Learning the Art of Poached Eggs

Last weekend my roommate Jenna taught me how to poach an egg without a poacher! I have never attempted nor tried a poached egg. It always sounded so fancy and I just assumed that meant very very difficult to make with fancy equipment. But I learned that it is actually really really easy and doesn't require hardly any equipment. Just the stuff you more-than-likely already have in your kitchen cupboards: a frying pan, eggs (of course), bread, and a splash of vinegar, spoon/measuring cup, a ladle or spatula. The vinegar is supposed to keep the egg white together.

Directions
1. In a medium sized frying pan simmer water and a splash of vinegar enough liquid to reach 1 1/2 to the bottom (or about 1/2 of an inch from the top lip). 2. Put your egg in a measuring cup or spoon and gently set it into the middle of the simmering water. I am told that you can push on "the white" to keep it close to the yolk (however I haven't tried this yet). 3. The egg should be done after 3-5 mins. Take it out of the water gently. I used a ladle to do this. I can imagine you could also use a spatula. 4. Set the egg on a piece of toast (or by itself) and chow down! It breaks really easy and it doesn't have a ton of grease all over it.
I am feeling really redundant, but Smitten Kitchen also has a really great "how to poach an egg" recipe (I swear she doesn't pay me to advertise!). How do you poach your egg? Any advice on mine??

Peanut Butter Cookies Like My Grandma Used to Make

My grandma Betty used to make some of the worlds BEST peanut butter cookies, and I have never been able to find a recipe I liked as well as I did hers. It was a cookie taste that we spin me back to when I was a wee little girl, sitting in the kitchen with my grandma (although she never sat down)!

Well these cookies aren't hers, but they are now sitting right up there on the top of my list! These are fantastic little guys to snack on (or devour as a meal...). They have a crunchy, sugar crystallized exterior with a inside that is as soft and fluffy as a cake.

Once again, I adopted this recipe from one of my favorite blogs Smitten Kitchen. She has a fantastic cookie line-up. Check it out in her recipe archives!!


Peanut Butter Cookies
adopted by Smitten Kitchen
Makes about 2 dozen
Ingredients
1 1/4c flour
3/4tsp baking soda
1/2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1c peanut butter (I always prefer crunchy)
1/2c unsalted butter, softened
3/4c sugar (I used pure cane sugar)
1/2c packed brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temp.
1tbsp milk
1tsp vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 1. Mix flour, soda, powder and salt. 2. Blend butter and peanut butter until fluffy. 3. Add sugars and mix. 4. Mix in egg, milk, and vanilla. 5. Finally mix the flour mixture in with the peanut butter mixture. 6. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar on a small plate and roll the cookies in the sugar to coat before placing onto an non-greased baking sheet. Use a fork to make criss crosses on the top of the cookies (being careful not to press too hard). Pop these bad boys in the oven and wait for 10 mins. to take them out!

The Perfect, Simplest Spaghetti Sauce

I pulled this recipe from one of my favorite "webcookbooks" Smitten Kitchen and adopted it to my own tastes. This recipe is very easy; it will be even more wonderful in the summer when tomatoes are in season and abundant. This recipe also inspires me to can some whole tomatoes this summer so I can easily whip some up next winter!

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Onions

Whole Canned Tomatoes

Simmering Sauce

Finished Product
(Yes, I always get whatever I am cooking all over my stove...)

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
adopted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves about 4 (I would add another half recipe if you have garlic bread that you like to load with sauce!)

Ingredients
24oz of whole peeled tomatoes from a can
1 medium yellow onion
5 tbsp of butter
Pinch of salt
Clove of garlic (minced)
Pinch of Italian seasoning

Put can of tomatoes, butter, onion (half chopped, other half whole) in a medium pot, garlic, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Turn the oven on to a simmer and let the pot of sauce ingredients simmer slowly for 45mins. Check on it occasionally to stir. When the tomatoes start to soften after about 30mins. squish them on the side of the pot with a wooden spoon to crush. Discard the half onion. I served this over angle hair pasta that I seasoned with the Italian seasoning (you could also sprinkle some into the sauce while it is simmering) with garlic bread! Mmmm...!

I'm very sad to inform you:

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...that I couldn't find my dark cocoa brownie recipe in all of my cookbooks and all of my recipe blogs. I've even spent the last two days tracing my footprints. :( This is sad for both you and I. When we both cross paths in the future I will be sure to tell you about it. Dry your eyes. (I understand. It took me a while to dry my tears too).

My two favorite cheeses at the moment.

One of my life goals (this may sound really cheesy and childish) has been to be able to state a favorite beer, wine, and cheese. Well, I am happy to state that I have found all that I feel proud to state publicly in front of mature beings.

(Mature Being: "What is your favorite wine?" Me: "Um... red...")

So.... Here are my top two favorite cheeses:

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Gruyere

Found in Switzerland, this cheese is made from cows milk and fully matures in 5 months to a year. When young, it is said to have a creamy, nutty taste, and with age it develops more into a more complex and earthy cheese. Wikipedia (yes I believe it is credible to source) says that this cheese is one of the finest cheeses to bake with because it complements food verses overpowering them. It is best paired with Riesling and other white wines. And beers such as Bock and also sparkling apple cider.

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Havarti

Havarti was named after a farm in Denmark. It is made from cows milk and is aged for at least three months. It has a buttery tangy taste, and as it ages the taste gets more complex; it becomes more salty and tastes like hazelnut. This cheese is very popular on sandwiches because it slices well. Wikipedia says it "Havarti is popularly matched with lesser-oaked Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or light-bodied Pinot Noir wine and occasionally accompanied with figs; smoked turkey; raisins; walnuts; hearty bread; pears; apples. The cheese also is an excellent snack on (sometimes salted) thin wheat crackers."

Dark Chocolate Brownies

Unsweetend Cocoa PowderFloured Cake Pan
Out of the Oven!I sprinkled some powder sugar on top, and cut them into squares!

These brownies were fantastic! They weren't your average brownie. They were made with unsweetend cocoa powder so they are more rich than sweet (which I love). Second, they didn't get the typical brownie top. They were a little dry and not as gooey as brownies typically are, however, I do like this change for brownies. When I have my bakeshop I will have both! These are great for a chocolate snack that isn't loaded with sugar! Recipe to come...

Red Velvet

Here's the Red Velvet Cake recipe I told you about a couple days ago. Adopted from Pinch My Salt. I didn't change much of anything. Check out the recipe on Pinch My Salt and get inspired by her beautiful food photos!

Red Velvet Cake
Adopted from Pinch My Salt

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 oz. red food coloring
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flour and butter two 9-inch round cake pans
2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl, and place aside. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a paste (without lumps).
3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer (or your own arms and a whisk if you would like the exercise), beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the prepared red cocoa paste. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined. Make sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula!
4. Make sure you have cake pans readily prepared and nearby. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. (Yes, it will fizz!) Add it to the cake batter and mix well. Working quickly, divide batter evenly between the cake pans and place them into the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check early. cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. To remove the cakes from the pan, place a flat plate on top of the cake pan and flip, then gently lift the pan. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. Frost with buttercream or cream cheese icing (recipe below).


Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz. cream cheese (2 packages), softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
pinch of salt

With an electric mixer, blend together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Turn mixer to low speed and blend in powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Turn mixer on high and beat until fluffy. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. If refrigerated, the frosting will need to be brought to room temperature before using (after frosting softens up, beat with mixer until smooth).
If you want it to taste sweeter add more powder sugar, but I prefer the tangy cream cheese taste (as did the birthday girl!)!