Joy the Baker » valentine’s day

Arroz con Pollo

joythebaker — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:41:23 +0000

One a scale of 1 to romantic… where do you fall?

I fall at the medium-low level… let’s call if a 4.6. Go easy on the candle light, long stem roses, and limo rides (unless there’s a hot tub in back). I don’t need jewelry, but diamonds are always nice (it’s a paradox, I dunno…). Carriage rides? Meh. Horse rides? Cooler. Horse ride followed by margaritas? Now you’re on to something.

I’m not the heart locket and stuffed animal type. I’m more the Le Creuset and expensive chocolate type.

I also think large pots of warm rice and chicken are an 8.7 on the romantic scale.

This is a really lovely, one-pot dish, that starts with wine and saffron.

Many good things come from wine and saffron.

Olives, rice, and chicken. That’s all we’re getting ourselves into.

In a pot together, magic romantic things happen.

Bubble and simmer. Bubble and simmer.

Everything in the pot, and the rice soaks it all up.

There’s no way to dry the chicken, or otherwise futz up this dish. If the rice gets burned and crunchy on the bottom… that’s totally the best part.

There are a few tricks… if you’re using a large pot, make sure that you move it around on the burner so that the simmer hits every part of the pan. Fifteen minutes in the center of the pot. Ten minutes on one side of the pot. Ten minutes on the other side of the pot. Sometimes pockets of rice can remain uncooked if the pan is too large. Also.. don’t be afraid to add a touch more broth if your rice isn’t cooking up. No worries. Keep it easy.

This Arroz con Pollo is a super classic, ultra-comforting dish. Listen… if you’d like to claim that your mother makes a better Arroz con Pollo that I do… guess what? You’re probably right. This dish is good… really really good. I just don’t want to do battle with your mother… that’s all I’m saying.

I’d love for you to make this dish for a special someone on, or near Valentine’s Day. It’s comfort food that should be shared with love. After dinner you can both stand around the pot with spoons and scrape the bottom of the pot for crunchy rice bits while you finish the bottle of wine. That’s romance. That’s friendship. That’s just love.

Arroz con Pollo

Dinner for Two, Leftovers for Two

adapted from Martha Stewart

makes 4 pieces of chicken

Print this Recipe!

3/4 cup dry white wine

pinch of saffron threads (just a few strands is plenty)

4 chicken thighs (skin on)

salt and pepper for seasoning chicken

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (mostly drained)

1 bay leaf

about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste) and 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

2 1/4 cups chicken broth (you may need a bit more)

1 1/2 cups white rice

scant 1 cup large green pimento olives

Combine wine and saffron in a small bowl. The saffron will begin to breed yellow. Great! Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Season both sides of the chicken generously with salt and pepper.

Place chicken pieces, skin side down, in the hot oil. Allow to crispy and fry for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces from the hot pan and place on a clean plate.

Add onions and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring, until soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Add the partially drained can of tomatoes, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and saffron wine. Allow to simmer, uncovered, until the mixture has reduced by half, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the rice to the pot. Add the chicken broth and chicken pieces. Top with olives. Reduce the heat to low, place the lid on the pot, and allow to simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 30-40 minutes.*

* There are a few tricks… if you’re using a large pot, make sure that you move it around on the burner so that the simmer hits every part of the pan. Fifteen minutes in the center of the pot. Ten minutes on one side of the pot. Ten minutes on the other side of the pot. Sometimes pockets of rice can remain uncooked if the pan is too large. Also.. don’t be afraid to add a touch more broth if your rice isn’t cooking up. No worries. Keep it easy.

Check the rice after 30 minutes to make sure that it is cooking evenly. Add more broth, a cup at a time, if necessary.

Once cooked, allow to rest for 10 minutes with the lid on.

Serve warm.

Dish will last, in a container in the fridge, for up to 3 or 4 days.

Fancy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

joythebaker — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 06:59:57 +0000

I’m a lady… and this Valentine’s Day I’m going to treat myself like a lady. I’ll open doors for myself. I’ll pour myself the first glass of wine. I’ll let me eat the last soft french fry. I’ll drape my coat over a puddle for me to walk across. I’ll slyly check myself out as I walk by. Huh? I’ll buy myself movie tickets and tell me I look pretty today. That’s how it’s going to go down. Except… I won’t put my jacket in a puddle because that’s just dumb. Who does that? Dummies.

This Valentine’s Day is going to get pretty glamorous. I’m going to make myself a sandwich, scoop up some olives and drink a perfectly reasonable amount of wine. Dig it.

This Valentine’s Day, I’d also like to tell these people that I love them… because I do. I love you Asher, Launa, Lauren, Whitney, Zach, Rachel, Jenelle (you crazy lady), Jill, Kitten and Michael. I love you all so much. I love you enough to throw chocolate at you and run away. Wait… what? Let’s make out. Nevermind.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and you.

It’s a good day to love people. It also seems like a good day to love olives and marbles and wine.

Don’t confuse olives and marbles in your mouth. Mistake.

I’m no rocket scientist. Yea. Duh. This sandwich isn’t a genius combination of ingredients. It is super delicious and melty and green and salty. So at least there’s that.

This is the world in which I’ll be shoveling this sandwich into my face.

Cat eats my olives.

Oh! And this is what I’m having for dessert.

It’s a banana stuffed with dark chocolate and white chocolate and salted peanuts and shredded coconut. I wrapped it in foil and baked it in the oven. When I was a kid we would pull this sort of stunt while at sleep away camp, but we’d cook the foil covered bananas in the campfire. That’s livin.

Also… don’t be alarmed that the baked banana peel will be black. That’s what happens when bananas peels are baked. The inside will be a warm baked banana topped with melted chocolate, et al. But… it’s not like this is a fancy show piece dessert. It’s more of a dessert-for-one sort of situation.

Now this is the part where I give you instructions on how to make a sandwich…. as if you don’t already know…. forgive me.

Spinach Goat Cheese Ham Sandwich

Print this Recipe!

Makes: one sandwich

2 slices whole wheat or sourdough bread

2 tablespoons goat cheese, softened

handful of fresh spinach leaves

4 slices thin sliced ham

whole grain mustard

fresh ground black pepper

scant 1 tablespoon butter for the skillet

Place a skillet over medium low heat and melt butter.

Spread one tablespoon of goat cheese on each slice of bread. Top one slice with spinach and the other slice with ham. Spread a bit of whole grain mustard atop the ham and smush the two pieces of bread together. Grill on either side until golden brown and delicious. Remove from skillet. Allow to cool for two or three minutes before cutting in half. Enjoy with olives and wine.

Baked Bananas

Makes: one banana

1 banana

2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

1 tablespoons white chocolate chips

1 tablespoon sweetened shredded coconut

1 tablespoon roasted and salted peanuts

Place a rack in the center of the oven and place a baking sheet on the rack. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the head and butt of of a whole banana. Slice lengthwise down the peel (not through the entire banana, just the peel) and open the peel, revealing just the top of the banana.

Stuff banana with chocolate chips, coconut and cuts. Wrap loosely in foil and place on baking sheet to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before unwrapping and enjoying straight from the peel. Get in there.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies

joythebaker — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:11:36 +0000

Alright people. Suit up. Gather your armor. We’ve got another holiday to dive into.

I’m talking about Valentine’s Day.

Now listen…. I don’t care where you stand on the Valentine’s Day issue. I don’t care if you’re single or married or smitten or bitter. Valentine’s Day exists… there’s no ignoring it. Flag day we can ignore. Arbor day we can half acknowledge…. but Valentine’s Day, we just have to get in there and deal with.

It’s like going to the dentist… but more romantic (or something).

Maybe you can sorta tell how I feel about Valentine’s Day. Maybe you can sorta tell I’m not that into it. I’m not angry or bitter… it’s just never been a day that’s bowled me over. Wait… is that an expression?

When I was 17, my first boyfriend made me something from his pottery class for Valentine’s Day… that he then took back and gave to another girl. It sounds way more upsetting than it actually was. I remember totally not caring. Aaaannnnddd…that’s that. Moving on.

Let me tell you about these cookies. They’re certainly not your typical rolled out sugar cookie.

These cookies are loaded with good quality cocoa powder and stone ground whole wheat flour. I like them quite a lot. They’re slightly crisp around the edges and soft in the center. The cocoa adds… you know… lots of yumyum. The whole wheat flour adds a nuttiness and makes the cookies more of a mouthful than plain old all-purpose flour. I love the combination.

I topped these cookies with a generous sprinkling of granulated sugar and thought they were just divine.

I bought myself two awesome early Valentine’s Day presents.

The Jamie at Home cookbook. So beautiful! I mean… swooooon! I can’t wait to dive into this book.

And, of course, Ree’s new book. And she signed it. And all is well.

Boooya(kah)!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies

Makes: about three dozen cookies

Print this Recipe!

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugars. Beat until well incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Add the egg. Beat on medium speed until mixture is glossy and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Stop mixer and add the dry ingredients all at once. Mix on low speed until all of the flour is incorporated Stop mixer and finish incorporating ingredients with a spatula. Spoon batter out onto a sheet of waxed paper, and form loosely into a log. Roll and seal cookie dough and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, divide dough in half and place one half on a lightly floured counter surface. Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use a heart shaped (or whatever) cookie cutter to cut out cookies and place dough on prepared baking sheet. Very lightly brush cookies with water and sprinkle with granulated or turbinado sugar.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Roll and cut cookies, re-rolling the dough once or twice, until all cookies are cut and baked.

Cookies will last, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to five days.

Sweetheart Rose Cupcakes

joythebaker — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:15:01 +0000

Hi darling. Hey sugarbear. What’s shakin’ sweetums? Lookin’ good sweetpea. Hey loverboy! Oooh darlin’.

I’m practicing my terms of endearment. Yea… I want to sound natural when the time comes to use them.

Can I practice on you? How does this sound?

Hey loverbear, will you come on in here and help me with these dishes?

Darlin’, will you hold the oven door open for me?

How about…

Sweetpea, stay away from those cookies. You know we have company coming.

My favorite…

Sweetums, I made you cupcakes… cause I love you like crazy.

How am I doing so far? I’m a little stiff aren’t I? I’ll keep working on it.

Jump on over. I have a lot to tell you!

I found a lovely new cookbook. Super lovely. Can I tell you about it? It’s my new go-to book for cake and cupcake inspiration.

Organic and Chic by Sarah Magid. So sweet. So classic. So beautiful. This book features breathtaking and totally doable cakes and cupcakes using all organic ingredients. I’m not an all organic baker. I’m afraid not. Don’t judge me. Organic and Chic is great inspiration to get my kitchen in gear.

In this book are darling pictures of kids and husbands, and of course… gorgeous cakes. The cake, frosting and filling recipes in this book are classic, modern, fool proof and so so sooooo yummy. The decorating tips? Great too! This is stuff we can actually do friends! It’s great.

I don’t often pimp out cookbooks. I just wanted you to know I found a good one. Crazy yummy good.

Now… about these cupcakes!

Holy Yum! This is the easiest and most moist chocolate cake you’ll ever encounter. It also happens to be vegan. Yea….! Amazing! I combined the moist chocolate cupcakes with a whipped rose buttercream. This buttercream is far less sweet than a buttercream made out of butter and powdered sugar. This whipped buttercream is made up of butter, granulated sugar, and a cooked milk and flour mixture. Yep. It works. It’s not too sweet. It’s delicious.

Make these chocolate rose cupcakes for someone you love. Who wants roses when there are rose scented cupcakes in the world!? Heck yes!

The Easiest Chocolate Cake

makes 24 cupcakes or 2 8-inch rounds

from Organic and Chic

Print this Recipe!

2 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour

2 cups organic cane sugar

1 cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract

2/3 cup organic canola oil

2 teaspoons organic white vinegar

2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, water, vanilla extract and vinegar.

Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients being careful not to overmix. The mixture will be quite wet, but that’s ok.

I poured my batter into a plastic pitcher to better divide the batter between the cupcake cups.

Pour the batter until the cups are two thirds full and place in the oven for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cup comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then place on a wire rack until completely cool before frosting.

Vanilla Whipped Buttercream Frosting with Rose Water

makes enough to fill and frost one 8-inch layer cake or frost 24 cupcakes

from Organic and Chic

2 sticks (1 cup) organic unsalted butter, softened

1 cup organic cane sugar

1 cup organic whole milk

1/4 cup sifted organic all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons organic vanilla extract

1 teaspoon rosewater

Cream the butter on medium speed, 3 to 5 minutes, in a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer until soft, adout 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again.

In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup mil with the flour and vanilla extract. Whisk together until there are no lumps. Over medium heat, slowly add the remaining 3/4 cups milk, whisking constantly and cook until the mixture comes to a low boil.

Reduce the heat to low and continue mixing until the mixture starts to thicken slightly.

When the mixture starts to thicken, immediately remove the pan from the heat but keep stirring. After you have removed the pan from the heat, the mixture will continue to cook for a minute or two on its own.

If you overheat the mixture and find that you have some lumps, try to whisk them out with a little elbow grease, or pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Place the mixture in the freezer for a few minutes to speed up the process.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly poor the milk mixture into the butter and sugar mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the rose water during this final mixing.

Heart Shaped Dipped Krispies

joythebaker — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:52:51 +0000

Holy WOW, people!!

Where the heck did you all come from!? I had no idea so many of you were sneaking around. I’m glad I could coax you out of the shadows with a giveaway. I only wish I had more bags to give away… Stick around, I’ve got more stuff to give. For reals.

In the mean time, how about a little Valentine inspired treat? When I think of Valentine’s Day, I usually want to run and hide. Red roses, pink boxes of candy, cheap champagne… count me way way way way out. The one thing about Valentine’s day I can support is homemade heart shaped treats.

And so, with the charmingly kitchy elements of Valentine’s Day in mind, I bring you Heart Shaped Dipped Krispies.

Ok… we pretty much all know what Rice Krispie treats taste like. Close your eyes and imagine them dipped in chocolate. There… wasn’t that easy!? Delicious. Simple as that.

The best part about throwing together Rice Krispie Treats is rediscovering the joy of having a bowl of this cereal with cold milk and a hearty sprinkle of granulated sugar. It’s an absolute dream. Snap, crackle, pop never hurt anybody.

First things first. Pour yourself a bowl of cereal. You’ll need a spoon. Where’s mine? Dunno.

Now get to making the treats.

Rice Krispie Treats

Print this Recipe!

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 bag (that’s 16 ounces, right?) mini marshmallows

7 cups Crisped Rice cereal

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Butter a 9×13-inch pan well.

In a large sauce pan melt butter. Add pinch of salt and stir. Add mini marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Add cereal and stir so that all of the cereal is coated in marshmallow buttery goodness. While still hot, scoop into greased pan. Press with the back of a buttered spoon or butter your finger tips and use your hands to press the rice krispies batter into the pan.

Place in the fridge to cool. This took me about 30 minutes.

Once cool, use a good spatula to remove the entire slab of rice krispies from the pan. Place on a clean table. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out whatever size hearts you like. Place on waxed paper.

Boil a few inches of water in a medium sauce pan. Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and place the bowl over the boiling water, creating a double boiler. Melt the chocolate.

Dip one side of the hearts in the melted chocolate and place then chocolate side up on the waxed paper. Let sit for several hours to harden or place in the fridge to hurry along the process.