Spicy Garlic Chicken with Lemon Glaze

I’ve been away from blog-land for a while. The first week of this month was spent visiting my parents, then we returned to the farm to a very cold house. Because of a snowstorm, our electricity had been out for four days and the downstairs rooms were at about 45 degrees, the upstairs around 38 degrees. I’ve always (good-naturedly, mostly) complained about how cold our old farmhouse is in the winter, but I never will again after recently walking through rooms and seeing my breath!

Of course, frozen pipes were my main concern. We have 2 small electric fireplaces on the main level which we would turn on for a few hours a day, but this would only result in the temperature rising a few degrees. It was enough, I guess, because the water pipes never froze.

Oh, I should mention that since my MIL is visiting her daughter, Jack and I were able to use her apartment for three days. Unfortunately, the complex does not allow pets, so we had to sneak Spooky in and out (we couldn’t leave him there alone or he would give himself away to the neighbors!). Luckily, the apartment is on the first floor, with a door right next to the reserved parking space, so it wasn’t too difficult.

It has snowed every darn day since we returned—8 days! We felt, at times, as though we were taking our lives into our hands as we drove the hilly roads to the farm and back to our “temporary home”. Because we both work from home, there is never a need to leave during bad weather. We stay put. So this experience was especially nerve-wracking!

I am proud to say that we lost almost nothing from either of the refrigerator/freezers or from the big freezer. The day we returned, we took everything that was in the refrigerators, boxed it all up, and put the boxes on our enclosed porch. We also took the frozen items from those units and packed them, with ice packs, into coolers and stored these in the (unheated) smokehouse. The next day, Jack emptied recyclables from a clean, 55-gallon trash can, and we layered everything from the big freezer with snow, then buried the can in a snowdrift. Had this long of a power outage (6+ days) taken place any time other than January or February, when there was enough snow on the ground to bury our “Eskimo freezers”, we would have lost everything.

The absolute joy of being back in my own home, cooking in my own kitchen, is incredible. Unfortunately, because we have been doing a lot of shoveling, both Jack and I have been experiencing some very sore muscles over the past few days. Yesterday, though, we took a break and last night I felt well enough to actually cook a meal.

Not that we haven’t been eating. After I cleaned out the big freezer and took and inventory of everything I was putting in there, I found several meals which I had frozen last fall and promptly forgotten about. So these got us through 4 dinners.

Yesterday, I made the first (of many more to come) recipes from my new cookbook, CuisineLite. There were so many positive reviews of this publication on the Cuisine At Home forums that I had a difficult time choosing. Based on what I had on hand, I chose Spicy Garlic Chicken with Lemon Glaze.

I altered the recipe only slightly. I increased the size of the chicken breasts, used a different kind of hot sauce, and increased the panko crumbs a little. Also, even though I decreased the amount of chicken (because the recipe made 4 servings), I kept everything else the same. These changes are reflected in the recipe below.

This was a great meal! I never realized how wonderfully the flavor of lemon went with some sort of spice (in my case, habanero pepper sauce). The chicken was crunchy outside, tender inside, and that delicious glaze added just the right amount of flavor. I started some fingerling potatoes roasting in the toaster oven first, then started the rest of the meal a little later. It took less than 30 minutes to get the chicken prepared and on the table (including steaming the broccoli). This recipe will become a staple for us.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Spicy Garlic Chicken with Lemon Glaze

adapted from Cuisine Lite, a publication of August Home Publishing
Servings: 2


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast halves – (2 pieces)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup panko
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon habanero pepper sauce
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil


Combine lemon juice, honey, Tabasco, and lemon rind for the glaze in a small bowl and set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Stir together panko, garlic, and oregano in a large dish. Dredge both sides of chicken in panko mixture, pressing panko firmly into the chicken..

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; sauté until cooked through, about 12 minutes (to 160 degrees internal temperature). Remove chicken from skillet.

Add lemon-honey mixture to the skillet and reduce until syrupy (less than a minute).Return the chicken to the skillet, flipping the pieces once to coat with glaze. Serve.


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Per serving: 329 Calories (kcal); 7g Total Fat; (18% calories from fat); 41g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 99mg Cholesterol; 390mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 5 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates

Spicy Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

The days are noticeably longer now; I have recently realized that evening doesn’t begin to creep in to my life until well after 5pm. We have experienced two partly sunny days so far this week. For two days, instead of a solid winter-white sky, there have been glimpses of bright blue in between puffy clouds, and this makes all the difference in my mood as we reach the end of January.

Spooky appreciates the sun, as well. He spends his mornings on the front porch, napping in full sun. I open the door to ask if he wants to come into the house and he lifts his head, for a few seconds coming out of a heat-induced coma, and blinks sleepily at me. I reach down and stroke his very warm, soft fur. This morning it was quite cold, but sunny, and the snow had already melted on my running paths around the fields, so we took a short walk. It was a pokey sort of a walk, but it was nice to be outdoors.

At the grocery store the other day I noticed that catfish fillets were on sale. I had been craving them lately, simply dunked in milk and then seasoned cornmeal and pan-fried until golden, so I bought a couple of pounds (what would I do without my freezer?).

To serve with the catfish I decided on cornbread and stuffed sweet potatoes. The sweet potato recipe below was adapted from Vegetarian Times. I believe that recipe this might have been meant as a main course because it included 1-1/2 ounces of cheese per serving, plus each serving also contained ¼ cup of whole milk sour cream (but who would eat one medium stuffed potato as their whole meal?). To turn it into a side dish, I decreased both the cheese and the sour cream, and also the butter.

On my first glance at this recipe I looked at the ingredients and just assumed that the bell pepper, onion, lime juice, and sour cream would be included in the sweet potato “stuffing”, but that was mistaken. The peppers are to be used as a topping, before the potatoes are baked for the second time, and the sour cream is to be mixed with the lime juice and, along with the onions, used as a garnish.

I’m just thinking…1/4 cup of sour cream per person, mixed with lime juice, to garnish one potato? And the peppers were to be “diced”, but if they were diced too large they wouldn’t cook during the short time in the oven. So my changes to this recipe reflect these issues which I had. :)

I also added some ground chipotle pepper because I did not have Pepperjack cheese (I used lowfat cheddar, instead, and much less of it than the recipe originally called for), and also decreased the amount of butter, adding a little skim milk to keep the filling moist. Check out the nutritional info at the end of the recipe

These turned out to be so good, they will be on our regular rotation. All of the flavors combined nicely, and made a perfect addition to this menu.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Spicy Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings: 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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2 large sweet potatoes

2 teaspoons butter

2 tablespoons skim milk

1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup diced red bell peppers -- (very small dice)

1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper -- (very small dice)

1 1/2 ounces lowfat cheddar cheese -- shredded

1/4 cup light sour cream

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 tablespoon minced cilantro

Wash the sweet potatoes, prick with a fork in a few places, and microwave until done. Cool slightly.

If using an oven (regular or toaster oven), preheat it to 350F.

Slice the very top off of each potato and scoop out the flesh, leaving about 1/4" as a "shell", into a medium bowl. Scoop the flesh out of the cut piece as well and add to the bowl. Add the butter, skim milk, chipotle, cumin, and some salt and pepper to taste and mash a little (leaving the pieces slightly chunky). Stuff evenly back into the potato shells.

Mix red and yellow bell pepper on a small plate and carefully turn over the stuffed potatoes, pressing the tops into the peppers. Turn upright and place any remaining pepper mixture on top. Sprinkle with cheese, press into the top onto the peppers, spray with cooking spray, and place in oven. Heat for about 12-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and peppers softened.

While peppers are baking, mix the sour cream with the lime juice until creamy.

Serve the potatoes drizzled with the sour cream mixture, sprinkled with the onion and cilantro.

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Per serving: 237 Calories (kcal); 6g Total Fat; 4g Saturated; (23% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 17mg Cholesterol; 202mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

My changes to the recipe, which I did not consider to be drastic, significantly changed the nutritional information. Doing only three things, decreasing the amounts of the butter, cheese, and sour cream, and also subbing lower fat versions of both the cheese and sour cream, knocked off half of the total calories, 84% of the total fat, and 83% of saturated fat. Enough said.

Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Curry

It has been warmer for the past couple of days, and the rain yesterday melted the snow, but we are still seriously lacking sun. It appeared for a short while today (and we rejoiced), so I celebrated by going out for a run. I envy those who live in communities which have paved roads and sidewalks, because all I have to run on are my trails (through our 50 acres) and they are often quite mucky. But I don’t have to worry about errant vehicles trying to run me down, either, so I shouldn’t complain. And I’m not! It was a wonderful run and, if the weather forecast is correct (haha), I will be able to do another on Wednesday.

Tonight I decided to use another of those ever-multiplying butternut squash which are in my basement. I don’t know how this happens, but I am quite certain that I harvested less of them last fall than I currently have in the basket, even though I use them regularly.

I adapted a recipe from October 2006 Cooking Light. Their Pumpkin and Red Lentil Curry became Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Curry. I had about 4 ounces more squash than the pumpkin which the recipe called for, but used it all anyway.

This was absolutely delicious, and Jack surprised me with how much he enjoyed it. This recipe was to make 6 servings, but… ;)

Remember, as you prepare this, that those little red lentils cook quickly and will become quite soft and fall apart if they are cooked for too long. It is for this reason that you should only cook the squash (pumpkin) until it just starts to soften, and add the lentils. By the time, then, that the squash is cooked the lentils will be perfectly done as well. I also added a little arrowroot to thicken it a bit more.

This is a very flavorful, very pretty stew. I am happy, and surprised, that I still have fresh cilantro in my cold-frame outside (despite the bitter temperatures of the past few weeks). The cilantro is a “must” for sprinkling on top of each serving and we also found out that some chopped roasted cashews are an excellent “topper” as well. We, obviously, figured out the cashews after this photo was taken.

This time, it was served with naan (Trader Joe's), next time I will serve it over brown basmati rice.

Pumpkin and Red Lentil Curry

Because pumpkin has a neutral taste, it works well in Indian curries, where it takes on the flavors of the spices. For the best results, choose pie pumpkin, which is smaller, sweeter, and more tender than the larger pumpkins used for carving jack-o'-lanterns. You can substitute brown lentils and cook them 20 to 30 minutes longer, adding more broth, if necessary.


1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled fresh pumpkin (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup dried small red lentils
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6 lime wedges

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in pumpkin and next 7 ingredients (through jalapeño); cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until pumpkin is just tender. Stir in lentils; cook 10 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in salt and black pepper. Ladle stew into individual bowls; sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups stew, 2 teaspoons cilantro, and 1 lime wedge)

CALORIES 222 (11% from fat); FAT 2.8g (sat 0.4g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.4g); IRON 4mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 123mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.9g; SODIUM 657mg; PROTEIN 10.3g; FIBER 8.7g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2006

Indian-Spiced Roast Salmon, Mashed Winter Squash with Indian Spices

The gloom of January is upon us here in the northwestern United States. Long cold days, even longer dark and frigid nights. The shortest day of the year was 3 weeks ago, but I haven’t noticed a lengthening in daylight hours yet.

We still have the Christmas tree up, and it may stay that way for a while. I enjoy its bright colored lights in the evening, and once the ornaments are removed and packed away, I see no reason to disassemble the rest. We need something bright and sparkling, now!

And under the heading of “bright” comes last night’s dinner. Not bright as in a bright idea I had of what to prepare, but bright as in orange. Salmon and winter squash, both spiced with Indian flavors, gleamed on our plate.

The salmon recipe comes from an old Cooking Light issue. Extremely simple to prepare, you rub spices into salmon fillets, pan-brown on one side, flip, and finish cooking in the oven. I have made this entirely on the stovetop, but since I needed to turn on the oven to roast the squash for the side dish, I prepared it entirely as directed (yes, no substitutions at all! Surprised???). It is quite good, the top is crusty with spices, the inside moist and rich. Salmon is such a good fish to roast, and it’s substantial flavor stands up nicely to the spices.

Indian-Spiced Roast Salmon


4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°

Place salmon, skin sides down, in a roasting pan or jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray. Brush evenly with juice. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt and next 5 ingredients (salt through red pepper), and sprinkle evenly over fish.

Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Combine yogurt and cilantro, and serve with fish.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 salmon fillet and about 3 tablespoons yogurt mixture)

CALORIES 300 (40% from fat); FAT 13.2g (sat 3.1g,mono 5.7g,poly 3.2g); IRON 0.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 88mg; CALCIUM 107mg; CARBOHYDRATE 4.3g; SODIUM 403mg; PROTEIN 38.7g; FIBER 0.3g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2004

The squash recipe comes from Food & Wine, November 2006. I harvested a lot of butternut and buttercup squash this past fall and I think that while it is stored in the basement, the squash are multiplying while I am not looking. It seems as though the more I use, the more remain! So I decided to use a buttercup squash for dinner. This, also, was very simple to prepare. The squash did not need to be peeled since it is roasted, simply splitting it in half and removing the seeds was called for. I decreased the oil in the recipe a bit and added more water (I think that buttercup is a squash which is dryer in texture than butternut). After roasting, simply scoop the flesh from the squash, add it to a pan of already-sautéed onion, garlic, and spices, and stir a bit to mash it up. This was very delicious, and I will make it again soon (perhaps to serve with chicken).

* Exported from MasterCook *

Mashed Winter Squash with Indian Spices

Recipe Adapted From Food & Wine

Servings: 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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2 pounds butternut squash

1 tablespoon canola oil -- divided

1 1/2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

1 large garlic clove -- minced

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/8 Teaspoon crushed hot pepper flakes

2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 400F. Place foil on a large baking sheet. Split squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Spray the cut side liberally with cooking spray and place, cut side down, on foil. Roast for 35-45 minutes, or until tender. Cool slightly while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

In a saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons oil. Add the mustard seeds and cook over moderately high heat, shaking the pan, until they pop (about one minute). Scrape into a small bowl.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil to any oil remaining in the pan and then sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until they soften, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the coriander, turmeric, and crushed red pepper and stir for about one minute, until fragrant. Remove pan from heat.

Using a large spoon, scrape the squash flesh from the skin into the pot. Add the water and cook over medium heat, stirring to mash the squash pieces. Once the squash is heated through, season with salt and pepper as desired. Stir in the toasted mustard seeds and serve.

Source:

"Adapted from Food and Wine, November 2006"

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Per serving: 265 Calories (kcal); 7g Total Fat (1g Saturated); (22% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 53g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 19mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 3 Grain (Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Since the oven was hot, I also warmed a couple of Trader Joe’s naan. Perfect. :)

Oven-Baked "Fried" Chicken

These are the days when I need to have my oven on. Daily highs in the teens or low 20’s, lows in the single digits… I am always feeling cold! So while I am in the kitchen making dinner, I enjoy some nice oven-generated heat.

I usually bake something in midafternoon (today it was bread) and, then make dinner while the oven is hot. Oven-fried chicken is a favorite and, along with mashed potatoes and gravy, it certainly is comforting on these frigid, windy winter days.

I practically grew up on fried chicken, and my Gram made the absolute best, but because it contains so much fat I have been making oven-fried chicken for the past many years. It took a long time to find a recipe which gave me both flavor and crispiness, and I have tried many recipes, but I keep returning to this one which I found on the Food Network site (by Robin Miller). The Dijon mustard brushed on the chicken before coating not only adds a wonderful flavor but also helps the crumbs to adhere. A necessary change that I made to the recipe was to use panko crumbs instead of instant oats. I think that panko crumbs are the best for oven-fried anything because they crisp much more than regular bread crumbs (or oats) do. I also omitted the mustard powder in the crumb mixture since I thought it may be too mustard-y with using Dijon mustard on the chicken, and I added a shake of ground chipotle for just a bit of smoky heat.

The herbed coating was crunchy and flavorful, the chicken moist and tender-- you can’t ask for better. AND the kitchen was toasty-warm! :)

Mashed potatoes are a treat for us since we don't eat many white potatoes. I like to steam a mixture of diced potatoes and cauliflower florets, then when they are tender add warm skim milk and light butter, mash, season with salt and pepper-- mashed potatoes that taste wonderful and are lower in carbs and fat that those made with all potatoes, whole milk, and butter (ah, for the mashed potatoes of my childhood, though!!!).

One note- to make the chicken extra-crispy, I placed it under the broiler after it was done baking. Then I was distracted with pouring wine, so it burnt a little on top. Oops.

Oven-Baked "Fried" Chicken
by Robin Miller

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/oven-baked-fried-chicken-recipe/index.html

• Cook Time: 30 min

• Level: Easy

• Yield: 4 servings

Close

Times:

Prep

10 min

Inactive Prep

--

Cook

30 min

Total:

40 min

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2/3 cup instant oats (I used panko crumbs)
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder (I omitted this, but added a dash of ground chipotle)
  
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a shallow dish, combine oats, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, paprika, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Brush each chicken breast with Dijon mustard. Add chicken to oat mixture with tongs and turn to coat both sides. Transfer chicken to prepared baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.

Bake 30 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

(I placed the chicken under the broiler to crisp the top-- watch carefully so it doesn't burn!!!)

Chocolate-Filled Biscotti

I ran across this recipe for Chocolate-Filled Biscotti a couple of years ago in Better Homes and Gardens, and it turned out so well that it is one of the few recipes which Jenni and I absolutely must make every year on Christmas Baking Day.


To be honest, this cookie has only one thing in common with the biscotti which I am familiar with, and that is its general shape. Otherwise, it is not "twice baked", as biscotti should be. I'm not complaining about its misnomer, though, because this is truly one delicious little treat. The dough is tender with cream cheese, the filling a delectible mixture of bittersweet chocolate and walnuts. Each recipe makes 4 "logs". I keep them all in the freezer, then thaw, dust with powdered sugar, and slice as needed.



http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/chocolate-filled-biscotti-4297

Cherry Almond Brownies, Toasted Coconut Marshmallows, Chocolate Baklava

Brownies and Marshmallows and Baklava—oh my!!!

Christmas Baking is in full swing here (in those hours in which I am not spending decking the halls) and I have found some wonderful, delightful treats for this holiday season. My friend Jenni arrived last Friday for an 8+-hour baking session and the results were spectacular. Here are three of the goodies which we made, and I hope to get the rest posted soon.

First, the Brownies. But not any ordinary brownies, no sir, but brownies which not only contain amaretto-soaked dried cherries and almonds but, after being cut into small squares, are dipped in chocolate. Oh, be still my heart!

The recipe is from King Arthur Flour and these super-chocolatey little treats defies description (and also defies your eating just one…).

My notes for this recipe:

Line the pan with foil. Absolutely. Then the brownies are super-easy to remove from the pan when cool, and cut into nice little squares which are perfect for dipping and gift-giving.

The chocolate for dipping the brownie squares into is not mentioned in the ingredient list, and we used only half of the amount that was called for.

Also note that you have to decorate with sprinkles within seconds of dipping the brownies because the coating sets very quickly. I was able to dip about 5 at a time, decorate, the go on to the next set.

Cherry Almond Brownies

The candied cherries in these fudgy brownies evoke the Shirley Temple and Roy Rogers "cocktails" of childhood holidays. 1/2 cup dried sweet cherries, chopped 1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur, brandy, or apple juice 3/4 cup chopped unsweetened baking chocolate 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar (Baker's Special superfine preferred) 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 3/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup diced almonds 1/2 cup chopped candied red cherries 1/2 cup Peter's Burgundy Semisweet Chocolate Chunks 3 ounces dried sweet cherries, chopped 1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur, brandy, or apple juice 3 ounces chopped unsweetened baking chocolate 4 ounces butter 7 ounces sugar (Baker's Special superfine preferred) 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 3 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 ounces diced almonds 2 ounces chopped candied red cherries 3 ounces Peter's Burgundy Semisweet Chocolate Chunks Directions 1) Place dried chopped cherries in a microwave-safe container, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon liquid, cover, and microwave for 45 seconds. Set aside to soften and cool. 2) Melt together the chocolate and butter over low heat, or in the microwave. Stir in the sugar and salt. Whisk well. Set aside to cool to lukewarm. 3) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8" x 8" square pan or 9" round pan. 4) Whisk the eggs, one at a time, into the chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour and baking powder, then the soaked cherries, almonds, candied cherries, and chocolate chunks. 5) Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 25 to 30 minutes, until set. Remove from the oven, and cool before cutting. 6) To dip brownies in coating chocolate: Cut into 1 1/4" squares, patting crumbs into sides of brownies. Wrap and place in the freezer. 7) Melt 1 1/2 pounds coating chocolate by microwaving it in 15-second bursts, and stirring between bursts until most of it is melted. To make a dark, shiny glaze, mix ½ cup + 1 tablespoon hot milk with the melted coating chocolate. Stir vigorously, until the grainy mess smoothes itself into a dark, shiny glaze. The glaze will be firm but not hard, like the chocolate glaze on your favorite snack cakes. 8) Using a chocolate dipping fork, plop a brownie into the glaze, and pull it out. Allow excess chocolate to drip, sliding the tines of the fork against the edges of the dipping bowl to remove excess coating. Place on parchment to set. Yield: 3 dozen dipped brownies.

Next up, marshmallows. This is a recipe from Gourmet and the second year I have made them (they’re that good—I only make the absolute best two years in a row!). I love making marshmallows—they look impressive (“you’ve made me marshmallows???”), are absolutely delicious, and super-easy.

I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out beautifully.

Toasted-Coconut Marshmallow Squares

Gourmet | December 2007

Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez and Lillian Chou

We often relegate marshmallows to a hot-chocolate topper, but these coconut treats definitely deserve to be offered up solo. Each pillowy square is surrounded by a flurry of toasted coconut. And since they keep for a month, they can be made well in advance of the holiday rush. Yield: Makes about 4 dozen candies Active Time: 1 hr Total Time: 3 1/4 hr (includes setting time) 2 cups unsweetened dried coconut 3 (1/4-ounces) envelopes unflavored gelatin 1 cup water, divided 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract Equipment: a 9-inch square metal baking pan; a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; a candy thermometer Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Toast coconut in a shallow baking pan in oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Oil 9-inch baking pan, then sprinkle bottom with 1/2 cup toasted coconut. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup water in bowl of mixer and let soften while making syrup. Heat sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup water in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium heat, without stirring, washing any sugar crystals down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Put thermometer into syrup and continue boiling, without stirring, until it registers 240°F (soft-ball stage). Remove from heat and let stand until bubbles dissipate. With mixer at low speed, pour hot syrup into gelatin in a thin stream down side of bowl. Increase speed to high and beat until very thick, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla and coconut extracts and beat 1 minute more. Spoon marshmallow over toasted coconut in baking pan and press evenly with dampened fingertips to smooth top (it will be very sticky), then evenly sprinkle top with 1/2 cup toasted coconut. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, about 2 hours. Run a sharp knife around edge of marshmallow and invert onto a cutting board. Cut into 3/4-inch-wide strips, then cut each strip into 3/4-inch squares. Put remaining toasted coconut in a small bowl and dredge marshmallows in it to coat completely. Cook's notes: · Marshmallow squares keep, layered between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container, in a dry place at cool room temperature 1 month. · To avoid stickiness, try to make marshmallows on a dry day.

And, saved for last, the coup de grace—chocolate baklava from Cooking Light.

Words cannot explain. Delectable, perhaps? Decadent, definitely, even though it is a supposedly “light” recipe. Although we were quite judicious with the amount of butter brushed on the phyllo layers. We still needed almost twice as much more. Too late, we discovered that brushing on one layer, then spraying cooking spray on the next, and repeating, probably would have been the way to go.

No matter, it is delicious and a very holiday-worthy treat. Chocolate, Nutella, nuts, crispy phyllo, honey, cinnamon—why wouldn’t this be good???

And because there weren’t enough calories and fat in what we created, I melted additional bittersweet chocolate, puddled a little on the plate, topped with two “servings” (HA!) of baklava, and drizzled more over the top. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Chocolate Baklava

From Cooking Light

December 2009

Yield: 24 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup blanched toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
24 (14 x 9–inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
1/2 cup butter, melted


Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat; stir until honey dissolves. Increase heat to medium; cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 230° (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat; keep warm. Discard cinnamon stick.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place hazelnut-chocolate spread in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds or until melted. Combine hazelnuts and next 5 ingredients (through salt). Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), place 1 phyllo sheet lengthwise in bottom of prepared pan, allowing ends of sheet to extend over edges of dish; lightly brush with butter. Repeat procedure with 5 phyllo sheets and butter. Drizzle about 1/3 cup melted hazelnut -chocolate spread over phyllo. Sprinkle evenly with one-third of nut mixture (about 1/2 cup). Repeat procedure twice with phyllo, butter, hazelnut-chocolate spread, and nut mixture. Top last layer of nut mixture with remaining 6 sheets phyllo, each lightly brushed with butter. Press gently into pan.

Make 3 lengthwise cuts and 5 crosswise cuts to form 24 portions using a sharp knife. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until phyllo is golden. Remove from oven. Drizzle honey mixture over baklava. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cover; store at room temperature.

Calories: 238, Fat: 13.4g (sat 4.3g,mono 5.6g,poly 2g), Protein: 4g, Carbohydrate: 27.8g