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A tale of time and taste: Sour cherry cream cheese coffee cake

Sour Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake4

Some recipes are wonderfully simple and can be whipped up in a flash. You don’t really have to plan for them (aside from having the ingredients), they’re easy enough to make while your mind juggles other matters, and you can mix them up in the time it takes for your toddler to pull out everything but the last two travel mugs from her favorite kitchen cabinet. Cookies, brownies and muffins all fall in that category for me: the anytime category. Sometimes timing is everything, and the timing you need is fast. But this is not one of those recipes.

Sour Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake8

Sour Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake7

This is one of those recipes for which you make the list ahead of time and have a baby wrangler on standby. But don’t let that scare you because it’s well worth the effort!

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Sometimes you just have to get your hands dirty, make a mess of a half dozen bowls and work those oft forgotten muscles that nothing but a good kneading seems able to reach. Sometimes you need to remind yourself that those lovely cakes lining the glass of the local bakery didn’t appear in an instant, that they were lovingly poured over by a hard-working baker, probably in the wee hours of the morning. This will also serve to remind you exactly why a slice of cake can run you $4 a pop. Oy!

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Again I have to say, please don’t be scared off by all of this effort. This cake, though time-consuming, is still relatively simple at its core, as is true with most baking. It’s just a matter of following instructions and enjoying the process. And maybe keeping the kiddos out of the kitchen for a pinch (though a bowl filled with plastic cookie cutters does work as 15 minutes’ worth of wonderful distraction).

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In the end, your efforts will be rewarded. Sour cherries and cream cheese make a winning combination, and when baked into a yeasted coffee cake, magical things happen. The cake is rich, sweet and gigantic, which really is ideal because all that time in the kitchen deserves at least a few extra slices.

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Sour Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Sour Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Adapted just slightly from Martha Stewart

For the cake:
• ¼-ounce envelope (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons plus a pinch granulated sugar
• ¾ cup whole milk, warmed to 110 degrees F
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• zest of ½ lemon
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for bowl and parchment
• 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream for egg wash
• 1 ½ cups pitted fresh of thawed frozen sour cherries

For the filling:
• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg yolk
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

For the glaze:
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

To make the dough: Whisk the yeast and a pinch of sugar into the milk in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. In the meantime, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar, the egg, egg yolk and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add the foamy yeast mixture, and whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk together the flour, kosher salt and lemon zest. Add the egg mixture, and beat on low until it’s fully combined, about 30 seconds. Switch the paddle attachment for the dough hook, add the butter and beat at a low speed (I used speed 2 on my KitchenAid mixer) for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, soft and slightly sticky.

Butter a large bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead it a few times until it’s smooth. Place it in the buttered bowl, turn it so it gets coated with the butter, and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand in a warm place for 1 ½ to 2 hours until it has doubled in volume.

To make the filling: Stir together the cream cheese, egg yolk and confectioners’ sugar. Once the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down and transfer it to a floured work surface. Let it stand for 5 minutes.

Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 20 by 16 inches (about 1/8 inch thick). Brush the edges with egg wash. Spread the cream cheese filling over the dough, and top that with the cherries. Starting with one of the longer ends, tightly roll the dough like a jelly roll, and pinch the seam to seal. Roll the jelly roll into a snail shape on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet. Brush the top with egg wash.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and let it stand in a warm place for about 30 minutes, until it has risen by half.

Remove the plastic wrap, and cut six ½-inch slits into the top of the dough. Bake the cake, rotating halfway through, for about 55 minutes, until it is golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Continue baking the cake until it is deeply golden, 15 to 20 more minutes (cover with foil if top gets too dark). Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cake cool.

To make the glaze: Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and milk. Drizzle it over the cooled cake. Let it set for 5 minutes before serving, until the glaze has hardened a bit.

Sour Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake3

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This cake officially joins the ranks of our company-approved menu items. Not only is it delicious, but it can also be made ahead and tastes just as good the next day. Make and bake it the night before, then save the glazing for the morning, right before serving. You might even get some oohs and ahs as you drizzle on those finishing touches. Or at the very least, feel free to ooh and ah yourself. Mm, good cake.

XO,
Katrina

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by Katrina Tauchen on April 1, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Katrina Tauchen on April 1, 2013

http://splashofsomething.com/2013/04/01/a-tale-of-time-and-taste-sour-cherry-cream-cheese-coffee-cake/

Pretty in pictures, lovely in words: Orange and cranberry fairy buns

Fairy Buns2

When I’m cruising Pinterest or flipping through cookbooks or magazines, it’s usually the photos that pull me toward a recipe. I consider myself a writer much more so than a photographer or baker, so I do feel a bit shameful in admitting that I’m so easily influenced by visuals first and words second, but when push comes to shove, we’d probably rather eat a gorgeous-looking cupcake than a wonderfully worded ode to its light and airy texture.

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Pictures are powerful, though it’s good to remember that there are always exceptions. Every so often I happen across a lovely recipe whose text wins me over, and those are the days when I breathe a sigh of relief in knowing that the written word is still pretty powerful, too. I’ve written about my Avoca cookbooks before, and even though I flip through them often, I love that I still find new nuggets of wordy wisdom nestled within their pages. For instance, in Avoca Tea Time, it reads: “Measurements are more exact [in baking] than in any other branch of cooking, but too often this is taken literally. You need to feel your ingredients. There is no point in adding all the milk if the mixture ends up looking sloppy. Be patient and explore.”

This recipe for fairy buns is adapted from Avoca Tea Time as well and won me almost entirely with its name. I baked them on Sunday, which happened to be St. Patrick’s Day. Now whether you envision fairies as friendly pixies or devious mischief-makers, most would agree that fairies and leprechauns go hand in hand, so fairy buns seemed an appropriate treat for the day. Although the cookbook offered no photo to show me what to expect, it warned that these treats are “a favourite for children’s parties, but it is well worth making an excess as adults seem to rather enjoy them, too.” I heeded their advice — and was quite glad for it.

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Words are wonderful. Of course, photos never hurt. While mixing the fairy buns, I was patient and explored, as the cookbook advised, and found myself adding citrus and cranberries to liven up the tiny treats, which made for even happier, sunnier shots. It was actually a rather dreary day outside, but oranges are great at brightening, in flavor, in words and in photos.

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Fairy Buns

Orange and Cranberry Fairy Buns
Adapted from Avoca Tea Time

• 120 grams unsalted butter
• 120 grams sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 150 grams all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• zest of two oranges (about 2 teaspoons)
• 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice
• ½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 150 grams confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons warm water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and line muffin tins with 18 muffin papers. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the orange zest, and mix until well combined.

In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the orange juice, and mix until well combined. Add the eggs alternately with the flour mixture, and blend until just combined. Gently fold in the cranberries.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins, and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out just clean.

Stir together the confectioners’ sugar and water in a small bowl until well combined. Then, once the buns have cooled for a little while, spread the icing over their tops, letting it drizzle a bit down the sides.

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How do you go about choosing recipes? Do you flip through photos? Look for certain ingredients? Jump on board anything with a zippy title? Do tell!

XO,
Katrina

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by Katrina Tauchen on March 19, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Katrina Tauchen on March 19, 2013

http://splashofsomething.com/2013/03/19/pretty-in-pictures-lovely-in-words-orange-and-cranberry-fairy-buns/

Life without a microwave: Brown butter Rice Krispies treats

Brown Butter Rice Krispies

We have no microwave in our home, and we haven’t since we moved here a year and a half ago. As apartment dwellers, we’ve spent the past five-plus years relying on the appliances our rentals provide, and when we moved here, there was no microwave. Gallant folks that we are, we decided to trudge on without one.

Funnily enough, the people our no-microwave situation seemed to affect the most were our respective moms. Both offered their condolences at our lack of a microwave, both offered suggestions as to where in our tiny apartment we might house one, and both even offered to buy us one should we decide the void was too great. They were sweet to offer, and zapping leftovers is a convenience I do miss on occasion, but the truth is, we made adjustments and are getting on just fine without one (though I will admit that I have yet to find a reasonable means of reheating my mom’s coffee when she visits, after she tops it off with a healthy glug of milk. Hmm…).

This no-microwave backstory is important to this post because it is precisely how my mom came to accidently invent something awesome. While she was staying at our house for a few weeks after Beany was born, she volunteered to make a batch of Rice Krispies treats (a family tradition that we can eat by the tray-full — seriously). She ran out to Target, bought all of the ingredients and was in the kitchen ready to whip them up before my post-pregnancy brain remembered we had no microwave in which to make them. No bother, she said. She’d make them on the stove.

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Long story short, we got to chatting, the butter got to bubbling, and it wasn’t until we heard it sputtering from the stovetop that we realized what was going on. After considering starting over, my mom decided to take her chances and finish the batch anyway. And it was from that near disaster that our first batch of brown butter Rice Krispies treats was born. When I’m 100, I’ll still think of it as one of my mom’s greatest culinary achievements. She made them for us at least two more times that visit.

For a good 15 months I’ve been crediting my mom as the inventor of brown butter Rice Krispies treats and the greatest accidental dish of all time, but just this weekend, while flipping through The Essential New York Times Cookbook, I found a nearly identical recipe. Craziness! I suppose what this really means is that my mom was inadvertently rolling with the culinary big dogs. Top Chef, watch out.

The recipe shown here is a hybrid of the NYT version and my mom’s. Although they aren’t the typical gooey treats you might remember from school, they make up for it with a rich, caramel-like flavor. They’re super chewy but pretty crunchy as well. I suggest cutting them into small bite-size squares for easy snacking.

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Caramelized Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats

Adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook (Amanda Hesser, p. 708)

• 1 cup salted butter, plus more for buttering pan
• 1 16-ounce bag of marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 ounces Rice Krispies cereal

Butter an 11-by-17-inch baking dish or rimmed baking sheet, and set it aside. Melt 1 cup of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once it melts, it will start to foam. Stir occasionally as the butter turns to a clear golden color. It will then start to turn brown and smell nutty. Watch closely, and continue to stir often.

Once the butter is evenly browned, stir in the marshmallows and vanilla. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the mixture turns pale brown. Then stir constantly until it is lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add the cereal and mix until well combined. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, and press down lightly. Let the mixture cool, and then cut it into small squares.

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Have you had any wonderful kitchen disasters lately? Botched recipes turned awesome? And is anyone else out there trucking on without a microwave? Do tell!

XO,
Katrina

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by Katrina Tauchen on February 27, 2013  •  Permalink
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Minding our Ps and Qs: Ricotta Lemon Bars

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Nothing makes you reevaluate your words, actions and unintentional mannerisms quite like spending your days with a 2-foot-tall mimic. Toddlers come with an innate talent for reflecting the good, not-so-good and do-I-really-do-that kinds of qualities in the people around them, and our Beany girl has taken to this age-required aptitude with zeal.

Our regular conversations are often interrupted with questions like, “Where did she learn to nod like a bobble-head while babbling on the phone?” “Who taught her to squeal like a wild woman every time ‘Jingle Bells’ starts playing?” “Where did she learn to make monster faces and sniff like a puppy dog when she thinks something’s really funny?”

Well, here’s looking at you, Katrina and Jared — the Christmas-loving, phone-babbling, monster-face-making both of you.

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Of course, it’s always a happy surprise when those cute little quirks are accompanied by something downright mannerly, and it seems that, at least for Beany, dessert can be quite the catalyst for some pint-sized Emily Post-approved moments. Although she’d never before seen these ricotta lemon bars, with their buttery crust, zingy filling and powered snow-covered tops, she knew they were something special. So with big eyes, hands moving together in her signature “more” action and lips puckered like she’d already been tasting the leftover lemons, Beany began whispering, “Ppp, ppp, ppp.” Never mind that it’s only the first syllable of “please,” really just the first letter. In a sea Christmas music, silly expressions and early attempts at the ABCs, that sweet bean is learning to mind her Ps and Qs.

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Ricotta Lemon Bars
Adapted slightly from Kukla, Food52

For the crust:
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes pieces

For the filling:
• ¾ cup fresh whole-milk ricotta, drained
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• ½ cup fresh lemon, strained
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper, and then layer another piece crosswise over that.

To make the crust: Place the flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and salt in a food processer, and pulse to combine. Add butter, and pulse about 10-15 times, until it resembles course meal.

Pour the crust in the lined pan, and press it firmly into the bottom until it forms an even layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, and then bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is a light golden brown.

To make the filling: Whisk together the ricotta, eggs, sugar and flour until well blended. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and salt, and stir to combine.

Once the crust is done baking, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Give the filling another stir, and then pour it into the warm crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set and firm to a light touch.

Allow the lemon bars to cool completely on a wire rack, and then transfer them to a cutting board to cut into 18 2-inch squares (for clean lines, wipe the knife between cuts).

Dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve.

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XO,
Katrina

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by Katrina Tauchen on February 5, 2013  •  Permalink
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Worth a second chance: The meatball sandwich

Meatball Sandwich

While surfing Pinterest on Saturday afternoon, I came across a DIY tutorial for turning a men’s collared shirt into a super cute women’s top, complete with an adorable bow around the neck. Like many pins, it came with the overly enthusiastic sell, something like: “SO TOTES EASY! Turn your man’s shirt into a cute weekend look for you. This is AMAZING! Pin now, read later.” Apparently, I’m an easy sell. That, or I was simply wooed by the promise of a chambray polka dot blouse. Either way, I showed the pin to Jared, who was sitting on the couch next to me. “Um, OK,” he said, less than enthusiastically. “But where are you supposed to find a guy’s shirt like that?” Alas, albeit for a few spotted ties, the man does not dress in polka dots.

I’m a sucker for second chances, and though I probably wouldn’t have actually broken out the scissors even if Jared did have a polka dot chambray shirt hidden away in the back of the closet, I do love the idea of putting a new spin on an old favorite. My mom spent most of my childhood transforming secondhand furniture into amazing new pieces with little more than paint. And my little sister could probably wear the same outfit five days in row with no one the wiser simply by wielding her accessorizing super power. If paint and necklaces have taught me anything, it’s that sometimes it doesn’t take much to make you feel — and look — brand new.

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With neither shirts to deconstruct nor furniture to paint this weekend, I turned my attention toward the kitchen, which, suffice it to say, is always looking rather hollow by the end of week. There were a few handfuls of spinach, provolone cheese and meatballs leftover from Friday night’s spaghetti. “Make it work,” Tim Gunn said. No, wait, that wasn’t Tim Gunn. That was low blood sugar. The characters of my hunger-induced delirium are always rather bossy.

Real or not, I think Mr. Gunn would be proud. Jared ran out and picked up a few rolls from our favorite Durham bakery, Guglhupf. Then from the confines of our humble supplies, the meatball sandwich was born.

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The Meatball Sandwich

• meatballs (see recipe here)
• marinara sauce
• provolone cheese
• a handful of fresh baby spinach
• freshly ground black pepper
• good bread

Heat the meatballs until they’re warm enough to serve. Layer a bed of spinach, three or four meatballs, a bit of marinara sauce and a thin slice of provolone on a piece of good bread. Pop both halves of the bread (the layered piece and the empty topper) under the broiler until the edges begin to brown and the cheese melts. Add some freshly ground black pepper, put the sandwich together, and enjoy!

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What’s your take on new spins? Do you reinvent recipes? Outfits? Décor? I’d love to hear about it!

XO,
Katrina

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by Katrina Tauchen on January 29, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Katrina Tauchen on January 29, 2013

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The princess and the baked good

CappuccinoMuffins

There’s a kitchen battle waging in our house lately, reoccurring like clockwork at noon and 6 p.m. each day, and ironically, the instigator is the littlest among us. Our 14-month-old daughter, whose expanding palate and mighty will we find both glorious and challenging at the same time, has wholeheartedly embraced her culinary preferences as means for self-expression. Of course, this whole concept sounds much more highbrow than it plays out in reality (i.e. all “unacceptable” fare taking a nosedive from highchair tray to floor after little more than a brief inspection). Thus begins our simultaneous journey of encouraging free expression whilst squelching Beany’s desire to throw plates. Parenthood, right?

I fear my baking has only increased the Bean’s taste tenacity lately. She was still on the outskirts of Sickville last week, with a less-than-usual appetite, so I thought it would be fun to bake her something special that she’d be willing to snack on. I whipped up some banana tea muffins (keeping in mind that they’re low on sugar and reasonably healthy if paired with a cup of milk) and gave her half of one when she woke from her afternoon nap. The girl went nuts. She gobbled it down, clapped mid-bite and smooshed her little hands around the plate to ensure ne’er a crumb was missed. This was quickly followed by the sign for “more.” Repeatedly.

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Well, long story short-ish, her eyes have been opened. She now knows that chicken is not banana muffin. Pears are not banana muffin. Even bananas are not banana muffin. All of this equates to one hard truth at mealtime: [Fill in the blank] is not banana muffin, and my parents are denying me joy.

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So the battle journey continues. Beany is still quite happy to try new things (mushroom and spinach risotto was a big hit yesterday), though nothing elicits quite as loud of squeal as seeing muffin cups pulled out from the pantry.

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So what does all this have to do with the cappuccino chocolate chip muffins you see above? Nothing really, besides being another joy of which we must deprive poor Beany (You know, because baby + espresso = bad news bears). I actually baked these the day after I made those banana tea muffins, perhaps because I yearned for the chance to consume something with Beany’s level of gusto. And if delightful consumption is what you’re after, then chocolate and coffee are certainly good places to start. No, Jared and I didn’t smoosh the crumbs on our plates or squeal between bites, but that’s not for lack of love. Toddlers have a sort of zeal that you just can’t bottle.

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Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted slightly from The Kitchy Kitchen

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½  teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons espresso powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and line 12 muffins tins with paper muffins cups.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until it’s light and creamy. Add the sugars, and beat until fluffy.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and espresso, until the coffee granules have dissolved a bit (mine never dissolved completely, which worked out just fine). Add the egg and vanilla. Then pour the milk/espresso/egg mixture into the butter/sugar combo, and mix until well blended.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined (be careful not to overmix!). Fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups ¾ full, and bake for 16 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan as soon as they’re cool enough, and then cool them completely on a wire rack.

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XO,
Katrina

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by Katrina Tauchen on January 23, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Katrina Tauchen on January 23, 2013

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A cure for what ails you: Roasted vegetable soup

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Wintertime is wonderful for so many reasons, but getting a cold is not one of them. Unfortunately, a seasonal bout of sickies befell our casa last week. The grownups of the house are still in the thick of it, but little Beany is thankfully on the mends and rapidly gaining back all that toddler energy. And by gaining back that toddler energy, I mean tearing down the hall at lightning speed while her Kleenex-toting parents trot behind her like robots low on batteries. Zoom, zoom, zoom. Clunk.

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Planning a menu amidst sniffles and sneezes is precarious work, especially when you have three separate diners to consider. Admittedly, our meals have been a little hodgepodge lately as a result, but we did manage to get all human members of the household around the table for the same meal recently. This roasted vegetable soup is incredibly simple to make, completely adaptable to the ingredients you have on hand and will warm you up in an instant. Even Beany got in on the action, gobbling up parsnips and squash like she owned the place. And this from the girl who wanted little more than yogurt and oranges for three straight days. It must have been just what that little tummy needed. Veggies do a body good.

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Roasted Vegetable Soup
Adapted slightly from Barefoot Contessa Family Style (p. 33)

• 1 ½ pounds carrots, peeled
• 1 pound parsnips, peeled
• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
• 1 butternut squash
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 6-8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cover two rimmed baking sheets with foil, and set aside.

Cut the carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes and squash into 1-inch cubes. Divide them evenly between the two baking sheets, and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, toss so the vegetables are evenly coated and arrange them in a single layer. Bake for 20, then give everything a good toss. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

In two batches, place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add 2 to 3 cups of chicken broth and 1 tablespoon of parsley, and pulse the soup into a course puree (I like more texture in my soup, so I left some larger vegetable pieces, but if you prefer a super smooth texture, just puree it a bit longer). Pour the puree into a large pot.

Reheat the soup, and add more chicken broth as need to reach your desired consistency. Season to taste.

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What’s your favorite warm-you-up dish? Do you have a go-to recipe for when the cold monster strikes? Do tell!

XO,
Katrina

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by Katrina Tauchen on January 14, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Katrina Tauchen on January 14, 2013

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A snack for ghouls and goblins: Super simple sweet potato chips

Happy Halloween! Can you believe it’s the end of October already? I know, I know. That “Can you believe it’s already” business is totally broken record speak by now, but seriously, this year has flown by.

I’ve been trying to think of something fun to post on Halloween for a while now, but unfortunately my kitchen skills seem to have entered a freaky twilight zone lately. This has led to a string of crazy and unusual occurrences: a coffee waterfall pouring under the refrigerator, three days in a row of spilled cannellini bean and rosemary soup, a burned arm and flying cinnamon, a defective oven mitt and burned hand. Oy! On the up side, the floor beneath our refrigerator is now spotless, and I get to buy a snazzy new pair of oven mitts.

Perhaps this long list of kitchen mishaps explains how I landed on simple sweet potato chips as our Halloween snack of choice. My cousin suggested a while back that I make popcorn balls for a Halloween post, which I excitedly attempted on Monday afternoon. I was sure I could easily transform my caramel corn into popcorn balls with some simple tweaks. No dice. The balls fell apart almost completely, which is what I get for galloping willy-nilly into uncharted territory without the good sense to take along a recipe. At this point, our house was overflowing with sugary treats (failed popcorn balls, cookies, peppermint bark and candy corn! Eek! Stay away, cavities!), and Jared and I were dangerously close to becoming pure sugar zombies, with no costumes required. To cut the sweet, I turned my eye toward something a bit more savory: jack-o’-lantern sweet potato chips. You’ve seen some of these guys on Pinterest, right? They’re basically sweet potato chips with tiny jack-o’-lantern faces carved into them. Pressed for time, I only carved faces into six of my chips and left the rest plain.

Here’s the skinny: These chips taste amazing, but they also burn incredibly easily if you’re not keeping a close watch. Case in point:

Poor little jacks. All six burnt to smithereens. I set my timer for 15 minutes, and the chips weren’t quite done. Five minutes later, half of them were toast. The half of unburned chips were devoured within the hour. (Actually, I had to force myself to throw away the burnt chips to keep from eating them, too. They really were that good.) Next time, I’ll check at 15 minutes and every minute after that. Of course, the time will depend on the size of your sweet potato and how thinly you slice them. Just be a little attentive in those last minutes, and I promise you’ll be rewarded with a cookie sheet full of sweet potato perfection.

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Sweet Potato Chips

• 2 large sweet potatoes, or 3-4 smallish guys
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the sweet potatoes, and cut them into 1/8-inch slices. Set them aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the canola oil and all of the spices. Add the sweet potato slices, and toss until evenly coated.

Arrange the sweet potato slices in a single layer on the baking sheet (you might need to use more than one sheet or bake more than once batch), and bake for 15-20 minutes, just until edges begin to brown. (Keep a close eye on them once they reach the 15-minute mark. They burn fast!)

Note: To turn your sweet potato chips into jack-o’-lanterns, use a large knife to cut a small V shape out of the length of the peeled sweet potatoes. Then, once your sweet potatoes are cut into slices, use a small sharp knife to carve out the faces before adding the potatoes to the spice mixture.

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This snack really is the perfect complement to a tummy full of sugar, and I’m planning to make another batch today, complete with faces. Don’t worry, I promise to watch them more closely this time (i.e. they will be baked during nap time).

What tricks and treats do you have planned for today? Are you hitting the streets for a candypalooza? Adding last-minute details to costumes? Whatever your plans, I hope your day is spooky, safe and fun!

XO,
Katrina

12 Comments
by Katrina Tauchen on October 31, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Katrina Tauchen on October 31, 2012

http://splashofsomething.com/2012/10/31/a-snack-for-ghouls-and-goblins-super-simple-sweet-potato-chips/

Voice for the misunderstood: Prune coffee cake

Consider the following correspondence, unearthed from an archive of never-been-printed-but-could-have-changed-the-culinary-world-as-we-know-it advice columns:

 Dear Abby,

Lately we’ve been feeling quite misunderstood. Every time we try to make new friends, we’re met with crinkled noses and rejection. Is it us? Are we not sweet enough? Not pretty enough? People love our smaller cousins; they’re always invited to cookie parties and get asked to the movies. How can we convince people that we’re worth a chance, too? 

Alone and misunderstood,
Prunes 

Poor little prunes, going about their lives feeling sad and rejected while those rascally raisins get to have all the fun. If only partygoers, bakers and folks like you and me would give them a chance, then maybe they’d feel like they finally had their day in the sun (aside from the days they already had that led to their current predicament, but that’s another story).

In all seriousness, prunes really are underused and underappreciated gems in the kitchen. They’re super sweet, super healthful, and they can add great texture and taste to a recipe. If you’re still on the fence about it, this prune coffee cake is a great first foray into the magical world of prune admiration. The final product actually tastes like an amped up spice cake, and because the prunes are soaked and pureed with a dose of super strong coffee, they add tons of depth and flavor without screaming, “We are prunes!” One review I read on the original recipe suggested feeding it to your family first, then telling them what’s inside. I’m definitely not a proponent of hiding good-for-you food from your kids and significant other to get them to eat it, but if you think a touch of trickery will promote trying something new, then have at it. Just promise to reveal the secret ingredient after they’ve told you how awesome it is. You’ll have a prune-loving household before you know it.

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Prune Coffee Cake
Adapted from nannydeb, Food52.com

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ heaping teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup prunes, quartered
• 1/3 cup hot espresso or coffee
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2/3 cups milk
• powdered sugar for dusting over finished cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and butter and flour a 10-inch spring form pan.

Place the prunes in a small bowl, and cover them with the hot espresso or coffee; let them plump for about 5 minutes, then set them aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, sift together flours, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and salt. Then in a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg, vanilla and maple syrup, and mix until well blended.

Puree the prunes with the espresso or coffee in the food processor, and then add them to the cake batter. Mix well.

Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk to the cake batter, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, and bake it for 30 to 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan at least 10 minutes.

Dust the finished cake with powdered sugar before serving.

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What do you think? Are you feeling the prune love yet? Any favorite prune recipes you’d like to share? Or maybe there’s another food you love but feel is misunderstood by the masses. I’d love to hear about it!

XO,
Katrina

8 Comments
by Katrina Tauchen on October 8, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Katrina Tauchen on October 8, 2012

http://splashofsomething.com/2012/10/08/voice-for-the-misunderstood-prune-coffee-cake/

On top of spaghetti: Fast and easy meatballs

While making a grocery list yesterday, I took a minute to peruse the recipe index on the blog for a few meal ideas for the upcoming week. During said search, two facts become abundantly clear: No. 1, we eat a lot of cookies. And No. 2, if our lives took place in Land Before Time, we’d be on Team Tree Stars.

Let this post be a break from the norm! (And proof to our respective parents that we do, in fact, consume protein on occasion.) Jared and I first saw this recipe for classic beef meatballs on an episode of The Martha Stewart Show last year. It’s another one from The Meatball Shop Cookbook — actually, it was this recipe that spurred us to buy the cookbook — and it’s an awesome, easy way to make homemade meatballs that taste like they took a lot of time and effort. There’s no browning. No frying. These guys are made entirely in the oven. They’re great on pasta, great on polenta and great in a meatball sandwich (says Jared).

Yep, these meatballs can make magic and move mountains. Now if only they could bring back my Martha show. Humph.

••••••••••••••••••••

Classic Beef Meatballs
From The Meatball Shop Cookbook (Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, p. 4)

[Note: I usually half this recipe, and it makes plenty of meatballs for the two of us, with lots leftover.]

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef (80 percent lean is ideal.)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup breadcrumbs (I usually use panko.)
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon ground fennel* (I’ve actually never added the fennel to ours, but I bet it’s good.)
• 4 cups of your favorite tomato sauce, either jarred or homemade

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Drizzle the olive oil evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes and fennel (if using) until well blended. Add the beef, and mix until it’s fully incorporated.

Roll the mixture into golf ball-sized balls, and place them in the prepared pan. Make sure they’re in there snuggly and in even rows, both vertically and horizontally.

Roast the meatballs for 20 minutes, until they’re firm and cooked through (internal temperature should read 165 degrees F). Remove the pan from the oven, and drain the excess fat. Pour the tomato sauce over the top of the meatballs, and return the pan to the oven for another 15 minutes.

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Does anyone else have a favorite meatball recipe? Maybe something from your family that’s been passed down for generations? Or maybe another savory dish is more your style. What’s your favorite food to round out your weekly menu?

XO,
Katrina

10 Comments
by Katrina Tauchen on October 1, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Katrina Tauchen on October 1, 2012

http://splashofsomething.com/2012/10/01/on-top-of-spaghetti-fast-and-easy-meatballs/

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