Author Archives: cookingwithcandi

OMG Apricot Bars

Posted on July 29, 2016 | 2 comments

OMG Apricot Bars out of oven

OMG Apricot Bars pre cooked

These bars are nothing short of a-mazing! They are the most perfect, delicious treats–great to take on a hike, great for after a ride on your bike…ok, enough Dr. Seuss. Just go ahead and bake them–it is not difficult. I woke up early this morning and decided to bake them and one hour later, they were finished and out of the oven. They remind me of a yummy, soft granola bar. If you don’t like apricots, substitute cherries and cherry preserves, blueberries and blueberry preserves, etc. (I’m not sure if I would use fresh blueberries. Just stick with the dry version of the fruit and the matching preserves.) Thanks to Giada for the inspiration on this one!

INGREDIENTS:

Filling:

1 large jar of apricot preserves (I used an 18 oz jar of apricot/pineapple preserves because that’s what I had in the house. You can use a 13 oz jar of apricot preserves. I like it very gooey so I used a large jar of preserves.)

8 dried apricots, chopped up into small pieces

Crust:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats (not the instant or 1-minute kind)

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 egg (room temperature), beaten

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure oven rack is in the center of the oven.

Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper (see picture) on the bottom and the sides and then spray the paper with cooking spray (I use Pam).

In a bowl, mix together the jam and the dried apricots and set aside.

In a large, separate bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir in the oats and walnuts. Add the melted butter, egg and vanilla and mix very well. Using a utensil or your clean hands, lightly press half of the crush mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Using a knife or spatula, spread the apricot filling (use it all) over the first layer of crust. Cover the filling with the remaining crust mixture and gently press the crust mixture to flatten. Bake for about 35 minutes until light golden brown. Cool for at least one hour. Cut into bars. They will lift right out of pan with the paper and cleanup is a snap with parchment paper.

These will stay in an airtight container for at least three days. I will freeze them for the next time we want them, because they are too dangerous to have around.

* Yields about 24 bars

2 Comments

Posted in Baked Goods, breakfast, dessert, fruit cobblers

Tagged

Summer Sangria on the Light Side

Posted on July 24, 2016 | 1 comment

 

This is a light cool drink for when the weather turns warm. Sangria and Summer!  Perfect to make for a large crowd, easy as could be and light because it’s made with sugar-free Lemonade .  If you don’t want to use sugar-free just use regular lemonade, it’s no problem. I remember making Sangria and it was messy and required a lot of different ingredients plus a lot of sugar. My friend Carol has been making this for years and I have called upon her many times to re-create this Sangria. It can be made with white or red wine. It makes 2 quarts without ice, so that goes a long way . You can cut up whatever fruit you like , peaches are beautiful , oranges, apples, pears, strawberries whatever you like. I like to make the Sangria in the afternoon just so the fruit gets the full  flavor of the wine and marinates for at least a few hours. It’s not critical though. I think you’ll like this one. Again, thanks Carol so much for sharing and promise I won’t annoy you anymore now that I have it written down .

 

Ingredients: 

1 Bottle Wine Red or White ( I used Pinot Grigio but you can use whatever you like or have) I wouldn’t use a very expensive bottle for this.

1 Bottle Club Soda ( not the very large bottle ) 1 quart bottle

Fruit of your choice , peaches , pears, oranges, nectarines, apricots, apples ,etc. I slice into thin slices which are easy to eat . Slice them up and eyeball it. Whatever you like, I used peaches, apricots, apples and oranges .

1 packet Sugar Free Wylers or Crystal Light Lemonade , I use Yellow Lemonade for White Wine and Pink Lemonade for Red Wine , if you’re opposed to using sugar substitutes you can certainly use fresh lemonade.

You’ll need a 2 quart pitcher, I use a nice glass pitcher . It can be kept for a while in fridge in a plastic 2 quart container. Sometimes for a very large gathering I make an extra one and keep in refrigerator without the fruit, just as a back up.

Directions:

Cut up fruit into slices/pieces for Sangria. I take a 2 quart pitcher pour in the bottle of wine, put in the packet of Wylers or Crystal Light, add the Club soda almost up to the top of the container or pitcher leaving room for fruit, so you may not need whole bottle . Add fruit and Stir, I usually add the rest of the club soda after fruit goes in . Put in refrigerator and let flavors meld together for a few hours and get cold. Serve in glasses with ice, you can add additional fruit like raspberries at the time you serve. It’s delicious , refreshing, low in calories and did I mention super easy???

1 Comment

Posted in alcoholic beverages, Sangria

Tagged , , ,

Lemon Cake with Blueberry Sauce–not so homemade

Posted on July 21, 2016 | 1 comment

IMG_1633IMG_1457IMG_1455IMG_1453IMG_1451

Now this is something I don’t often do but sometimes it is just the right thing to do. I bought a boxed Lemon Cake, yes that’s right with all my recipes for delicious cakes from scratch I bought a Duncan Hines Lemon Deluxe Cake because I saw a recipe that called for it, then I decided to go in a completely different direction with this recipe! In any event why beat myself up for using a boxed cake mix????? It came out delicious and was pretty simply executed. By the way I cheated on the topping too, I used Cool Whip Light!

So go ahead cut step 1 and buy the box cake mix, and then the rest of it you’ll have to do on your own.

Sorry for the poor pictures , it really was light and refreshing!

Ingredients:

1 box Lemon Cake Mix ( I used Duncan Hines deluxe Lemon Cake Mix) and you’ll need vegetable oil, eggs and water .

Lemon Blueberry Sauce:

I used 2 pints of fresh blueberries

1 large lemon or 2 small lemons, zest and app. 1 Tbsp. of juice , you will need the zest of the 2 lemons or 1 large one.

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. corn starch

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Topping:

1/2 jar lemon curd

1 8 oz. container cool whip–yep I used Lite and it was perfectly delicious

Directions:

Prepare the lemon cake according to the package directions using a 9×13 baking dish.

Prepare the blueberry-lemon sauce. In a medium-sized saucepan, add blueberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally , until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken ( it took about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside and allow to cool.

Remove the cake from the oven when it’s done and allow it to cool down for a little bit, app. 10 minutes. Once it cooled down I used the handle of a regular wooden spoon and I poked holes into the top of the cake that are about an inch apart. While the cake is still on the warm side, drizzle the blueberry lemon sauce on top of the cake. Spread the sauce into an even layer over the cake making sure that some of the sauce and the blueberries get down into the holes. Let the cake cool completely (about an hour) See photos.

Add the lemon curd and 1/2 cup of the cool whip to a medium bowl and whisk together until smooth. Add another 1/2 cup of the cool whip and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining cool whip to the bowl. Using a large spoon or spatula , gently fold the cool whip mixture into the lemon curd mixture. Spread the whipped lemon topping on top of the cake into an even layer. Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. I kept it overnight. I took it out about 1/2 hour before serving.

Now this is easy.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

Yum! and beautiful.

 

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette–Simple Staple

Posted on July 10, 2016 | Leave a comment

photo 2 (3)photo 5 photo 4 This is a quick go to salad dressing with no chopping, no dicing and no fussing. When I need a salad dressing quickly this is what I do. Recently I have been using Maille Mustards quite a lot , if you haven’t tried their products I would recommend checking them out.  Available in most supermarkets their products include a horseradish mustard and a particularly good honey mustard which I used on my Salmon this evening as well. Look for them or order on line at www.mybrands.com or for information go to www.maille.us . These ingredients should always be on hand in your pantry so you can whip up a delicious salad dressing at a moment’s notice without using bottled ones. Be in control of your own ingredients and the food you eat as much as possible. This will literally take you under 5 minutes to prepare and I can almost swear you’ll never use a bottled dressing again.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. Dijon Mustard–as stated I used Maille’s Dijon

3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp. olive oil

a splash of lemon juice ( I just squeezed 1/2 lemon)

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

I use a whisk, but a fork will do in a pinch. Mix Mustard, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice  Mix until well blended, then pour the olive oil in slowly until well blended. Add salt and pepper to your own taste. Perfect over any greens. Can be stored in a jar in fridge for at least 3 to 5 days.

Leave a comment

Posted in Salad, salad dressing

Tagged ,

Summer Corn Salad with Feta

Posted on July 7, 2016 | 3 comments

IMG_1397

Sometimes I like to shake it up a little bit and that’s exactly what I did with this recipe . The funniest thing was that I made it to serve for a small dinner party and completely forgot about it and discovered it when I went to serve dessert!!!! How disappointed was I? it was very aggravating but I will make it again because I thought it came out delicious. This is what I did. You might want to check out my other wonderful corn salad which is titled Fresh Corn Salad it’s a little different and might be more to your liking. I like both just fine and I think you will too! There are so very many variations of corn salad out there and especially in the summer when the corn is so fresh and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 cups of fresh corn ( it’s so amazing in the summer) I actually used 6 ears of corn –boiled it for 3 mins and plunged into an ice bath to stop cooking. I did it the night before because it’s just easier that way

1/3 cup of fresh cilantro chopped–if you don’t like cilantro you can omit it, but it packs a  lots of flavor–just saying…..

3 Tablespoons Lime Juice –I used my juicer because this is a lot of squeezing. Or buy the fresh lime juice in those little green bottles. (see photo) but nothing beats fresh in my book

1- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, I used 1 . Feta was plenty salty here. You might want to add more, you can taste as you go.

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil–Extra Virgin is the way to go

1 cup thinly sliced radishes — they are amazing this time of year but if you hate them you can substitute with a little red onion or scallion. I love radishes and I love the pop of color and crunch they provide

1 cup cherry tomatoes–sliced in 1/2 or into 1/4’s

1/2 cup crumbled Feta— I used a 6oz. container

Directions:

Cut corn off cobs–I know it’s work but it’s worth it and mix the corn with all ingredients adding cheese last. Yum!!! refrigerate and take out before you’re eating and let sit at room temperature.  I put salad together early in the morning and refrigerated all day. You can make it and serve it right away  but it will be better after flavors marinate a bit. I still cannot believe that I forgot to put this wonderful side dish out!!!!!!! It happens to the best of us.

Enjoy!

 

3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Food and the City–Books on my Blog

Posted on July 3, 2016 | 3 comments

IMG_1301 IMG_1302 IMG_1303It’s not often that I use Cooking with Candi to promote something other than recipes or cooking tips. But this book is related to food and I loved reading it and all the stories within. Each story held my attention and gave me a new perspective on restaurants, cooks and products.  I even look at street vendors with a completely different eye now. Food and the City is a book about professional chefs, restaurateurs, line cooks, street vendors, and purveyors–why they do it and how they do it.

I think that both foodies and non-foodies would enjoy this book. Ina Yalof has a way of telling her stories with such warmth that you don’t want the chapters to end. She introduced me to a whole new world of characters that are as real as you and me.

I always felt that if I were to graduate high school today I would pursue a career in food. I even think maybe I would have gone to culinary school and honed some talent there. However after reading this book I doubt that I would have lasted a single day in any kitchen in NYC! I have a whole new admiration and respect for everyone who works in this industry that we all take for granted, especially in NYC.

Pick up a copy , available on Amazon and wherever books are sold! Or download a copy on your tablet.

Big recommendations on this one, great summertime read.

Food and the City -Ina Yalof

http://www.amazon.com

3 Comments

Posted in Books

Tagged

Old Fashioned Lemon Icebox Cake–No Baking at all

Posted on July 1, 2016 | 4 comments

IMG_1266

Nothing not to love here, Lemons, cream cheese, heavy cream, lemon curd and did I mention no baking??? So great and fairly easy with simple ingredients. You’ll need either an electric mixer or a hand mixer to whip cream. Nothing beats an electric mixer though with the whisking attachment.

I made it in a 9×13 pan but I think next time I will try to do it in a bowl. It would also be beautiful garnished with fresh lemon slices or berries. We were in a hurry to dig into it so never did get to garnish it.  If you’d like it to look neater when you scoop it out you will have to be more precise with the layering. My cake was very uneven and all the layers and flavors blended together, who cares? it was delicious. If you’d like you can also layer in a trifle type bowl and make a very pretty presentation! Up to you but it was all delish.

This is simple and delicious food if not very rich, but hey it’s dessert! Perfect for the Fourth of July barbeque or anytime!

Enjoy your summer and keep on cooking with candi.

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened (just leave it out at room temperature for a while till it’s room temperature and feels squishy and soft)

3 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

3 teaspoons lemon zest, plus a little more for garnish

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

11 ounces vanilla wafer cookies ( app. 1 1/2 boxes)

10 ounces lemon curd–usually available with the jams and jellies  or baking aisle of most supermarkets. (see photo)

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft. Add the heavy cream, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla and beat until it just holds stiff peaks. It takes app. 3-6 minutes for peaks to form, be patient.

Spread the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with 1/2 cup of the whipped cream. Arrange 1/2 of the cookies on top of the cream, fitting in as many as you can without overlapping.(see photos) Spoon 1/2 of the remaining cream mixture on top and smooth evenly with an offset spatula or if no offset spatula use a butter knife. In spoonfuls , app. every 2 inches, spoon half of the lemon curd onto the cream and then use a butter knife to swirl the curd into the cream. Top with another layer of cookies, followed by the remaining cream. Spoon  the remaining lemon curd and swirl into the cream again with the butter knife. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the cookies have softened, it should be fine after at least 3 hours and you can make a day ahead and just leave in the fridge!

It would be pretty garnished with some lemon zest , some lemon slices or fresh berries, we were in a rush to eat it so no garnish in my photos. Next time!

*if you use a bowl you’ll just have to figure out the cream to cookie ratio but make sure you follow my steps so it ends up the same.

*another good thing–I actually froze leftovers and when I wanted to eat it , I removed from freezer for about an hour and it was perfect.

4 Comments

Posted in Cake, dessert, no bake dessers

Tagged , ,

Easy Peasy Chicken Caprese

Posted on June 30, 2016 | Leave a comment

IMG_1316 IMG_1311

This is one of those recipes that I make that is so super easy. Very few ingredients and other than cutting tomatoes and mozzarella balls, there is very little prep. You gotta love meals like this, especially in the summer when these beautiful heirloom tomatoes are abundant. I really only make this in the summer and it is light and delicious. It makes for a beautiful salad as well and you can serve it at room temperature. I made this tonite since I was tired, and had already bought the bocconcini (mozzarella balls) and chicken. You’re not going to believe how easy this is. It’s amazing!

Ingredients:

1 container marinated bocconcini ( mozzarella balls) you will need the oil from the container to marinate chicken ( it comes in an olive oil marinade with spices)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves , I buy them pounded thin

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 pint heirloom ( if you can get them) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Directions:

Take bocconcini balls out of the marinade. Cut bocconcini balls in quarters. Transfer about 1/2 of the marinade from bocconcini to a medium size baking dish , add the chicken , salt and pepper the chicken and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before cooking. If you’d like you can refrigerate , and take out and bring to room temperature before grilling.

Put cheese in a bowl, add the remaining oil marinade and add the cut tomatoes to this bowl. Salt and Pepper to taste, give it a good stir and put in refrigerator till you’re ready to cook chicken. I removed from fridge about 1/2 hour before I cooked the chicken. Just bring it to room temperature.

Grill the chicken over medium high heat , till you get nice grill marks, probably about 8 minutes. You can cut the chicken into smaller pieces and mix with tomatoes and cheese. I just plated up the chicken and put tomato/cheese mixture on the plate. Perfect summer meal.

Leave a comment

Posted in chicken

Tagged , , ,

Summertime Fresh Tomato Sauce–no cook sauce

Posted on June 23, 2016 | 1 comment

IMG_7930 (2)FullSizeRender (3)Nothing better than a really fresh tomato sauce , so fresh that you don’t even have to cook it. Just let the tomatoes marinate for a few hours with some olive oil , basil and a few spices and you’re good to go. So very easy and delicious. A must go-to for summertime and why not anytime? The only down side to making this sauce is that I really feel it needs to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and really 4 hours is best. You can taste for salt and pepper during this period.

The other delicious thing to do with this is to add small balls of mozzarella and make a wonderful Caprese salad. I also love this tomato sauce on grilled chicken. And on grilled bread as bruschetta!!!

This recipe is sort of thrown together so there will be a lot of tasting as you go along, depending on the tomatoes you may or may not need extra salt and pepper. I made this for my grandson so I left out the crushed red pepper, if I were making for us I would have thrown in at least 1/2 teaspoon.  Crushed red pepper can always be added at the table.

*This should make about 6 servings, you can adjust to any amount you need, I used 1/2 for the 2 of us .

Ingredients:

app. 3 pints of grape tomatoes ( the little ones), you can use any beautiful fresh tomatoes especially in the summer months.  You’ll just have to eyeball the amounts of tomatoes. I like the pieces cut small but you can just roughly chop up larger tomatoes. If you’re using cherry or plum tomatoes you can cut in half or quarters. It’s not an exact science.

1/2 cup olive oil

app. 4 cloves garlic , minced ( you can adjust this to your liking, a little more or less)

app. 18 basil leaves plus extra for serving. Nothing beats the taste of fresh basil in this so don’t omit. You’ll want extra for serving. I roll up the basil and use a kitchen shear to slice it.

*this is optional –1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper–we love it but adjust to your liking or just serve on the table

Kosher Salt–app. 1 teaspoon and then you’ll taste for more

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper–again you’ll have to taste and adjust to your own liking

1 pound pasta of your liking , I like a thin spaghetti best with this sauce. Angel Hair, Cappelini, any of these.

1 cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra for serving.

Directions:

Combine the tomatoes, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, red pepper, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and just let it sit out on the countertop . The longer it sits the better, at least 2 hours to macerate and 4 hours would be ideal.

Just before you are ready to serve, cook pasta. Cook al dente according to the box directions. Angel Hair cooks up in under 5 minutes.

Drain the pasta and add to the bowl with the tomatoes. Add in 1 cup of parmesan cheese and some more fresh basil if you’d like and toss well. Serve in big bowls with extra cheese on the side . Cheese will melt, so keep giving it some good tosses to integrate tomatoes and sauce.

Yum!

1 Comment

Posted in Raw, Sauce, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian

Tagged

Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce –Perfect Summer Pasta

Posted on June 17, 2016 | Leave a comment

FullSizeRenderThis is one of my old tried and true recipes and also one of our family’s all time favorites.   Perfect for Father’s Day .  Perfect for a large get together and totally tasty. There are a lot of ingredients but it is very easy to put together and it’s always a hit! I made the sauce a day ahead which I highly recommend doing, it gives flavors a chance to really come together.  I had all the ingredients in the house and day of I will cook the noodles and mix together. If making sauce ahead of time , take it out of refrigerator and let the sauce sit at room temperature before mixing with noodles. I used 1 teaspoon of cayenne, but because I wasn’t sure of everyone’s taste buds for hot and spicy I left out the chili oil. If you want it spicier you can always add some hot chili oil, or more cayenne pepper.  You can actually make the sauce a few days ahead of time. Enjoy this oldie but goodie. I have played around with the recipe a lot, and have found these ingredients work the best for me. I also like to put a little fresh cilantro on the side for those who love it ( like me) and don’t leave out the chopped peanuts they give it that extra yummy crunch. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

1 lb. linguine or spaghetti ( or you can use Chinese egg noodles)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

7 tablespoons Peanut Butter ( creamy ) by the way I always use the low-fat one, it’s perfectly fine

2/3 cup warm water

6 tablespoons soy sauce ( use low sodium)

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or more to specific taste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh garlic

3 to 4 scallions , finely chopped

*1 sliced cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned (optional) but tasty and crunchy

*fresh cilantro chopped (optional)

*sprinkle of chopped peanuts ( optional) but extra added crunch if you have them on hand

*dash of hot chili oil ( to taste) I usually just throw in a dash of this.

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, using a fork or a small wire whisk, beat the peanut butter together with the water until it is smooth. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, cayenne pepper, sugar, and salt. Beat till smooth. If you’re adding hot chili oil this is when you would add that.

Add the chopped garlic, and stir well. Because I was using it the next day, I left out scallions till I cooked pasta .

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain immediately and rinse under cold water, until noodles are cooled down sufficiently. Place noodles in a large bowl, drizzle with the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and toss well. Refrigerate noodles until you are ready to serve. About an hour or so before I am ready to serve, I pour sauce over noodles and mix well. Make sure sauce has been left out at room temperature for a while till it’s not too cold.  Add the scallions and cucumbers and mix well. Right before serving you can sprinkle the cilantro and chopped peanuts if you like. I pour about 2/3 of the sauce over noodles and mix well, adding more sauce as I feel necessary. I definitely didn’t use all of the sauce that I made, add slowly and taste as you go along.  Right before serving I usually add some more sauce, but leave it out at room temperature. This is a deadly go to leftover the next day.

Leave a comment

Posted in pasta

Tagged , ,