Cold Hot Cheese Dip

 

Ingredients:

8 ounces Mexican Mild Velveeta
2-4 ounces Cabot Hot Habanero Cheddar cheese*
4 ounces cheddar cheese
1 cup milk (Approximately)

*Amount can vary depending on how much heat you want/can handle.

 

You will also need:

Food processor with both grater and blade attachments
Heat/microwave safe bowl

 

Method:

Grate the Habanero and cheddar cheeses in a food processor. Remove from the food processor and replace the grating attachment with the blade. Return the grated cheese to the bowl now fitted with the blade. Cut the Velveeta up into small pieces and add to the bowl of the processor. Add about ½ cup of milk. Process until all cheese is smooth. Add additional milk and process until a nearly liquid state is reached.

You may notice an inconsistent color and see small pieces of the cheddar cheese. To better incorporate, remove about half of the dip to a microwave/heat safe bowl. Warm this portion of the cheese slightly in microwave for between 30 -60 seconds. Return the warmed portion to the bowl of the food processor and continue to process until a uniform color is achieved.

Remove the cheese dip from the bowl of the food processor into a bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The consistency should firm up just a little after refrigeration.

Serve cold with chips, raw vegetables, or crackers.

 

Simple Chocolate Cake

from Cook’s Illustrated (March/April 2009, pg. 25)

Updated with pictures.

This is a surprising little cake.  And the surprise is mainly because of one ingredient - mayonnaise.  NOT “salad dressing,” mind you.  No.  The real stuff.  Mayonnaise.  It was a method used in war-times when butter and eggs were scarce; the mayonnaise served as a substitute for those ingredients.  This is not a fancy dancy, decorate up with fondant and buttercream icing kind of cake. But it is definitely simple enough for a week-night dessert.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (or “Special Dark”)
2 ounces dark, bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (chopped fine)
1 cup hot coffee (or equivalent mixture of hot water and espresso powder)
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

You will also need:

8 inch square cake pan
Non-stick cooking spray
1 large mixing bowl
1 small-medium mixing bowl
Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar for garnish

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare cake pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.

In large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.  In smaller bowl, combine cocoa powder and chopped chocolate; pour hot coffee over cocoa/chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.  Let this mixture cool for several minutes then whisk in mayonnaise, egg and vanilla.  Pour mayonnaise/chocolate mixture into flour mixture and stir until combined.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth it all around.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out with few crumbs attached after being inserted into the center of the cake.  Note:  the cake will have a nice rounded domed middle and cracks on the top.  This is normal.

Allow cake to cool in pan on wire rack for 1-2 hours.  Turn cake out  onto serving platter and dust with confectioners’ sugar to serve.

Four Berry Sorbet

Adapted from Alton Browns fresh fruit sorbet recipe

Nothing says summer like berries… and nothing says summer like ice cream.  Combine the two and you have a four berry sorbet that will knock your socks off.

The vodka is probably optional, but I think it lowers the freezing temperature and makes for a smoother sorbet.

Frozen unsweetened berries are an option for this recipe if fresh are not available.  Allow them to thaw a bit first, though.

 

Ingredients

6 oz raspberries
6 oz blueberries
6 oz blackberries
14 oz strawberries
8 ounces sugar
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice or lime juice
1/2-ounce vodka
Pinch kosher salt

 

You will also need:

Paper towels
Rimmed baking sheets
Food processor or blender
Ice cream freezer
Airtight  and freezer safe containers

 

Directions

Rinse all berries and allow to dry on paper towel lined rimmed baking sheets. Also stem and halve (or quarter) large strawberries. 

Puree the fruit in a food processor or blender along with the sugar, lemon juice, vodka and salt. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, using a rubber spatula to press the puree through the strainer.

Pour into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture reaches at least 40 degrees F, 4 to 6 hours.

Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions until the mixture resembles soft serve ice cream. Remove into an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours or until ready to serve.

 

And the recipe in pictures….

Rinse berries and dry on a paper towel lined rimmed baking sheet.

I put as many berries in as possible and then add in the lemon & lime juices plus the vodka and then top with as much sugar as will fit.  Pulse the blender several times then add the rest of the berries as they will fit.

As you can see, the completely blended berry mixture completely fills my blender.

Stir and press through a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds and solids.

The strained puree.

This is my best friend in the summer time.  I love my Cuisinart ice cream maker.

Allow your ice cream maker to do its thing until it becomes a nice and thick soft serve consistency.

The color is beautiful and the taste is even more amazing!

Tuscan (Inspired) Lamb Chop Skillet

This is one of my family's favorite "one dish wonder" type meals that I got out of one of those little cookbooks in the checkout line at the grocery store.  I have since put my own methods and spin on it.

Ingredients:
4-8 lamb loin chops
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 19 ounce can white kidney (cannellini) beans; rinsed & drained
1 8 ounce can Italian style stewed tomatoes
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons snipped fresh rosemary

You will also need:
Large skillet with lid
Crusty bread for soppin' up the awesome sauce!!!

Method:
Trim a minimal amount of fat from chops and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook chops in hot oil over medium heat until well seared and browned on all sides. Transfer to plate.

Pour the tomatoes out of the can into a separate bowl and cut them up if they are not diced. But do NOT drain them. Reserve all juice use in the dish.

Stir garlic into drippings in skillet & cook for just 30 seconds – 1 minute.

Pour in balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.  (Add less balsamic vinegar if it is too strong of a taste for you. I up the amount of balsamic because we really like the flavor of it in our house.)

Add cut up tomatoes and juice, beans and simmer briefly.

Reduce heat to low and add chops back in, coating them with the sauce. Sprinkle in the snipped rosemary on top of the chops and sauce. 

Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.  The internal temperature of the lamb chops should read about 140F when they are done.  If you want to thicken up the sauce, remove the chops back over to a plate and turn up the heat  while pushing all the tomatoes and beans to the sides of the pan and allow the sauce in the middle to reduce just a little.  Return the chops to the skillet to serve.

 

"Not So WAY More Homemade" Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe is a little more like food assembly (a la Food Network's Sandra Lee) but it's good and quick for a weeknight dinner solution. I will be posting my real HOMEMADE version of this soup soon.

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken (from grocery store)
Olive oil or butter for sautee
1 onion (rough dice)
2-3 cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole kernel corn (drained) (optional)
1 can Ro*Tel diced tomatoes
1 can [regular] diced tomatoes
Chicken broth/stock to taste


You will also need:

Stock pot
Tortilla Chips
Pre-shredded Mexican cheese blend


Method:

De-bone at least half of the roasted chicken and coarsely chop it into bite sized chunks.

Open all cans (tomatoes, soup and corn).

Heat some butter or oil in a stock pot over medium high heat, add diced onion and sautee for a few minutes. Add garlic and cook for just a minute. Then and chili powder, cumin and coriander and stir while cooking until fragrant. Add in coarsley chopped chicken and stir around to coat the chicken in the spices just a bit.

Now comes the easy part. Empty all cans into the pot... cream of chicken soup, creamed corn, whole kernel corn, Ro*Tel and diced tomatoes. Stir around and begin slowly adding chicken stock/broth until it reaches the thickness/thinness that you desire. Heat until all is completely combined and thouroughly warmed.

Serve in a shallow bowl. Assemble by breaking up some tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl, sprinkling generously with cheese and ladeling the soup over the top. I like to sprinkle a little extra cheese right on top.