May 15, 2012

Banana “frozen yogurt”, but not really…

I was so excited about this post. I thought I had made an incredible discovery. I was just giggling to myself about how sneaky and secretive I was being about this recipe, and then today, it all fell to pieces (not the recipe- that is still delicious, but the secret). I’ll explain.

First, let me tell you the secret, because it’s easy. See that banana in your fruit bowl that looks like it’s about to go bad, but you don’t feel like eating it? Well, go peel it right now, put it in a plastic bag and stick it in the freezer. Tomorrow, when you are thinking to yourself after dinner “Hmmm, I would really like a delicious frozen treat right now”, you will take this frozen banana, you will put it in a food processor with any “toppings” of your choice (peanut butter, nuts, and chocolate chips were my picks), process it for about 30-45 seconds until smooth, and then you will eat it. And it will be so yummy, and cold, and you will think to yourself “This IS like frozen yogurt!!”

Now, why did it fall to pieces? Because, some of you are probably already thinking to yourselves “Welcome to the loop, Michelle”. The reason you might be thinking this is because on your recent banana purchase, you may have noticed a sticker on the banana that basically just gave away my whole idea. I discovered this pesky sticker today AT SCHOOL. It means someone already thought of this. But you know what? Actually, I don’t have any profound “told ya so’s” right now. I’m hungry. See ya.

p.s. Get ready for the shortest recipe ever…

Banana “frozen yogurt”

1 frozen banana (peel before you freeze)

toppings (strawberries and blackberries or peanut butter and chocolate are my faves).

 

Put frozen banana and toppings in a food processor. Pulse. Eat.

Banana fro yo with strawberries and blackberries

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May 7, 2012

Grapefruit is back

So, I feel as if I have started a number of posts this year with “I used to hate, but now I love ________”, and today, I have another one. Grapefruit. It always looks so yummy, but then I eat one and remember that it is not that sweet, it’s annoying to prepare, and it’s not that sweet. Even after dumping spoonfuls of sugar on top, I couldn’t eat it.

Well lately, especially as I researched yummy brunch drinks for some spring wedding/baby showers, I began to notice that grapefruit (especially the juice) was everywhere.

Which leads me to last weekend, on an “impulse buy” at Whole Foods, I selected a delicious looking grapefruit, and ran to the cash register before I changed my mind/found another 18 things that look good, but I don’t actually need nor intend to eat.

 

For breakfast this weekend, all I did was slice open a grapefruit, sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on top, and broil it in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. I had a warm and juicy breakfast, full of antioxidants and vitamins, and discovered that in my old age, I am growing to enjoy things that are less sweet, and sort of healthy. Grape nuts: sorry. I still hate you.

Grapefruit halves with sugar and cinnamon:

1 ripe grapefruit, cut in half

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

 

Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and set aside. Pre-slice the grapefruit, and sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on the halves of grapefruit. Broil for about 8-10 minutes, and enjoy with a bit of yogurt, or all by itself!

 

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May 3, 2012

No corkage fee? YES Please!

I love going out to eat in Atlanta! So many delicious restaurants, many of which take pride in using local ingredients and developing incredible wine lists. I have to admit, however, that every time I look over a wine list, I slightly cringe at the cost for a glass of wine as I think through all of the delicious bottles collected over time sitting in our pantry. $11 for a glass of chardonnay? I could pay $15 and get a whole bottle of equally delicious chardonnay!  (Only that involves me cooking and on Friday nights, I do not cook. I unwind.)

Luckily, a friend recently reminded me of a perfect solution! Finding restaurants with no corkage fees!

I experimented last night by bringing a bottle of Gundlach Bundschu Gewurtztraminer to Murphy’s in the Virginia Highlands. As predicted, they have no corkage fee for the first bottle as long as they don’t serve the same wine in their store/restaurant (so call ahead and check!). They happily brought glasses and a bucket of ice to keep our wine cool while we caught up and enjoyed our dinner. And it’s even better if you have a special bottle that you are saving for a certain occasion, but want to just enjoy instead of gulp while you sprint back and forth through the kitchen. It was heavenly!

So, a few tips for you Atlanta folks, and a useful website for you non-Atlantans. Here, I have found that Murphy’s, One Midtown Kitchen, Two Urban Licks,  Antico Pizza, D.B.A. BBQ, and Parish all allow you to bring the first bottle of wine in with no corkage fee. Local Three charges $10 (which is on the cheaper end and one of my favorite restaurants).

Don’t live in Atlanta? Check out this website: Go BYO and find restaurants near you. Call and check before you go to make sure they haven’t changed their policy, as I found to be the case on a few occasions!

Etiquette when bringing your own bottle? Some restaurants recommend that you offer a taste to the chef as a “thank you”. They might also suggest that you tip your server as if you had ordered a bottle of wine, since they are still opening the bottle, bringing the glasses over, and topping off your drinks.

In any case, get out there, enjoy some food and you bring the wine!

 

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April 23, 2012

Scratch Brownies and Icing

Heading to NYC with a bunch of 14 year-olds this week which called for serious reinforcement over the weekend including a pedicure, trashy novels (currently reading this), adult beverages, sun-bathing, and of course, chocolate in order to prepare.

A few years ago, I recall a friend saying “Why make brownies from scratch? The box mix is cheap, and so delicious!”, and ya know what? I don’t disagree. BUT- a) I’m usually too lazy to go back to the store to get that and b) once you go scratch, you never go back.

I have been making these scratch brownies for years now, and the texture is indescribable. When they bake, they get a slightly crispy top crust with a rich and fudgy filling. I will usually serve them sprinkled with powdered sugar and a massive glass of milk, but given the circumstances of the week, we needed icing. Badly.

So I am sharing with you Alton Brown’s recipe for homemade brownies along with Cook’s Illustrated recipe for an AMAZING and easy creamy icing to go on top. Now, if only I had some Bachelor or Bachelorette to watch, the evening would be complete.

Brownies:

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cup cocoa

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

8 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup flour

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300F and grease an 8 x 12 rectangular pan. Beat eggs for 1-2 minutes until they are light and fluffy and add sugars. Beat sugar and egg together until well incorporated, then add the remaining ingredients. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Make sure you don’t overbake these!

Chocolate Icing:

1 cup half n half (or cream)

1 cup chocolate chips

Bring half n half to a boil and pour over chocolate chips in a separate bowl. Let sit for about 5-8 minutes. On high, whip the mixture for about 8-10 minutes or until it begins to thicken (this process is much easier if you refrigerate the cream and chocolate mixture before whisking.) Spread over the brownies once they have cooled, or eat by the spoonful!

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April 20, 2012

Simple Spring Meal: Quinoa Bowls

I am loving the longer lasting sunlight in the evenings, being able to enjoy our deck a bit more, and the smell of summer vacation right around the corner! It has given me a chance to cook and entertain during the week, and lately, I have been making lots of quinoa! It is so easy and quick to prepare, healthy, and doubles as yummy lunch leftovers for days!

I change up what I add to the quinoa bowl: sweet potato cubes, squash cubes, kale, spinach, feta cheese, goat cheese, tomato, cucumber, carrot, chickpeas- you name it! I at least try to get a cheese, a sweet, a savory, a green, and a protein when I make them, covering all my nutritional bases in one bowl.

And depending on the mixture, you can even eat it for breakfast! I just read in Gwyneth’s goop newsletter the power of a nutritional start to the day, and Lord knows I need my energy to last these next few weeks with my 75 14 year-olds!

Enjoy, and stop playing on the computer. Go outside!!!

xoxo

 

Quinoa Bowl

1 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 can garbanzo beans

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes

3/4 cup cubed and baked sweet potato

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup raisins

3-4 Tbsp olive oil

lemon juice

salt/pepper

 

Bring the cup of water to a boil, add quinoa, cover, and simmer until water has been absorbed (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, cube and bake sweet potato drizzled with olive oil on a baking sheet at 400F, about 15-20 minutes, or when you can easily pierce with a fork. Lightly saute kale until it turns a rich green color, but doesn’t get too wilted (it will continue to wilt once in the salad). Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

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April 10, 2012

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! Mine ended at 6am this morning when I landed in Atlanta after taking the redeye home from an amazing long weekend in CA with the fam.

So yes, we were in the Napa “area”. But let me specify. We may have driven to Napa/Sonoma, but we slept in Fairfield…. at the Staybridge Suites… which had free breakfast. :)

It was a fabulous weekend. On my flight home, surrounded by 50 8th graders headed to Washington D.C. for the first time which was just as memorable as it sounds, I was able to reflect on the fact that I am lucky to have…

two healthy parents that could out-hike me any day

a brother I absolutely adore (minus the fact that he decided to live on the wrong coast).

For dinner on Saturday, we ate at a restaurant called Estate, sister restaurant to The Girl and the Fig. We had these chickpeas as an appetizer, which reminded me: I wanted to share them with you! Crispy, salty and sweet, and healthy, served warm or cold. Enjoy!

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas:

1 16 oz can garbanzo beans, drained

2 Tbsp olive oil

salt

cinnamon

cumin

Preheat the oven to 400F. Meanwhile, drain and dry chickpeas, and toss in olive oil and sea salt. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring them around every 10-15 minutes to keep them from sticking. Once they finish baking, sprinkle with spices of your choice (I like cinnamon and a little pinch of cumin) or none at all! Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

 

 

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April 2, 2012

Coconut Nutella Easter Nests

I am loving Pinterest these days, and recently, I tagged a photo and recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod, one of my favorite cooking blogs at the moment, that I want to share.

I’m not usually into “festive” themes for my food, but these were just too cute to pass up, AND, coconut + nutella + M&M’s. I mean….heaven? Is that you?

Make these as a special treat for the kiddos this week or your coworkers (as I am!), and honestly- they really did take about 30 minutes. Super easy and fun!

Have a great week!

Coconut Nutella Easter Nests:

3 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

2/3 cup condensed milk

1 egg white

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

nutella

egg shell M&M’s

 

Preheat your oven to 325F and use silpat or a greased baking sheet. (Do NOT use parchment paper- it sticks to the macaroons and is extremely painful/frustrating to remove! Trust me…) Combine wet ingredients (condensed milk, egg and vanilla) and mix well. Add coconut and stir until well incorporated into the wet mixture. Drop small balls of the batter (about 3 Tbsp each) onto the baking sheet and press your thumb into the middle to make an indentation. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool, then fill thumbprints with nutella and M&M’s. Don’t eat them all at once!! ;)

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March 28, 2012

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I don’t know why I make desserts. Only two of us live here, and we already had some cake in the fridge and ice cream in the freezer. We did not need more dessert! But it is just so soothing and satisfying to stand around in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon and bake! So I did. And I didn’t even share with anyone at work (sorry!! haha!).

So, I know what you are thinking: “Is this a lazier version of the 7-layer bar?”, and frankly..well…yes. It is.

But I wouldn’t say “lazy” so much as “who has butterscotch bits sitting around their house??” Get over the fact that your butterscotch cannot be found in this bar, and instead, focus on everything else that IS! It is a beautiful marriage of a few of my favorite things: salty and sweet, chocolate, gooey, crunchy, coconut (but you can omit that if you hate…but don’t hate…coconut= amazing).

Also, I actually INVENTED this. This recipe was born because I had made a batch of salted caramel for a cake, and had quite a bit left over. So here you have it, folks.

Chocolate chip cookie layer: (from Best Recipe Cookbook)

2 cups + 2 Tbsp flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

12 Tbsp butter, softened

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

12 oz chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

 

Salted Caramel: (from Martha Stewart)

1/8 cup light corn syrup

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

8 oz heavy cream

8 Tbsp butter (two sticks)

salt

 

1. For the cookie base layer, first mix the butter and sugars together until they are smoothly incorporated. Then add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and slowly add to the wet ingredients. Mix well, and finally, add the chocolate chips.

2. For the caramel, combine corn syrup, sugar and  water in a large pot and heat on high for about 12-14 minutes. (I say “Large” pot because mine began to bubble over towards the end.) Once the mixture has taken on a slight amber color, remove from heat and slowly stir in the heavy cream. Return to the stove for about 2-3 more minutes or until a candy thermometer reaches 238F (that didn’t happen for me, and that’s fine). Remove from heat, stir in about 1/2 tsp salt, and let it sit and cool for about 30 minutes. Finally, add the butter 1 Tbsp at a time and stir well until it has full melted in and dissolved. Put in the fridge and allow it to cool completely.

3. To assemble the bars, grease a 9×13 baking pan and pour in the cookie batter. Flatten it out and spread it with a spatula until you have an even base layer. Pour the caramel evenly over the cookie layer, and finally, sprinkle about 1 cup of coconut on top. Bake at 325F for about 20-25 minutes until the coconut gets a slight brown color to it.

Eat as is, warm and gooey, or to slice into neat squares, refrigerate the bars until they have completely cooled. Enjoy!

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March 24, 2012

Italy clips

Finally! A “short” movie of our trip to Italy with music by David Guetta and Sia, “Titanium”, which played nonstop on the radio and MTV while we were there.

 

 

Italy from Michelle Murphy on Vimeo.

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March 20, 2012

Easy Homemade Lemon Vinaigrette

Spring is in the air. Literally. Pollen has blanketed the city of Atlanta like a sprinkling of snow, which has made me realize the following things. First, I am thankful that apparently pollen does not affect me. Second, I am enjoying telling everyone I know that they are not allergic to pollen, but actually, they are speaking of plant sperm. What….? That’s what it is!!

Along with spring and springing forward comes the mad rush to summer, and with it, goes all my time. So if you are feeling as busy and yet scatter-brained (maybe pollen DOES affect me) as I am, you will appreciate an EASY recipe.  Ok, so it’s not really a RECIPE, but it is easy, homemade, and healthy (that’s what she said..can I do that here?), then salad dressing made from ingredients you keep in the kitchen is just what you need.

I learned this when I spent the summer of 2002 in Avignon, France. The family I stayed with would make a quick salad to go with dinner (read, to END dinner with, not start) topped with this easy salad dressing. I have modified it a bit, so here it is. You don’t even need fancy equipment for this. I usually just use a fork to mix the ingredients together. Enjoy!

 

Easy Homemade Lemon Vinaigrette:

2-3 Tbsp lemon juice (about half a lemon)*

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

* Instead of lemon juice, you can use vinegar.

Squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl and remove any seeds.(If you roll the lemon on the counter a few times before cutting it open, the juices loosen up and it becomes much easier to “juice”.) Add the mustard, and give it a little whisk until it has combined with the juice. While whisking, add the olive oil and continue to whisk/beat until the olive oil has been incorporated and you form an emulsion. Et voila! Homemade salad dressing. You don’t have to feel so bad about forgetting to pick up the dressing from the grocery store after all.

 

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