Life and Lemon Bars

Posted on July 26, 2016 by makehastenotwaste

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What does one do at 39 weeks pregnant, during a heat wave, after accepting an invitation to visit friends who are barbecuing food, and after agreeing to bring dessert? How about baking something that requires having the oven on for about an hour? And not only that, but why not try halving the recipe so that it is the same amount of work but half the delicious output?

Oh, just me? Perhaps I wasn’t thinking clearly. Let me explain. I was trying to come up with a refreshing dessert other than frozen treats, which I fully intended to incorporate in the day anyway, and lemon came to mind. I knew I had a lemon that needed to be used soon. And then when leafing through my saved magazine recipes, I found this recipe for lemon cheesecake bars made with cream cheese–and I knew I had cream cheese! But that was a leftover from another recipe- I only had half of the full block the recipe called for.

So I adapted. And we savored the fewer servings that resulted. My cooking activities aren’t about making specific or required amounts of food anyway. I’ve been finding the activity of cooking and baking wonderfully distracting lately as I carry around an extra human being. In fact, I’m considering what I might cook when I start early labor….

Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Adapted fromCooking Light Magazine

I am sharing with you my version with the recipe cut in half, but I expect you may want to make a full batch.

Crust:
2 ounces whole-wheat pastry flour (about 1/2 Cup)
1/6 Cup sliced, toasted almonds
1.5 Tablespoons powdered or confectioner’s sugar
1/2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
Cooking spray

Filling:
6 Tablespoons Greek yogurt (I used 2%)
1.3 ounces or about 1/6 Cup sugar
1/2 Tablespoon grated or zested lemon rind (about 1 large lemon’s worth)
3 overflowing Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 a large lemon)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces (1/2 package) less-fat cream cheese
2 large eggs

Another reason why it’s not that big of a deal that I was making only half the recipe: it’s the type of recipe that allows me to incorporate a number of my favorite shortcuts and conveniences, like using the food processor for crusts and blending and measuring with a kitchen scale.

As I alluded to in the introduction, however, be prepared for the multi-part process of pre-baking the crust, baking the filling, and allowing for chill time. No instant gratification with this one.

Preheat oven to 350°.
Prepare the crust: Cut butter into small pieces and place in freezer to thoroughly chill.

Measure and add flour, almonds, powdered sugar, oil, and salt to a food processor. Process until almonds are ground into small pieces.

Add butter to food processor; mix in pulses until the texture resembles a coarse meal.

Spray small-medium glass baking dish with cooking spray (I calculated that my 8×8 glass storage container had a bit less than half the area of the 11×17 dish the original recipe called for) and add crust mixture. Pat down gently into an even layer. Bake for about 23 minutes, until slightly browned. Allow to cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
Prepare the filling:
Clean out the food processor. Add all the ingredients except for the egg and process until smooth.

Add egg and blend together.

Pour mixture evenly over crust.

Place in 325°F oven for 30 minutes or until set. (check at 20 minutes, especially if your dish is larger so that your filling is spread more shallowly).

Cool completely on a rack or stovetop grate.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled. If desired (like in my case), accelerate the chilling with an ice water bath or some time in the freezer.

Cut into [small] pieces with a sharp knife and serve. Feel free to follow my example and serve on winter-themed plates, if that will help you to feel cooler (those are snowshoes peeking out from under the bar).

Both rich and refreshing!

Bacon Optional

Posted on February 8, 2014 by makehastenotwaste

I’ve been doing OK lately at cooking and documenting healthy recipes. It’s true, two of my featured recipes in January came from Cooking Light. Then we hit Super Bowl weekend.

Along with Super Bowl weekend came the inspiration for a party menu theme: “wrapped or stuffed.” “Wrapped or stuffed” certainly leaves open the opportunity to use fruits and vegetables and grains, but one is much more likely to please certain crowds by using cheese and bread and…bacon. One of the dishes I served was cream cheese stuffed jalapenos with bacon topping (optional).

These jalapenos were spicy, and a bit of work to clean out, so I ended up having a handful of extra ingredients this week. Somehow I came across a recipe for jalapeno corn fritters (yes, more fritters!) that could be made entirely with ingredients I had on hand. I don’t even remember what search terms I was using, or whether this was Pinterest, but I’d say I struck gold.

Jalapeno Popper Corn Fritters
From Closet Cooking

1.5-2 Cups corn kernels, frozen is fine
1/2 Cup flour
1 egg
scant 1/2 Cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 Cup cream cheese, room temperature
2 jalapeno peppers (to taste, and depending on size), diced
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon coriander seed, toasted and ground
2 green onions, sliced
1 handful cilantro, chopped
zest and juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed

Begin by toasting coriander seeds and then grinding in a spice grinder, clean coffee grinder, or with mortar and pestle.

Prepare vegetables.

Yes, those are gloves! I recommend them for using with hot peppers.

Yes, those are gloves! I recommend avoiding direct skin contact with hot peppers.

Mix all of the ingredients (corn, flour, egg, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, jalapenos, bacon-if using, paprika, coriander, green onion, cilantro and lime juice) in a bowl.

Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Form mixture into patties, about 1/4 Cup each. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.

You could serve these with a creamy, buttermilk-based dressing, or consume them as is, like me. The recipe author even used a jalapeno popper flavored dressing.

These didn’t even make it to the table before being consumed by my husband and me!

To add to the gorging, I also had some free bags of regular potato chips lying around and was thus inspired to make a potato chip cookie recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen. It may be the copious amount of butter, but they were extremely delicious. Now that the week is over, I’ll be cutting back on the cheese, butter, and bacon…I swear.

Bake it into a cake

Posted on April 4, 2013 by makehastenotwaste

Last week, I kept seeing in the freezer a container of leftover canned pumpkin and thought, I better use that up. Pumpkin is generally though to be a fall/winter ingredient, and we are heading straight into summer, based on the weather forecast. I do wish that pumpkin recipes better matched up with the standard quantity in cans, because there is always some remaining!

As I said before, my first idea for using a leftover ingredient often involves baking a dessert. Fortunately, this was going to be a welcome addition to my husband’s family’s Easter meal gathering the next day.

Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Frosting
Adapted from Ina Garten’s Food Network Recipe

For the cake:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 extra-large eggs, or 4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
scant 4 ounces plain yogurt (I used greek)
1 1/4 C confectioners’ sugar, sifted
~2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup minced dried crystallized ginger
pinch of kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 18 by 1-inch sheet pan (also known as a jelly roll pan?). Line the pan with parchment paper, or in my case a silpat, and add grease and flour to that–it is very important so the cake doesn’t stick!

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Place the eggs and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high until light yellow and thickened (this goes faster if your eggs have fully come up to room temperature). With the mixer on low, add the pumpkin, then slowly add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched.

While the cake is baking, lay out a clean, thin cotton dish towel on a flat surface and sift the entire 1/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar evenly over it. (This is to prevent the cake from sticking to the towel). Remove the cake from the oven and immediately loosen it around the edges with a rubber spatula. Invert cake squarely onto the prepared towel. Peel away the parchment paper or silpat.

Gently roll the warm cake and the towel together (without squeezing), starting at the short end of the cake. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Ina’s recipe calls for 12 oz Italian marscapone cheese, 1 1/4 C confectioners sugar, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. My beloved Trader Joe’s was out of marscapone, so I followed a reviewers suggestion of using cream cheese. Since I only bought one package, I thought I needed to beef it up closer to 12 ounces. But there was plenty of frosting — I probably could have just used the cream cheese and reduced the sugar to 3/4 Cup. I also used the skim milk I had on hand rather than buying a container of heavy cream.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and milk/cream together for about a minute, until light and fluffy. I added just enough to milk to reach the desired consistency. Stir in the crystallized ginger and salt.

To assemble, carefully unroll the cake onto a board with the towel underneath. Spread the cake evenly with the filling.

Reroll the cake in a spiral using the towel as a guide. Remove the towel and trim the ends to make a neat edge. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve sliced. (I refrigerated to preserve for the next day, and sliced immediately before serving.)

Ta-da! My first roulade:

An effort to make efficient use of every last drop, stem, crumb, and moment.

Tag Archives: cream cheese

Life and Lemon Bars

Bacon Optional

Bake it into a cake