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Category Archives: Recipes

I’ve talked before, many times in fact, about my love for a Hot Toddy. Well, this year, when summer rolled around, I wasn’t quite ready to let my Hot Toddy sipping go. Since I make my Hot Toddy with fresh ginger, it is, at it’s core, a tea (with plenty of whiskey added of course). So, I decided to try making an iced version of my hot toddy with the tea as the base and a bit of ginger ale to add a little sparkle for summer. It turned out so well and I’m thrilled I can now enjoy my very favorite cocktail year round.

Cold Toddy with Ginger RecipePINCold Toddy with Ginger RecipePIN

ICED (HOT) TODDY WITH GINGER

Ingredients.
6 cups boiling water
1 lemon, sliced
2 lemons, juiced
3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1
/4 cup honey
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
ginger ale
ice cubes with quartered lemon slices
bourbon or whiskey

Directions.
Place the sliced lemon, lemon juice, grated ginger, honey, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg in a large glass pitcher. Pour in the six cups of boiling water and allow it to cool to room temperature. This creates an intense ginger tea. Pour through a strainer into another pitcher to filter out the seeds, cinnamon sticks, and ginger.

Pour two ounces of each: the ginger tea, ginger ale, bourbon. Stir. Add ice. Enjoy.

Espresso and Vanilla Ice Cream Cakes with Fudge and Oreo Crust RecipePINI have eaten such an insane amount of milk (in the form of ice cream) during this pregnancy! Every week I’ve told myself, you’ve really got to stop eating so much ice cream, hot fudge sundaes, frozen yogurt, Blizzards… you get the idea. Yet, every week I couldn’t seem to resist just one little bit… so here we are at the end of the pregnancy and I gave up. In fact, I’m eating ice cream right now.

I have been craving a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake the whole nine months. But, being me, I decided to make ice cream cakes with an Oreo crust myself. My best friend and her son have birthday’s a day a part, and they were having a party! The perfect excuse to experiment. I made a vanilla ice cream cake for the kids and an espresso ice cream cake for the grown ups! I headed into the endeavor having absolutely no idea what I was doing, but also with the knowledge that with ingredients like Oreos, fudge, ice cream and whipped cream, I really couldn’t do anything too disastrous. The results were, “I’ll have a third slice”, kind of amazing.

This recipe makes one cake.

ESPRESSO AND VANILLA ICE CREAM CAKE WITH OREOS AND FUDGE

Ingredients.
2 half gallons of ice cream, vanilla or espresso
fudge sauce (recipe below)
2 packages Oreo cookies
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
2 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for serving
fine salt

Directions.
Pour one package of the Oreo cookies into a large bowl. Using your hand and a potato masher, crush the Oreos up into small chunks. Set aside.

The fudge sauce recipe is from Martha Stewart. For the fudge sauce, in a medium pot, combine corn syrup, 1/4 cup cream, 1/2 stick unsalted butter, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, and pinch of salt; bring to a boil, whisking, over medium-high. Remove from heat and let fudge sauce cool.

Grease a 9×9 inch baking dish with vegetable oil. Line the pan completely with plastic wrap. Remove one half gallon of the ice cream from the freezer and allow it to soften a little bit while you make the Oreo crust. In a food processor, blend the second package the Oreos until they are completely crumbled and fine. With the food processor running, slowly add in 1/4 cup melted butter. Pour the crushed Oreo mixture into the dish. Spread evenly throughout the dish and press down firmly to compact the crust. Drizzle a bit of the fudge sauce over the crust.

By now your ice cream should be perfect to work with. Working with about one cup at a time, scoop the ice cream into the dish. The crust is delicate so be careful not to disturb it. Using your hands, gently spread and press the ice cream until you have about a one inch layer. Put the ice cream back in the freezer. Top this layer with a good coating of fudge sauce, and a handful or two or the crushed Oreos. Place the cake in the freezer and allow it to set for about 10 minutes. Repeat the layers: ice cream, fudge, Oreos. Finally do one last layer of ice cream and fudge. Put it in the freezer for one hour. Then, once the fudge is pretty set, cover with greased plastic wrap and freeze for 8-24 hours.

For serving…
Using a mixer, whip your remaining one cup of heavy cream into whipping cream. Gently add in the vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. Set aside.

When the cake is completely set, remove it from the freezer. Invert the cake on a large plate. Lay a hot washcloth over the bottom of the dish to release the cake. Remove the plastic wrap from the bottom of the cake. Place your serving platter on the bottom of the cake. Carefully flip over the cake, using both the serving platter and plate to hold it in place. Remove the plate, peel off the plastic wrap. Top with whipped cream, spread evenly about like frosting. Pop back in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Finally, using a sifter, dust the cake with cocoa powder. If you want, cut out a shape or letter from a piece of paper, lay it gently on the cake, and dust over it to create the W and K effect like in my photo.

PRINTABLE RECIPE.
ESPRESSO AND VANILLA ICE CREAM CAKE


I just can’t stop baking cookies. This baby girl is sure to be made completely of cookies and citrus fruit when she makes her debut. Lucky for me, Gigi loves making (and eating) cookies as much as I do. I’m spending lots of time baking, cooking, playing, cuddling, reading, visitng the park with her. Pretty soon we’ll be cooking together while a baby sister is strapped to my chest!

oatmeal raisin cookies recipePIN

oatmeal raisin cookies recipePIN

oatmeal raisin cookies recipePIN

oatmeal raisin cookies recipePIN

 

oatmeal raisin cookies recipePINOATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

Ingredients.
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 1/4 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Directions.
Adjust your oven racks to the top and bottom middle of the oven. Preheat your oven to 350˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and the granulated sugar. Mix in the dark brown sugar, followed by the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, gently whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir until incorporated. Finally, add in the oats and the raisins and stir until incorporated.

Scoop 3-4 tablespoons of cookie dough at a time onto the baking sheet. Space the cookies out about three inches, you can fit 8-10 on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheets in the oven and cook for 17-20 minutes, rotate the sheets halfway through baking. Remove the cookies from the oven when they are golden brown. Immediately, and carefully, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let them rest for about 10 minutes.

PRINTABLE RECIPE.
OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
In case you missed it, our cooking video for them is here!

sorrel pesto recipePIN

I love this time of year in Oregon. It’s sunny and warm enough to sleep with the windows open, but still cool enough at night that you need a down comforter. Everything is in green and blooming, and all the fresh herbs are becoming available. Last weekend, Gigi and went to visit a friend’s farm and she loaded me up with sorrel from their garden as we were leaving. I’d never used sorrel before and she recommended I make a pesto from it. The sorrel made a fantastic pesto that had a slightly more bitter flavor than basil. We pulled some wonderful salmon from the freezer and had ourselves an easy, wonderful dinner.

Recently I was visiting a friend’s farm and as I was leaving she loaded me up with a bag full of sorrel. I’d never used it before and she suggested I use it to make pesto. So I whipped it up when I got home and it was a huge hit. It has a very different flavor from basil, a bit more bitter and earthy, but completely unique and delicious. I can’t wait to make it again and experiment with different kinds of nuts and cheese!

SORREL PESTO RECIPE

Ingredients.
4 cups sorrel, stems trimmed
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
zest of one lemon
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions.
In a food processor, blend together the sorrel, parmesan, pine nuts, lemon zest and garlic. Scrape down the sides. With the machine running drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto forms into a smooth, creamy, paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For serving with pasta, cook the pasta until al dente, reserve a bit of the pasta water, drain the pasta. Toss the pesto and pasta together, adding a little bit of the pasta water to thin the pesto and help it adhere to the pasta. Serve with a little parmesan cheese.

PRINTABLE RECIPE.
SORREL PESTO

Roasted Grapefruit with Honey and Cinnamon RecipePINLast week I posted my recipe for Roasted Blood Oranges, and this week I’m sharing my simple recipe for roasted grapefruit. This is one of my happiest discoveries this past year. I love any and all citrus fruit but grapefruit is at the top of my list. Roasting it with a little sugar mellows out the bitterness and brings out the fruit’s natural sweetness. A few minutes in the oven and this tart breakfast food transforms into a comforting, sweet treat. This is an fast, easy and healthy dessert. You can jazz it up with a little sprinkle of cinnamon or ground ginger.

ROASTED GRAPEFRUIT WITH HONEY AND CINNAMON

Ingredients.
1 large grapefruit
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
honey
cinnamon (optional)
ground ginger (optional)

Directions.
Preheat the oven to 375˚F.

Slice the grapefruit in half, exposing the segments. Using a sharp knife cut along the edges of the grapefruit segments (just as you would if you were planning to eat it in it’s uncooked state). Sprinkle each half of the grapefruit with 1/2 tablespoon of granulated sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon or ginger if desired. Place the halves, cut sides up, on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven for 20-25 minutes. The segments will be slightly raised and the they will smell amazing.

Remove them from the oven and carefully transfer them to a plate. Drizzle with honey and let them rest for a few minutes before devouring.

PRINTABLE RECIPE.
ROASTED GRAPEFRUIT