Moving, Stuff

This is what our life has been looking like lately:



It's actually been surprisingly therapeutic -- cleansing, almost.

Did you know that I had 32 pairs of shoes "stealthily" (as AC put it) hidden away in my closet?? I'm slightly appalled. But at least I had to sort through all of them for the move...I was able to downsize to 29! ;) And who has 3 half-used bottles of cumin in their spice cabinet? And 2 boxes of cornstarch? Yup, apparently us. But those have all been consolidated as well.

Off to more purging and boxes. See you on the other side!



Edit: I talked to my friend, and she said 30 pairs of shoes is normal. Especially if that count includes flip flops. So there.
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Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

6 days! That's how long I was cooped up in our tiny little apartment, sick. I can't even begin to explain how fun that was. Turns out that I had the flu, which then developed into a bronchial infection...which basically meant that I couldn't go 10 minutes without having a major coughing fit. Good times all around.

Anyway, cupcakes always seem make everything better -- especially when they are this good. While I actually made these before I almost died, I do remember talking about how these have become one of our favorite cupcakes so far. Some cupcakes are noticeably dense or crumbly; these are extraordinarily soft, delicate and moist. Black coffee (our secret ingredient for everything!) brings the cake's chocolaty flavor to a "where's my @!&*#$ cup of milk?" level, and the Oreo cookie bits in the cream cheese frosting make everything all the more delectable. I mean really, when can you ever go wrong with Oreos and cupcakes?


In other news, we are moving to Rockridge in less than a week!! We can't wait -- especially for our new kitchen which will be ohhh, about 3x times the size of our current one :D

So yeah, posting will be fairly light over these next couple of weeks as we begin to pack, move, and unpack (who wants to help??). Pictures of the new pad coming shortly!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting
Cake recipe adapted from Hershey's Black Magic Cake
Frosting recipe adapted from Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong black coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 8-0z packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 T vanilla extract
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
5-10 Oreo's, crushed

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (Batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into cupcake tins.

2. Bake about 10-15 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

3. Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Pound Oreo cookies into crumbs, and mix into frosting. Frost cupcakes and serve.
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Real Chicken Noodle Soup

I've been really sick this past week. Fever, migraine, chills, sore throat, body aches, coughing -- the whole nine yards. But guess what I woke up to that made being sick almost worth it?



Even the broth was made from scratch (and love) :D

If homemade chicken noodle soup can't make you feel better, I don't know what will! Once I get out of my delirious state, I'll have to bug AC for the recipe. Not that I'm biased or anything, but you'll definitely want this one. Until then, it's off to bed for some sleep, meds, and more sleep....



Cooking credit goes to this cutie; am I a lucky girl or what?! ;)
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Best. Chili. Ever.

This chili might be the reason why I ended up marrying AC. I know, know -- bold statement. But trust me, you just have to try this chili.


The first time I had this, I almost died from 1 - tastiness and 2 - disbelief that AC's cooking might actually be better than mine! :P Incredibly bold and spicy, this thick chili also has a slight hint of sweetness to it that makes for a very complex flavor. What else would you expect when key ingredients include coffee, dark beer, wasabi, two types of peppers, six different spices, and brown sugar? Traditional staples such as sausage, kidney beans, tomatoes, onions, and beef broth only add more layers of depth.



Anyway, I'm not alone in my sentiments -- family members and friends also LOVE this chili. AC made a triple-batch for his (fishing) bachelor party weekend up in Clear Lake, which was supposed to last the entire weekend, and it was gone after the first night. And every time my parents see us, they ask AC when he's going to make another batch of chili. Yup, it's that good.



Eat this with some Fritos Corn Chips and I guarantee -- wow, I sound like a commercial! -- you'll start a following of your own :)

Washabinaros Chili
Recipe from All Recipes

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
3/4 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing
removed
1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced
tomatoes with juice
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle dark beer
1 cup strong brewed coffee
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon wasabi paste
3 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans
2 Anaheim chile peppers, chopped
1 serrano pepper, chopped
1 habanero pepper, sliced

1. Place 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot and place the pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the onions, garlic, beef and sausage until meats are browned. Pour in the tomatoes, beer, coffee, tomato paste and broth. Season with chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, cayenne, coriander, salt and wasabi. Stir in one can of beans, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat remaining oil. Cook Anaheim, serrano and habanero peppers in oil until just tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir into the pot and simmer 2-3 hours.

3. Stir in remaining 2 cans of beans and cook 1 hour more. Continue reading for recipe...

Cranberry Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust

Now that the holidays are over with, I think we've officially gained 10 lbs. Between Christmas cookies, dinner parties, hot appetizer dips, and holiday chocolates -- not to mention an overdose of my mom's deliciously addictive home cooking -- we are ready to kick 2010 off with some healthy, skeeeny food.



But first, this glorious cheesecake :D

I actually stumbled across this in my search for a recipe that uses fresh cranberries. You see, my family likes to buy things in bulk (if you haven't already noticed) -- and my mom had two HUGE bags of cranberries that she couldn't use up by herself. So naturally, we ended up with one of those bags...wondering what on earth to do with it. Good thing we found this, otherwise we would have been drinking cranberry juice for years.



This festive and luscious cheesecake was made for my auntie's "toned down" new years party, which boasted 28 different food dishes. I say toned down because last year, we had 40-something dishes. Why do we insist on gorging ourselves with so much food? I have no idea. But it's always delicious, and has become a tradition we look forward to every year :)


Anyway, this stunning cheesecake is the perfect dessert for holiday festivities. Not only is the presentation impressive, but it's both delicious and easy to make. Chocoholics (like me) love the rich, chocolate wafer crust. And the cheesecake's light, creamy texture and subtle orange flavor provide the perfect contrast. The highlight, of course, is the bright and slightly tart cranberry compote, which pulls all the flavors together beautifully.



While this cheesecake did a great job of using up some of those cranberries in our fridge, we still have a whole 1/2-bag left. At least this bodes well for our urinary tracts, right? ;)

Cranberry-Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2002

Crust
1 9-ounce box chocolate wafer cookies, broken
2 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 large eggs
3 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Finely grind cookies and chocolate in processor. Add butter; blend until moist clumps form. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 1/4 inches up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

For filling:
Increase oven temperature to 350°F. Wrap 2 layers of heavy-duty foil around bottom and up sides of springform pan. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Beat in flour. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until blended. Beat in orange peel and vanilla.

Pour filling into crust. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake until filling is just set in center but still moves slightly, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove cake from water bath; transfer to rack and cool completely, about 4 hours. Cover and chill overnight.

For topping:
Stir sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; add cornstarch mixture and bring to simmer. Add cranberries; cook until beginning to pop, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Stir in orange peel. Cool completely. Cover and chill overnight. (Cheesecake and cranberry mixture can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Run knife around top edge of cheesecake to loosen. Release pan sides. Top cheesecake with cranberry mixture. Chill until set, about 1 hour.

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Spinach Artichoke Dip

Happy holidays! Just wanted to quickly squeeze this post in because, well...we're less than twelve hours away from 2010 (eekkkkk)! And I made this appetizer dish before Christmas. And I'm at work, you know, working this New Years Eve ;)


Anyway, what a whirlwind of a break (if you can call it that) we've had. My sister came home from NYC for the entire week, so we were literally commuting from SF to the East Bay almost every day: Monday was dinner with all the relatives at The Dead Fish; Wednesday was dinner at Moussy's, followed by a "Black Nativity" show with the parents (my mom's random idea!); Friday was Christmas in Berkeley; and Saturday was helping my dad build kitchen cabinets (AC) and post-Christmas shopping with mom/sis (SC) -- I think I got the better end of the deal!, followed by another family dinner at night. Oh, and AC and I were working the entire week as well. Not that you really care, but that was our holiday :D

And I'm totally NOT complaining -- Christmas wouldn't have been the same without all that family and food. It was soooo fun to have my sister back home for the holidays! There were lots of shared giggles and smiles that week.



Anyway, this warm, creamy, cheesy appetizer is my absolute favorite dish to both eat and make. It's essentially spinach dip with two key additions. Chunks of artichoke hearts, which transform the entire flavor of the dip. And shredded mozzarella, which when melted, makes the dish incredibly cheesy, stringy and gooey. The best part is how it's made. Just combine chopped spinach and artichoke with mozzarella, cream cheese, parmesan, and a little sour cream -- and dunzo! Heat and serve.

Have a great New Years, everyone. And here's to an amazing 2010! :)

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, September 2007

2 C (8-oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 C lowfat sour cream
1/4 C grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t salt
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 (8-oz) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
dash of Tabasco sauce, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1/2 C mozzarella and 2 T parmesan with the rest of the ingredients (sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic, artichoke, cream cheese, spinach, tabasco) in a bowl, stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 8.5 inch pie pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 C mozzarella and remaining 2 T parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.
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Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

No Christmas is a real Christmas without cookies. And now that it's practically here, I had to make this cookie recipe that I'd been eying for a while. Not that these are necessarily Christmas cookies, but they are equally special and decadent -- if not better.



I got this recipe from the lovely Dorie Greenspan, who says: "These cookies are chocolate sables, French shortbreads, but because they've got more brown sugar than white in them, they've got more chew than most shortbreads. They've also got a generous amount of dark chocolate chunks and enough fleur de sel (moist, coarse-grained French "finishing" salt) to make them noticeably salty and completely addictive, in the way so many good things with salt are."


She had me at French shortbreads -- I was looking for a rich, buttery cookie with a crisp yet crumbly texture. But when I read the words chocolate and fleur de sel? I got pretty excited; you can't get a better combination than that.

While the contrast between sweet and salty is definitely prevalent in this cookie, it's really the intensity of the chocolate that makes it so addictive. The fleur de sel is what does it -- with just a pinch of salt, the complexity and flavor of the dark chocolate really comes out without being overwhelmingly sweet. Bonus points for the little bits of bittersweet chocolate pieces that are mixed into the cookie as well.



Good thing I made this while our close friends were staying with us this past weekend. Otherwise, it would have been a very dangerous Christmas for our tummies...;)

World Peace Cookies
Baking: From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup high quality, unsweetened cocoa powder such as Valrhona or Scharffenberger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.

Mix in the flour until it disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

SERVING: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature — I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest — and are best suited to cold milk or hot coffee.

STORING: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months.
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Pumpkin Bread w/ Raisins and Walnuts

T-minus eight days until Christmas....eeeekkkk!! Last I checked, it was just Thanksgiving and our waistlines were still recovering from the damage. Now it's already the season of Christmas cookies and office holiday treats?? When time flies this fast, it must mean you're really getting old!

Anyway, this pumpkin bread is one of our favorite holiday traditions during this time of the year. If you haven't noticed, tradition = food in our household. The recipe actually comes from another old family friend (who owns a vineyard in Napa, btw!), so this has been around in my family for years. AC likes it because it has a very smooth pumpkin taste -- not too sweet nor spicy. I love it because the texture is insanely moist and soft from the pumpkin puree. Plump, juicy raisins and little bits of walnuts tie the whole ensemble together perfectly.



I sometimes eat this with a nice, thick layer of cream cheese spread over each slice. I grew up doing this -- that, as well as eating avocado topped with mayonnaise as our "vegetables" for dinner -- and it makes each bite absolutely divine. It's similar to a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting, only a bit more calm/grounded and not as cracked-out-in-sugar (if you know what I mean). Besides, isn't everything better with cream cheese? ;)

Phyllis's Pumpkin Bread
Recipe adapted from Phyllis, an old family friend

2/3 C butter, room temperature
2 2/3 C sugar
4 eggs
1 lb canned pumpkin
2/3 C water

3 1/3 C flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
1 C raisins
2/3 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, pumpkin and water. Mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Add to butter bowl, and stir until just mixed in. Add raisins and chopped walnuts.

Divide batter between two 9x5 loaf tins. Bake about 50 minutes, until done. Continue reading for recipe...