Blueberry-Thyme Soup with Honey-Vanilla Mascarpone
If I had to pick one dessert creation that I am most proud of this summer, this is it… so keep reading, it’s totally worth it.
Soup for dessert?! I was totally skeptical when Asheley ordered the Blueberry Soup for dessert at L’Office in Paris. Let’s just say it was one of my proudest moments of being dead wrong. This wasn’t just a good dessert. It was a pretty darn perfect. I thought the flavors would be very one-note, kind of boring. Au, contraire. The fresh, bright flavors of the blueberries, combined with the creamy mascarpone, was well… a match made in heaven. Immediately when we got back from Paris, I went to work on trying to recreate Chef Kevin O’Donnell’s mind blowing dessert. After several trial runs, numerous recipe tweaking, and having many good friends be my loyal taste-testers, it finally came together:
Super Easy No-Knead Bread
I tried to make bread from scratch a couple months ago… with little success. The whole experience was plain frustrating. I was initially super excited to make bread: I did some research, bought quality bread flour and active-dry yeast, and attached my sparkly never-been-used dough hook onto my beloved KitchenAid Stand Mixer. The initial charm of it all quickly faded and things went downhill fast. The mixing bowl got severely stuck to the base of the stand mixer from the kneading motion of the thick bread dough. It took copious amounts of mineral oil, a hammer (wrapped in a kitchen towel), and 20 minutes of my brute Superman strength (go ahead, laugh at that one) to get it free. After all that and the numerous steps it took to make the bread, it came out just eh… just eh?! For all that work. I can go buy “just eh” bread from the chain grocery store down the street. I was completely discouraged. There must be an easier way!
Enter my friend Tyler, who clued me into this revolutionary no-knead bread recipe. It sounded ridiculously easy to make, almost too easy. My mother always warned me “if it sounds too good to be true…” Well, this is the exception. It really is ridiculously easy to make. Even better, it’s absolutely delicious, and puts many bakery-bought breads to shame.
Sausage, Bean, and Spinach Soup
Today’s post features a recipe that comes from a good friend of mine. She and her husband are big foodies just like Asheley and I. We love talking food, sharing our culinary adventures, and eating good eats together.
Lisa made this soup for us a couple months ago on a cold winter day and it was so warming, so comforting, and most importantly, really delicious! The sausage and potatoes in the soup make it really hearty, and the cheesy baguette crisps that top the soup add so much flavor and awesome texture! I immediately asked her for the recipe and for permission to share this gem on Shared Appetite. Enjoy, and thank you Lisa!
Coolhaus: Ice Cream Sandwiches Done Right
I like ice cream. I like cookies. Ice cream and cookies all at once… euphoria! What’s not to like about the old time favorite ice cream sandwich? I remember being very excited as a kid when I would hear that familiar high-pitched tune, signaling the one, the only, ice cream man! Approaching that ice cream truck, with all the different sugary choices colorfully plastered around the service window, I would very often choose the good ole’ chipwich. A prepackaged vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two frozen chocolate chip cookies, it was all a kid could hope for. Ah, youthful days… But little did I know!
When I walked up to the Coolhaus food truck for the first time, I expected a decent, good, tasty ice cream sandwich. That isn’t what I got… not even close. It was SO much more than that. I have never had an ice cream sandwich this good. It was stupid good. So good I now literally compare all other ice cream sandwiches to the pedestal I have erected for my ice cream sandwich love: Coolhaus!
Swiss Chard and Herb Soup with Feta
I am not one to make many soups, and honestly am not sure why. I enjoy a good soup, and when I saw this recipe in the January 2012 issue of Bon Appetit, I was intrigued. Not many ingredients, lots of healthy greens from the Swiss Chard and herbs, and an ingredient I’ve honestly never really worked with… feta cheese. The recipe, originally penned by Yotam Ottolenghi, is known for his popular take-out food shops in London where he focuses on uncomplicated and unadulterated food made with local ingredients. This soup is healthy, and it tastes so fresh and light with a hint of richness from the yogurt. Here is my adapted version of his soup: (more…)
Crispy Baked Kale Chips
I’ll admit it: one of my New Year’s resolutions is to get into “wedding shape”, and that means eating a little better than I have been the past couple of months! However, one thing I refuse to do while eating better is sacrificing flavor. I live to eat, and although I’ll be trying to make some better eating choices as 2012 kicks off, I will not give up my expectation of deliciousness.
I remember a couple years back walking around Whole Foods and enjoying a free sample of this new dehydrated Kale product that was for sale. It was light, crispy, and flavorful. I was about to buy it until I saw the hefty price tag of $8 for a little tiny package of no more than 2 servings. For some reason, today that experience popped into my brain and I decided to try to make my own “dehydrated kale”. After doing a little internet research, I developed the following recipe. These Baked Kale Chips: 3 Ways are super easy, super healthy, and most importantly, super delicious…
NYC Doughnut Bliss
Does your family have certain traditions that you truly cherish? Traditions that immediately bring to mind thoughts of happiness and bliss? One of those traditions in our house growing up was doughnut birthday breakfast! I would so look forward to anyone’s birthday in our house just so I could enjoy a doughnut at breakfast. If it was my birthday, sometimes I could even convince my mom to let me eat two. This is one tradition I plan on keeping around as my fiance and I eventually start our own family. However, there will be one major audible called: goodbye you chain store “donut” wannabes and hello delicious, amazing, where have you been all my life doughnuts from Doughnut Plant in NYC!
Delicious Weeknight Chicken
I received a message the other day from a friend requesting an easy, delicious weeknight dinner chicken recipe. I adapted this recipe from Ted Allen’s cookbook a year or two ago and it has become a weeknight dinner staple in our house. It is healthy, no-fuss, and absolutely delicious. With only a handful of ingredients, the fresh and flavor-packed marinade comes together in under 10 minutes. I get mine going before work in the morning and then making dinner at night is a breeze. Enjoy this comforting recipe for oven roasted lemon-thyme chicken:
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