twd: Toasted Coconut Custard Tart

I have found there are two kinds of people in the world. Those that don't like coconut (aka 'them people') and those that LOVE it. Put me in the love category please. In fact, when a kid and asked "what's your favorite food?" I often replied "Coconut." I like it all kinds of ways, including toasted in and on top of yummy custard and sweetened whipped cream. Yum. Thanks to Beryl of Cinemon Girl for this week's TWD pick.

I had a really hard time keeping my fingers out of the custard before popping it into the fridge overnight. I probably lost a whole mini tart right there. I halved the recipe and put it on top of toasted oats instead of pastry. I just couldn't get myself to make a pie crust just for me, and I wasn't about to share coconut custard. Even if I planned to, I knew it would disappear. So I made two mini tarts in ramikins. The sweetened whipped cream on top is great. I left out the rum, which probably would have cut the sweetness. I didn't mind, but it was awfully over-the-top sweet.

twd: Honey Wheat Cookies - A Sweet Surprise

Talk about a sweet surprise - these cookies have wheat germ, honey, lemon, and no chocolate. It sounds more like a Tazo tea or an herbal cold remedy than a cookie. But let me tell you, I'm so glad Dorie included these in her book, and Michelle of Flourchild picked these.Besides being super easy to make, the cookies sprung up like little sponges. Following last week's flat-attack, it was nice to see these little babies emerge from the oven, wheat germ covered and all.Until today, I had no idea about wheat germ. It has protein and essential vitamins and is great for non-meat eaters and body builders. Well, at least that's what the ever-truth-telling internet revealed. I'm glad I know now, and that I couldn't resist tasting a little. Its not bad, kind of nutty, and will be great on my yogurt instead of oats.

Teriyaki Tofu and Vegetables

I'm going to try to use more tofu in my cooking. Why? Because I like it a lot, and there's no reason not to except that it's a little intimidating. It never quite measures up to the tofu I have in restaurants, especially in my favorite Thai and Chinese restaurants. Do they deep fry it? Because I can't quite do that at home - I can never knowingly use that much oil for consumption though I happily chow down on the same thing in a restaurant...just one of those things.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon agave syrup
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp ginger
1 Thai pepper, minus most of the seeds
1 package firm tofu
1/4 cup diced pineapple

Directions:

Drain tofu well, pressing between paper towels. Cut into 1-inch cubes.
Mix first five ingredients in a bowl. Beware of the pepper seeds!
Add the tofu, cover, and marinate over night.
Add one tablespoon of oil to a stir fry pan and add veggies. Cook for about five minutes until the veggies begin to get tender and add pineapple.
Cook another few minutes and add tofu. In the future, I'll probably pan fry the tofu separately, until nicely browned.

twd: Dorie's Fave Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thanks to Kait, of Kait's Plate for this week's pick - Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.

These were good, especially with pecans because I love a chocolate + nut combo. I added a few teaspoons of cinnamon to the flour mixture that spiced it up a bit. When cooked, it was just a hint, not an overwhelming "that's cinnamon" taste. The edges of the cookies were a lovely caramel color and texture.

But chocolate chip cookies are one of those things...it's in the taste of the beholder. These were good cookies, but not my favorite. Why? Well, they were way too thin. The chips and pecans were sticking up and they started getting holes in them. Very thin.

Plus, very chewy. Chewy can be good, but I prefer soft, dense cookies. Of course, I snitched on the dough, which was also very good. I think these would be awesome baked in little ramekins as mini chocolate chip cookie cakes. Something to try.

Chocolate Explosion Cupcakes Birthday Cake

One of my very good friend's birthdays is in February. She and I have been friends for 14 years. I recently moved to the same city and one of the best things has been getting to hang out with her more. So when her birthday came around, I had two questions:
1) can I make your birthday cake?
2) what kind do you want?
Responses: Absolutely, chocolate.

So turned to Dorie Greenspan and made her Coco-Buttermilk Cake as cupcakes and topped them with her Caramel Chocolate Ganache. I made cupcakes figuring it would be easier for everyone to grab one than worry with cutting cake slices. I sprinkled some confectioners' sugar and chocolate chips on top. The guys at Las Margaritas can make excellent margaritas, and can light up a birthday (cup) cake and sing happy birthday with drums and some serious celebration.

I made the cupcakes and ganache the day before. The ganache is delicious! First you caramelize sugar in a little water with cinnamon, add cream and a little salt, and then add that to melt the chocolate. That is cooled and added to butter - lots of butter! I would actually decrease the amount Dorie indicates in the recipe because the ganache lost some of the lovely caramel chocolate taste. It was extremely hard to spread, so I put it in ziplock bags and piped it. Still very hard. It busted three bags, even after I beat with the mixer.

The cupcakes were good, though very dry. I think I might have overcooked them, following the time for the regular cake. Either way, it was chocolate explosion in every direction! Seriously festive.

twd: Brownies for Julia

Thanks to Tanya of Chocolatechic for this week's pick - Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia. Quite an appropriate pick for Chocolatechic - these brownies are definitely chocolatey and fudgey! I love gooey brownies and these are very gooey but still light with a lovely paper thin layer of crackle and crunch on top. Yum!The brownies don't look as good in the pictures as they tasted. Did I mention these were gooey? Which meant they didn't want to be cut in uniform little squares. Hey, I like brownies that are outside of the box. Plus, they were still warm when I cut them - straight from the oven! My mom was passing through and stopped by for dinner so we got to make these brownies together as the Mahi Mahi and veggies cooked. We both started out with two brownies...then had a third...and I do believe I had a fourth as well.

Mahi Mahi and Oven-Baked Potatoes

The other night my mom was passing through, and stopped by for dinner. As soon as I got off work, I rushed to the farmer's market and picked out some Mahi Mahi. I had to psyche myself up to go in among all the raw fish on ice and smells.

I have no idea how to pick out fish so I just tried to point to pieces that had more vibrant color...as if a dead fish could be vibrant...but at least the less gray pieces. Yikes.

I gave it a dry rub of cumin, chili powder, salt, and black pepper, doused it with olive oil, and stuck it (skin-side down) in a 375 degree oven for about half an hour.

Keeping it company, was a pan of sliced potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions, also doused with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. The potatoes mix cooked for about forty five minutes. Add steamed broccoli with lemon and dinner was served.

It was actually a really easy dinner to throw together, and the fish was worth the trouble and the fish market smells! Seafood is the only meat I eat (I'm a pescatarian) and I rarely do so, and always at restaurants. I'm going to try to eat fish once a month to get my omegas and heart healthy stuff so being able to pick and prepare it will be crucial. I feel like I have started to cross a barrier. Yay - it's a good feeling.