Food | The Wannabe Chef

Tag Archive: Food

Homemade Peppermint Patties

Written on January 5, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I love peppermint patties. What’s not to love? Their chocolaty and sweet and it feels like you’ve just brushed your teeth after you eat one. My grandparents always kept the miniature knock-off versions from CVS called “thin mints” at their apartment and I could eat a sleeve a day. There’s nothing more satisfying than a big, whole peppermint patty, except maybe one that you’ve made yourself.

I’ve had these on my to-make list ever since seeing this post on Megan’s blog. I kept putting them off not knowing how utterly easy these are to make. I made them New Year’s Eve morning and they were gone before the clock struck midnight. They’re naturally vegan and gluten-free, so if you’re cooking for allergies and want to avoid any specialty ingredients, go with these for an easy crowd pleaser.

Homemade Peppermint Patties

Ingredients(Makes 24 patties):

2 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 Tablespoons agave nectar(or any liquid sweetener)
1 1/2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon coconut oil, softened or melted
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 bag(12oz) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix the powdered sugar, agave nectar, coconut oil, peppermint extract, and water. Continue mixing with your hands even if it doesn’t look like there’s enough moisture there; eventually it will all come together and form a dough ball.

Take off chunks of filling from the dough ball and roll them into 3/4-inch balls. Press the balls down in between your hands and form patties. Lay these out on a baking tray and refrigerate or freeze for 30 minutes until firm

When the patties are ready, melt down the chocolate in a microwave or over a double-boiler. Line a baking tray with parchment paper to set the peppermint patties to dry once coated.

To coat, lay the patty down on top of the melted chocolate. Immediately flip it over with a fork and lift it out of the chocolate from the bottom. Wipe off any excess chocolate from the bottom and lay it on the lined baking tray.

Let the patties sit at room temperature for an hour or refrigerate for 10 minutes before removing them from the paper.

I’m a sucker for any popular “junk food” dessert made homemade. I think they’re SO impressive. I wouldn’t worry if your patties aren’t all the same size or the chocolate isn’t smooth; those kind difference make these distinctively homemade.

These are great to eat after dinner to freshen your breath, if you don’t just eat a handful for dinner that is.

35 Comments - Leave a comment!

Balsamic Brussel Sprouts With Red Wine

Written on January 4, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

Let me tell you the story of how this recipe came to be. One day, I was throwing together dinner in a rush. I reached down to where we keep the oils and vinegars and grabbed a large bottle with a cork top and tinted glass. I started to pour it over brussel sprouts thinking it was olive oil; I was shocked when it came out thin and red and with a sharp pungent odor. It was wine. I had accidentally made my brussel sprouts drunken.

I went on to cook them anyway and they were some of the best that I had ever eaten, so good in fact I made them the next day and into a formal recipe. These are simple to make and yet have an impressive flavor, perfect for a date night.

Balsamic Brussel Sprouts With Red Wine

Ingredients:

1lb brussel sprouts, trimmed and washed
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Toss the washed and dried brussel sprouts with balsamic vinegar and wine so that all the skin gets wet.

Pour in the olive oil and lay the brussel sprouts out on a baking tray. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper and bake for about 40-45 minutes until the edges are crispy. If the brussel sprouts in the center cook slower than at the edge, toss around the contents of the pan about halfway through.

December 28th 025

What does it say that I asked for a bottle of red and this is what I got? Let’s not read into that…

These are tart and tangy with a definite kick. The salt mellows out the flavor and makes it truly an enjoyable experience. Best of all, you don’t even need to think about what drink to pair with it.

20 Comments - Leave a comment!

Cheesy Rosemary Flatbread

Written on January 3, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

Everybody loves cheesy bread. That’s just a fact. Whether you can’t eat wheat bread or avoid dairy, this recipe still has something for you, too. The bread itself gets nice and crusty on the egg but soft and doughy in the middle. Everybody has a preference and I love the center. Be warned that if you eat too much you’ll have onion breath for a week, and you will eat too much because it’s too good to show restraint around.

Cheesy Rosemary Flatbread

Ingredients:

1 ball of prepared pizza dough*
1 yellow onion, julienned
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan, loosely packed**
2 tablespoons rosemary

*Make this recipe gluten-free by using a gluten-free dough such as Bob’s Red Mill.

**For a non-dairy alternative, use the same amount nutritional yeast with an added 1/2 teaspoon salt.

I started by making my pizza dough. I always add Italian herb seasoning even when the dough is a mix; it just adds such great flavor.

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. To prepare the onions, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over low heat on a burner. Add in the julienned onions and cook for about 10 minutes until they’ve softened and soaked up the oil. Add in the other 2 tablespoons and continue cooking until they’re soft and translucent.

Roll out the dough on a pizza pan(a baking pan will work in a pinch). Flatten it out to about 1/4-inch thickness and poke holes in the top to let the air out when cooking. Add on the onions and any extra oil in the pan. Then sprinkle on the parmesan and rosemary and bake for 25-28 minutes until the edges crisp up.

Like I said, I love the center part that’s nice and doughy, onion breath be damned. I’ve made this for guests and they had no clue it was vegan and gluten-free; it’s just a plain good recipe with tons of flavor. I’m ready to slip into my food coma.

20 Comments - Leave a comment!

My 10 Favorite Recipes Of 2010

Written on December 31, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Recipe Round-Up

It’s the last day of 2010 and I for one am excited. A new year is the perfect time for new beginnings. And I get to see Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper joke around in Times Square tonight; what could be better?

Before the year is over, I wanted to look back at 10 recipes that shined through in 2010. Some of these I’ve made recently, but most of them I just remembered making this list and now want to go back and make again. Enjoy!

Microwave Vegan Chocolate Fudge. I think this is the most viewed recipe page, and an obvious candidate for this lift. I have some in my refrigerator right now. That won’t be true for long.

Chocolate Orange Brownies. I don’t know if this is the best brownie recipe out there, but it’s definitely one of the best flavor pairings there ever was. And it has fruit, so that means it’s healthy! Right?

Brown Sugar Garlic Tofu. This tofu is nothing but good. It’s definitely not the kind of dish for a first date; you’ll have garlic breath for weeks. But it’s worth it.

Vegan Tofu Burgers. In my frustrating search for a veggie burger without eggs or wheat, the clear winner at the end of the day was this homemade recipe. It’s just 6 simple ingredients and a great meal to keep around.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus. The new kid on the block, dessert hummus has stolen hearts with it’s sweet flavor and smooth texture. This combination of peanut butter and chocolate is a clear favorite.

The Best Quinoa Stuffing. It’s not called “The Best” for nothing. Even my 81-year old Italian great aunt liked it, and it’s hard to compete with her usual meal of Burger King and an orange shake.

July 26th 059

Homemade Baked Beans. It’s true: Homemade just tastes better. These might take 10 hours to make but they’re completely worth it. The deep, rich molasses flavor just gets better and better.

Vegan Truffles. These are a bit much, but they are the ultimate chocolate lover’s experience. Even if you use the cheaper method, the chocolate still tastes rich and decadent and pure. Bookmark it for Valentine’s Day.

Hazelnut Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt. I couldn’t make this list without adding an ice cream since 2010 was when I first discovered the beauty of homemade ice cream. This is rich and satisfying and tastes just like the real dessert!.

My 10th spot is an honorable mention to chocolate midnight cake from Sweet Utopia. I feel like I’ve made this 2010 times; it’s so good and my go-to chocolate cake, vegan or not.

And that’s the list! Hope you see something you like. Have a fun and safe New Years Smile

18 Comments - Leave a comment!

Hot Honey Asian Chicken Marinade

Written on December 30, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

One of my parents’ favorite things to eat for dinner is chicken. It’s a nice, lean protein(because you know everyone’s always on a diet until the weekend) and it takes on flavors wonderfully. We like to keep things simple here, so a marinade is perfect; you just throw the chicken and sauce together in a bag in the morning and it’s ready to bake that night—no fuss!

This has a fun, savory flavor that’s not too abrasive but definitely not boring. It pairs perfectly with seasoned rice or steamed vegetables.

Hot Honey Asian Chicken Marinade

Ingredients:

1lb skinned and deboned chicken
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a large Ziploc bag, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, water, salt, chili powder, and black pepper. Add in the chicken and shake it so that the liquid mixture covers everything. Put the chicken and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to rest.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chicken for 45 minutes in the sauce until it has cooked through.

I love it when a recipe has extra sauce so that you can pour it all over your sides and make it feel like a complete dish. This makes plenty of extra, so pour it on thick and dig in.

12 Comments - Leave a comment!

Nut Lover’s Dark Chocolate Bark

Written on December 24, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Recently, I’ve picked up an addiction for chocolate covered nuts that somebody gave me as a gift. It combines two of my favorite things: Chocolate and nuts(so many jokes, so little time). Even though I’m not through with the bag, I’ve been thinking about how to make my own, because “fancy” nuts(again, so little time) are some of the most overpriced foods at the grocery store. Instead, I made my own in the form of bark. Bark is festive, cheap, and the perfect personalized gift. This tastes like it should cost twice as much as it took to make, and it was so simple, too! Put this under the tree for the nut lover in your life.

Nut Lover’s Dark Chocolate Bark

Ingredients(Makes 15-20 servings)

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules(optional)
3oz(3/4 cup) peanuts
3oz(3/4 cup) almonds
3oz(3/4 cup) cashews
Sea salt

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Lay out all the nuts on a baking tray and roast them in the oven for about 15 minutes, jostling the pan every 5 minutes or so to make sure they don’t burn.

While the nuts are roasting, melt down the chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave. When the chocolate is smooth and melted, add in the cocoa powder and instant coffee and stir(note: These don’t change the texture of the chocolate; they just add a rich, dark flavor that make this taste much better than regular chocolate chips would).

Line a tray with parchment paper and spread the chocolate into a smooth layer about 1/4-inch thick.

Add the nuts onto the chocolate and press down firmly with your palms to push them in. It’s OK that the chocolate will spread a little more. Lastly, sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the bark. Stick this in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden. Break into individual pieces.

This was delicious. It would have made the perfect gift if I could part with it; instead, I ate 3 pieces the afternoon I made it and just said Merry Christmas to me. This tastes so much more decadent and expensive than it has a right to. Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

What would your favorite bark have in it?

11 Comments - Leave a comment!

Bacon-Fried Quinoa

Written on December 23, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

I love leftovers. Even though they’re already cooked and flavored, they’re so easy to make into something new and flavorful. Some foods even get better on age. I made The Best Quinoa Stuffing to bring to a party on Sunday. First of all, you wouldn’t be able to imagine how much Italian grandmothers loved quinoa, even if they couldn’t spell it for their life. Soft, flavorful and easy to chew? It was bound to be a winner with my family. With the leftovers I wanted to do something a little different; I decided to cook it like I would leftover rice, except add bacon because bacon makes it better. Chinese restaurants should take a hint from me.

Bacon-Fried Quinoa

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon, diced
1/2 cup leftover, prepared quinoa(I used The Best Quinoa Stuffing)
1 egg
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Heat a pan over low-medium heat. Add in the diced bacon and cook it until it’s pink and starting to crisp at the edges.

Add in the leftover quinoa, egg, and soy sauce. Constantly move the ingredients around in the pan over the heat until the egg has cooked and the fat has been absorbed. Be careful as the quinoa tends to pop when the pan is dry. Serve hot.

Just like fried rice, this isn’t the prettiest dish but boy does it taste good. Adding the soy sauce and bacon elevates the flavor of the quinoa a lot; I could hardly tell this was the same dish as the leftovers.

I served it with steamed brussel sprouts with a little soy sauce, because I just love brussel sprouts and bacon. You could add more vegetables to cook with the bacon and make this into a stir-fry. Or you could forget vegetables together and add more bacon. I’m not one to judge when it comes to loving bacon.

7 Comments - Leave a comment!

Light Box Lightbox

Written on December 22, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Photography

It’s not even Christmas yet and I’ve already spent the past few days playing with my new toy.

After seeing Ashley then Holly and Katie all make one, I decided to jump in. Photography is becoming a fun hobby of mine, and this seemed like the next natural step. It gets dark by 4pm now and good food photos past them have become impossible. I’d be lying if I said I never made dinner at 3pm just to photograph it… Oh, the life of a food blogger.

It makes for really well-lit photos like this:

Or this:

Now, I am not a handy person by any means. The craftiest thing I made before this was probably made out of gimp. However, I didn’t have too much trouble throwing this together. I used these instructions. Here are some thoughts about the whole project:

You only really need 2 lamps: One for each side. Be sure to get daylight or white lights since those will make for the purest lighting.
The bigger the box you use, the better. You can always focus in on a small plate of food but if your box isn’t very big you can’t step back to see a large plate. I used a box about 18 inches by 2 feet and I wish I had used something bigger.
I wasn’t sure about what white material to use for the sides. I ended up going with white parchment paper since that’s what we had already. It seems to work just fine and is a very cheap material.
All-in-all the only things we needed to buy were the clamps and light bulbs, which made the project about $25 in total.
The toughest part is finding backgrounds/surfaces. So far I’ve taken pictures with t-shirts, pillow covers, poster board, napkins, and full-length table clothes.

I’m totally in love with my light box and determined to bring it back to campus with me next semester even though it’s probably 1/20th the size of my room and I have nowhere to put it. The part I’m still learning about is the background; it’s hard to find material that photographs well, looks natural, and compliments the subject matter. And some of my photos have slip-ups like the visible cardboard behind the peanut butter s’mores bar above. Still, I’m eager to learn and get better.

10 Comments - Leave a comment!

Dairy-Free Flourless Chocolate Cake

Written on December 21, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

The best kind of recipes are simple recipes, or recipes that involve chocolate. This is both.

Every year at Passover my mom would make this cake for our bake sales. All the Jewish kids loved it because it doesn’t break the rule of eating leavened bread and yet it’s so airy and cake-like. Now, I’m not Jewish, but I tip my hat to any religion that favors chocolate over bread.

When I saw Jenna post the recipe a few weeks ago, I took it as a sign to bake this cake. Who doesn’t celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Trebia every December 18th? You should. With cake.

I used the same recipe with a few alterations, like making it dairy-free. I followed the recipe to a T, messed up completely as I typically do, and still managed to bake something that held together and was delicious. I’m not sure how that last part happened but I’m so grateful it did.

Dairy-Free Flourless Chocolate Cake

I used this recipe replacing the butter with Earth Balance in a 1:1 ratio and added a hefty teaspoon of instant coffee granules.

I knew I was doing it just like Jenna when I had a mess in my sink, floor, and counter space.

This came out so well for a cake with no flour or gluten-free replacement. The structure is entirely made by eggs. I even beat mine way too long, never got them “thick” or to make ribbons, had to deflate them just to get the chocolate to mix, and the cake still turned out just fine. Now that’s a forgiving recipe.

And we all ate happily ever after.

13 Comments - Leave a comment!

Double-Take Desserts

Written on December 20, 2010 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert, Highlights, Recipe Round-Up

As much as I love trying new things, I can’t get past old favorites. If a dessert is easy to throw together, I’m especially likely to keep the ingredients now “just in case” I need a sweet treat fast.

I made another batch of Peanut Butter S’mores Bars one week after my first batch. I’m obsessed. These were to bring to a Christmas party yesterday, and they were just as good as the first time. I even got requests to make them for a family birthday party in January—fine by me, any excuse to whip up another batch.

I also made another batch of microwave vegan fudge after coming home last week and realizing we had 4 pounds of earth balance. I’d like to say these were for a party or even neighbors but nope! I just made them because I was bored and craving chocolate. Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t do the same.

And now with my sugar coma I’m in awe that Christmas is just 5 days I way. I have a good idea at what some of my gifts will be and one sounds “picture perfect”. I can’t wait!

Oh, and if you thought things couldn’t get more chocolaty, just wait until tomorrow…

11 Comments - Leave a comment!