My Boyfriend Dated A Chef

As soon as I found this recipe, I had to make it…immediately! I’ll have to admit, as I was preparing the cupcakes I was a little concerned that they were not going to turn out as tasty as I thought. The cake consistency is definitely not light and fluffy like a regular cupcake and the warm chocolate, not so good. But then, you chill these babies and sweet deliciousness happens behind closed doors. I made half the recipe so as to only end up with 12. A brilliant decision…within 24 hours, the cupcakes magically disappeared.

Makes 24. Recipe from Mission Food.

INGREDIENTS:
Cupcake
6 T. unsalted butter, plus more at room temperature for greasing tins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for tins
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pastry Cream
2 cups skim milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
4 T. cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 T. unsalted butter

Chocolate Ganache
6 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:
Cupcake
Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the muffin tins with butter, dust with flour, and tap out the excess. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and butter in a saucepan and set over low heat until butter melts.

With an electric mixer on high speed, whisk eggs and sugar until fluffy, pale yellow, and thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and gradually add flour mixture until just mixed.

Bring milk and butter to a boil. With mixer on low speed, add hot milk to batter in a slow, steady stream. Mix until smooth and beat in vanilla.

Divide batter evenly among muffin tins (using a ladle is a good idea, as the batter is very liquidy). Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes are golden and a cake tester comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes, then run a small knife around the edges of the tins to loosen cupcakes. Turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Pastry Cream
Pour the milk, vanilla extract, and salt into a heavy saucepan and heat over medium-high, bringing the milk just to under a boil, stirring occasionally so the milk doens’t burn to the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar and cornstarch.

When the milk is ready, slowly ladle about one-third into the eggs, whisking constantly. Pour the egg mixture back into the hot milk and continue whisking over medium heat until the custard is noticeably thicker, about 2 minutes.

To check the correct thickness of the cream, dip a wooden spoon into the custard, remove it and run your finger across it. It should leave a line where your finger crossed. When the custard is thick enough, remove it from the heat and strain it into a clean bowl.

Let cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cut the butter into 1 T. pieces and whisk the butter into the cream, one piece at a time. To cool the cream, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and press the wrap directly onto the top of the cream. Once the cream is a little cooler, put it into the fridge to finish cooling. Pastry cream will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.

Chocolate Ganache
Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, and then pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, for a few minutes until chocolate begins to melt. Gently stir chocolate into cream until the mixture is completely combined. Allow mixture to come to cool slightly before spooning over cupcakes.

Construct the Cupcakes
Use a serrated knife to gently split cupcakes in half horizontally. Use a small ice cream scoop (about 1 1/2 T.) to distribute pastry cream among the bottom of the cupcake halves. Replace top halves and carefully press down lightly. Spoon about 1 T. ganache over each cupcake. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

There is store bought salsa and there is fresh salsa. I prefer fresh because I am a salsa snot.

Yields about 2 cups.

INGREDIENTS:
2 diced vine-ripe tomatoes
1 small diced shallot
3 Tbs. lime juice; more to taste
1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. Kosher salt

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Use right away or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Quesadillas are a favorite food of mine. I normally go for the traditional but this recipe for mesquite-flavored bbq chicken quesadillas peaked my interest especially since it has a little kick of cayenne spice! They were delicious. I love how so many flavors can be compacted into a tasty little hand-held shell.

Serves 2 as a meal - 4 as an appetizer. Recipe adapted from Top Secret Recipes.

INGREDIENTS:
Mesquite Marinade
1 c water
2 tsp mesquite-flavored liquid smoke
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Spicy BBQ Sauce
1/2 c Original BBQ sauce
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
dash chili pepper

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 sliced red pepper
1 sliced green pepper
1 sliced spanish onion
4 large (12 inch) flour tortillas
1 1/3 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Fixings (optional)
Sour Cream
Guacamole

DIRECTIONS:
Prepare the marinade by combining the mesquite marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken breast fillet to the bowl, cover and chill for 1 hour.

When the chicken is finished marinating, preheat your grill to high temperature. (I used the George Foreman for convenience). As grill is heating, prepare the spicy BBQ sauce by mixing the 3 ingredients in a small bowl.

Place the chicken on the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes or until done. Cut into bite-size pieces.

Spray a skillet with Pam over medium heat. Saute the peppers and onions for 4-5 minutes or until brown.

Prepare the quesadilla shells by lightly brushing both sides of each shell with olive oil. I use a cooking paintbrush for this job.

Pre-heat a frying pan to Medium heat. Place 1 fajita shell in the pan. The fajita shell will begin to bubble up and start to turn a light brown. Flip it over at this point. Lightly brown the second side.

Remove the fajita shell from pan and set aside. Continue the same process with a second fajita shell. Once you flip this second fajita shell, sprinkle 1/3 cup of cheese over half of the tortilla. Spoon half of the vegetables over the cheese, followed by half of the chicken.

Spoon a portion of the BBQ sauce over the chicken followed by another 1/3 cup of cheese.

Top the mixture off with the fajita shell that has been pre-cooked and set aside. If you have a paper plate handy, place it face down over the top the quesadilla and press around the edges lightly to glue the quesadilla together. Flip the quesadilla once the cheese begins to melt. (The paper plate and a spatula makes this process super easy - place your hand over the paper plate, slide your spatula underneath the quesadilla, lift, turn over and slide the quesadilla back onto the fry pan). Allow the quesadilla to heat up just a little bit.

Remove from heat and cut into 8 pieces. Repeat process for second quesadilla. Serve immediately with your favorite fixings, plain, sour cream or guacamole.

*Reduce the fat significantly by using fat free Monterey Jack cheese and fat free tortillas.

Last night I was searching for a light and summery salad to accompany the fresh steamers I picked up at the local fish market. I happened across this pita salad recipe and since it looked simple enough to make, I decided to give it a try. It was so tasty and the perfect combination of flavors with the steamers in beer. I’m thinking of making more for lunch today!

Makes 2 servings. Recipe adapted from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1-1/2 large (7-inch) pita loaves, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 tomato, chopped fine
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves

DIRECTIONS:
In a sieve sprinkle the peeled and cut cucumber with a pinch of salt, let it drain for 20 minutes. While the cucumber is draining, in a baking pan bake the pita pieces in the middle of a preheated 325°F oven, shaking the pan occasionally, for 18 to 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crisp. Let them cool slightly.

In a large bowl whisk together oil, lemon juice,  garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until the dressing is emulsified, then stir in bell pepper, tomato, scallion, chopped mint, pita pieces, cucumber, and more salt and pepper to taste. Toss the salad to combine it well.

I’m not going to lie…I make the best chicken quesadillas ever and my guacamole is to die for but, we will leave the guac for another day. Since this is my own recipe, feel free to ask questions as my directions may not be perfect and I would like them to be. Next time I make them, I will take more pictures of the process and update the post.

Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb. chicken
1 medium onion
1 green pepper
3/4 cup of jar salsa (Tostitos, Chi Chi’s, whatever suits your fancy)
cheddar jack cheese (amount depending on how much you like cheese)
fajita shells - 4 medium
olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Now cut those in half. Over Medium-High heat saute chicken, chopped pepper and chopped onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until chicken is lightly browned. Add 3/4 cup of jar salsa. Cover, reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes.

While chicken is simmering, lightly brush both sides of each fajita shell with olive oil. I use a cooking paintbrush for this job.

Set up another frying pan on Medium heat. Place 1 fajita shell in the pan. The fajita shell will begin to bubble up and start to turn a light brown. Flip it over at this point. Lightly brown the second side.

Remove the fajita shell from pan and set aside. Continue the same process with a second fajita shell. Once you flip this second fajita shell, add a layer of shredded cheddar jack cheese, a layer of about a cup of the chicken, pepper, onion + salsa mixture, another layer of shredded cheddar jack cheese (make sure you get close to the edges so the cheese will hold the fajita shells together like glue).

Top the mixture off with the fajita shell that has been pre-cooked and set aside. If you have a paper plate handy, place it face down over the top the quesadilla and press around the edges lightly to glue the quesadilla together. Flip the quesadilla once the cheese begins to melt. (The paper plate and a spatula makes this process super easy - place your hand over the paper plate, slide your spatula underneath the quesadilla, lift, turn over and slide the quesadilla back onto the fry pan). Allow the quesadilla to heat up just a little bit. Remove from heat and cut into 8 pieces. Repeat process for second quesadilla.

Serve immediately with your fixings. I like to have sour cream, extra salsa and guacamole with mine.