Cannoli-ventures: An Introduction

The History...

5 years ago on a fateful evening in Manhattan, I was wandering through the village with my brother and I had decided I wanted a cannoli. At the time, this did not seem like an unreasonable request. Little did we know that it would be so difficult to find a place that would sell cannolis, and even if we did, they would not be open on this particular Friday night. After an hour or so of wandering, we gave up and I got a cookie instead which, while tasty, was ultimately disappointing. 

Since this time, I have developed a true love affair with the crunchy creamy smooth and delicious dessert. It has become tradition that everytime I'm in New York, I go on a hunt for a cannoli, which I now call cannoli-ventures, because it always ends up being more of an adventure than originally anticipated. Now, on these hunts, it cannot just be any cannoli, there are rules.

The Rules:

1. Never go in alone - 

cannoli-ventures should always have at least two people.

2. Never compromise - 

once a cannoli-venture has commenced it must end in a cannnoli, no exceptions.

3. Never accept subpar cannolis -

EuroPan, Hot N' Crusty, and other chains of the like are unacceptable.

**exception: except in extremely desperate times in order to fulfill rule #2

4. Venture!

nowhere is too far away for a good cannoli.

So in addition to new recipes to try and sweet desserts to make, I'll also be chronicling Cannoli-ventures here. There has been a lot done in the past that I'll still put up now even if its not happening this very instant. It'll hop around a bit because after all- *every good story has a beginning, middle and an end, although not necessarily in that order. *Jean-Luc Godard

Kahlua Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

Contrary to the popular saying, it is often sadly true that the worst things in life are free, rather than the best. You should always be skeptical of people giving away things for 'free' and even those that are absurdly cheap, because after all, people love stuff. From collections of beer glasses stolen from various bars to the shoe closets of far too many women, it is clear that people don't love to get rid of their belongings. Sometimes people give away the dumbest things that make you wonder who is venturing out to Bethpage, NY just to pick up a build a bear outfit. These strange items are harmless but if you're not careful, these giveaways can become too addicting and before you know it you end up with 50 soiled mattresses from the local homeless shelter that would otherwise just be thrown away.

Thankfully, my new $3 springform pan is not in this category. I found it for super cheap and though I'm trying not to amass too grand a collection of belongings while I'm in Amherst lest I should have to buy another suitcase to haul it all back to New York, I could not resist this cheap buy. It might not be the highest quality, but it is functional and allows me to make cheesecakes that don't look like pies.

I wanted to make some sort of liqueur based cheesecake and settled on Kahlua. I've always had an affinity for Kahlua, even before I ever tasted it. About 8 years ago we I chose a dog from the pound, she was dark, sleek and shiny and my friend suggested the name Kahlua. I had no idea about the drink it referenced, but it sounded like a fun name, so for the first few weeks of her life, the dog was Kahlua.

However, we quickly became aware of what a ravenous creature she was as she devoured anything and everything in the house. From entire packages of cookies to remotes and bottles of medicine, there was nothing this dog wouldn't eat. My brother had decided that Doofus was a more appropriate name, which I adamantly resisted at first. Then, she chewed his cello bow to pieces, and I conceded that Doofus was most fitting.




This was proved to be even more true a few years later when we got her shaved during a hot Arizona summer. This showed off the weight she'd gained and made her look like the epitome of a Doofus...

Having a dog that looks this absurd made for a sad time for everyone in the house.

Its probably best that we ended very early on the comparison

between this silly dog and this beautiful drink. 

So I embarked on my cheesecake adventure, thrilled at the chance to use my fresh bottle of Kahlua for such a great purpose. It uses a massive quantity of cream cheese, but this recipe will serve 12 easily.

Now, I've never owned a food processor, and can count on one hand the number of times I've even operated one. 

The Modern Way

So when it came to crushing graham crackers for the crust, I went with a more tried and true method of glass cup and bowl. It vaguely resembles a mortar and pestle, but only requires the things found in a college student's kitchen.

The Student Way

The Old School Way

Just be sure that your glass cup has a flat bottom for crushing as a lip on the bottom makes it more difficult.

I have always loved cheesecake, and I can honestly say this is one of my favorite things I've ever made. It had a nice and creamy texture and the Kahlua flavor really came through nicely with the chocolate. Its no harder than any other cheesecake recipe, so give it a shot and be prepared to practice serious self restraint as you try not devour it all yourself.

Kahlua Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

For the crust:

10 Graham Cracker sheets

1/2 cup walnuts

5 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp pure cocoa powder

For the filling:

32 oz (4 packages) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs (room temperature)

1 cup Kahlua liqueur

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted

 

For decoration:

1/2 oz. dark chocolate

Crust:

• Preheat oven to 350F 

•  Crush the graham crackers and walnuts by pulsing in a food processor or smashing with a glass (see above).  
   
• Add the butter and cocoa powder and blend until well mixed.
   
• Line a 10" springform with parchment paper and press the mixture into the bottom of the pan
• Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set it aside.

 

Filling:

• In a large bowl of a stand or hand mixer, mix the cream cheese with the sugar. 
   
• Add the eggs, one by one, mixing quickly after each addition. 
   
• Add 1 cup of Baileys and the vanilla extract. 
   
• Chop the chocolate into small pieces and microwave in 30s intervals until melted, let cool

• Separate about 1/3 of the mixture in another bowl, add the melted chocolate and whisk well. 

• Pour the plain mixture in the prepared springform pan and top with the chocolate mixture. 

swirl around until your heart's content

• Make a marbled design by swirling the batter with a knife.

• Bake 10 minutes in the oven set to 350 F degrees. Reduce the heat to 250 F degrees and bake for more 60-70 minutes. The edges will be firm and the center a little jiggle, the center will firm up as it cools. 
   
• Immediately run a thin knife around the edge to loosen it from the pan, but allow it to cool completely and then refrigerate it for at least an hour before you remove the sides of the springform pan. Serve chilled.
   
  • To decorate: use a vegetable peeler to scrape off small pieces of dark chocolate and sprinkle on top of cheesecake. 
     
    Recipe adapted from here

A sweeter side to breakfast

We all have those mornings that could use a little extra sugar. You're in a tizzy, running late searching for your keys and have no time to make a healthy breakfast. Your roommates left so many dishes around the sink you can't imagine sifting through them to find anything. Or maybe there's an upcoming tedious meeting that you are prone to dozing through. 

This bread cures it all.

I was engulfed by the slew of books in Strand this past weekend and completely overwhelmed with the plethora of cookbooks. Finally, I decided to get a book on breads, since that is the most uncharted territory for me. I settled on Bread: 150 Traditional Recipes from Around the World by Gail Duff. This recipe is adapted from the basic banana bread recipe in the West Indies region of all places. The original recipe doesn't call for the chocolate, but it felt necessary.

For those who haven't made banana bread yet and are still in that sad state of mind that considers brown bananas a bad thing, a short tutorial is in order:

perfect for eating

perfect for baking

I know they don't look particularly edible, but trust me the flavor of a ripe banana is much more rich and the texture is perfect for smooshing into a batter.

Banana Bread 

1/2 C. unsalted butter
1/2 C. sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 C. plain cake flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground. nutmeg
3 ripe bananas
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1oz. dark chocolate baking squares, chopped
2 oz. walnuts, chopped

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, gradually beat in the egg
• Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg
• Peel and mash the bananas
• Beat the flour and bananas alternately into the butter and sugar, beating and blending well
• Mix in the vanilla extract and 1 oz. of the chocolate pieces
• Place batter into greased loaf pan top with walnuts and remaining chocolate
• Bake for about 50 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean

It's best served warm, but if you make it late one night, its a great reason to roll out of bed in the morning. I sliced it up along with some zucchini bread and had to find some way to force myself to not eat the entire loaf, so I brought the bowl to some hungry graduate students across the hall from my lab who kindly devoured it.

So please, the next time you consider throwing away the bananas that you ran out of time to eat, realize that they just have a much higher calling than simply being sliced with your cheerios, and make banana bread instead!

 

Mom's Zucchini Bread

My pictures do this incredible bread no justice.

Throughout my childhood, my mom would amaze my brother and me with her delectable breakfasts. I took it for granted that every morning we would have a hot breakfast ready for us, and now I see how truly wonderful that was. One of my favorite smells to wake up to in the morning was zucchini bread. If you've never had some, it sounds like a very strange concept - squash bread. But it makes for a moist and delicious bread that is perfect for all times of the day.


I always thought that since I loved this bread so much that it must be difficult to make: if it were easy, wouldn't we have it every day? Thankfully, this bread is so simple to make, I can throw it in to the oven in about ten minutes, and then spend the next hour or so practicing harp as the sweet smells waft from the oven filling my entire apartment. 

I'll admit, I have played with my mom's original recipe a bit... partially because I like to avoid using oil in my baking as much as possible, and applesauce is such a great alternative. So here is my slightly adapted version of my mom's incredible zucchini bread. This version is quite healthy and definitely guilt-free, so after haivng some for breakfast, don't be ashamed to continue snacking throughout the day!

Mom's Zucchini Bread (adapted)

1/2 C. Apple sauce
1 mashed banana (optional, makes the bread very moist)
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 C. grated zucchini
1 1/2 C. flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 C. chopped walnuts (optional)

• Preheat oven to 325F.
• Combine the apple sauce, banana and brown sugar until well mixed.
• Add the eggs one at a time, blending well between each
• Stir in the zucchini, half the wlanuts, and vanilla extract
• Blend the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl and mix into the wet ingredients gradually
• Pour into greased loaf pan and top with remaining walnuts
• Bake for 45-55min or until top bounces back when touched

If you have a sweet tooth, this can easily be turned into a healthy cake by topping it with cream cheese frosting - chocolate, regular, or half of each!

(Chocolate) Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8oz. package cream cheese
4 C. powdered sugar
1 1/2 T. lemon juice
3-5 T. cocoa powder (optional, to taste)

• Cream together the cream cheese and lemon juice
• Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well between additions
• Stir in cocoa powder (if desired), adding more or less depending on how much chocolate flavor you desire
• Spread over cooled pieces of zucchini bread and top with raspberries and sprinkles

Patriotism? Only if it's in pie form!

Normally, when it comes to fruit pies, I believe so many are better as just cobblers. This is also due to the fact that I am mildly intimidated by pie crusts. However, tomorrow is the 4th of July, and I had to do something. I debated for a long time, contemplated decorating some firework cupcakes, or making flag cookies. But truth be told, I don't have the energy to draw tons of little stars and stripes onto cookies today, and there is little that says summer and 4th of July more than an old fashioned Apple Pie.



I settled on a Williams Sonoma recipe and found that the dough was not intimidating at all. I didn't let it chill for the full hour suggested because I'm incredibly impatient, but 40 minutes in the fridge seemed to do well and the crust was still flaky and delicious.

Apple Pie

For the pastry:

3 2⁄3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1⁄4 tsp. salt
10 Tbs. (1 1⁄4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
1⁄2 cup frozen vegetable shortening, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
About 12 Tbs. ice water

For the filling:

5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut
 into 1⁄2-inch chunks
3⁄4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1⁄4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tsp. granulated sugar 
1 Tbs. Cinnamon 

• To make the pastry, in a food processor, combine the flour and salt and pulse to blend. Add the butter and shortening and pulse 5 or 6 times, until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size bits. Add the water a little at a time through the feed tube, pulsing once after each addition, adding just enough to make a moist but crumbly dough; it will not hold together on its own but only when gathered into a ball with your hands.

• If you don't have a food processor, use a pastry blender, or your hands to crumble together the ingredients and then slowly add the water. Take care not to overwork the dough when adding the water.

• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half and flatten each piece into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 40 minutes and up to overnight. 

• Preheat an oven to 400°F. 

• Remove both disks of dough from the refrigerator. If the dough is very cold and hard, let it stand, still wrapped, at room temperature for 15 minutes.

• To make the filling, in a large bowl, stir together the apples, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice and vanilla. Let stand, stirring once or twice, for 20 minutes while you roll out the crust.

• To make the pie shell, unwrap one disk of dough and place on a floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a rough round. 

• When the dough round is about 1/4 inch thick and about 2 inches wider than your pie dish, roll it up around the rolling pin, then unroll it into the dish, centering it. Ease the dough into the dish without stretching it. Trim the edges, leaving about a 1-inch overhang. Let the other dough disk stand at room temperature while you make the filling.

• Spoon the apples and all the juices from the bowl into the pie shell, mounding the fruit slightly. Dot the apples with the butter and sprinkle with cinnamon

• Roll out the second disk of dough to make the top. Using a small cookie cutter, press out enough shapes to cover the fruit. Arrange the pieces on the pie and sprinkle with sugar.

• Bake until the crust is crisp and golden and the filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or cold with vanilla ice cream.

 If you have extra dough and another fruit, make a miniature pie! I used a ramekin and an sliced up a peach to make a miniature peach pie so as not to waste the extra crust.

Perfect treat for a drizzly Sunday afternoon

Be sure to have plenty of vanilla bean ice cream to serve with your pie and enjoy all the fireworks and hot dogs you can find!

A quick word on biscuit cups

They're awesome. Simple, quick, and can be sweet or savory depending on what you are feeling. I got the idea here, and decided to make my favorite type of omelet into a biscuit cup.

I am sure you could make your own biscuit dough and it would probably be healthier and a bit tastier, but I was feeling lazy and found these babies in the fridge door and went for it.

The recipe is quite simple....



Split the biscuits in half lengthwise, flatten it out a bit and press into a muffin tin.

Then, prepare your desired filling:

I chopped up one andouille sausage, one garlic clove and half a red onion. Then at the last second I threw in 3 chopped up mushrooms too, because I can't resist adding mushrooms to almost everything I make. I whisked 6 eggs, added some crushed pepper, and mixed in the chopped veggies and sausage.

Use a 1/4 C. measuring cup to fill each of the cups. Top with a little parmesan cheese and fresh oregano leaves and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and the egg mixture has puffed up and solidified.

Pull out and sprinkle with more crushed pepper if you like, and serve warm.

Don't hesitate to experiment with different fillings or veggies. For the bacon fans out there, try lining the inside of the cup with a slice of bacon before pouring in the eggs. Or if you have some berries that are on the verge of being too squishy, throw them in and bake for a sweeter treat. They are very portable and make a complete breakfast in a compact little package. So get adventurous and start rummaging through your fridge to make your very own biscuit cups!

Many, Many Mousse

We all learned in elementary school that, to our utter dismay (or amazement as the case may be), that the plural of

Moose

 does not follow any normal English rules and is, well the same thing. . . .

Moose

Thus by the same infallible logic, the plural of

Mousse

Should most assuredly be:

Mousse

I'm here to explore this phenomenon in all its creamy chocolatey forms.

After having these new miniature glasses stare me down for the past week as they sat on my kitchen counter, I decided it was time to photograph them, which meant I had to actually put something in them. Mousse is a new one for me, as in the past I have just used the pre-made mixes at the stores because I am lazy and they work so simply. This laziness set in and for years I thought this was great mousse.

This is one of those times when ignorance was bliss, but knowledge is even more blissful. Homemade mousse turned out to be more rich, creamy and delicious than I had ever anticipated, making the store stuff completely obsolete.

Best of all, it was incredibly easy! It only took a few minutes to make the chocolate mixture and then a few mindless minutes whipping up lots of cream. My kitchen-aid mixer sadly had to be left at home when I came to MA for the summer. So, to the utter dismay of everyone around, I used my new hand mixer that somehow manages to make more noise than any other kitchen appliance I've ever used.

It's basically like

                          




                     +






So for all you intimidated bakers/chefs/hungry college students out there, grab a bag of chocolate chips and some whipping cream and get going. If you don't have a mixer, they're maybe 7 dollars at a grocery store, and its definitely worth it. You can probably double its uses and train your pets while you're cooking.

 Chocolate Mousse

• 1 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup water divided
• 2 Tbsp butter (this is a must, no substituting)
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 pint whipping cream (or heavy cream)
• fruit for garnish, optional

1. In a microwave safe bowl, place the chocolate chips, 1/4 cup of the water, and 2 tbsp of butter.  Microwave on high for 20 seconds and then stir.  Then microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring after each one,  until the mixture is well blended and melted. Be careful not to burn the mixture. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
2. In a small heavy saucepan, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of water, egg yolks, and sugar. Cook over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees, about 1-2 minutes for those of us without thermometers handy. 
3.  The motto for this next part is to Just Keep Whisking. Otherwise, you might end up with scrambled eggs, and that is pretty gross. Remove the saucepan from heat and (while still whisking) pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture. Whisk until well combined and let cool for 30 minutes. Give it a stir about every 5 minutes or so while it cools.
4. While the chocolate cools, whip the whipping cream until firm peaks form. I didn't actually have whipping cream on hand, I just had a pint of heavy cream, but it works just fine.
5. Once the chocolate mixture is cooled, add 1/3 of it to the whipped cream and gently fold it in. Continue this until all the chocolate has been added. Do not overwork the mousse as it begins to become too liquidy.
6. Spoon or pipe the mousse into desired dishes or cups and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I left mine overnight and served them for dessert the next day. 

The number of servings is probably about 6-8, but it depends on your dishes. I used the tiny glasses, several ramekins, and even filled my Max Brenner Hug Mug.

Had to get creative for the glasses too small for spoons

 

Best Hug Ever.