One thing I love about vacationing on the coast is the availability of fresh caught seafood.  Shrimp are one of my most favorite seafood items, so I take full advantage when I have the opportunity.  This recipe is a wonderfully simple way to prepare shrimp so that you can really appreciate their flavor without a lot of other ingredients getting in the way.  Don’t get me wrong, I love shrimp in just about any dish (pasta, enchiladas, stir fry, etc.) but as they say, sometimes less is more.  I suppose these technically aren’t truly steamed shrimp since they are thrown into boiling water, but since that was the title of the original recipe and I don’t know what else to call them, I’ll go with that.  Be sure to remove the shrimp from the water as soon as it returns to a boil, as they can overcook easily and you don’t want tough and chewy shrimp.  I went simple with the side dishes for this as well and served it with a Caesar salad and some crusty bread.  It made for a fabulous and incredibly quick meal.  Yum!

Steamed Shrimp
Ingredients:
2 quarts water
1/2 cup cider vinegar
Black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 lb. large shrimp, shells left on
Old Bay (or other seafood seasoning)
Lemon wedges and cocktail sauce, for serving

Directions: 
Combine the water, vinegar, peppercorns and bay leaves in a stockpot or large saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Add the shrimp to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the water returns to a boil.  Immediately remove from the heat and drain the water.  Remove the bay leaves and toss the shrimp with Old Bay seasoning.  Transfer to a serving platter and serve alongside lemon wedges and cocktail sauce.  

Source: adapted from À La Carte

A week ago I went on vacation with my family to our favorite spot in South Carolina.  We had a truly wonderful trip and Andrew got to experience the ocean for the first time.  We had quite a large group along with us, and though the island had many options for dining out, most nights I made dinner for the whole crowd (10 people!)  This was a great arrangement for several reasons – one, I probably would have gone crazy not cooking for a week, two – it was a nice way for us to all reconnect at the end of the day, and three – it was much, much cheaper than eating out.  One of the evenings I made this dessert as a sweet end to our evening.  And oh, how sweet it was.  I’ve made fruit tarts before and they have always been good, but this was just incredible.  I have a basic recipe for tart dough that I use all the time, but since I normally make it in my stand mixer which was not available to me, I decided to give this version a try.  It was fabulous – great texture and deliciously sweet.  But the show-stopper was the pastry cream.  Oh.My.Gosh.  It was so so so amazing.  It took all of my will power to not just eat the whole batch and pretend that I had planned no dessert for that evening.  Combined with the beautiful fresh fruit, this was a wonderful light summer dessert and it was devoured in a matter of minutes. 

Cooking or baking in an unequipped kitchen can be quite difficult when you have become accustomed to the convenience and efficiency of certain appliances or gadgets.  Though trying, I think it can also be good to get back to the basics and remind yourself of alternate techniques (such as cutting together a pastry dough using a fork and knife rather than a food processor or mixer, separating eggs with the shell, etc.)  It can also remind you that even simple desserts such as a fruit tart can be just as elegant and scrumptious as something more complex.  This would be great with just about any combination of fruit, but I loved this particular variation because of the gorgeous colors.  Normally I glaze the fruit with a bit of jam as recommended, but I wasn’t going to buy a jar on vacation just for that, so I skipped it.  Wouldn’t change a thing about this, and definitely can’t wait to make it again!

Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream
Ingredients:
For the tart dough:
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

For the pastry cream:
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch salt
5 large egg yolks
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:
2 large kiwis, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced
6-9 oz. raspberries
1/2-1 cup blueberries
Apple jelly, for glazing

Directions:
To make the tart shell, whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside.  Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Process briefly to combine.  Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; process to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses.  With the machine running, add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together, about 12 seconds.  Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch dish.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator.  (If refrigerated for more than an hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable.)  Unwrap and roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch round.  Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart pan.  Mold the dough to the sides of the tart pan and remove the excess off the top.  Set the dough-lined tart pan on a large plate and freeze for 30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to middle position.  Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Set the dough-lined tart pan on a baking sheet, press a 12-inch square of foil into the frozen shell and over the edge, and fill with pie weights.  Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time.  Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil and weights.  Continue to bake until deep golden brown, 5-8 minutes longer.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

To make the pastry cream, heat the half-and-half, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.  Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the sugar has begun to dissolve and the mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds.  Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.

When the half-and-half mixture has reached a simmer, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture to temper, whisking constantly.  Return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Return the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds.  Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla.  Strain the pastry cream through a  fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl.  Press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.

To assemble the tart, spread the cold pastry cream evenly over the bottom of the tart shell.  Arrange the fruit on top of the pastry cream as desired.  Heat the jelly in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, just until slightly melted and easy to stir.  Using a pastry brush, paint a light layer of jelly over the fresh fruit.  Serve.

Source: adapted from Baking Illustrated

The Fourth of July is coming up quickly, which means it is time for fun, fireworks, and cookouts with friends and family.  In case you will be hosting (or contributing to) such an event, these ice cream cupcakes are a fun patriotic dessert idea and a nice alternative to the traditional flag cake.  (Not that I have anything against flag cake – in fact, it’s still on my list of things to try.)  Nevertheless, I find ice cream cupcakes to be an ideal dessert for casual get-togethers.  They are popular with kids and adults, and the cool ice cream really hits the spot in the midst of all this summer heat.

Now normally I am not at all an advocate of using boxed mixes or similar convenience items, but in this case, I went ahead and used a box cake for a few reasons.  Primarily because I wanted a pure white cake so that the batter would be colored correctly.  Yes, I could have made a white cake from scratch, but since most white cake recipes involve separating eggs, beating the whites, and folding the whites into the batter, the whole process seemed just a little too much for a dessert already requiring multiple steps.  Not only that, but the cake will be frozen and covered with ice cream so the actual flavor is not quite as important as when you are eating just a piece of cake.  And finally, boxed cakes are not all that bad in a pinch.  The combination of the cake and ice cream evoked feelings of a birthday party.  These are a super fun and festive treat.  Make them a part of your Fourth of July event!

Stay tuned next week for another Fourth of July recipe!

Red, White and Blue Ice Cream Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 batch white cake batter*
Red and blue food coloring
1 batch vanilla bean ice cream (I used homemade, straight from the ice cream maker as it is very easy to top the cupcakes)
Fresh strawberry slices and fresh blueberries

*Note: A full recipe of cake batter could make a TON of these cupcakes.  I only made 24 because I don’t have more cupcake pans or room in my freezer for more, but you could make extra with the full batch of batter (or bake an extra cake layer for fun).  

Directions:
Preheat oven and prepare white cake batter as directed.   Line two cupcake pans with foil liners.  Divide the cake batter into two separate bowls, coloring one half with red and one half with blue food coloring.  Drop approximately two tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner so that you have 12 red and 12 blue cupcakes.  Bake in the preheated oven until the cake is baked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  (Baking time will depend on the cake recipe you use, but for me it was about 10-11 minutes.)  Allow to cool in the pans to room temperature.  Then freeze for 15-30 minutes. 

Once the cupcakes have frozen slightly, fill each cupcake liner to the top with vanilla ice cream.  Freeze until firm and ready to serve.  Just before serving, top the blue cupcakes with fresh strawberries and the red cupcakes with fresh blueberries.  

Source: Annie’s Eats, inspired by Joy the Baker

I’ve always liked dried apricots, but I’m not sure I’ve ever had fresh.  I think I may have tasted them once or twice when I was a little kid, but up until now I have never tried doing much with them.  Lately every time I walk into the grocery store I see a huge display of fresh apricots, and they are just beautiful.  Since this seems to be the season for them, I wanted to try them out.  I was originally thinking of a fruit tart, and while I still want to try that, this apricot sorbet was just calling to me.  It seemed like the perfect light dessert to serve after the lunch I made for Ben’s mom.  This was just bursting with fresh apricot flavor – so delicious!  I thought it would be a fun little touch to serve it in mini scoops, mimicking the shape of the apricots themselves, so I used my small cookie dough scoop which worked perfectly.  I think this makes the biggest batch of sorbet of any recipe I have tried so if you don’t think you want a lot, you should consider halving it.  I don’t think we’ll have any trouble polishing it off though! 

Apricot Sorbet
Ingredients:
2 lbs. squishy-ripe fresh apricots (about 10-15)
1 cup water
1 cups sugar
3 drops almond or vanilla extract

Directions:
Split the apricots in half, remove the pits, and cut each half into thirds.  Combine the apricot wedges and water in a medium nonreactive saucepan and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Once cool, puree the mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Taste a spoonful and if there are any small fibers, press the puree through a mesh strainer.  Stir in the almond or vanilla extract.  Cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Source: adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

I recently mentioned how I have rediscovered some of my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks.  While I was baking the pecan bars, I flipped past this page in the book and instantly wondered how I had never really noticed this recipe before.  I sounded phenomenal, and relatively simple at that.  I quickly found an occasion to try it out when we invited my mother-in-law over for lunch one afternoon.  I thought it would make for a nice light lunch, and boy, did it ever!  I thought this would be good but it far surpassed my expectations.  The sauce was full of peanut-y flavor and pleasantly spicy.  These noodles were incredibly addictive, and we polished off the whole pound of pasta over a few short days.  

The dressing is incredibly quick to whip up in the food processor, and can be made several days in advance.  Though the ingredient list may look long, I already had almost everything in my pantry.  I prepped the dressing and chopped all the veggies in the morning so that when we were ready to eat, all I had to do was cook the pasta, toss and serve.  I think snow peas would also be an excellent addition to this dish, and some grilled chicken pieces could make this a complete meal.  The only thing to note is that the dressing recipe makes quite a lot.  Ina recommends adding 3/4 of it and then adding more as needed.  I added just under half of it, and it seemed like plenty.  I did pass a small dish of it at the table so we could adjust according to our own tastes.  Even though it makes a lot of dressing, I will probably continue to make the whole batch so we can use the leftover later on.  And, for anyone who buys tahini to make hummus and is interested in finding another use for it, here you go!

Szechuan Noodles
Ingredients:
For the dressing:
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp. hot chili oil
1 tbsp. dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

For the salad:
1 lb. thin spaghetti
2 bell peppers (red, orange or yellow), julienned
4 scallions, sliced diagonally

Directions:
Place the garlic and ginger in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Process until finely minced.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the remaining dressing ingredients and puree until smooth.  Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator while preparing the pasta.

Cook the spaghetti until al dente according to the package directions.  Drain the pasta in a colander, transfer to a serving bowl, and while still warm toss with about half of the dressing.  Add the bell peppers and scallions; toss.  Add remaining dressing to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.  

Source: adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

Recently I wanted to send a gift over to our babysitter to thank her for taking such wonderful care of Andrew this year.  It was tough to figure out what to give her that could really express just how grateful we are but I finally settled on a spa gift certificate for some well-deserved pampering.  I also felt that I should send something her whole family could enjoy, since they have all been so loving and welcoming to Andrew.  The answer for this was a no-brainer – cupcakes!  Her three girls love when I send over cupcakes and the whole family LOVES chocolate, so I settled on these chocolate raspberry cupcakes.  They are a basic devil’s food cake, filled with raspberry jam, topped with raspberry jam buttercream.  The special surprise on top is that the fresh raspberries themselves are filled with ganache, hence the “truffle” in the title – divine!  Chocolate and raspberry are so clearly made for each other, and these really turned out wonderfully.  

Of course, I wasn’t completely on my game when I made these and accidentally filled about half of them with strawberry jam (in my defense, the jar looks identical!)  They still tasted great though.  Next time I will make a few changes.  The first would be to pipe the filling into the cupcakes rather than use the cone method.  This cake is very moist and crumbled quite easily when cut into, making it less than ideal for the cone method.  I think piping it in with a pastry bag would be much more effective for a neater result.  Also, I strongly prefer using fresh/frozen raspberries rather than jam in recipes, so next time I think I’ll try the filling from this Smitten Kitchen recipe.   Enjoy!

Note: I have been gone on a week-long beach vacation since making these, and have consequently forgotten how many the batch yields.  I know that I made 16, but I cannot remember if there was extra batter left over (I think there was).  Sorry to not post a more accurate estimate! 

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
9 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup strong coffee (or water)
1/2 cup whole or low-fat milk

For the filling:
Seedless raspberry jam

For the raspberry truffles:
2 pints fresh raspberries
5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam 
1/3 cup heavy cream 

For the frosting: 
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Pink icing color (optional) 

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.  

In a liquid measuring cup, combine the coffee and milk.  Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Stir in the coffee-milk mixture and mix until combined.  Add in the remaining dry ingredients, again mixing just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling the cups about 3/4 full.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, heat some raspberry jam just enough to allow for easy stirring and smooth texture (I do about 20-30 seconds).  Transfer the jam to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, poke into each cupcake and pipe a small amount inside.

To make the raspberry truffles, rinse fresh raspberries and transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.  Gently shake the berries around to remove excess water.  Place the chocolate and jam in a small heatproof bowl.  Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan.  Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and jam.  Let stand for about 3 minutes.  Whisk together gently until smooth.  If any unmelted lumps remain, microwave a few seconds and whisk again.  Let the ganache cool a bit until it has thickened slightly (enough to be piped through a pastry bag).  Once it has reached the right consistency, transfer the ganache to a pastry bag and pipe into the center of the clean raspberries.  Refrigerate at least 15 minutes to set.

To make the frosting, place the butter and jam in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Cream on medium-high speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.  Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Tint with icing color as desired.

To finish the cupcakes, frost with the raspberry jam buttercream and top with a few of the raspberry truffles.   

Source: adapted from Hello! Baker, originally from David Lebovitz and Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

I have had a couple of turkey breasts sitting in my freezer for quite some time with no real purpose.  I came across this recipe and thought it looked like a simple and delicious way to make use of one of them.  I always enjoy roasting meat or poultry because it requires very little prep but yields such fantastic results.  This did not disappoint, and made for great meal.  The herb crust gave the outside a nice flavorful crunch while the inside was still moist and juicy.  The vegetables were tasty as well, although next time I will add potatoes and leave out the celery.  I thought the celery seemed like an odd addition but decided to try it.  It was not so good, and really, you just can’t beat roasted potatoes.  

This dinner was not without obstacles.  In the past when I have roasted things such as whole chickens, turkey breasts, etc., I sometimes find that they require significantly more time to cook than the recipe indicates.  That was most definitely the case here, as I ended up having to cook the turkey for over an hour longer than the original recipe said.  Although this was annoying for me, I see it as a teaching point for the blog.  Cooking meat to the appropriate temperature is the only way to ensure that it is correctly done, not simply cooking it for a certain amount of time.  Though a recipe may give a general idea about how long it might take, it is not a guarantee.  I used a reference page in one of my cookbooks to find that a turkey breast should be cooked until the internal temperature reaches 170-175° F.  Once again I must urge you, if you do not yet own an instant read thermometer you should definitely invest in one.  Although this took longer than expected, this was a wonderful dinner and I will certainly be making it again!

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast with Vegetables
Ingredients:
5 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2-3 lb. turkey breast
4-6 carrots, unpeeled and cut into 3/4-inch rounds
1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
6 red potatoes, quartered
3/4 cup dry white wine

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 325° F.  Combine the garlic, herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Pat the herb mixture all over the entire surface of the turkey breast.  If your turkey breast still has the skin on (mine did not), rub some of the herb mixture underneath the skin as well.  Place the turkey breast in a roasting pan.  Toss the vegetables into the roasting pan surrounding the turkey breast.  Pour the wine over the vegetables, as well as a few splashes over the turkey breast itself.  

Bake uncovered for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the internal temperature of the turkey breast reaches 170-175° F.  Transfer the turkey breast to a serving platter and surround with the roasted vegetables.  Let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.  

Source: adapted from Imperrfections

Last winter, I spent lots of hours in my car driving to various residency interviews in other states.  During all these long drives my mind would inevitably wander to the subject of food, and often cupcakes.  On my way to Iowa I was particularly bored, so I tried brainstorming some of my own variations of cupcakes.  I thought up these cupcakes during my drive, but never put my plan into action.  Recently I decided I wanted to bring in some treats to one of the salons I frequent, and I recalled this idea.  These seemed very salon-ish to me, luxurious and all that, so I decided to give them a try.  I made a champagne chiffon cake for the base, dipped the top in a bittersweet chocolate ganache, and topped with a chocolate covered strawberry.  And voila!  Simple and elegant cupcakes.  The staff of the salon was very grateful to receive these and they seemed to really enjoy them.  I think these would be perfect for a bridal shower or brunch!

My original plan was to use the cone method to fill these with a fresh strawberry each, but I experimented with one cupcake and quickly decided that was not the best idea.  The cake is fairly spongy and delicate, and once I removed enough of a cone to fit a berry inside, there really wasn’t much cake left.  I wanted the cake to play a starring role, so I nixed that idea.  I thought these tasted fabulous.  Though the champagne flavor was noticeable before the cupcakes were dressed, it was really muted by the ganache and strawberry on top.  If you want to emphasize that flavor more, you could drizzle the cakes with a champagne syrup before topping them.  I only baked about 16 cupcakes because I didn’t need more than that, and ended up dumping a significant amount of batter.  I think I could have gotten at least 24 out of the whole batch and possibly more.  Same thing with the ganache – I had quite a bit left over, but it would have been used if I had made more cupcakes.

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the chocolate-covered strawberries:
24 fresh whole strawberries
6 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3-4 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the cupcakes:
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
7 large egg whites
7 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar (regular is okay), divided
5 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup champagne

For the ganache:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into two pieces at room temperature

Directions:
To make the chocolate-covered strawberries, wash and dry the berries throughly.  Place on a paper-towel lined plate while preparing the chocolate.

Line a plate or baking sheet with wax paper.  Place the chopped semisweet or dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.  Heat in 15-second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.  (It is best to use a small bowl, so that the chocolate is deep, making for easier dipping.)

Carefully dip each strawberry into the chocolate, coating the lower part evenly and making sure to leave about a third uncoated.  Lift from the chocolate and shake gently to remove any excess chocolate.  Place on the wax paper-lined baking sheet.

When all the berries have been coated in chocolate, place in the refrigerator to set while you prepare the white chocolate.  Place the chopped white chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water.  Heat until melted and smooth.  Transfer to a plastic bag with a very small tip of the corner cut off.  Remove the berries from the refrigerator, drizzle the white chocolate over the chocolate-covered portion of the berries, and return to the refrigerator to set completely.

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  Combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; set aside.  In the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they become foamy.  Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form.  Transfer the beaten egg whites to a separate bowl and set aside.  Rinse and dry the mixer bowl and return it to the mixer base, fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the egg yolks, the remaining sugar (1 cup plus 6 tablespoons), the vegetable oil and the vanilla extract to the mixing bowl; mix until well-combined.  Add in half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Mix in the champagne, and then the remaining dry ingredients just until incorporated.

Fold in about one third of the egg whites with a rubber spatula to lighten the batter.  Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, being careful not to deflate the batter.  Divide the batter between the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4-full.  Bake for about 13 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are golden.  Allow to cool in the pans 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Place the cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Pour half of the cream over the chocolate and let stand 30 seconds. Working with a whisk or rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out in increasingly larger concentric circles.  Pour in the remainder of the cream and blend it into the chocolate, using the same circular motions.  When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter one piece at a time.  Don’t overwork it – the less you stir, the smoother and shinier it will be.  Let the ganache sit a few minutes, until it has thickened to an appropriate consistency for dipping the tops of the cupcakes.

To assemble, dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache.  Immediately top with a chocolate-covered strawberry.  Once all the cupcakes have been assembled, transfer them to the refrigerator to help set the ganache.  Serve at room temperature.

Source: cake adapted from Baking Bites, ganache from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

I had never heard of tin roof ice cream before, but when I saw the picture in The Perfect Scoop, I knew I would have to try it.  Of course, I feel that way about almost every ice cream recipe I see and I can only work my way through them one by one, so it took me a while to get around to it.  The motivation for me to finally make this was my newfound love for honey-roasted peanuts.  I first used them for Dorie’s absolutely incredible chocolate peanut butter torte, and have been devoted ever since.  

This ice cream took much more forethought, planning and prep than any I’ve tried so far, but I think it was worth it.  You make the chocolate-covered peanuts, the fudge ripple, and the ice cream batter.  All of these need to chill, the ice cream must be churned, and then they are layered together.  The result is a phenomenal frozen treat, and perfect for fans of sweet/salty desserts.  The flavor is definitely sweet initially, but then the saltiness of the peanuts kicks in – delicious!  My only real change was to add nearly double the amount of chocolate-covered peanuts, and I thought it was just right.  Anything less would not have been enough but this way there was peanut in every bite.  Maybe a bit time consuming, but definitely worth the effort.

Tin Roof Ice Cream
Ingredients:
For the chocolate-covered peanuts:
4 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup roasted peanuts (salted, unsalted, or honey-roasted)

For the fudge ripple:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
6 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the ice cream:
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions: 
Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.  Heat in 15-20 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.  In the meantime, stretch a piece of plastic wrap over a dinner plate.  Once the chocolate is completely melted, stir in the peanuts, coating them well.  Spread the mixture onto the plastic-lined plate and chill until set.  Use a chef’s knife to chop the chocolate-peanut block into bite-sized pieces.  Store in an airtight container until ready to use.  

To make the fudge ripple, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan.  Heat over medium-heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges.  Continue to whisk just until it comes to a low boil.  Cook for 1 minute, whisking often.  Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and let cool.  Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make the ice cream batter, warm the milk, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan, and add the pod as well to the hot mixture.  Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Rewarm the vanilla-infused mixture.  Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a large bowl with a fine mesh sieve set over the top.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then transfer the whole mixture back to the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat, making sure to scrape the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream to cool.  Remove the vanilla bean, wipe it clean of any egg bits, and add it back to the custard mixture.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  Place the bowl in an ice bath and stir until cool.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to freeze the ice cream, remove the vanilla bean.  Freeze the batter in the your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Fold the chopped chocolate-covered peanuts into the ice cream until they are well-distributed.  Transfer the ice cream to a storage container, carefully layering it with the fudge ripple as you go.  Try to avoid stirring the fudge ripple, as it will make the ice cream appear muddy.  Freeze until firm.

Source: adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

I saw this recipe all over the place a while back when it was the pick for Barefoot Bloggers.  At the time, I had no interest in trying it because I already have a favorite tomato soup recipe and I don’t expect anything to top it.  However, I recently wanted to try making ciabatta bread.  The bread recipe yields two loaves and this uses a whole loaf on its own, so I thought I should give it a try.  Though the bread was definitely a bust (tasted great, the crust was practically charred), this soup was a huge hit!

This is definitely different from my regular tomato soup.  It contains chunks of ciabatta as a thickener, as well as pieces of vegetables, and is not pureed.  I actually loved the chunky texture of this soup, and surprisingly I think this was even more flavorful than my standby recipe.  The taste is just on the verge of spicy, which I love.  The original recipe called for fennel, but I am not a fan so I substituted celery and it was a nice addition.  The topping consists of bacon, basil leaves and ciabatta cubes which are tossed with olive oil and roasted together.  I nearly skipped this step because I was so irritated by my bread fail, but I am so glad I went ahead and tried it.  I think the topping made this soup extra special and extra tasty.  While I still love my regular tomato soup, I think this chunkier version is now a definite favorite as well.

Pappa al Pomodoro
Ingredients:
For the soup:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup medium-diced carrots
1 cup medium-diced celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta bread, crusts removed
2 (28-oz.) cans Italian plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the topping:
3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta bread
2 oz. thickly sliced pancetta, chopped (I used turkey bacon)
24-30 whole fresh basil leaves
3 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.  Cook for 10 minutes, until tender.  Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes.  Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse briefly just until coarsely chopped.  Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, salt and pepper.  Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

For the topping, preheat the oven to 375° F.  Place the ciabatta, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp.  The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp.

Beat the soup with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up.  Stir in the Parmesan.  Adjust seasonings to taste.  Serve hot sprinkled with the topping.

Source: adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten

Chelle and I felt like baking something together again last week, and it was my turn to choose.  One of the things I suggested was this semifreddo.  We had actually planned on making last summer and then ended up postponing it.  Though I have several recipes for semifreddo bookmarked to try, this was my first.  To be perfectly honest, I had never even heard the term “semifreddo” before seeing it on various food blogs.  For anyone else who is not familiar, according to Epicurious a semifreddo is basically any sort of chilled or partially frozen dessert.  So, apparently in the broad sense of the word I have made things that qualify as semifreddos in the past (like strawberry margarita pie), but I was unaware of the meaning.

This is a wonderful dessert, especially perfect for coffee lovers.  It has a nice smooth texture and is not overly sweet.  The mascarpone provides a nice subtle tang as well.  I used instant espresso powder to make the espresso at home since I don’t have a coffee or espresso maker, and didn’t feel like driving to a coffee shop just for this.  So, my filling has little flecks from the espresso powder.  I am sure there are many ways this could be beautifully garnished, but after over a year of imagining it exactly the way Jen had decorated it, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it any other way.  I do think a little swirl of whipped cream underneath each raspberry would look gorgeous though, and maybe next time I’ll try that.

This dessert consists of an espresso custard base mixed with chocolate which is mixed with mascarpone and cream.  This mixture is then in turn folded together with stiffly beaten egg whites and poured atop a chocolate cookie crumb crust.  Then it just needs to set up in the freezer for a few hours before serving.  It sounds simple enough, and it is, but the most painful part for me was warming the egg whites.  They seemed to take forever to reach the necessary temperature!  The cooking is important though for the sake of safety so that you do not consume raw egg whites, so if you are wondering if you can get by without actually measuring the temperature, you cannot.  I have mentioned many times before how useful an instant read thermometer can be in the kitchen.  It is a totally worthwhile and inexpensive investment, so if you don’t have one yet, just buy one!

Chocolate Espresso Semifreddo
Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 3/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for brushing the pan

For the filling:
4 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar, divided
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. dark rum
3 oz. espresso
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped fine
16 oz. mascarpone cheese
2 oz. heavy cream

Directions:
To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly brush the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with melted butter.  Combine the chocolate cookie crumbs and 3 tablespoons of melted butter in a small bowl, and mix with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened.  Transfer the crumbs to the springform pan and use the flat bottom of a ramekin or drinking glass to press them into an even layer.  Bake for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Once cooled, line the edges of the pan with strips of parchment paper.

Over a double boiler, whisk together the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar.  Lift the whisk out of the bowl as you go to incorporate air into the mixture.  Continue whisking until the mixture is pale yellow and thick, and ribbons.  (This takes awhile but you will get there.)  Add the vanilla, rum, and espresso.  Cook over the simmering water until the liquid coats the back of a spoon and the mixture is thick and foamy.  Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate.  Stir until melted, and continue stirring until the mixture has cooled.

In a separate bowl, combine the mascarpone and heavy cream.  Stir together until soft and smooth, taking care not to overstir.

Combine the egg whites and the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar in the stainless steel bowl of a stand mixer.  Gently whisk together over a simmering water bath until the mixture reaches 145 degrees F.  Remove from the water bath and attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.  Reduce the speed to medium and mix until the bowl is cool to the touch (cooler than your hand).

Fold the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate mixture until there are no streaks left.  Fold in 1/4 of the meringue into the chocolate-mascarpone mixture to lighten it.  Gently fold in the remaining meringue in three parts, taking care not to overmix and deflate the egg whites.  Spread the mixture over the crust in the parchment-lined pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve, loosen and remove the sides of the pan.  Remove the parchment paper strips.  Garnish as desired.  Serve cold and cut slices with a warm, dry knife.

Source: adapted from Use Real Butter

I’ve mentioned several times before my love for classic Rice Krispie treats, and the many variations I have tried thus far.  This version originally caught my eye because they sounded like something Ben would love, and it turns out they are my new favorite too!  This recipe uses caramel marshmallows rather than regular marshmallows.  (I thought they would be hard to find, but I found them at the first store I tried – Super Target!)  I wasn’t sure how well the caramel flavor would come through from the marshmallows because I honestly thought they might be more of a caramel-colored gimmick than anything else.  But the marshmallows, combined with the caramel drizzled on top gave these treats a fantastic deep caramel flavor.  Be sure to add the mini chocolate chips immediately after drizzling the caramel, as it will start to set right away.  I’m sorry these are all gone – I could really go for one right now!

Other variations on Rice Krispie treats that you might enjoy:
Black and White Rice Krispie Treats
Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats

Caramel Cocoa Crispy Bars
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter
1 (1o-oz.) package Caramel Vanilla Swirl marshmallows
6 cups Cocoa Krispies 

For topping:
12 caramel candies, wrappers removed
1-2 tbsp. heavy cream or half-and-half
Mini chocolate chips 

Directions: 
Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with nonstick spray.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Once the butter has melted, add in the marshmallows gradually and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are all melted.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal.  Once all the cereal has been coated with the marshmallow mixture, transfer it to the prepared baking dish.  Using a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray, gently pat down the mixture into an even layer in the baking dish.   

To make the topping, place the caramel candies in a heatproof bowl.  Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted.  On the last interval add in the heavy cream, heat, and then whisk together.  Add more cream if necessary to make the caramel easy to drizzle.  Drizzle over the top of the Cocoa Krispie layer, sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, and gently press down to help them adhere.  Allow the base and topping to set completely.  Cut into bars and serve. 

Source: adapted from Erin’s Food Files

Okay, I have to be honest – a lot of the baby food I’ve made for Andrew, I’ve never even tasted.  I’m fine with the fruit purees, but a lot of the veggie purees make my stomach churn.  Ben has tried everything we’ve ever fed him, and approves of it all, but a lot of it just does not look appetizing to me – it’s baby food after all!  Well, here is a major exception.  This smelled so incredible while I was making it that I just couldn’t resist a small taste, and WOW!  I would gladly eat this for my own dinner.  What’s more, Andrew loves it.  This is a great dish because it helps introduce baby to foods with a bit more texture than a straight puree, and it has five different veggies in the sauce.  Awesome!  I used pasta stars for this, but any small pasta shape would be suitable.  Also, the original recipe calls for mascarpone but that’s a pricey ingredient to buy just for baby food making.  I had cream cheese on hand so I just stirred in a few tablespoons of that and it made the sauce pleasantly creamy.  It’s a winner!

He was a bit apprehensive at first because of the texture...

...but soon he was literally clapping for more!

Pasta with Very Veggie Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. light olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and chopped
3/4 cup cleaned and chopped button mushrooms
3 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 (15-oz.) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp. torn fresh basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
6 oz. pasta shapes
3-4 tbsp. cream or mascarpone cheese (optional)

Directions: 
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic, and saute for about 3 minutes.  Add the carrots and saute for 4-5 minutes.  Add the zucchini and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes more.

Add in the fresh tomatoes and the butter and cook for 2 minutes.  Pour in the can of tomatoes with about half of the juice.  Finally, add the vegetable stock, basil, and season with pepper to taste.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.  Check to be sure all the vegetables are tender, then blend to a puree.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions (with no added salt) until tender.  Toss the cooked pasta with the vegetable sauce and stir in cream cheese or mascarpone, if using.

(Note: This recipe makes a fairly large quantity of food, and is suitable for freezing.) 

Source: adapted from Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel

Last fall I was in Chicago and had breakfast at a fantastic restaurant called Yolk.  They had probably the best breakfast/brunch menu I have ever seen, with an absolutely amazing variety of options to choose from.  I think it took me nearly 30 minutes to order because I could hardly even begin to narrow it down.  I ended up having peach cobble crepes (::drool::), and some strawberry orange juice to drink.  It was so refreshing and delicious, and the perfect spin on plain old OJ.  I completely intended to try making it at home, and then promptly forgot about it.  Then last week I saw this recipe online and remembered how much I had loved it before, so I decided this would be a fun accompaniment for our breakfast of fresh cinnamon raisin bagels.  The flavor is nicely balanced between the strawberry and the orange, so if you prefer one over the other you can easily adjust the recipe to suit your own tastes.  I tossed a couple of orange slices into our glasses for a sweet surprise at the end of the drink.  I definitely plan on going back to Yolk in the future to try more things on their outstanding menu, but until then I’m glad I can make this drink at home.

Strawberry Orange Juice
Ingredients:
12 strawberries, hulled and quartered
6 oranges, plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or seeds scraped from 1/3 vanilla bean
Ice cubes

Directions:
Place the quartered strawberries in a blender or food processor and puree.  Juice the oranges directly into the blender or food processor.  Add the vanilla and blend until smooth.  Pour the juice through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher with ice cubes to remove the strawberry seeds.  Serve with fresh orange sections, and garnish with strawberries if desired.   

Source: adapted from Cooking Books

Last month, after finishing up med school, I had a looong list in my mind of things I really wanted to make during my time off before residency.  Of course, the list was so long I don’t think I would have been able to get through it even if I had a whole year off, but that’s okay.  I will get to it all eventually!  These bagels were right at the top of my list.  I first made homemade bagels last summer, and after making them successfully several times since, I  have been wanting to try some variations.  Cinnamon raisin was a logical first choice, and I decided I would just throw a handful of raisins and a spoonful of cinnamon into the dough of my usual bagel recipe.  Then, the very next day after I had thought about this, Smitten Kitchen posted cinnamon raisin bagels – and wouldn’t you know it, the base was the very same bagel recipe I always use.  So, rather than guessing and possibly messing up the amount of cinnamon and/or raisins, I just used the variation described on her blog.

Let me just say, these were heavenly.  I didn’t think it could get much better than regular homemade bagels, but now we’ve gone to a whole other level of awesome.  I am now totally inspired to try lots more flavor variations, some traditional and some not so much.  I am glad I read her entry on these bagels because I would not have known to rinse the raisins before using to remove any wild yeast on them.  Great tip!  Normally I get 12 bagels out of a batch, but due to the addition of a whole bunch of raisins, this time I got 14 large bagels.  These are really best for the first three days after making them, and then they become significantly more stale, so either make a half batch or freeze them if you won’t finish them in that time period.  (We shared ours with friends.  Everyone loves homemade bagels!)

Bagels
Yield: 12 large or 24 mini bagels

Ingredients:
For the sponge:
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
4 cups (18 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 ½ cups (20 ounces) water, at room temperature

For the dough:
½ teaspoon (.055 ounces) instant yeast
3 ¾ cups (17 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
5 tbsp. sugar
2 ¾ teaspoons (.7 ounce) salt
2 teaspoons (.33 ounce) malt powder OR 1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar
2 cups loosely packed raisins, rinsed to remove surface sugar, acid and wild yeast 

To finish:
1 tablespoon baking soda
cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

Directions:
1. To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl.  Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter).  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly.  It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.

2. To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir.  Then add 3 cups of the flour, cinnamon, sugar, salt and malt. Stir (or mix on low speed with the dough hook) until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining ¾ cup flour to stiffen the dough.  In the last couple minutes of mixing, add the raisins.  You may need to add a bit more flour at this point, due to any extra moisture that was added with the raisins.

3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine).  The dough should be firm, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth.  There should be no raw flour – all the ingredients should be hydrated.  The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 81 degrees F.  If the dough seems dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading.  If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achiever the stiffness required.  The kneaded dough should feels satiny and pliable but not be tacky.

4. Immediately divide the dough into equal sized, 4 ½-ounce pieces for standard bagels, or smaller if desired. Form the pieces into rolls.

5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.

6. Line two sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil.  Proceed with shaping the bagels by pushing a hole through the center and stretching out the hole to 2 ½ inches in diameter.

7. Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pan.  Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and slip each pan into a food-grade plastic bag, or cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

8. Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the “float test”.  Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water.  The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water.  Take one bagel and test it.  If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days).  If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats.  The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.

9. The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500° F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda.  Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.

10. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds).  After 1 minute flip them over and boil another minute.  If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side.  While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-line sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour.  (If you decided to replace the paper, be sure to spray the new paper lightly with spray oil to prevent the bagels from sticking to the surface.)

11. When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven.  Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation.  (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.)  After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450° F and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown.  You may bake them darker if you prefer.

12. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.

Source: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart, 10 Speed Press, 2001, as seen on Smitten Kitchen

Though I am typically not a big fan of most chain restaurants, I still find myself eating at them occasionally.  I think we’ve all been in that situation when a friend chooses such a location for a get-together, despite a wealth of wonderful local restaurants nearby.  I’m not that picky so I can usually find something decent on the menu, even if it isn’t nearly as good as what some of the local places are cooking up.  Whenever I end up going to Chili’s for any reason, I always order the margarita grilled chicken.  It is a simple marinated, grilled chicken breast atop a bed of black beans and rice.  It is healthy and honestly, I think it’s a pretty good dish!  But, also so simple I knew it could be easily recreated at home.  When I saw this recipe from Ina Garten, I figured it was the perfect place to start since she has yet to fail me.  

This chicken is incredible – it is amazingly juicy, and you can really taste the citrus juices and tequila.  I just improvised and came up with the black bean recipe on my own, and skipped the rice altogether this time.  (I do think this would be a good way to use up some leftover Mexican rice from another meal.)  I was thrilled with how the meal turned out, and though the beans aren’t exactly like the version from Chili’s, I’m not complaining.  This was a fantastic meal!  Very filling but still healthy.  I’ll be making this often.

Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken over Black Beans
For the chicken:
1/4 cup tequila
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup freshly squeeze orange juice
1 tsp. chili powder
1 jalapeno pepper, ribbed, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For the beans:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
Cumin, fajita seasoning and cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper 
Dash of hot sauce 
1/2-3/4 cup frozen corn 

Directions:
Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl or zippered plastic bag.  Mix well; add the chicken breasts to the container.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours.   

When you are ready to cook the chicken, heat a grill to medium-high heat.  Oil the grates to prevent the meat from sticking.  Once the grill is heated, cook the chicken until nicely browned and cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.  (Alternatively, you can sear the chicken in a grill pan and then bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.  This is my preferred method for cooking chicken when I don’t feel like firing up the grill, or the weather is bad.)  Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the beans.  Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and jalapeno to the pan and saute for 1 minute more.  Add the black beans to the pan and cook for a few minutes until warmed through.  Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.  Season with cumin, fajita seasoning, and cayenne pepper to taste.  Adjust salt and pepper as needed.  Allow the mixture to simmer until most of the liquid has reduced.  Stir in the hot sauce and frozen corn, and cook 2-3 minutes more.  Divide the bean mixture between two serving plates and top with grilled chicken.  Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.

Source: chicken adapted from Ina Garten via Food Network

Don’t you love when you rediscover a cookbook you’ve had for some time, but haven’t paid much attention to lately?  That is what has happened to me lately with The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.  During my original stint with the book, I skimmed right over this recipe because that was back during the time when I was convinced I hated all nuts.  Obviously, a dessert devoted to nuts was not high on my list of things to try.  However, last Thanksgiving I realized that I actually really like pecan pie, so this time when I turned to this page in the book, I was immediately craving these pecan bars.  

Despite the fact that I halved the recipe, these still use just over a pound of butter (!) but, they are worth it.  Just make sure you have some willing recipients to help you eat them so that you can have a taste without all the guilt.  I took a suggestion from Ina and dipped one side of the bar in chocolate for most of the batch.  I tried them both with and without the chocolate, and it was no surprise to me that the chocolate was an excellent idea!  These are basically like pecan pie in bar form.  The nuts have a nice deep flavor from being baked, and the buttery short crust is just right.  I did change my method slightly to make the assembly and the removal from the pan easier.  After baking the crust initially, I slid strips of parchment paper around the edges to help contain the pecan filling and prevent it from soaking under the crust or sticking to the baking pan.  It seemed to work very well, so I have noted this.  

Pecan Bars 
Ingredients:
For the crust:
18 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt

For the topping:
16 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tbsp. heavy cream
1 lb. pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined.  Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 9×13-inch baking pan.  The dough will be very sticky, so you can use a piece of plastic wrap around your fingers to help prevent the dough from sticking to you.  Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned.  Allow to cool.  

Once the crust has cooled a bit, it will have shrunk away from the sides of the pan.  Cut long, thin strips of parchment paper and stick them between the crust and the pan.  This will help prevent the filling from oozing underneath the crust, and from sticking to the pan.

For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar and citrus zests in a saucepan.  Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir.  Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in the heavy cream and chopped pecans.  Pour over the crust.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the filling is set.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.  Cut into bars and serve.  Once cooled, dip half of each bar in melted chocolate and allow to set on wax paper, if desired.

Source: adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

For a carb-aholic like myself, new bread recipes continually fuel my baking curiosity.  Even though I have already found many bread and roll recipes that I absolutely love, there is always the possibility that a new recipe will become a favorite.  And, even when a new recipe doesn’t quite rank above my most beloved recipes, that doesn’t mean it isn’t also wonderful itself – because really, I have yet to find a hunk of homemade bread that I have made and actually disliked.  So, although I still hold the honey yeast rolls in the highest regard for my ultimate dinner roll, these potato rolls come in a close second.  The two have several differences and I imagine the preference of one over the other is really a matter of personal taste.  The honey yeast rolls are on the sweet side (obviously), while these were not sweet but had a more deep, complex flavor.  What really impressed me about these rolls was their amazingly light and airy texture.  The honey yeast rolls though soft, are more dense, but these potato rolls are so unbelievably light and tender.  

These are a really great basic dinner roll, and I imagine that they would pair well with just about any meal you can think of.  They are definitely best the day they are made.  Also, the original recipe yields a huge amount of rolls (I made 32).  I have halved the recipe below, because I am not sure anyone needs that many rolls unless it is Thanksgiving.  We will have rolls in the freezer for months!  These do freeze exceptionally well.  We just had some of the leftovers last night with dinner and they were just as good as when they were fresh.  I think the sprinkling of flour on the tops of the rolls gives them a really nice, rustic look so don’t skip it!

Potato Rolls
Yield: 16 rolls

Ingredients:
1 russet potato (big enough to make 1/2 cup mashed potato), peeled and chopped
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk, warmed
1 1/8 tsp. instant yeast
1/4 cup reserved potato water, lukewarm, with 1 teaspoon sugar added to it
2 1/2 – 3 cups flour (I used half all-purpose and half bread flour)

Directions:
Boil potato until tender.  Drain cooking water, reserving 1/4 cup for use in the rolls.  Finely mash the potato and measure out 1/2 cup.  Let cool to nearly room temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the mashed potato, butter, sugar, honey, salt and egg.  Mix together on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Combine the yeast with the warm milk and reserved potato water, and pour into the mixer bowl.  Mix on low speed until incorporated.  Gradually add the flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms.  Switch to the dough hook attachment on knead on low speed for 5 minutes, adding more flour if necessary to achieve a soft dough that is slightly tacky but not sticky.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 60-90 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Turn the down out onto a lightly floured surface and punch it down.  Separate into 16 equal pieces and shape into rolls.   Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Sprinkle the rolls with a dusting of flour.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise again until the rolls have grown into each other, about 30-45 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, until golden.  Serve warm. 

Source: adapted from The Boastful Baker

Here’s a fun fruity drink to start your weekend off right!  Last week I found myself with some very ripe mangos and bananas in my fruit bowl, and no use for them.  Then, I was flipping through Back to Basics looking for a different recipe and happened across this fabulous beverage.  Talk about meant to be!  These were a delicious drink, thick with fruit puree and just the right amount of rum. I think these would be a welcome addition at a summer brunch as a substitute to the usual mimosa, or perfect for an afternoon cookout or pool party.

Mango Banana Daiquiris
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped ripe mango (1-2 mangos, peeled and seeded)*
1 ripe banana, chopped
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
1/4 cup simple syrup**
1 1/4 cups dark rum
2 cups ice
Mango slices, for serving

*Note – for tips on how to cut a mango, see this post
**To make simple syrup, heat equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan until sugar dissolves.  Chill before using.

Directions: 
Combine chopped mango and banana, lime juice, simple syrup and dark rum in a blender and process until smooth.  Add the ice and process once more until thick and smooth.  Serve immediately in glasses and garnish with fresh mango slices.

Source: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten

I can’t let birthdays of friends or loved ones pass by without baking them some sort of treat to mark the occasion.  My best friend Amanda’s birthday was all the way back at the beginning of April, but due to both of our very busy schedules, we were not able to get together until the end of May.  But, better late than never I guess!  She and her husband came over for dinner and I made these mini cakes in (belated) honor of her birthday!

If you read my post about the lemon yogurt cake, you know that I am not a fan of loaf cakes because they are such no-frill desserts.  I consider these little cuties my lots-of-frills answer to the lemon yogurt cake :)  These were really, really delicious, and so pretty!  The cake itself was my favorite part.  I love almost anything lemon poppy seed, but this cake has an incredible texture with a light, soft and tender crumb.  The filling was very tasty as well, although I think I would add a thicker layer of it next time to make the flavor more pronounced.  (It is difficult to make too thick of a layer though, without the cake layers sliding off of each other.)  Every one else seemed to like this frosting pretty well, but I think I would have preferred a lemon cream cheese frosting instead.  This was tasty but maybe just a bit too sweet for me.  Next time I’ll go the cream cheese route.

Of course you don’t have to make these into mini cakes (but they’re so fun!)  You can bake the cake into two 9-inch rounds, squares, or whatever you would like.  I baked the batter in a 9×13″ pan and used a round cookie cutter to cut out six cake rounds.  I then sliced those horizontally in half to equal 12 cake rounds.  This obviously resulted in a lot of leftover cake scraps which, while perfect for snacking on, would also be great made into a light summery trifle with fresh whipped cream and berries.  Yum!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes with Raspberry Curd Filling
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 1/3 cups cake flour
2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds
5 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest
12 tsbp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk

For the raspberry curd:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 pint ripe raspberries or 1 12-oz. package frozen raspberries, thawed
5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2-3 tsp. fresh lemon juice

For the lemon buttercream frosting:
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest
3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 

Fresh raspberries, for garnish 

Directions: 
To make the cake, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour a 9×13″ cake pan.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds in a bowl; set aside.   In the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium-high.  Beat just until stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted.  Transfer the egg whites to a separate bowl, clean the mixer bowl and reattach it with the paddle attachment.

Add the butter to the mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth.  Gradually add the sugar and beat until incorporated.  Mix in the lemon zest.  Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Add 1/4 cup of the milk and beat until just blended.  Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the remaining milk in three batches, beginning and ending with the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Beat until just blended.  Using a rubber spatula, fold one quarter of the egg whites into the batter, being careful not to deflate the mixture.  Once incorporated, add in the rest of the whites and gently fold in until well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 24-26 minutes.  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Run a thin knife around the outside of pan and gently turn the cake out.  Allow to cool completely.

To make the raspberry curd, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the raspberries, egg yolks, sugar and salt, and cook, mashing the berries.  Stir frequently at first and then constantly at the end, until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Pour the mixture through a coarse strainer set over a bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Cool to room temperature; the curd will continue to thicken as it cools.  Stir in lemon juice to taste.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut the cake into rounds as desired.  Layer the rounds with the cooled raspberry curd.  Once layered, allow the assembled cakes to cool in the refrigerator to help them set.  In the meantime, make the frosting.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and zest on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually add the sugar and beat until smooth.  Add the lemon juice and beat for one minute longer.  

Frost the chilled cakes with the lemon frosting.  Garnish with fresh raspberries as desired. 

Source: adapted from Notes From My Food Diary

I absolutely love roasted vegetables.  I think they make really flavorful and simple side dishes.  Normally I just toss my veggie of choice with some olive oil, garlic and other seasonings and throw it into the oven.  I thought this dish seemed like a fancier way to do the same basic thing, but incorporating more flavors and looking far more impressive and colorful.  This consists of a base of sautéed onions, which is then topped with layered potato, tomato and zucchini slices, seasoned, and baked.  As an added bonus, this helped me find a way that I like to eat zucchini (another veggie I’m just beginning to warm up to).  I served this alongside some herb-marinated pork tenderloin and homemade rolls for a delicious meal.  I’ll definitely make this again, and think it would be perfect to serve for company.

My only comment regarding the recipe itself is that the quantities of vegetables should be approximate.  You will really only know how much of each you need once you begin layering (depending on your baking dish, how close together the slices are, etc.), so err on the side of having extra.  Also, Ina recommends using tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini that are similar in diameter so that the slices look uniform.  I was unable to find a zucchini even close to the size of potatoes or tomatoes, so I just cut the slices on the diagonal to give a wider appearance. 

Vegetable Tian
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. medium round potatoes, unpeeled (I used golden potatoes)
3/4 lb. zucchini
1 1/4 lb. medium tomatoes
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs
2 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (I used Parmesan)

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Brush a 9×13″ baking dish with olive oil.  Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan, and cook the onions over medium heat until translucent, about 8-10 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in 1/4-inch thick slices.  Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly, making only one layer.  Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and thyme sprigs.  Drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, if desired.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.  Uncover the dish, remove the thyme sprigs, sprinkle the grated cheese on top , and bake for 30 minutes more, or until browned.  Serve warm.

Source: adapted from Barefoot In Paris by Ina Garten

I was looking for a simple side dish to go with the mind-blowing chicken gyros, and thought a salad sounded perfect.  I’ve had a lot of success making my own salad dressings recently (first with Caesar salad, then with strawberry champagne vinaigrette), so I thought I would try a Greek dressing.  This dressing is wonderfully light and flavorful, and also very convenient because I already had all of the ingredients on hand.  Salads don’t really require recipes since they should be made to suit your own personal tastes, but I thought I would post anyway since the dressing is delicious, and I’m always happy to find inspiration for a tasty new spin on salad.  Also, as a side note, I was a former cucumber-hater, but the gyros and this salad have started to convert me.  I love when this happens!  Any time I find a new ingredient that I like, it opens up a whole range of possibilities.  I’m so glad my palate continues to mature with age (just like my mom said it would) :)

Greek Salad
Ingredients:
For the dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. minced fresh dill
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 

For the salad:
Romaine lettuce
Sliced red onions
Sliced black olives (kalamata would be more appropriate, but I’m fairly sure I’ll never like those)
Grape tomatoes, halved
Cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
Crumbled feta cheese

Directions: 
To make the dressing, in a small bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients.   Whisk together until well combined.

To make the salad, add romaine lettuce to a salad bowl.  Drizzle with the dressing and toss well to coat.  Top as desired with red onions, black olives, tomatoes, cucumber, and feta cheese.  Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and shake well before using again. 

Source: dressing adapted from Williams Sonoma

Alright everyone, get ready for a monumental news flash – I now have a new favorite dinner.  It is these chicken gyros.  While this title was previously held by a simple cheesy pasta dish, the gyros now reign supreme.  To prove it, I will say this – I made these twice in the last week.  I almost made them again this week (and I probably will make them again next week)…and I almost never repeat recipes within the same month, because I just have too many that I still want to try.  The first night I made them, I made them with store-bought pitas and they were fabulous.  Then I made them again a few days later with homemade pitas and they were truly sublime.  I love the cool garlicky, cucumbery sauce, the flavorful chicken, and the soft pita.  It all combines into a phenomenal culinary experience, and the leftovers make a lunch you will definitely look forward to the next day.

Not only are these a treat to eat, but they are fun to make as well.  I get a kick out of straining the yogurt and seeing how much liquid is drained off.  (Elly mentions in her recipe not to use nonfat yogurt.  One of the times I made this, I accidentally bought nonfat and didn’t have time to run to the store for more, so I just used it and strained it anyway.  It actually still tasted fabulous, I just drained off a lot more liquid than normal.)  I used my food processor to shred the cucumbers, since I didn’t think I would be very successful using a cheese grater and doing it by hand.  Definitely the most fun part of making these is squeezing the water out of the cucumbers.  I am sure there are lots of good ways to do this, but I found just wrapping them in a few layers of paper towels and squeezing works great.  Also, a quick note on the pitas – since posting the recipe originally, I have found that I really have to add a significant amount of flour to the dough to make it even remotely workable as opposed to a gigantic sticky mess, so I have edited the old version to reflect more closely what I think I do now.

Now, run to the kitchen and make these.  You will be glad you did!

I’ve never made a yeasted muffin before, so when I saw this recipe I was definitely intrigued.  Plus, I’ve been all about things with cinnamon and sugar lately, so once I saw these I just couldn’t get them off of my mind. These were really delicious, and reminded me a lot of a cinnamon roll in muffin form.  Lots of fun to eat too, getting to pull them apart into pieces!  The basic idea is simple – making a bread dough, cutting it into chunks, tossing them with cinnamon-sugar, and then packing them into a muffin tin with raisins and a streusel-like mixture.  

In theory, it seems easy enough, but I did encounter a few challenges along the way.  My biggest issue was with the streusel-like mixture.  The original recipe calls for the butter to be soft, so I used soft butter as instructed.  This quickly turned into a big gloppy mess.  It was impossible to crumble nicely into the muffin tins because it really was just like goo.  Once baked, the layer on top pretty much just chipped off the completely in one big piece.  Next time, I will use my common sense and past streusel experience to use cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients, for a more crumbly consistency.  Also, the recipe is fairly vague as to how many chunks of dough you want, how big they should be, etc.  I think planning the number of dough chunks in advance is actually important, so that you have enough to fill all the muffin tins completely.  I had filled all 12 wells halfway and topped them with the goo, when I realized I was going to run out of dough chunks to finish them all.  I had to do some rearranging and ended up with 9 muffins.  I’ll definitely make these again and hopefully next time will go more smoothly now that I have worked out some of the kinks.  And you can all learn from my issues so you don’t have the rocky first try that I did!

Cinnamon Raisin Pull-Apart Muffins
Ingredients:
For the dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tbsp. olive oil
Ground cinnamon and sugar, for coating the dough 

For the cinnamon raisin mixture:
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
raisins (about 1/2 cup)

Directions: 
Combine the flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add in the water and oil, and mix together until a dough has formed.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until you have a homogenous dough, about 3-4 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.

Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured work surface.  Gently deflate the dough with the palms of your hands, form into a ball, and recover loosely with the plastic wrap.  Let sit for about 20 minutes.  

While the dough is resting, make the cinnamon raisin mixture.  Combine the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cornstarch and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.  Toss well to combine and then cut the butter into the dry ingredients using two forks or a pastry cutter, until the mixture is crumbly.  Add in the raisins and toss to combine.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease the wells of a muffin pan and dust with flour.  Once the dough has rested, flatten it to about 3/4-inch thick.  Cut into small chunks (I would suggest about 6-8 chunks per muffin, depending on the number and size of muffins you want.)  Sprinkle the chunks of dough with a little bit of flour, a handful of granulated sugar and a generous dusting of cinnamon.  Toss to combine well.

Fill the muffin tins halfway with chunks of dough (about 3-4 each).  Top each with some of the cinnamon raisin mixture, then top with the remaining dough chunks, packing lightly.  Sprinkle the tops with a bit more of the cinnamon raisin mixture.  

Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edges of each muffin, and gently scoop out of the muffin tin.

Source: adapted from Joy the Baker