Shrimp Won Tons

This summer, I have had the great fortune to be instructing cooking classes for our students in an industrial kitchen. What a difference than using my own! Convection oven, six burner gas stove, deep fryer, large dish washer...all these things make a girls' heart sing.

Of all the delicious concoctions we've made, today's was exceptional. We prepared fresh Shrimp Won Tons with two separate dipping sauces. Easy to do at home, even without a deep fryer. Prepare the sauces a day or two in advance and chill; it allows the flavors to really marry together well.

Separate 1 package of won ton wrappers (found in your local produce section) and set aside. In a food processor, combine 1 lb raw, peeled and cleaned shrimp with 2 stalks of celery, 8 oz of water chestnuts, drained, 1 Tbsp of low sodium soy sauce, 1 Tbsp crushed red peppers, and 1 Tbsp of dried parsley. You can also use fresh parsley, just remove the stems. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a small amount of water. You want the mixture pureed and smooth.

In each won ton wrapper,  put a little less than a tablespoon of the shrimp puree into the center. Using a small amount of water, wet each edge and fold the won ton, making sure to remove all the extra air.

Fry the sealed won ton at 350 degrees for approximately 3-4 minutes, turning halfway through. Let won tons rest on a paper towel after frying, and serve with your favorite sauce!

 Dipping Sauces

Spicy Ginger Sauce
3 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
½ C low sodium soy sauce

3 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp green onion, minced
½ tsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
½ tsp sesame oil

Mix all ingredients well. Chill for a few hours, to allow flavors to marry and serve.

Sweet Citrus Sauce
½ C low sodium soy sauce
½ C fresh orange juice
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp green onion, minced

2 Tbsp orange marmalade

Mix all ingredients well. Chill for a few hours, to allow flavors to marry and serve.

Wars We Wage

Of course, when I decide to start writing about my culinary creations, I am stricken with the last thing a cook needs: food allergies. The last eight months or so have really taken a toll on my love of food because I've had to be so careful and very discriminatory about what I can eat. Luckily, I believe I am at the beginning of a beautiful new journey with cooking, and I'll continue to take you along for the scenery. However, everything I will be sharing going forward will be gluten-free and quite often, dairy-free as well.

Not the best news I've received, but some of the most empowering. When you grow up surrounded by home chefs, fine dining and the variety that I have, learning you must limit and cut your favorites (ethnic/world breads) can be devastating. I am blessed to now see that I can do hard things and I can be a part of the solution for someone else forced to address health concerns like myself.

And on a programming note, I will also include substitutions for gluten-free ingredients, since many of you lucky fools don't have to worry about a thing. Don't worry - cooking with allergies can still be a blast! Mazel tov!

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Talk about satisfying. Josh and I couldn't agree on breakfast, so we combined our powers and created the most delicious sweet breakfast I've had in years. Truly!

The cinnamon mixture is always my favorite part of the cinnamon roll, but the rolls themselves just take too long and make from scratch. Instead, we made the components and simplified the process - behold a new Capehart tradition. Woot!

Cinnamon Mixture
Really simple, just mix 2 tsp of cinnamon with about 1/4 C of brown sugar and 2 tbsp of room temperature unsalted butter. Make a paste and set it aside.

Icing
Syrup would have RUINED this. Blend together about 1/2 C of cream cheese, 1/2 C of powdered sugar, 1 tbsp of room temperature unsalted butter and a splash of milk. Thin it how you like. It's less sweet than a normal cream cheese icing.

Waffles
We actually just used Bisquick batter as our base, which is tasty and simple. Only requires milk and eggs, so just follow the recipe on the box. I love the fluffiness of this mix.

We also have a waffle maker, so after pouring the batter onto the hot griddle, we crumbled the cinnamon mixture on top and closed the lid. The heat caramelized the sugars and created a crunchy, cinnamon-y sweet flavor. Top the waffles with as much icing as you'd like and serve with freshly cooked bacon and a big ol' glass of ice cold milk.

You're welcome.

Fall Sundays

Hey!

I'm a terrible writer when I'm in the middle of a good book, and lately, I've been in the middle of MANY good books. Sorry for the lack. I have also discovered the value of cooking and baking away the Sunday afternoons. Here's a list of the Sunday books and cooking I've immersed myself within. Try some or all and let me know what you think - we need so much more than food to be fed.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  - Incredible story written about a foster girl in early Nazi Germany who learns to read and overcome pain.

Pumpkin and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cupcakes
  - Check out the recipe here

Into the Woods, The Likeness, and Faithful Place by Tana French
  - Character driven mystery novels with brilliantly creative individuals and plot twists.

Bacon and Gruyere Meatloaf
  - Super satisfying and hearty, recipe here

Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson
  - Anything by JP is just a fun and addictive read that will fly past you. Yes, I read all 10 books in about two months.

Triple Banana Bread
  - Super satisfying banana flavor, perfect for a midday grab, recipe here

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
  - Made me laugh, cry, pray and celebrate the power of just standing up for yourself.

Cranberry Bliss Bars
  - A homemade alternative to dropping all my Christmas cash at Starbucks, recipe here

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  - A sweet and passionate tale about a carnival man and his life.

Cranberry Bliss Bars

There's nothing quite so satisfying as a fresh latte and the first cranberry dessert of fall. But if you're like me, you'd waste your entire budget and most of your holiday calories at Starbucks within the first few weeks of cooler weather. So, in an effort to enjoy the tasty treats and still keep my costs down, I made a holiday SB classic in my own kitchen. I'm not sure how it helps the calories, but it's a start!

Preheat the oven to 350 and in a large bowl, cream together 1 C unsalted butter and 1 1/4 C brown sugar. Blend in 3 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Blend in 1 tsp ground ginger and 1/4 tsp kosher salt. Mix in 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour and beat well. You want the batter to come out chewy! 

Lightly mix in 1/3 C white chocolate chips, 2 tbsp minced crystallized ginger and 1/3 C minced dried cranberries. 

Pour the batter into a 9x13 pan, either lightly greased or lined with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes and cool completely.

In the meantime, prepare the icing. Make sure you have equal parts chopped white chocolate chips and dried cranberries set aside to top the creation when you're done. 

The icing just needs 4-5 ounces of softened cream cheese blended with 2 tbsp of unsalted butter and 1 tsp of vanilla. Beat in 1 1/2 C powdered sugar until the consistency is nice and fluffy. Smooth over the completely cooled cake and top with the cranberries and chocolate and voila! 

 

PS - This stuff is killer with Starbucks Kenya blend or their Wild Sweet Orange herbal tea. 

Happy eating!

Triple Banana Bread

I love this recipe because the bread actually tastes like bananas! It's a perfect midday snack for the newly crowned brace-face in my family (me). Now I just have to keep Josh from eating it for breakfast every morning.

Preheat your oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. This recipe makes one loaf of bread. In a large bowl, combine 2 C unbleached flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt. In a separate bowl, cream together 1 stick of unsalted butter (room temp) and 3/4 C brown sugar. Mash about 3-5 overripe bananas and blend into the butter/sugar mix. Beat 2 eggs, separately, and mix into the banana mixture.

Combine all the ingredients together, blending lightly until the flour is just moistened. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 60-65 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).

Side note: I really like to top my bread with raw sugar and shaved chocolate before baking for a nice crunch on the top. Do what you like.

Let the whole loaf cool and enjoy!

Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Cinnamon "Butter" Cream Cheese frosting

These are phenomenal! Light and fluffy and the frosting is not the dense cream cheese you're used to. It's just as light as the cake. Enjoy!

 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup cream or half 'n half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground clove


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line your cupcake pan and set it aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars until smooth.
Add the eggs **one at a time, beating well after each. Makes the cupcakes fluffy!

In a separate, medium size mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, cream and vanilla extract. Mix well!

In yet another medium size mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and clove. Mix it up.

In thirds, alternately add the flour mixture and the pumpkin mixture to the creamed butter, blending gently after each addition.

Pour into your cupcake pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.While the cakes cool completely, make your frosting.


Cinnamon "Butter" Cream Cheese Frosting

I call this a buttercream because the cream cheese flavor is not as pronounced (which I prefer).

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3-6 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (my favorite for baking)

 Combine cream cheese and butter and beat until fluffy. Mix in vanilla, then add the powdered sugar until you get the consistency you like. Mix in the cinnamon at the end and ice the heck out of those cupcakes. They deserve piles of frosting and if you'd like, finish each with some freshly shaved dark chocolate.

They're almost safe for breakfast... :)