Aunty Alyce’s Ukrainian Panetone (Babka or Paska)

April 12, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 1 Comment

Paska is a traditional Ukrainian Easter sweet bread. It’s normally braided in a fashion similar to challah and the three braids represent the Holy Trinity. The traditional round shape of the bread also represents God, and remind us that God has no beginning and no end.

According to Wise Geek, Easter food originated in the Ukraine or Poland. And it’s believed that this type of food was introduced to the U.S. by people of the Mennonite Faith. Normally, Paska or Babka is made with very few ingredients and is a very simple bread.

It may seem like a lot of steps, and we won’t lie to you, it will take up a good chunk of your day. But let us tell you, it’s totally worth it. This was the first bread we’ve ever made, and we think it’s a great starter bread because it’s not that hard to make just time consuming. But hey, the best things take time right?

**We apologize in in advance for the blurry photos, we didn’t realize that the lens was dirty. So sorry in advance.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup raisins
2 packages of dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon sugar
8 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
12 cups AP flour (at minium, sifted)
2 whole oranges (including zest and juice)
1 lemon zest
1 tsp salt
1/2 quart milk (scalded, then cooled)
1 stick + 2 tablespoons (melted)
Flour for sprinkling and kneading
1 egg (beaten)
2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup of water
2 tablespoon of sugar

Step 1:

If you’re in a hurry, put raisins in a bowl and cover with hot water to plump them up. If you have the time, it’s best to cover the raisins with your choice of triple sec, orange juice, or even water and let them sit over night to really reconstitute them.

Step 2:

Dissolve 1 tablespoon of sugar in 1 cup of lukewarm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let stand of 10 to 15 minutes.

(Isn’t that yummy looking?)

Step 3:

Preheat the oven to 170°.

Step 4:

In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat eggs on a high speed until light in color.

Step 5:

Next, add the sugar gradually while the mixer is still beating the eggs.

Step 6:

Add the salt, cooled milk, zest of the lemon and orange, orange juice, and melted butter. Mix until combined.

Step 7:

If using a stand mixer, replace whisk attachment with dough hook. Start very slowly adding the flour, about a 1/4 of a cup at a time. Do this until all flour is incorporated. This will be a very sticky dough.

Step 8:

Next transfer the dough to a floured counter-space, add the drained raisins to the dough and continue kneading. Add flour as kneaded (heh heh).

(See how sticky it is, don’t be alarmed, just keep kneading and adding flour)

Step 9:

Pace in a large bowl, and cover with a damp dish towel. At this point, turn off the oven (and open the oven door to let out some heat). Place the covered dough in the oven and allow to proof (raise). This all depends on where you are, how hot it is. It took ours about an hour and half to double in size.

While we waited for the dough to rise, we played hide the treat with Peaches.

Step 10:

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down the dough again, and let raise again.

Step 11:

While the dough is rising, prepare your bread pans. Now there are two ways to do this, the first is to butter the pan, and then cover with parchment paper. Or, you can just spray cooking spray. Both work perfectly, and it’s really your preference.

Step 12:

Divide the dough between the pans (we used FIVE) and once again cover with a damp dish towel, and let double in size. Preheat the oven to 375°.

Step 13:

Before you put the loaves in the oven, mix together one egg and two teaspoons of sugar and brush over the loaves. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Then lower the heat to 275° and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the the internal temperature reads 185° to 190°.

Step 14:

When the loaves are done, remove from the oven and glaze with sugar dissolved in water. Let stand in the pans for 10 minutes before removing.

The traditional way to enjoy this bread (according to Aunty Alyce) is toasted with a little butter.

We made this bread in honor of Grandma/Aunty Alyce. She passed away at the age of 92 last November. We definitely felt her presence while we were making this! 🙂

Meyer Lemon Curd

April 10, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 2 Comments

This curd may be one of the best things we have ever made. And the recipe comes from the Queen Ina Garten, so you know it’s good. And it’s easy.

Last week when we were shopping we saw Meyer Lemons, and this is first time we had seen them in the market so we obviously bought 6 bags of lemons not knowing what we were going to do, but we knew it would be something amazing.

This recipe was the first of many Meyer Lemon Recipes that we will be sharing. We’re honestly looking into buying a Meyer Lemon Tree so we have unlimited Meyer Lemons.

This curd is probably one of the best things you can make with these lemons. It’s so good, you can just eat it with a spoon or on toast.

Meyer Lemon Curd

What You Need:

A mini food processor (Or Big)
Saucepan
Wooden Spoon

Ingredients:

7 Meyer Lemons (3 if using regular lemons)
1/2 cup (from lemons above)
Meyer lemon zest (from the lemons used for juice)
1 1/2 cup bakers sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter (room temperature)
4 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Step 1:

Because Meyer lemons are smaller you need more to make this curd, zest the lemons and try to avoid zesting the white part of the lemon, which is called the pith. After you zest the lemons cut the lemons in half and juice them.

Step 2:

In a food processor pulse together the sugar and lemon zest until the lemon zest is fully incorporated to the sugar. The sugar will have a “damp” texture.

Step 3:

Cream together the butter and then mix in the butter.

Step 4:

Beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the salt and lemon juice. At this step, the curd is going to look absolutely disgusting, you’re probably going to think you fucked it up. Don’t worry. It’s supposed to look that way. Trust us.

We don’t have pictures for this step, because honestly, when we did it, we (Marlee) thought we screwed up. So we stopped taking pictures, BUT KEEP GOING. IT’S WORTH IT.

Step 5:

Next, transfer the mixture into a sauce pan. Stir constantly over a low heat until the mixture starts to smooth out and eventually begins to thicken.

Check occasionally with a digital thermometer and when the temperature reads 170° you can remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.

Look at how beautiful this is. So smooth, so creamy! So luscious!

Beef Stroganoff Hamburger (Lord)HelpMe Style

April 8, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

This is our homemade Hamburger Helper, inspired by a wonderful recipe that found us while we were hungry at the market. NEVER SHOP HUNGRY!

Anyways, this is a great alternative to the box stuff because shocker: it doesn’t have a hundred unnecessary chemicals! We always try to make the things we love but don’t love us back. Then we skip the chemicals and add the fun!

Even if you don’t think you’ll like this, it’s an elevated version, and tastes really good!

Note from Christie: I used to eat the instant microwave version of this in my dorm freshmen year of college. Oh the meat, it was so chewy. NEVER AGAIN!!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup mushrooms (chopped)
1 cup onion
1 lb ground beef
1 cup milk or sour cream
1 1/2 cups beef broth/stock/or water
1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Worcestershire sauce
Noodles (traditional egg noodles or we used quinoa pasta from Trader Joe’s)

Step 1:

Dice or mince onions and mushrooms into an uniform mixture.

Step 2:

Heat skillet with olive oil and sauté until the mixture is half-way done, then add the meat to brown. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce.

Step 3:

Add beef stock and either milk or sour cream (I don’t think you need both, because I think it’s too much), and cornstarch to thicken.

{So, we didn’t take a picture of this part because it looked hideous, but tasted great. We just didn’t want to scare you away from this because of this ugly duckling stage.}

Step 4:

Add noodles, cook until pasta is done. We prefer al dente, but some people, *cough*Franny*cough*, love(s) mushy pasta.

P.S. This is commitment:

Darkside Cookies

April 7, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Yup, thats right. These are the cookies that the Darkside has been promising if you join them.

Darkside Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, salted
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp instant espresso
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
2 1/4 cup of AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks
1 tsp vanilla

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 350° and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Use Pam underneath the parchment paper to keep it from moving.

Step 2:

Cream together the butter and sugar in a mixer.

Step 3:

Add eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla.

Step 4:

Mix together flour, baking powder, cocoa and espresso powder.

Step 5:

After that start putting in the flour/cocoa mixture in batches until fully mixed.

Step 6:

Mix or fold in the chocolate chips and chunks. Taste dough, because that’s what making cookies is all about!

Step 7:

Use an ice cream scoop to get uniform cookies. (Spray the scoop with Pam first so the dough doesn’t get stuck.)

Step 8:

Bake cookies for 10-14 minutes. We suggest to under bake them a little so they stay wonderfully chewy, so start at 10 minutes and decide from there.

ENJOY

Brunoise Rosemary Chicken Soup

April 7, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Who doesn’t like chicken soup? It’s comforting, filling, and actually healthy. Well, today we made a chicken soup for your soul and for you OCD-er’s out there. Every thing in this soup is the same size, which makes for even distribution and cooking, the only thing that is different is the textures. Also, it just looks super cool!

This soup was made with leftovers or fridge scraps, so if you have different veggies, THEN FORGET IT, ITS OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY! or not. Just use whatever you can brunoise.

Brunoise Chicken Soup

What you need:

cutting board
knife
patience
heavy bottom pot

Ingredients:

chicken
carrots
celery
yukon gold potatoes
onions
garlic
zucchini
chicken broth
rosemary
turmeric
salt and pepper
garlic powder
onion powder

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Place chicken in the on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Put in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and let cool. Once cooled, cut the chicken to bite sized pieces and set aside.

Step 2:

In a medium sauce pan, warm up the chicken broth with some rosemary and crushed garlic, let it simmer while you cut your vegetables, strain (or pick out) rosemary and garlic before transferring to veggie pot.

Step 3:

Peel carrots and Brunoise them, if you aren’t quite sure or haven’t done it in a while, here’s a quick video to help you, and the environment too, apparently.

Step 4:

Repeat with zucchini, onions, celery, and potatoes.

Step 5:

Heat some olive oil in the pot, and sauté onions and carrots for a few minutes, then add celery and zucchini, these guys don’t need to cook so long. Add salt, pepper to taste, and turmeric to add a beautiful color to the soup.

Step 6:

Add chicken broth to pot and let everybody simmer together for 10 minutes.

Step 7:

Add the chicken (cut same size of the veggies) and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender. Then EAT!

Note from Christie:

“The broth should smell beautifully rosemary-y and amazing, like you want to wear it as a perfume, which I personally think is a great idea. Imagine the intoxicating smell of a fresh baguette or the handsome aroma of roasted coffee, or the cozy smell of freshly baked cookies?! Okay, okay, I might have a problem but you know what, that’s ok. Me and food are in love, not in like, we are in a committed relationship and we go through ups and downs together.”

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

April 5, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 4 Comments

As you know, we LOVE cookies. And we are always looking for the best cookie recipe and when we stumbled upon Hugs and Cookies recipe, we had a good feeling.

The secret to her perfect cookies, is raising the base temperature of the oven and then lowering it as soon as the cookies go in to the oven. Because of this, it makes the outside of the cookie slightly crunchy and the inside is a gooey mess of deliciousness. When the cookies come out of the oven, they almost look like they are blushing. I kid you not. Blushing cookies. You will thank us, and then you will thank Hugs and Cookies, we certainly do! These are by far some of the best chocolate chip cookies we have ever made!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips (Ghiradhelli or Guittard)

Step 1:

Sift together the AP flour and baking soda, and then mix in the salt. Stir until combined and set aside.

Step 2:

In a mixer (stand or by hand) mix together the butter and sugars until blended.

Step 3:

Add the vanilla, egg and yolk and blend until creamy.

Step 4:

Mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over-mix! Next stir the chocolate chips in by hand.

Step 5:

This step is important: you must chill your dough for at least 3 hours. We know, it sucks to wait, but this step really does pay off. Go watch a movie or binge watch your favorite show. OR clean the kitchen, or you can do what Peaches did and take a nap. Also, don’t forget to cover your dough with plastic wrap.

Step 6:

While the dough is chilling, line your cookie sheet with parchment paper. We always spray the sheet with Pam first and then line with parchment, this prevents the parchment from moving around.

Step 7:

Just before the dough is nice and chilled preheat your oven to 425°. Using a scoop or a spoon measure out 1.5 to 2 ounce cookie balls. Place on the sheet.

Step 8:

As soon as you put the cookies in the oven immediately lower the temperature to 375°. According the the original recipe (and us as testers) this sets a “base” heat, that cooks the cookie quicker but giving it that nice crust on the edge and keeps the inside moist and gooey! Bake for 9 minutes to 10 minutes. We always say under-bake your cookies just a little bit, that really helps achieve that gooey center.

Step 9:

When the cookies are done, let them cool on the cookie sheet and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Repeat step 8 until all the dough is baked. Remember to raise the temperature back to 425° and lower when the cookies are in the oven.

Carol’s “Go Look at the Flowers” Dirt Cup

April 1, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

One thing we LOVE besides cooking is good TV. I mean, we went to film school so we obviously have a huge appreciation for good TV. One of our favorite shows is The Walking Dead. Carol is our favorite and one of those great characters who has made a complete 180° turnaround from the first episode. Melissa McBride does an incredible job portraying her.

We’re actually re-watching the show right now (to ease the pain till October) and you kind of forget how weak and abused Carol was! She went from that to complete survivalist badass like Daryl.

If you don’t watch the show, you probably won’t understand the reference and we’re not going to be the ones to spoil you. One of our best friends, Juhi, was spoiled by her roommate about the ending of Lost and shit got real. That scream was so high pitched! So we will not be spoiling it for you, but if you’re an avid watcher like we are, you understand today’s dessert.

Carol’s “Go Look at the Flowers” Dirt Cup

Ingredients

One package Chocolate Mousse/Pudding
3/4 heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee (optional)
2 tablespoons Nutella (optional)
1 package Oreos
1 package Gummy Worms

Step 1:

Prepare your package mousse or pudding according to package instructions. It’s best to use an instant mix. When you mix the pudding with the milk this is where you can add the instant coffee. Instant coffee brings out the chocolate flavor. Once the mousse/pudding is mixed you can also blend in the Nutella. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Step 2:

In a medium bowl start whipping the heavy cream. As it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla.

Step 3:

Next, fold the pudding mixture into the fresh cream. Mix until just combined. Return to the fridge.

Step 4:

In a food processor, pulse the Oreos until they resemble the consistency of dirt. If you don’t have a food processor, that’s okay. Place Oreos in a ziplock bag, seal and then smash. You can use a rolling pin, a pan, your hands, whatever you can to smash the Oreos.

Step 5:

Now the fun part, assembling! You can use any type of glass you want, but you can go to your local plant nursery and pick up tiny little pots like we did. The first thing you want to do is sprinkle some crumbs at the bottom of the pot and place a worm or two at the bottom. Scoop the pudding mixture on top and continue layering. Finally sprinkle with a little dirt and stick in the fridge to “firm” up.

Easy BBQ Ribs

March 31, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Everybody loves ribs. But not everybody has a state of the art outdoor kitchen BBQ like this:

Though, we really wish we had one. I mean, look at that. So beautiful. Anyway…so we love BBQ Ribs, especially baby back ribs. And every time we looked for a recipe it required a BBQ or a grill and we can be lazy so we looked for oven recipes.

So we found this awesome recipe and used a recipe on the back of a jar of BBQ sauce we found.

We kid you not, these are super easy to make, and the meat is literally falls off the bone. Some may say, these aren’t the prettiest ribs, but who cares if they taste great? And who needs some fancy shmancy BBQ when you have an oven at your finger tips.

Easy BBQ Ribs

What You Need

Baking Dish
Aluminum Foil

Ingredients

16 oz good quality BBQ sauce
10 oz liquid (orange juice, Dr. Pepper)
Juice of one lemon or lime
1/4 cup of dry rub season
5lbs baby ribs

Step 1:

The first thing you want to do, is try and remove the silver skin. If you can’t remove it, don’t fear, your ribs will still be delicious. Cut the ribs into separate pieces. You can cook them whole, but we prefer them cut before they’re cooked.

Step 2:

Slice the lemon or lime and pour the juice all over the ribs. Liberally sprinkle the ribs with the dry rub until they are covered. Massage the ribs so the dry rub really gets in there.

Pace the ribs meat side up to get the rub EVERYWHERE.

Step 3:

Preheat the oven to 250°. While the oven is heating mix your liquid and the BBQ sauce in a small bowl.

Today, we used Pineapple juice. Sweet and acidic to help tenderize.

Step 4:

Place the ribs in a baking dish and pour the sauce over the ribs. Make sure the ribs are meat side down and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

Step 5:

Put the ribs in the over for 2.5 to 3 hours. After the initial cook time is done, you have three options, you can finish them off on a grill or continue cooking for 20 to 30 minutes in the oven at 350°. Or you can turn the broiler to high and cook under there for about 5 minutes. Basting and watching them carefully, you don’t want them to durn. And remember if finishing off in the oven, remember to drain the liquid and place the ribs meat side up!

Sorry, for the blurry photos here. We got so excited by the ribs, that we couldn’t contain ourselves.

If you’re not using the ribs right away, after you season them put them in a vacuum sealed bag and really let the flavors soak in.

“Breakfast” Oatmeal Cookies

March 28, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 1 Comment

There’s nothing better than a simple oatmeal cookie. As you’ve kind of gathered, we love cookies, and are always finding the best cookie recipes, it’s an addiction!

We definitely like to “under bake” these cookies. When you try these warm, it’s like eating your morning oatmeal. Only better. So. Much. Better. Warm gooey, delicious oatmeal cookies.

What You Need

Cookie Sheet
Parchment Paper
Pam
Ice Cream Scoop

Ingredients

1 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
2 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Step 2:

In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, mix together butter and sugars. Until smooth and creamy.

Step 3:

Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla and maple.

Step 4:

In a medium bowl swift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and then stir in the salt.

Step 5:

In a separate bowl mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and oats together. Once thoroughly mixed, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. If using chocolate chips, mix them in now.

Step 6:

For best cookie results, we always recommend cooling the dough before using. If you’re in a hurry and want the cookie NOW, pop the dough in the freezer for about thirty minutes. If you have the time, stick the dough in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Step 7:

When the dough is nice and chilled, scoop out your dough into balls. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes. These cookies are best a little underdone, the gooeyness is very similar to your morning oatmeal, only better. Let cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes, and then remove to cooling rack.

** Instead of large cookies, you can do teaspoons instead of scoops. If doing teaspoons, baking 8 to 10 minutes. That should yield waaaaay more cookies than what we made.

Classic Coffee Cake

March 25, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Today’s recipe is a classic coffee cake. No frills, no thrills, just plain old, delicious coffee cake. This recipe really is the perfect cake to eat with coffee in the morning or your cup in the afternoon. Or if you’re Christie, late at night, because caffeine doesn’t affect her!

What You Need:

2 9×9” Pans
Mixing Bowls
Electric Mixer
Glass Measuring Cup

Ingredients:

Cake Batter:

30 oz AP flour
4 oz+ 2 tablespoons dry milk
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons white vinegar
12 oz water
8 oz+ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups brown sugar (packed)
8 oz granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Streusel Topping:

6 oz + 3 tablespoons AP flour
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar (packed)
2 oz granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of salt
2 oz vegetable oil

Step 1:

Preheat your oven to 375° and grease your two 9×9” pans.

Step 2:

In a medium bowl, mix together your flour, dry milk, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

If you can, sift the flour first!

Step 3:

Combine together the vinegar and water in a glass measuring cup. Set aside.

We don’t have pictures of this step because we took pictures of Peaches.

Step 4:

In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, sugar, and oil on a low speed. About 1 minute.

Step 5:

Adding the eggs one at a time, and continue to blend on a low speed for another minute.

Step 6:

With the mixer on a low speed, add the dry ingredients and alternate with the water and vinegar to the sugar and eggs mixture. Remember to always start and end with your dry ingredients. Also, don’t forget to scrape down the bowl.

Step 7:

In a new bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together. Mix on a low speed for about a minute.

Step 8:

Gradually add the oil until the mixture is crumbly.

Step 9:

Pour the batter between your two greased cake pans. Divide evenly. Sprinkle each cake with streusel topping. We say start with 3/4 cup on each cake and divide whatever is left over between the two cakes.