Olive Oil Cake... with Orange, Almond and a citrus glaze

For quite a few weeks now, I have been eyeing this un-used bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in my pantry. I really only cook with regular olive oil, as this "extra virgin" stuff, or as Rachael Ray calls it: "EVOO" is super fruity and adds quite a different flavor when you cook. Upon surfing the website tastespotting.com (by the way, if you don't know what it is, please check it out as it hosts the best food blogs and recipes all compiled into one big site. I may or may not have spent hours trolling this URL), I came upon an "olive oil cake" recipe. GENIUS!

Upon more hours surfing the world wide webs, the recipes all sounded pretty easy and similar to other cake recipes, but with a fruity twist. I decided to pair mine with some orange zest, and a citrus glaze to keep it moist, topped with slivered almonds for crunch. These flavor combos had my tongue thinking I was in Italy, but alas, this was surely baked in my Brooklyn kitchen, and couldn't be easier. You won't regret this if you try it. Buon Appetit!


Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
zest of three large oranges (or 3 tbsp worth)
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup slivered almonds, for topping

Citrus Glaze:
juice of 3 large oranges
1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat your oven to 350F and line a 8 or 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper, lightly oil or spray the pan before lining to prevent sticking. Begin with a medium bowl and sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a larger bowl using an electric mixer, or a whisk, beat together the eggs, sugar and orange zest until the eggs are light and fluffy, sugar is creamed and the mixture about doubles in size (takes roughly 5 minutes if using the electric mixer). Beat in the buttermilk until incorporated, then gradually add the olive oil, little by little, continuing to use the electric mixer or whisking swiftly. This will prevent the batter from looking like an oil&water mess, and rather create a nice emulsion. Once fully incporporated, take the flour mixture and add little by little by folding in with a spatula. This will keep the cake from deflating. Add the batter to your greased/lined cake pan and evenly top with the slivered almonds. Bake for 35-45 minutes (my oven took 47 minutes, so be sure to use the toothpick test and wait until it comes out clean in the middle of the cake). Let cool thoroughly on a drying rack. Prepare the glaze: juice your oranges and add the sugar, & whisk together until sugar fully dissolves. Poke some holes in your cake with a toothpick in an even manner (not too many, just enough to let the glaze seep through in each part). Gently glaze the enture surface area of the cake with a small spoon, and let dry.

SERVE AND DEVOUR!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

This post almost kills me to write. I am anything but a traditional baker, and I am sorry but red velvet cupcakes just don't tickle my fancy. The only word that comes to mind when I hear someone wants this flavor is: BORINGGGG!!!! This, coming from a girl who likes to die a strip of her hair pink in the summer just for the hell of it. It takes all kinds, right?

But hey, these cupcakes are topped with cream cheese frosting and is still a yummy treat. So, when my co-workers asked me to bring some to our pot-luck lunch, I couldn't say no. Shout out to my fellow team members BTW--- I love you all and I did this for you. I think you liked 'em as there were no leftovers come the end of the day. Anyways, here it is. My version of a semi-lighter and yet still delicious red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

Yields: 48 mini cupcakes or 24 regular sized-cupcakes

Baking time: 12-15 minutes (mini sized) or until toothpick comes out clean

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp red food coloring

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tsp distilled white vinegar

Begin by preheating your oven to 350F and lining your cupcake trays. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, oil, apple sauce, vinegar, food coloring, buttermilk & vanilla extract. until just combined. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, & salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and whisk together thoroughly until combined. Fill the cupcakes 3/4 of the way. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean, let cool on rack thoroughly before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 8 oz package cream cheese
3 cups confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl of your stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the butter & cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time, and add the vanilla extract alternatively. This makes a stiff frosting and is beautiful for decorating with fun piping tips. If you like a loser frosting, add 2-4 tbsp milk to thin it out.

Enjoy!

Because Love is Dangerous.... and so is baking.

It's about that time. Yup.

Time for hearts, chocolates, love songs, candies & flowers.....

Barf.

Screw that. It's time for some cookies....

Chocolate Espresso Sandwich cookies, to be precise. Because love is dangerous, and so is sugar. So let's dive right in!


We chose to decorate our cookie sammy's with "?"s and cross-bones, being the rebels that we are. Threw in a few chocolate espresso hearts for good measure & festivity. The frostings can easily be piped into different shapes and logos on the top of the cookie, so get creative! Impress your honey, your friends, or even just yourself. Because let's be honest, that's all that really matters, right?

Ingredients

Cookies: 

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4 tsps instant coffee powder

1 egg

4 tbsp butter (1/2 stick unsalted)

Frostings:

(chocolate)

1 stick butter

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp milk

1 1/3 cup powdered sugar, more or less for desired texture

(coffee)

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp mascarpone

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp instant coffee

Begin by preheating your oven to 350F. Next, get the food processor out (if you don't have one, your hands and a bowl will work just fine!). Pulse the butter, flour, sugar, vanilla, and coffee in a food processor until forms bread crumb-like texture. Add egg and pulse until dough forms, another 2-3 minutes. Or mush them all together with your hands until you have cookie dough. 

Roll the dough out on a powdered-sugar dusted surface to 1/2 inch thickness. Get out your heart shaped cookie-cutter and slice them up. Arrange on a cookie tray and bake 8-10 minutes (less time if cookies are thinner than 5 millimeters). Let cool thoroughly on a wrack until cooled. Meanwhile, make the frostings.

Chocolate frosting: whip together the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, & milk together until light and fluffy. Pipe into piping bag and snip just the small end of the tip (or even a ziplock bag will work just fine).

Coffee frosting: whip together the butter, mascarpone, instant coffee, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Pipe into a separate piping bag and snip end off similarly to the chocolate. 

Assembly:

Once the cookies have cooled, flip them over (baked flat side up). Pipe a dime size amount of each frosting in the center of the cookie. Take a second cookie, and place onto the frosting (baked flat side on the frosting). Press down to even out frosting. Continue with remainder cookies, and pipe decorations on the top of the sandwich with the chocolate frosting for added effect. 

Happy Valentine's Day, our fellow foodies!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Sometimes to get through the week, all you need is some peanut butter & jelly.

Or at least, that's what I used as therapy last night. No harm, and so much cheaper than a shrink!

Simple, sweet, yet still so decadent and mouth-wateringly fantastic.

These bars don't need much of an introduction, just take a peek and please, for the love of all that's holy in PB&J land, try them. It takes a stellar 15 minutes to whip them together, another 30 to bake, and about 18 seconds to devour.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup smooth/creamy peanut butter (all natural works best)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups favorite jam (grape, strawberry, take your pick!)
1/2 cup oats (instant work best)
Nonstick spray for pan

Begin by lining an 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 inch pan with tin foil or parchment paper, and spraying with non stick spray. Refrigerate while you make the batter. Preheat oven to 350F.

Batter: cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg until just combined. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. You may need to use your hands towards the end, as the batter gets pretty thick/dough like and a hand mixer won't have the elbow grease.

Knead the dough into one big ball and split in half. Return one half of the mixture to your mixing bowl, and take the other half and press to the bottom of your greased/refrigerated pan with your hands to coat evenly. Meanwhile, take the second half in the mixing bowl and knead in the oats. Place back in bowl while add jam layer.

Jam layer: spread your favorite jam (at least 1 - 1 1/2 cups) evenly across the pressed peanut butter dough on the pan.

Top layer: take the peanut butter & oats dough and sprinkle across the top to make a crumble. Easily done by breaking off into quarter sized rings and placing along the top, coating the jam layer thoroughly.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until top layer is browned. Let cool thoroughly before removing and slicing.

Makes roughly 16-18 squares.

Slice, and store in air tight container in refrigerator, if desired.

Spicy Curry Poached Eggs

Who does not like breakfast for dinner!? It’s a no brainer on a busy weeknight, after a tiring day at work. It’s quick, healthy and delicious! I love it, but I tend to get bored with the regular old scrambled eggs and toast. So I decided to put a fun spin on an old classic Indian Dish of Egg Curry. Egg Curry is traditionally made with hard-boiled eggs (barf!); but I love my eggs with the yolk a little runny, so this recipe worked great for me and for the toasted pita bread, that got the pleasure of sopping up all that yummy yolk and tomato curry!

It’s the perfect way to put a Gourmet Spin on a simple Egg. Here's how you do it:

2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Jalapeños, finely chopped (you can add more to suit your taste)
1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Green Pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Turmeric powder

2 ½  teaspoon Garam Masala (easily available in your Grocery stores Ethnic Foods aisle)

1 teaspoon paprika
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
Salt and Pepper to taste

4-5 eggs (depends on how wide your skillet is and how many people you want to serve)
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 tablespoon chopped Chives

Warm Pitas and Home Fries, for serving

·      Heat the oil in a deep bottom skillet. Add green peppers, onions and Jalapeños and cook until soft and golden brown

·      Now add Garlic, Cumin, Turmeric, Garam Masala and paprika, and cook for an additional 2 minutes

·      In a separate bowl, pour the canned whole tomatoes, liquid and all and crush with your hands

·      Now add the crushed tomatoes and their liquid to skillet, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper

·      Prepare the eggs in the meantime. I used 5 small ramekins, cracked an egg in each, which made it easier to add to the curry sauce. Once the sauce has thickened a little, carefully pour one egg at a time, into the sauce. Use a Spatula to nestle the egg into the sauce, and cover the skillet

·      This will need to now cook for another 5-10 minutes minutes, the whites will be completely cooked and the yolks will settle a bit but still be runny when you serve. Perfect!

·      As soon as eggs are cooked, sprinkle crumbled goat cheese and chives on top and you are ready to eat!!

Serve alongside a warm toasted Pita and a side of Home Fries. Creamy, spicy, tangy and oh so delicious!!

The Gourmet Pantry 1 year Blogg-iversary!!

Well folks, it has officially been one year since we embarked upon this culinary tour that we have called "The Gourmet Pantry," trying to bring you all some simple yet amazing recipes that every New Yorker, non-New Yorker, cook, and non-cook can enjoy. And let me tell you, it has been one hell of a ride. From the initial gut-wrenching excitement when we first hit the "publish" button, to the stressful weeks where we were both certain we had given up on logging our kitchen stories.

Needles to say, we have loved every minute of sharing our awesome, not so awesome, and funky recipes with you. To celebrate this occasion, we decided to throw a little shin-dig and invite some of our closest friends, followers, and foodies (and Foodies & Fatties to be specific) over to eat these goodies we keep telling you all about!

Appetizers, desserts, champagne, wine.... and many Celine Dion songs later, it was one happy-go-lucky scene. In keeping with our Gourmet Pantry tradition, we took some old recipes, some new ones, and wanted to share with you all the fun fixings.

Thank you all for following us, and here's to another year of Gourmet Pantry deliciousness, and all that it may bring to the table- pun intended!

Party Please #1- Gouda Stuffed Dates w/ Bacon

Ingredients:
1 box pitted dates, about 20 dates
1 package pre-made pie crust (2 sheets per package, Pillsbury is best)
1 lb bacon, strips cut in half
1 block smoked gouda cheese

Preheat oven to 400F. Next, take out the pie crust (make sure it is defrosted fully if was frozen), and roll one sheet out onto a lightly floured surface. Next, assemble the dates:
Chop the gouda cheese into 1 inch cubes. Stuff the gouda cubes into the dates where the pit should be (be careful to check dates, sometimes pitted store bought dates miss one or two!). Take one strip of bacon and wrap around the date. Place date on the rolled out sheet of pie crust, and assemble the next one. Be sure to leave 2-3 inches in between the dates from each side (depending on how large your dates are). When all is done, place the second pie crust sheet on top of the dates, seal, and cut. Pinch the ends up with your sides to form fit the date so it looks like one little football. Make a tiny slit on top to allow air out while cookie, and stick onto a baking tray for 15-20 minutes or until crust is browned on edges and cooked. Serve with a toothpick. Vegetarian version- just leave out the bacon!

Party Pleaser #2: Turkey Meatballs with Soy Glaze Reduction

In the party snacks department, tiny meatballs will always win over a heart attack inducing 7 layer dip or stale peanuts/popcorn! These Scallion Turkey Meatballs were the perfect addition to our Bloggi-versary and a nod to Chinese New Year!

Moist, succulent, salty and sweet; the soy sauce and sesame oil glaze on top just elevated the experience of popping one of these babies in your mouth! The meatballs were so popular at our party that they were gone before we could say “Holy Meatballs!”

Ingredients:

(meatballs)
1 pound ground turkey
4 large scallions, finely chopped
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 egg
2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used low sodium and the salt content was fine!)
Freshly ground black pepper

(Soy Sesame Glaze)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce (I used reduced sodium in order to control the saltiness)
1/2 cup white wine (I used a slightly dry wine)

2 heaping tablespoons of your favorite chili garlic sauce (e.g. Sriracha Sauce)
1 large piece of peeled, chopped ginger

1 teaspoon ground coriander powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Vegetable oil to cook the meatballs

Make meatballs:  You can actually mix the meatballs a day or two in advance and store in an airtight container. This saved me a lot of time!

I, however, cooked the meatballs an hour before the party started. They did not take very long and were warm and moist!

Mix turkey, scallions, cilantro, egg, sesame oil, soy sauce and black pepper in a bowl.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, generously cover bottom of pan with vegetable oil.
I used a teaspoon to roll out bite-sized portions of the meatballs. Simply cook with a teaspoon and drop into the hot skillet. Worked perfectly!
Turn the meatballs, until browned all over and cooked inside, about 8 minutes per batch (My skillet held about 12 per batch, cooking time would need to be adjusted based on the stove you use, electric or gas)
Once cooked, let the excess oil drain by placing the meatballs on some kitchen paper towels

Make the sauce/glaze The sauce can also be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated until needed. When you drizzle it over the warm meatballs it’ll be nice and gooey and stick to the meat instead of sliding off the sides.

In a large saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and add soy sauce, wine, chili garlic sauce, ginger, coriander powder and pepper.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half. (This took me about 40 minutes, because I wanted to achieve a more syrupy consistency).
Once it has reduced to your satisfaction, strain through a sieve and store in a squeeze bottle

Assemble the Meatballs: Stick each meatball with a fancy toothpick and place on a serving platter. Now drizzle the glaze over the meatballs, be generous! You can place the leftover glaze on the table, in case your guests would like more. I noticed our guests pouring that glaze over everything! Even the Biscotti!

Party Pleaser #:  Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

If the turkey meatballs didn't last 40 minutes, these didn't last 15. I mean, just re-read the title: Cheesecake. Stuffed. Strawberries. I don't need to explain further, other than show you how it's done. Try not to stare too long at this one, the pressure and salivating will become unimaginable until you just can't take the pressure anymore, and are forced to do it yourself. Trust me, this one is worth the effort!

Ingredients:

(Crust)
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 stick melted butter

(cake)
2 8 oz packages cream cheese
3 large eggs
1 pint sour cream, full fat
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

3 pints fresh strawberries - the larger the better

Preheat oven to 300F. In a bowl, crush mix the crushed graham crackers with melted butter. Grease an 8 inch springform pan, and pour crust into the pan. Smoosh down with hands until even layer is formed. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Mixing until combined. Add the tsp vanilla, sugar, and whip until sugar is creamed, 2-3 minutes. Add the sour cream and mix until just incorporated, another 30 seconds - 1 minute. Pour batter into crust, and bake for 40 minutes. *Note, the cheesecake will still jiggle considerably in the middle, but will harden during refrigeration and this recipe baking time is intended to use the cake as a filling, so even after refrigerated it will be very smooth and lose. This will making piping into hollowed out strawberries much easier. Refrigerate cheesecake for at least 30-40 minutes.

As the cake cools, wash and rinse your strawberries. Pat dry with a paper towel. With a pairing knife, trip off the top and hollow out as much of the berry as you can without puncturing a hole. This take some practice, and use the tiniest knife you can find. Once they have all been hollowed out, take the cheesecake out and let come up to room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Scoop out the cheesecake (leave the graham cracker in tact to crumble on top later if desired), and pour into a piping bag (or a large plastic bag with an edge snipped off to resemble one). Pipe into strawberries and chill in refrigerator for another 15-20 minutes so they are cold upon serving. Sprinkle with crumble graham cracker crust, fresh graham crackers, chocolate syrup... or nothing. These are AMAZING as is...... (wipe that drool off your chin, please, you're getting the computer dirty)

Other items included a savory biscotti of Parmasan cheese & Herbs De Provence with a vodka tomato cream dipping sauce, homemade crostini & herbed butter with onion marmalade topped with goat cheese, Indian spiced vegetable fritters, and of course... lemon, strawberry & vodka shot cupcakes! If you'd like the recipes, just give us a shout!!!

Life isn't always about having what you want... it's wanting what you've got. Keep cooking!!!!

Love
The Gourmet Pantry ladies

Spiced Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Whipped Cream

In case you were wondering where winter went this year, it has finally showed it's face. In true white fluffy fashion, the flakes are falling and it's about that time. You know, time to lay down on the couch in your snuggie (yes, snuggies are awesome, still trending in my apartment anyways), and fill your belly with something warm & comforting, perhaps while watching the latest Twilight film on DVR? No? Ok, Harry Potter?
Anyways, for some reason this past weekend as the snow fell, a regular brownie just wouldn't satiate my appetite for something warm & chocolate-y. For an added kick, I splashed the batter with some cayenne pepper. This addition, plus some sour cream for balance & overall gooey goodness, brings just enough warmth to the palate to keep you coming back for more, while keeping you perfectly pleased as Edward & Jacob battle it out for Bella.... And the recipe couldn't be easier! You don't even need to melt any chocolate! Three days after they were baked, I enveloped the leftovers in cling wrap and brought them to work- just as moist as they were on day 1. Now you know you have to try these....

Spiced Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp sour cream

In a microwaveable bowl, melt the butter until just melted. Do not boil or splatter! Let cool, and preheat oven to 350, and grease your 9inch brownie pan. Then, add the sugar to the butter and mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, along with the vanilla extract. Whisk until incorporated and smooth. Finally, add your flour, cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, and sour cream. Mix until the batter is fully formed, but no further! Do not overmix! Pour into brownie pan and bake 20-25 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean. (I like mine on the gooey side, so I pull mine out right before it firms up, and only a little batter gets stuck to the toothpick).

Chocolate whipped cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3-4 tbsp confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, add the whipping cream and using an electric hand mixer (or whisk if you have the arm muscle, and patience!), begin to whip. When the cream begins to firm (about 2-3 minutes), add the sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Whip up until firm peaks have formed, or you reach the desired consistency you prefer. For sweeter frosting, add more sugar, and cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate flavor. Serve as the brownies are still luke warm. I like mine warm, but be careful, the frosting will melt!

Happy wintery eats!