Cuban Garlic Chicken

A few months ago, I was assigned to a new position at work where I get the chance to work again with an old colleague of mine that I worked with when I first started my career almost 15 years ago. Its great working with an old friend and reminiscing of old times. Since being assigned at this new position, however, all she and I have been talking about was food and exchanging recipes. I introduced her to my blog and she introduced me to this wonderful, flavorful recipe for Cuban Chicken. She lead me to this recipe from the Food Network. Let me just cut down to the chase...........this chicken is probably one of THE BEST things I've made on this blog. Yup, its that's good. And I have thanked my friend a million times for introducing to me this dish that is reminiscent of our days when we would eat at one of our favorite Cuban restaurant - Versailles, and I would have their garlic chicken. This dish was so easy to make, it was ridiculous. And the end result is this burst of flavor in your mouth. You will be just as amazed as I was. It marinades for 2 days. But the first time I made it, I didn't get to cook it until the 3rd day, and it probably made it even more delicious. I cooked half of the batch of chicken, and froze the other half for later use, which came out just as good. I also served this with sweet fried plantains. You can also serve this with black beans to complete your Cuban meal. Make this dish now, and you'll thank me later. Thanks Cossette!!!

1 cup lime juice
2 cups orange juice (preferably fresh squeezed, but store-bought is ok)
1/2 cup lemon juice
12 cloves garlic, crushed then roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. cumin
salt & pepper to taste
3 whole chickens cut up (or 8-10 pieces of chicken thighs)

1) Combine all marinating ingredients together. Place chicken in a deep roasting dish or gallon sized Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over chicken and marinade for 1-2 days in the refrigerator.

2) When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 deg F. Arrange chicken in a single layer in a roasting pan. Pour marinade over the chicken and place pan on the lower third of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until juices run clear and chicken is cooked through and sauce begins to caramelize. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, baste the chicken with the sauce. Serve with rice, fried plantains and black beans.
(Note: You can also grill the chicken over an open flame until cooked through. Use the sauce to baste the chicken to keep it moist).

Red Velvet Cheesecake

I've had this recipe pinned on Pinterest from Recipe Girl for a while to make for today. I absolutely love anything that has to do with Red Velvet. And what's more festive than having a red dessert for Christmas? And a cheesecake at that. If you've ever eaten at the Cheesecake Factory and you love red velvet like I do, then I'm sure you know all about their Red Velvet Cheesecake. And so for this special day, I decided to make it for our families as one of our desserts.

This desert requires quite a few steps, and possibly 2 days to make because you have to freeze the cheesecake first, and do a crumb coat for the frosting. Then I used my own tried and true recipe for recipe for the red velvet cake part. Labor intensive, but the result was amazing. I first made this a few weeks ago to test out the recipe. Obviously, hubby and I couldn't finish the whole cake, so I sent half of the cake with hubby to work and it seemed to have gone over well with them. This is definitely going to be a repeat recipe for a special occasion like today.

Merry Christmas everyone. Have a blessed day full of love with family and loved ones.

Cheesecake
2 (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Place a roasting pan on the lower third rack of the oven. Heat 4-6 cups of water to a boil in the microwave or a kettle on the stove. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan and place parchment paper at the bottom of the pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with a double layer of foil to prevent water from entering the pan. Set aside.

2) In a bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in sugar and salt, and continue blending for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in sour cream, heavy cream and vanilla and blend well until smooth.

3) Pour batter into prepared pan and place in the roasting pan inside the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan enough so that it reaches about an inch on the side of the cheesecake pan. Bake for 45 minutes until the cheesecake is set and no longer jiggly.

4) Cool cheesecake on a cooling rack for at least an hour. Once cooled, place cheesecake in freezer until completely frozen, or overnight.

Red Velvet Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. (1 oz bottle) red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch  round pans and set aside.

2) Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, red food color, vanilla extract and vinegar in a large bowl of an electric mixer until well combined.

3) Slowly add dry mixture into wet mixture and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then completely cool on a cooling rack.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting 
1 1/2 cups butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

4-6 cups powdered sugar

2-4 Tbsp. milk, depending on consistency

1) Cream the cream cheese with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add butter and beat for 1-2 minutes, until well incorporated.

2) Add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.

3) Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat well. Continue adding powdered sugar and alternating with the milk until desired consistency.

To assemble the Cheesecake

1) Unmold the frozen cheesecake from the spring form pan. Place in between the two layers of cake. Apply a thin layer of frosting to act as a crumb coat on the layered cake. Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes for the frosting to set.

2) Complete frosting the cake with a thicker layer of frosting and decorate as needed. You can decorate with white chocolate shavings. Keep cake refrigerated until serving.

Pumpkin Dream Cake

I've noticed that I haven't done any new pumpkin recipes this fall. But I did stock up on some pureed pumpkin that I've roasted and pureed. Its sort of been my tradition every year ever since my older daughter was born - to buy loads of pumpkin around Halloween and then roast and puree them for later use. I use them to make my now famous Pumpkin Cake Roll that I make a ton of around the fall, as well as Pumpkin soup, and Pumpkin Spice Pancakes.

This year, I'm so excited to finally get a chance to make this Pumpkin Dream Cake from one of my favorite blogs, The Novice Chef. I've had this recipe saved up ever since I first saw it on her blog last year. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it then because I was in my first trimester of my 2nd pregnancy, suffering from a bad case of morning sickness. So no pumpkin puree or any pumpkin recipe in the fall of 2012. But I vowed that it would be my first pumpkin recipe to try out. And boy was it worth the wait.

I never used to like anything that had to do with pumpkin. But I discovered that it was the spices associated with pumpkin that I didn't like: nutmeg, ground ginger, all spice, cinnamon. Don't get me wrong. I love all those spices. Just not all together with pumpkin. I guess that's why I don't like pumpkin pie or pumpkin spice latte that's been all the rage lately. I'm pretty selective with the spices and flavorings I use with pumpkin in my recipes. This cake hardly has any of the traditional spices in the cake. Which is why I absolutely love this cake. And its so moist and fluffy. After testing this recipe out, hubby has asked me to make it for his family's Thanksgiving luncheon. And I was happy to oblige.

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups pumpkin puree (or 1- 15 oz can puree)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk

Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
12 oz (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (optional, because I didn't have any)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 cups confectioner's sugar

1) Preheat oven to 300 deg F. Grease 3-8 inch pans. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin and vegetable oil. Slowly beat in flour, alternating with the milk. Continue beating until well combined.

4) Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes until toothpick test comes out clean. Remove pans from the oven and immediately place in the freezer to cool for 45 minutes. This will keep the cake moist by immediately stopping the baking so the cake does not continue to bake when you remove it from the oven.

5) For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese over medium speed until smooth. Beat in maple syrup (if using), vanilla and cinnamon. Slowly add confectioner's sugar on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth.

6) Assemble the 3 layers with a thick layer of frosting in between each layer. Then apply a thin crumb coat on the top and the sides. Place in the freezer to harden the crumb coat for about 10 minutes.
Then apply one thick layer of frosting around the outside of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Hubby and I love, love, love my old Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe. I haven't made it in a while. So I was so excited to find this make-ahead casserole version on Pinterest from Tasty Kitchen to try out. I love making this in 2 smaller casserole dish - one to eat right away, and the other to freeze for later. Make-ahead-meals are my life savers nowadays, being so busy with my 2 kids. So this recipe has made several rounds in our household. And hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed this version. Probably more so than my original recipe.

Casserole
1 rotisserie chicken (or 4 boiled chicken breasts), shredded
1/2 lb. deli sliced ham, rough chopped
1/4 lb. sliced Swiss cheese

Sauce
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
4 Tbsp. flour
3 1/4 cups milk
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. mustard
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. white pepper (you can also use black pepper)

Topping
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley (or 2-3 tsp. fresh chopped parsley)

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Butter a 9x13 baking dish (or 2-8x8 baking dishes if you want to freeze half of the recipe). Set aside.

2) Even spread shredded chicken on the bottom of the baking dish. Top with the chopped ham. Layer the sliced cheese on top of ham. Set aside.

3) In the meantime, make the sauce. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Cook for about a minute. Do not allow it to brown. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens.

4) Stir in lemon juice, mustard, salt, paprika, and pepper. Bring the sauce back up to a low boil and remove from heat. Pour sauce over the casserole, covering all the way to the edges.

5) In a medium bowl, melt butter in a microwave. Stir in breadcrumbs, salt and parsley. Sprinkle on top of the casserole.

6) Bake for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Note: To serve after freezing, allow the frozen casserole to thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight prior to baking.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

I've had this Brown Sugar Pound Cake recipe pinned on Pinterest from Lady Behind the Curtain for quite some time. And I finally had a chance to make it. What really caught my eye was the caramel drizzle and using toffee chips in the batter. This came out to be a rich, dense cake. Perfect with a cup 'o Joe or hot chocolate.

Cake
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1 (8 oz) bag toffee bits
1 cup pecans, chopped

Caramel Drizzle
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg f. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy. Slowly add sugars and continue beating until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4) Gradually add flour mixture into butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Stir in toffee bits and pecans.

5) Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 75-85 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean.

6) Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

7) For the caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract.

8) Drizzle hot caramel over cooled cake. (note: be sure that the caramel is hot, or else it will harden once cooled). Allow the caramel to harden on cake and serve.

S'mores Cookie Bars

My older daughter has been asking me to make something that uses marshmallows in the recipe. And what's a better use of marshmallows than s'mores? I love roasting marshmallows and sandwiching it between chocolate and graham crackers, then eating its ooey-gooey goodness. Something about it is just so comforting. 

I found this recipe for S'mores Cookie Bars on Pinterest from Lovin' in the Oven. It uses a graham cracker cookie crust and marshmallow fluff that accomplishes the gooey part of a traditional s'mores. This definitely satisfies my S'mores craving.

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff (not melted marshmallows)

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light in color. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and continue beating on low speed until combined.

4) Press half of the dough in an even layer on the bottom of prepared pan. Place chocolate bars on top of dough. Spread marshmallow fluff over the chocolate bars. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the marshmallow fluff (the easiest way to do this is by flattening the dough into small shingles and then laying them together).

5) Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Catalan Paella

I know its been approximately 3 months since my last post. Its not that I haven't been in the kitchen much. Its just that I haven't had the time to sit down and blog about my musings in the kitchen. I still try out new recipes, but not as often as I used to. Before I had 2 kids, I would post at least 2 new recipes a week. Lately, however, I've just been making repeat recipes and many, many make-ahead meals. Make-ahead-meals are lifesavers for busy households such as ours. Maybe when the baby gets a little older and more independent, I'll be doing more blogging.

When I do try out new recipes, I always turn to my new found favorite, Pinterest. I have a go-to Paella recipe. However I came across this Paella recipe on Pinterest from Key Ingredient which uses saffron. I happen to have some saffron left over that I wanted to use up, so I gave it a try. This Paella was so much better than my old recipe. I guess it was the saffron that did it, but it had so much more flavor. Saffron is quite an expensive herb to use, so the recipe suggests turmeric as a substitute. But I don't know if it would be as good as using saffron though. I'll probably try this recipe out with turmeric since I've used up all the saffron.

4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 tsp. saffron or turmeric
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 red or green bell pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 lb. large shrimp (either peeled/de-veined, or shell on)
4-6 small clams
4-6 mussels
*you can use any seafood you like

1) Heat oil in a large frying pan or saute pan over medium heat.

2) Add chicken and saute until no longer pink. Add garlic and onions and saute until soft. Stir in rice and saffron (or turmeric). Continue stirring to coat with the oil, about 1 minute.

3) Add tomatoes, wine and broth. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add bell pepper and peas. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

4) Add all the seafood and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes or until rice is done. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.

Carmelitas

This recipe for Carmelitas from Lulu the Baker has made its rounds on Pinterest several times and so I figured I should give it a try. It looked easy enough and I had some caramels left over from when I made Samoa brownies. I was able to make this during another one of my baby girl's naps because it was pretty easy to make. And they came out ooey-goey delicious and so easy to make. I'll definitely be making these again.

9.5 ounces (about 32 squares) caramel
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2) In a small microwave safe bowl, place caramel and cream and microwave for 1 minute. Stir and return to microwave in 30 second increments until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

1) In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, flour, oats and baking soda until well combined. Pat half of the mixture on the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

2) Remove pan from oven and top with chocolate chips. Pour caramel over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over chocolate chips. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.