America's Test Kitchen Cooking School

I'm taking online cooking classes! I've been considering this for a while, and decided now is the right time.

Here are some things I've learned so far:

• Basil, chives, and parsley should never be used dried, because they lose their flavor dried.
• Basil can be stored in water (change daily) on the counter for several days to prolong its freshness.
• Use dried, Turkish bay leaves only and store them in the freezer. California bay leaves have a medicinal flavor, and are harder to find anyway.
• Sage should be cooked; it's not a good finishing herb because of its cottony texture.
• Goal: learn how to use marjoram and tarragon.
• Spices shouldn't be kept on the counter or by the stove. This is one rule I'm breaking, because I just organized them all in my turn-table, and I can never find them when I store them in the cupboard.
• Goal: try cumin seeds, not ground cumin.

I'm calling it a night; I've been up since 5am!

Homemade Bread

I've been making this bread from memory since I was in my teens, so it took discipline to write down the recipe! :)  My directions are relatively simplified, so if you're someone who needs more direction and details, then you'll need to do more research. You do need a kitchen aid with a dough hook or I can't help you. :) Don't worry about a particular temperature for the water; just make sure that it's a little warm, and it's better to be too cold that too warm because yeast is killed at 140, and then your bread wouldn't rise.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
more flour :)

Put the yeast, sugar and warm water in the kitchen aid bowl. Let it rest a few minutes, until you see it foam. This way you'll know it's alive and active and your bread will turn out! After it's all foamy, you can add the rest of the ingredients. After you thoroughly mix it with the dough hook, let it sit for 30 minutes or so. Now, you want to start adding flour by the 1/2 cup or 1 cup. The dough needs to pull cleanly away from the sides of the mixing bowl before it is done, but add the flour slowly so it can be absorbed and your bread isn't too dry. When the dough is holding its shape, let it rest for another 30-45 minutes, until doubled, then knead it with the dough hook on low about 5 more minutes. The dough should be moist, but not stick to your finger when you touch it. Put it onto the counter and form it into two large loaves. I like to make a rectangle the length of the bread pan, then roll it up and pinch the sides together. Put the loaves gently into buttered pans and let rise about 45 minutes, or until doubled. Bake at 350 about 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature measures at 200 degrees.

Ice Cream Cake

I love to spoil my little sister. Seriously, I'll do anything for her. She loves ice cream cake, so it's her birthday request year after year. She was born on New Year's, and of course I remember when she was born, since I was 11. This year, she turned 20, and I got to be with her, unusual since we're all adults and live in various states. She was headed back to college after Christmas break, and stopped at our apartment for a couple days. We actually went sking on New Year's, and we made tacos and ice cream cake. This one is her individual cake, which I made in a mini spring-form pan.

Take your favorite brownie recipe, or a mix, and put a thin layer in a spring-form pan, about half an inch. Bake this until it's slightly undone, because when it's frozen, you need to be able to cut through it without breaking yourself. After it's cooled, scoop softened ice cream onto it, as thick as you want, and top with sweetened whipped cream. I like to garnish my cake with whatever the ice cream flavor was, so if you use mint chocolate chip icream, like this one, then sprinkle chocolate chips on top. My favorite is Breyer's Reese's ice cream, and I chop up a couple Reese's peanut butter cups to put on top.

Stuffed Chicken Caprese

3 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 garlic cloves, diced
1/4 shredded mozzerella or montery jack cheese
2 Tablespoons fresh shredded parmesan
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt

Mix these together and let sit for an hour to blend flavor. Meanwhile, pound 4 chicken breasts to about 1/2 inch thickness. After the filling flavors have blended, put a large spoonful on each pounded out chicken breast, then roll up and hold with toothpicks.

Mix together 3/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings. Roll the stuffed chicken in this mixture, then fry in a little oil on medium heat, just a few minutes to get crispy. Finish cooking in the oven, uncovered, on 350 until tested 165 with a thermometer.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of our favorite soups. It reheats well, so I usually make a lot more. We like it best when I use a whole, fresh chicken. The chicken shreds, and the soup is tastier.

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic: mince and saute with a little oil
1-2 tsp Thyme
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp Basil
1 tsp cumin
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
4 cups fresh chicken broth (from cooking chicken)
1 cup corn
1 can black beans
2 chicken breasts: cook in water (save water) and chop into bite-size pieces

Directions:
Combine everything, bring to a boil, then simmer until ready to serve.


Toppings:
green onion
chips
avocado
shredded cheese

Bre's Chip Dip

This, right here, is the most delicious, easy-to-prepare chip dip there is. Compliments of my sister Bre. Mix a can of Rotel tomatoes, whichever spice level you prefer, with an 8-oz block of softened cream cheese, and grab a bag of chips. Mmm, mmm, good.

Green Smoothies

 

 

This is the reason I haven't been sick this winter. Yum and quick. On days when I don't give myself enough time to get ready in the morning, it's perfect. Pop everything in the blender, clean up the kitchen while it's blending, then sip on it while I do my makeup.


The ingredients are flexible:

1 cup milk
1 banana

a spoonful of peanut butter
1 few spoonfuls of plain yogurt and a little honey, or sweetened yogurt
spinach to the top of the blender

You can also add any kind of frozen fruit. I don't actually put banana in it anymore because they give me headaches, but if you eat bananas, the smoothie is much tastier with it.

 

Blend it all up and enjoy!


Granola

Ingredients:
10 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned, not quick)
1 1/2 cups apple juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Optional, based on preference:
Add one or more of these based on what kind of granola you want.
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 cups raisins
2 cups coconut
2 cups nuts

I like to put coconut and nuts in my granola. I add raisins or dried cranberries when I'm eating it, because I don't like how they plump up when they're baking with the granola in the oven. But, maybe you like your raisins plump, so go for it.

Use a large cake sheet or two 9 x 13 glass pyrex dishes. Put the oats and any other optional ingredients you want to add in the dishes. Combine the apple juice, honey, oil, brown sugar, and salt in a pot on the stove, and turn on high. As soon as it comes to a boil, take it off the stove and pour over the oats. Mix completely. Put in the oven at 350, and stir every 15 minutes for about an hour, until it is all dried out and slightly golden. Cool and store. I'm not sure how long this granola can be stored for. I eat it all within 3 weeks.

Pumpkin Bread

This could really be called "pumpkin pie bread" because it's so gooey and spicey like pumpkin pie. It tastes just like it! We took big slices of this in ziplocs to the theater, along with travel mugs of hot tea and hot chocolate with Bailey's, respectively. Yum.
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 cup water

Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients together, except the sugar. Mix together the applesauce, oil, sugar, pumpkin, and eggs. Combine dry and wet ingredients, and mix thoroughly and add the water. Spray a 9 inch loaf pan with oil, pour batter in, and bake at 350, for about one hour.

Cookie Fondue

Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe and add sprinkles to it. Bake them as bars in a pan, instead of as cookies on a cookie sheet. When they are cool, cut them into bite-size squares and dip in chocolate. I also like a variety of fruit for chocolate fondue, but I didn't get a picture the last time we had fondue.

A few days ago, we took fondue to a friend's house. They have four sweet little kids, and it was a crazy fun circus of "whose stick is this?" and "I found a potato; who wants it?" It wasn't the relaxing romantic dinner most people associate with fondue, but it was SO much fun! Anyway, we use chicken broth in the fondue pot, and we had potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, chicken, and beef for our main course. And our dessert is pictured above.

Here's the recipe I like for sugar cookie bars:

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sprinkles

Sift the dry ingredients together. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add the egg and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla, then the dry ingredients and the sprinkles. Mix thoroughly and spread into a greased 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 350 about 35 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bite-size squares.