Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Tuesday Cake

This recipe was given to me by my friend Brigid and dubbed "Tuesday Cake" as she always makes the cake on Tuesdays and eats it the rest of the week. A cross between a pound cake and a traditional lemon cake Tuesday cake is perfect for breakfast, a snack, or an after dinner treat. Shown in the photo below I used powdered sugar as the topping but I also think it would be delicious with a light frosting type of glaze, I will try that next time!


butter for pan
1 cup full-fat ricotta
1/3 cup unflavored apple sauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
confectioners sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350, line the bottom of a nine inch springform pan with parchment paper, coat the paper and the sides of the ban with butter or oil
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta, apple sauce, sugar, and zest. Add the eggs one by one and whisk well. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the wet.
Pour batter into cake pan and bake for half an hour, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for ten minutes and then loosen the cake and flip onto a cooling rack. Place cake on designated plate after sufficiently cooled and sprinkle or spread powdered sugar across the top. 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

4th of July Rice Krispie Treats!

Want to wow everyone on the fourth of July with a creative dessert? Look no further than red, white, and blue rice krispie treats. Easy to make and easy to impress.


Recipe:
Ingredients: 
1 bag of marshmallows 
4 1/2 tbsp. butter
6 cups rice krispies 
Red and Blue food dye 
9x9 baking pan or serving pan

Directions: 
-Sort marshmallows into 3 even piles 
-In a pot on the stove on low heat add 1 1/2 tbsp. of butter and let melt. 
-Add one pile of marshmallows and stir into the butter until smooth and without lumps. 
-Add in as much red food dye as you need to reach your desired red color for this layer.
-Mix thoroughly until color is consistent. 
-Add two cups of rice krispies and mix until they are fully coated and dyed by the mixture. 
-Add mixture to the baking pan and flatten until even. 

Repeat the above steps in separate pots for the white and blue layers. For the white layer do not use food dye. Add both layers and flatten onto the red layer in the baking pan. Cool in the refrigerator for 30 mins, cut into squares and then they are ready to serve! 


Margaret's Guacamole

This guac is great with tacos, chips, or pretty much anything. Easy to make and super tasty.



Recipe

Ingredients:
3 avocados
1/2 tomato
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 limes (juice)
salt to taste
1 teaspoon white pepper
ground pepper to taste

Directions:
-Gut avocado and put insides in bowl. Mash until smooth.
-Chop tomato finely, taking out the seeds and inner liquid in the process.
-Add tomato to the avocado.
-Press Garlic and add to avocado and tomato mixture.
-Add white pepper, salt, and ground pepper.
-Mix together with a wooden spoon until combined.
-Serve with chips, on tacos or however you want!

Traditional Scottish Scones

These scones are perfect: easy to make, and delicious.



Recipe: 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ingredients:
2-3 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
salt to taste
1/2 stick of butter
3/4 cup milk

Directions:
-sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salta
-cut in butter until mixture looks grainy, like corse crumbs
-pour milk in a well in the center and mix until a soft elastic dough is formed
-knead dough into circular shape about 3/4 inches thick
-cut dough into desired shapes (above I did 6 triangles)
-bake 10 minutes or until risen & golden

An Introduction...

I am a 19 year old college student attending the University of Rochester in New York. Next year, I will finally have a kitchen in my college dorm. In the spirit of good food for sophomore year this summer I am trying out a multitude of recipes that I can make during the year. I am going to try and post a new recipe I've tried every week with tips and a rating and any other information I think is useful. I may not have the biggest palette of everyone out there, but I'm in search of simple, quick, and tasty recipes that anyone can make.

Happy cooking,

Margaret