy the Pecorino Romano already grated which is a nice convenience when making this dish.

Once the pasta is cooked (I prefer slightly al dente), remove and drain and reserve a bit of the water in which you cooked the pasta. Using tongs, put a quarter of the pasta in your serving dish. Sprinkle it with the cheese and plenty of black pepper and toss using the tongs.

You will see that the pecorino and pepper cling nicely to the noodles. Be as generous as you want with the cheese! Repeat until you’ve used all the pasta and each strand has a good coating of the cheese and black pepper. I don’t think this dish even needs salt because the Pecorino Romano has a salty flavor. If the pasta feels a bit dry, feel free to add some of the reserved pasta water.

Here is a picture of the finished product of cheesy, peppery goodness:

The beauty of Pecorino is that it is perfect to serve as a quick dinner or as a main dish for a dinner party.  These days, those are star quality characteristics for me!   

Pecorino (serves 4 as a main course)

Ingredients
1 lb Bucatini pasta (feel free to use spaghetti or another medium thickness noodle)
1/2 lb grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Ground black pepper (from a pepper mill)

Details
*Boil water and cook pasta until al dente
*Drain pasta and reserve some of the pasta water
*In a large serving bowl, deposit 1/4 of the pasta in the bowl with tongs.  Sprinkle liberally with the cheese and black pepper and toss until noodles are coated.  Repeat until all pasta is used and coated with pecorino and black pepper.