Homemade Double Stuf Oreos

I went to see the movie, The Vow, last night and I woke up this morning feeling like I just went through a break-up. Post-movie, my friend Miranda and I were wondering why, as girls, we put ourselves through such heart-wrenching films. But on the bright side, Channing Tatum is pretty damn perfect in it, and we had some Homemade Double Stuf Oreos and a large popcorn to cry into.

This is one of my favorite recipes from Smitten Kitchen. I learned from the first time I made this recipe, that the chocolate wafers do get quite big in the over, so you want to make the dough balls quite small when you put them onto the sheet. I also add a cup more icing sugar to the cream recipe, so I can make my oreos, double stuf. I was planning to make a variation and create a peanut butter filling for my oreos, but realised too late that I didn't have enough smooth peanut butter at home, so next time! The recipe makes quite a lot of cookies, so I even have enough left-over to take to share with one of my classes for Valentine's Day tomorrow :)

Homemade Oreos (from Smitten Kitchen, with variation to make them Double Stuf)
Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (plus one more cup if you want to make the oreos a double)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Monday=Mini Cinnamon Apple Rolls

After Chinese New Year, I swore I would take a break from over-indulging/over-eating. I not only welcomed the year of the Dragon, but also a few lbs. Waking up still full from last night's family feast, only to consume dim sum is no longer an option for me. The Chinese fortune teller said I would be getting migraines this year, and in my recent headaches, it has pushed me to make a conscious decision to drink more water and to try to eat as healthy as I can. Obviously I forgot about Super Bowl, and all these birthdays that have popped up. Also my urge to bake something cute tonight. At least I also made a colorful fruit salad to ease my conscience about my baking.

I love mini food, tapas and all types of small edibles. They're just so cute and well portioned, and it gives you an opportunity to try a bit of everything. Which is why when I spotted these 8 Minute Mini Cinnamon Rolls on Iowa Girl Eats, I had to try them out. I decided to put a little twist on them by adding cut up granny smith apple, and foregoing the icing. I was inspired by one of my fave recipes, Apple Pie Cookies from Smitten Kitchen. Which are also bite-size and super adorable.

Mini Cinnamon Apple Rolls (adapted from Iowa Girl Eats)
(makes 16)
Ingredients:
1-8oz tube crescent roll dough
2 Tablespoons butter
cinnamon
brown sugar
1/2 a granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven according to crescent roll dough package directions. Layout half the dough (4 triangles) and pinch all the seams together. Flip over and pinch the seams on the back side together too.
2. Using a rolling pin, smooth the seams and roll the dough into a square about 1/4″ thick. Brush with half the butter, and sprinkle with as much cinnamon, apple and brown sugar as you want. Roll into a log and cut into 8 pieces.
3. Place mini cinnamon rolls into a non-stick sprayed mini muffin tin. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the other half of the crescent roll dough. Bake according to package directions.

Super Bro, Super Bowl

I woke up with a massive hangover today, crippled by the fact that I had only consumed one meal yesterday of sashimi and then ventured out for my friend Vicky's birthday. Not smart. But we went to Goodnight, the reservation-only hidden bar, that is reminiscent of a speak easy. I had only heard negative things about the bar, its exclusivity, its clientele and how you cannot take photos inside. And since I am not fancy, I thought I wouldn't like it. In fact though, I thought it was novel and fun, the dim atmosphere was cozy, and I didn't mind the pricey drinks (the Dark and Stormy was recommended to me, and a gingery good choice).

This morning was another story, but somehow around 1pm, I managed to motivate myself to get up and dressed, despite bailing on brunch with friends. I made it a new Sunday tradition to eat alone and hungover in the same booth at Sky Blue Sky with a mug of coffee and a magazine (because that's how good the sandwiches are, no convo/company needed). Then fought my way through Walmart to pick up the ingredients I needed for my Super Bowl snacks. I made it to my friend Alex's condo just in time for the game, where I got to enjoy it on not only a big screen TV, but also on a wall-sized projection screen. The game was so close and really intense by the last few minutes (although I'm not too sure why my guy friends hate Tom Brady, and wanted to see him cry). We also got a lot of laughs over the half-time show, it was just a little bizarre. Most importantly though (jk), my dips were a hit. I made a Jalapeno Popper Dip, and a Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip, both courtesy of Kevin Lynch and his blog, Closet Cooking. Simple to make and a hit amongst bros.

 Better than any sports bar :)

 Had to include a picture of Alex's cool deep fryer containing chicken fries.

(The look on Jama's face in the above left photo, represents his feelings towards Tom Brady. Alex's expression in the above right photo, represents his feelings towards beer.)

Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip (from Closet Cooking)

Ingredients:  

6 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon ketchup

Directions

1. Cook the ground beef in a pan over medium heat, set it aside and drain the grease from the pan.
2. Cook the bacon in the pan until crispy, about 6-10 minutes, set aside and drain all but a tablespoon of the grease.
3. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Mix the ground beef, bacon, onions and garlic, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, mozzarella, cheddar, worcestershire sauce and ketchup and pour it into a baking dish.
6. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the top starts turning a light golden brown and then sides are bubbling, about 20-30 minutes.

Jalapeno Popper Dip (from Closet Cooking)
 

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano
1 (4 ounce) can sliced jalapenos (pickled)
2 jalapeno peppers (chopped, optional)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano

Directions
1. Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano and jalapenos in a bowl and pour into a baking dish.
2. Mix the panko bread crumbs and parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle over the dip.
3. Bake in a 375F oven until bubbling on the sides and golden brown on top, about 10-20 minutes.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I love sandwiches. In fact, I have been mulling over the idea of getting a giant party sub to share for my birthday. So when my friend Devin told me about a new sandwich place in our neighborhood, I had to go. I visited Sky Blue Sky on Sunday, and upon walking in, instantly fell in love with the smell of coffee and grilling sandwiches, and the red checkerboard table cloths. I opted for the One Wing (as also recommended by Devin), which was a solid choice, and I got to enjoy my sandwich hiding in a booth with a mug of coffee and a Now Magazine. A welcome addition to the neighborhood!

For $4.99 I enjoyed, "thinly sliced oven roasted turkey with cream cheese, cranberry sauce and a hint of stuffing served on cranberry and cream cheese bread." This was what was left of it before I even thought to take a quick phone pic.

Anyways, on to the soup. I found the recipe for this Not Your Average Cream of Mushroom Soup, on the WillCookForFriends blog and decided to give it a go, even though it felt like spring today in Toronto. I used an organic mushroom medley I found pre-cut at Loblaws, also added more button mushrooms, and a few slices of Portobello mushrooms. As for the dried mushrooms, I used a combination of Porcini and Shiitake. It turned out well, I took a lighter route with skim milk, and obviously took the suggestion of substituting a cup of the broth for white wine. I used the Jackson Triggs chardonnay pictured below. Instead of a food processor, I used an immersion blender, which works just as well. I also found I did not chop up my mushrooms enough, so I also used the immersion blender at the end to puree the soup a little bit.

Jalapeno cheese bread from Cobs to accompany the soup :)

Cream of Mushroom Soup (from WillCookForFriends)

3 TBSP butter (or olive oil)
1 large onion - fine to medium chop
3-4 cloves garlic - minced
1 oz. dried mushrooms, Shiitake, Porcini, or mixed - rehydrated in 1 cup boiling water
1.5 lbs fresh mushrooms, button, Cremini, Shiitake, or mixed - roughly sliced or chopped into chunks
1/4 cup flour
3-4 cups mushroom stock (or other vegetable stock - optionally can replace up to 1 cup with white wine)
1/2 cup milk or cream (or milk substitute - soy, almond, rice, etc.)
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a bowl, pour 1 cup boiling water over dried mushrooms and set aside to rehydrate. Prep other ingredients - gently wipe fresh mushrooms clean with a damp cloth or paper towel, remove any woody stems, and slice/chop mushrooms and onion.
In a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat, combine butter (or oil), onion, and garlic. Let cook 7-10 minutes, stirring once or twice.
Add fresh mushrooms and stir to combine. Let cook another 7-10 minutes. Season with a little salt to help draw out some of the juices.
While the mushrooms cook, pour dried mushrooms along with their soaking liquid into the bowl of your food processor. Blend to a paste, as smooth or chunky as you like, then add to the pot. (This step can be replaced with running your knife through the rehydrated mushrooms a few times before adding them to the soup, but I find they can sometimes be a little chewy if not chopped fine enough). Add flour, and cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Increase heat to high, and add the stock and white wine, if using, to the pot. Stir thoroughly, then bring to a boil to thicken.
Reduce heat to low and pour in the milk, cream, or milk substitute. Season with salt and fresh black pepper to taste, and serve

I'd also like to holla at my cousin Liam (to the left), who celebrated his birthday on Saturday (present pictured below). Here's to another 26 years of being BFF in matching sweaters! Thank you for your constant love and support (because you are probably the only person who reads this blog), and also always looking out for me. Saturday evening was spent watching Liam drink about a million Prairie Fire shots and give Chris noogies :)

Spaghetti and Meatballs mean you care :)

Winter in Canada means eating for comfort, eating to keep warm, and eating with drinking. Recently my friend Miranda suggested we have dinner at Smokeless Joe in Little Italy, and we engaged in some eating with drinking. Chatted by candlelight, ate a large serving of mussels, and drank multiple beers. I especially like Spearhead Brewery's Hawaiin Style Pale Ale, which I had first encountered at the Royal Agricultural Fair this past year. These nights definitely need to happen more this winter.

On another (sad) winter note, my best guy friend, Jama, broke a rib slipping on ice on the street (how I wish I snapped a phone pic of the cripple to post). He is out of work and in bed, which means I got to make him a man-care-package, and also knit in his bed while watching movies (sidenote: The Descendants gets two thumbs up, and I got two thumbs down from him for apparently having the hobby of an 80 year old woman). His man-care-package consisted of: the newest issue of Sports Illustrated, a bag of Valentine's Day candy from Bulk Barn, a little bottle of Glenfiddich, and a big container of spaghetti and meatballs. The spaghetti was a good call because when I got there, it was 6:30pm and he was wasting away and only eaten 10 Crispers (i.e. what he could find in his room).
I bought enough ingredients to make a mass quantity of giant meatballs, and used a whole box of spaghetti, so this was also distributed to my roommate, and packed as tomorrow's lunch for a friend and myself.

Meatballs (makes about 30, 2inch meatballs)
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs extra lean ground beef
1.5 lbs lean veal
3 eggs
1/2 cup Italian parsley roughly chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper 

1. Preheat broiler to 500 degrees
2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, with a wooden spoon or your hands.
3. Form mixture into balls (mine were on the large side, about 2 inches in diameter) and place in a shallow baking dish or on a baking sheet (lining with foil is not necessary, but I regret not doing so a little bit for cleaning convenience).
4. Broil on an upper rack in the oven until the tops are brown, flip the meatballs and broil the other side until they are deep brown.
5. Serve with pasta and sauce of your choice.

Tilapia and Scallop Ceviche

It's raining outside, I'm so tired, I didn't make it to yoga after school, and it has now taken three (!!) attempts to build my new ikea desk. Third times a charm and thank goodness I don't aspire to be a handy man. But on the bright side, I have some ceviche to look forward to having for supper.
I first tried ceviche at El Fogon a couple years ago when I was taken there by my Peruvian friend. I also have such fond memories of eating ceviche at a local restaurant on the beach in the Mayan Riviera with some girl friends. I have since experimented in making it with different kinds of white fish available to me (mostly from fish markets). I am now going through a seafood phase which inspired me to incorporate scallops. It is easy to prep and must be made ahead, just make sure to use really fresh ingredients since it is made with raw seafood.
Ceviche is typically made with raw white fish, marinated in citrus juices, such as lemon or lime (Peruvians also use bitter orange), and seasoned. Depending on the place, it is prepared in ways and seasoned differently, and a variety of seafood are incorporated.

The acidity in the lime juice will "cook" the fish and scallops (or to be nerdy about it, the citric acid will cause the seafood to become "denatured").

Tilapia and Scallop Ceviche
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 tilapia fillet
5 medium bay scallops
2 limes, juiced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped (cherry tomatoes halved is also a good choice)
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced and chopped into small pieces
1 avocado

Directions:
1. Cut tilapia and scallops into smaller pieces. Put into container and cover with lime juice.
2. Add cilantro, red onion and tomato. Mix well.
3. Chill covered in fridge to marinate over night.
4. Peel, seed and cup up avocado. Top with avocado and serve while it is cold!

Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Arugula Pesto

In anticipation of a busy weekend, I ended up freezing my gnocchi to give myself some extra time to think up ideas on what to do with it. I had a full (stomach) weekend of eating, which included hot pot family dinner at the grandparents, dim sum in Yorkville (refer to smiling sui mai pictured below) and bubble tea. Also furniture shopping at Ikea and eating 15 Swedish meatballs for $5.99. Actually that's a lie, I couldn't finish all 15, and the remaining were left for my cousin Liam to clean up.

Yesterday, I found myself at the new Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens shopping with my aunt who has since boycotted Metro upon its opening. She raves that it was not only more impressive but more importantly had lower prices, even on staples such as milk (she is also well informed by keeping up to date on her flyers, and will send out texts so that we know about what deals she has found). This store is proof that you really can get it all under one roof (including a walk-in clinic). I spotted some arugula pesto in the deli section, and was about to give it a go for my gnocchi, but gave it a second thought. I labored for hours over making my pasta, I owe it to myself to go big or go home and therefore should make my own pesto. And so i walked myself over to the produce.

(In hindsight, taking the photo while it was in a green bowl maybe wasn't the best artistic representation.)

I first thawed my gnocchi and coated them in a little bit of olive oil to keep from sticking. I browned them evenly on both sides in a frying pan. I then transferred them to a bowl and tossed them in my arugula pesto. I also topped it with some cilantro, pine nuts, Parmesan and arugula. My roommate being my guinea pig for the evening (and pretty much always) thoroughly enjoyed it, and is bringing it for lunch tomorrow. I was more critical of my work, and think my arugula pesto recipe will need a bit of altering before a second attempt. I may also substitute pine nuts for walnuts or pecans next time.

Arugula Pesto
3 cups arugula lightly packed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Salt and black pepper to taste

Blend well, spoon over pasta and toss until well coated.