Our new favorite side dish

I never thought I liked asparagus. My parents would try to serve them to me when I was growing up, and I just thought they were gross. They had a stringy texture and the flavor was just too strong. Turns out it wasn't the asparagus...it was just the way my mom prepared them and the size of the asparagus available in my small hometown grocery store. My mom always steamed them and put a little butter on them. Turns out I prefer them roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper (and sometimes a little garlic powder). I also only like the petite asparagus...they have a milder flavor than their thicker stalked counterparts and don't get as stringy. Luckily, the grocery store I generally shop at (Harris Teeter) almost always has the petite ones. We've made these a lot in the past few months (especially if there is a good sale) as a side dish. If you've never much worked with asparagus, here's a tip...remove the woody ends by bending the asparagus...they'll snap at the appropriate place. Give them a try even if you don't think you like asparagus...you might surprise yourself!

Roasted Asparagus

1 lb thin asparagus, washed and woody ends snapped off
Extra Virgin Olive oil (a tablespoon or two)
salt
freshly ground pepper
garlic powder (optional and to your liking)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (easy clean up!). Toss prepared asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder (if using). Roast in the oven for 10-20 minutes depending on how done you prefer them (I lean towards 20...I like them a bit crunchy). Enjoy!

Source: me!

Truffle Pie

This pie is OMG good. So rich and chocolately. The fresh cream is so great and the pie is really easy to put together. I've served this for a dinner party and taken it to a potluck. It is a winner and definitely one I'll make time and time again.

Truffle Pie

Ingredients:

Truffle Filling

2⁄3 cup heavy cream

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

1 9-inch prepared graham cracker crust

Whipped Chocolate Filling

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

1  1⁄2 cups heavy cream

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped Cream Topping

1 cup heavy cream

1⁄4 cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar

Garnish

1  1⁄2 ounces milk chocolate

1  1⁄2 ounces white chocolate

1  1⁄2 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate (this is the only kind I used)

Directions:

1. For the truffle filling, in a saucepan, bring 2⁄3 cup cream to a simmer. Place the 6 ounces chocolate chips in a bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then gently whisk until smooth. Spread truffle filling over the bottom of the prepared piecrust. Freeze for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, for the whipped chocolate filling, in a double boiler or a microwave set on low power, heat the 6 ounces chocolate chips with 1⁄2 cup of the cream until the chocolate is just melted, stirring often. Let cool to room temperature. In a chilled bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup cream until thick. Add the chocolate mixture and the vanilla and beat until soft peaks form (tips curl). Spread the whipped chocolate mixture over the truffle filling in the crust. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Just before serving, for the topping, beat 1 cup cream on medium speed of an electric mixer until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners’ sugar and whip until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie. Using a grater or vegetable peeler, make pieces or shavings of milk chocolate, white chocolate, and semisweet or dark chocolate. Garnish pie with chocolate pieces. Serve immediately.

Source: Recipes from the Road by the Deen Brothers, obtained through thenest.com

Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I LOVE THESE COOKIES! So does my husband. I don't know that I can find a recipe that tops these. They are just great. I first made them for New Years lunch and they were a hit. I've since made them for a work party and just because and they turned out perfect every time. I recommend you go make these cookies NOW!

Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper (I recommend the parchment paper). Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Cover dough and chill for 2 hours (this will help make the cookies more uniform but is not necessary). Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool completely on baking sheet (I usually let mine cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to wire racks).

Source: allrecipes.com

Halloween Treats...a little late

My department at work goes all out for Halloween with everyone dressing up and having a good time. This year we did trick or treating at each other's cubes so everyone brought in treats. I decided to do baked treats instead of buying candy and made Pumpkin Butterscotch Mini Muffins, Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Yellow Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Icing. They were a hit!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Mini Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 (6 ounce) package butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. Sift together the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, butter, and pumpkin in a separate bowl. Mix the flour mixture with the egg mixture. Stir in the butterscotch chips; pour into each cup of the muffin pan to about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes.

Source: ...and a cookie for dessert

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 c. shortening (I subbed butter)
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar + milk and let stand for 5 minutes, which is what I did)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin pan with paper liners (can also be done in 2 round cake pans or one 13x9 pan). Let butter and eggs stand at room temperature for 3o minutes. Stir dry ingredients (except sugar) together and set aside. Beat butter and shortening on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add vanilla and sugar, beating until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir pumpkin into buttermilk, then add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Pur into prepared pan(s). Bake 35-40 minutes for 13x9 pan, 30-35 minutes for 2 round pans or cupcakes, until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp vanilla
approximately 6 cups powdered sugar (I only used about 3 as I don't like super sweet frosting)

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually add additional powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency.

Source: adapted from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, courtesy of my friend Gina

Yellow Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

I shamefully admit to using a boxed mix for the cupcakes. I had one that needed to be used. I did make the frosting though.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup cocoa powder (I used a mix of regular and Hershey's special dark cocoa)
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternate adding sugar and milk until you reach desired consistency. Stir in vanilla.

Source: my mom

Pesto Cream Sauce

Last summer, I picked up a basil plant at my local farmer's market for a mere $2.50. If you've ever bought fresh basil at the store, you know a package is around $2 or more. So this was a great deal. I planted it in a pot on my back deck and it really flourished until around the end of October when the cold got it. I will definitely be getting another one as soon as it gets a bit warmer, as it was great to be able to walk out the door and grab as much fresh basil as I needed. One thing we used it for was this pesto cream sauce to top some pasta. I adapted a pesto recipe and then decided to make it into a cream sauce. It was pretty tasty and I would certainly make it again.

Pesto Cream Sauce

1 cup lightly packed fresh basil

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

2 oz grated fresh parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves

pinch of salt

Toast the pine nuts in a skillet over med/lo heat, about 5 minutes or until you can smell them toasting. Wash and dry the basil leaves and place them in the bowl of your food processor. Add the toasted pine nuts and pulse until you have a coarse paste. Add in the grated parmesan and garlic cloves. Pulse again until all ingredients are uniform. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and add the salt if needed. This will make approximately 1/3 cup of pesto. Transfer your pesto to a small saucepan and heat it on medium heat. Add about 1/2 cup of cream. This can be adjusted to your tastes...you can add more or less cream depending on how strong you want the pesto flavor to come through.

Source: adapted from The Pampered Chef Basil Walnut Pesto

Rocky Road Bread

I found this recipe on one of the blogs that I follow and thought it sounded interesting, so we gave it a try. I thought it was fairly tasty and my husband thought it was just OK. It is something that needs to be eaten fairly quickly...after a couple of days it wasn't as moist. If you like rocky road, you might just like this.

Rocky Road Bread

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter or margarine

1 cup mini marshmallows

1/4 cup toasted almonds (I used pecans instead, as that was what I had on hand)

¾ cup milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup chocolate chips, lightly dusted with flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease well a 9x5x3” loaf pan. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in mini marshmallows and toasted almonds; mix well. Combine milk and beaten egg; pour into flour mixture and stir just to moisten. Fold in chocolate chips. Turn into prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes and turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Source: Amber's Delectable Delights

Fall 2009 Fashion Week

This past week was Fall 2009 Fashion Week in NYC. Due to the economy, a lot of designers scaled back their shows and moved them to more intimate venues around the city rather than show their collections under the tents at Bryant Park as usual. There was still plenty to see though and it was easy to tell that some of the trends that are already in place will continue into fall. Keep buying feminine pieces with ruffles and boyfriend cardigans, as both were seen coming down the runways. There was also lots of big jewelry. The colors were somewhat somber, given the economy and that it is fall after all, but there were definitely pops of purples, royal blues, deep orange, red and even some neon yellow and pink. As with most fashion weeks, not all of the ready to wear things coming down the runway were something any of us would ever wear, but some collections did include items that could be translated into the normal life of a twentysomething woman. You have to remember that most of this is what inspires the designers who create the clothes for you and me though, so I think it is always worth a look. I thought Zac Posen's collection was particularly wearable as is, especially if you had a need for a gown for an event. Speaking of which...J. Mendel, Badgley Mischka and Oscar de la Renta put out some absolutely gorgeous gowns. I won't be surprised if we see some of them on the red carpet at future award shows. What I didn't think was at all wearable...the handbag hats by Isaac Mizrahi. Not sure what he was thinking.

Anyway, if you'd like to check out all of the collections in depth, I'd recommend checking out Women's Wear Daily and Style.com. They seem to have the best round up of photos and reviews from the week. If you'd like to see the Pantone report that predicts the top colors for fall, you can check that out here. I particularly like the Majolica Blue. In fact, I already own a cocktail dress in almost that exact shade. I think the American Beauty is also quite lovely.