Almond Cream Rolls

How about a little lovin’ from the oven on a Sunday morning? This Pillsbury classic is an old favorite of mine. I’ve been making these for so long, they feel like my own recipe, though I think I must have found them in a magazine or on the label of a Pillsbury crescent roll can once upon a time.

The original recipe is doubled. I rarely feel the need to be surrounded by 8 danish, so here’s the recipe as I always make it: one can of crescents yields four yummy cream rolls.

ALMOND CREAM ROLLS
4 oz. cream cheese (I use reduced fat Neufchatel–nothing is lost in translation)
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
sliced almonds for the tops
1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
cinnamon to sprinkle over the inner cream layer

Egg wash
1 egg white + 1 teaspoon

Glaze
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 to 2 teaspoons milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, almond extract and powdered sugar.

Separate crescents into four rectangles. Use your fingers to seal the dotted line that runs diagonally across each rectangle. Spread each rectangle with a quarter of the cream cheese filling to within a quarter inch of the edges. Sprinkle cinnamon over cream cheese. Starting at the longer side, roll up each rectangle into a long roll of dough. Gently stretch each long roll to approximately 10 inches long. Then coil each roll into a spiral with the seam on the inside. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

In small bowl, whisk together egg white and water, brush over roll. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Ready to bake!

Bake at 350 degrees F for 17 to 23 minutes.

Drizzle glaze over warm rolls. Enjoy your breakfast!

 

The Sassy Scorpio

It’s tiki time! Warmer weather finally seems to be here to stay, so I’ve invited some special amici to party with us. Meet the new crew.

Tiki mugs this cool are certainly worthy of a sassy cocktail. If you like a Scorpion Bowl, you’ll be happy to know you can easily shake up a Sassy Scorpio with freshly squeezed fruit juice to take a virtual trip to paradise right in your own home. Shall we?

THE SASSY SCORPIO

juice of 1 orange (I’m loving Cara-Caras lately), about 5 oz.
juice of 1 lemon
5 oz. pineapple juice
2 oz. gin
2 oz. golden rum
2 oz. Malibu rum
2 oz. vodka
1 tablespoon grenadine
4 maraschino cherries–two per tiki on a toothpick to garnish

Remember: crushing ice is cathartic, so at the end of a grueling day, just grab a hammer (a meat mallet works even better) and a gallon Ziploc bag and bang your troubles away. Et voilà, crushed ice. Fill two tiki mugs with ice and set them in the freezer while you whip up the drinks. You know, just like us, tiki mugs like to chill.

Squeeze the fruit juice (except for the pineapple, of course), add the pineapple juice, grenadine and liquors. Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into tiki mugs. You’ll have enough to fill two mugs and then some. So take a good sip and be sure to top off your drinks. Garnish with two cherries speared on a toothpick.

Now you know what to make for Hawaiian Shirt Friday–just one more day to get there, thankfully, WHEW! Here’s some music to get the party started! Aloha, amici!

 

Hummus

Parlez-vous a homemade hummus? It’s so easy to make at home if you have a blender or mini food processor. If you haven’t already given it a whirl (HA!), you’ll kick yourself for not trying it sooner. So, don’t delay–let’s make hummus today. And off to the kitchen we go to play!

HUMMUS

3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted and cooled
1 15-20 oz. can chick peas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons olive oil
finely chopped parsley or cilantro (optional)
juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

In a small skillet, toast sesame seeds over medium heat until golden, shaking the pan often. Set aside.

Place chick peas, oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in blender or mini food processor and blend till smooth. Add sesame seeds. Blend. Chill. I told you it was easy!

Serve with your favorite veggies, tortillas or crackers for dipping.

And hey! Did you remember your rabbits today? On the first day of each new month, when first you wake, these words you say: RABBIT, RABBIT, RABBIT! If those are the first words you spoke this day, good luck will be yours for the month of May. You forgot? That’s OK. There’s always next month. Happy May Day, amici!

 

Rolo CCCs: a caramel twist on chocolate chip cookies!

Have you noticed the recent resurgence of Rolos? Of course, the classic commercial is still a favorite: “You can roll a Rolo to your pal. It’s chocolate-covered car-a-mel!” It brought me back to the chocolate Rolo cookies I’d tucked away in my recipe files ten years ago and never made. I grabbed a bag of super-cute Rolo minis at the supermarket and was looking forward to making these cookies finally.

Then my balloon landed. “I don’t like chocolate cookies,” said my #1 taster. Whattt? How is that even possible?!

Undaunted, I was determined to make those Rolo minis work. My chocolate chip cookies (CCCs for short) are a big hit around here. I thought I might bake some happiness by wrapping that dough around the Rolos for a caramel CCC twist. What say we let it roll?

ROLO CCCs

Start with your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough. I originally left out the chocolate chunks, but learned along the way: the dough will be much tastier with finely chopped dark chocolate in it. So, please chop 1/4 cup of your favorite dark chocolate as finely as you can (to the point some of it will be almost powdery) and add it to your dough.

Now, if you’re a patient person, store the dough in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Or if your patience approaches sainthood, try holding out for 24-36 hours. Take a peek at the CCC recipe above for the backstory on why it’s worth the wait.

Of course, you can get rollin’ with the Rolos anytime. Take 1 tablespoon of cookie dough.

Smoosh a Rolo mini right in the middle.

Roll it nice-nice so the candy’s hidden and you have a perfect little ball. Repeat. About 30 times.

Now, you see these have no finely chopped chocolate on them. I quickly fixed that by rolling ‘em like truffles. Et voilà!

Perhaps you’ll have more dough than I had. Somehow, gobs of it mysteriously made their way to my mouth. MOO. You should have at least 30 cookies, maybe more if you’re less prone to quality control. It’s not easy being a perfectionist.

Space them out on your cookie sheet–they’ll spread as they bake. Three across worked out great for me. Bake at 350 degrees F for 11-14 minutes (14 in my oven yields a crispy cookie, subtract a minute or two to keep ‘em chewy). Sprinkle with schmantzy finishing salt when you take them out of the oven if you’re so inclined.

 

Buffalo Chicken Soup

Up till I made this soup myself, I had never eaten Buffalo chicken soup before. But my curiosity was piqued when one of our friends made it recently. That was all good and fine till I learned it was made from canned cream-of-something and rotisserie chicken. Hmm. I thought, “I can do better than that,” so off to the kitchen I went and came up with this! I can’t compare it, of course, but I was very happy with how it came out. And, if the weather in your neck of the woods is anything like it’s been here in the Land of Steady Habits of late (extended periods of cooler, windier and grayer than it should be!), you may have noticed it’s excellent weather for nice, comforting soup like this. Andiamo, let’s shuffle off to Buffalo!

BUFFALO CHICKEN SOUP

3 carrots (guess how we cut them? HA HA HA!)
3 stalks celery
½ large sweet onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ stick butter, salted (1/4 cup)
¾ – 1 pound chicken, cubed
4 tablespoons flour to form a roux with the butter/veggies/chicken
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot
1 cup shredded cheddar (I like Cabot’s Seriously Sharp)
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large stockpot, melt butter. Cook the celery, onion, carrots and jalapeno in melted butter till tender.  Add chicken; cook till chicken is not pink. Stir in flour to form a roux.

Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add milk, Frank’s Red Hot and shredded cheddar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When the cheese has melted and soup has thickened slightly, it’s time to eat!

And there we have it–homemade goodness in a bowl. “I believe in the sunshine, even when it rains!” How about you, amici? “I feel it–and I believe it!”

 

Vietnamese Coffee Gelato

I’ve been longing to give Vietnamese coffee gelato a whirl for a while. It’s a natural flavor choice for Katty’s Kitchen–my base gelato recipe is made with that magical ingredient, sweetened condensed milk, just like Vietnamese iced coffee. If you like a nice, strong Vietnamese iced coffee,  you’re gonna love this gelato recipe. I solemnly swear!

As anyone who knows this kat personally can attest, I rarely lack for extra energy. So, I steer clear of caffeine and stick to decaf, but feel free to fire up with high test if you like the extra boost. It’ll keep ya jumpin’ east of Java! I use Café du Monde as they do in many Vietnamese restaurants in my area. I can’t remember where I bought it, but I’m willing to bet you’ll find it locally at A Dong Supermarket in Elmwood’s Shield Street Plaza or Kien Oriental Market on Park Street in Hartford. If not, check with your local Vietnamese restaurant to see where they get their coffee.

Oh, and while we’re going local, I’d like to send a special shout-out to my friend Michele, whose glorious yard-fresh (yeah, talk about free-range!) eggs yolks made this gelato eggs-tra special EGGS-CELLENT!

VIETNAMESE COFFEE GELATO

1¼ cups whole milk + ¼ cup after milk is infused (I’m very fond of Arethusa Farm these days—from Litchfield, CT)
¼ cup heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks (thank you, Michele!)
¼ cup Café du Monde ground coffee
pinch salt

Heat 1¼ cups milk, heavy cream and coffee grounds on medium to  medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, till small bubbles form at edge of pan. Remove from heat. Remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain through a tea strainer. Yup, a tea strainer. Just be patient and stir the grounds as you go. It works! This yields a very thick coffee concentrate.

1 ¼ cups is what I measured after it had infused, so I added ¼ whole milk back to the mixture to bring us back to 1 ½ cups of dairy.

Beat together egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk till smooth. Temper egg mixture by slowly adding to hot milk, whisking constantly. Cook over medium-high heat and continue to whisk until mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Do not let it boil!

Strain through fine-mesh sieve into clean bowl, let cool to room temperature. Stir in salt. You can make an ice bath to speed up the process. Chill custard overnight or at least four hours.

Just before turning the chilled custard into your ice cream maker, place the custard and the dasher from your machine into the freezer for up to 20 minutes. It makes the custard nice and thick. Next, it’s time for the spin cycle: process according to your ice cream machine’s directions. Enjoy!

 

Sweet Noodle Kugel – A Tale of Two Kugels, Part 2

As promised in part 1 of this tale, I riffed on Aunt Ellen’s recipe to come up with a sweet noodle kugel. If you roll on the sweet side of the street, you may be drawn to this version with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, dried apricots and tart cherry preserves. I guess you could call it dessert, but I also called it breakfast for several days.

SWEET NOODLE KUGEL
1 pound full-fat cottage cheese, small curd
1 pound full-fat sour cream
(See a pattern emerging here?)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (Neufchâtel is fine and welcome at the otherwise full-fat party)
4 large eggs
12 oz. bag of egg noodles

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup golden raisins*
½ cup apricots, diced*
¼ cup tart cherry preserves
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

*Soak in hot water before you start combining everything.

Topping
½ stick salted butter for topping
crushed cornflakes on top
1 teaspoonful or more light brown sugar to sprinkle over the cornflakes

Butter a deep baking dish (my 10 x 13″ one does the trick nicely), preheat oven to 375 degrees F and set aside.

Using a stand mixer, whisk cream cheese with vanilla and almond extracts. Add eggs, whisk to combine. Add cottage cheese and sour cream.

Boil noodles according to package instructions, drain. Combine noodles with eggs, cottage cheese and sour cream mixture. Drain raisins and apricots, add to noodles with tart cherry preserves, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Fill baking dish with noodle kugel. Crush cornflakes over top. Dot with butter. Be generous–I use almost half a stick. Sprinkle a teaspoon or so of light brown sugar evenly over the cornflakes. Once again, you’ll want to be sure your oven rack is right in the middle. Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour. Take a peek around 50 minutes to make sure the top isn’t burning–just in case your oven runs any hotter than mine. If need be, cover top with foil. I didn’t have to do this–hopefully, you won’t either.

Ah, kugel, sweet kugel. How sweet it is! Na zdrowie! L’chaim!

 

Noodle Kugel – A Tale of Two Kugels, Part 1: The Savory

One of my favorite (non-Italian) comfort foods is noodle kugel. It’s a heavy hit of all things rich and delicious, and you’d best believe only full-fat dairy is invited to this particular party.

Though this is a minor adaptation of my Aunt Ellen’s recipe (I added cornflakes to top it, as many people do), I’m pretty sure this is everyone’s noodle kugel recipe. It’s super simple and so satisfying. You can eat it as a side dish, make it your main meal with a vegetable or even eat the leftovers for lunch or breakfast as I do! It heats up beautifully with a splash of milk in the microwave.

NOODLE KUGEL

1 pound full-fat cottage cheese, small curd
1 pound full-fat sour cream
4 large eggs
12 oz. bag of egg noodles

Topping
handfuls of crushed cornflakes
1/2 stick (or so) of butter

Whisk eggs, combine with cottage cheese and sour cream. Boil noodles according to package instructions, drain. Combine noodles with eggs, cottage cheese and sour cream mixture.

Butter a 10″ pie plate. Fill with noodle kugel. Crush cornflakes over top. Dot with butter. Be generous–I use almost half a stick. Sprinkle with salt. You’ll want to be sure your oven rack is right in the middle. Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour. Take a peek around 50 minutes to make sure the top isn’t burning–just in case your oven runs a bit hotter than mine. If need be, cover top with foil. I didn’t have to do this–hopefully, you won’t either.

Now that I’ve shared part 1, perhaps you’re wondering about part 2! It’s the same story with a sweet twist–brown sugar, cinnamon, dried fruit and tart cherry preserves. No one made it in my family, so I riffed on this base recipe and made my own. Share with you soon!

 

Bananas Foster Brownies

I went bananas this morning and couldn’t wait to tell you about it. Bananas Foster is so delicious…and here a Casa Katty, it’s always fun to riff on brownies. What if? Could it be? Oh, yes, it can!

I “fostered” one banana, blitzed it up with some Neufchatel and swirled it into my favorite brownie batter. I’m pretty sure you’ll go bananas over this recipe, too.

BANANAS FOSTER BROWNIES
adapted from my all-time favorite basic brownie recipe from Ghirardelli

For the brownies
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
3/4 cup Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa
2/3 cup unsifted flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dark chocolate chunks (I chopped up Valrhona feves)

To foster a banana
1 banana, sliced
1 tablespoon salted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla rum
sprinkle of cinnamon
1 tablespoon golden rum

For the bananas foster layer
Process in mini food processor till smooth:
4 oz. cream cheese (I use Neufchatel, 1/3 less fat)
1 large egg
1 “fostered” banana

First, let’s foster the banana. In a pan, melt butter with brown sugar, vanilla rum and cinnamon. Once everything has melted together, add bananas.

Gettin’ the party started heah!

The bananas will begin to soften and the caramel color of the sauce will darken as it bubbles away. Carefully add the golden rum. I’ll be honest: I tried to light it up, but it wasn’t happening, so let’s skip the flambé portion of the program. Fact is, you’ll get lovely caramelized bananas regardless. See? Even the spatula is happy about it.

Set the bananas aside. Once they cool a bit, you can add them to a mini food processor with the cream cheese and one egg. Process till smooth and wait to put the brownies together.

Now, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a spoon, stir eggs with sugar and vanilla; add butter.

Sift dry ingredients together; stir dry ingredients into egg mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks. Spread half the batter in a buttered 8″ square pan.

Smooth the banana mixture over the bottom brownie batter layer. It vaguely resembles a cartoon balloon, no? What is it saying? EAT ME.

Spread the remaining brownie batter over that. And it doesn’t have to be perfect, ’cause we’re gonna swirl it with a knife to marble the pan. Look how nice.

Bake for 35 minutes. Cool completely before cutting and enjoying.

And speaking of “fostering”–“Don’t Stop” thinking of ways to change it up–in the kitchen and elsewhere! Take the tried and true one step beyond with something new! The possibilities are endless. Have a great week!

♥,
Katty

P.S. Spring is coming! 16 days and counting, amici!

 

Girl Scout Cookie Cocoa

You may have heard, here in the Land of Steady Habits (a.k.a. Connecticut), we were walloped by a monster blizzard this weekend. In my 44 years living in this area, I don’t recall snowfall of this magnitude. I can’t open my front door.

The door to my back deck leads to a wall of snow. The deck itself looks like a giant bowl of powdered sugar.

The only door that will open is in the basement. I opened it to dig out my heat pump (insert wallet here), in hopes I can keep things relatively toasty here. Have I told you lately I’m a crummy pioneer?

So, what time is it? Well, it was about 1:30ish when I stirred it up, but that’s beside the point.

It’s really time for a liquid thin mint! A liquored up Girl Scout cookie cocoa, replete with whippy cream to make the day a little brighter. Kid you not, it tastes just like a thin mint with the added magic factor of being an adult beverage.

Follow me, you might just earn your bartender merit badge for this one! With apologies to Mrs. Kachinsky, my Brownie leader–I never made it further than Brownies–I really am a good girl deep down where it counts.

GIRL SCOUT COOKIE COCOA

1/2 cup + of milk (overpour so you have a standard mug half filled with milk)
1 tablespoon Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa
1 Valrhona feve (or small amount of your favorite dark chocolate, broken into pieces; note: 1 Valrhona feve = 1/8 oz.)
1/4 cup Rumple Minze peppermint schnapps
generous glug of Bailey’s Irish Cream
whipped cream (I like Reddi-wip for this purpose) to top your cocoa

Heat the milk in the mug in the microwave. About 45 seconds worked nicely here. Take it out, stir in the Ghirardelli cocoa, then break up the dark chocolate, drop it into the mug and stir again. It should melt in, but an extra trip to the microwave will make it perfect–about 20 seconds more.

Stir in the Rumple Minze, then the Bailey’s. Remember, you need to leave enough space to top it with whipped cream. Et voilà!

So, I leave you singing a “Song of Joy” with alllllllllllll the happiness this melody brings…because the power is on and I’m safe and warm, however snowbound. And now a little warmer–OK and mildly buzzed–from  this killer cup of cocoa. I was a huge Captain & Tennille fan back in my Brownie days (oh, yes, I had this album, for the record). Make no mistake, they still sound good to me, too. CENT’ANNI, amici! Stay safe and toasty, wherever you are!