Author Archives: Julia

Sweet & Spicy Thai Quesadilla

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One of the first things on my list of boyfriend approved meals are quesadillas.

I probably make him one at least once a week; usually as we are bumming around catching up on our television shows together. Most of the time, okay, all of the time, they are pretty much your straight forward quesadilla; cheese and tortilla. Not very exciting. It’s a lucky day when I have some chicken in the fridge or maybe even two types of cheese. This time I figured I should go for something exciting. Something spicy, something sweet…

So I went with something Thai; a cuisine that I discovered with the boyfriend and we both love it. Speaking of which, it’s also a cuisine that we don’t eat the frequently because in all honesty, I kind of forgot about it. Especially when it’s so easy to go out for pizza and frozen yogurt. This quesadilla, however, will never allow me to forget Thai food ever again.

As soon as the tasted the peanut butter sauce, I knew we had a winner here. Instead of scarfing it down for dinner, I very carefully tucked them away into the freezer to share with boyfriend the next time he is here. I’m so nice, I know. There still may be a bit or two or three missing…

Sweet & Spicy Thai Quesadilla
makes 2 quesadillas

1/4 c. peanut butter
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 c. pineapple, diced
1/2 c. broccoli, cut into small florets
1/3 c. cheese, grated (any)
2 flour tortillas

In a bowl, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, crushed red pepper, hot sauce and half of the water. Stir until combined; heat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, stir again and add the rest of the water if the peanut butter mixture is too thick. (It shouldn’t be the consistency of a sauce but not quite as thick as regular peanut butter.)

Spread the peanut butter mixture onto one half of the tortilla. Top with half the broccoli, pineapple and cheese; fold over and repeat with the other tortilla. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the quesadillas one at a time about 4-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. They can also be cooked in a george foreman type grill (which is what I did) for about 6-8 minutes. Cut in half and enjoy!

Rainy, Awesome Weekend.

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He is an April Fool’s baby. We had some great plans this weekend to go into NYC but it was raining and freeeeezing. When it’s cold, I’m seriously the biggest pain in the butt ever. I don’t stop complaining and take on the appearance of a turtle as I burrow my head and neck as far into my jacket and scarf as possible. And I’m cranky to the billionth power.

So, imagine our extreme disappointment when we woke up on Saturday morning to find it pouring, windy and just barely forty degrees. I was all in for ditching our plans for staying in pajamas and the heat all day, I’m a great girlfriend aren’t I? But, the boyfriend insisted that we still try to make it a fun day and head into the city because there were things that both of us had been looking forward too.

You see, Joy the Baker was speaking and signing her new, amazing cookbook at the Brooklyn Kitchen on Saturday. Being a huge fan and avid reader of her site, I practically begged the boyfriend to let us go there on his birthday weekend. Of course, he agreed :) There were yummy, free snacks and free beer (the best kind according to boyfriend). I’m glad that I braved the cold weather because Joy was extremely sweet and a pleasure to listen to and meet. She even signed my copy of her cookbook!

The place was packed! But we were lucky to be close to the front of the line and didn’t have to wait too long. We left a little after 3:00 and I braved the cold weather again as we walked down the street to the real reason we dragged ourselves to Brooklyn on this rainy Saturday; the Brooklyn Brewery. I planned on taking the boyfriend there for his birthday celebration and to take a tour of the place. Well, we got there and there was a huge line waiting to get inside!

After a freezing thirty minutes, we were allowed in! This place was really neat and it was packed. We bought some beer tokens and stood in the longest line I have ever seen. Long story short, we got some beer and listened to some fun history about the brewery. We then decided it was too cold and realized we had been standing for the past four hours, so we wimped out and started to head for the train home! I think we’ll be back for another trip to the brewery when it’s not so miserable outside.

The brewery was extra interesting because we hadn’t eaten anything besides a few nibbles of goodies at the Joy the Baker book signing. We couldn’t wait to get home and have some dinner; we even cheated a bit and grabbed some ice cream at the train station before heading home.

We were pooped and it was barely 5:30.

 

Chocolate Coconut Boyfriend Cookies

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They always say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

I one hundred percent agree. If my man didn’t already love me, then I’m also one hundred percent sure that these cookies would definitely do the trick. And if it didn’t, well then maybe he’s just not the man for after all — just kidding! To me, these are the definition of man cookies; chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.

I found these coconut creme Hershey kisses at Target and I knew that I was going to have to bake something really awesome with them. Since the boyfriend loves coconut and has a birthday coming up this weekend, I figured why not surprise him with some cookies? Of course, it won’t be a complete surprise, as I am kind of spoiling it here but he still has yet to taste them! So aha, I still have some semblance of surprise! I plan on sneaking these cookies into the movies this Friday when we (finally) see the Hunger Games, shh!

Even though he has yet to taste them, I know that they will be a hit. Believe it or not, our three year (gasp!) anniversary is coming up next week and if I have learned anything about him in these past three years, it’s what he likes to eat. I mean, obviously I can only think about food and cooking all day so of course I would be quick to pick up on his favorites. Whenever we go out to eat, I can usually pinpoint what he is going to order before he even finds it on the menu, I’m just that good. Or I’m just that creepy, I’m not sure.

I do know, however, that if it’s got the words: prosciutto, bacon, fresh mozzarella, jalapeno, chocolate, coconut, coffee, taco or starts with ‘fish’ and ends with ‘chips’ — then he will definitely be there. Lately he has been a big fan of fish tacos and fish & chips, probably because I’m allergic and he is tired of me always trying to eat his food; so this is the surest way that it all stays on his plate and in his tummy.

In honor of my man’s birthday and our quickly approaching anniversary, I am dedicating next week’s blog posts and recipes to the love of my life; for allowing me to feed you strange things, for always putting up with my obsessive need to grocery shop whenever we are out together and for listening to countless stories about other blogs that I’m sure you don’t care about, this is for you so you better be hungry :) Next week I’ll be introducing a series of boyfriend-inspired recipes.

Chocolate Coconut Boyfriend Cookies
makes about 3 dozen

3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1 c. coconut creme Hershey kisses, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until creamed. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually mix into the butter mixture. Once mixed, stir in the coconut and Hershey kisses.

Spoon the dough onto a baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 until crisp on the edges and slightly glossy looking on top. Remove from sheet and cool.

Maybe some stretchy pants should be part of his birthday gift as well? Just kidding, cookies made with love have practically negative calories. What do you like feeding your loved ones?

Peanut Butter & Apple Stuffed French Toast

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Looks like I’m stuck on breakfast again.

In my defense, though, this idea has been stuck in my heads for weeks but I’ve just been too lazy to actually create it, photograph it and most importantly, eat it. But man, I am so glad that I finally did it because it was even better than I imagined; crunchy, sweet, tangy, warm, nutty…and easy, let’s not forget about that crucial detail.

I’ve seen stuffed french toast on dozens of brunch menus and I’ll admit, I’ve never ordered any. I have no clue how to really stuff french toast, although I can’t really imagine that it would be much different than this. I can also imagine that this recipe is about four times healthier than any other stuffed french toast. It’s full of fruit, healthy fats and fiber — what a great way to start your morning! Or, you know, your lunch hour.

I love the combination of apples and peanut butter, and they both certainly did not disappoint in this dish. I am already thinking of all the lovely combos that could be united in french toast form; peaches, blueberries or cherries…I think I’ve found my new food obsession. Oh, and if you get really lazy while in the process of making this or lose electricity or something, you can just skip the frying and enjoy a nice PB&A sandwich, another one of my favorites.

Peanut Butter & Apple Stuffed French Toast
makes 2 servings, one “sandwich” each

4 slices bread, preferably light whole-wheat
2 tbsp. peanut butter (or any nut butter)
1 small-medium apple, sliced thinly
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Smear 1 tablespoon of peanut butter onto two slices of bread. Top those slices with the sliced apples. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla and cinnamon until combined. Pour the egg mixture onto a small plate or shallow bowl.

Heat a skillet or frying pan, sprayed with non-stick spray, to medium-high heat. Take one of the slices with apples and peanut butter on it and gently dip the bottom of the bread into the egg mixture; carefully shake off any excess liquid. Place egg-side down into the pan. Take a bare slice of bread and lightly dip it into the egg mixture as well; place on top of the bread in the pan to create a “sandwich” – make sure the egg-dipped side is face up.

Cook the sandwich for about 4 minutes, flipping halfway through, until both sides are golden brown. Transfer french toast to a plate and repeat with the other two slices. Cut in half and serve with maple syrup. Feel free to sprinkle with more chopped apples.

I cannot get enough. I ate this for lunch, about five hours ago — still full. This is wonderful.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

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I love being home for break for one big reason: I don’t get stuck with two dozen cookies and the most delicious loaf of bread to eat all by myself. I have four happy mouths to taste everything, five if you count the dog (probably the most willing taste-tester, but you can’t always trust her judgement).

While everyone is at work and school, it’s just me and the dog in the kitchen together. So, whether it’s on purpose or not, she ends up eating quite a few things. However, she did not get any of this bread. It was gone within hours. I’m one-hundred percent serious when I say that my family and I gobbled this up; it was half gone within an hour of leaving the oven. Now that’s impressive.

I love when I haven’t been home in a while because it means that my mom has huge piles of food magazines that I can catch up on. I found this recipe in a Better Homes and Garden Magazine and oh, it looked so good that I knew I was going to have to try and make it. I mean, it’s practically and cinnamon bun in one big loaf, what’s not to love?

My sister and I had a baking marathon with several batches of cookies and this delicious bread. It smells so amazing and she was super upset that she had to go to work before it was done. I think we managed to save her a little bit but I can’t quite remember because it disappeared so very fast.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
makes one loaf

3/4 c. milk
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 package)
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter, melted
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-2 tbsp. milk

Heat the milk until warm and pour it into a stand mixer bowl, add the yeast. Stir until the yeast is dissolved and let sit about 5 minutes, until slightly foamy.  Once foamy, beat 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tbsp. of sugar, egg and salt into the yeast/milk mixture. Beating on low, add half of the flour. Beat on medium for about 2-3 minutes and then stir in
remaining flour.

Using your hands, shape the dough into a ball and put it in a greased bowl. Cover and set aside; let rise 45 minutes to an hour, until doubled in size. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. Once the dough has risen, roll it out on a floured surface to a 20×12-inch rectangle. Brush the top with the 1/4 cup melted butter and sprinkles with the mixture of 3/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Cut the dough in five strips and stack them on top of each other. Then cut these into six pieces. Taking a one of the stacks, place them cut side up in the loaf pan; continue with the remaining strips. Cover and let rise again for 45 minutes until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake the loaf for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing. Drizzle with glaze if desired (for the glaze, whisk ingredients together until desired consistency, then drizzle); pull apart slices and enjoy!

My house smelled wonderful for hours after this.