Bananas Foster syrup

The basis of this syrup was that of my good friend and chef Angie. Angie and I have been friends since the 8th grade. We used to ditch school to, get this people, watch cooking shows on PBS!! Yes, we'd be missing (or not so much) English all while watching Jacque Pepin create some delicious and exotic French dish. Angie went on to culinary school, lucky dog, so when she suggested that I take a banana and puree it with syrup next time I made pancakes I knew I had to heed her suggestion! Being a Kitchen Witch I couldn't leave well enough alone. Nope I had to go and add vanilla, butter and cinnamon. But not just any cinnamon, no the Witch used her brand spankin' new Vietnamese cinnamon purchased at Savory Spice Shop. It was amazing!! So much so that the little Witch declared that "this banana syrup is way better than the house syrup Mom" and proceeded to douse her pancakes with it. (The 'house syrup' in question is Log Cabin syrup as it's HFCS free) Thanks Angie for the suggestion, its a good one! I hope you all try this one, its kid tested and Witch approved!

Bananas Foster syrup
makes 4 servings
1 banana
1/2 bottle (4 oz) maple syrup
1/4 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla extract
2 T butter melted

In a blender put the banana, syrup, cinnamon and vanilla. Puree until very smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce speed to lowest setting, drizzle in melted butter and mix about 30 seconds until very well incorporated.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculcator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 156.6
Total Fat 6.0 g
Saturated Fat 3.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.7 g
Cholesterol 15.5 mg
Sodium 3.8 mg
Potassium 180.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 26.5 g
Dietary Fiber 0.9 g
Sugars 20.8 g
Protein 0.4 g

Buttermilk Pancakes

Pancakes for dinner is a fairly regular item in the Witch household. Its fairly quick and the mess is minimal which makes me happy, especially when I'm not particularly motivated to cook dinner. Yes folks, even the Kitchen Witch gets tired of the old dinner routine. So on days when I'm not feeling the creative juices flowing or when I've been busy and time gets away from me, pancakes for dinner it is! Usually I go with my tried and true pancake recipe, and its a good one folks. However this night I had some buttermilk that needed to be used so I broke free from the tried and true and made buttermilk pancakes.

After much research at foodblogsearch.com I decided on the Amateur Gourmets version of buttermilk pancakes. 5 ingredients, a very basic technique, 1 hot skillet and about 10 minutes later, dinner was done!

The pancakes were puffy and golden. They browned up beautifully and had a nice crisp exterior. The interior was a soft airy delight. The buttermilk in the batter added a nice tangy flavor to the cakes as well as make them light and fluffy. The whole family agreed that these were good pancakes. So good that they might become our new go to for pancake night!

Buttermilk Pancakes
makes 8 small or 4 large pancakes
Source: the Amateur Gourmet
1 cup AP flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t table salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk

In a medium size mixing bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Whisk well to combine ingredients as well as aerate them.

In a separate bowl mix the eggs and buttermilk.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and using a whisk, lightly combine them. You do NOT want to overmix the batter. A few pockets of dry lumps is fine, they will work themselves out. You want the batter to be fairly lumpy. It will thicken and puff after resting for about 30 seconds.



Heat a skillet over medium heat. Once hot spray with nonstick spray and scoop batter out, making cakes about 3-4 inches in diameter. Allow to cook on first side until edges are slightly dried out and large bubbles break the surface and leave a hole in the top, see photo below.



Flip cakes and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes longer on second side or until golden browned.

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 155.8
Total Fat 2.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.7 g
Cholesterol 48.7 mg
Sodium 821.1 mg
Potassium 143.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 26.8 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g
Sugars 3.0 g
Protein 6.8 g

Chicken Enchiladas with refried beans

Chicken enchiladas are always a hit in the Witch household. However the last few times I've made them they just weren't quite right. I made special note of a few areas that I felt just weren't working, and vowed to make some changes next time I prepared enchiladas.

The chicken was one place that I knew needed work. In the past white meat chicken breasts were all I'd even consider eating. I'd season it, cook it, dice it and make enchiladas. And every single time I was underwhelmed: the chicken was too chunky, not the right flavor, not at all what I was thinking it should taste like! Now a days my palette has expanded and I understand the beauty of using thighs. The meat isn't as dark as you'd think, so haters, give it a try! They aren't greasy, fatty or gross. As a matter of fact, they're lots more flavorful than the breast, it shreds like you want chicken to shred and has the flavor that I wanted in an enchilada. I slow braised the chicken in some spices in the oven, you could use a slow cooker, then shredded it. The chicken stayed moist, shredded perfectly and most of all had the flavor that I was hoping for. WIN!!

The next area to attack was the tortilla. Rater than add extra calories by flash frying I've always softened my tortillas in heated up enchilada sauce. That's how my Dad taught me, that's how we do it on Christmas when we make our homemade enchiladas, and I was always pretty happy with that. Until last time I made chicken enchiladas. Oh the sauce softened the tortilla, sure enough, but softened it so much that it turned to mush under my fingers. Trying to roll a soggy sauce logged tortilla is disastrous. It rips, tears and splits. Despite its visual appearance, its still tasty, right? Well...no, not really! I recall that last time I made chicken enchiladas I was NOT happy with the overall flavor, the tortilla was flavorless mush, no strong corn tortilla flavor that I was hoping for. You NEED that corn flavor to meld with the chicken and sauce, its a whole enchilada experience. So this time I decided to do it the restaurant way, briefly fry each tortilla in hot oil to soften it, fill with chicken, roll and spoon enchilada sauce over the top. SUCCESS!

These chicken enchiladas were exactly like the ones we'd get in a good Mexican restaurant. They were delicious. The tortilla had flavor on its own and didn't turn to mush. The chicken was seasoned and tasty. And best of all, because the chicken is cooked ahead of time, this is an easy weeknight dinner. The assembly didn't take long and after a quick trip through the broiler to melt the cheese, dinner was done.

And because I'm a Kitchen Witch, I couldn't just discard the cooking juices from the chicken. All that chickeny flavor, spices and goodness, well to dump it down the drain was sacrilege! Instead I whipped up a quick and healthy side dish of quick refried beans. A can of pinto beans, about 1/2 cup of the chicken cooking liquid and a pinch of salt, mash them up together and voila! Refried beans that are healthy, tasty and not laden with fat and calories.

I hope you enjoy these enchiladas as much as we all did!

Chicken Enchiladas
makes 14 enchiladas
1 lb chicken thighs
1/2 t each onion and garlic granules/powder and oregano
1 t each chili powder and ground cumin
1 t cumin ground
1/2 c chicken broth or water
S&P
1 can green enchilada sauce or up to 2 cups homemade
6 oz Monterey Jack cheese
14 corn tortillas
oil for tortillas

Refried beans
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c reserved chicken cooking liquids
pinch kosher salt

Prepare chicken first
Preheat oven to 250F
Place chicken thighs in a small dutch oven or a slow cooker along with the spices, herbs and chicken broth. Add a bit of salt and pepper, cover and cook about 3 hours (on low if using a slow cooker) or until thighs are tender and easily shredded.

Remove chicken and allow to cool until easily handled. Shred chicken, discarding any gristle and fat.

Reserve the cooking liquids from the chicken for refried beans.

Assemble enchiladas
Preheat broiler in oven.
Heat a sautee pan over medium high heat. Heat oil, enough to fill pan 1/2 inch deep. Once oil is hot quickly flash fry each tortilla. Immediately place tortilla in a 13x9 pan and fill with about 2-3 T of the shredded chicken. Roll tortilla and place in pan seam side down. Repeat for all tortillas.

Spoon enchilada sauce over top of the enchiladas, top with shredded cheese.

Place on top rack of oven and heat until cheese is melted and slightly browned on top. Remove from oven, allow to cool before serving.

Top with additional enchilada sauce if desired.

Refried Beans
Put drained and rinsed beans in a small sauce pan. Add the 1/2 chicken cooking liquid and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Using a potato masher smash most of the beans. The beans will thicken as they cook. Taste for season and adjust salt as necessary.




Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Chicken enchiladas
Amount Per Serving
Calories 333.2
Total Fat 9.3 g
Saturated Fat 1.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.9 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.2 g
Cholesterol 76.9 mg
Sodium 427.5 mg
Potassium 491.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 40.6 g
Dietary Fiber 6.6 g
Sugars 1.5 g
Protein 23.5 g


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Refried Beans
Amount Per Serving
Calories 104.4
Total Fat 4.7 g
Saturated Fat 0.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Cholesterol 0.6 mg
Sodium 249.4 mg
Potassium 53.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 18.9 g
Dietary Fiber 6.6 g
Sugars 1.1 g
Protein 5.7 g

Death by Chocolate cookies

Do you like cookies? What about brownies? Wouldn't it be awesome to have them both, at once, in a delicious dark chocolate cookie concoction of deliciousness? Well guess what readers, YOU CAN!! Yes, the Kitchen Witch has been casting her spell over chocolate cookies and I present to you the fruits of my labors, Death by Chocolate cookies.

Recently the Witch made a trip to Savory Spice, a fun spice store that has everything you could possibly need for spices and herbs. They also carry a lot of different cocoa powders. I found some black onyx cocoa powder and had to buy some. I've used other black cocoas and LOVE the intense dark color that it adds, not to mention the super chocolate kick in the flavor department. Savory Spices' black onyx cocoa delivered, nicely, on both of these requirements. Because the onyx cocoa is more expensive than regular old cocoa powder, I use just a bit to add color & flavor with out breaking the bank. In the 1/2 c cocoa powder that this recipe calls for 2 T of that was the black onyx cocoa. You can make these with out black cocoa but the results won't be as dark and delightful.

The Witch uses a combination of white and brown sugar in these cookies. The brown sugar adds moisture as well as a deeper, more caramelized flavor whereas the white sugar provides necessary sweetness and crispness to the exterior crust. A bit of oil is also added to these cookies, it helps balance the dry crumblies that cocoa powder can cause, due to its dry powdery nature. The extra oil helps hydrate the cocoa and make it act more like melted chocolate would in recipes. In addition, mixing the cocoa powders with the fats help coat the cocoa, keeping the grainy dusty texture that is all too common with cocoa powder recipes at bay.

So there you have it. Rich. Dark. Soft. Moist. Slightly crispy. Death by Chocolate cookies. Enjoy, I know you will!

Death by Chocolate cookies
makes 3 dozen cookies
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1 stick (1/2 c) butter, unsalted
3 T oil
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 egg
1 t vanilla
almost 2 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F

Cream butter and oil in the work bowl of a stand mixer until very smooth. Add cocoa powder and sugars, mix until light and fluffy. Scrap down sides. Add the egg and vanilla, mix until light and fluffy again.

Add flour, salt and baking soda, scrape down sides. Add chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed.

Scoop cookies onto sheet pan. Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes. You want the bottoms and edges to be set and slightly crispy. Its hard to tell when these are done due to the dark color so use a timer!

Allow to cook for 3-5 minutes on sheet pan before removing to a cooking rack.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 111.5
Total Fat 5.6 g
Saturated Fat 2.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.5 g
Cholesterol 12.0 mg
Sodium 71.2 mg
Potassium 39.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 16.2 g
Dietary Fiber 0.6 g
Sugars 9.6 g
Protein 1.6 g

Hackbraten & Spaetzle with mushroom cream gravy

The Kitchen Witch is NOT a convenience foods fan. As a matter of fact I go out of my way to avoid all things processed and 'easy'. But sometimes you get in a rutt. And sometimes a friend suggests that you use a seasoning packet for a German dish that you've never heard of, much less tasted. And when you look at this seasoning packet and see that its got no HFCS or PHO's in it, well why not? There are times when a seasoning packet becomes your best friend and sparks an entire dinner that the family really loved. This meal was one of those times!

The meal in question, my dear readers, is Hackbraten, which are German mini meatloaves and they are delicious!! I served these delightful patties with spaetzle, a German egg dumpling, from a BOX! Yes. Seasoning from a packet and noodles from a box, heck I even used better than bullion for the broth!! Does using these prepackaged ingredients make me less of a cook? No. What it does is make me human and recognize that sometimes not every single thing needs to be from scratch. It can be semi homemade. But not cheesed out like Sandra Lee's version of semi homemade, after all I am a Kitchen Witch, therefore I do have standards.

The hackbraten are delicate patties of beef that are seasoned with onion, garlic and paprika and bread crumbs. They are light in texture and have a delicious seared outer crust. The spaetzle are tender yet firm morsels of tastiness. The gravy I made from caramelized cremini mushrooms, shallot, garlic, beef broth and half and half. It was a most delicious and satisfying meal, one that we'll be enjoying again I have no doubt. I am a very happy Kitchen Witch to have heeded the advice of a good friend and tried something new that I normally wouldn't have.

~*~The review of products is the opinion of the Kitchen Witch solely. The Kitchen Witch was not paid or reimbursed for her product review~*~

Hackbraten with spaetzle and mushroom cream gravy
Makes 4 servings
1 lb lean ground beef
1 packet Maggi hackbraten seasoning mix
1/2 box Maggi spaetzle
about 15-20 cremini mushrooms
1 shallot finely minced
1 clove garlic pressed or minced
1/4 c white wine
1 cup beef broth
1/3 c half and half
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 T canola oil
1 T corn starch

Bring a large pot of water to boil and season it with salt. Cook spaetzle according to package, about 25 minutes.

Mix the ground beef with seasoning mix according to directions. Form into 8 small patties.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add 1T canola oil and pan fry the patties, using 2 batches so as not to crowd the pan. Cook until desired doneness.

While the patties cook make the gravy.
In a 2nd skillet melt the butter and olive oil. Once hot add the mushrooms and brown well. When mushrooms are about 80% done add the shallot and garlic and continue to cook until shallot starts to brown on the edges, 2-3 minutes longer. Deglaze pan with white wine and allow to reduce by 1/2. Mix the cornstarch into the beef broth, stir it well and add to the pan. Bring gravy up to a simmer to thicken. Once thickened stir in the half & half. Serve with hackbraten and spaetzle.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
4 Servings, 2 patties, spaetzle and gravy
Amount Per Serving
Calories 678.6
Total Fat 36.6 g
Saturated Fat 14.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 14.6 g
Cholesterol 138.0 mg
Sodium 1,606.6 mg
Potassium 388.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 50.0 g
Dietary Fiber 4.1 g
Sugars 2.5 g
Protein 30.6 g

Cheddar and broccoli soup

Some broccoli cheese soups are more broccoli than cheese. I don't like that. If it claims to be broccoli CHEESE soup, I expect to see and taste more than just a garnish of shredded cheese. This soup delivers in the cheese department, rich, deep and flavorful.

I used a bit of dry mustard in this recipe. Dry mustard is spicier than regular mustard, its the ground mustard seed with out any vinegar or water added. Don't try to use regular mustard for the dry. Theres something about the way the dry mustard makes the cheese taste, it brings out the sharpness of the cheddar and is wonderful. There's also a few dashes of tobasco in this soup. Much like the dry mustard, tobasco helps the soup have a depth of flavor with out spicy heat, I mean after all theres about 1/4 t of tobasco to almost 6 cups of liquid, how spicy can it be?

Lastly I like to use the broccoli stems in my soups. They're filled with nutrients and fiber and its just so wasteful to throw them away in favor of their prettier friends the florettes. I simmer the stems in water and puree them so I get a lot of broccoli flavor in the soup, along with all the vitamins and fiber, but no one knows it in there. Witchcraft I tell you!

If you're looking for a soup that delivers big in the cheese flavor this is the one for you. If you like broccoli soup, this is the one for you! So pretty much unless you hate cheese and broccoli, you should like this soup. Enjoy!

Cheddar and Broccoli soup
makes 6 large servings
2 heads broccoli
4 c chicken stock
1 c milk
1 c water
1 onion diced fine
3 cloves garlic
3 dashes tobasco sauce
1/2 t dry mustard powder
pinch turmeric (optional, helps add yellow color to combat the green from the broccoli puree)
kosher salt & pepper
1/4 c butter (half stick)
1/2 c flour
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Prep veggies first, dice onions, mince garlic and reserve. Remove florettes from broccoli and reserve. Slice the broccoli stems thin (1/4 inch thick approx) and place into a small sauce pan with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and allow stems to cook. Once stems are cooked put them into a blender with 1/2 the cooking liquid and puree until smooth.

Meanwhile, heat a large soup pan over medium high heat. Melt the butter in the pan, once it stops foaming add the onions and garlic. Stir well to coat in butter and cook until onions are starting to brown on the edges.

Add the flour and about 1/2 c of the chicken stock, whisk well, this will thicken and become a paste. Keep whisking and slowly add the remaining chicken stock. Whisk until no lumps remain. Add the milk, tobasco sauce and dry mustard and optional turmeric, whisk well to incorporate. Bring up to a simmer.

Once the soup starts to simmer add the cheese and stir well until all cheese is melted. Taste for salt & pepper, add as needed. Add the broccoli puree to the soup along with the reserved florettes.

Simmer soup for 20 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Once broccoli is tender taste soup again for seasoning, adjust salt & pepper as needed.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 392.9
Total Fat 23.4 g
Saturated Fat 13.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.5 g
Cholesterol 64.0 mg
Sodium 924.2 mg
Potassium 1,046.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 28.4 g
Dietary Fiber 9.9 g
Sugars 2.6 g
Protein 20.6 g

Swedish Meatballs

Recently a friend of mine asked for a recipe for Swedish meatballs. It took me a while to make them, and for that I am deeply sorry. These little babies are GOOD!! Please don't let the extensive ingredients list discourage you. Once you try these meatballs you'll be hooked.

The meatball is lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. The nutmeg makes the dish have a rich quality, I wouldn't leave it out. I also threw in a bit of ricotta cheese, mostly because I had some, but also for the flavor as well as moisture they provided to the meatballs. You didn't get a 'cheesy' flavor from them at all, the cheese kept them moist and light. They were very well received by the 3 children that were lucky enough to eat them. Knowing that all 3 kids disliked mushrooms meant there were more for the adults. I left the mushrooms large so they were easier to pick around for the kids, however if I were making this again I might dice the mushrooms finer so they were more evenly distributed in the sauce. The choice is yours. We made the meatballs bit size using a small 2 teaspoon cookie scoop. The smaller size allows a quicker cooking time and they are the perfect bite size.

Now the Witch makes no claims at authenticity, I've never been to Sweden and honestly I don't know if 'Swedish Meatballs' are even Swedish. They could be as Swedish as French toast is French. You get the idea. But when I was brainstorming this recipe I thought that a bit of bacon in the sauce wouldn't be a bad thing. Really, when is adding bacon a bad thing?! The bacon was indeed well received and added a great depth of flavor that would have been missed otherwise. I sauteed the mushrooms in the bacon fat for extra flavor and discarded the fat after the mushrooms cooked, so all the goodness of bacon fat flavor was in the dish with out all the bacon fat itself.

The results were very successful! Tender, flavorful meatballs in a creamy rich sauce filled with mushrooms, bacon bits and deliciousness. Swedish meatballs will be gracing our dinner table more often, this I'm sure of! Enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs
makes 6 servings
1.5 lb lean ground beef
1/3 c ricotta cheese
fresh ground nutmeg, about 1/4 t divided (if using preground use a bit less)
1-1.5 t kosher salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 egg
1/2 c panko
1 onion, small, fine mince
1/2 c white wine, dry
1/2 t garlic granules
1/2 lb bacon, diced
1 package cremini mushrooms (4 oz), quartered
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/3 c sour cream
1 t worstershire sauce
2-3 T flour

In a mixing bowl place the ground beef with 1/8 t nutmeg, about 3/4 t kosher salt, 1/4 t pepper, panko, 1/2 the onions, granulated garlic and 2 T white wine. In a small bowl mix the ricotta and egg together. Pour the ricotta mix over the meat & other ingredients and mix until very well incorporated. Make small bite sized meatballs, about 2t of meat mixture for each ball. ~*~the Witch used a small 2t cookie scooper, made things easy & uniform~*~

Place formed balls onto a baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes, turn the oven off and allow to rest in oven for 5 minutes before removing tray.

While the meatballs bake start the sauce.

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy and all fat is rendered out. Remove and drain bacon, reserve for later use.

In the same bacon drippings add the mushrooms and cook until very browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Once browned remove mushroom to drain and reserve.

Discard the bacon fat.

Place the pan back on the heat, add the onions and sautee for a minute or 2, until the onions start to get browned from the cooked on bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining white wine, deglaze pan, scraping up the fond that has cooked on to the bottom of the pan. Allow wine to reduce by half.

In a small bowl combine the milk and flour, whisking well to break up lumps. Once you have a smooth slurry mixture add it to the pan with the onions & reduced white wine. Whisk well, it will thicken immediately. Add the chicken stock slowly, whisking the entire time to break up lumps. Bring to a simmer, add the remaining nutmeg, mushrooms and cooked meatballs to the sauce, taste for season & add more salt & pepper as needed. Simmer covered for 5 minutes to marry all ingredients. Top with bacon just prior to serving, stirring it into the sauce, coating all meatballs with sauce. Serve with pasta or mashed potatoes.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 421.4
Total Fat 28.5 g
Saturated Fat 12.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 11.7 g
Cholesterol 120.1 mg
Sodium 884.6 mg
Potassium 435.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 11.9 g
Dietary Fiber 0.7 g
Sugars 2.9 g
Protein 25.5 g

Pate au choux, pastry cream and ganache AKA Eclairs

Eclairs. You've seen them in the pastry cases of your favorite bakery, their delicate puffed shell, golden browned, filled with a luscious pastry or whipped cream, topped with rich chocolate. They're beautiful delightful little treats. And not nearly as hard to make at home as you might think!! They are labor intensive, however, so plan ahead if eclairs are on your dessert menu. Because they are so labor intensive they're the perfect treat for Valentines Day.

There are 4 recipes for this post:
~the pate au choux (translated is cabbage paste, because the batter is a paste and they resemble cabbages when made in round forms, well at least according to some French person who named them that!)
~Vanilla pastry cream
~Vanilla whipped cream filling
~Chocolate ganache glaze

The whipped cream filling is optional, and really is more of a cream puff filling than an eclair one, but honestly, the Witch household LOVED the whipped cream version a LOT more than the pastry cream filled ones. The Witch recommends trying both and deciding which you like best (and since you need the pastry cream to make the whipped cream, too, you're not really making anything 'extra')

Have fun with your shapes. The Witch made a few round puffs, they were a hit with the Little Witch. She liked the smaller bite sized puffs. Hearts would be really cute for Valentines day, too.

Apologies for the very lousy photos on this one folks. It was a cloudy snowy day, I was alone in the kitchen and really didn't realize how bad they were turning out until it was too late. As dark as the photos are, the eclairs were delicious!

Pate au Choux
Source: Pierre Hermeas via Apple Pie, Patis and Pate
makes approximatively 24 eclairs
1 c AP flour
5 eggs
1/2 c water
1/2 c milk
1 stick (1/2 c) butter
pinch salt
1/4 t sugar

Pastry Cream
makes about 2.5 cups
2 c milk
2 t vanilla
3 T cornstarch
3 egg yolks
1 egg
1/2 c sugar
pinch salt

Whipped Cream filling
makes about 2 cups worth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
about 1 cup pastry cream
1T vanilla
1 T sugar

Ganache, for glaze
makes enough to cover about 24 eclairs
1 c high quality chocolate chips
1/3 c heavy cream

Begin by making the pate au choux
Preheat oven to 375F
In a medium sized heavy bottom sauce pan combine the milk, water, sugar, salt & butter. Bring to a boil. Once it boils add the flour and stir vigorously until it forms a paste. Keep stirring this to cook out excessive moisture as the flour grains hydrate. It will take about 3-4 minutes. You may notice a white film forming on the bottom of the pan, this is normal & completely fine. Don't try to scrape it up.



Transfer the dough ball (which will be very soft and pliable) to the work bowl of a stand mixer with the flat paddle attachment. You can also do this by hand but it WILL give your arm a serious work out!

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing 1-2 minutes between additions. Scrap down sides before adding the next egg. This mixture will look curdled after each egg is added - don't panic - it WILL come together with enough mixing. When the last egg is fully incorporated you will have a thick smooth rich batter.



Transfer the batter to a piping bag (or a large zip top bag with the end cut off) and pipe long thin eclair shapes onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Pipe eclair shaped strips of the pastry dough OR make small rounds for cream puffs. Space them an inch apart from each other to allow room for expansion.



Bake as soon as piping is done. DO NOT ALLOW DOUGH TO SIT LONG BEFORE BAKING OR YOU RISK IT NOT PUFFING. Bake eclair pastry for 20-25 minutes total, rotating tray half way through. Remove pastry when they have puffed and are golden brown on top & bottom. Allow to cool.

Make the pastry cream
In the work bowl of a stand mixer combine the egg yolks, egg, corn starch and sugar. Mix with a flat paddle on medium speed. Mixture will lighten in color and thicken as it mixes. Keep mixing the egg sugar mixture while the milk heats on the stovetop.

Heat milk in a medium sauce pan until it boils. Remove about 1 cup of the milk and SLOWLY add this milk to the egg sugar mixture, to temper the eggs. Once the milk is incorporated add that to the remaining milk in the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high and cook pastry cream about 3-4 minutes, until its thickened considerably. Remove pastry cream from heat, pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any coagulated egg pieces and allow to cool. Once cool put into a piping bag for easiest distribution into the eclair shells.



Make the whippped cream filling
In the work bowl of stand mixer add the cream, sugar and vanilla. Using the whisk attachment whip cream until it has firm peaks. Add 1 cup of pastry cream to the whipped cream and fold it in. Place in a piping bag for easiest distribution into the pastry shells.

Make the ganache
Heat the cream in a microwave safe bowl until it starts to simmer.
Place the chocolate in a heat safe bowl. Pour the hot cream on top of the chocolate and cover TIGHTLY with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes stir the cream & chocolate. Keep stirring, the heat from the cream will have melted the chips but it takes your stirring to break down the chip shape to make a smooth ganache. This ganache will set up firm making it a nice icing or glaze.

Assemble eclairs
Cut each pastry in half with a sharp knife. The pastry should be hollow inside.

Pipe filling of your choice into the bottom of the pastry. Cover with the top half of pastry. Coat the tops with the ganache.



Allow ganache to set before eating (if you can wait that long!) and refrigerate left overs.

Lemon & garlic scented rice

If you own a rice cooker you're about 30 minutes away from one of the tastiest and easiest side dishes ever. If you don't own a rice cooker, well you can still have this delicious side dish, it'll just take a little bit longer. This rice was served with the Greek grilled chicken thighs and it was amazing! Lightly scented, perfumed with garlic and lemon zest. Simplicity at its finest and darn good eats, too.

Lemon and garlic scented rice
makes 4 servings
zest of 3/4 lemon
2 cloves garlic whole, smashed with the back of a knife but left whole still
1/2 t kosher salt
1 cup basmati rice
1 3/4 c water
drizzle olive oil

Rinse the rice well until water runs clear. In the bowl of a rice cooker combine all the ingredients. Cook according to manufacture instructions.

If cooking on the stove top follow the rice instructions, adding the lemon zest, garlic and salt to the water.

Remove garlic cloves and fluff with a fork just before serving.


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 190.5
Total Fat 1.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.8 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 242.9 mg
Potassium 9.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 40.3 g
Dietary Fiber 0.1 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 3.5 g

Greek grilled chicken thighs

Sometimes in the middle of winter you need a burst of fresh summery type flavors. Ya know, just to remind yourself that the cold will end someday and warmth will return. This chicken dish did just that, reminded me of summer with its bright lemon and herb flavors.

Its no secret that the Witch adores Mediterranean and middle eastern foods & flavors. There's just something about smooth creamy hummus and warm pitas that make my heart happy. When you add highly seasoned and grilled meats into the mix, it just becomes a symphony of flavors that make my heart sing. Cumin, lemon, garlic, oh my!

The marinade on the chicken is quite simple, lemon, garlic, herbs and spices. Something magical happens when you combine these common ingredients with chicken and grill it. The garlic is spicy, the herbs are subtle and the tang of lemon cuts through the spices creating a savory delight that just has to be tried. The hint of cinnamon tells you that this is something special and not your usual chicken dish. I highly recommend eating this chicken with pita bread, hummus and lemon garlic rice (post to come soon!)

Greek style grilled chicken thighs
makes 2-3 servings
juice of 1 lemon
1 t oregano
2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
1/2 t coriander seed ground
1/2 t ground cumin seed
3/4 t kosher salt
1/4 t pepper
pinch cinnamon
1 T olive oil
1 lb chicken, thighs or breasts, boned & skinned

Mix everything but the chicken together in a bowl. Add the chicken and marinade for 1-2 hours.

Grill over high heat until internal temperature of 165F is reached. Remove chicken and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with feta cheese if desired.

If you don't have an indoor grill or access to an outdoor one you can also just cook these in a sautee pan, simply add a little oil to the hot pan & cook.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 162.8
Total Fat 8.6 g
Saturated Fat 1.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.7 g
Cholesterol 76.4 mg
Sodium 561.6 mg
Potassium 268.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 3.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.6 g
Sugars 0.4 g
Protein 18.5 g

Pita bread

One of the things the Witch love about making bread is how versatile it is. For the most part, bread recipes tend to be the same: flour, yeast, salt, water. Its in the skilled hands of the cook that these humble ingredients change from flour and yeast into bread; chewy, crunchy delicious bread. And many varieties of bread, too. The same basic recipe can make white bread, french bread or pita bread, same basic ingredients, its in how you handle them that it morphs.

Let's take pita bread for example. It should be soft, puffy, chewy and hollow inside. It is very similar to a flat bread, but to be considered a real pita it needs that puffy hollow inside. How in the world do you get it to puff, when the ingredients are pretty much the same as pizza dough or flat bread dough??

Simple. The answer is moisture. Keeping the dough nice & moist is key to the puff. As the bread cooks, the water evaporates and causes steam, which puffs the bread. Getting your dough damp enough to puff, yet not so wet that its gluey is the key. I learned a tip from Deb from the Smitten Kitchen, she spritzed her pita rounds with water & let them rest for 10 minutes. This additional moisture was just enough to really get a good puff and yielded perfect pitas.

The pitas bake in a very hot oven and take only 3 minutes each. I'm so glad I decided to try my own pitas, the ones from the store are usually stale, filled with unpronounceable ingredients and cost more than I'm willing to spend on stale bread. Homemade pita is perfect for beginning bread makers, too; the dough is made in a stand mixer, no need to kneed and it rises in the fridge overnight, allowing the flavors to develop slowly giving a depth of flavor usually found in artisan breads. Even if you're new to bread making please give these a try. You'll be happy you did!

Pita Bread
source: Smitten Kitchen
makes 12-16 pita breads
3 1/4 c AP flour
2 t instant yeast
2 t kosher salt
2 T olive oil
1 1/4 c water

Mix all the ingredients in the work bowl of a stand mixer. Attach the dough hook and kneed for 10 minutes on medium speed. Dough will be soft, slightly sticky and not sticking to the bottom of the bowl. Add a touch more flour if too wet or water if too dry.

Put kneaded dough ball into a lightly oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap that's been sprayed with nonstick spray. Put covered bowl in the fridge and allow to rise slowly overnight (or up to 3 days). If dough rises too rapidly punch it back down & recover. The long slow rise develops the flavor of the dough and the cold of the fridge slows down the yeast production giving you a nice artisan flavor and excellent crumb texture.

When ready to bake pitas place a pizza stone in the lowest rack of your oven (If you don't have a pizza stone a cast iron pan will work too) and preheat oven to 475F. Allow oven to heat for 1 hour.

While oven is heating remove the dough from the fridge. Divide dough into 12-16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then lightly press it out to a thickish disk, about 4-5 inches diameter. Place discs on a lightly oiled sheet pan, cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and rest for 20 minutes.



Once discs have rested lightly flour counter tops and a rolling pin. Roll each disc into a thin flat, about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Spritz each round with water and allow to rest for another 10-15 minutes, covered with plastic or a damp towel.



Now its time to cook the pitas. Place 3 rounds on the hot pizza stone and bake for 3 minutes. The pitas will puff as they cook. There is no need to flip these breads. The tops will not have any browning, this is ok. The bottoms will be slightly browned and crispy.



Allow the oven to recover temperature for 5 minutes between batches of pitas.

~*~Kitchen Witch Tip: If the pitas don't puff spritz the rounds with water and allow to rest again. The water is the key to the puff, you need the dough adequately hydrated to produce the pitas signature puff pocket. If they don't puff, don't dispare, they're still delicious and are perfect for dipping in hummus or any dip of your choosing.~*~



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 107.4
Total Fat 2.0 g
Saturated Fat 0.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.3 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 120.5 mg
Potassium 27.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 19.4 g
Dietary Fiber 0.7 g
Sugars 0.1 g
Protein 2.6 g

Italian style stuffed Pork Chops

We love stuffed pork chops. There's just something delightful about cutting into a piece of meat & discovering a surprise tasty filling stuffed inside. And when that filling is creamy cheese with tart sun dried tomatoes and zesty garlic, that just makes things even tastier.

This recipe was created for a few reasons:
1. I had some awesome thick cut pork chops that were just begging to be stuffed!
2. I've done a few stuffed chop recipes before & they've been fruit & nut stuffings, delicious but been there, done that
3. I was making polenta as my side dish so I wanted an Italian flair to the chops

So the Witch put her Witchcraft hat on & went to work. Cream cheese is always a good start as far as I'm concerned so it made the cut. Sun dried tomatoes, another natural choice, in they go. I have a bag of frozen spinach in the freezer but only wanted a touch of it, too much spinach and all you can taste is SPINACH - so a few nuggets of the green stuff thawed out was perfect! Garlic and herbs only made sense given the Italian direction we were heading, and a touch of Asiago gave the sharpness I was looking for.

Stuffing the chops is an easy process, simply take a sharp thin knife and create a pocket in the chop. Using your finger open up the pocket more, leaving the sides intact to hold the filling. All that's left then is to stuff the chop then cook it and before you know it, a delicious and impressive dinner is done. Enjoy!

Italian style stuffed pork chops
makes 3 chops
3 thick cut boneless pork loin chops
4 oz cream cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
handful of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
1/4 c julienne cut sun dried tomatoes
2 T fresh grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
3/4 t dried Italian herbs
kosher salt & pepper
drizzle of oil

preheat oven to 300F
In a small bowl mix the cream cheese, Asiago, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, herbs with a pinch of salt & pepper. Divide this cheese mixture into thirds.

Create a pocket in the pork chops and stuff one portion of the cheese mixture in it. Sprinkle stuffed chops with salt & pepper.

Heat an oven safe skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil, once pan is hot add the chops. Sear chops on 1 side, once they're nicely browned flip and put pan in the oven, cook about 5-10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160F. Remove from oven and hot pan, allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 361.0
Total Fat 26.0 g
Saturated Fat 13.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.7 g
Cholesterol 104.1 mg
Sodium 678.6 mg
Potassium 701.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 5.7 g
Dietary Fiber 0.9 g
Sugars 2.7 g
Protein 26.2 g

Chopped at home week 1: Babaganoosh & A Pork Roulade

Here's the second dish we made during our Chopped at Home playdate. The first dish you'll remember was Pork Wonton soup. Please allow me to introduce the rest of the ingredients we had to work with for this first challenge.

2 Chinese eggplants
3 tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
1 pork loin roast
a bunch of Chinese herbs

Recently I went to a cooking demo where the Chef made a garam masala spice blend - he sampled it to us via some fantastic babaganoosh with roasted red peppers and it was fabulous. I've never been much of an eggplant fan until I tried this babaganoosh, it was really flavorful and addictive. So when presented with 2 large Chinese eggplants I immediately thought of babaganoosh and the fabulous garam masala which I just happened to have all the spices to make it. Turns out my buddy was thinking babaganoosh as well, awesome! So we whipped up a batch of the spice blend and we roasted the veggies. Then we stood there and asked each other, "Ok, now what? We still have this pork loin to use up" and that's when we decided to pound out the loin, slather it in babaganoosh and roll it up roulade style.

We seared the pork rolls in a hot cast iron pan then finished them in the oven. They were pretty darn good I have to say. The babaganoosh filling turned out to be more of a tunnel of babaganoosh rather than a spiral roll but meh, that happens. The flavors blended nicely with the pork and the garam masala spices were really good with it. Would I make this again? Absolutely, with a few changes. First of all, it made a TON of babaganoosh (which we did enjoy with pita chips later that week) so keep that in mind. Second, I don't know that I'd go thru the messy work of making it into a roulade again; rather I'd cut the loin into chops, cook them & serve the babaganoosh as a side dipping sauce. But the flavors were really good and it was fun to work with different ingredients off the cuff.

So that leaves the Chinese herbs. We decided the best idea was to determine WHAT these strange herbs were before using them. Its a DARN good thing we did, too; turns out that we got a medicinal herbal packet, one of them you had to boil 9 times before its considered safe for ingestion. Another one claimed to be "Flavorless, sweet and neutral, however it could cause hallucinations as well as damp excretions" Needless to say we decided to forgo the herbs. There'll be another cooking playdate this weekend, who knows what we'll make next!

Babaganoosh Pork Roulade
Makes about 4 cups of babaganoosh
Pork Roulade serves 4 people
2 Chinese eggplant sliced 1/4 in thin (regular eggplant can be used if the Chinese variety can't be located)
3 tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
4 oz cremini mushrooms
Olive oil
kosher salt
pepper
1 T Garam masala
Pork Loin roast
butchers twine or cotton string for tying

Preheat oven to 400F. Distribute vegetables between 2 sheet pans. Drizzle vegetables with about 3 T oil for each pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast. Check veggies half way and rotate pans if needed. If they're not browning much add a bit more oil. Once they've browned remove from oven.

Put roasted vegetables into the work bowl of a stand mixer along with the spices and puree, adding up to 4 T olive oil. Puree until you have a smooth mixture.

Pretty it isn't, however it is darn tasty!

~*~Kitchen Witch Tip: No food processor? No worries! This babaganoosh would be quite good in a chunky fashion as well. Simply chop all the roasted veg to your desired consistency then add the spices and stir. Next time I make it I'll leave it chunkier, more like a salsa~*~

To make the roulade:

Preheat oven to 350F

Cover counter tops with plastic wrap, you'll need 2 overlapping sheets. Dampen counter before laying plastic out for best adhesion. Cut roast in half and cover with plastic. Using the smooth side of a meat mallet pound out the meat to 1/4 in thick, trimming any tendons as you go.



Salt and pepper the meat. Spread babaganoosh over it evenly. Roll the pork along the long side and tie with butchers twine in a running knot. Sprinkle the roll with garam masala. Repeat with 2nd half of meat if you had to cut your roast in half as we did. (click here for more info on how to tie a roulade)



Sear tied roll in a hot cast iron skillet on all 4 sides, placing pan in oven once you start the sear on the last side. Cook pork until internal temperature of 150F is reached. Allow meat to rest at least 5 minutes before removing twine and serving.

Lasagna

Who doesn't love lasagna? Well if you asked me that question 5 years ago I would have said ME!! ME!! The Witch can't stand lasagna!!!! Turns out I was wrong, I do like lasagna, I just like GOOD lasagna, not the stuff my parents used to make & call lasagna.

My parents, bless their hearts, are just not the most food savvy people created. To them, using cottage cheese, Carl Budding ham and pizza sauce was how you made lasagna. Now I know a lot of you out there enjoy cottage cheese in your lasagna, and I'm not knocking that. But please, do try the ricotta instead. Its about the same price as cottage cheese, the texture is leaps & bounds better and it makes lasagna lots better. The Carl Budding ham, well that can be eliminated entirely and no one will miss it. I think the ham was some kind of a strange nod to prosciutto, however that still makes me wonder because my Dad, who put the ham in, hasn't ever heard of prosciutto in his life! If you use jarred sauce please do yourself a favor and get good jarred sauce.

This particular lasagna was made with ground beef but you can use whatever ground meat you like: sausage, beef, turkey or chicken, all work. If meat's not your thing replace it with thin sliced vegetables like broccoli, zucchini or eggplant.

Like all lasagna this makes a TON. It reheats well which makes it idea for lunches. It also freezes well however I'd freeze it before baking it. If you choose to freeze lasagna here's a few tips:
~get disposable pans otherwise your 'real' pans are tied up in the freezer
~write what the dish is along with cooking times & temps on the top layer of foil
~thaw lasagna in the fridge overnight before baking, or if that's not an option then bake for about 2 hours or until its bubbly in the middle.

Lasagna
Source: Barilla pasta
makes 12 servings
1 box Barilla lasagne pasta sheets (not the ones with ruffled edges, the flat sheets)
2 eggs
1 15oz container of ricotta cheese
16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (4 cups, divided)
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese (2 oz)
1 lb ground meat (sausage, beef, turkey or chicken, your choice)
5.5 cups marinara sauce (2 jars worth)

Preheat oven to 350F if using glass, 375F if using a metal baking pan.
Spray a 13x9 baking pan with non stick spray and spray a piece of foil to cover the dish as well.

Combine the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan and 2 cups mozzarella cheese in a medium bowl.

Brown meat and drain off fat.

Assemble lasagne:
1. Spread 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan.

2. Layer 4 uncooked sheets of pasta, 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, half the browned meat, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup sauce

3. Layer 4 sheets pasta, 1/3 ricotta mixture and 1.5 c sauce

4. Layer 4 sheets pasta, 1/3 ricotta mixture, remaining meat and 1 cup sauce.

5. Layer 4 sheets pasta, the remaining sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese.

Cover with sprayed foil and bake 50-60 minutes until bubbly. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer to melt cheese. If desired turn broiler on and brown the top layer of cheese.

Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 460.3
Total Fat 22.6 g
Saturated Fat 10.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.6 g
Cholesterol 100.0 mg
Sodium 792.9 mg
Potassium 189.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 36.0 g
Dietary Fiber 3.2 g
Sugars 5.4 g
Protein 29.2 g