Mon Petit Chou

Harvest Cupcakes!

Brooke Louise — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:38:55 +0000

Mmmmmmm! These cupcakes are perfect for fall. A combination of pumpkin, ginger and cinnamon surprises as much as it delights. I used crystallized ginger and diced it into small pieces which were hardly noticeable, but gave a good texture to the cake. I also used canned pumpkin and not the pie filling. Perfect for the season!! And the cream cheese frosting is to DIE for!!!

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. unsalted butter (melted)

1 c. pumpkin

1 c. sugar

3 eggs

1/4 c. crystallized ginger

Sift flour, baking powder, soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon into a bowl and put aside. In a mixer, beat butter, sugar, pumpkin until smooth. Add eggs and crystallized ginger. On a low speed, mix in the flour mixture.

Line cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners and fill with about 1/4 cup of batter. Bake in a 325* oven for 22-25 minutes or until the tops spring back and a toothpick comes clean. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Frosting:

1/2 c. unsalted butter

6 oz. cream cheese

3 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat together butter, cream cheese and vanilla on low until smooth and well blended. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Then mix at a medium speed for about a minute to create a lighter frosting.

Introducing…

Brooke Louise — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:00:41 +0000

Yes, on Wednesday, August 20th, Miss Savannah finally arrived! Mama and baby are blissfully in love…if not a bit sleep deprived. Welcome little one, we are so happy you are here.

Roasted Tomato Dressing

Brooke Louise — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:44:20 +0000

The garden is in full swing right now, so we decided to use the cherry tomatoes as a base for a salad dressing. It was so good, we used it 2 nights later on some chicken and polenta!

Ingredients:

16 oz. cherry tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

1/4 c. olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

Handful of herbs (I used basil, cilantro and parsley)

Salt and pepper

Dressing:

Heat oven to 350*

Place the tomatoes in a roasting dish along with the garlic, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have split.

Remove from oven and put in a blender with the juices from pan. Add 1/4 olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, herbs and salt and pepper. Pulse until well mixed. Place in refrigerator until cool.

Let’s Throw Some Paint!

Brooke Louise — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 05:09:40 +0000

Throwing paint is a great activity for kids and adults alike. You can buy a drop cloth canvas at any paint store and most also carry ‘oops’ paint, which is paint that was not mixed to specifications and can be bought for around $5 a gallon. Choose colors you like, as well as any variation of applicators (paint brushes, sponges, etc) although using your hands is quite fun!

On this day, we hung the cloth from a clothesline, put on some old clothes, and (if you’re worried about your hair), covered our heads with shower caps. We opened the paint cans and just started throwing paint! Be sure you have a shower close by…

Yummy Cobbler!

Brooke Louise — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:46:34 +0000

I love cobbler any time, but in the summer it’s even better because of the availability of fresh fruit. This cobbler can be done with any kind of apples, but Granny Smith’s provide an excellent flavor that compliments the cranberries well. You can use fresh or store bought cranberries (I use either Trader Joe’s or Ocean Spray).

Ingredients:

Cobbler:

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

optional: 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced to 1/8″ thick

1 c. cranberries

Topping:

1/2 c. sugar

2/3 c. flour

1/2 c. butter

Heat oven to 400* In a large bowl, mix 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 c. brown sugar, cinnamon (and nutmet if so desired). Add apples and cranberries to mixture and coat apples. Put this mixture in a 2 quart glass dish.

In a medium bowl, stir together 2/3 c. flour, 1/2 c. sugar, and cut the butter (chilled) into the mixture until it’s kinda crumbly. Grab handfuls of the mixture and sprinkle over the apples. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top has browned a bit. Serve with vanilla ice cream if you like. It’s a must in our house!

Never Fails to Impress

Brooke Louise — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:31:32 +0000

Fruit crisps are my favorite dessert in the summer time and this apple crisp never fails to impress. Using Granny Smith apples gives it the best mixture of sweet and tart. And of course, it always goes well with vanilla ice cream! Sometimes I put a caramel sauce on it too, but that is only when I’m ready for a sugar overload! Try it out and let me know what you think.

For the topping:

1/2 c. unsalted butter chilled

1 1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 1/3 c. flour

And the apple mixture:

3-3.5 lbs. Granny Smith apples

2/3 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 vanilla

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Topping: Dust your workspace with flour. Take your chilled butter and cut into little squares (about 1/8 inch) and coat with flour. In a bowl, mix the butter with brown sugar, salt and the 1 1/3 flour. Put this mixture in the refrigerator.

Crisp: Heat oven to 325* Peel and core the apples and cut them into 1/8″ slices (crescent shape). In a bowl, mix apples with sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and vanilla. Put this mixture aside at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

Put the apple mixture into a 2 quart glass baking dish. Remove the topping from the refrigerator. Take a handful of the topping and squeeze it in your fist and then sprinkle it over the apples. Repeat this technique with the rest of the topping making sure to cover all the apples.

Place the dish in the oven and bake for approximately 2 hours or until the topping starts to brown and the juices thicken and bubble. Rotate the dish a couple times during baking to ensure even heat. Remove and cool. Cut and serve!

Gelato Galore!!

Brooke Louise — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:14:31 +0000

Ok, so we were minding our business on Friday night, doing our best to avoid the human mosh pit that is the 3rd Street Promenade, and we happened upon Angelato Cafe. This place is like an oasis in the desert! Over 100 flavors of gelato that you can sample BEFORE you buy. The flavors are wildly varied, with a good mix of the obvious old stand-bys like After 8 (mint chocolate) to some adventurous newbies like Nutella. My favorite was the Raspberry-Lemon. So refreshing!

The place was a mad house, with a line all the way out the door. You purchase a ticket for what you want and then move down the line to pick it up. Of course, you can walk the entire length of the serpentine shaped counter to choose your flavors first. I recommend doing this if only to take in all the options! The experience is a bit pricey for an everyday thing, but then who can eat gelato every day and not see the repercussions on their waistline?!?!?! (although they DO offer low and no-fat options…they are not quite as fun)

All in all, it was a wonderful experience I completely recommend!

Angelato Cafe. 301 Arizona St. Santa Monica.

Grilled Swordfish Kabobs

Brooke Louise — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:33:43 +0000

This is a light fish recipe that is perfect for summer grilling! The sweet, yet citrus, marinade compliments the swordfish beautifully. Be sure to soak your skewers (if using wood) in water for about 20 minutes before threading the kabobs.

Marinade:
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ground coriander

Kabobs:
2 lbs. swordfish steak
2 zucchini
2 red bell peppers
salt & pepper

Combine lime juice, honey, oil and coriander in a shallow dish, set aside. Preheat the grill. Cut the swordfish into 1 inch cubes and lay into dish to marinate (about 10-15 mins). Cut zucchini into 1/2 inch pieces and the pepper into 1 inch squares. Once fish is marinated, thread fish, zucchini and pepper alternately onto skewers. Season with salt & pepper. Grill, turning once, until fish is cooked (approx. 4 minutes).

This dish goes well with James’ summer quinoa recipe:

1 c. quinoa
1 red or yellow bell pepper
1 tomato
1/2 red onion
green onions
garlic
1 lime
Cilantro

Cook quinoa according to directions. Chop garlic, bell pepper, tomato, red and green onions. Sautee in virgin olive oil. When the quinoa is done, add sautee and then cilantro and lime to taste. Delicious! Thanks James!

Here Comes Savannah!

Brooke Louise — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:04:58 +0000

Ok, my best friend Rachel is having a baby in a month!!! So, we had her baby shower last Saturday to celebrate the imminent arrival of Savannah. Days before, we baked like crazy and I decorated 75 cupcakes! Whew! It was great fun and we all fell into a sugar coma shortly after the gifts were opened. Here are some photos from the shower. And Miss Savannah, I can’t wait to meet you!

Cowboy Up!

Brooke Louise — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:12:14 +0000

These are the all time BEST Cowboy Cookies ever! They have all the right ingredients and bake up to a nice, soft cookie. So, get yer boots on and cowboy up!

Ingredients:
1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 lg. eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. rolled oats
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 c. raisins
1/2 c. walnuts

Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add dry to wet and mix well. Mix in oats. Fold in chocolate chips, raisins and walnuts.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 12 minutes or until golden. Yeehaw!