David Lebovitz's (long weekend) Cream-cheese Brownies

All I can say is that these were an excellent long weekend treat and I had to resist keeping it all to myself! :)

Cheesecake Brownies (from David Lebovitz)
One 9-inch (23cm) or 8-inch (20cm) square pan

For those of you who like higher brownies, use an 8-inch pan.
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (70g) flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips
8 ounces (200g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
5 tablespoons (75g) sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line a 9-inch (23cm) or 8-inch (20cm) square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180C).
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs.
4. Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
5. In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
6. Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.
7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set.
Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares.
Storage: These will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days. They also freeze well, too.

Pineapple-Coconut Macaroons

It's raining and it's really pouring in Toronto, and I only have about four more days off before I dress myself in some scrubs and get to work. The idea to make macaroons half came from my friend and I joking about these expensive vegan macaroons we saw someone bring to a bar and eat, and half came from David Lebovitz. Since his brownies were really the "absolute", I had high expectations for these pineapple macaroons (to be fair, he never made such a claim on these). They were just okay to good to satisfy a sweet tooth, not as magical and comforting as his brownies.

Pineapple-Coconut Macaroons (from David Lebovitz)
About 35 cookies


David Lebovitz's note: I prefer to use unsweetened pineapple packed in its own juice, but if you can only find pineapple packed in light syrup, reduce the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup (150 g) for caramelizing the pineapple. If you want to use fresh pineapple, you’ll need 1 1/4 cups of caramelized crushed pineapple paste.
My note: I used sweetened pineapple and think I should have used less sugar so that it was stickier and easier to mold.


One 20 ounce (about 600 g) can crushed unsweetened pineapple
1 cup (200 g) sugar
pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups (245 g) dried unsweetened shredded coconut
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


1. Put the pineapple in a wide skillet (preferable nonstick) with the sugar and a pinch of salt.
2. Cook the pineapple until the liquid is evaporated, then continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the pineapple gets thick and sticky, and just begins to brown. Remove from heat and scrape the caramelized pineapple into a large bowl. Then mix in the coconut into the pineapple, then the egg whites and vanilla.
(The mixture may be rather difficult to mix with a spatula. You can mix it with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or use your clean hands.)
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Use your hands to gather a bit of the batter, about the size of an unshelled walnut, and form it into a round or a pyramid-like shape, onto the prepared baking sheet. Continue forming all the cookies then bake them for about 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking. The cookies are done when they are nicely browned up the sides (I failed to make a pyramid-like shape, so settled for a blob/dome shape)

Storage: These cookies are best served the day they’re made, since over time, they’ll lose their slightly crunchy crusts. You can store the batter up to five days in the refrigerator and bake them off as desired.

Red Lentil Dahl

I have this week off before I start my five week placement at a long term care facility. Working 7am-3pm will be quite an adjustment. I should probably start finding some easy and affordable lunch/dinner recipes that I can make useful for the next month and some, and even the future.

Something I do love is mushy food. Like mushy French fries and rice with stuff on it, risotto, mashed potatoes. Smoothies, Greek yogurt... You get the point. So I decided to venture into the world of Indian cooking and make some red lentil dahl.

It didn't take too long and it was pretty easy and delicious. I took two recipes and kind of blended the aspects I liked of each, into one recipe. Then I paired it with brown rice :)

 

Red Lentil Dahl (a fusion of the Taste.com.au recipe and one from The Taste Traveller)

• 2 cups (475 ml) masoor daal (red lentils)
• 3 cups (720 ml) water
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 3 cm fresh ginger, sliced
• 3 tablespoons (60 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) chili flakes
• salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) garam masala
• 3 to 4 tablespoons cilantro 

Directions

Wash and rinse lentils. Place lentils, 1 tablespoon of the oil, ginger, bay leaves, half of the tumeric powder and cinnamon in a large saucepan with 3 cups of cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring to prevent sticking for 10-12 minutes. Discard spices and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, rest of turmeric, cumin, garam marsala and chilli flakes and cook for a further minute or until fragrant. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and season to taste with salt. 

Add the lentils to the pan and mix well. 

Cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 or 3 tablespoon cilantro. Top with remaining cilatro and serve with rice, naan break or pappadums. 

This can be make in advance and will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. You can also freeze it for up to a few weeks.

Banh Mi Boys

I've recently gotten the pleasure of eating at Banh Mi Boys at Queen and Spadina and I must say that I can't wait to go back! The 3 brothers who own the shop serve their own modern take on the traditional Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, with some Korean influence as well. I had a squid taco and a beef cheek steamed bao and both were delicious as well as affordable at about $4 each. Their kimchi fries is definitely next on my list to try!