Paninis – making regular sandwiches look bad since the 1950′s

I’m back after a long hiatus! I recently picked up the Giada De Laurentis Panini press from Target for $14.99. I can’t decide if I’m more excited about the delicious panini I made or the deal I got on the press itself . I am not much of a sandwich person myself because really, who wants to eat a sandwich when you can eat something hot? Well, the beauty of a panini is that it’s a hot, crispy sandwich that really encompasses the best of both worlds.

This is the first time making a panini, so I thought…why not make one of my favorite sandwiches? A Reuben, of course.

Here’s what I used to make mine:
- 2 slices of white, sour dough bread with a schmear of butter on one side
- a dollop of Thousand island dressing, spread evenly on one slice of bread (not the buttered side)

- a slice of Provolone cheese
- several slices of thinly slices corned beef (I used Boar’s Head from my local grocery store)

- as much sauerkraut as you’d like

1. Preheat your panini press on Low heat. I’ve found that cooking the panini on high heat causes it to cook too quickly, making it really easy to burn your sandwich.

2. I buttered one side of both slices of bread. The buttered sides will be the outside of the sandwich. It really adds a beautiful color to the cr

usty exterior and definitely adds to the crunchiness of the panini.

3. Schmear on a little bit of Thousand Island dressing to one of the slices of bread (not on top of the buttered side).

4. Add one slice of Provolone cheese on top of the dressing.

5. Stack up your corned beef to your liking. I like to add about 1/4 lb of meat into my sandwich, making it pretty hearty.

6. Add some sauerkraut and you’re almost ready to go!

7. Please the other slice of bread on

top (buttered side out) and you’re ready to start pressing.

8. Place the ready to go sandwich on the panini press and close the lid. I usually

give it about 2-3 minutes before I open the lid and check on the sandwich.

9. Continue to check on the panini until the outside is golden brown. And, voila! You have yourself a panini

Needless to say, it was absolutely delicious.

Some might ask you “Why in the world do you have a panini press? That’s so random.” No need to reply…just make them a panini.

The Guinness Cupcake.

I can’t believe it’s been so long since i’ve actually posted about food. I’ve been so busy with triathlon training and working that I completely neglected my blog And now, we resurrect!

I went to a birthday party last weekend and had these amazing Guinness cupcakes. I wanted to recreate them myself because i’ve never actually cooked or baked with beer before. So after hunting down a recipe online, I decided to bake chocolate Guinness cupcakes with chocolate ganache filling and vanilla frosting. You can’t really go wrong with beer and chocolate, can you?

I used the recipe from here and made a few small adjustments based on the ingredients I had on hand.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
Makes approximately 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup of stout beer (I used Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar (I reduced this by a few tablespoons because it just seemed like too much)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Chocolate Ganache Filling
8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Baileys Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (I used heavy cream because I didn’t have any Baileys on hand)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F and Line the cupcake pan with 24 liners.

Melt butter with the beer in a sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Be sure to continue whisking or the cocoa can burn at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a mixer bowl, beat the eggs and the sour cream together. Add the cooled beer/butter/cocoa mixture and beat to combine. Add the flour mixture and beat briefly just to combine. Do not overbeat or else the cupcakes will be tough. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the batter until completely combined.

Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick or a slim knife inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely to room temperature.

To make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the filling cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. Using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. I went about half to 2/3 of the way down and used a small knife to help me extract the centers. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

To make the frosting: In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter until it is very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, letting it incorporate, until the butter becomes thicker and stiff. Slowly drizzle the Bailey’s (or cream) and whip until combined. Ice and decorate the cupcakes to your liking

Here’s how they turned out:

Enjoy!

Please help support me and Team in Training!

One of my very close friend’s father was recently diagnosed with leukemia, and he is currently battling this disease at MD Anderson.  I am raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a participant in their Team In Training program, and I’m asking you to help by making a donation to my fund raising campaign.  My goal is to raise $3,500 and to participate in The Nation’s Triathlon (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride, and 6.2 mile run).

Please use the link below to donate online quickly and securely plus learn more about my progress.  You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/nattri10/evelynkshu

Facts:
- More than 913,000 people in America are currently battling blood cancers
- Every FOUR minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer
- Every TEN minutes someone loses their battle with blood cancer
- Leukemia is the #1 killer of children and young adults under the age of 20

Each donation helps accelerate finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. I am hoping that my participation in Team In Training will help bring them hope and support. Together, we can become one step closer to finding a cure.

New Orleans Marathon!

I usually only blog about food, but I decided to change it up a bit since I haven’t posted in such a long time.

I ran the New Orleans Marathon last Sunday. Not sure how I managed it, but even after getting a million blisters on my feet and falling at mile 16, I ended up finishing 10 minutes faster than the Houston Marathon. Pretty exciting I am hoping to run San Diego in June and San Fran in October. I can’t wait!

I am also trying to think of what I should make next…I am thinking along the lines of an ice cream cake, or Girl Scout cookies again. hmmm. macarons? more asian bakery breads? not sure

Stay tuned!

Happy Holidays to all!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and the Happiest of  Holidays!

I always get an itch to bake during the holidays…well, I guess I sort of bake all the time anyway. This morning I woke up and decided to bake an Asian Sponge cake. To pretty it up a bit, I used a rose bundt mold. Removing the cake was a bit of a pain, but I think it turned out beautifully. I don’t think I beat the egg whites enough because the cake wasn’t as fluffy as I expected/wanted, but it was my first attempt. Hopefully next time will be much better.

Naked (without a dusting of powdered sugar) :

Here is the recipe I used:

Asian Sponge Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups of cake flour, sifted
• 9 eggs, separated
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat oven to 350º F

1. Beat the egg whites until slightly foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form.

2. Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites and continue to beat until sugar is mixed in.

3. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks slightly and then add water, oil and vanilla.

4. In another bowl, sift together the cake flour and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and beat until creamy.

5. Pour egg mixture into the egg whites and gently fold until everything is well blended.

6. Pour the batter into a well-greased baking pan and bake until the top is lightly golden brown. I used a rose bundt pan and it took about 30 minutes.

If using a 9 x 13 inch pan, it should be about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

A Crinkle in Time

I’ve been wanting to make chocolate crinkle cookies for quite some time now, but every time I bake cookies, I tend to always revert back to my good ol’ chocolate chip recipe. Today I felt like doing something a little different

I found came across this recipe while surfing TasteSpotting this afternoon, so I just had to give it a try. Instead of using baking powder, I accidentally used baking soda. Whoops…but thankfully, they still turned out delish!

Check em out:

They aren’t as puffed up as I had hoped they would be, but it was probably due to my fluke.

Here’s the recipe I used (adapted from Urban Spork):

Ingredients

• 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1  1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1  1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Melt chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl in the microwave. I generally heat for 30 seconds at a time and stir each time. Be careful not to burn the chocolate! Set aside, and let cool.  Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Mix butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Mix in eggs and vanilla, and then the melted chocolate.  Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk.  Divide dough into 4 equal pieces.  Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. Divide each piece into 1-inch balls.  Roll in granulated sugar to coat, then in confectioners’ sugar to coat.  Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake until surfaces crack, about 13 minutes.  Let cool on sheets on wire racks and enjoy!

If you love chocolate, you have to try these!