Thursday, April 30, 2020

Shrimp pasta

INGREDIENTS:

  • 8 ounces fettuccine
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups baby arugula
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (half dried)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
  2. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste; set aside.
  3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
  4. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
  5. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Stir in pasta, arugula and Parmesan until arugula begins to wilt, about 2 minutes. Stir in shrimp.
  6. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

King Arthur Flourless Chocolate cake

This flourless cake, featuring both chocolate and cocoa, is rich, rich, RICH! A chocolate ganache glaze takes it over the top. And, since it contains neither flour nor leavening, it's perfect for Passover. And, of course, also ideal for those following a gluten-free diet.
Prep
15 mins
Bake
23 to 27 mins
Total
1 hr 38 mins
 
 
Cake
  • 1 cup (170g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, 113g) unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup (43g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
Glaze
  • 1 cup (170g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup (113g) heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a metal 8" round cake pan; cut a piece of parchment to fit, grease it, and lay it in the bottom of the pan. See "tips," below.
  2. To make the cake: Put the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat until the butter is melted and the chips are soft. Stir until the chips melt, reheating briefly if necessary. You can also do this over a burner set at very low heat. Transfer the melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl.
  3. Stir in the sugar, salt, espresso powder, and vanilla. Espresso enhances chocolate's flavor much as vanilla does; using 1 teaspoon will simply enhance the flavor, while 2 teaspoons will lend a hint of mocha to the cake.
  4. Add the eggs, beating briefly until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, and mix just to combine.
    1. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
    2. Bake the cake for 25 minutes; the top will have formed a thin crust, and it should register at least 200°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into its center.
    3. Remove it from the oven, and cool it in the pan for 5 minutes.
    4. Loosen the edges of the pan with a table knife or nylon spreader, and turn it out onto a serving plate. The top will now be on the bottom; that's fine. Also, the edges will crumble a bit, which is also fine. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.
    5. To make the glaze: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until it's not quite at a simmer, but showing fine bubbles around the edge. Pour the cream over the chocolate, stir very briefly to combine, and let rest for 5 minutes. Stir again — at first slowly, then more vigorously — until the chocolate is completely melted and the glaze is smooth. If any bits of chocolate remain, reheat briefly in the microwave or over a burner, then stir until smooth.
    6. Spoon the glaze over the cake, spreading it to drip over the sides a bit. Allow the glaze to set for several hours before serving the cake.




Tuesday, April 21, 2020

cinnamon rolls


The Best Cinnamon Rolls You'll Ever Eat


The BEST cinnamon rolls in the WORLD. Big, fluffy, soft and absolutely delicious. You'll never go back to any other recipe once you try this one! This cinnamon roll recipe includes options to make them overnight or ahead of time and even freeze them.
Course Brunch, Indulge, Mother's Day
Keyword best cinnamon rolls, cinnamon rolls, fluffy cinnamon rolls, perfect cinnamon rolls
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings 9 large cinnamon rolls
Author Monique of AmbitiousKitchen.com

Ingredients

  • For the dough:
  • ¾ cup warm milk (whole milk or 2% preferred) (110 degrees F)
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise or active yeast (1/4-ounce package yeast)
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting (381 g)
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • For the filling:
  • 2/3 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar also works)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • For the cream cheese frosting:
  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Warm milk to around 110 degrees F. I like to do this by placing milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving it for 40-45 seconds. It should be like warm bath water. Transfer warm milk to the bowl of an electric mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined. Next stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form.
  2. Place dough hook on stand mixer and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should form into a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If it's TOO sticky (meaning it's sticking to the bottom of the mixer, add in 2 tablespoons more bread flour.) If you don’t want to use an electric mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface.
  3. Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size. This may more or less time depending the humidity and temperature in your home.
  4. After dough has doubled in size, transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, then rub the brown sugar mixture into the butter.
  6. Tightly roll dough up, starting from the 9-inch side and place seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best you can. You will probably need to cut off about an inch off the ends of the dough as the ends won’t be as full of cinnamon sugar as we’d want it to be.
  7. Cut into 1 inch sections with a serrated knife or floss. You should get 9 large pieces.
  8. Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan or round 9 inch cake pan. (I also recommend lining the pan with parchment paper as well, in case any of the filling ends up leaking out.) Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
  9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap and towel and bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. You want to underbake them a little so they stay soft in the middle, that’s why we want them just slightly golden brown. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting. Makes 9 cinnamon rolls.
  10. To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

To make overnight cinnamon rolls:
After placing rolls into the greased pan (after the first rise), simply cover, place overnight in the fridge and then bake them in the morning as directed. I like to bring my cinnamon rolls to room temperature first by leaving them on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking (this is known as the second rise).
Check the blog post for instructions on how to freeze cinnamon rolls, plus additional tips and tricks!