Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach

Looking at my monthly menu you can tell one of two things about me: either I really like pasta, or I am cheap, because almost all of my meals are pasta. Actually, both are true. I do like pasta, probably a bit too well. And I am cheap - I make EC turn off lights when he leaves the room, don't go out to eat very often, and take leftovers to work for lunch every day. But sometimes I need a change from the normal BLT pasta that we eat, so I found a new recipe that looked good, and it was pretty good, but I don't think I am THAT big of a fan of soggy spinach.

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Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach

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6 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

6 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound penne pasta

1 (5-ounce) bag baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried

6 tablespoons juice from 2 lemons

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

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Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Meanwhile, combine garlic, pepper flakes and oil in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute.

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Pat chicken dry with paper towels and cut into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the garlic/red pepper oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat until oil is rippling. Add chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

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Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta to boiling water and cook until tender but still slightly firm. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to the pot. Stir in chicken, spinach, basil, lemon juice, Parmesan, and remaining garlic mixture, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Popovers

I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen recently, making various cakes. To help me pass the time, I like to listen to books on tape. My book on tape obsession dates back to middle school when I first discovered the section at the library and thought "genius, you can read a book without actually having to read". I picked up the habit again last summer as I made the 6 hour one way trek to visit EC while he lived in a different time zone completing a summer internship.

Recently I have been listening to a series about a cookie baker who solves murders. This poor baker keeps finding dead bodies. One would think that would be bad for business, but not in her fiction world. In the books, there are also recipes. I got brave and decided to try one, mostly because I was testing it to see if it would work for my brother's wedding. I don't think it will. But, the popovers were pretty good. Not like I expect them, I expected bread. These are more like a single serving German Pancake.

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Popovers

From a book on tape

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4 eggs

2 cups milk

2 cups unsifted flour

1 teaspoon salt

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Heat oven to 450. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with Pam. Whisk eggs by hand until light and uniform, approximately one minute. Whisk in milk, then dump in flour and salt all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until flour is moistened and incorporated - mixture will be lumpy. Pour into cups and bake for 30 minutes. Don't open the oven while they are baking or the Popovers will fall. Bake until browned. When you take them out of the oven, pierce the tops with a knife to release the steam and let stand for 1-2 minutes before serving.

Showering a Baby

I have this friend, who is pregnant. She was nice enough to invite me to her baby shower, so I offered to make her a cake (since I am a nice person too). The theme was jungle and the baby's room is decorated in all sorts of jungle paraphernalia (it's pretty dang cute or pretty photogenic, at least, since I have only seen pictures). It is decorated in Target's NoJo Jungle Babies stuff, and, since the baby shower theme was a jungle theme, I had the genius idea of making a jungle themed cake. Yes, I know, I don't know how these wonderful cake themes come to me either, I am just brilliant :P
Anyway, the cake took FOREVER to make, but was totally worth it, even though I didn't get to have any because at the shower they didn't want to cut into it and I had to leave early to pick EC up from church. I am sure it tasted great though, since I used a recipe that Addie has raved about, and she has yet to lead me astray. I also used a Raspberry Icing recipe for the filling of one cake and for the cupcakes. B said she liked it, so it may be what I use for the upcoming wedding cake.

Raspberry Icing

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar (sift if lumpy)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (or more to taste - I added more, I also couldn't find seedless, so mine was seedy - hee hee)
1-2 drops red food coloring if desired (I did not so desire)

Mix ingredients together first on low speed, then beat on high until frosting is fluffy.

Out of this World Cake

For the past while I have been working on a birthday cake for my boss's son. He is turning three this year and the theme is "Celebrate His Third Orbit Around The Sun" - so my boss requested a solar system themed cake. She left the majority of the design up to me, she told me she wanted it to be a white cake with a strawberry filling - something simple for the little kids - and rectangle. Other than that I had complete creative control. The problem with giving me creative control is that I'm not very creative, as before mentioned. So, one night while EC and I were out dining at the local Tucci's (which wasn't amazing), we were talking about the cake, and he started sketching ideas for me on the paper tablecloth (which was amazing).

Armed with my tabletop drawing, I set out to work. Everything on the cake is edible, a positive since most kids I know like to stick everything in their mouths. I made stars, sculpted planets, UFOs, and little green aliens. EC got into the spirit of things and sculpted the tentacle alien.

My boss also requested cupcakes for the adults. Each cupcake was topped with a space topper and lots and lots of frosting. The vanilla cupcakes are probably the best cupcakes I have ever had in my entire life. Period. The chocolate cupcakes were ok, but not nearly as good. The actual cake, as requested, was a simple white cake. I couldn't resist adding a few sprinkles to the cake batter though, creating a "Funfetti" look.

(This was my alien, that I was super proud of)

Classic White Layer Cake

From Cooks Illustrated

Nonstick cooking spray2

2 ¼ cups cake flour (9 ounces), plus more for dusting the pans

1 cup whole milk, at room temperature

6 large egg whites (¾ cup), at room temperature

2 teaspoons almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract1

¾ cups granulated sugar (12¼ ounces)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon table salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened but still cool

1. For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans (I used a 9x13) with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.
2. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
4. Add all but ½ cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1½ minutes. Add remaining ½ cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.

*To make cake Funfetti - add two tablespoons Jimmies. Gently stir until incorporated.5. Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans (or in my case, one 9x13 pan); using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
6. Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1½ hours.

Italian Bread Bowls

Oh goodness, it has been a long time! Not because I have been super busy or anything, just lazy. And I am getting slightly to very caked-out, which I never thought could happen to anyone, ever. Anyhow, here in my little town, the weather has been miserable. My favorite quote describing the weather is a friend was talking to his daughter and said "I thought it was supposed to be Spring" and his daughter said "Well, winter thought it was supposed to be winter". That about sums up the weather.

One of the perks about it being so cold is that it makes soup taste extra good. And since I love bread bowls (LOVE!) I decided to make clam chowder and bread bowls for dinner one night. These are the best bread bowls I have ever eaten, seriously. EC liked them too, and he doesn't like soggy bread, so that tells you just how good these are. They are definitely the perfect cure for ANOTHER snowy day.

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Italian Bread Bowls

adapted from allrecipes.com

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1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

7 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

In a large bowl (or bowl of an electric mixer), dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at medium speed after each addition until a soft but not sticky dough is formed (you may not need to use all 7 cups).
When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes (or let knead in an electric mixer). Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Punch dough down, and divide into 6-8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a round ball. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

The Time I Forgot My BFF's Birthday

I had a conversation last week that went like this:

BFF: my editor: Di tells me they wouldn't sing to you at Chili's me: nope. thank goodness. amorie asked them to but they only do that for children.editor: (nods) (awkward pause) ... well, enough idle chitchat
me: and why is your editor talking to you about Chili's in the first place?
oh no
oh no
oh no
oh no
oh no
oh no
oh no
it's your birthday isn't it? crap
BFF: you're funny! oh my gosh don't even worry about it
me: oh no
oh no
oh no
oh no
Happy Birthday
BFF: THANKS!!!
me: how long were you waiting until you thought I noticed?

So that story illustrates how good of a friend I am. I forgot my BFF's Birthday. Guilt swept over me, especially since I remember Freshman year, when we had first met and it was her birthday. We had only known each other for 7 months and we were not BFF's at this point, we were roommates, she was BFFs with our other roommate. Anyway, so it was her birthday. I was grocery shopping and remembered her saying something about being out of milk. After much deliberation I decided to buy her a gallon as a birthday present. I wrapped it in newspaper, stuck it in the fridge, and gave it to her as a present. Lame? Possibly - BUT - her current BFF at that point had forgotten her birthday, so my token milk present seemed pretty amazing.

And now I have turned into the BFF who forgets birthdays. Sad.

So in order to make up for it, I made her a cake. Now, BFF and I do not live in the same state. We do not even live in the same time zone. So EC devised an ingenious packaging plan and we packed the cake up and I had it shipped to her. I am happy to report that she said it made it there looking like the picture, which somewhat restores my faith in the United States Postal Service. And, I hearby resolve to add her birthday to my calendar, thus sparing me any more awkward, hey, I forgot your birthday, again, moments.

The cake was a chocolate cake from The Perfect Cake by Susan G. Purdy. I was a little concerned about it because it turned out super moist. I mean almost dripping moist. So I let it sit out at room temperature for a while and the moisture seemed to have seeped back into the cake or the air. The frosting was a simple buttercream with half a pack of oreos blended up and mixed in. The filling was oreos. BFF said it was good. We had a leftover layer that was good, so I guess it was good, but the post-baking sogginess was a little too worrisome for me, so I don't think I will make this again.

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Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

From The Perfect Cake by Susan G. Purdy

2 c Sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 ts Salt
1/4 ts Freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 ts Baking soda
4 oz Unsweetened chocolate
1 c Unsalted butter; at room
1 3/4 c Granulated sugar

4 lg Eggs
1 1/3 c Buttermilk

1 ts Vanilla extract

1.Prepare pans: Spread solid shortening on bottom and sides of pan(s), then dust evenly with unsweetened cocoa or flour; tap out excess cocoa or flour. Position shelf in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 325 F (165 C).

2.Sift together the flour, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda. Remove 1 tablespoon of flour mixture and set rest aside.

3.Melt the 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate in the top pan of a double boiler set over hot, not boiling, water. Remove chocolate from heat, stir to make sure it is completely melted and smooth, then set aside to cool until comfortable to touch.

4.In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beaters several times. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5.With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to batter, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in the vanilla and cooled chocolate, blending until the color is even.

6.Turn the mixture into the prepared pan(s). Smooth it level, then spread it slightly from the center toward the edges of the pan so it will rise evenly. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes for the sheet cake, 35 to 45 minutes for layers, or until the top is lightly springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave the cake in its pan(s) on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Top with a second rack and invert; lift off pan(s). Cool the cake completely on the rack. (If splitting layers, use a serrated knife.) Fill and frost the layers. Or leave the sheet cake in its pan to cool, and frost and serve it from the pan, making 3-inch squares.

Toffee Apple French Toast

The local newspaper has a "Cookbook Corner" where a few times a week the author will post a recipe. I have not been impressed with the recipes thus far. The author posts things such as: Creamed Eggs, Old-Time Tuna Bake, Savory Pea Soup with Sausage - things that just don't sound appealing, EVER.
Then, one day, the author posted Toffee Apple French Toast. Now, I am not a lover of French Toast. In fact, I don't like it at all. But I like Toffee and I usually like apples. Now ED on the other hand LOVES French Toast and always wants to make it. So, when I saw this recipe, I decided it would be a good compromise. The only problem with it was that it took WAY longer to cook than 35-45 minutes, even though I halved the recipe. And it isn't a very aesthetically pleasing dish, but it tasted all right, as good as any French Toast can ever taste, I suppose.

Toffee Apple French Toast

• 8 cups cubed French bread (1-inch cubes)

• 2 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 3/4 cups milk, divided

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

• 1/2 cup English toffee bits or almond brickle chips

• 5 eggs

Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish; top with apples. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugars, 1/4 cup milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth; stir in toffee bits. Spread over apples. Top with remaining bread cubes. In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs and remaining milk and vanilla; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate over night.Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.