Mighty, Mighty Marshmallow

With the summer winding down and a cool breeze in air, thoughts turn to wintertime treats that comfort the soul.  On a particularly chilly day, I had a hankering for hot cocoa.  What accompanies hot cocoa best?  Marshmallows.  However, the stuff that you buy in the clear plastic bags taste like vanilla-flavored cardboard. Real marshmallows melt in your mouth and are full of flavor. They toast just as well as the store-bought variety. Marshmallows are incredibly easy to make and you can tweak the recipe to change the color, shape, and flavor (swap out the vanilla with a flavor extract of your choosing). Don't waste your money on the kits.  Most folks have the ingredients to make marshmallows in his/her pantry. The only special tool you need is an instant-read or candy thermometer.  

3 packages unflavored gelatin

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla

Confectioners' sugar

Mix the gelatin and the 1/2 cup of cold water in an electric mixer bowl.  For this recipe, you will need to use the whisk attachment.  Put it off to the side and now it's time to make the syrup.

Combine the sugar, light corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Once dissolved, turn the heat up to high and cook the syrup until it reaches 240 degrees on the thermometer.  

Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Turn the mixer on to a low speed and slowly pour the syrup into the dissolved gelatin.  Once all the syrup is in the gelatin, increase the mixer speed to high.  Whip the mixture until it is very thick.  This will take roughly 15 minutes.  Add the vanilla and make sure it is thoroughly incorporated in the mixture.  If you wanted to add a little color to your marshmallows, add the food coloring/gel at this stage. 

While the mixture is whipping, lightly coat an 8X12 or 9X13 pan with cooking spray (I prefer butter-flavored Crisco spray).   With a sieve, dust the confectioners' sugar over the pan, covering the sides and bottom of the pan.  When the mixture has thickened, pour it into the pan. 

The mixture is incredibly sticky.  I will also spray the silicon spoon with cooking spray and dust it with confectioners' sugar when it comes time to scrape the remaining mixture from the sides of the bowl.  Level the mixture in the pan with the spoon.  Another trick is to spray down wax paper or parchment paper with cooking spray and dust with confectioners' sugar.  Lay the sugar-side down on top on the pan and pat the mixture down so it's even.  Once level, dust with more confectioners' sugar.  Let it stand uncovered for at least 8 hours or overnight to dry out. 

Turn the marshmallows out onto a board and cut them into squares  This is accomplished by spraying a pizza cutter with cooking spray and dusting with confectioners' sugar.  You can also make the marshmallows into different shapes by using cookie cutters in the place of the pizza cutter.   Be sure to give them the cooking spray/sugar treatment!  

After the marshmallows are cut out, in small bowl with confectioners' sugar, briefly dredge each marshmallow.  Place the marshmallows in a airtight container.  They will last about a week, but I doubt there will be any remaining by that time. 

Carbo Load

Earlier this week, the kiddo was a little bummed that her best bud wasn't around to play.  It was decided that we would make cookies.  Check the pantry and rare occurrence was discovered.  The pantry had no chocolate chips.  The HORROR!  The kiddo noticed I had cinnamon chips and she wanted to use them in the cookies.  Awesome!  We went onto ye olde Internet and perused the King Arthur Flour Web site for a cookie recipe that contained cinnamon chips.  The result: Superdoodles 

Since I have never baked these cookies before, I followed the recipe verbatim.  I was a little put off that it contains a cup of shortening, but oh well.  Overall, the recipe is quick, simple, and great to make with kids.  The kiddo loved rolling the dough into little balls and then dipping the balls into the cinnamon sugar mixture (in addition to licking her hands and dipping them into the mixture).   

The resulting cookie was a light, crispy cinnamon explosion.  It was loved by the Daddy, Doodle, and the dogs.  


Later in the week, I wanted to make a sandwich and, lo and behold, I was out of bread.  Not feeling like driving to the grocery store, I decided to make it.   Again, went to ye olde Internet and revisited the King Arthur Flour Web site.  I came across an extremely easy recipe: No-Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread

The best thing about this recipe, no kneading.  Just dump all the ingredients in the stand mixer, throw it on high for 3 minutes, and plop the dough into the bread pan.  Of course, you have to let it rise for an hour or more and, then you can put it in the oven.  The end result was fantastic.  Next time, I might use honey instead of molasses.  

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday, it was decided by the kiddo that she wanted cookies.  Twist my arm!  So we decided to make the classic cookie: Chocolate Chip.  My version of the iconic recipe contains espresso powder.  Love the stuff.  Anything with chocolate in it, I add a little of espresso goodness.  It enhances the chocolate flavor and gives the baked good a little oomph.  Here we go!


Yield: 2 dozen

2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs 
1 12-oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips, preferably Ghirardelli

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Set aside. 

 

In a mixing bowl, using a paddle attachment and at medium speed, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar until light and fluffy.  About 2 minutes.  

Reduce the mixer speed to low.  Add the salt, espresso powder, vanilla, and eggs.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Mix for about minute.  In small batches, add the flour mixture. 

Most recipes instruct to fold in the chips.  I will add the chips, after the flour mixture is combined, while the mixer is still running.  After the chips are incorporated, chill the dough for an hour in the refrigerator. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Prepared the cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper.   Using a tablespoon cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop balls of dough on the cookie sheet about 1-1/2 to 2 inches apart.  

My oven runs a little on the cool side, so it takes 18 minutes to bake the cookies to the desired color.  Bake until the edges are golden and center still looks soft. 

Once removed from the oven, cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let the cookies cool completely.  

Finally, EAT!!!

Roast Butternut Squash and Rutabaga Soup

Since June, I have been referring to my garden as the "little squash of horrors."  I planted 6 squash plants (4 butternut and 2 acorn), not expecting that they would all survive. The hubby has been even slicing and dicing the vines with the lawn tractor and the weed whacker. They survived and took over my backyard, defying all odds.

For the last two weeks, I had 4 butternut squash sitting on my kitchen counter that I had harvested from my garden. Suckers needed to be cooked before they went bad.  In addition to this, my rutabagas were ready to be picked and my fridge is overflowing with tomatoes.  I made a risotto with the last round that I harvested.  What is a chick to do?  Soup!   

I searched the web, but couldn't find anything that knocked my hair back.  So, I decided to free ball it.  Broke out the dutch oven and the immersion blender.  This is what I came up with:

3 lbs butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 rutabaga, cut into into 1-inch cubes
Olive Oil 
Pepper and salt
Garlic powder
2 carrots, roughly diced
3 celery stalks, roughly diced
1 large red onion, roughly diced
4 garlic cloves
2 lbs heirloom cherry tomatoes, whole
1 32 oz can/box chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 tsp fresh sage

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a foil-lined cookie sheet, arrange the squash and rutabaga.  Drizzle olive oil over the top, roughly 2 tablespoons, and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and salt. With your hands, mix the olive oil, pepper, and salt to evenly distribute.  Bake for about 40 minutes or until cooked through.

While the butternut squash and rutabaga are roasting, in a large pot or dutch oven, heat a good glug of olive oil over medium heat.  Saute the garlic and onion until soft, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the carrots and celery, stirring frequently.  Once the carrots and celery have softened, 8-10 minutes add the cherry tomatoes and season with freshly ground pepper. As the tomatoes cook, they will split.  Keep moving the tomatoes around in the pot until all of the tomatoes have split open and incorporated with the other vegetables.  

After the tomatoes are cooked down, add about half of the container of chicken broth and toss in the bay leaves, sage, and dust with a little garlic powder.  Reduce the heat to low. 

Once the squash and rutabaga are cooked through, stir them into the soup.  Add about a 1/2 cup of broth.  When the soup begins to boil, remove the bay leaves and turn off the heat.  


With an immersion blender or in small batches with a blender, blend the soup until smooth and enjoy.  

This recipe could easily be made vegetarian by substituting the chicken broth with vegetable stock. Other additions to soup could include ginger, red pepper, potatoes, sausage, chorizo, and etc... 

Welcome

Allo!  This is my second attempt blogging.  My first blog, Ghetto Truffle, was a rambling site of my musings, observations, and rants that I have not updated in 2 years or so.  In a nutshell, it was a mess.  This time around, I decided to focus on one thing instead of many. The "thing" of focus is baking, well, cooking in general.  I spend a lot of time in my kitchen.  It is my sanctuary, stress reliever, and center of creativity.   


I enjoy making things from scratch and I am a cookbook whore.  The most frequented sites on my PC are Martha Stewart, Epicurious, AllRecipes, Food Network, and Cookstr.  My favorite chefs/cooks include Julia Child, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Tyler Florence, and Paula Deen.  I even maintain my own garden.  However I'm not one of those folks that turn their noses at prepackaged food.  Case in point, I took a cheese-making class earlier this year and the discussion turned to pizza. The instructor criticized those that didn't make all the ingredients for a pizza themselves.  From start to finish, it takes her 3 hours to make a pizza.  That's just nuts.  I'm a working mom. I don't have 3 hours to make the sauce, mozzarella, dough, slaughter the pig for bacon, and etc... (mmm...bacon...)  It takes less than 5 minutes to consume a slice of pizza.  Three hours.  Screw that.  It's just easier to throw in a frozen pizza in the oven. 


There is no fear in the kitchen.  Any recipe will be tried.  The hubby every once in a while will throw me for a loop and ask for something I have never attempted.  Heck, why not?   He's asked for bagels, tortillas, and etc...  Variety is the spice of life and all types of cuisines are cooked from American to Mexican to Thai.   I have had my mishaps in the kitchen, but those are few and far between. 


All this time spent in the kitchen is also quality time spent with my daughter. She is my little sous chef.  My little tot loves to stir, crack eggs, roll dough, and cut shapes with cookie cutters.  The look in her eyes when the cookies are removed from the oven or when she hovers over the ice cream maker are simply priceless.  


Hopefully, you will enjoy these kitchen musings of my culinary adventures.