Baked Bars

Jason has a birthday pot luck every month where they celebrate all of the birthdays from that month and eat food that people bring. I think I just said the same thing twice. Oh, well. You get the idea. I decided to make these bars I have been wanting to make forever from none other than the Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. If you haven't checked this book out by now, I don't know what more I can do to convince you of what you are missing out on. Everything that these guys produce is amazing. Me and Jason are going to New York in a few weeks and we plan on visiting their bakery in Brooklyn. You can only imagine how I am going to be. I can't even really predict how I will act. I am a freak for this stuff. Anyhow. Here it is.

BAKED BARS
from Baked: New Frontiers In Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
makes 24 bars

For the crust:
2 C (about 6 oz) sweetened shredded coconut
2 1/2 C finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 20 crackers)
1 C unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/3 C walnut halves, toasted and chopped
1 1/2 C (9 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 C white chocolate coarsely chopped
3/4 C butterscotch chips
3 1/4 C (26 oz) sweetened condensed milk


Make the Baked Bar crust:
Preheat the oven t0 300 degrees F.

Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan or spray it with nonstick cooking spray (I lined my pan with foil before buttering- makes it easier to remove from the pan)

On a parchment-linedbaking sheet, spread out the coconut. Put the baking sheet inthe oven and toast the coconut until itstarts to turn golden brown, 7-10 minutes. Remove from th oven, toss the coconut, and return it to the oven for 3 more minutes.

Put the graham cracker crumbs in a large bowl, add the toasted coconut, and toss with your handsuntil combined. Add the butter. Use your hands to combine the mixture, then turn it out into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the crust into an even layer on th bottom and up the sides of the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to create a prefectly even crust.

Refreigerate the crust for 15 minutes, then bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let the crust cool completely.

Make the Baked Bar filling:
Increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Evenly spread the nuts in the bottom of the crust.

Spread the chocolate chips over the walnuts, followed by the white chocolate, followed by the buttersotch chips.

In a steady stream, pour the sweetened condensed milk evenlyover the filling. Shake the pan very gently to make sure the sweetened condensed milk is evenly distributed.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, roating the pan evey 10 minutes, until golden borwn and bubbly. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into squares and serve.

Baked Bars will keep, wrapped tightly and at room temperature, for up to 4 days.

The best burgers I have had

I decided to make these burgers tonight. I have been wanting burgers forever now and it happened. I did it. I got my new Rachael Ray magazine in the mail and found this recipe. I have to say I was a little leery about how they would turn out, but I went for it. I even thought about changing them, but wanted to see how they would be. I used brown rice and I did add two cloves of minced garlic and a drizzle of olive oil in fear of dryness. They turned out so amazing. I couldn't even believe I was sitting in my kitchen eating them. It tasted like a burger I would order out to a nice dinner. So so so amazing. I would have to say that you could use a little less beans if you want. I liked the amount that was used, but some of the beans didn't stick in the mix because there were so many. It's totally your call. The garlic was a nice addition. I would highly recommend it. The recipe says four burgers. Yeah, that's if you want to make your stomach explode. This makes about six good sized burgers. The beans and rice really make them super filling. I ate mine around 5:45 and I am just now starting to feel like myself again. It was so so good. Also, I just bought store made guacamole to make it easier for me with Lucy and all. So that was nice. I typically would have made the one listed but didn't want to risk it. She only allows me so much time in the kitchen and luckily I cranked these bad boys out. It was awesome.

Beef 'n' Bean Burrito Burgers

Serves 4

Tags: brunch dinner lunch burgers fruit rice, grains and breads beef vegetables beans sauté

Submitted by

Rachael Ray

on 02/26/09

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef sirloin
• One can black beans (15 ounces), rinsed
• 1/2 cup leftover white or brown rice, cold
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning
• 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin (about 1/2 palmful)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander (about 1/2 palmful)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño chile or serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, grated orfinely chopped
• Grated peel and juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 crusty rolls, split
• 4 leaves red-leaf lettuce
• 1 tomato, sliced

Preparation

In a large bowl, combine the beef, beans, rice, grill seasoning, chili powder, cumin and coriander. Form into 4 patties. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook, turning once and lowering the heat slightly for the last few minutes, until browned, 12 minutes.

While the burgers cook, in a medium bowl, mash together the avocado, onion, jalapeño, garlic, lime peel and lime juice. Stir in the sour cream.

Layer each roll bottom with a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice, a beef patty, guacamole and a roll top.

Awesome Awesome Meal

Shredded Chicken and Tomatillo Tacos with Queso Fresco

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay

Close

Times:

Prep

15 min

Inactive Prep

--

Cook

10 min

Total:

25 min

Ingredients

• 6 tomatillos, husked, washed, and grilled until blackened
• 1 serrano, grilled until blackened
• Olive oil
• 1/2 small red onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 8 blue corn tortillas
• 1 cup crumbled queso fresco

Directions

Preheat the grill to medium. Add the blackened tomatillos and serrano to a small saute pan and briefly saute in a little olive oil on the grates of the grill.

Place the tomatillos, serrano, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and honey in a blender and blend until smooth. Place the tomatillo mixture in a large saute pan and place on the grates of the grill. Bring the mixture to a simmer, add the chicken, and heat through.

Place the tortillas on the grill, and grill for 20 seconds on each side. Spoon the chicken mixture into the tortillas and top with a few tablespoons of queso fresco. Fold the tortillas in half serve immediately.

This was the best fastest meal ever. We made some home made salsa and guacamole to go with it. I tell you what, it doesn't get any better than this. I was dreaming of the leftovers all night and day. I couldn't wait to eat them again. We actually accidentally added two serrano peppers. It still didn't have much heat. If you want heat, leave in the seed. We always take the seeds out of our peppers in fear of too much heat. I loved this meal so so much. I can't wait to make it again.

Here is the recipe for the guacamole. The salsa recipe is on one of my other posts. The easiest tastiest salsa ever. You mus try it for sure. This guacamole is amazing. We actually tried it at Frontera Grill in Chicago. It's award winning Chef Rick Bayless so you know it's good. I am pretty much thinking of adding fresh lime juice to everything I eat from now on. It can't be a bad thing really. Man it tastes so fresh. I could go on forever. Try it please and enjoy.

Sun-Dried Tomato Guacamole

Makes about 3 cups, serving 6 as an appetizer, 8 to 10 as a nibble

Recipe from Season 6 of Mexico - One Plate at a Time

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Ingredients

½ medium white onion, chopped into small pieces (about 1/3 cup)

Fresh hot green chiles to taste (usually 2 serranos or 1 jalapeño), stemmed, seeded

(if you wish) and finely chopped

¼ cup soft sundried tomatoes, chopped into small pieces (patted dry on paper towels if oil-packed)

¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, plus a little extra for garnish

3 medium-large (about 1 ¼ pounds) ripe avocados

Salt

1 or 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

A little Mexican queso fresco or other fresh garnishing cheese like feta or salted farmers cheese, for garnish (optional)

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Directions

Scoop the onion into a small strainer and rinse under cold water. Shake off the excess water and transfer to a large bowl, along with the green chiles and tomatoes..

Cut around each avocado, from stem to blossom end and back again, then twist the two halves apart. Scoop out the pit and discard. Scoop the flesh from the skin and add to the bowl. Using an old fashioned potato masher or a large fork or spoon, mash the avocados into a coarse puree, mixing in all the flavorings. Taste and season with salt and lime juice—the guacamole usually takes about 1 teaspoon of salt, lime juice is a matter of personal preference.

Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. Scoop the guacamole into a serving dish, sprinkle with a little chopped cilantro and queso fresco (if you’re using it) and you’re ready to serve.

Awesome Healthy Easy

Lighter Sesame Noodles

Martha Stewart Everyday Food

Serves 4

• Coarse salt
• 12 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
• 1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets, stalks peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons dark-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti 3 minutes less than al dente. Add broccoli, bell peppers, and onion. Cook until pasta is al dente and vegetables are tender, 3 minutes more. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and vegetables.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, garlic, and red-pepper flakes. Add hot pasta and vegetables; toss to coat, thinning sauce with a little pasta water, if necessary. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

I am forgetful and didn't take a picture of this amazing meal. I loved it so so much. I did change a few things about it though. I used one red pepper, about 3/4 c edamame, diced fresh ginger, and sugar snap peas. I always like to try and add as many veggies as possible. To make it a more complete meal I added rotisserie chicken to it as well. I had a bunch of meat leftover from a chicken I got at Sam's Club so this was the perfect meal to use it on. I did also us about 3/4 cup of the pasta water to thin out the sauce. Sometimes with peanut butter it can get a little weird. I added a couple more dashes of soy sauce too so that the flavor wasn't lost while adding the water. I hope you try this too. It is so so yummy and really a well rounded meal.

Banana Cupcake

Oh glorious cupcake. This was so so yummy. I was so happy to see Martha Stewart feature cupcakes in her February issue. These are one of the cupcakes. I chose to do a different frosting on top because I love brown butter and thought it would go well with the banana. Yum. It was amazing. Jason loved the icing so much that he was eating it by the spoonful. How can you resist really.

Banana Cupcakes

Makes 28

• 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 very ripe large bananas, mashed (about 2 cups), plus sliced bananas for garnish
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Make cupcakes as directed in Basic Cupcake How-To, using mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla for wet ingredients.
2. Stir pecans into batter. Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with caramel buttercream. Frosted cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days. Top with banana slices before serving.

   Basic Cupcake How To
   

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
   2. Reduce speed to low. Mix any remaining wet ingredients in a bowl if needed. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.
   3. Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks. Cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to 3 days, unless otherwise noted.
      

Brown-Butter Glaze

Makes 1 cup

• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk

Directions

1. Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Carefully pour butter into a bowl, leaving sediment behind.
2. Add sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk to butter, and stir until smooth. If glaze is too thick, add more milk. Use immediately.

My first homemade bread

Man, I really wish I had a breadmaker, that or a dough hook. I feel like I would be a lot more confident in my breakmaking. I just never know how long to knead the dough. It turned out a lot better than I had imagined it turning out. It was really tasty. It was a lot more dense than I was expecting it to be but it was great really. Please try it and let me know how it turns out for you. It was a great simple recipe to try out breadmaking.

Simple Honey Wheat Bread

From King Arthur Flour’s Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Makes one loaf

Ingredients

- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
- 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup*
- 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow it to rise until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk. This will take about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it to fit your pan. The KAF recipe calls for an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan but I only have 9 x 5-inch pans and they work for me. Cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for about 30 to 60 minutes, or until it’s crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350F oven for about 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature if you manage to restrain yourself from eating it all in one sitting.

Some other cookies I have made

These were made during the fall. I used a basic peanut butter blossom recipe for them and used candy corn Hershey Kisses. They were so amazing. I can't wait to make them again. They went so well with the peanut butter flavor.

These are my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. The only person getting this one is Lucy and whoever Lucy gives it too. It is a recipe I have been developing over the years. I am really proud of it because it's my own.

These are my new creation. Malt Chocolate Chip cookies. The malt powder adds just a hint of depth to them. It really turned out nice.

These are my white chocolate orange cookies. I make these more during the holidays for some reason. My friends request them I guess. I have also made a version of them with dried cranberries and walnuts that is really good.