Houston Style Green Salsa

Tomatillos are a funny little fruit.  They look like green tomatoes but come wrapped in a papery husk.  Though they look like tomatoes, they have a very tangy taste.  I guess I would describe the taste and texture as a hybrid of a tomato and a lime--heavy on the lime in terms of flavor and a lot like a tomato in terms of texture.  Tomatillos are the basis of many green salsas.  I find these days I am reaching for green salsa over traditional tomato based salsas.  When I came across this Houston style green salsa I knew I had to try it.

I discovered this green salsa through Secret Recipe Club.  This month I was connected with Karen's blog, Cinnamon Freud.  Isn't that a cool name for a blog?  Even more so because Karen is a "counseling psychology doctoral student who loves food, cooking, and baking."  Her blog was new to me and it was such a treat to browse all her delicious looking recipes.  Karen has a nice mix of sweet and savory offerings.  And for once in my life, I gravitated to the savory recipes.  Once I saw the green salsa, my recipe for this month was a done deal.

Hubby and I enjoyed this delicious salsa during Super Bowl, alongside homemade tortilla chips and carne asada.  I've never been to Houston so I don't know what their green salsa tastes like.  But according to Karen this is reminiscent of a salsa she ate many times at her favorite local restaurant.  I loved it.  It's got tang from the tomatillos and lime juice and a lush creaminess from the avocados. An awesome flavor combination.  I topped it with a little cotija cheese to bring a little saltiness to the mix. All in all it was a hit!

Enjoy! 

Houston Style Green Salsa
adapted from Cinnamon Freud (originally adapted from Homesick Texan via Foodie Bride)

4 medium to large tomatillos
1/2 onion finely chopped
1-2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed and finely chopped
3 small cloves garlic peeled and minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 small avocados, pits and skin removed
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Cotija cheese for garnish (optional)

Bring a medium sauce pan of water to a boil (large enough to hold the tomatillos).  Remove husks from tomatillos and boil 5 minutes until softened.  Drain and set aside.  Once cooled chop into quarters.

In a small skillet heat olive oil and add onion and jalapeno and cook for about 5 minutes until soft.  Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Using a food processor or blender, blend tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, garlic and lime juice until smooth.  Add avocado and cilantro and blend again until desired consistency is reached.

Serve with homemade chips and garnish with cotija cheese.

Pumpkin Bread

It's cold here.  I venture to guess this is one of the coldest winters we've had in Southern California in a number of years.  At least it feels that way.  I could try to research it to get a definitive answer, but it doesn't really matter.  It wouldn't change how cold it feels. 

I know that pretty much anyone living outside of California will likely not sympathize with my definition of cold.   But a high of 57 and low of 31 (today's temps) puts a chill in my toes and in our house.  You see, many California houses are not built the way cold weather climate houses are built.  The brisk air seeps in the windows and doors and it seems no matter how high the heater is, the place never really warms up.  I've been spending a lot of time bundling up with layers of clothes, extra socks and a scarf here and there during the days I'm working at home.  Then snuggling under warm blankets on the couch at night with kitty cat next to me. 

Once I'm nice and cozy, a slice of spiced pumpkin bread alongside a hot cup of tea is just the thing to warm my insides. I love it for breakfast, a snack and even dessert.  It's so delicious.

This recipe has a bit of a story. 

My good friend Sharon has been making this bread around the holidays for years.  She pumps out a dozen plus loaves and hands them out to family and friends each year.  I've been the recipient of this bread many times and absolutely love it.  Several years ago I asked her about the recipe and she alluded that it was a long time recipe which her family kept under lock and key. 

Fast forward to this past fall...I asked Sharon if I could have the recipe because I wanted to bake this yummy bread to send to the troops overseas as part of Operation Baking GALS.  A perfect autumn treat that travels well and has a long shelf life.  I let her know that I wouldn't share the recipe with anyone else, but felt the troops should have a taste of this deliciousness!  She happily agreed.  Since October, I've made over a dozen loaves myself.  For the troops, for family and just to eat myself (which I did for breakfast this morning--mmm).  One of the reasons I love this recipe is because it's very reliable.  I've had consistently good results every time I've made it in terms of appearance, texture and taste. 

Not only do I love the bread, but the troops loved it too.  They even posted a comment about it on the OBG Facebook page.  A very exciting moment!  I'm telling you this bread is the bomb.  I hinted to Sharon I would love to post the recipe on the blog and share it with all of you.  She went back to her mom to inquire and her mom was happy to hear the troops enjoyed the bread so much and agreed the recipe should be shared.  Woo hoo!  Sharon also inquired about the origin of the recipe.  Her mom is a special needs teacher and years ago, one of her students brought her a loaf of this bread as a thank you gift.  She loved it so much, she asked the child's mother for the recipe.  The rest is history. 

I'm so thrilled that Sharon's mom agreed this awesome recipe needed to be shared with the world. Well, my little pocket of readers anyway.  THANK YOU Sharon's Mom!  :)

This pumpkin bread is very easy to make and is all mixed by hand.  It yields 2 large loaves (or 8 mini loaves).  You could easily cut the recipe in half to make just one loaf.  The day it's baked it has a wonderful crusty top.  I do enjoy that crust, but I find that I really enjoy the bread best after it's been sealed in a zip top bag for 2+ days.  Though the bread is moist the day you bake it, it's gets even more moist and it seems the flavors really meld together if you can stand to wait 2 days.  The crusty top goes away due the amount of moisture that redistributes through the bread, but the enhanced flavor and incredible moistness are so worth it!  It stores beautifully for upwards of a week. 

This is most definitely my go to pumpkin bread recipe and I look forward to making many more loaves.

Enjoy!

*Note recipe updated on 2/19/2013  to include an originally omitted ingredient (sugar)

Pumpkin Bread

from Sharon's Family

Makes 2 large loaves (9x5)

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2/3 cup water

4 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup oil (Crisco Corn Oil is recommended, but any vegetable oil would be fine)

2 cups pumpkin puree (unsweetened)

 

Butter and flour two 9x5 loaf pans.  Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl until fully combined.  Whisk eggs, water, and vanilla together in a medium bowl or a large glass measuring cup (at least 2 cup size).  Make a well in the flour and add the wet ingredients.  Add the oil and pumpkin puree.  Fold together with rubber spatula until fully combined and no streaks of flour remain.

Divide between loaf pans and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Notes: To make chocolate chip pumpkin bread stir 2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips into the fully mixed batter.  I also prefer to use fresh grated nutmeg if possible. 

Jalapeno Cheese Crackers

I contemplated writing a non food post. 

I'm kind of fooded out. 

Christmas was a whirlwind of baking, cooking, driving, ribbons, wrapping, eating, kids running around, unwrapping, laughing, a wee bit of sleeping, more baking, more cooking, more ribbons and wrapping, eating, more kids, more unwrapping, eating again, and maybe just a little more eating.   

I may have eaten more than my share of cookies.  I'm certain I've gained some holiday poundage.  I want to know.  Yet I don't.

The scale can wait a few days.

I'm sure it's no surprise I love baking.  December is by far my biggest baking month of the year.  This year was even a little bigger than usual.  It started with a baking frenzy for December Baking GALS.  The following weekend was dedicated to baking for friends and co-workers (pictures below).  And this past weekend was the final push to bake for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family. 

Every year I pick several cookies to make.



Clockwise starting in the upper left: Ginger Snaps, Snowball cookies are buried in those bags of powdered sugar in the middle, Red Velvet Crinkles, Jalapeno Cheese Crackers, Linzers and Peppermint Brownies

I have a couple of regulars that make an appearance every year....

Ginger snaps...

And raspberry and lemon linzers... 

Then I try out some new recipes. 

This brownie recipe (double the recipe and bake in a sheet pan) received a holiday twist by spreading melted milk chocolate on top and finishing with crushed candy canes to make a peppermint brownie. 

I made traditional snowballs this year.  If you've ever had trouble getting powdered sugar to stay on these types of cookies, I have tip for you.  This tip comes from my Aunt who is a master cookie maker.  Store the cookies overnight in a bag full of powdered sugar.  The cookie soaks in the powdered sugar and you will not have the problem of disappearing powdered sugar ever again!  It's kind of genius.

Red velvet crinkles were a new addition as well.  They turned out nice and chewy and were easy to make as they started with a boxed cake mix.  I just love that dusting of powdered sugar on top with the deep red cookie peeking through.  But next time I want to take it up level and try Two Peas and Their Pod's red velvet cheesecake cookies.  Check them out.  They look seriously sinful.

And lastly, to mix things up, for the first time, I threw in a savory "cookie" of sorts.  Jalapeno cheese crackers.  These are easy to make slice and bake crackers.

Of the new additions to the holiday baking roster this year, the jalapeno crackers were pretty popular.  I received a few comments from girlfriends, saying their male counterparts really enjoyed them.  A salty spicy treat is a nice departure from the sea of sweetness that takes over the holidays.  Don't get me wrong, I love the sea of sweetness.  But these spiced crackers will be a very strong contender for next year's holiday round up. 

The recipe comes from Ina Garten's latest cookbook, Foolproof.  Or perhaps I should clarify that the base for this recipe comes from Ina's new book.  I adapted it a bit.  Initially I followed the recipe pretty darn closely.  The only change was using regular chili powder in place of chipotle chili powder.  The first go round I found the jalapeno and spice to be on the light side.  I made a couple more batches and tweaked it along the way.  The version I settled on has double the jalapeno, double the chili powder and the addition of cayenne for an extra kick.  Oh, and I decided a little extra cheese couldn't hurt either. 

These cheesy spicy crackers would make a perfect snack for your New Year's menu.  Any fun plans to ring in the new year?  Hubby and I will be enjoying a quiet New Year's Eve at home.  Mostly because Hubby is under the weather and on antibiotics so that means no drinking.  For him anyway! 

If we don't talk before the year closes, I hope you have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Enjoy!

Jalapeno Cheese Crackers
Adapted from Ina Garten's Foolproof Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers

I added additional cheese, jalapeno, chili powder and cayenne to Ina's original recipe.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 ounces extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
2 ounces gruyere cheese, grated
2 heaping tablespoons finely minced seeded jalapenos
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons ice water

For topping:
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk
Fleur de sel

In a food processor pulse flour, kosher salt and baking powder.  Add butter pieces and pulse again until the mixture is a coarse meal.  Add cheese, jalapeno, chili powder and cayenne and pulse again until just combined.  With food processor on, add ice water all at once and continue to process until the dough forms a ball. 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll into a log about 14 inches long.  Wrap tightly in parchment or plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Slice the log into 1/4 to 3/8 inch discs and place on parchment leaving about 1/4 - 1/2 inch space between crackers.  Brush crackers with egg wash and sprinkle with fleur de sel to taste.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Cranberry Orange Almond Biscotti

The cranberry craze continues here.  First it was cranberry preserves, then salad with cranberry and other delicious ingredients, and now biscotti.

What are your thoughts on biscotti?  Love it?  Hate it?  Never thought much about it? 

Historically I've turned my nose up to biscotti.  I always viewed them as boring...and a little too crunchy for my taste.  I tried my first homemade biscotti a couple of years ago as part of the Sweet Melissa Baking group.  I was pleasantly surprised that I did in fact like these little cookies.  For the record, I prefer my biscotti to be a little on the soft side.  Meaning, not super crunchy/hard.  It's all about the second bake time.  I under bake mine a bit to avoid an uber hard biscotti. 

Now don't go comparing biscotti to a piece of cake or your favorite fudgy brownie.  To fully appreciate biscotti you have to put them in their own category.  It's a great snack or light breakfast.  What I like is that it's not overly sweet, but is still enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.  And no, you don't have to be a coffee drinker to like biscotti.  Though I will say it's really perfect with a hot cup of tea if you're into that.

I made this batch of biscotti to send off for November's Operation Baking GALS (where volunteer bakers send home baked goodies to military stationed overseas).  And I'm gearing up to make it again this weekend for December's OBG since it travels so well.  I'm pretty jazzed about this round of OBG because it's Christmas.  On Sunday a few friends and family are gathering at my house with their baked goods and we are going to pack up boxes to send two recipients stationed in Afghanistan.  I'm really excited to see how many boxes we can put together to bring a little Christmas cheer to the military personnel who sacrifice so much for us all.  I'll be posting more on our baking party next week. :)


In the meantime, if you haven't tried biscotti you might want to give them a shot.  And biscotti makes a nice homemade holiday gift if you're looking for ideas.  

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Almond Biscotti
Adapted from Sweet Melissa Baking Book

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
Zest of 2 oranges
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds, roughly chopped

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.  In a small saucepan, heat the orange juice and cranberries and bring to a simmer.  Cover and remove heat, allowing the cranberries to reconstitute in the orange juice.

In a medium bowl whisk flour and baking powder and set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, zest, and salt until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing fully after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the vanilla, almond and orange extracts and mix until combined.

Add flour mixture to wet mixture in 3 additions, with the mixer on low speed.  Drain the cranberries and discard the juice.  Stir the cranberries and almonds into the dough.  Turn dough out onto plastic wrap and flatten.  Refrigerate until firm, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide in half.  Roll each half into a log, patting and shaping it until you reach 14 inches.  Place the logs on the prepared baking sheet, about 4 inches apart. 

Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly golden and slightly firm.  Remove from oven and place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees.  Transfer the logs to cutting board and cut the logs into 3/4 inch sticks at 45 degree angle.  Transfer the cookies to a freshly lined cookie sheet, cut side up.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Turn cookies over, exposing the other cut side and return to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  If you want a really crunchy cookie, bake for a total of 60 minutes.

Salted Candied Pecans

Are you ready for Thanksgiving?  I can't believe it's just a few days away.  This year Hubby and I are going to my Grandparents house for the big feast, as we do most years.  And like last year, we are going up a day and half early to help Grandma prepare the big meal.  I'm super excited as there are few things I'd rather do than spend the entire day cooking and baking with my Grandma.  I'm already getting hungry thinking about some of my favorite dishes. 

While I have to wait a few more days for Turkey Day, I'm enjoying the flavors of the holiday now with these salted candied pecans.  I found this recipe on Desiree's blog, Steak N Potatoes Kinda Gurl--my blog assignment for this month's installment of Secret Recipe Club.  I always look forward to Secret Recipe Club so I can get to know a new blog.  I enjoyed scouring Desiree's blog and of course found several things that sounded really good.  Including a cranberry gorgonzola salad and lemon sour cream pie.  Then I came across the pecans and thought they would be delicious in a variation on Desiree's cranberry gorgonzola salad (more on this below).  And for the record, they were delicious in that salad.  But you'll have to wait a few days for the post.  Today it's all about the pecans.

I have made one other candied pecan recipe which calls for baking the pecans...resulting in a stick in your teeth kind of candied nut.  This recipe prepares the pecans on the stove top and the outcome is really more like a piece of candy vs a nut.  It's really crunchy with sweet warm flavors.  The lightly crystallized sugar coating (without being sticky) makes these so amazingly delicious.  I couldn't keep my hands off them...they just kept popping in my mouth.  Hubby likes them too.  Good thing I doubled the recipe.  I definitely prefer the stovetop method and will be adding this recipe to the keeper list. 

There's a hint of cinnamon, which gives them a little extra something special.  They pair beautifully with that variation on Desiree's salad I mentioned.  I'm calling it a harvest salad--romaine lettuce, honey crisp apple slices, dried cranberries, sliced green onions, feta crumbles and crunchy salted candied pecans finished with a balsamic vinaigrette. Or these sweet beauties could easily top a number of fall inspired desserts or sit out in a bowl for your Thanksgiving day guests to munch on.  But be warned, they are addictive so I'm pretty sure the bowl wouldn't be full for long.

Enjoy!

Salted Candied Pecans
from Steak N Potatoes Kinda Gurl

1 cup whole unsalted raw pecan halves
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Add pecans, sugar and water to a medium to large heavy bottomed bottom pan over medium heat.  When sugar dissolves, begin stirring.  Continue cooking, stirring often, until sugar becomes crystallized (looks like raw brown sugar). 

Turn heat to medium low and allow the crystallized sugar to melt and lightly brown on the bottom of the pan.  Use a heat proof rubber spatula to spoon the liquid over the pecans to coat them.  Once pecans are coated (quite a bit of crystallized sugar will remain), sprinkle on salt and cinnamon and stir a few times to evenly distribute. 

Transfer nuts in a single layer to a silpat (or parchment paper) lined baking sheet and allow to completely cool. 

Nutella Scones

Nutella has become a staple in my pantry.  I mostly spread it on English muffins and graham crackers.  But recently I took it to the next level and merged Nutella into the baking world.  Sort of.  Making frosting isn't technically baking.  I made a banana cake and topped it with Nutella frosting.  Banana + Nutella = heaven, by the way.  And now I can say I have officially baked with my favorite chocolate hazelnut spread with these chocolatey scones.

This week our Club: Baked hostess, Lorraine of PhDcupcaker, selected Nutella Scones for the group to bake.  I have been looking forward to this recipe because a.) I have never made scones before and b.) a new way to incorporate Nutella into breakfast is a good thing.

The recipe reads pretty simply.  It doesn't require a mixer or any fancy tools.  But apparently it requires a little finesse.  It definitely wasn't easy as I thought it would be.  The authors of Baked Explorations caution you to not over mix the dough to ensure you have nice tender scone.  They also recommend using your hands to knead the dough.  I don't know about anyone else, but my dough was beyond sticky and I spent quite a bit of time trying to keep the dough from forming a giant chocolate mitten on my hand.  Next time I would keep a little flour on hand to help with the sticky fingers.  Now that I have one scone run under my belt, I'm looking forward to trying other flavor combinations.

I did make a couple of small alterations to the recipe.  The original recipe calls for toasted chopped hazelnuts to be added to the dough.  I omitted the nuts and to dress it up a bit, I sprinkled coarse raw sugar on top for a little sparkle and crunch.  I made half the recipe (yielding 6 small scones) but still added the full amount of sugar (only 1/4 cup in total) because some other bakers had noted that the scone wasn't very sweet.  Even with the extra sugar, I still thought it wasn't very sweet.  But that's okay, the Nutella drizzled on top brings up the sweetness to just the right level.  The scone is tender and almost cakey inside with a little crunch on the outside.  Good stuff.  This is my kind of breakfast.

To get the recipe head over to Lorraine's site.  To see how other Club: Bakers' scones turned out click here.

Strawberries, Yogurt and Granola

If you read my last post you might have anticipated my next post would be for creamy mushroom soup.  Hope you aren't too disappointed to see berries instead.  The soup recipe came from a highly credible source, Cook's Illustrated.  The soup turned out okay, but I didn't love it.  I haven't given up on it though.  I have some ideas of what may have held this soup back from being great so I'll give another go at some point.

In the meantime, what I know is great, are fresh, ripe, sweet strawberries straight from the fields to the farmer's market.  Living in southern California gives me pretty good access to local berries early in the season.  The funny thing is I didn't have my first berries of the year at home.  Two weeks ago Hubby and I took a trip to the mid-west and I was pleasantly surprised when some phenomenal strawberries appeared on my yogurt and granola breakfast in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.  I thought perhaps it was a fluke.  Then last week I was in New Jersey for work and I had more amazing strawberries.  Really, really amazing.  I've had strawberries on the brain ever since.  I knew a trip to my local farmer's market was number one top priority business this past weekend. 

I wasn't disappointed.  The market was teeming with berries, some big, some small, some gi-normous.  I sampled the small berries and they had the most unbelievably sweet flavor.  Sold!  I'll take 3 baskets, please!  Hubby doesn't eat strawberries so that's 3 baskets of berry heaven all for me.  I decided the first order of business was a simple, but delicious, application of my new found treasures.  Vanilla yogurt topped with fresh cut berries and crunchy honey kissed granola.  I plan to rinse and repeat at least a few more days this week.  A great way to start the day!

I always struggle with storing strawberries.  I feel like they start growing mold the day after I bring them home.  So I asked the girl behind the table at the farmer's market how she recommends storing them.  She suggested placing a papertowel in the bottom of a tupperware and placing a single layer of berries down.  Cover with another paper towel and a layer of berries, and repeat.  Store the tupperware in the fridge.  I'm only on day two, but I think it's going to work.  I hope to be posting more strawberry focused posts this week so I'll let you know how this method holds up.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Yogurt with Strawberries and Granola

3/4 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, washed, stems removed and cut in quarters
1/3 cup granola (my favorite is honey flax granola from Fresh and Easy)

Place 1/2 of the yogurt in a small bowl and top with 1/2 of the granola.  Spoon the remaining yogurt on top and finish with berries and remaining granola.