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Braised Baby Back Ribs and Creamy Polenta with Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Kaitlin

I’ve mentioned on here many times, I really stink at getting an entire meal on the table. I can usually handle making the main dish and then I just scramble to throw a salad together and call it a meal. So when Cooking Planit told me about their app, it was like they had made it with me in mind! The app, available for the iPhone and iPad (android coming soon) can also be accessed online. Your usage is synced up through your login, so you can browse on your computer, iPhone, and iPad seamlessly. (The app is currently on sale for $0.99 for iPhone and $1.99 for iPad) The overall goal of Cooking Planit is to get a meal, sides included, on the table at the same time. The app includes tons of recipes that come already packaged as meals, but you can also mix and match to suit your tastes. Once you choose your recipes/meal, you can add it to “My Cookbook” to store for future use. When you’re ready to go food shopping, just add the meal to your grocery list. The app gives you the option of planning for 2, 4, or 6 servings … Continue reading →

Lemon Tart with Raspberry Shortbread Crust

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Kaitlin

Almost every citrusy post I have on my blog is dedicated to my mom. She is obsessed with orange, lemon, bergamot, etc. So in honor of Mother’s Day, here’s another one! As a Walkers Official Blogger Ambassador, Walkers Shortbread sent me an awesome assortment of treats my way to make a spring/Mother’s Day themed post. Walkers Rapsberry Thins was in the mix, my mom also loves raspberries, so I decided to use the rapsberry thins to make a shortbread crust for a lemon tart. To make it even more citrusy, I topped the tart with candied orange peel. I also have a 20% off coupon code for all readers! When ordering from www.walkersus.com, enter #ICCTSPRING and you will receive 20% off full priced items. The code is active until May 27th so be sure to use it before then! Ingredients: Candied Orange Peel: 2 oranges Water 1/2 cup sugar Crust: 1/2 cup finely ground Walkers raspberry shortbread thins cookies (about 6 cookies) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup salted butter (cold cut into small chunks) Lemon filling: 3 meyer lemons 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature 4 egg yolks 1/2 cup meyer lemon juice … Continue reading →

S’mores Shake

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Kaitlin

I am so excited to share this cookbook with you. It’s an entire cookbook dedicated to Milkshakes! I have a serious ice cream addition, so it should go without saying that I love milkshakes. Although I’m never one to turn down a simple chocolate or cookies and cream milkshake, this cookbook brings milkshakes to a completely different level. Malts & Milkshakes: 60 Recipes for Frosty, Creamy, Frozen Treats has everything from the classics, to modern flavors, and even boozy shakes. The Author, Autumn Martin, is the founder of Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery in Seattle, so she knows her desserts! All of the recipes can be made using ingredients found in your supermarket, but it also includes recipes for making your own homemade ice cream if you’re feeling particularly fancy. There are so many inventive recipes in this book: eggnog, earl grey, salted caramel, and mango rose milk shakes to name a few. And those don’t even include the boozy milkshakes! My two favorite ones from that section: Chocolate Espresso Whiskey Malt and Chipotle Spice Sipping Chocolate Shake. This book is not messing around! Another favorite was the S’mores Shake. Few things symbolize wonderful summer memories like S’mores. Chocolate, Marshmallow, … Continue reading →

Wild Mushroom Farro Risotto

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Kaitlin

I’ve made a couple of farro recipes on this blog before and I just love it. If you haven’t tried it yet, I strongly suggest it. I really like it as a substitute for Arborio rice in risotto dishes; farro adds a nice bite to the creamy risotto that I just love. So I was super excited when Tuscan Fields, a delicious brand of organic farro, gave me and 49 other bloggers the opportunity to not only try their farro, but to create a recipe using the farro in the hopes of winning a scholarship to the Eat Write Retreat conference this year which is being held in my hometown of Philadelphia! The nutty flavor of farro would be perfect with the earthiness of mushrooms so I decided to make a wild mushroom farro risotto with Tuscan Fields’ Farro Perlato. I added a bit of bacon to really heighten the flavor of the risotto as well. Ingredients: 1 package Tuscan Fields Farro Perlato 2 cups beef broth 4 slices bacon 2 tablespoons butter, divided 2 large shallots, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced ½ teaspoon dried sage ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ cup dry white wine 1 tablespoon olive oil … Continue reading →

Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Kaitlin

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! One of my favorite memories growing up was my mom making Irish Soda bread during March. It is a fairly straightforward bread and is really quite easy. The bread uses baking powder and baking soda instead of yeast as its leavening agent. Irish Soda Bread is also made with buttermilk that reacts with the baking soda to make it rise. Soda bread is a mostly savory bread, but it usually has some kind of dried fruit in it (raisins, currants, etc) that add a bit of sweetness. My mom’s version has caraway seeds in it that add a little bit of an anise flavor to it (caraway seeds are typically found in rye bread) and I just love it. I wanted to make this with currants but couldn’t find any, so I used raisins. Feel free to substitute golden raisins or currants. Ingredients: 3 cups coarse wholemeal flour 1 cup all purpose flour 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 2 tablespoons caraway seeds 1 cup raisins or other dried fruit 2 cups buttermilk, or more if needed

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Kaitlin

Happy Pi Day! As a Mathlete alum, Pi Day has always been a part of my nerdy math world. And what better way to celebrate than to make a pie? I have some other pie recipes on here, but I have had a hankering for peanut butter lately, so I am celebrating this year with a Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. This is a FoodNetwork.com recipe but I decided to make my own crust (you are more than welcome to just buy one – use a 9-inch pie crust). Ingredients: Pie Crust: 1 package oreos 4 tablespoons butter, melted Hot Fudge Sauce: 1/3 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup light brown sugar 1/4 cup light corn syrup 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1/8 teaspoon table salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3.5 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped Peanut Butter Pie: 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Chopped peanuts, optional Whipped cream, optional Crushed cookies, optional

Pull-Apart Party Loaf and Giveaway!

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Kaitlin

Let’s be honest, one of the best parts of Super Bowl Sunday is the food. Although I’m excited to hang out with friends as we root for (so far) the most successful graduate in our class (Go Flacco!) and watch some amazing commercials, I’m more focused on the tasty treats that come along with the viewing. I’ve been in the Football Food spirit for a while now. Last week, Land O’ Lakes and Rebecca of Foodie With Family hosted a webinar all about food for the big game. We discussed a bunch of different group-friendly snacks, which ones travel well to other locations, and even how to keep food safe while it is sitting out during the game. Land O’ Lakes has a great round up of game day favorites, so be sure to check it out for some inspiration here. I learned a lot, but I was unfortunately kind of distracted. Why? Because the first darn photo they showed me was of a Pull-Apart Party Loaf. Look at that loaf! I loved it so much, I made a test batch of my own to share with you! I also received a nifty prize package for participating, … Continue reading →

Slow Cooker Apple French Toast Casserole

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Kaitlin

I love recipes that make it easy to serve a bunch of people with minimal effort. A slow cooker is usually a go-to for those types of recipes but I’ve never considered using it to make breakfast before. The Ninja Cooking System is the perfect tool for it though. They sent over this recipe for an Apple French Toast Casserole and I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come so I could make it. This recipe makes 8 servings so it would be great for breakfast for a larger group but I also packed up the rest of my servings to reheat during the week. Ingredients: ½ cup butter 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup chopped walnuts ½ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup pure maple syrup 1 loaf challah bread (about 1 pound), cut into cubes 6 large eggs 2 cups vanilla almond milk (or normal milk) 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Pinch salt Confectioners’ sugar

Sweet Orange Salmon with Browned Butter-Orange Couscous

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Kaitlin

After all the pasta, meat, and desserts I’ve had over the past, oh, month, I think it’s about time to switch back to some seafood recipes. This is actually two different recipes from Cooking Light but I thought they’d be fantastic together. The Sweet Orange Salmon recipe is so easy and quick to make and the Browned-Butter Orange Couscous can be whipped up in no time as well! Ingredients Salmon: 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets Cooking spray Orange wedges Couscous: 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup slivered almonds 1 cup uncooked couscous 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 1/2 cup coarsely chopped orange sections 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1/4 teaspoon salt Orange wedges

Tiramisu Brownies

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Kaitlin

I am a huge fan of coffee and coffee-related foods, so tiramisu is obviously a favorite of mine. When the concept of a Tiramisu Brownie was mentioned, I was immediately excited. What a fantastic combination of desserts! Barista Prima Coffeehouse® K-Cup® packs are four dark, rich coffee blends that really deliver an intense flavor that are more bold and robust than other K-Cup offerings. The four flavors offered are: Colombia, House Blend, Italian Roast, and French Roast. I’ve had a Keurig for years now (I just had to retire my original Keurig and buy a replacement, sniffle) and am always really pleased with the coffee choices that can be found in K-Cup form. I tend to use coffee grounds in a bunch of recipes, especially ones that use chocolate, to really up the flavor. Barista Prima was nice enough to send me a box of their House Blend K-Cups so I naturally wanted to make a dish that used these delicious grounds as well as a dessert that would be perfect paired with a cup of House Blend coffee. Many thanks to Barista Prima for also sending me this mouthwatering recipe! Ingredients: 12 oz. chocolate chips 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup … Continue reading →