I am taking full advantage of the long weekend by making a recipe I’ve wanted to make for a while now: Homemade Squid Ink Fettuccine!
I’ve been inspired to finally try to make homemade pasta after Danny Freeman’s demo at Binding Agents a few months back. And on a recent stop at Ippolito’s, I noticed they had cuttlefish ink for sale and knew that homemade squid ink fettuccine was in my near future!
Homemade pasta is surprisingly easy to make, but it does take some time (the dough has to rest a few times) so just keep that in mind when planning to make it. I have a bunch of tools on hand that make pasta making even easier, so I’ll link to those throughout this post.
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) cuttlefish ink
3oo grams (about 2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
I love a classic mac and cheese. But I also love a spin on a classic, like this recipe for Cajun Mac and Cheese!
This Cajun Mac and Cheese recipe is made of elbow pasta with onions, bell peppers, celery, and andouille sausage, baked in a creamy, spiced cheese sauce.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon salt
1 (16 oz) box elbow pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 (12 oz – 16 oz) package Andouille sausage, chopped
These Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies are a bit out of my cookie baking comfort zone. I tend to stay away from any holiday cookies that use royal icing — I don’t usually have the patience for decorating cookies so I lean toward drop cookies for most of the ones I make.
But this year, I figured it was time to try a fairly easy decorated holiday cookie – Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies!
These sugar cookies are topped with royal icing and then are decorated with strings of Christmas lights which are made with black icing and mini M&M’s.
The resulting Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies are colorful, fun, and oh so tasty!
Ingredients (makes approximately 2 dozen cookies)
Sugar Cookies:
1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks (reserve your egg whites!)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Royal Icing:
4 cups powdered sugar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract (can substitute vanilla extract to make nut free)
I know St. Patrick’s Day was a week ago, but these Irish Soda Bread Scones are so tasty, they need to be shared! Plus, who needs a specific holiday to enjoy something as yummy as Irish Soda Bread Scones? These can (and should) be enjoyed all year round!
Inspired by one of my favorite Irish treats, these Irish Soda Bread Scones are really easy to make. Just like traditional Irish Soda Bread, these are best eaten with softened butter, and maybe a smear of your favorite jam.
Note: I was sent apples from Stemilt in order to create this Irish Apple Cake recipe. Opinions are mine alone.
I am pretty sure most countries and regions have some form of apple cake recipe. And why wouldn’t they, apple cake is delicious! Irish Apple Cake is a spiced cake with loads of apples within the batter. The cake has a nice crunchy crust and is traditionally served with a custard sauce.
Stemilt, a family owned and operated fruit company based in Wenatchee, Washington, was kind enough to send me a care package of beautiful apples, including some granny smith apples.
With it being St. Patrick’s Day, I knew I had to make an Irish Apple Cake with the apples, of course.
The tartness and juiciness of granny smith apples make them a perfect choice for an Irish Apple cake!
The Irish Apple Cake recipe below is lightly adapted from Stemilt, and their version incorporates whiskey into the sauce for a more modern spin. Yum!
I’m back with another cookie recipe using some of my favorite OXO tools, specifically OXO’s cookie press, disk set, and Ceramic Pan!
Every year, OXO supports Cookies for Kids’ Cancer and the fight against pediatric cancer. Before I share my cookie recipe for Spritz Cookies, I want to share a bit about Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer (CFKC) is a nonprofit founded by two OXO employees after their son, Liam, was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Through grassroots bake sales across the country, CFKC raises funds to develop new, improved and less toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Liam Witt’s legacy lives on as the organization works toward a cure for pediatric cancer, helping children and families everywhere.
Every year, OXO supports CFKC by encouraging people to bake and share.
For every cookie baked, OXO donates $1 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer up to $100,000, so here is my new cookie this year to support the cause and spread the word!
Here are some of my old cookie swap and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer posts, in case you’re in a baking mood:
With Thanksgiving so late this year, I hope you’ll forgive me for sharing a Christmas cookie recipe before Black Friday; these Cannoli Cookies are too good to keep a secret!
If you’re a cannoli lover, these Cannoli Cookies are sure to impress, especially because they are quite a bit easier to make than homemade cannolis!
Cannoli Cookies are spiced ricotta cookies with chocolate chips, pistachios, and orange zest, delivering the flavors of a classic cannoli in cookie form!
I had no clue that Election Cake used to be a thing until I saw an article recently about this lost tradition! Recipes for Election Cake are found back to the late 18th century, but apparently the tradition has fallen off in recent years.
This yeasted spiced bundt fruitcake was traditionally prepared prior to Election Day and served to hungry voters.
For years, I was the machine inspector for every general and primary election in my South Philly polling location, so any attention I can bring to voting is super important to me! I am also down for any and all food holidays so let’s bring back Election Cake!
I don’t have a ton of experience using yeast, so I looked up a recipe from NY Times Food. Because of the yeast, there are two proofing times in this recipe, so set aside 4 to 6 hours to make this cake.
Ingredients (serves 10):
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
Note: I was sent a copy of 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die by Allyson Reedy in order to write this post on Teff Biscuits. Opinions are mine alone.
You may have noticed that I don’t do much breadmaking on this blog. It’s been a goal of mine to learn how to bake different breads but I have yet to really dive in. So when I was contacted to check out Allyson Reedy’s cookbook 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die (paid link), it seemed like my time had come!
“This book is written for anyone who is intimidated by the word ‘starter,’ and who think levain is just a bakery that makes really good cookies,” author Allyson Reedy says. “People who really love bread, but who may not know exactly where to start when it comes to baking it themselves. People like me.”
The cookbook is filled with recipes from famous bakers, chefs, and food bloggers who have put in the hours to perfect an awesome range of breads. Recipes range from a traditional baguette to Chocolate Babka King Cake and everything in between.
I can honestly see myself baking through this entire cookbook (the chapters are broken into Loaves, Smaller Carbs, Flats, and Sweets) but a recipe for Teff Biscuits from Marcus Samuelsson caught my eye immediately, so that is where we begin!
Teff is a gluten free grain that originates in Ethiopia that is higher in fiber than other grains and is a good source of iron. When added to a traditional southern-style biscuit, you end up with a slightly nutty take on the classic.
Note that you’ll need a kitchen scale (paid link) to make these Teff Biscuits. Weighing out your ingredients in baking ensures a more consistent result.
One of my favorite local restaurants is The House of William and Merry. The creativity and pure deliciousness coming out of that restaurant is impressive! A recent dinner there inspired me to use some of my CSA corn this week to make this Corn Bisque!
This silky corn bisque is delicious on its own, but I strongly suggest topping it with chopped bacon for extra saltiness and chives for brightness.
To make the corn bisque, you first make a corn stock. You’ll make more than you need for this particular recipe but don’t throw it away! You can use this lovely liquid like you would use vegetable or chicken broth.
Ingredients:
6 ears of corn, shucked
8 slices of bacon, cooked (I like to cook mine in the oven) note: reserve the bacon grease!)
This recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Whoopie Pies was a result of my desire to bring a different dessert to a gathering with some of my college friends. My friend who was hosting is a big fan of Strawberry Shortcake. That, plus my love for whoopie pies made Strawberry Shortcake Whoopie Pies a no brainer!
These Strawberry Shortcake Whoopie Pies are made of fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries sandwiched between two vanilla cake-like cookies.
Ingredients:
Whoopie Pies:
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
5 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
My niece’s first birthday is soon, and my sister asked if I would make her smash cake; what an honor!
My sister requested a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and as this will be my niece’s first taste of chocolate, I have to make sure it’s tasty with a few more baby-friendly adjustments.
This Chocolate Smash Cake is a fluffy, chocolatey mini cake perfect for (obviously) first birthdays, or for smaller get togethers.
Ingredients:
Chocolate Cake:
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
Chocolate Frosting:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Note: I was sent some baking tools from OXO in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
It’s the holiday season which means another cookie recipe inspired by some goodies from OXO! This year, I’m making something a little different for me: Christmas Pinwheel Cookies.
I tend to gravitate toward drop cookies because they are simple, decidedly not fussy, and still delicious! These Christmas Pinwheel Cookies are slice and bake cookies instead, which means you roll them into a log, slice them into equally sized slices, and bake.
Every year, OXO supports Cookies for Kids’ Cancer and the fight against pediatric cancer. Before I share my cookie recipe, I want to share a bit about Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer (CFKC) is a nonprofit founded by two OXO employees after their son, Liam, was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Through grassroots bake sales across the country, CFKC raises funds to develop new, improved and less toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Liam Witt’s legacy lives on as the organization works toward a cure for pediatric cancer, helping children and families everywhere.
For every cookie baked, OXO donates $1 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer up to $100,000, so here is my new cookie this year to support the cause and spread the word!
Here are some of my old cookie swap and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer posts, in case you’re in a baking mood:
I personally did not grow up eating Potato Farls, probably because around me, there was no such thing as leftover mashed potatoes. (I am still a mashed potato fiend, but I’ve managed to turn it down to a more respectable level.)
But when I am visiting family in Ireland, Potato Farls is one of the foods I am most excited to eat (along with Irish Brown Bread and the rest of the components of a beautiful Ulster Fry.)
Potato Farls is just mashed potatoes kneaded with some flour, butter, salt, and pepper, then fried up into tasty little pieces, making them the perfect recipe for the day after Thanksgiving!
I love all things pumpkin, both savory and sweet. Despite already sharing over 30 pumpkin recipes, I have yet to share a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!
I am happy to finally rectify that huge oversight, and I promise these cookies were worth waiting for!
Ingredients (makes about 30 cookies):
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini, regular size work too)
