Happy Easter weekend, friends! Just a very quick post today to share one of my absolute favorite songs ever, which also happens to have “pies” in the title. Enjoy!
Monthly Archives: March 2013
St. Patrick’s Day Treats
Blasket Islands, County Kerry, Ireland
Happy (early) St. Patrick’s Day to you! Ireland is my most favorite place in the world, but St. Patrick’s Day is far from my favorite holiday. In New York City, we’re invaded by tourists and everyone drinks to excess and it’s just not pretty. So if you’re like me, and will be holing up in your apartment this Sunday with a nice Smithwick’s and a slice of brown bread with Kerrygold butter whilst listening to The Pogues, here are a few recipes you might make while you’re at it.
Filed under Miscellaneous, Recipes
Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
No, that’s not mold, it’s blue candle wax.
I have this HUGE problem, in that The BF doesn’t want me to bake anything but chocolate chip cookies and occasionally BOXED chocolate brownies (never brownies from scratch). No molasses cookies, no cupcakes, no blondies, no muffins, nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I make these things anyway, but they inevitably get stale or the entire batch ends up as that extra 5 pounds on my thighs. It’s starting to become a reeeeeeal problem for me.
So for his birthday I said, “Do you want me to make a cake?” He said, “Surprise me!” I said, “Do you want brownies?” He said, “Surprise me!” So I did. I make red velvet cheesecake brownies. Who wouldn’t like red velvet cheesecake brownies?! Probably just runway models and I don’t know any of those.
So what did he say when he took a bite? “They’re a little rich for me.”
I guess I’ll stick to chocolate chip and boxed brownies. And eat the entire batch of brownies by myself.
On the menu:
Red velvet cheesecake brownies
Makes 16
Note: I still do not own an 8 x 8 pan which this recipe originally calls for, so I made it in a round 8″ cake pan and then cut the brownies into thin wedges. These truly are rich, so you don’t want to cut them too big.
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp red food coloring
3/4 tsp white vinegar
3/4 cup flour
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8 (or 8″ round) pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Beat eggs together in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, add warm, just-melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar and stir until combined. Add eggs and stir until combined. Fold in flour until incorporated. Pour batter into baking pan, leaving 4 Tbsp of batter for later.
To make the cheesecake: in a large bowl, blend cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until light and fluffy and completely blended. Drop the cheesecake batter on top of the brownie batter in large dollops. Add your reserved brownie batter in dollops on top of the cheesecake. Use a sharp knife to cut lines across the batter until you have a lovely swirl pattern.
Bake for 28 – 30 minutes for a square pan, or 30 – 32 minutes in a round pan. Test with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting.
Note: this should be kept refrigerated because of the cheesecake on top. Set it out for about an hour before serving so the brownies aren’t cold.
Happy Birthday to This Guy
Just a super quick post to wish The BF (a regular staple here on this blog) a big, fat happy birthday. He’s not really a fan of his birthday but I impose my own love-of-birthdays on him every year and force him to celebrate. I know, I know, it’s preeeetty big of me.
So happy birthday, darling! Thank you for this past year during which you tried snails for the first time, took me to Per Se, waited for an hour in a ridiculously crowded entry way so that we could have date night at a trendy restaurant, and gifted me with the coolest chef’s hat and apron a football-loving-cook could ask for. I am so glad you were born.
So this is Christmas…
Filed under Miscellaneous
Mustard Crusted Pork Loin
So sorry for the radio silence lately (although if there had to be an image stuck at the top of the blog, why not scones, am I right?). I am fully employed now (WAHOOOO PAYCHECKS!) but that means significantly less time and energy devoted to Food E. It has seriously taken my body about a month to adjust to waking up and actually getting out of bed in the morning, going somewhere for 9 hours, and then returning home. I forgot how pleasant and not-at-all stressful it is to cram my body between other people’s bodies every morning and evening during rush hour in a subway car that more often than not halts in between stops just long enough for me to feel a bit claustrophobic and like I might elbow the lady with the too-big-bag that she’s not holding in front of her, but NEXT to her, or pass out and let these newly familiar people catch me as I tumble. Think about that the next time you complain about traffic on the 104E.
This lovely little recipe takes all of 10 minutes to prepare and it is so. flippin. good. Pork loin is one of those cuts of meat that is so worth the extra couple bucks it costs in the grocery store. You throw it in the oven and forget about it until 25 – 30 minutes later it pops out, smelling incredible and ready to be inhaled. …Just me?
On the menu:
Mustard crusted pork loin with mashed potatoes and parmesan asparagus
Serves 2
1 pork loin (approximately 1 lb)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp minced garlic cloves
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp rosemary (fresh is best but use dried if you have to)
Non-stick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread mustard all over pork loin. On a shallow plate, add Panko, garlic, garlic powder, and rosemary and stir to combine. Place pork loin on plate and coat completely in bread crumb mixture. Shake off excess.
Spray a shallow baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place pork loin in the dish and give the pork itself a good spray with the cooking spray. Cook for 25 – 30 minutes or until the pork juices run clear.
Let sit for 5 minutes. Slice into slices.
Parmesan asparagus:
1 bunch of asparagus
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
Toss asparagus with olive oil. Spread across a baking sheet lined with foil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes (the last 10 minutes of your pork cooking!). Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for another 3 – 4 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Mashed potatoes:
If you don’t know how to make mashed potatoes, get out of my face.
Lauren E. is a food writer and recipe tester living in New York City. She is a regular contributor to Yumm.com and has been featured on The Martha Stewart Show.