Easter Bakeathon: S'mores Peeps

To end our Easter Bakeathon, I decided to give myself the most difficult culinary challenge yet; I was going to attempt to make peeps tasty. For years, I thought the only thing peeps were good for was watching them blow up in the microwave, but I was ready to change the cultural mindset on the marshmallowy flightless birds. The obvious choice was to convert them into the most perfect use of the marshmallow- the S'more.


S'mores Peeps
Servings: 12
Time: 10 minutes (plus cooling)

12 peeps
Milk Chocolate
Graham Crackers

You will not guilt me with those eyes!

1. Melt the milk chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30 second intervals at medium power.
2. Place the peeps on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
3. Pour the melted chocolate over the peeps to coat well.
4. Be somewhat sad and disappointing that the peeps aren't melting from the chocolate.
5. Crush up the graham crackers and sprinkle them over the chocolate.
6. Let set in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Taunting the peep.

Much like peeps themselves, the process of making s'mores peeps is disgusting.

Surprisingly delicious

As has been learned in the past, covering something in chocolate makes it infinitely more amazing (see: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookies and Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cookies). The crunchy graham cracker sprinkles and hardened chocolate form a magnificent shell for our inner peepy marshmallowness (and it helps cover up the weird sugar coating that is the standard peep's main downfall). Our s'mores inspired treat was shocking affirmation that peeps weren't in fact a horrible abomination. Following our epic night of baking, it was time to unwind with some microwave peep fights.

I've determined all major fight scenes should be scored to Seal's "Kiss from a Rose".

Easter Bakeathon: Sugar Cookies

In order to cover all preferred sugar delivery bases, Robin and I added some sugar cookies to the night's menu to go along with our Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes. Robin's decorating skills would be put to the ultimate test as our attempt to balance sugar with even more sugar hung in the balance. Would our cookies be able to spread holiday cheer or just adult onset diabetes (or hopefully both. We had high aspirations.)


Easter Sugar Cookies
Adapted from Food.com
Servings: 18-24 large cookies
Time: 45 minutes

Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 tbsp sour cream
4 tbsp milk
2 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda


Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp milk
Vanilla extract
Almond extract
Food coloring
Icing writers

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment over medium speed.
3. Mix in the milk, sour cream and vanilla. Accidentally put 3 times the amount of sour cream due to weird tsp vs tbsp math (the recipe up there is correct).
4. Add in the flour, baking powder and baking soda until fully incorporated. 
5. Place large amounts of batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and attempt to mold them to resemble eggs.
6. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the cookies start to lightly harden and lightly brown on the bottom.
7. Remove from the oven and let rest on a baking sheet for two minutes to crisp up the bottoms.
8. Let cool on wire racks.
9. Mix together the frosting ingredients until all the powdered sugar is dissolved.
10. If your cookies were lucky enough to maintain their egg shape, frost them as such if not just go with the circles. Use the icing writers to add detail.

Sugar cookies are the perfect way to commemorate any holiday since they're just asking to be decorated in delicious frosting (see Valentine's Day or the slightly modified Mardi Gras Snickerdoodle). The cookies seemed to take an oddly long amount of time to bake thanks to me accidentally putting 3 times the amount of sour cream required (this is what happens when you can't find your tablespoon). The results were actually quite amazing, and I like to think it balanced all that sugar somewhat (Who am I kidding. The only thing that could balance all that sugar is insulin.). Although, I'm betting using the actual amount would turn out even better. The true highlight of the cookie, however was Robin's mad decorating skillz, which earned plenty of praise from my coworkers and perfectly utilized my favorite icing. This was one fantastic sugar cookie that had people coming back for seconds.

Easter Bakeathon: Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

Good Friday is traditionally a day of fasting, so naturally I decided to make 3 different baked goods to bring into work (Hey, I'm from New Orleans where fasting and not eating meat means having massive crawfish boils every Friday in Lent.). Easter is known for its glorious candy, so I chose to highlight two of its most famous staples- Cadbury Creme Eggs and Peeps (Ok, it might be more infamous in the case of Peeps.). Thanks to some help from frequent pie collaborator Robin, I was able to complete my ambitious baking goals and get my coworkers their daily required amount of sugar (for the next year). We'll start with my never-ending quest to turn everything into a cupcake, which always ends with delightfully yummy results.


Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes
Idea and Frosting Adapted from My Baking Addiction
Cake Adapted from Anne Thornton
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Time: 45 minutes (plus cooling)

Our freezer holds important, nutritious things.

24 frozen mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
24 mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temp
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)

All desserts are better with candy in the middle. Fact.

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugars together in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
5. Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla well.
6. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk at low speed (dry-> buttermilk-> dry-> buttermilk-> dry). Be sure to scrape down the sides after each cycle with a spatula. Be careful not to overmix.
7. Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter. 
8. Place a FROZEN Cadbury cream egg in the middle then cover with batter.
9. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until the toothpick test comes back clean. Make sure you rotate halfway through.
10. Let cool in a wire rack then frost with white and yellow buttercream frosting to mimic an egg and garnish with another Cadbury Creme Egg.

I needed a quality chocolate cake to serve as a frosting and Cadbury Creme egg delivery vessel, so I went with my go-to (previously seen in Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes and the newly minted most viewed post ever, Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes). This is a very chocolatey cake with good bounce and moisture to it. Sadly, I over-baked these a little because of trickery from the inner Cadbury eggs. The cake surrounding the egg will be slightly undercooked or just a little extra moist thanks to the creme from the egg seeping out somewhat. This resulted in some false negative toothpick tests and probably 1-2 minutes of extra baking. Also, it's important that you use frozen Cadbury eggs, or they will just melt away into nothingness instead of maintaining the ever so important structural integrity required of candy-filled cupcakes. Despite the minor issue, this definitely is the cake to bring across all that wonderful Cadbury taste.

Buttercream Frosting

Servings: Enough to Frost 36 cupcakes

Time: 5 minutes.

4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted

4-6 tbsp heavy cream

Yellow food coloring

You can pretend you made two totally different frostings. Surely that extra work burned off all the calories.

1. Cream the butter in a stand mixer until fluffy then add the salt. 
2. Slowly pour in the powdered sugar in 1 cup intervals until well blended.
3. Add the vanilla and heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Once there, beat at high speed until smooth and fluffy.
4. Set aside some of the frosting and add yellow food coloring to it.
5. The best thing to do is get a frosting tip with a wide circular opening (Sadly I only had small ones, and the decorating suffered.). Pipe a circle of white frosting around the edges then a tall circle of yellow frosting in the center.

If you squeeze too tightly, the frosting may explode. Also, I concentrate waaaay too hard. 

Robin and I debated between using cream cheese or buttercream frosting, but she eventually (rightly) won with her call for buttercream, which wouldn't overpower the cake like cream cheese would (despite the fact that cream cheese frosting is the greatest thing ever). The resulting buttercream frosting had a nice vanilla flavor and the perfect smoothness without being too heavy. If you want these Pinterest quality pretty (I'm not anticipating many repins on this one), you need to make sure to use a frosting tip with a large circular opening to get the necessary height and roundness to make a pretty egg. Luckily, you can cover up some of the frosting issues with the mini egg.

I'm proud of myself that the Cadbury eggs managed to survive for 2 days in my apartment.

These cupcakes were pretty much everything my little heart desired when I first realized it was possible to make a Cadbury Creme Egg cupcake (and then was sad when I discovered I was not the first to think of this). Having the inner and garnish eggs really hammers home the Creme Eggeration, while the frosting is a great homage to the inner treasure of the eggs. This was a perfect way to kick off our Easter Bakeaton, but stay tuned for our Easter Themed Sugar Cookies expertly decorated by Robin and S'mores Peeps (also known as the first time I didn't find Peeps to be completely disgusting).

Robin had her baking artist mojo working.

Peeps are decidedly more delicious when covered in chocolate and graham crackers.

The Weekly Vegan: Potato Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce

Family meal night at the townhouse continued with yet another attempt to go around the world in 80 dishes. Following our delightful forays into Indian and Vietnamese food, we set off on a journey to Italy (and the mythical land of veganism). Would we be able to recreate one of my favorite dishes ever in a vegan friendly manner, or would Dennis' strange fascination with beets blow up our dinner plans?


Potato Gnocchi
Adapted from Branny Boils Over and Vegan With a Vengeance
Servings: 6
Time: 90 minutes

2 lbs russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Potato dough

1. Poke holes in the potatoes and bake them. Either bake them in an oven at 400 F for 45 minutes until tender or wrap in a paper towel and microwave for about 5-7 minutes per potato.
2. Remove the skins and weigh out the necessary amount. Laugh while your roommate burns his hands trying to peel them.
3. Add olive oil and salt and mash well.
4. Incorporate about one cup of the flour then knead the dough on a lightly floured surface. Continue kneading in the remaining dough until you have a smooth, non-sticky and dry dough.
5. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch thick ropes then slice into 3/4 inch long pieces.
6. Use your thumb to press the gnocchi against the back of a fork to get both a notched and dimpled side.
7. Bring water to a boil and add additional salt. 
8. Drop in the gnocchi and let them rise to the surface. Continue cooking for about one minute once they rise.
9. Drain well.

Put your dexterity to the test by hand forming the gnocchi. (Yet another time it's handy to have 2 roommates.)

First one to float wins. The same does not work for an underwater breath holding contest.

Cropped out: the super ugly gnocchi (yes, there were uglier ones).

Making gnocchi by hand is quite the undertaking, but the feeling of accomplishment you get when you finally bite into these delicious morsels can't be beat. Despite not having the egg or parmesan cheese typical of gnocchi dough, these potato dumplings had an incredibly smooth texture and awesomely spuddy taste. Just make sure you don't skimp on the salt.

Vegan Vodka Sauce

Sent to me by Courtney

Servings: Enough for 4 times the gnocchi

Time: 45 minutes

Olive oil

2-28 oz cans whole tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 carrot, grated

1/2 + 2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp dried basil

1 block silken tofu, not drained

1 cup soy milk

3/4 cup vodka

Salt and pepper to taste

Carrots in marinara sauce? The Gods must be crazy!

Vegan Cream

1. Sauté the garlic in some olive oil over medium-low heat until aromatic but not browned (about 60 seconds).
2. Remove from heat and add tomatoes and their juices. Smash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the carrot, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and herbs. 
4. Simmer for about 20 minutes to reduce.
5. While it's simmering, make the vegan cream by blending the tofu and soy milk together.
6. Pour in the vegan cream, vodka, salt, pepper and remaining red pepper flakes then let simmer for another 10 minutes. 
7. If the consistency is not to your liking, puree it in a blender until smooth. (It's important that you remember that the sauce is scolding hot at this point, so don't overfill the blender. This may have been my second attempt at the dish with the first ending with second degree burns that are still on my arm over a month later.).

After much pureeing, you'll have one mighty fine looking sauce.

Vodka sauce is by far the greatest of all alcoholic sauces (narrowly edging out beer spilled on potato chips). This veganfied version brings all the necessary flavor to the table and some newfound wonderful kick (compliments of the red pepper flakes). What's incredibly is that it manages to be both light and creamy tasting thanks to the vegan cream replacing the super fatty heavy cream.

I've been experimenting with slightly slanted "Batman Villain" angles for pictures.

Despite the great success that was the vegan gnocchi with vodka sauce, the true highlight of family meal night number 3 has yet to be explored. Dennis busted out some mad beets to create an incredibly delicious side that we won't soon forget (and not just because of the beet juice staining our clothes). The brilliance that was the beet side dish was more than deserving of its own guest post, so prepare yourselves for Dennis taking over the blog (may God help us all).

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica. Stay tuned for Dennis' Beet Tutorial (Prepare to get schooled, Dr. Dre.)

Grilled Pork and Tofu Bun Thit Nuong

My roommates and I decided to start the week out right with a wholesome family dinner. We were craving some bun thit nuong, but our favorite (and frequently mentioned) Vietnamese restaurant was closed, forcing us to make it ourselves. Luckily, we were only a great deal of chopping and some minor grilling and frying away from one of the freshest and most satisfying meals we could possibly imagine.


Grilled Pork and Tofu Bun Thit Nuong
Servings: Plenty
Time: 40 minutes

This dish is pretty much a test of your chopping skillz.

Cucumber, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
Jalapeno, thinly sliced and partially seeded
Carrots, julienned 
Scallions, thinly sliced
Pork
Firm tofu, drained and cut
Oil
Salt
Cilantro
Mint
Lime, cut into wedges
Fish Sauce
Sriracha sauce
Vermicelli, prepared according to the package
Weird, store bought tray of egg rolls

The "meat" options. Just skip the pork, fish sauce and egg rolls for a vegan dish.

The odd tray with some egg rolls

1. Prepare for maximum sous cheffery by cutting the cucumber, jalapeno, carrots, scallions, cilantro, mint, and lime.
2. Cook the vermicelli rice noodles as described by the box.
3. Bake the odd tray of egg rolls you bought then didn't use for a party as directed. 
4. Grill some pork. If you're lazy like we were, buy pre-marinated Asian Pork. If not, you can marinade it in some sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, honey, pepper, onion and garlic. If you have a grillmaster roommate, I recommend you let him deal with the raw meat while you prep the tofu.
5. Heat up some oil in a large frying pan (just enough to cover the bottom) and add your drained and cut tofu (try to cut the height into thirds and then the rest into eighths). Fry for about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden browned. Lightly salt before flipping. Then let the excess oil drain in a plate covered with paper towels.
6. Make the bowl of awesomeness that is bun by topping your vermicelli with the veggies, pork, tofu and egg rolls.
7. Dash on some fish sauce and sriracha to taste and enjoy.

My plating would have been perfect if not for the stray sriracha.

Most people judge the greatness of a Vietnamese restaurant by their banh mi (sandwiches), but, for me, the true test of a quality eatery is its ability to make some outstanding bun. Dating back to my excursions with Alex to the trendy hipster central Pho Cafe of Silverlake, I have been hopelessly in love with the rice noodle dish with all the right fixings. This family prepped meal showed me that I'm never more than about 40 minutes away from the utter delight of bun.

Dennis joins the cats in bread meme trend with some egg roll wrappers. I actually picked the least ridiculous picture of Dennis for this.

Every bit of this myriad of ingredients serves to make a complete dish. The cucumber and carrots add the necessary crunch to beautifully meld with the soft noodles, while the pork and tofu lend saltiness and heartiness and the mint, cilantro and lime round things out to give a veggie filled dinner beaming with freshness that can't be beat. The jalapeno and sriracha add some well appreciated kick to make sure all your taste buds are covered. Fortunately, we made enough to last a few more meals because this is definitely one dish I am not ready to be done with. More importantly, though, we were able to get rid of the impulse buy tray of egg rolls that had been haunting our fridge before it expired.

The Triple C: Curry, Cardamom & Cinnamon Cookies

Wednesday night we celebrated a most glorious occasion in the new townhouse: our first home cooked meal together as a "family". After hopping into the mini-van (read: Kevin's Subaru. He might kill me for saying that.) and heading down to our local HEB, we were a chopping and cooking culinary force in the kitchen as we prepped some curry chicken and Guinness braised carrots. The meal inspired my inner baker, and I started to wonder whether one could make a cookie with some of the same ingredients (obviously minus the chicken because, really, that's more of a cupcake thing). In the end, I was left with one of the most daring yet delicious and unique cookies I've ever had.


Curry, Cardamom and Cinnamon Cookies
Modified from The Spice House
Servings: 3 dozen cookies
Time: 30 minutes (plus 4 hours inactive)

Beer, cookie dough, cream and gatorade: the ultimate bachelor fridge.

1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup salted, roasted pecans, chopped

It's definitely more apt to call this batter a dough.

1. Cream the butter and brown sugar together.
2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients together then add to the creamed mixture in three increments.
4. Stir in the pecans.
5. Separate the batter into four rolls and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
7. Slice into the desired sizes (shoot for between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick) and bake on a baking sheet lined in parchment paper for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Let cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes to help crisp up the bottoms then put on wire racks to finish cooling.
9. Pray that using curry in a cookie wasn't the worst idea ever.

The salted, roasted pecans were perfection. Aside from the Triple C, I have also nicknamed these cookies "The Robin".

I may have called these cookies "The Triple C", but there are actually four main flavor components to this somewhat savory cookie: curry, cinnamon, vanilla and pecans. The first things you'll notice are the curry smell and taste which gives way to a glorious vanilla and cinnamon finish. But the thrill ride isn't done yet, as biting into the occasional salted, roasted pecan really kicks your "mmm" face into high gear. Make no mistake, this isn't a particularly sweet cookie, but it works. It's also the perfect complement to your coffee or tea break (or just to your morning coffee so you can pretend it's breakfast like an adult).

The original inspiration for the cookies: our first new family meal, curry chicken with Guinness braised carrots.

These Indian themed cookies passed the initial roommate inspection with flying colors (especially the ever so crucial Dennis test), but the true stress inducing tests were still to come. The following day, I brought 2 dozen cookies to work. I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when I went to the break room at 1 only to find that 14 employees managed to quickly polish off my baked goods. I then brought some to Cafe TH owner and general chef superstar, Minh, to hold him over until I could bring him some of the cupcakes he's been asking about. After his glowing review, I knew my risk had paid off with a dessert that managed to surpass the meal that inspired it. Now, I'm more determined than ever to take chances with my baking to hopefully achieve new heights of confectionary craftery.

Continuing our avant-garde series of photos of Dennis eating things. He would go on to consume two cookies.

St. Patrick's Day: Chocolate Mint Bark

Everyone knows that no holiday celebration is complete without at least 3 different kinds of food. In order to round out our Irish Tacos and Car Bomb Cupcakes (and to add even more green to the day), we made some of the Christmas staple peppermint bark (only missed it by 3 months!). This added a nice, minty finish to our cooking adventure and provided us with some much needed down time since it's pretty much just melting chocolate and throwing it in the fridge.


Chocolate Mint Bark

Andes mints about to be accidentally melted!

Adapted from Family Fun
Servings: A crazy amount
Time: 20 minutes plus cooling

8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 oz white chocolate chips, chopped
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
Andes mints, chopped
Green food coloring

Surely there must be a market for colored chocolates. I'll specialize in brown and be rich.

1. Melt the semisweet chocolate in a double boiler, stirring continuously until smooth.
2. Pour the melted chocolate onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and spread it to about 1/4 inch thick with a rubber spatula.
3. Add the oil to the white chocolate and melt in the same way. Stir in some peppermint extract and food coloring and spread to about half of the thickness of the semisweet chocolate. You can use a knife to create chocolate swirls.
4. Let refrigerate until firm at least 30 minutes. Also, you can put some chopped up Andes mints before it hardens so that they stick in.
5. Peel the bark off of the wax paper and snap into servings.

More Tim Burton-esque swirls a la the chocolate cream pie.

The greatest aspect of this treat by far is the awesome chocolate swirls that form. They're what makes this dessert stand out from the Andes mints it so closely resembles in taste (pretty much dead on but with more crunch).  While making these, I learned an important lesson about melting things as I originally put the crushed up Andes on the bottom and then coated them in warm chocolate to predictable results. Also, if I had to make a change, I think I would have added a little Bailey's Irish Cream to keep the St. Patrick's Day alcoholic theme at the forefront (you wouldn't want your guests to start sobering up).

Just add a hook and they double as St. Patrick's Day earrings.

And now for a chilling exposé on Nancy's messy cooking (note: this may contain images too disturbing for younger readers):

Scooping granulated sugar proved to be an issue.

Nancy learned an important lesson about using a sifter.

She threw random foodstuffs on the ground with blatant disregard for the hardwood floors.

You don't even want to know what she did with the oddly shaped eggs.

In conclusion, if you see this woman trying to enter your kitchen, run away as fast as you can. (Note: this was in no way a response to her showcasing my messiness in Nancy and the Creme Brulee French Toast.)