Robin's Random Recipes

From Good Eats

1/2 pound elbow or corkscrew macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

This is one of my family's favorite special occasion meals. The technique is from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For The Food.

Bone-in ribeye roast, first cut
2 cloves garlic, slivered
Olive oil
kosher salt
pepper

With a paring knife make 12-24 shallow cuts under the fat layer and insert slivers of garlic. Rub roast with oil. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Insert a probe thermometer.

It's easier to carve if you cut the bones off (in one piece) and tie them back on. I carve with an electric knife so it doesn't make much difference and I don't bother, unless the butcher has already done it for me.

Preheat oven to 250F. (You want the roast at room temperature for an hour before cooking, so heat the oven after doing the prep work.)

Place the meat in a roasting pan, bones down. If it's boneless, use a roasting rack.

Cook at 250F to an internal temperature of 120F.

How long will this take? Good question. The good news is you can let it rest before the final browning for a while to let the side dishes catch up, if necessary. The total time depends on the starting temperature, the weight, and whether it's boneless. I've made notes the last few times I've made it, and a 3.7 lb bone-in roast took 2:15 to go from 42F to 120F, while a 6.3 lb boneless roast took 2:55. Take from that what you will. Remember that the temperature's the important thing, the times are very very general guidelines.

Remove from the oven and tent with foil. Turn the oven up to 450F. Once the oven is up to temperature remove the foil and thermometer (unless yours is okay at high heat) and return the roast to the oven. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and delicious.

Rest under foil for 15 minutes, carve, and serve with Yorkshire pudding.

The original recipe (pictured) calls for cocoa powder on top, but my sister's favorite is made with shaved chocolate. All I had was chips so we ground them in the food processor, and even that was superior to the cocoa, it had a much nicer mouth feel. Shaved would be even better!

7 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup sweet marsala, plus 2 tablespoons
8 ounces mascarpone, softened to room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brewed espresso coffee
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup coffee liquor
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
48 ladyfingers
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, shaved.

Cream together egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Add 1/3 cup of the marsala and continue to whisk (or beat with a hand-held mixer) until mixture is thick and doubled in volume. This is basically a zabaglione. Remove from heat. Stir in the mascarpone until completely blended.

In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture, to lighten.

In a small saucepan, combine espresso, chocolate, coffee liquor, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons marsala. Heat gently, and stir to dissolve the chocolate. Then, chill the mixture to cool it down, about 15 minutes. Arrange 24 ladyfingers in a single layer on a 9 by 13-inch glass baking pan. Brush with 1/3 of the chilled coffee mixture. Spread 1/2 the mascarpone cream evenly with a spatula on top of the dipped ladyfingers. Repeat with a second layer of ladyfingers, remaining 2/3 coffee mixture (the extra will drip down to the bottom layer--an even split causes the bottom layer to be over-soaked) and remaining mascarpone cream. Sprinkle top with shaved chocolate. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Another favorite Christmas cookie. This recipe leaves a lot of edge trimmings which are unsuitable for company and must be disposed of...somehow.

1 recipe Sugar Cookie dough
1.75 c. sugar
2 Tbs corn syrup
.75 c water
7 oz. (14 Tbs) unsalted butter
.75 cup honey
1 cup heavy cream
17 oz. toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350F

Roll out dough, line half sheet pan, chill until firm. Bake with foil & pie weights 20 min., remove foil & weights, bake an additional 10 minutes until completely set. Cool completely.

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water and bring to a boil. Cook until the mixture becomes amber, 350F, remove from heat. Carefully add butter and honey, return to heat, stir until dissolved. Bring the mixture back to a boil and carefully add cream. Boil the mixture until it reaches 250F. Quickly combine nuts & caramel, spread in cookie crust. Bake 20 min. or until the topping begins to bubble.

Once cool, cut by turning upside down onto cutting board, scoring through the crust, then cutting through the caramel with a chef's knife.

These are my favorite Christmas cookie. They don't ship as well as some of the others but I love them so my cookie recipients get a ziplock of crumbs every year. :)

2 cups whole pecans or walnuts, 1 cup chopped fine, one cup ground until the texture of coarse cornmeal
2 cups flour
.75 tsp salt
16 Tbs (8 oz) softened unsalted butter
.33 cup superfine sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 325F

Mix nuts, flour, and salt, set aside.

Beat butter and sugar on medium until light and creamy, about 1.5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and bat at low speed until dough just comes together. Working with one tablespoon (I use a #70 disher) at a time, form dough into rounds.

Bake 17 to 19 minutes until the tops are pale golden

Once cool, roll in confectioners' sugar.

This is from Cook's Illustrated and is basically the recipe I grew up on, with the addition of garlic. I've tweaked the technique a bit to temper the eggs and make it more difficult to curdle.

2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound bacon (6 to 8 slices), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
3 eggs
3 ounces Parmesan cheese , finely grated (1 cup)
3 small cloves garlic , minced
1 pound spaghetti
Table salt and ground black pepper (see note)

Cook spaghetti, reserving a cup of cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering, but not smoking. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Beat eggs, cheeses, and garlic together with fork in small bowl. Slowly stir in about 1/3 cup of the hot pasta cooking water to temper the eggs.

Return drained pasta to pot; pour egg mixture over hot pasta stirring constantly. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 3/4 teaspoon table salt; toss well to combine. Pour bacon mixture over pasta, season generously with black pepper, and toss lightly to combine. Serve immediately.

From The Joy of Cooking.

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1.75 c flour (8.5 oz)
1 Tbs baking powder
1 Tbs sugar
.5 tsp salt

Whisk together in another bowl:
3 large eggs, well beaten
12 Tbs butter, melted
1.5 c. milk

Gently whisk wet into dry, DO NOT OVERMIX

Cook in waffle iron until golden brown and delicious.

If the amount of butter gives you palpitations just reading it, the recipe allows for as little as four tablespoons or as many as 16. 16 leaves me with butter running out the back of the waffle iron, but 12 is perfect.

1 can (~15-oz) garbanzo beans, drained
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tahini
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Blend all ingredients in food processor. Serve with baby carrots and/or pita chips.

Pita bread
Olive oil
Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

Split pita bread in half horizontally, then slice into eight wedges.

Arrange pita triangles on a baking sheet and spray evenly with olive oil. I use a spritzer, but an olive oil cooking spray would probably be fine. Sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper.

Bake 10-15 minutes until starting to crisp and brown. Flip pitas, spray, and season the other side. Bake another 10 minutes until crisp.

From the Gourmet cookbook. They take some time to make since they have to chill between layers, but they're not difficult and well worth the time.

For brownies
4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1/2 tablespoon boiling
water
3/4 cup sugar (5.5 oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

For cream cheese frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted (2.75 oz)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For glaze
3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/4 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1/2 tablespoon boiling water

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.

Make brownie layer:
In a large bowl, microwave butter and chocolate for two minutes. Stir to melt chocolate. Cool mixture to lukewarm and whisk in sugar, espresso, and vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well until mixture is glossy and smooth. Stir in flour and salt until just combined and stir in walnuts.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake in middle of oven 22 to 25 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Cool brownie layer completely in pan on a rack.

Make cream cheese frosting:
In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat until combined well. Spread frosting evenly over brownie layer. Chill brownies 1 hour, or until frosting is firm.

Make glaze:
In a small bowl, microwave chocolate, butter, cream and espresso mixture, for two minutes. Stir until smooth. Cool glaze to room temperature.

Spread glaze carefully over frosting. Chill brownies, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Cut chilled brownies into squares and remove them from pan while still cold. Serve brownies at room temperature. Brownies keep, covered and chilled, in one layer, 5 days.

These are as good as they look, if not better.

Caramel
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/4 cups sugar (8 3/4 ounces)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brownies
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 8 pieces
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped (I like Ghirardelli, chips are fine.)
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs , room temperature
1 cup sugar (7 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup chopped pecans (about 2 3/4 ounces)
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Garnish
25 pecan halves (about 1 1/2 ounces), toasted

1. TO MAKE THE CARAMEL: Combine cream and salt in small bowl; stir well to dissolve salt. Combine water, corn syrup, and sugar in saucepan. Cover and bring to boil over medium-high heat; cook, covered and without stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved and liquid is clear, 3 to 5 -minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, without stirring, until bubbles show faint golden color, 3 to 5 minutes more. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook (swirling occasionally) until caramel is light amber and registers about 360 degrees on candy or instant-read thermometer, 1 to 3 minutes longer. Remove saucepan from heat and carefully add cream to center of pan; stir with whisk or spatula (mixture will bubble and steam vigorously) until cream is fully incorporated and bubbling subsides. Stir in butter and vanilla until combined; transfer caramel to microwaveable measuring cup or bowl and set aside.

2. TO MAKE THE BROWNIES: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-inch-square baking pan with nonstick foil, extending up two sides. Spray foil with cooking spray.

3. Melt butter and chocolates in microwave for two minutes or until the butter is melted. Stir until smooth and combined; set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, whisk together flour and baking powder in small bowl; set aside. When chocolate has cooled slightly, add sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla and whisk until incorporated. Add flour mixture; stir with rubber spatula until almost combined. Add chopped pecans and chocolate chips (if using); mix until incorporated and no flour streaks remain.

4. Distribute half of brownie batter in prepared baking pan, spreading in even layer. Drizzle scant 1/4 cup caramel over batter. Drop remaining batter in large mounds over caramel layer; spread evenly and into corners of pan with rubber spatula. Drizzle additional scant 1/4 cup caramel over top. Using tip of butter knife, swirl caramel and batter. Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached (be aware that you may hit a pocket of caramel, making it appear that the brownies are underbaked), 35 to 40 minutes. Cool brownies in pan on wire rack to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours.

5. Heat remaining caramel (you should have about 3/4 cup) in microwave until warm and pourable but still thick (do not boil), 45 to 60 seconds, stirring once or twice; pour caramel over brownies. Using spatula, spread caramel to cover surface. Refrigerate brownies, uncovered, at least 2 hours.

6. Using foil extensions, lift brownies from baking pan, loosening sides with paring knife, if needed. Peel away and discard foil. Using chef's knife, cut brownies into 25 evenly sized squares. Press a pecan half onto surface of each brownie. Serve at room temperature.

Note that the batter has to rest for an hour before baking. It's not absolutely essential, but it makes a big difference in volume and texture.

When I make a roast I save and render the fat and freeze in ice cube trays for making Yorkshire pudding the next time, since my roast recipe doesn't make much in the way of drippings.

3 large eggs , at room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk , at room temperature
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons beef fat

1. Whisk eggs and milk in large bowl until well combined, about 20 seconds. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl and add to egg mixture; whisk quickly until flour is just incorporated and mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds. Cover batter with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.

2. After removing roast from oven, whisk 1 tablespoon of beef fat into batter until bubbly and smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer batter to 1-quart liquid measuring cup or other pitcher.

3. Measure 1/2 teaspoon of remaining 2 tablespoons beef fat into each cup of standard muffin pan. When roast is out of oven, increase temperature to 450 degrees and place pan in oven to heat for 3 minutes (fat will smoke). Working quickly, remove pan from oven, close oven door, and divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Immediately return pan to oven. Bake, without opening oven door, for 20 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Remove pan from oven and pierce each pudding with skewer to release steam and prevent collapse. Using hands or dinner knife, lift each pudding out of tin and serve immediately.

From the Better Homes and Gardens The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking, typed up by a friend. Since Eric's not a big nut fan I made one loaf with, and one without. The one with, of course, was better. ;)

I'm not entirely sold on the double spiral, it's more work (having to hold one side while rolling the other) for questionable benefit. Next time I'll do a normal spiral.

As written, the recipe makes one 1.5 lb 9x5 loaf. The amounts in parenthesis are for two 1 lb 8x4 loaves.

3/4 c. milk (1 c.)
1 egg (2 eggs)
3 T. margarine or butter (4 T.)
3 c. bread flour (4 c. - 1 lb 4 oz)
3 T. sugar (4 T.)
3/4 t. salt (1 t.)
1 1/4 t. active dry yeast or bread machine yeast (1 1/2 t.)
1/3 c. chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (1/2 c.)
1/3 c. packed brown sugar (1/2 c.)
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon (2 t.)
1 T. margarine or butter (2 T.)

1. Add first 7 ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's directions. Select dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough and punch down. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium bowl stir together the nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. FOR THE 1 1/2 lb. RECIPE: On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14 x 9 inch rectangle. Spread with 1 T. butter and sprinkle with filling. Starting from both sides, roll up each side into a spiral toward the center. Place, rolled side up, in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Cover; let rise about 30 minutes or until nearly double.

4. Bake in a 350 deg oven for about 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. If necessary loosely cover with foil the last 10 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Remove from pan, cool on wire rack. Before serving, sprinke with powdered sugar.

5. FOR THE 2 LB. RECIPE: Prepare as above, except divide the dough and butter in half. Form 2 loaves; place in 2 greased 8x4 inch loaf pans.

Best. Hot chocolate. Ever.

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
About 1/4 cup sugar (more as desired after you taste it at the end of cooking)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hot coffee
2½ cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup coffee liqueur such as Kahlua or Starbucks

Cinnamon-stick stirrers, optional
Puffs of whipped cream, optional

In a medium saucepan, combine the cocoa, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Blend in the hot coffee until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add milk and cream. Heat but do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in the liquor. Taste and adjust sweetness.

Serve in heatproof mugs with cinnamon sticks and whipped cream garnish.

I make up a double batch of the chocolate/spice mix and store it in the pantry. A half batch makes two generous servings. I use 1/3c mix to half the wet ingredients

Totally addictive! You won't be able to walk by without breaking off a piece. To make a heart shape I print it off from the computer, place the printout under a sheet of parchment paper, and form the cookie on that. The less obsessive can feel free to wing it. Here's the graphic.

It's really more shortbread than traditional chocolate chip cookie, which is probably why it holds it shape so well.

The original recipe is from the Washington Post, circa 1990something.

Here is an ideal cookie to make and have on hand for nibbling with fresh berries, ice cream, or frozen yogurt, or just as good, freshly brewed coffee. To serve the cookie, present it whole and let each person break away his or her own piece.

1.5c (7 oz) flour
.25 tsp baking powder
.25 tsp salt
12 tbs (6 oz) butter
.25 cup brown sugar
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs instant espresso powder
2 tsp vanilla
.75 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 11" removable-bottom tart pan with nonstick spray (or use parchment as per above.)

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Cream the butter and sugars for 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the espresso powder and vanilla. Add the flour ingredients, beating just to combine. Stir in the chips.

Press the dough into the pan, or onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 35 minutes, or until set. Cool in the pan, on a rack, or carefully slide the parchment to a cooling rack.

The original recipe calls for a caramel-pecan topping, but I didn't manage to clip out that part of the article. Use common sense, create your own!

I decorated with melted chocolate. Melt chips (semi-sweet or white) with a splash of oil in the microwave, then drizzle with a fork or from a ziplock or pastry bag.