Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

It's almost Valentines day so I decided it was the perfect time to make some red velvet cake.  I also love whoopie pies and have been wanting to make some more this year.  I found this recipe on Annie's Eats and decided to give it a try.  I loved that Annie piped these into hearts.  It's just so cute.

Everyone that enjoys red velvet knows that you have to eat it with cream cheese frosting, there's no other way.  I used this recipe.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies:
(Annie’s Eats)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 oz. red food coloring

Directions:
 
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the egg until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Blend in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in about a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk, beating each addition just until incorporated.  Repeat so that all the buttermilk has been added and then mix in the final third of dry ingredients.  Do not overbeat.  Blend in the food coloring.
 

There are a couple of ways to get these on the cookie sheet.  If you use a piping bag the cookies will have a better chance of coming out even, however... don't worry if you don't have a piping bag or if you don't want to use one.  Use two spoons and just make little balls.

Bake 7-9 minutes or until the tops are set, rotating the baking sheets halfway through.  Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets at least 10 minutes, until they can be easily transferred to a cooling rack.  Repeat with any remaining batter.  Allow cookies to cool completely. 

Pair the cookies up by shape and size.  Pipe frosting onto the flat-side of one of the cookie of each pair. Sandwich the cookies together so the flat sides are facing each other and press gently to help the filling reach the edges. 

Looks like another one I can cross off of my 2011 To Do List!

Hashbrown Casserole

My family does a big brunch for Christmas every year.  It's awesome.  We wake up, make breakfast, enjoy the time with friends and family, and then open gifts. 

The menu usually consists of waffles, quiche, fresh fruit, and an assortment of breakfast meats.  We also have hash brown casserole.  It's awesome and everyone loves it.

Hash Brown Casserole
 

Ingredients:
2 lbs frozen hash browns
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 can cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 11 x 14 baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix the above ingredients together, place in prepared pan and top with more cheese.  Bake for 45 minutes or until brown on top.

Ranch Oven Fries

I had some potatoes to use up this week and I don't have the best track record with homemade french fries.  It was time for me to make a comeback!    These turned out really good too and were really easy.














Ranch Oven Fries:(Inspired by Tyler Florence)

Ingredients:
2 russet potatoes, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, halves cut lengthwise into fourths to make 16 big, fat wedges
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet ranch dressing powder
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

While the baking sheet is heating, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, ranch dressing, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a ziploc bag. Then dump the potatoes out onto a baking sheet, spreading to a single layer. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, shaking the pan every now and then, until the potatoes are cooked through, brown and crispy. When the fries are finished toss them with the cheese and the rest of the salt.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is the bee's knee's.  It's my favorite, by far.  It's a classic frosting and is good on everything.  It's also super easy to make.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2½ cups powdered sugar

In a bowl beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until incorporated, beat until smooth. 

Adam's Rib Co.

Adam's Rib Co.

2111 NW 13th St.

Gainesville, FL 32609
Telephone: 352-373-8882

Hours: 

Monday-Saturday: 7AM to 9PM

Sunday: 9AM-9PM

I love BBQ.  It's awesome in every way.  One of the places that Mr. T and I like to go to is Adam's Rib Co..  It took us a while to try it, I'm honestly not sure why.  They have all of the typical BBQ and sides.

Their ribs are huge and my favorite thing is that you can add 1 rib to your meal.  When we went I got the 3-rib meal.  It was three ribs, two sides, and garlic bread for $8.49.  You can see the mac and cheese peeking out under the garlic bread, I forgot to get a picture of the baked beans... they're fantastic.  I also appreciate the fact that they serve collard greens.

 

While you're there sample the sauce bar.  There's at least 20 different sauces: mild, hot, spicy, pepper vinegars, and mustard.  There's Memphis Style, Carolina Style, and everything in between.  My favorite is the Honey BBQ.  Mr. T loves the Gator Sauce.  

Adam's is open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  It's worth it.

Sweet Tea Pie

I've mentioned before how much I love tea.  I consider it my own personal crack.  In my opinion it's acceptable to drink for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  I love it.  While watching Paula Deen the other day I saw an episode that had one of my favorite cookbook authors on it as a guest, Martha Foose.  She was making something called Sweet Tea Pie.  It looked amazing and I decided that I needed to try it.

This turned out really great.  I added some extra lemon to the mix because I tend to like extra lemon in my tea anyway.  The filling was really silky and it was different than any other pie I've had.  I will definitely make it again.    
                
This also covers our Flavor of the Month for January.

Sweet Tea Pie:

(Martha Foose- Screen Doors and Sweet Tea)

Crust:
6 oz softened cream cheese
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour


Filling:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cups strong black tea, cooled
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt


For the crust:
In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well combined.  Add the flour and mix until the dough forms a ball.  Pat the dough into a 9-inch pie pan.  Chill until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 350.

For the filling:

In an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at a medium speed until light.  Add the yolks one at a time, beating at low speed until well incorporated.  Slowly add the tea, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the flour, cornmeal, and salt and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared crust.

Bake for 45 minutes or until set.  Cool completely on a wire rack and then chill for 2 hours before serving.















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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

I've never been a big fan of brussels sprouts but I've decided to try them again.  I also wanted to knock something off of my list of 2011 cooking resolutions.  I found a recipe from Ina Garten that looked fantastic, added bacon and garlic, and went to town.  They were really crisp on the outside and still tender on the inside.

Maybe brussels sprouts are back on the rotation.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon:
(adapted from Ina Garten)

½ pounds Brussels Sprouts, cleaned and sliced in half
3 cloves garlic, pressed
½ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Divided
2 slices bacon, chopped


Toss the Brussels sprouts, 3 pressed garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Empty the contents into a ovenproof dish and roast at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.


In a skillet, add the bacon and cook until just crispy.

Add the Brussels sprouts and heat through for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from heat.