It’s no secret that I don’t bake.

This is what happens when I do.

Please tell me thats normal. This neat freak was in a slight panic.

And even though I’ve got one of those handy dough scoopers, my cookies still aren’t uniform or in a row. What is wrong with me?!

When Rachel from The Avid Appetite decided to host a cookie swap, I had purpose and I had to bake! Check out the other goodies here: Virtual Cookie Swap Party! 

Thankfully, even though they weren’t uniform on the pan, these sour cream cookies still turned out. (Baking success!) They are a cakey cookie, and while I thought they’d be perfect with a smear of buttercream or chocolate frosting, the Taster was all about the plain vanilla flavor.

The recipe comes from my beloved Congressional Club Recipe book and is straight from North Dakota. (More to come on this book.) I’m not sure if this recipe is a classic, retro or what, but it definitely has a sugar cookie vibe.

If you are the sort of baker who has sprinkles and fun decorations, you could easily jazz them up a bit for the holidays, but clearly I’m not.

]]> http://anutritionisteats.com/sour-cream-cookies/feed/ 19 http://anutritionisteats.com/favorite-fall-recipes/ http://anutritionisteats.com/favorite-fall-recipes/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:00:45 +0000 Emily http://anutritionisteats.com/?p=8310

Fall always seems to be a favorite of seasons among the masses, and I always get really excited for slowing down, using the crock pot and making football food.

Since I’ve lived in the Midwest my entire life, I have no idea what fall will feel like in Southern California. I’m sure I’ll miss the change of seasons but I also really like palm trees, so I might be ok.

Because I’ve had a few weeks without a kitchen, I can’t wait to cook some fall foods once we are settled in California. Here are some that have caught my eye! Add your favorites below!

Breakfast

Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (Budget Bytes)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal 

Butter Toffee Oatmeal 

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts (Healthy. Delicious) 

Pumpkin Doughnuts (Annie’s Eats) 

Veggies/Sides

Braised Red Cabbage

Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta & Parmesan

Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter & Pepper

 Slow-Cooker Pork & Beans (Savvy Eats)

Main

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chorizo Soup

Acorn Squash Soup with Crab

Crock Pot White Chicken Chili (Weekly Bite) 

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder (The Healthy Everythingtarian) 

 Smoky Potato Soup with Kale (Fake Food Free)

 Crock Pot French Onion Soup (How Sweet It Is)

Sweets

Apple Bread Pudding with Brandy Sauce 

Maple Vanilla Almond Clusters (Pinch of Yum)

Individual Pumpkin Pie Trifles (The Avid Appetite)

Autumn Almond Butter (The Wannabe Chef) 

Pumpkin Spice Lattes (Eating for England)

Last week I taught a Nutrition/Cooking class for some wonderful adults with disabilities.
I’ve never done anything like it and I will admit that I was a little nervous. Ok, I was pretty much terrified. I didn’t really know what to expect, I hoped they would enjoy it and I really wanted them to like the apple dip that we made and then snacked on.

I talked about the plate method of eating that we use at Camp and then showed them how to make a favorite fall dip of mine. I grew up eating a dip very similar to this every fall, and it brings back memories of crunchy, golden leaves in the woods.

The class ended up going pretty well (they seemed to enjoy it!) and the dip went over fantastically, which I knew it would. I always eat it with apples, but it would be delicious on probably anything!

I’ll be working in Florida this weekend at the Gluten Intolerance Group Conference, but hopefully most of you will be celebrating the 4th with a long weekend, delicious eats and maybe a fun summer cocktail or two!

4th of July food is a must, right?

Which is why I’ve compiled this list of some of my favorite foods and drinks this 4th of July! Some are healthy, some are not. Either path you choose, enjoy your meal, enjoy your family and/or friends and enjoy our freedom!

Mains:

Italian Chicken Burgers

Tijuana Dogs

Mexican Black Bean Burgers (The Healthy Everythingtarian)

Parmesan Pesto Veggie Sandwich (Pinch of Yum)

Chipotle Steak Sliders (In Good Taste)

Shrimp Po’ Boys (baked not fried from The Avid Appetite)

Starters and Sides:

Guacamole Bar (so fun!)

Greek Potato Salad

Orange Ale Viniagrette & Arugula Salad

Grilled Cauliflower, Sage & Brown Butter

Grilled Green Beans with Dill Feta (Fake Food Free)

Peach, Proscuitto & Chevre Crostini (Eating for England)

Bean & Feta Salad (A Fit & Spicy Life)

Quinoa with Zucchini, Blueberries & Feta (Bran Appetit)

Drinks and Sweets:

Heirloom Tomato Bloody Marys

Cucumber, Mint & Basil Vodka Spritzer

S’mores Bars (Satisfy My Sweet Tooth)

Firecracker Whoopie Pies (Annie’s Eats)

Summer Desserts (Foodily)

Have something to share? Add a link below!

Wednesday 6.8.11

6:25 am: Realize I’ve overslept. Ugh. Roll out of bed and head downstairs for a quick, but intense 30 minutes on the elliptical. Thank the weather gods that it is no longer 103° and humid, I like to save those temps for hot yoga.

Stop by Caribou for daily coffee + coconut creamer…where they know my name. I like it.

Finish reading The Pioneer Woman’s Love Story during commute (not while I was driving of course) – fantastic book, I loved it!

Breakfast: 2 slices sprouted bread + earth balance + peanut butter

Lunch: Brown rice + chard + tofu topped with goddess dressing + sriracha (inspired by Eat Live Run) with a side of greens.

Wonder if I’ll be able to make it through the afternoon (my snack stash is seriously lacking at work.)

End up being so busy at work that I don’t even think about being hungry.

Head out and realize I’m hungry. Actually I totally planned it. Stop by Starbucks (because I had a gift card) and order a strawberry smoothie. They are out of bananas. Stare at the menu with no clue what to order. Order a coffee Frappuccino light, 2% milk. “Wait, what is the light Frappuccino mean?” I ask the barista. “Sugar-free.” “Scratch that, I’ll take a regular, 2%.”

Afternoon Snack #1: Drink about a third of it in the car/my personal library.

Visit a precious little baby and want one.

Sitting in traffic, I practice/plan out the yoga sculpt class I’ll be teaching at camp. I’ve found driving is the perfect time to do this, even though people probably wonder what I’m doing.

Come home starving so the Taster whips up some “Minnesota Sushi.”

Afternoon Snack #2: also known as ham, pickle and cream cheese roll-ups.

God I’m glad I grew up in the Midwest.

Dinner: cod + tartar sauce and broccolini (my favorite!)

Sometimes I like to eat a light dinner just so I can snack later, is that wrong?

Have trouble deciding between popcorn and gelato.

Why decide? Have both!

Evening Snack #1: Belgian Chocolate Gelato – few bites

Umm, why is this the first time I’ve had gelato?! It’s amazing!

Evening Snack #2: Popcorn + a little butter

Rough Calorie Estimate: 1,900

Thoughts on the day: Missing fruit and different colored veggie!

This dinner party started like all of the other dinner parties I have.

With prosecco. Prosecco with ume plum wine to be exact.  I was lucky enough to participate in an Annie Chun’s Dinner Party, which meant I was to host an Asian Dinner Party, choosing between Korean, Thai or Chinese fare. I decided to go with a Korean theme, mainly because the Korean Flank Steak recipe sounded amazing!

Menu

Starters: Chicken and Pork Pot Stickers, Rice Crackers & Roasted Seaweed

Main: Korean Flank Steak with Sticky Rice, Pickled Cucumber Salad and Sigumchi Namul (Korean Seasoned Spinach)

Dessert: Black Sticky Rice with Coconut Mango Ice Cream

This dinner party was a lot of fun to plan – with a little guidance from Annie Chun’s and plenty of creative room – I decided on a menu that like most of my dishes, is healthy, simple, full of vegetables and delicious as ever.

The starters were Pork and Chicken with Vegetable Pot Stickers served alongside some Rice Crackers and Roasted Seaweed for munching. (We did have a slight fiasco with the pot stickers sticking to the pan because I don’t think I used enough oil, but thankfully my guests didn’t judge me too much and they still tasted good!)

A marinade of Korean BBQ sauce and gochujang sauce flavored the Flank Steak impeccably, and the Taster cooked it to perfection! After some quick internet searches for some side dishes to go along with the Korean Steak I decided on a pickled cucumber salad (so simple!) and Sigumchi Namul. Both side dishes allowed me to do most of the prep work ahead of time and the great thing about spinach is that it literally takes 2 minutes to cook. Since there would be rice twice during the meal, I knew I wanted strictly veggie sides. The greens also add a beautiful contrast to the plate.

Dessert was easy. But I can’t really take credit for it. You see, desserts have never really been my strong point and I just happen to know someone who makes home-made ice cream in all sorts of flavors. Yes, home-made! So Kate made some Coconut Mango Ice Cream for me and I served it over the black sticky rice. The ice cream was great – not too sweet, with hints of mango and coconut. It really was the perfect ending.

It is actually quite rare for me to have dinner parties. I love to entertain, but because our table only seats 4 and our dishes are less than desirable, entertaining is usually limited to appetizers and cocktails. Since this was a bit of a special meal, I also wanted to really think about the table settings and decorations. Just like dessert, decorating is not something I really excel at so I wanted to keep it simple. Flowers and candles were easy, and always warm up a table; and the little cards on each place setting read Jalmukesumneda, which essentially means, I’m looking forward to this meal.

And I really was.

Annie Chun’s provided me with various products and compensation for other ingredients for hosting this dinner party.

Let’s start the New Year on a sweet note, shall we?

When I saw this recipe, I tore it out immediately not as a topping for the Maple-Gingerbread Layer Cake recipe that it accompanied, but for a topping for ice cream. More specifically, as an ice cream topping for my Dad.

But then I made it, and tried it – for quality assurance of course – and then the Taster tried it, and we loved it. It is sweet with a touch of salt. Thankfully I had doubled the batch and we had plenty to savor without dipping into Dad’s stash. The Taster put some in coffee, wanted to put it on eggs and we tried it with apple slices. Heaven. I suspect this sauce would make anything taste utterly decadent and ridiculously good.

Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce - makes about 2 cups – adapted from Bon Appétit

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup maple sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the butter in sauce pan. Add maple and brown sugars and whisk together for about 2-3 minutes, until thick and boiling.

Whisk in cream. Bring mixture to a boil, whisking often. Boil until mixture thickens and has reduced.

Remove from heat and add salt and vanilla. Cool, cover, and chill.

I want to start by saying Thank You for all of the congratulations on my engagement. I’m so excited and seeing all of your comments definitely made my day!  Since you were all so sweet – I’ve got a sweet recipe for you!

This dessert was part of my Luxury Dinner Party and it was just the sweet ending I was after – something delicious, not too heavy and simple to throw together. I got a few requests for the recipe so I thought I would share it with you all, but I won’t tell your guests how easy it is. Promise.

My first experience with cannoli was in Boston, at the famous Mike’s Pastry in the North End, and it has forever changed me.  The crunchy shell and smooth, creamy filling are like the lovechild of a cheesecake and a cheese course. In other words, the best kind of dessert out there in my opinion. You can keep your chocolate, just let me have the cheese!

I chose to forgo the cannoli shells as I didn’t have time, nor do I have the equipment to make them (maybe someday) and I’m not aware of any local Italian Bakery’s where I could buy them. Locals – am I missing some great Italian bakery? And in my non-Italian opinion, the filling is the best part anyways.

Cannoli Cream - 6-8 servings

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.

Let chill. I put the cheese mixture in a plastic bag, cut the corner and piped over berries.

Oh and if you’ve got any leftover? It makes an excellent addition to morning coffee. A little naughty, I know. 1 Tbsp cannoli cream + 2-3 Tbsp milk, mixed until smooth with hand-held frother + coffee = extra delicious coffee.

All good meals start with prosecco. Don’t believe me? Try it.

Luxury Dinner Parties conjure up an array of memories – I think of my Aunt Frances whose parties always included champagne and caviar. I think of Dinner Club, my parents group of 4 couples who have dinner together once a month and have been doing so for almost 30 years. I’d say they know a thing or two about dinner parties. I think of my friend Mercedes who always has the perfect place settings and exceptional desserts.

But I haven’t hosted many dinner parties on my own. I generally fall back on cocktail party type get togethers. I’m not sure why – maybe because our table only seats 4, our dishes are terrible and honestly, I don’t particularly like having to leave the party to finish a meal in the kitchen!

Challenge #3 was about to change that. Hosting a Luxury Dinner Party for at least 4 was the challenge and I have to say that planning, preparing and enjoying the company of family over dinner was just that – enjoyable. You can expect to see more dinner parties from me!

Planning Ahead:

• Theme: pick a theme and carry it out throughout all courses, drinks and decor
• Timing: dinner parties require time management and planning ahead. Sure I would have loved to make the gnocchi from scratch but yoga, work and a drive to Wisconsin did not allow that time – my meal needed to come together quickly. I also know that not everyone has full days to spend on dinner parties. I had about an hour to prep for my meal, and sometimes you may only have an hour (or worse!) but you can make it work!
• Place Settings: I prefer white plates and cloth napkins with simple decor. Fresh flowers are always a nice touch.

The Menu:

• Courses: I rarely make a dessert but this occasion called for one. Decide how many courses you will serve.
• Food: I started with the gnocchi to go along with my Italian theme and since that would be somewhat rich, I wanted the other courses to remain light. Feeling stuffed may mean the food was fantastic but it certainly isn’t an enjoyable way to end the evening. Let’s also not forget that I’m a Nutritionist and a strong believer in portion control.
• Drinks: I always like to start with prosecco, whether the meal is an Italian one or not. I also served Italian Red & White wines as well as beer.

Antipasti: Antipasto Platter: Olives, Artichokes, Roasted Red Peppers, Prosciutto & Pecorino Romano

Insalata: Garden Lettuce & Parsley Salad with Lemon Viniagrette

Gnocchi: Potato Gnocchi with Olive Oil & Parmesan

Dolci: Cannoli Cream with Fresh Berries

Most importantly however is that the host should never be stuck in the kitchen the whole night. You should choose dishes that can easily be made ahead of time, or can be thrown together rather quickly at the end. It’s imperative that the majority of the prep is complete by the time your guests arrive. Oh, and have fun! That’s what it’s all about anyway – sure lucious food makes for a great party, but it all comes down to the company you share it with!

Buon Appetito!

Thanks for your support in getting me to the next round! Voting starts tomorrow for Challenge #3!

]]> http://anutritionisteats.com/project-food-blog-3-luxury-dinner-party/feed/ 37 http://anutritionisteats.com/guest-post-french-macarons/ http://anutritionisteats.com/guest-post-french-macarons/#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:00:38 +0000 Emily http://anutritionisteats.com/?p=4246

Emily and I have been wonderful friends for almost a decade!  Since we lived together for several years, she knows my love for baking.  Even though we don’t live together anymore, I still enjoy bringing her and “the taster” samples of my latest creation.  When I told her I had succeeded in my quest to make “perfect” French macarons, I was thrilled when she asked me to do a guest post about it.

Circa 2006?

To say that I love to bake is a bit of an understatement.  I consider baking to be one of my favorite hobbies and biggest stress relievers.  While cookies, cakes and other baked goods will satisfy my craving to bake, from time to time, I desire more of a challenge.  Having studied French for 6 years and having had the pleasure of going to France a few times, there is one French confection that I have had an infatuation with:  macarons.  Not only do I find the petite cookies beautiful and lovely to look at, but also the flavor possibilities and textures are amazing.  My favorite flavor combination that I have sampled was pistachio with chocolate ganache.  The egg white and almond based cookies literally melt in your mouth yet have an impressive chewiness to them.  The cookies are sandwiched together and typically filled with ganache or buttercream.

Since I have marveled at the intricate structure of the cookies for quite some time, I knew making them myself would be challenging.  There are several regional varieties of macaroons/macarons and one of the varieties that many of us are most familiar with is the coconut macaroon.  While both the coconut macaroon and French macaron incorporate whipped egg whites into their recipes, the coconut adds a moist chewiness that is much more dense than the French macarons which gain some of their substance and texture from ground almonds.  Well made French macarons have shiny tops with air-pocket-filled edges.  The cookies are so delicate that you can peel this top shiny layer off and it is as thin as tissue paper.

Source: French Macaron & Coconut Macaroon

No doubt you have identified multiple possible sources of frustration when trying to fabricate these fragile treats. Having had a previous failed attempt at making the delicate macarons, I did a quick Internet search for tips and tricks and was amazed at the websites, blogs and online tutorials dedicated to this sweet treat.  The recipe that finally gave me success is from Foodnetwork and is courtesy of Gale Gand.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Burgers (French Macarons)

Macarons:

• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus 1/2 cup
• 1 1/2 cups, plus 1 tablespoon ground almonds
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 5 egg whites

Peanut Butter Buttercream:

• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Equipment: Pastry bag with round tip

Directions

Make the Macaroons: Preheat the oven to 300° F.

Line several sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside. In a bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups of the sugar, almonds, and cocoa powder.

In another clean dry bowl whip the egg whites with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar until medium peaks form (do not beat to stiff peaks).

Fold egg whites into dry ingredients to a make a meringue.

Fill the pastry bag with the meringue. (To easily fill the pastry bag, place it (with a clothespin holding it shut at the bottom) in a tall round container such as a coffee can, mayonnaise jar, or vase, folding the edge over the rim of the container.)

Pipe rows of kisses 1-inch in diameter (about the size of a quarter), keeping them 1/2 inch apart, onto the sheet pans.

Bake until very light brown, rotating the pans after 8 minutes, about 17 minutes. Let the macaroons cool on the pan.

Meanwhile, make the Peanut Butter Buttercream: In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and whip. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and whip until fluffy. Transfer the buttercream to a clean pastry bag fitted with a round tip.

Peel 2 macarons off the parchment, pipe the buttercream on 1 flat side and sandwich the other flat-side down on top. Repeat with the remaining macaroons. Keep chilled in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Thank you so much Mercedes for both the guest post AND the amazing chocolate & peanut butter macarons – they were delicious! If you are a baker, you have to try these!