PROJECT OF THE DAY: Stuffed Mushrooms

Thought I'd do a really quick post today for you guys. Last week I was supposed to give a cooking lesson on Stuffed Mushrooms to a friend, unfortunately we had to cancel. I, of course, still had to make the mushrooms since I still had all of the ingredients sitting in my fridge. I know it's not the same as having an actual cooking lesson, but here's how to make them!


INGREDIENTS: (again, i'm sorry for the not so exact measurements)

About 30 mushrooms (preferably larger ones)
½ a large or 1 small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. Ground sausage/pork (I like to use half spicy and half regular)
1–2 tbs. Honey
¼ cup cream cheese
breadcrumbs
2-3 stalks green onions, chopped
grated parmesan

STEP 1:
Prepare the mushrooms by wiping off any dirt on the mushrooms with a moist towel. Remove all the stems and finely chop them. Set aside. Heat a large pan and precook the mushroom caps by cooking them for a few minutes on each side until browned. Once browned, transfer mushrooms to baking dish. If any liquid comes out of mushrooms during cooking, be sure to pour it out into a separate container before placing in baking dish.

mushroom caps waiting to be filled

STEP 2:
In same pan, drizzle some olive oil. Once oil is heated, saute onions until browned and softened. Then add garlic and saute a few more minutes. Now add in ground sausage, making sure to break it up in the pan. Once all the pink in the sausage is gone, add in all the chopped mushroom stems. Mix well with meat, and cook for about another 5 minutes. Drizzle in the honey, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Now stir in the cream cheese. Be sure to let the cheese fully melt and incorporate with the meat. If the mixture looks a little watery, add a handful of breadcrumbs at a time until mixture has thickened. Lastly, mix in a couple handfuls of chopped green onions. Turn off heat.

sauteed onions and garlic

STEP 3:
Take mixture and carefully spoon a couple of scoops into each mushroom cap. Be sure to pack down the meat with spoon so that it doesn't fall apart. Once the mushrooms are all filled, sprinkle as much or as little parmesan cheese you want on top. (to make things easier I like to make sure all the mushrooms are bunched together).


STEP 4:
Set oven to Broil. Once oven is heated and ready, place baking dish on top rack. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is slightly browned. The mushrooms are ready to be served!

mushroom goodness!

*Here's a little tip – There will most likely be leftover filling. I usually like to just eat the leftover with some rice or mix it into an omelet. Perfect for breakfast the next morning!

PROJECT OF THE DAY: Eggplant Parmesan

First let me start off by mentioning that I am not a big fan of eggplant. The slimy texture of it once you cook it freaks me out. But a few years ago, while I was living in the bay area, I went to this quaint little Italian restaurant. My friend had ordered the Eggplant Parmesan, which she thought was amazing, and so demanded that I try it. Well, I did. And my attitude towards eggplants had been changed. Eggplant Parmesan is now the only way that you can get me to eat that slimy vegetable.

I first started making this dish a couple of years ago during Lent. I was always trying to find yummy new vegetarian dishes to make since I couldn't eat meat, so I took this as the perfect opportunity to experiment with making this dish. After once again perusing the internet for a recipe, I saw that it was a fairly simple recipe. So, I decided to just wing it and came up with my own version of it. Even though it's a simple recipe, theres a couple different parts to it, so it does take a while to put together. I don't really measure when I cook, so I apologize for the lack of an ingredient list, but here's what I did!

First up, the tomato sauce. I started making it by first sautéing half a diced onion and a couple cloves of garlic until the onions were softened. Then I added a can of fire roasted tomatoes and a large can of tomato sauce. I stirred it together and let it come to a simmer. Once it was simmering, I added in some chopped fresh basil. I let it simmer for a few more minutes, then took it off the heat and set it aside for later.

Next part was the eggplant. I sliced up 1 large eggplant and breaded it. The breading process consists of 3 parts. I needed 3 bowls for this. In the first bowl I put flour, which I seasoned with garlic powder and seasoned salt. 2nd bowl had 2 scrambled eggs, and the 3rd bowl was filled with panko. To bread the eggplant, I took a slice and coated it in flour, then dipped it in the egg, and lastly covered it with the panko.

Now, it was time to fry. I fried the breaded eggplant in some vegetable oil a few minutes on each side until it was nicely browned and crispy. Once the pieces are finished frying I placed them on a paper towel to get the excess fat off of them. After all the pieces were fried it was time to assemble all the parts. I took a large baking dish and poured a layer of the tomato sauce that I had made onto the bottom of the pan. Then I placed a layer of eggplant in the sauce. Next I sprinkled a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese over the eggplant. On top of that, I placed a few pieces of fresh basil leaves on each piece of eggplant. Then I topped it off with another layer of eggplant. Lastly, what gives this dish its name, I sprinkled a generous amount of shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Once it was all assembled, I placed it in a 400 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes. After that, I changed the oven setting to broil and moved the dish to the top rack of the oven. I left it in the oven only long enough for the parmesan cheese on top to brown, and it was finally done and time to eat! I had some extra tomato sauce left so I boiled some pasta to mix with the sauce and served it along side the Eggplant Parmesan.



The pasta and the eggplant went perfectly together. I think the reason I enjoy this dish so much is that the eggplant gets soft, but is definitely not slimy. Plus it doesn't hurt that the crispiness of the breading and all the cheeses kind of masks the taste of it as well. After making this dish, I think I can say that me and eggplant now have a better understanding with each other.

PROJECT OF THE DAY: Red Velvet Cheesecake

Last month the sister and I had lunch at certain chain restaurant famous for its cheesecakey goodness. In case you didn't figure it out...I'm referring the Cheesecake Factory. Now, I usually try and stay away from the big chain restaurants and try and support the smaller businesses but when I get a hankering for a creamy cheesy dessert, this place is at the top of the list, especially since they have such an array of cheesecake flavors and other non-cheesecake dessert items to choose from. Plus with its booklet of a menu its hard not to find something you'd like, making it a great choice for big parties or ones with picky eaters.

Anyways, back to the meal at hand, as we perused the cheesecake/dessert menu we noticed that they were promoting a new item. This new item? Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake. Here's the description: Moist layers of Red Velvet Cake and their Original Cheesecake covered with their special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting. Drooling yet? The sister is a fan of Red Velvet so this was definitely the winner and we had to order it. However, we kept reading the menu and discovered that just a single slice of this cheesecake would pretty much cover your entire caloric intake for the day. That is some major decadence right there. But that didn't stop us, we had to try it. But we justified it by also discovering that part of the sale of each slice would be donated to Feeding America, one of the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, and by swearing that we wouldn't finish the entire slice in one sitting. =P

Well, the dessert arrived. It was indeed decadent. The layers of cake and cheesecake and the smooth frosting worked harmoniously to create one perfectly luscious bite. It was so rich that a few bites were enough to suffice, so luckily we were successful in keeping our promise to not devour the whole thing. The sister loved it so much that she made me promise to try and recreate it for her birthday. Well, the sister's birthday was last Friday, and I kept my promise. I now present to you my attempt at recreating Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake.

Here's a summary of what I did. I was a little hesitant to make this cake because it would be time consuming since I was basically making two different desserts. But, the individual recipes aren't too difficult, so it wasn't bad at all. I searched for a cheesecake recipe to use, and came across a white chocolate cheesecake recipe which I decided to use. Then for the cake part, I just used a traditional Red Velvet Cake recipe that I already had. Luckily both recipes called for the same temperature and cooking time to bake at so I was able to cook all components at the same time. When it came time for the frosting, I used a traditional cream cheese frosting, but I remembered that Cheesecake Factory's frosting is a bit lighter and fluffier than most cream cheese frostings. So I decided to half the recipe and mix it with whipped cream. I thought this turned out really well, and will definitely continue to do that. Once all the cakes were cooled, I was able to put all the layers together, which, let me tell you, wasn't such an easy task. It was finally all finished and we were able to taste! That first bite was rich and creamy. The texture of the moist cake complemented that of the smooth velvety cheesecake. It wasn't as decadent as the original, but it tasted pretty darn delicious if I do say so myself. The frosting wasn't too sweet and was the perfect accent to the cake.

Here's my final analysis of my first attempt of the Red Velvet Cheesecake and the recipes too!
1. The cake layers were too thick, next time I will definitely make only half the batter
2. I really enjoyed the hint of white chocolate in the cheesecake, I think I'll add more white chocolate next time.
3. The cake came out a little dry, so I'm going to try a different recipe or adjusting the baking time next time.

the finished product


only 10 minutes after cutting into it

Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe


Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp red gel-paste food color
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

With an electric mixer on med-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in food color and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low. add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisk well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam), add mixture to the batter and mix on medium speed for 10 seconds.

Line two 9 inch spring form pans with parchment paper. Divide the batter equally between the two pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack. Allow to cool before removing the cake from the pan. Allow to cool completely before assembling with the cheesecake.


White Chocolate Cheesecake

2 oz white chocolate, chopped
16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature (2 packages)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the white chocolate and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, using an electronic mixer, mix the cream cheese on low speed until creamy. add the sugar and mix slowly until smooth. On low speed, mix in the flour. turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula. Add one egg at a time and mix until smooth. scrape down again. mix in the vanilla and cream until the mixture is smooth. Using a large spoon, stir in the melted white chocolate until incorporated.

Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined 9 inch spring form pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center is set when you shake the pan slightly. Allow to cool before removing from the spring form pan. Allow to cool completely before assembling with the red velvet cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting (i only made half)

24 oz cream cheese (3 packages), at room temperature
3 sticks of butter, at room temperature
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups of powdered sugar, plus more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electronic mixer until well combined. Add more powdered sugar to taste, if a more sweet frosting is preferred. Use immediately to frost
the cake.


After assembling the cake, allow it to rest in the fridge over night, before serving. Serve immediately after taking it out of the fridge.

PROJECT OF THE DAY: Jambalaya

I was looking inside my fridge and I noticed there were 3 big bowls of leftover rice. Not wanting to let it go to waste, I decided that I had to make something out of it. After a little thought, I decided that this would be perfect to make a nice big pot of Jambalaya. I first tried this dish from my old college roomy.(Shannon, if you're reading this....thank you for adding this dish to my food repertoire!) Her version of the dish was pretty spicy (which I loved!) and a little on the thicker, and richer side. I definitely enjoyed eating it, but when I tried to make it on my own, for some reason it just wouldn't turn out the same. So I decided to come up with my own recipe. I researched several recipes online, but a lot of the recipes called for simmering it for 2-3 hours. I personally am not patient enough to wait that long. So I did some tweaking, and based on those recipes I read, I created my own recipe that only takes about an hour and fit my personal tastes. So here it is!

JAMBALAYA

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic. Minced
3 bell peppers (I used 2 red and 1 green)
2 bay leaves
2 tsps. crushed red chili flakes
2 packages of smoked sausage, sliced (about 2 lbs) or 1 lb smoked sausage + 2 cups cooked chicken
*I actually added the 2 packs of sausage plus about a cup of leftover chicken I had*
1 (32-ounce) can of tomato puree
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
4 tbs. Cajun Creole Seasoning (what's in it? i do not know)
2 tbs. chili powder
½ – 1 tsp. Cayenne pepper (you can adjust more or less depending how spicy you like it)
½ cup scallions, diced

Directions:
1.Pan fry the sausage in a large pot so that it gets a little crispy on the outside and gets a nice color to it. Once the sausage is done, scoop it out into a bowl and set it aside.
2.Use the oil that came out of the sausage to saute the onions. (if there isn't enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot add a little extra oil until the bottom of the pot is coated) Once the onions have softened, add the garlic and saute a couple more minutes,stirring occasionally. Next add the bay leaves and chili flakes. Saute it for a few minutes so that the flavors infuse. Next add the bell peppers and saute until softened.
3.Add all tomato products. Stir and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
4.Add chicken stock, Cajun creole seasoning, chili powder, and cayenne. Stir and let simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
5.Add the meat into the sauce. Then add the scallions in at the last minute for some color.
6.Pour the sauce over a bowl of rice and it's ready to serve!



The final product came out just as I had hoped. The consistency was just right, it wasn't too thick and the spice was just right. I didn't make it too spicy this time around, but there was definitely enough to please a heat lover like myself. I like this recipe because of the fact that you stir in precooked rice with the sauce as opposed to cooking uncooked rice in the sauce itself. I find that when you cook the rice in the sauce the rice ends up a little stickier, which I am not a fan of. I should probably mention, though, that all the leftover rice I used was a little dry/undercooked so I actually dumped all the rice into the pot with the sauce and stirred it together and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Which gave it enough time to soften to just the right texture and to soak up not only the sauce but all that delicious smokey tomato-ey goodness. I also topped it off with extra green onions because I love the taste, plus it made it look prettier. This recipe can easily feed at least 10 hungry people, so be prepared to feed a small army if you make this!

PROJECT OF THE DAY: Irish Car Bomb Cake

The Boyfriend recently made a trip to Ireland, which of course means...GUINNESS!! Now, I don't really drink beer (or alcohol in general) but I couldn't pass on Guinness direct from the motherland. So since I couldn't drink the Guinness...I definitely had to cook with it. I looked up various recipes with Guinness in it online and I discovered a recipe for Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Icing a.k.a The Irish Car Bomb Cupcake. Yes. I know. Sounds intoxicating.

The Brother's birthday is coming up, and he loves to drink Irish Car Bombs, which made this the perfect weekend to make this recipe. The original recipe for the cupcakes included a ganache filling which required me to dig out a hole in every single cupcake and fill it with the ganache. That sounded a bit tedious to me, plus what would you do with that cake you dug out? I, for one, am against throwing away perfectly good food, nor did I really want to just eat a pile of cake crumbs. So, I decided against the cupcakes and instead make it into a good old fashioned cake with a whole ganache layer. And so...Commence, Project Irish Car Bomb Cake.

I started by first making the cake batter. The recipe called for boiling the butter and beer together and mixing in the chocolate, basically making a really thick chocolate syrup. I've never had to precook any ingredients while making a cake batter, so I found this to be an interesting step. My guess is that this step helps make the cake moister...but i'm no Alton Brown so I don't actually know.

butter, beer, and chocolate mixture

Since I was making a cake instead of the cupcakes, I baked the cake in 2 – 9 in. round pans. Then came the making of the ganache filling. I tasted it, and I thought it was missing a little something. So, I added an ingredient of my own, which i'm sorry, will remain a secret...but it definitely made a difference. It also took longer than expected to cool down in order for it to reach the desired consistency. Next time (cus there will certainly be a next time) I will definitely follow the recipe's suggestion of putting it in the fridge to cool. After that, I made the Bailey's Irish Cream Icing. The recipe suggested 3-4 tablespoons of Bailey's, I of course went for the full 4 tablespoons. Finally, it was time to build the cake. I spread all of the ganache filling on one of the cake layers then topped it with the other cake. I was kind of in a rush when I was making this cake so I kind of just slapped on all of the icing, so it wasn't all that pretty. At long last, it was time to eat!

The final product. Please don't judge my decorating skills based on this, I swear I can decorate a cake a whole lot better.

a slice with extra icing on the side

The cake was so uniquely delicious! It was really moist and the taste of Guinness was subtle but there was definitely enough that you could tell that this was no ordinary chocolate cake. The Bailey's icing is definitely what I think makes the cake, and I think i'll bump up the amount of Bailey's and make more icing in general next time. The icing itself was pretty sweet, but it complemented the cake very well as the cake and the ganache weren't all that sweet. I really think that making this into a cake was the right way to go. Since the ganache was a complete layer of the cake, I was able to get a bite of the creamy chocolate goodness in every bite. I've never had a real Irish Car Bomb...but if this cake tastes anything like the real thing...I might just have to start drinking them.

And so it begins...

After much convincing from The Boyfriend, I've decided to give this food blogging thing a try. I mean, ask anyone who knows me to describe me, and I guarantee they will all mention something about my love for food and how much I love to share my passion for it with others, whether it be through sharing my food concoctions or answering random food trivia. So hopefully, this enthusiasm for all things food related and enjoyment of sharing it will equate to a brilliant recipe for what I hope will at least be a somewhat entertaining blog that can compare to the already existing sea of other food blogs. I've never written anything for public viewing before, so I'm going to start off simply, by giving a little background on my self and some insight on my love for food. So here goes...

I am a self proclaimed foodie. Although, I suppose all foodies are “self proclaimed” as I'm preeeetty sure there is no knighting ceremony of sorts that would dub you with that title. *side note – an image totally just popped into my head of someone being knighted with a giant ladle* And of course, I also love to cook, and have learned to do so through countless hours of Food Network watching. I don't know exactly when this love for food started, I do know that it's definitely grown in recent years. Having grown up with uncles that were professional chefs and being part of a family that owns a bakery, I've been surrounded by food all my life. I'm pretty sure, though, that the biggest influence on my fondness of food came from living on my own in the Bay Area. Not only did it get me to start cooking more, since I was fending for myself, but man...the food atmosphere in the bay area...AWESOME.

Living in the Bay Area opened up my eyes to a plethora of different types of foods, food trends, and just food culture in general. If I hadn't lived there, I would never have been introduced to the deliciousness of my good friends Chicken Tikka Masala or Pad See Ew. Since living there, however, I have discovered that the bay area has been given a bad rep for being this crazy hippy dippy town where everyone eats nothing but grass. While, I'm sure you'll be able to find people that indeed do just that, there is so much more to the eating habits of this eclectic area. Seriously, living in the bay area = Food Knowledge Overload. I thought I was ahead of the game knowing what a vegan was. Boy was I wrong...that is old news my friends. There's farmer's markets, natural and organic, gluten-free, locavores, sustainable, and for those grass eaters...there's that oh-so-lovely raw food craze. (all of which I hope to share my knowledge of at some point in this blog's lifetime) This just opened up an amazing new world that utterly drew me in and was compelled to explore. Which has now culminated into my ever-growing interest of any and everything food related...and, of course, this blog. This new found knowledge has also encouraged me to embark on food adventures as well as to commence food projects, which will all of course now be documented for your reading pleasure. So be on the look out for those in future posts!