CINNAMON ROLL CAKE

CINNAMON ROLL CAKE ( YUM, Favorite in my house)

Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted

Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.

posted by Kathy Ferdig a great friend... I can not wait to try these!!!!

classic peanut butter cookie

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions

1. Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter. Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Roll into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Do not over-bake.

East coast travels

Ricotta Frittata

Serves: 4
Makes: 1 10-inch frittata
Hands-on time: 8 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
CATEGORY:
Under 45 Minutes, Vegetarian, Gluten Free

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 egg whites (about 1 cup)
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1/4 tsp each sea salt and ground black pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup low-fat ricotta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites, egg and skim milk until frothy; set aside.
3. Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick frying pan on medium. Add garlic and onion and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. Add spinach to pan, in batches if necessary, and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
4. Pour egg mixture into pan and drop ricotta by the tablespoonful over top. Cook for 3 minutes, until eggs begin to set on the bottom. Transfer pan to oven and bake for 8 minutes or until eggs are firm. Cut frittata into 4 wedges and serve immediately.

pizza dough

1 pkg. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups flour
corn meal

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let set for several minutes until it gets a little foamy. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, oil, and salt. Knead on speed 2 (in the KitchenAid) for about 2 minutes. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough starts to cling to hook and clean the sides of the bowl.

Remove dough and place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover. Let rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Punch dough down. Shape dough into rounds. Place on greased pizza stone sprinkled with corn meal. Top with desired toppings.

Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes until crust is done

real steak

Restaurant Style Filet Mignon

• 2 8 ounce filet mignons
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

DISCLAIMER: The reason this dish is so amazing is due mostly in part to having the very best, most fresh ingredients possible.  That means high grade salt, it means pepper ground right in front of you by a pepper mill.  It means fresh herbs and it means REAL BUTTER.  The good news is that these are all things you should already have in your house.
Take 1/2 stick of butter, softened, and mix well with the peeled, chopped garlic, the chopped herbs, and the lemon zest.  Form into a log and refrigerate.  Generously season the filet’s with salt and pepper, approximately 1 teaspoon of seasoning per side.

Heat the remainder of the butter (1/2 stick) and the olive oil in a cast iron skillet to a screaming hot temperature.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.   Sear the filets in a screaming hot pan for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until a nice brown crust has formed. While the steak is searing, continue to spoon the residual butter in the pan on top of the meat while it’s cooking.  Once both sides are seared, place in the center of the oven for about 6-8 minutes, depending upon how thick your steak is.  In the last minute of cooking, take the log of compound butter and slice a nice thick piece to place on top.

Your steak will be ready when it is approximately 135 degrees in the center, or when you push lightly on the top center of the steak and it gently and slowly bounces back.  (Note, this is medium rare kids. Some people don’t like to eat cows while they are mooing, so clearly you can cook longer if your afraid of the pink.)

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

We're adding this pizza to our list of FAVORITES! It was so delicious and surprisingly healthy... for pizza :)

via

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons flour
1½ cup milk (any fat content)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ ounce (¼ cup) parmesan plus 1 ounce (½ cup)
7 ounces fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped
1 pizza dough recipe (our favorite, here)
6 ounces (1½ cup) shredded mozzarella (skim works great)
1 (14-ounce) can artichokes, drained, rinsed and dried, quartered
1. Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 525ºC.
2. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add the garlic and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the flour; continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Stir in the salt and ¼ cup (½ ounce) of the parmesan.
3. Meanwhile, add the spinach (if the spinach isn’t damp from being washed, also add a couple tablespoons of water) to a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until the spinach just wilts, about 1 minute. Remove the spinach from the pan and place it in a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze the spinach as dry as possible, then add it to the béchamel from step 1.
4. Flatten the dough, then pick it up and gently stretch it out, trying to keep it as circular as possible. Curl your fingers and let the dough hang on your knuckles, moving and rotating the dough so it stretches evenly. If it tears, just piece it together. If the dough stretches too much, put it down and gently tug on the thick spots.
5. Dust a pizza peel (or the back of a large baking sheet) generously with cornmeal and transfer the round of dough to the peel. Rearrange the dough to something reasonably circular; stab it several times with a fork. Spread the spinach mixture over the dough, then top with the mozzarella, artichokes, and the remaining Parmesan.
6. Transfer the pizza to the hot baking stone, and bake for about 6-10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is spotty brown. Let the pizza cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.