Red Velvet Cookies

Currently sitting on my desk at work - SIN!!

Is there any food that sounds more sinful than red velvet cake?  Red - the color of sin.  Velvet - such a  sensual fabric, it is sure to be sinful...  Cake - delicious, delicious sin.

Red velvet cake has been big in the south for many years, and lately, red velvet cupcakes have been driving the ridiculous cupcake obsession in America.  This, friends, is even better. 

Red. Velvet. Cookies.

How could red velvet cake have been improved?  By making it a cookie.  Cookies are the best.  Which is what I have done.  Make hundreds, eat them all, and wallow in sin.


Cookies:

• 5 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ½ tsp. baking Soda
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 oz. bottle red food coloring
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

1. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugars until smooth. Add eggs, food coloring, vanilla and lemon juice. Beat just until combined.
3. Add flour mixture and beat just until combined.
4. Place tablespoon-size balls of dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake at 350 for 10 – 12 minutes. Edges will be set, but centers will still be soft. Cool on wire racks. Cooled cookies may be iced with cream cheese frosting.

Frosting:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 5 – 6 cups confectioners sugar

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy.
2. Add vanilla and confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time, until frosting is slightly dry but still smooth.
3. Frost cookies.

Crème de Menthe Brownies

Now, sometimes when we say "perennial favorite", what we really mean is "we've had these before, and I'm just overstating their importance to get you to like them." 

That is not the case with the crème de menthe brownies.

They are an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY at our Christmas party.  There is a good chance that there would be open revolt if they weren't there: candy canes carved into jailhouse shivs, sugar cookie throwing stars, pointsetta projectiles...  They. Are. That. Good.

 

For Brownies:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 16oz can Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, flour, salt, chocolate syrup and vanilla and mix well.
4. Pour into a greased and floured 13x9x2 baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Cool in pan.

For Frosting:

• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ¼ cup butter
• 4 Tbs. Green Crème de Menthe

1. Mix one cup sugar with butter and liqueur.
2. Add up to one additional cup of sugar and beat until it is spreading consistency.
3. Spread on cooled brownies.

For Glaze:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 Tbs. butter

1. Melt together in microwave or double boiler.
2. Cool a bit and spread on cake, covering it completely so that the green frosting is a special seasonal surprise.
3. Cut into little squares and serve.

If your family and friends are anything like ours, these will go QUICKLY.  Make a whole bunch!!

Sweet Potato Souffle

So it seems that I owe you all two more recipes.  SO BE IT THEN!

First, we have a delicious side dish, perfect for your holiday buffet or intimate dinner.  Even better, you can fully assemble the dish, and refrigerate uncooked overnight, thus eliminating the need to bring out the mixer the day of the party!  Make-ahead and delicious?  Perfect.

 

• 3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes 
• ½ cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup butter, melted

Combine all with electric mixer. Put in 13 x 9 in. pan

Topping:

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Sprinkle topping over sweet potato base.

Bake at 350 for 25 – 30 minutes

Carrot, Parsnip, and Golden Beet Puree

I know it isn't the best photo... but it is damn tasty...

So readers, I know that in my last post, I expressed some, shall we say, dissatisfaction with root vegetables. After a long, cold winter chock-a-block with roasted root this and baked root that, you just want something fresh and light.

Well then, step right up, because this root veggie puree is as fresh and light as they come. And it couldn't possibly be any easier, thanks to the magical cooking powers of steam.

• 2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb parnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb golden beets, cleaned, peeled, and chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable broth
  
• 2 Tbsp butter (optional)

1. In your favorite pot, fitted with your favorite steaming attachment, bring water, broth, and salt to a boil.
2. Add vegetables to steamer and cover. Steam until tender, 15-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your veggies. Check liquid level periodically; if running low, add more water.
3. Once tender, pour veggies into a mixing bowl. Using a potato masher, pastry cutter, or other such implement, mash vegetables together. Pour in small amounts of steaming liquid to help puree come together (this will also add flavor and salt). If desired, mash in butter for a silkier texture. Serve hot.
   

The Government Didn't Shut Down...

...but my motivation did! Sorry folks!

I'm sure you all know the feeling I've been having these past couple of weeks... You get home after a long day at work, having run a number of errands on the way home, and the last thing you want to do is dream up what to cook that evening. Times like these are why frozen pizza is a multi-billion-dollar industry!

(For the record, I find the best frozen pizza to be Freschetta Rising Crust cheese pizza.)

This day-in, day-out tedium of eating to survive (not to enjoy) is a rut we all fall in to at some point. I'm sure even Ina Garten (love her) orders Chinese delivery every now and again. However, there will always be something to break us out of our food shell.

For me, this week, that something is the upcoming Easter holiday. For you, it may have been Passover. Or the weather getting warm enough to grill again. Perhaps you saw some amazing looking artisanal cheese when your local farmer's market started back up. What ever it is, run with it! Spring is a time of delicious ingredients, a time for the return of fresh fruits and vegetables to the table. Let the food inspire you!

Like I said above, the coming Easter holiday has knocked me back in to food mode. Unlike many years, when I travel to see extended family, this year they are coming to me! Obviously, I've been fantasizing about this meal since January.

Over the next couple days, I'll be posting recipes that I will be making, or those that came in a close second to the final choices. I hope you all enjoy them!

Irish Soda Bread - My Great Grandmother's Recipe

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all!

Now, avid readers, I know that I have been shirking my updating responsibilities, but my new job has been keeping me ridiculously busy (in a good way). I will do my best to be more blog-conscious!

Irish soda bread, or Irish bread, as my family calls it, has been our tradition since before I can remember. Every March, we make tons of it to give to friends and take in to work. I know it was a hit in my office this morning!

So, without further ado, here it is, my Irish great-grandmother's recipe!

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 box raisins (~15oz)
• 2 eggs
• Buttermilk
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together by hand.
3. Break 2 eggs into a 2-cup measure and beat with a fork. Add enough buttermilk to total 2 cups. Stir to incorporate eggs into liquid mixture.
4. Pour wet into dry and mix all together by hand. Batter will be stiff.
   
5. Put into a greased round heavy pan (use butter or cooking spray). I use old frying pans with the non-oven-safe handle removed.
   
6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool on rack.
   

Fresh Pea and Parsley Soup

It currently winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, and unless you are lucky enough to live in one of those post-card-worthy places where it is always warm and sunny, there probably isn't too much locally-grown fresh produce running about. Sure, there may be some wonky-looking rutabagas running around, hiding out in the root cellar, but as for fresh greens and the like? Yeah, they're being flown in on a plane from Chile.

Which is why, during these cold winter months, I stay cold to get many of my veggies. Really cold. Ice cold.

Yes folks, I'm talking about frozen vegetables. Vegetables flash-frozen at the peak of freshness (god bless marketing for giving me terms like flash-frozen... its so... photographic!)!

Now, you will never see a canned vegetable in my kitchen. Ever. I don't believe in them. But frozen? Sure! Many vegetables are perfectly good when frozen! Carrots, peppers, chopped spinach, peas... Oh peas... Perhaps the perfect frozen vegetable.

Which brings us to today's recipe. As I stated in yesterday's post, I recently served this Fresh Pea and Parsley soup alongside my Roasted Tomato and Pepper soup at Christmas for a festive first course. Now, let me tell you: Even though the tomato was amazing, and warm and rich and all those great things, the light, fresh taste of peas and parsley was a deliciously welcome respite from months of heavy holiday food (along with being full of vitamins, good for you, etc etc etc...).

• 2 lbs frozen peas
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  
• Water, for steaming
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put an inch of water in the bottom of a medium-sized pot. Using a steamer basket (or other steaming mechanism), steam the peas until just cooked. DO NOT OVERCOOK! NO ONE LIKES BROWNISH PEAS! The peas should remain bright green.
2. Once steamed, shock peas in cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. Empty water from bottom of steaming pot. Place olive oil and onion in pot and saute until softened and translucent, between 3-5 minutes.
4. Add cooked peas and 2 cups stock to the onion pot. Begin to puree with immersion blender. Add stock, as needed, and continue to puree until almost smooth.
5. Add parsley and puree further until smooth. Heat through over low flame. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   

Roast Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

Ah, tomato soup. When paired with grilled cheese, it may be the ultimate comfort food. However, unlike when I was eight, opening the condensed soup can and adding water just doesn't cut it anymore. (And, having just checked the can in the pantry, high fructose corn syrup does not a tasty soup make...)

This recipe contains no high fructose corn syrup (let the masses rejoice!), and contains no fat, either! Again, utilize our friend, fat-free chicken or vegetable broth!

I use cherry tomatoes, especially during non-tomato season, because they provide the best flavor concentration. If you are using any other type of tomato, squeeze the seeds and accompanying gook out, leaving just the flesh.

• 6 pints cherry tomatoes
• 3 large red bell peppers, seeded and quartered
• 1 white onion, peeled and quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray. (There is a large amount of veggies to be roasted, so you may have to go with two medium-sized baking sheets.)
2. Spread tomatoes evenly on baking sheet. Try to get them in a single layer. Add pepper slices, onion, and garlic cloves. Spray liberally with nonstick cooking spray. Salt lightly.
3. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until most of the tomatoes have burst and there is some color on the peppers and onion.
4. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
5. Place all vegetables in a medium-sized pot. Add ~2 cups of broth and begin to puree with immersion blender. Continue adding broth and pureeing until mostly smooth and thick.
6. Add basil chiffonade and mix. Reheat over low flame, stirring frequently.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste once heated.

**I most recently served this paired, in the same bowl, with tomorrow's soup, Fresh Pea and Parsley. With a bowl that's half red and half green, a white dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche in the center made for a perfect Christmas first course!

Welcome to Billy's Open Kitchen!

Welcome to My Open Kitchen, and Happy New Year!

This blog is starting as a New Year's resolution. After feeding and entertaining friends for years, as well as posting family dinner menus on various sites, I have been told that I need to share recipes.

Thus, My Open Kitchen is born!

My recipes range from single-serving main courses to make-ahead appetizers that can be scaled to feed 30 or 300 (as my family has done at Christmas for over 30 years).

I've always said "Never trust a skinny chef." That said, you'll notice that many of the recipes I share will be tagged as "healthy eating", and some even as "fat free", because no one needs a chef that looks like Jabba the Hut, either. If Paul Prudhomme can clean up his butter-laden act, then so can I!

As a rule, unless otherwise noted, the recipes listed here are mine. Whenever I am sharing a recipe created by someone else, I will provide a citation. You will notice that this happens far more often in the baked-goods arena than it will in others.

Also, unless otherwise noted, all photography is my own. I'm currently using an Olympus SP-550UZ, but hoping to upgrade to a spiffy DSLR in the near future.

All that said, welcome to My Open Kitchen! Come Eat!