AMYzzing Culinary fEATs! i

Chocolate Molten Cakes with Homemade Peppermint Ice Cream

A Giroux family favorite, this is the second time these chocolate delights have graced our tables this summer and who-knows-how-many-times over the span of opening Giroux Kitchen Stadium. The special treat tonight though was the family we got to share them with! We had the privilege of breaking bread with our dear friends the Godfreys tonight and the even more special event of starting Zoe’s “birthday month” celebration with her!

Over a 4 hour meal of talking and laughing with good friends, I could not ask for a better way to celebrate the Sabbath :)

Molten Chocolate Cake

~4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

~1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

~2 large eggs

~2 large egg yolks

~1/4 cup sugar

~3 T flour

~4 4oz ramekins

Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter and flour four 4-oz ramekins, butter and flour again.

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a heatproof bowl, set over a saucepan of about 1 1/2 inches of nearly simmering water, whisking until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Meanwhile, beat eggs, yolks, and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed in a medium deep bowl for about 8 minutes, until very thick and pale. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture, then whisk in the flour just until blended.

Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins. Arrange the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 14 minutes, or until the cakes have risen and have a thin crust, their sides are set and they are still slightly jiggly at the center, *underbaking is better than overbaking.

Carefully invert each ramekin onto a serving plate lined with a doily and let sit for a minute, then unmold by tapping on ramekin and gently lifting up on one side of the ramekin; the cake will fall onto the plate.

Dust tops with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with fresh berries. Serve immediately and enjoyyyy :)

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

~1 cup whole milk, well chilled (I used 2%)

~3/4 cup granulated sugar (I went with 1/2 cup and it was still VERY sweet, I think 1/4 cup would suffice for next time)

~2 cups heavy cream, well chilled

~1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

~1 teaspoon peppermint extract

~3/4 cup crushed hard peppermint candies

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1-2 minutes on low speed. Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Turn the machine on, pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and let mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Add the crushed peppermint candies during the last 5 minutes of mixing.

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas a la Giroux

Cornbread with Honey Butter

This family favorite has quickly climbed the ranks of “must-haves” in the Giroux household.

An art perfected over the years by my parents, I had the special treat of making this with my mom last night.

Be fore-warned, your kitchen is going to need a deep cleaning after this Broadway-level production! Tamale sauce, oil, and sour cream has an impeccable habit of showing up everywhere!

The best part about this recipe is the flexibility—YOU adjust the proportions, ingredients, and hotness according to your preference :)

Dynamite Enchiladas

~12 small corn tortillas

~1 can green enchilada sauce

~1 can red enchilada sauce

~2 cans olives, sliced

~diced green chiles (hot)

~1 pint sour cream

~1 cup cilantro

~1.5 cups red onion, minced and sauteed with minced garlic

~3 cups of mixed mexican cheeses, shredded

~ample amounts of olive oil

1. Heat two pans side by side, one with 1/2 can of red enchilada sauce, the other with olive oil. Coat each side of a corn tortilla with red enchilada sauce, then dip in oil, then onto a cutting board. 

2. In the middle of the tortilla, sprinkle a layer of cheese, then add a dollop of sour cream, olives, chicken, onions, cilantro, and green chiles. Roll tortilla and place seam side down into pan

3. Once pan is full, pour remainder of enchilada sauces over (green and red)

4. Bake for 40 minutes at 350. Add sprinkled cheese and salsa over the top for the last 8 minutes of cooking.

Buttery Cornbread with Honey Butter

~2 boxes of jiffy cornbread mix

~2/3 cup milk

~2 eggs

~1 egg white (we added this to gain the fluffiness)

~1 can cream corn

Mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon and let sit for a few minutes to rise. Batter will be lumpy. Pour into an ungreased 8x11 pan and bake for 25 minutes at 400

For the butter, combine 4 tablespoons of soft (room temperature) butter with 1 tsp of honey (give or take) :)

Because we just can’t get enough [of that Key Lime Cheesecake]

Third times a charm, and truly it was! Made this round with a lemon gelatin glaze versus the lime glaze and mmmm mmmm gooood! The real star of the show is the gingersnap coconut graham cracker crust, shown here before any lime was grated in.

*Wayne Bolt was clearly not a fan…although his clean plate at the end might have suggested otherwise ;)

Basil-Peach Chicken Breasts

If you’re looking for the perfect summer dish, look no further! This is DELISH! A perfect meal to come off of the lake to, it is sweet and savory, moist, and fresh! Definitely add bacon in addition to the basil to garnish, that smokey flavor made this dish!

**Add this puppy to your “college casserole repertoire”, this is a dish that keeps on giving! Perfect to make once on a weekend then keep eating throughout the week—healthy, great source of protein, and full of flavor! And delicious when microwaved!

The chicken wasn’t as moist as it could have been so definitely stick to the 15 minutes (which requires good timing on your part if you’re cooking for guests arriving)

Another note would be to drain some of the liquid before baking.

• 4 skinned and boned chicken breasts (about 2 lb.)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 12 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1 cup reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 4 large peaches, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
• Garnish: fresh basil leaves
• Also, add bacon as garnish!
  

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Cook chicken in hot oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from skillet, reserving drippings in skillet.
2. 2. Reduce heat to medium. Add shallot to hot drippings in skillet, and sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 45 to 60 seconds or until fragrant. Add basil, chicken broth, and peaches. Return chicken to skillet, and turn to coat.
3. 3. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until chicken is done.

Preheat oven to 350°. Grind almonds in a food processor until largest pieces are 1/8” (do not grind to a paste). Transfer to a wide shallow bowl. Season both sides of each fillet with salt. Whisk egg white in another wide shallow bowl until just frothy. Dip top of each fillet in egg white, then into almonds, pressing to adhere. Transfer to a plate, crust side up.

Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Place fish, crust side down, in pan. Cook until nuts are golden brown, 3–4 minutes. Turn over fillets and transfer skillet to oven. Bake until fish is just opaque in center, 4–5 minutes.

Bring 2 cups broth, farro (orzo), a pinch of salt, and 1 cup water to a simmer a large saucepan. Cook until farro is tender, 30–45 minutes (semi-pearled farroer will cook faster than regular). Drain; return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown, about 5 minutes longer; keep warm.
Add corn purée to farro and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally and adding more broth by 1/4-cupfuls if dry, until farrotto is very creamy, 5–6 minutes. Stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir tomatoes and basil into vegetables.
Divide farrotto among bowls. Top with vegetable mixture, dividing equally. Serve immediately.

The Best, Healthiest, Moist[est], Oatmeal Raisin Cookies you will ever eat!

Over the centuries, mankind has made incredible leaps and bounds through discoveries that have changed the way we operate today.

We have Copernicus in 1543 to thank for the discovery that the Sun was the center of the Solar System. We have Columbus in 1492 who sailed the ocean blue to discover the Americas. We have Watson and Crick in 1953 to thank for the double helix structure of DNA.

And we have Pinterest in 2012 to thank for the discovery of GUILT-FREE COOKIES.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner!!!

If you’re a sucker for cookies, make that Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, but couldn’t get past the sin of eating 4+ cookies (let’s be real, I usually wait ‘til about 10 to feel guilty), here’s your chance to be the cookie monster!

They’re healthy, moist, satisfying, naturally sweet but not overpoweringly so, and the perfect consistency! And best part: under 30 calories per cookie (or so the recipe claims ;) )

I dare you. Give these babies a try, they literally only take 10 minutes to whip up (compared to the normal half hour for most decent cookies) and you will fall in love! It’s truly love at first bite <3

I won’t judge you for how many you eat right out of the oven if you don’t judge me…after all, they’re healthy, right? ;)

~3 mashed bananas (ripe)

~1/3 cup applesauce (I used 1 regular and 1 cinnamon flavored of the little cups)

~2 cups oats

~1/4 cup almond milk (I used coconut milk)

~1/2 cup raisins (plus some ;) )

~1 tsp vanilla

~1 tsp cinnamon (my recommendation is 2 tsps)

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes for perfection!

*Also, to keep them moist, pull them out, slide them onto the counter, let them cool for about 10 minutes, then throw into a tupperware to keep the moisture and heat in to savor days later :)

Summer Peach Pie

Sugar, Spice, and everything nice. This pie is the perfect blend of spices and sweetness to accentuate summer’s favorite fruit.

There’s nothing I love more than a dessert request. “Amy, could you bake me a [fill in a delightful dessert]” are words to my ears. And so, with that request from my dear Uncle Terry, I set out to bake my very first peach pie.

With fresh peaches from Machado’s Orchards, a local orchard in our area renowned for their peaches, you really can’t go wrong.

Things I learned:

~These peaches were still a few days from being ripe so to loosen the skin to peel them, we dropped them in boiling water for about a minute and a half, then into lukewarm water.

~The tapioca is KEY here, a much better alternative to the flour in most fruit pies

~I used only a half cup of brown sugar vs the 3/4 white sugar recommended

~I didn’t have lemons on hand so the juice from 1 orange and all of its zest

~Brush the crust with milk before baking to give the crust a nice sheer touch (similar to an egg-wash)

~Bake the crust about 8 minutes before putting the peach filling in

Filling

• 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup brown sugar instead)
• 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (I used oranges instead)
• 3 3/4 to 4 pounds peaches, peeled with vegetable peeler, halved, pitted, cut into 1-inch wedges

Key Lime Cheesecake (Round 2) with a Key Lime Glaze

What better way to celebrate the birthday of my dear Aunt Barbara and my Nephew Alan’s third birthday than with the newest addition to the Giroux Family Summer Favorites: Key Lime Cheesecake!

After my first run through, I decided to kick it up a notch a la Emeril, and added 5 tablespoons of key lime juice (from the 3 recommended) and 3 tablespoons of finely graded Key Lime peel (versus the 2 teaspoons….I told you I went overboard!

The predominating comment from this go-around was “WOW. THAT was Key Lime. No beating around the bush here!”

Strong, tart, and tasty, exactly everything you’ve dreamed a Key Lime cheesecake would be!

Find the recipe for this delicious cheesecake in the blog post for David’s birthday. The one addition to this already supreme recipe was the key lime gelatin glaze—PERFECT! Definitely incorporating the glaze from here on out!

Zucchini Bread with Coconut Lime Glaze

Our church has an incredible garden as part of their ministry and had a surplus of vegetables one Sabbath and offered them to the community. We were lucky enough to bring home a giant bag of fresh vegetables, what a treat!

I’ve never made zucchini bread but have always wanted to try, so this was the perfect opportunity! One zucchini ended up making 4 cups of shredded zucchini, so I ended up doubling the recipe below, found from Cooking Light 1996. After reading reviews for multiple recipes, this was the draw as claiming to be the most moist. We also had apple sauce on hand so it was perfect! I used half whole-wheat flour and half white flour, and also cut out half of the white sugar. Instead of egg substitute, I used egg whites.

I baked the breads in small pans to give to our dear neighbors. The smaller pans called for half of the baking time and even that was a little bit too much as the breads came out a bit more dense and dry than I had hoped, thus prompting the glaze!

For the glaze, I eye-balled proportions of about 1.5 cups of powdered sugar, freshly squeeze juice from 1 key lime, a bit of milk, and a dash of coconut extract. As the breads were cooling, I poked holes in them with skewers to allow the glaze to soak in and drizzled the fresh lime glaze over it. I toasted coconut for a few minutes to garnish the top, along with lime zest.

I think I might try a different recipe for the bread itself next time, as well as use dark brown sugar to give it a more molasses-y taste.

But all in all, these made a great treat to give to our dear neighbors and friends and not a bad “First Zucchini Bread” out the gate!

I’m still on the hunt for a winning Zucchini Bread recipe so if you have a family favorite, let me know and I’d love to bake with you :)

Zucchini Bread

• 2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Vegetable cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place zucchini on several layers of paper towels, and cover with additional paper towel. Let stand 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Set aside.
3. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through baking powder) in a large bowl, and stir well; make a well in center of mixture. Combine zucchini, applesauce, egg substitute, oil, and vanilla; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Divide batter evenly between 2 (7 1/2 x 3-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

Plum and Blackberry Biscuit Cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh berry sauce

My parents came home one day with fresh plums picked from the orchard of one of their co-workers, quite possibly the juiciest, freshest, and most delicious plums I have ever tasted! What a treat!

Because the three of us could only eat so many plums, we wanted to put them to good use in a cobbler as a Sabbath treat! Adding a few blackberries to each cobbler really did the trick too :) Just like the peach pie, the tapioca in this recipe was the winner. Though instant tapioca is a bit tricky to find, it is well worth the purchase when endeavoring on a fruit cobbler!

This was best served right out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and pureed berry sauce!

(Also, I didn’t have hazelnuts on hand so chopped up an assortment of walnuts, pistachios, pecans, and almonds from a Mixed Nuts container and you couldn’t even tell the difference! The biscuit topping was delicious and a nice alternative to the typical crumb topping you see on top of cobblers)

Plum and Blackberry Biscuit Cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh berry sauce