Lemon Cake

My mother loves all things lemon and since her birthday is coming up soon, I decided it was time to make a cake that she would enjoy.  This cake is light and has a nice lemony glaze to complete it. 

Lemon Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 extra large eggs
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1/2 of the lemon
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups cake flour

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
juice from 2nd half of lemon

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add in eggs, zest, lemon juice and buttermilk.  Stir in the dry ingredients.  Grease and flour your bundt pan.  Scoop in the batter and evenly distribute in the pan.  Bake for 1 hour at 350°.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Ease a knife along the edges and center core to help loosen the cake.  Invert on a plate and allow to finish cooling before adding the glaze.

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice until it's smooth and will gently slide down the side of the cake.  Form a circle of glaze at the top and let gravity take it down the sides.

Saltimbocca Chicken

If it's a new way to try chicken, sign me up.  This recipe is a keeper.  A light, tasty sauce and flavorful chicken breasts which you can serve with potatoes or rice.

Saltimbocca Chicken

2 chicken breasts, butterfly cut
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 sage leaves, chiffonade cut into ribbons
2 slices prosciutto
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Heat the olive oil in large frying pan.  I cut my chicken breasts in half after butterfly cutting them and pounding them to an even thickness.  Season the breasts with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the ribbons on sage over the breasts and then top with a slice of prosciutto (it will stick).  Dredge lightly in the flour and then place in the hot frying pan.  Cook until lightly brown on the first side and then flip.  Cook until 160°, remove from the pan and place on a serving plate.  Cover with aluminum foil so it finishes cooking. 

Sauce

In the pan, place ~

1/4 cup white wine
1  cup chicken broth

Simmer until it reduces in half.  Stir in 1 tbsp of butter and serve over the chicken breasts.

Honey Wheat Biscuits

Good morning and happy time change!  For me it was a complete fail.  I tried going to bed early and getting up early and I did not do well with either.  I'm a true believer that Arizona has the right idea with ignoring the time changes.  As a treat for losing an hour, I wanted to make a good breakfast and decided to try making wheat biscuits in my food processor.  It worked.  I did kind of cheat making sausage and gravy.  I used half a package of sausage crumbles and stirred in 1 tsp of flour and some milk instead of starting from scratch. 

Honey Wheat Biscuits

In your food processor, add in ~

1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp honey
6 tbsp cold butter

 Pulse in the food processor until butter is incorporated.  

Pour in ~

1 cup buttermilk.  Pulse just until the dough comes together.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Pat out dough until it's 1" thick and cut into rounds.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 450°.  Pull the biscuits from the oven and brush with buttermilk.  Return to the oven for another minute.

Makes 12 biscuits.

Ricotta Gnudi & Pomodoro Sauce

Light, tender dumplings that are amazingly easy to make.  This was my first time making them and I used a two spoon technique that I had only seen done on a cooking show.  This is not the last time I'll make these.  They are that good.  The sauce I made was also simple.  I pretty much left it on it's own and it thickened to a great consistency that went well with the gnudi. 

Ricotta Gnudi

15 oz ricotta, I used whole
1 extra large egg
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup flour

Mix all the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.  Sprinkle some flour on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Using 2 large soup spoons, mold the gnudi into football shapes and place on the baking sheet.  Cook in salted boiling water for 7-8 minutes.  The gnudi will sink at first and then rise.  Continue cooking for the entire time.  When done, use a slotted spoon to remove from the pan.  Spoon some sauce on the gnudi and then sprinkle some Parmesan on top.


Pomodoro Sauce

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, grated
1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Allow to cook for a half hour over a medium low heat.  Run an immersion blender stick in so you have a smooth sauce.  Continue cooking over a low heat until it thickens.  This recipe makes extra so you can freeze it for next time.

Peach Bars

I was torn on how to label this peach dessert.  The texture is almost like a cake but you can cut and serve it like a bar.  I recommend serving it warm with a dollop of whipped cream.  I used frozen peach slices.  I allowed them to thaw and then opened the package and added the corn starch right in the bag so I did not have to dirty another dish.

Peach Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups flour


Combine together ~
1 10 oz package frozen peach slices, thawed
1 tbsp. corn starch

Cream together butter and sugars.  Add in eggs and vanilla.  Add in baking powder, salt.  Alternate adding the flour and milk in 1/2 cup portions.  Fold in the oats.  Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.  Place 3/4 of the batter in the bottom of the pan and spread out evenly.  Top with peach slices.  Dot the remaining batter on top of the peaches.  Bake for 50 minutes at 350°. 

Chicken Pot Pie Crepes

The sun shown brightly yesterday and you could tell by the brightness that Spring is indeed returning.  The wind made it chilly but that didn't matter to my cat who returned to his favorite sleeping spot on top of the couch, in the sunshine, after hibernating next to the heating register for that last 3 months.  It was a nice day to relax with crafting and making a somewhat labor intensive meal.  It was worth it.  Plus I made it with a lot of veggies, so it had to be healthy, right?

Chicken Pot Pie Crepes 

Crepes ~  make ahead and let sit for at least a half hour.  Perfect for getting the chicken pot pie made

1 cup flour
1 cup milk - I used 2%
2/3 cup Perrier
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 dash salt

Whisk all the ingredients in a medium bowl and let sit until you are ready to cook.

Chicken Pot Pie Mixture ~

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup green beans
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup peas
1 tbsp celery flakes
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and allow it to cook for a minute before gradually stirring in the chicken stock and milk.  Allow to heat and thicken for about 10 minutes before adding in the vegetables and shredded chicken.  Continue cooking until it completes thickening.  If it gets too thick, add in some more milk.

Heat a 10" non-stick frying pan.  I sprayed a coating of cooking spray as it was heating.  Add in 1/4 cup of crepe mixture and tilt the pan until the batter is evenly spread.  Cook of medium heat until the edges start to turn brown.  Use a spatula to gently flip the crepe over.  Cook for another minute or two until the 2nd side is done.  Place on a plate.  Insert a piece of wax paper between all the crepes so they do not stick.

Place a crepe on a plate.  Place some chicken pot pie mixture down the middle and fold up the sides over it, burrito style.

Hazelnut Icebox Cake

It turned out so I will share the recipe.  I'm referring to what I made with the Hazelnut Cookie recipe that I posted yesterday.  This cake is decadent so I will advise serving small slices but it's oh so good.  The cookies soften as they are nestled in the whipping cream mixture overnight.  Look at the bottom to see how I lined the cookies in the pan and cut a few into 6 pieces to fill in the open spots.  

Hazelnut Icebox Cake

Hazelnut cookies to fill 3 layers
8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Nutella
2 tbsp Frangelico
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Toasted hazelnuts to decorate the top.

In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, whipping cream and Nutella.  Whip until it thickens.  Stir in Frangelico and powdered sugar. Line cookies in a layer at the bottom of a  9" springform pan.  Place 1/3 of the cream mixture evenly on top.  Repeat for 2 more layers.  Sprinkle hazelnuts on top and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.