Hazelnut Cheesecake

I have a cache of dessert recipes that I am just waiting for a special occasion to make. Fortunately, my sister Rachel's birthday is this week, so I decided to bake something for her. I have a bunch of cupcake recipes I have been wanting to try from "Cupcakes: From the Cake Mix Doctor" by Anne Byrn, but wanted to make sure whatever I chose to make was something Rachel would like, so I sent her a list of flavors and asked which she liked best. This was her response:

mm chocolate and peanut butter! unless it's chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, bc i'm not crazy about chocolate cake or frosting in general... then i would say chocolate cream cheese (unless that's the same with cake =chocolate and frosting=cream cheese), or maybe cinnamon toast? definately not lemon, margarita, or key lime. pry not orange-almond either.
So at that moment I gave up on cupcakes and decided to make a cheesecake instead. =) I had a recipe for hazelnut cheesecake from Maryana Vollstedt that I had also wanted to make. I really love Maryana Vollstedt's cookbooks because they are filled with recipes that are appealing, accessible, and easy, but also unique. This recipe did not disappoint. I did end up having to buy a bottle of hazelnut liqueur, which made this an expensive endeavor, but I'm sure I can find another use for the leftover.

Graham Cracker-Hazelnut Crust
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, about 20 squares, broken up
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature, cut up
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur
2 eggs

Topping
1 cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon hazelnut liqueur

To make crust, in food processor process crackers, nuts, and sugar until mixture is fine. With motor running, add butter through the tube. Process until mixture is blended. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate and with fingers press against the bottom and sides of plate. Refrigerate 1o minutes while making filling. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make filling, in food processor combine all filling ingredients. Process until well blended, about 1 minute. Scrape down filling in food processor with a spatula to aid in mixing. Turn mixture into uncooked crust. Bake until filling is set, about 30 minutes.

To make topping, in a small bowl stir together all ingredients and set aside. Remove cheesecake from oven and spread topping over. Return to oven and bake 1o minutes longer. Cool on wire rack. When cool, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Cut into wedges for serving.

Dr. Feelgood

A few weeks ago, I went to the Columbus Arts Festival with my mom and sisters. It was an extremely sunny and hot day, and we were sweating like crazy. We decided to go in someplace to grab a drink and cool down, so we headed to the Surly Girl Saloon. Surly Girl has a great beer selection, so that's usually what I have. I'm not much into cocktails and usually don't order them because I prefer to have something less strong that I can sip more frequently. But on this occasion my mom ordered a drink called the "Dr. Feelgood" and I'm so glad she did because she let me taste it and it was fantastic. It was pretty simple: the menu said it was vanilla vodka and Diet Dr. Pepper.

I decided to try to recreate it at home, so I bought those two ingredients. I have found a combination that works for me: fill a pint glass about 2/3 full with ice cubes, pour in about 1 and 3/4 shots of vanilla vodka, fill the rest of the glass with Diet Dr. Pepper, and top it off with a maraschino cherry and a bit of cherry juice. It actually tastes even better when Jason makes it, although I haven't figured that out because he does it exactly the same as me as far as I can tell. I think my mom has tried to recreate this drink at her house as well so I'll have to find out what her recipe has been.

Raging Garlic Pork Stir-Fry

And I'm back, with another underexposed and out-of-focus photo! This was another hit recipe from the "Fix, Freeze, Feast" cookbook, which also brought us the Cajun Braised Skillet Chops. I think I love this cookbook. I was a little nervous about making this recipe, because Jason is adamant about disliking Chinese food. It isn't necessarily Chinese food per-se, but I was afraid when he heard the words stir-fry Jason would assume it was and automatically dislike it. To my pleasant surprise, he actually liked it. His comments were, "It tasted a lot better than it smelled" and "I was glad it wasn't sweet." (Apparently one of the reasons he is so opposed to Chinese food is that he really dislikes sweet meat. I, on the other hand, love it... give me some Orange Chicken or General Tso's any day!)

This recipe was designed to make 4 frozen entrees that are cooked individually later. I'll give the recipe as written, and then explain how I made a single entree immediately.

1 pork loin (about 8 pounds; do not use tied pork loin roast)
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
8 teaspoons minced garlic (about 24 cloves)
1 teaspoon (or to taste) crushed red pepper flakes
4 large onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 large green bell peppers, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 one-gallon freezer bags, labeled
12 one-quart freezer bags
On hand for cooking each entree:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup cornstarch

1. Rinse and trim loin as desired. Cut pork into bite-size cubes; divide evenly among four of the 1-quart bags. Seal.

2. Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in a medium bowl. Divide the marinade evenly among four 1-quart bags. Into each bag of sauce measure 2 teaspoons garlic and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper. Seal.

3. Divide onions and bell peppers evenly among the remaining 1-quart bags. Seal.

4. Into each of the 1-gallon bags, place a bag of pork, a bag of sauce, and a bag of peppers and onions. Seal and freeze.

To cook one entree:
1. Completely thaw one entree in the refrigerator.

2. Pour off and discard any accumulated liquid from the bag of pork. Add 1/2 cup cornstarch; seal bag and shake to coat the meat.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and stir-fry until thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes. Add vegetables and sauce. Stir-fry just until vegetables are tender crisp.

Making a single entree was actually really easy. Instead of getting a pork loin I used about 1 pound of boneless pork loin chops. I only needed 1 onion and 1 green bell pepper and used 1/4 of everything else (i.e., 3/8 c soy sauce, 1/8 c white wine vinegar, 1/2 T sugar, 2 t minced garlic, 1/4 t red pepper flakes). Once I mixed up the sauce and sliced the meat and veggies it was ready to go. I thought 1/2 cup of cornstarch was way too much. If I make this again I'll start with 1/4 cup, shake, and then see if I need any more.

I served the stir-fry with white rice. It was a really tasty meal and I will definitely make it again!

Southwestern-Style Torta

This recipe is one I clipped from the Columbus Dispatch awhile ago. No photos of this one, unfortunately... it just didn't come out very pretty. I had trouble slicing through the bottom layer of tortilla and then when I tried to plate the slices everything spilled everywhere. So I opted not to photograph this dish because I didn't want to turn anyone off, but please know that it's delicious! I will definitely make it again and will try to resolve the messiness next time (although I'm not sure yet how).

Southwestern-Style Torta
3 to 5 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil
7 large flour tortillas
1 pound ground sausage
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno chili, diced (optional)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup (6 ounces) grated Monterey Jack cheese
8 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 green onions, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil. Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Use 5 tortillas to line perimeter of pan, then use 1 tortilla in center of pan to cover bottom. Brush more butter over the tortillas.

In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, saute sausage until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeno (if used), chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, oregano, and cumin. Cook until onion is tender, about 10 minutes.

Spoon sausage mixture into tortilla-lined pan. Cover sausage with beans and cheese.

In the same skillet over medium heat, add remaining butter. When melted, add eggs and stir until softly cooked and still moist. Stir in remaining salt, pepper, and green onions. Spoon eggs over beans and cheese, pressing to firm layers. Place remaining tortilla over eggs and brush with remaining butter.

Bake 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

To unmold, loosen edges with a knife; remove pan sides. Loosen bottom, then remove pan bottom. Peel away foil. Cut into wedges and serve.

The Best Chili You Will Ever Taste

The title of this post is actually the title of the recipe as it's posted on recipezaar.com, not my assertion. I was intrigued by this chili recipe because it contains coffee and cocoa so I had been wanting to try it for quite awhile. I finally made it last weekend, and it actually was really delicious, except for one key flaw: I realize now that I really don't like sirloin in my chili. I just don't like the texture of it and prefer only ground beef instead. So I would definitely make this again but without the sirloin.

(I'm posting the recipe as it was written, but when I made it I halved it and I didn't include the chili peppers.)

2	teaspoons oil
2	onions, chopped
3	cloves garlic, minced
1	lb lean ground beef
3/4	lb beef sirloin, cubed
1 (14 1/2	ounce) can diced tomatoes
1	can dark beer
1	cup strong coffee
2 (6	ounce) cans tomato paste
1	can beef broth
1/2	cup brown sugar
3 1/2	tablespoons chili sauce
1	tablespoon cumin
1	tablespoon cocoa
1	teaspoon oregano
1	teaspoon cayenne
1	teaspoon coriander
1	teaspoon salt
4 (15	ounce) cans kidney beans
4	chili peppers, chopped

1. Heat oil.
2. Cook onions, garlic and meat until brown.
3. Add tomatoes, beer, coffee, tomato paste and beef broth.
4. Add spices Stir in 2 cans of kidney beans and peppers.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
6. Add 2 remaining cans of kidney beans and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Cream Cheese Squares

I have no picture to accompany this recipe, but I have to share it. This is quite possibly the easiest and most satisfying dessert ever.

This can easily be doubled and made in a 13 x 9 inch pan instead.

1 (8 oz) can crescent rolls

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons white sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 inch square pan. Unroll crescent rolls and press 1/2 of them into bottom of pan. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Spread over crescent roll layer. Place remaining crescent rolls on top. Pour melted butter over entire pan and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until top is crisp and brown. Serve warm. Can also be refrigerated once cooled.

Cajun Braised Skillet Chops

The posts have been a little few and far between here lately, but last night I was inspired to blog again when Jason and I made this recipe for dinner. It was a hit with both of us. Jason usually doesn't help me in the kitchen. He often offers, but usually I've got things under control. And since he doesn't cook it's sometimes hard to figure out what to have him do. But last night he just jumped in and did about half the work on this dish. I think he felt a little sorry for me after the craziness of the past few days...

It started on Saturday, when I decided to do some yardwork. We have a very overgrown forsythia bush in our backyard that had a lot of dead branches, and I decided to thin them out. At times I was kind of crawling underneath and inside the bush, and I got scratched by branches a few times. Very early Sunday morning, I woke up because I was itching uncontrollably and was scratching myself in my sleep. My first thought was that we had bed bugs! I took some Benadryl and went back to sleep. When I woke up later I was still pretty itchy but also felt really sick to my stomach, possibly from taking the Benadryl on an empty stomach. Unfortunately it was the day of Jason's graduation from law school, and I was almost in tears because I couldn't believe I was feeling sick on such an important day. I was mostly itchy on my scalp and neck, and Jason could see that I had a little bit of a rash on my hairline. We deduced that it must be a poison ivy rash from the yardwork I had been doing the day before. I took some more Benadryl and some Pepto-Bismol and hoped I would make it through the graduation and dinner afterwards.

Everything went great with the festivities, although I eventually decided that the itchiness was the lesser of two evils, so I stopped taking Benadryl and my stomach started feeling better. But my scalp was itching like crazy. By Sunday evening, the rash was starting to appear on my neck and I was getting a few blotches on my face. Jason and I decided that if things were worse the next day I should try to see the doctor. Well on Monday morning when I woke up, things were MUCH worse. My face was completely swollen. My eyelids were puffy and my lips looked like I had gotten some really bad collagen injections. I had splotches of rash on my chest, arms, and back. I couldn't get in to see my primary care doctor, so I went to the urgent care. The doctor there told me it wasn't poison ivy but hives (and that perhaps it was still from the yardwork if I had gotten exposed to something I was allergic to). He sent me home with a prescription for Prednisone, and said that it should help clear things up pretty quickly.

As Monday went on, my hives continued to get much worse. They continued to spread, and my trunk was almost completely covered. New spots appeared every few minutes and they were bright red and swollen. Jason said, "your skin looks really angry." And the itching was out of control. I felt like my skin was burning. At the rate things were going, I was afraid to see how bad it could get. At 1:00 am I asked Jason if he could take me to the emergency room.

The ER experience was okay, except that it was a little scary (and annoying) that the doctor obviously hadn't looked at my chart before she came in to see me. Despite the fact that I had given all the details about my situation to both the triage nurse and the ER nurse, the doctor came into the room, barely looked at me, and said, "Okay, what we're doing to do is give you a prescription for Prednisone. That's a steroid and it should help clear up your hives." I said, "I started taking Prednisone earlier today after I went to the urgent care, and things have gotten MUCH WORSE since then." Her reply was something like, "Oh, I didn't know that. Hmm...."

What she ended up doing was giving me some more steroids and antihistamines through an IV. After probably 45 minutes or so the itching had stopped and some of the swelling had gone down. I laid there for a few hours while all the fluids went though. I slept for awhile but poor Jason stayed awake the whole night sitting in a chair beside me. At around 6 am on Tuesday I left with orders to continue to take the Prednisone as well as Benadryl and Pepcid (apparently to prevent stomach irritation caused by the other two drugs?). I still had the hives but things looked much better and I felt much better. We went home and slept until early afternoon, and by late Tuesday afternoon my hives had completely disappeared. It was pretty amazing to see how quickly my skin could transform. The exciting conclusion of the story is that probably nobody at work believes I had hives (I really wish I had taken a picture before I went to the hospital... not that anybody would want to see it but just because it was so wild), and I'm being referred to an allergist to try to determine what caused the hives.

Okay so hopefully that little story didn't completely turn everyone off from thinking about food, because this recipe is fantastic! :-) It's from a cookbook called Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik. The idea behind the book is to make multiple batches of a recipe at once and freeze them in portions. I love this method of cooking, but I'm always hesitant to make multiple entrees of something we haven't tried yet, in case we don't like it. This was was difficult to halve because it required opening cans of vegetables, so what we ended up doing was making all of the veggies/sauce and freezing half, but only using half of the meat. So keep in mind that the recipe is written for 2 entrees, and the directions are for freezing it rather than cooking it right away, and adapt as necessary.

1 tray (6-8 pounds, or 12 chops) boneless pork loin chops
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons black pepper
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can sweet corn, drained
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can petite-cut tomatoes
2/3 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 one-gallon freezer bags, labeled
2 one-quart freezer bags

on hand for cooking each entree: 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Rinse and trim chops as desired.

2. Lay out two shallow dishes. Put the egg whites in one dish. Mix the Parmesan, pepper, and Cajun seasoning in the other. Dip the chops into the egg, then dredge in Parmesan coating.

3. Place each chop onto a rimmed baking sheet. When all chops are coated, place in the freezer for 1 hour. Discard remaining egg and Parmesan mixture.

4. Into each 1-quart freezer bag measure 2/3 cup chicken broth, 2/3 cup corn, 2/3 cup tomatoes, 1/3 cup onion, and 1 tablespoon garlic. Seal.

5. Divide frozen chops evenly among the 1-gallon freezer bags. Place one bag tomato mixture into each bag of chops.

6. Seal and freeze.

To cook one entree:
1. Completely thaw one entree in the refrigerator.

2. Heat oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Fry chops 3 minutes on each side; remove from the pan.

3. Pour broth and vegetables into pan. Gently scrape browned bits from the bottom; reduce heat to medium-low. Return chops to pan. Simmer, covered, 15 to 20 minutes, turning chops occasionally, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chop reads 160 F.