Skillet Rosemary Chicken

If you are looking for a simple and elegant meal that is healthy and delicious, I have the recipe for you. This skillet dish is quick and easy but still super flavorful and impressive looking. It also includes some of my favorite things; rosemary, red skin potatoes, and mushrooms. Trust me, it's a winning combination! I think rosemary is my favorite herb, it is just so yummy! I love it with potatoes, and I love it with chicken, so this dish combines all of that into one pan for a complete meal that everyone will love.

I've made this dish several times now and have found that I really love the mushrooms so I always add extra. If you like mushrooms too, I encourage you to add a few more than the 10 ounces called for. A few extra potatoes never hurt either, if you have room in your pan that is. One word of caution, the original recipe called for the juice of two lemons which I found a bit overpowering. I love lemon, but the juice of two lemons was just too much. I suggest using just one lemon (or not juicing the two lemons too vigorously), but you can adjust to your taste however works best. I also found that adding a splash of white wine was an excellent choice, I think adding wine is always delicious!

Skillet Rosemary Chicken

Adapted from: 

Minimally Invasive

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound -1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
• Kosher salt
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Juice of 1 lemons (squeezed halves reserved)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4-6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs or 3 chicken leg quarters
• 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved (or more if you like mushrooms)
• splash of white wine

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 8 minutes; drain and set aside.

Pile the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, cover and cook until the skin browns, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet followed by a splash of white wine. Place chicken over mushrooms and potatoes and drizzle with any marinade remaining in the bowl.

Add the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

Brown Sugar Honey Madeleines

I've posted a couple of different madeleine recipes on this blog so far, and they've all been good, but this recipe takes the cake, literally! I was looking for a simple recipe that wouldn't take too long to make, that I could snack on with my coffee. After browsing through a handful of recipes I decided on this one due to the additions of brown sugar and honey, as well as plenty of melted butter. And let me tell you, the butter definitely shines through. These madeleines were so light and buttery, with just the right amount of sweetness from the three different kinds of sugar. One little cake is perfect for me to satisfy my cake craving for the afternoon, and the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee.

The batter for these madeleines whips up in just a few minutes. The batter does need to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but that's not too bad. By the time you're done cleaning up and getting your coffee ready you can pop these puppies into the oven and have freshly baked mini cakes in just a few minutes. That's the beauty about madeleines, you get to eat cake without feeling guilty because they are so small and light. The batter can stay in the fridge for up to 2 days as well, so you can mix it up in advance if needed. Very versatile, and very yummy!

Brown Sugar and Honey Madeleines

Adapted from 

Di's Kitchen Notebook

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon (13 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon honey (I substituted golden syrup)
• powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugars until smooth. Whisk in the dry ingredients, followed by the vanilla. Gently whisk in the melted butter, and finally, the honey. You'll have a thick, smooth, shiny batter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Generously butter madeleine pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess.

Fill each madeleine mold with about a teaspoon of batter; the molds should be about three-quarters full. Don't worry about leveling the batter--it will do it by itself in the oven.

Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are puffed and golden brown around the edges. Remove the pan from the oven and either serve the madeleines immediately or put them on a rack to cool.

Repeat with any remaining batter, making certain to cool and rebutter and flour or respray the pan(s).

Just before serving, dust the madeleines with confectioner's sugar. Makes around 18-20 madeleines.

Death By Chocolate Chip Cookies

Double chocolate chip cookies always sound like a wonderful idea to me, but so often they just don't deliver that decadent, intense chocolate flavor I'm looking for. But have no fear, I have finally found the perfect recipe. These cookies are dark, decadent and intensely chocolaty, the perfect way to treat your chocolate craving. What I love most about them is that there is 8 ounces, yes, half a pound, of melted chocolate in the dough. Most double chocolate cookies have maybe a couple tablespoons of cocoa powered and that is all. This doesn't cut it in my book. I want real chocolate in my chocolate cookies and lots of it, not just a little powder. So this is it, finally a real chocolate lovers chocolate cookie.

If you aren't looking for something rich, these aren't for you. But if rich and chocolatey doesn't scare you, make these cookies immediately. The only difficult thing about these cookies, is waiting the 30 minutes for the dough to chill before you can bake them. But 30 minutes isn't too bad, and the wait will definitely be worth it in the end.

Death By Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
Ingredients

• 1 cup + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups of your favorite chips; dark chocolate, peanut butter, white chocolate etc. 

Directions
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir. Continue to melt in 30 second increments until fully melted and smooth. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla. Set aside. With an electric or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Beat in the sugars, scraping down the sides every 10 seconds or so. The mixture will be granular.

Mix in the beaten egg/vanilla until incorporated. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients on slow speed. Fold in the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Do not overmix at any point in this process.

Chill dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Scoop about 2 Tbsp of dough and roll into a ball. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies have just begun to set with the centers still appearing very soft. They will firm up as they cool.

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Soft Dinner Rolls

There is almost nothing I love better than a soft, buttery, freshly baked roll. Still slightly warm from the oven, smeared with softened butter, it can't really get any better than this. I've been making these rolls for several years now and they are my absolute favorite. I found the recipe in a memoir by Katherine Darling about her time at The French Culinary Institute. She calls them Mama's Rolls because the recipe came from her mom, obviously. I don't know her or her mom but every time I make these rolls I thank both of them for sharing the recipe.

Throughout the years I've made this recipe into dinner rolls, sandwich rolls, hamburger buns, whatever I need. I just change up the size depending on what I want. The recipe makes quite a big batch, which usually isn't a problem for me. I just stick the leftovers in the freezer to have whenever I need them. However, if you really don't need a huge batch this recipe halves very nicely too, I've done it several times. So whatever you need, these rolls will work beautifully for. Give them a try, I promise you you won't regret it.

Soft Dinner Rolls

Adapted from:

Under the Table: Saucy Tales from Culinary School

by Katherine Darling

Ingredients

• 7 to 8 cups (36 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil or 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups (about 18 ounces) milk

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Mix briefly to combine. Add the oil or butter, water and milk. Knead dough until a soft, supple dough forms, about 5-6 minutes, it should not be too sticky or too dry and tough. Place the dough in a oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, about an hour and a half. 

Butter a rimmed baking sheet. Cut the dough into 36 equal size pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place on the baking sheet. When all the rolls are formed, let the dough once again rise until doubled in volume. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the risen rolls with a little butter if desired and then bake for 25 to 30 minutes. If they begin to get too brown, cover the top with foil. 

California Asian Pasta Salad

A few weeks back, I was searching around for a pasta salad to make. It's not as if it is difficult to find pasta salad recipes, they seem to be everywhere, but it is difficult to find a unique pasta salad recipe. I wanted a recipe that wasn't so summery, wasn't full of fresh vegetables that I just can't get right now. It also seems as though the majority of pasta salads are Italian inspired, which I absolutely love, but this time I felt like something different. After searching around online for a while I found this recipe for a California Asian Pasta Salad from Costa Kitchen. It sounded light, yet substantial and not too summery.  It's full of fresh ingredients and covered in an interesting and delicious sauce. Top it off with some avocado right before serving and you have a hit! I thought it was absolutely delicious, and is one recipe I know I'll make again!

To be honest, while this salad is easy, it did involve a trip to the store for several ingredients I don't usually have on hand, but it was totally worth it. Toasted sesame seeds, green onions, toasted almonds, fresh spinach and plenty of avocado all blended together in a perfect union. Topped with a dressing that includes mango chutney, raspberry vinaigrette, and soy sauce, a little sweet a little salty, yum! You get crunch from the almonds and sesame seeds, and creaminess from avocado, mixed altogether with the fantastic dressing, just thinking about it makes me drool. I give this recipe two thumbs up; try it, you won't be disappointed!

California Asian Pasta Salad

From 

Costa Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 Cups Dice Avocado
• ½ Bunch Chopped Parsley
• ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
• 16 oz package Corkscrew pasta
• ½ bunch chopped green onions
• 2 Cups spinach cut in strips
• 1 cup toasted slivered almonds

Sauce:

• ½ Cup Soy Sauce
• ¾ Cup Vegetable Oil
• ¼ cup mango chutney
• ½ cup sugar
• ¾ cup Raspberry Vinaigrette
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Directions

Whisk together sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Cook pasta. Drain and run until cold water to stop the cooking. Once cooled and drained, place pasta into a large salad bowl and add in parsley, toasted sesame seeds, green onions, spinach and toasted almonds. Toss together with sauce. Refrigerate until cold or overnight. Top with avocado right before serving and crack some salt and pepper over the avocado to taste. Enjoy!

Cranberry Bliss Bars

I've never actually bought the cranberry bliss bars from Starbucks, but every single time I see them I want to try them. They are just so pretty, and look so tasty, but I never want to shell out the money to buy a tiny little bar, especially when I can probably make them at home! I've had this recipe for cranberry bliss bars in my recipe folder for quite some time, but it took me forever to get around to making them. The recipe calls for cream cheese, dried cranberries, and white chocolate, and I never seemed to have all three of those at the same time.

Finally, over this past Christmas break I decided I had to do it, so I went out and bought these three ingredients so I would no longer have any excuses not to make these bars. I'm glad I finally did it. I thought these bars were fantastic. The blondie base layer is buttery and chewy, and filled with white chocolate and cranberries. Topped with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting, covered in more cranberries and drizzled with more white chocolate, they are absolutely delicious. I still haven't tried the real thing from Starbucks so I can't compare them, but I really don't feel like I have to!

Like I said, the blondie is delicious, and could probably work as the base for some other bars. I'll have to play around with that a little. They're not difficult at all to throw together, I love anything with melted butter because I can still make it right away, even if I forgot to soften the butter. So if you are craving coffee shop pastries at home, take the initiative and make your own, it's worth it!

Cranberry Bliss Bars

From

Recipe Girl

Ingredients

Blondie Layer:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 6 ounces white baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

Frosting:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 ounces white baking chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper.

Prepare the blondie layer: In a medium bowl, melt butter for one minute in the microwave or until melted; stir in brown sugar. Pour the butter and sugar into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Use an electric mixer to beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in the cranberries and chopped chocolate (batter will be thick).

Spread the blondie batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool completely on a wire rack.

Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until combined. Gradually add half of the melted white chocolate; beat until blended. Frost brownies. Sprinkle with chopped cranberries. Drizzle with remaining melted white chocolate. Let the frosting set (speed this up by throwing them into the fridge) then cut into bars- square or triangle-shaped. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Winter Trip to Chicago

Over Christmas break, Lara and I took a short trip to Chicago to visit our cousin Anna, and to just enjoy walking around downtown, do some shopping and of course eat some good food! We were only there for a little over a day, but we did manage to sneak in some tasty treats in that short amount of time.

We arrived in downtown Chicago in the morning, and after some shopping, we were ready to find something for lunch. We found a cute little place called Toni's Patisserie and Café which was perfect. This place was loading with the most fabulous looking pastries, cookies, breads and chocolates. When I saw baguette sandwiches on the menu I knew we had found lunch. We decided to split the Le Breton sandwich, a chewy baguette with ham, salted butter, cornichons and gruyere, delicious!

Since we split lunch, that meant it was okay to get dessert of course! Since this was over Christmas break, something festive seemed like the right thing to eat, so we got the eggnog tart, creamy custard in a cookie crust with chocolate and whipped cream. A beautiful end to this delicious experience.

As we continued our walking around, I was just starting to get a little tired when I saw the sign for Magnolia Bakery. Of course I've heard about Magnolia Bakery numerous times, and even though we weren't in New York City, I decided I needed to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. It was a very cute little shop, with tons of people working behind the counter. I wanted to stay and watch them make the cupcakes. I picked out the gingerbread cupcake with vanilla bean butter cream to try. To be honest I wasn't all that impressed. While I loved the light and creamy buttercream, the actual cake was pretty dry, and not anything all that special. At $3.50 a pop I think I'll stick with my homemade cupcakes when I'm feeling a cupcake craving.

Even though the cupcake wasn't that great, I'm glad I got to stop and see what Magnolia Bakery is all about. I know I didn't visit the original, but at least when I read about it again, I'll have some idea what everyone is talking about.

After a day downtown, Lara and I were ready to head to my cousins place to relax, and of course eat dinner. We ended up at a place called Rocks, which Anna said she'd been wanting to try. It was too dark in there to even try to get a photo so I can't share any pictures of my delicious burger. It was the signature Rocks burger which was a cooked to order 8 ounce patty on a soft pretzel roll with bacon, pepper jack cheese, onion strings, lettuce, tomato and a side of giardiniera and fries of course. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for anything on a pretzel bun and this did not disappoint.

Our final food stop in Chicago was for breakfast before we headed back to Michigan. In my opinion, all a fabulous breakfast needs is a delicious pastry and some good coffee. The Floriole Cafe and Bakery in Lincoln Park delivered just that. I found this cute little place online and knew I had to visit it before leaving. Walking in the door, we found a display case piled high with croissants, calfoutis, scones, galettes, pound cakes, sticky buns, quiche and tartines. I was in heaven.

Since I was feeling like something a little lighter for breakfast, I went with a basic croissant. It was fantastic, buttery and flakey, crisp on the outside, soft and light on the inside. Lara decided on the almond croissant, a twice baked croissant soaked with rum syrup and filled with almond cream. To. Die. For. 

Sitting in the front window, breaking into beautiful pastries and sipping delicious coffee, it was a wonderful way to end the trip. A perfect ending to a fun couple of days.

I would recommend any of the places we went on this trip. In fact, I want to go back right now and do it all over again!

Bakery Style Muffins

When it comes to muffins, there are just muffins, and then there are real muffins. I'm sure you know what I mean, some muffins are short, flat and to be honest, rather ugly, not that this means they don't taste good, but let's be honest, it's more fun to eat something beautiful. Then there are the real deal; tall and handsome muffins with those perfectly domed tops, slightly crispy edges and a dense yet tender crumb that will never be confused with a cupcake. This is the kind of muffin I pine after. It's surprising how difficult it can be to find a recipe for this type of muffin, however, I think I've finally done it. These muffins were gorgeous and delicious, true muffins with the perfectly rounded top, exactly what I've been looking for.

What's interesting about this batter is that it doesn't use any milk or other liquid. The dairy is all yogurt, and a lot of it. This makes the batter super thick, almost like pancake batter, and helps create that beautiful mushroom top that doesn't overflow the muffin tins or flatten out too much. For this go around I made half of the mushrooms just plain, so I could really taste the muffin as is. For the other half, I tried swirling in some homemade strawberry rhubarb jam for a little added sweetness. I topped both with some coarse sugar for a little extra crunch.

The results were simply marvelous. The plain muffins were very nice, simple, slightly sweet and perfect as a basic muffin. The jam swirled version was also quite wonderful, a little extra sweet and sticky, the jam brought the muffin up just a notch. I would definitely do it again. Since the batter was so thick and my jam was really thick, it was difficult to actually swirl in the jam,  it mostly just stayed as a blob, but that was okay, it turned out really well in the end. This recipe comes with several delicious looking variations that I hope to share with you all soon.

Bakery Style Muffins
From Food.com, originally from America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

Directions
Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375 F (or 450 F for mini muffins). Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternating 1/3 at a time, beat in the dry ingredients and yogurt until a smooth, thick batter just forms.

Spray 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or coat lightly with butter. Scoop batter evenly into cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes for the large muffins (and 10-12 minutes for the mini muffins). Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.