Cold Drip Iced Coffee

I know this method was all in the news last year, but I just got around to trying it this weekend. This makes two weeks worth of concentrate and is significantly less bitter than hot brewed coffee poured over ice. And, its easy.

3/4 lb (1 12 oz bag) of good quality beans, coarsely ground

8 C cold water

Soak grounds in filtered or distilled water overnight in the fridge. Strain grounds through sieve or cheesecloth and store concentrate in a pitcher. To serve, pour into a tall glass filled with ice and top with water or milk.

A few notes from the InStyle article:

• Use micro-lot organic premium beans, grown in the shade for the best quality brew. I used beans from Cameron's.
• Using filtered water makes the coffee smooth and more flavorful, same goes for ice cubes.
• This type of coffee is much sweeter and less acidic

I'm buzzing from my cup this morning, the concentrate is much more concentrated than I realized. I could have added a lot more ice cubes! I added some mint leaves from our garden and used the grounds as mulch around our tomato and pepper plants.

Dilled Potato and Pickled Cucumber Salad

Found this recipe via Smitten Kitchen, but its originally from Bon Appetit. Yum! So good. Two things I did different: only had white wine vinegar on hand, used one regular cucumber instead of two hothouses.

Dilled Potato and Pickled Cucumber Salad
6 T distilled white vinegar
4 t coarse kosher salt
2 1-pound English hothouse cucumbers, very thinly sliced
1/2 C plus 3 T chopped fresh dill
3 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 10 medium), unpeeled
Additional coarse kosher salt
1 C very thinly sliced white onion
8 radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
3/4 C mayonnaise
Small radishes with green tops

Stir vinegar and 4 teaspoons coarse salt in small bowl until salt dissolves. Place cucumbers and 1/2 cup dill in heavy 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add vinegar mixture; seal bag. Turn several times to coat. Refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Pour cucumber mixture into large sieve set over bowl. Drain at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. Discard brine.

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. Cool potatoes completely. Peel potatoes; quarter lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place potatoes in large bowl; sprinkle generously with coarse salt and pepper. Add drained cucumbers, onion, sliced radishes, and remaining 3 tablespoons dill; toss to blend. Let stand 1 hour. Stir mayonnaise into salad. Season generously with salt and pepper, if desired. (Salad can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Mound salad in bowl; garnish with whole radishes. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Asian Pear Mojito

Anthony and I ate at PF Chang's on Friday night and since we were trying to make a movie, we ate at the bar. I had the Asian Pear Mojito, which was excellent. Not too sweet, not too overpowering, just right. When I told the bartender how much I liked it, she offered to give me the recipe. Uh, yeah!

Asian Pear Mojito
1.5 oz Bacardi Limon
1 oz Apple Pucker
mint leaves
3 lime slices
Splash of pineapple juice
Soda water

Pour Bacardi and Apple pucker into glass, add mint and lime slices. Muddle together at bottom of glass. Add ice, pineapple juice and soda water. Enjoy.

Hashbrown Cakes

Some of my favorite recipes from cooking magazines are the little side bar ideas with just a few ingredients or an article about how to use an everyday ingredient. This recipe is from the April issue of Cooking Light.

Hashbrown Cakes
1 1/2 C shredded ham
1/2 C chopped green onions
2 1/2 T all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
1 20 oz bag hashbrowns*
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Combine ham, onions, flour, salt and potatoes. Add eggs and mix well. Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat with 1 T canola oil. Scoop mixture by 1/4 C spoonfuls into skillet, flatten slightly and cook 5 minutes on each side until browned.

This recipe made enough for two meals. I cooked up a couple of cakes as part of our breakfast, then froze the rest in patties for use another time.

*I hate buying bags of stuff like that when I can just as easily prepare the potatoes myself. I boiled 6 russet potatoes (of varying sizes, not the big huge ones) until they were cooked through. I let them cool a little (I was pressed on time and would have rather they cooled completely, but hey) then shredded them skin on into the bowl.

Budget Recipes: Feed 4 for $10 - CookingLight.com

I think we had thrown around meals for $10 before..here's a new link for just that on Cooking Light:

Budget Recipes: Feed 4 for $10 - Photos - CookingLight.com

Coconut Cupcakes

These look divine and perfect for Easter!

Coconut cupcakes
Ina Garten, makes 18 to 20 large cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
• 3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Cream cheese frosting
• 1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
• 3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In three parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each cup to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.
Frost cupcakes with cream cheese icing and sprinkle with the remaining coconut, and jellybean for an Easter touch!

TIPS
Cupcakes: I use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups.
Frosting: It is very important that the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature and that the confectioners’ sugar is sifted to ensure no lumps in the icing.

Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35989209/ns/today-today_food_and_wine/#ixzz0j1iMzybj

Balls of cake..dipped in chocolate = YUM!

Ok I haven't exactly had these yet but I love cake, and creamcheese and who wouldn't love both even more in a little bite-sized ball dipped in chocolate?! I had never heard about doing something like this so I'm intrigued, could be really fun for a kids birthday party or holidays.

Red Velvet Cake Balls

1 box red velvet cake mix

(or any other flavor you desire, cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)

1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)

wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)

4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)

5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

Note: I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

Recipe from here - http://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake-balls/