Oreo Truffles

oreo truffles

Our very-good-cook friend recommended we make these Oreo truffles, and so we did. She makes flavors for a living, so we trust her taste. And you know what? They are delicious! Oreo truffles are deceptively easy: They look very elegant and time-consuming to make, but they aren’t at all.


Oreo Truffles

In a blender or food processor, pulse 1 package of Oreo cookies (including cream filling) until they resemble crumbs. Pour the crumbs into a bowl and mix with one 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese until a moist dough forms. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Place the balls into the freezer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt 12 ounces of white or semi-sweet chocolate in a bowl. Remove the balls from the freezer, and stick a toothpick into each one. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate to coat, and place on another wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Remove the toothpick. Once all the balls are coated with chocolate, refrigerate until they are firm. Makes about 3 dozen truffles.

2010
08/09
CATEGORY
desserts
46 comments

Browned Butter Rice Krispie Treats

browned butter rice krispie treats

To all outward appearances, these are just Rice Krispie Treats. But, in fact, these are Rice Krispie Treats … with browned butter, which makes all the difference. What at first seems like a kitchen accident, heating the butter until it is tawny brown before adding the marshmallows gives these crispy treats a nice caramel flavor. This is one of the times where fiddling around with a classic improves the taste by leaps and bounds.


Browned Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Use about 2 teaspoons of butter to grease the inside of a 13×9 pan, then set aside. Stirring frequently, melt 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter in a large pot on medium heat, until butter becomes dark golden in color and smells nutty. Once the butter starts leaving small, dark specks on the bottom of the pot, decrease the heat to low and add 1 package of mini marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows begin melting, then turn the heat off, but continue stirring until they are completely melted. Immediately add 6 cups of Rice Krispie cereal and stir until combined. Scoop the mixture into the prepared pan. Using the bottom of a cup greased with a small amount of butter, press the mixture into a pan until it is flat and even. Let cool at room temperature for 2 hours. Cut into squares or bars before serving.

2010
07/26
CATEGORY
desserts
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Reine de Saba Cake with Chocolate Icing

Reine de Saba Cake

There’s no other way to say it: The French make the best desserts. So when we had to make something for work for Bastille Day, we had to make a little something sweet. We had a difficult time choosing just one dessert to make — it was either this or a cherry clafoutis. In the end, we were sold once we read somewhere that Reine de Saba was one of Julia Child’s favorite cakes. We trust the judgment of someone who was once quoted as saying “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”

We invited one of our fellow cooking friends over to help us, and immediately put her to work stirring chocolate and whipping egg whites. It’s because of her help that we were able to make two of these Reine de Saba cakes in one night: one to bring to work, and one to devour immediately between the three of us.


Reine de Saba Cake with Chocolate Icing

For the Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and butter and flour an 8-inch cake pan. Melt 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate with 2 Tbsp. coffee in a small pan set over a larger pan of simmering water. Stir until melted, then set aside. In a large bowl, cream 1 stick of softened butter with 2/3 cup of sugar for several minutes until pale yellow and fluffy. Beat in 3 egg yolks. In a different bowl, beat 3 egg whites and a pinch of salt together until soft peaks form. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. of sugar over the egg whites and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Mix the melted chocolate with the butter and sugar mixture. Stir in 2/3 cup pulverized almonds and ¼ tsp. almond extract. Stir one-fourth of the beaten egg whites into the batter. Fold in one-third of the remaining egg whites, then one-third of the flour. Keep alternating folding in egg whites and flour, until they’re both incorporated. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Cake is done when it is puffed around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the edge comes out clean. The middle of the cake should be a little jiggly and undercooked. Allow cake to cool completely before icing.

For the Icing

In a small pan, melt 2 ounces of semisweet chocolate with 2 Tbsp. coffee. Beat in 5 Tbsp. butter, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Beat chocolate mixture over a bowl of ice water until it has cooled to spreading consistency. Spread the icing over the cake, and garnish with slivered almonds.

Note: We’ve found through a little experimenting that Reine de Saba cake tastes amazing when refrigerated overnight. It sets up and the consistency becomes almost like that of fudge.

2010
07/15
CATEGORY
desserts
1 comment

We Have Always Wanted to Try … Turkish Figs

Turkish Figs

One time, we were watching this documentary on public television, and it showed how a whole bunch of different animals in Africa or somewhere ate figs (or was it Turkey, maybe? We forget where.). It showed how one animal would eat the fig, then the seeds would be in its stool, and then the seeds would germinate and grow into more trees and feed other animals. And butterflies would pollinate the flowers on the tree, and insects would drink the fruit juices, and it was this bizarre and cool cycle of life, and it all revolved around the fig. Figs are pretty neat.

What Do They Taste Like, Already? Turkish figs taste sort of like guava. They’re kind of mushy and not very sweet, which was surprising. They’re probably better dehydrated so that their flavor is concentrated.

How Will I Benefit From This Information? Supposedly, if you eat too many, your throat starts burning. This supposedly happened to a friend of a friend!

So What Do You Think, Ultimately? Turkish Figs are good, but eating them alone is just plain. We’ll probably eat them with some cheese next time.

2010
07/13
CATEGORY
we have always wanted to try
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Our Version of Wendy’s Chili

Our Version of Wendy's Chili

What  the heck – it’s like really cold where we live. And it’s July. And we live in Southern California. We’ve had to wear our coats when we go out at night, and wear socks to bed. It’s like 60 degrees right now. Stop shaking your head, because YES, THAT IS COLD!  NOT ANOTHER WORD!

But we didn’t come here to talk about the weather. It’s just that all these gray clouds are making us nostalgic for fall. After being outside in brisk 60-degree weather, coming inside to a nice, warm bowl of chili really hits the spot. Summer be danged, we had to make chili. Food snobs, please don’t read on:

We like Wendy’s chili. It’s good; it just is. So a while back, we set out to make our own version, which we think tastes like Wendy’s but even better. It’s become the staple chili recipe at our house. We make a lot and eat it until we’re sick of it, then freeze the rest. It freezes very nicely.


Wendy’s Chili, Our Way

Brown 2 pounds of ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. Drain off the fat. Combine the beef and 1 29-ounce can of tomato sauce, 1 29-ounce can of kidney beans, 1 29-ounce can of pinto beans, 1 diced onion, 2 minced jalapenos, 1 stalk of diced celery, 4 chopped Roma tomatoes, 3 tsp. cumin powder, 3 Tbsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. salt and 2  cups of water. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for one to three hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with chopped onion and cheddar cheese.

2010
07/10
CATEGORY
soups
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Crustless Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Quiche

crustless bacon, leek and cheddar quiche

If you look into our refrigerator at any point of the week, you will most likely always see leeks in the crisper and bacon in butcher paper. We love our leeks and bacon. We also always have eggs, because one of us works on a magazine that involves chickens, so we just have to; it’s written into our contract. You’ll also find at least two types of cheeses. We basically always have the ingredients for an angina a quiche.

Because we always have the fixin’s for quiche, quiche is often our go-to dinner when we want something quick and filling. Now, while we like us some crust, making our own from scratch isn’t conducive to late nights at work and getting home exhausted. Sometimes, the last thing we want is fussy flour on our hands. One less step sometimes means dinner on the table that much quicker, which means more time watching thirtysomething reruns on DVD and playing Angry Birds before bed. Crustless quiche is just as good (if not better, if you ask one of us) than its crusty cousin.


    Crustless Bacon, Leek and Cheddar Quiche

    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut 3 slices of bacon into ½-inch pieces. In a pan set over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp. olive oil, followed by the bacon pieces. Meanwhile, cut the white and light green parts of 2 leeks in half lengthwise, then cut the halves into ½-inch half circles. When the bacon is crispy, fish it out of the pan and let it drain on a plate lined with a paper towel; don’t drain the oil from the pan. Add the leeks to the bacon fat and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until they start to become soft and opaque. Add 2 cups of uncooked spinach and sauté for 1 more minute. Add a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper to taste. Remove from heat. In a bowl, whisk 6 eggs, 3 Tbsp. of sour cream and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese together. Set aside. Butter a baking dish or pie pan. Spoon the leek-and-spinach mixture evenly  into the dish, and pour the egg mixture over it. Sprinkle the bacon pieces on top of the egg, followed by 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the center is cooked and not runny. Serve warm.

2010
07/06
CATEGORY
baked dishes
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We Have Always Wanted to Try … Prosecco

drinking prosecco in the summer

Thus begins an ongoing series called “We Have Always Wanted to Try …” There are many things that we’ve heard of, or have been told to eat or drink, or have seen somewhere at one point that made us go, “What the heck is that? I must put that in my mouth.” There are just so many things to eat and drink in this world that we’ve never eaten and drunk (drank? drinken?). It’s just very overwhelming. But just as a journey of a thousand miles starts with just one cliche, let’s start here and now. We have to begin somewhere, so let’s start with …

… Prosecco. We’ve heard mention about it, but it wasn’t until we were in Bevmo yesterday that were were like, “Hey, Prosecco! We’ve heard about this stuff! Let’s get some and blame the results on our sister/sister-in-law and brother-in-law. We must drink this because they live in Italy.” Did we mention that our sister/sister-in-law and brother-in-law live in Italy? Because they do.

What Does It Taste Like, Already? Wow, Prosecco. It is kind of dry and very fruity, and there is an almost jerky-like flavor to it. Tonight, we are drinking  Martini Prosecco, which wasn’t the cheapest Prosecco available but also wasn’t the most expensive.

Now, imagine grabbing a handful of almost-turned grapes and slamming them into your mouth. Now, imagine sitting in an Italian villa and slamming Italian grapes into your mouth. That’s Prosecco. Mmmm … Italian grapes. Prosecco is bubbly, too,  so it’s very light and perfect for a hot summer’s evening.

How Will I Benefit From This Information? What? Prosecco is something to sip on while sitting outside and observing the birds that fly into your yard. It works its magic best in the summer, especially if you’re thinking of Italian things like soccer and bicycles. It’s also nice to sip on while watching reruns of “thirtysomething.” Warning: Drinking Prosecco will not make you dislike Hope less.

So What Do You Think, Ultimately? Molto buona! Prosecco is something we definitely will try again!

2010
07/02
CATEGORY
we have always wanted to try
5 comments
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