Roasted Garlic Hummus and Whole Wheat Pita Bread

I love hummus, but most recipes call for raw garlic and I find it to be a bit too strong (as much as I love garlic!). I went off in search of a better way to incorporate garlic another way, and came across a recipe for roasted garlic hummus. I made a few modifications and it came out great! This is my go-to hummus recipe now. :-) But, what's hummus without some pita bread? I'm trying to use more whole wheat flour, and found a very simple recipe that was easy and turned out great! I was worried they wouldn't turn out right, as this was my first try at pita bread, but I did achieve the characteristic pocket inside - they even puffed up like whoopee cushions. :-)

Roasted Garlic Hummus
Inspired by justinsomnia.org

~1 head garlic
~1 15-20 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) with liquid reserved
~juice of 1 lemon
~1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
~3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
~1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
~1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
~1 1/2 tsp salt
~1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375F. Cut top off of head of garlic. Spray the tops with olive oil and wrap it in foil. Roast for 45 minutes.

Discard the shells of the chickpeas. Squeeze roasted garlic out of the skin, and add to a food processor or blender. Add chickpeas and blend. Add the remaining ingredients and blend, using the reserved chickpea liquid to reach the desired consistency.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Source:Recipezaar.com

~4 cups whole wheat flour
~1 tablespoon dry yeast ( I used one packet of rapid rise yeast)
~1 1/4 cups warm water (120-130F degrees)
~1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 500°F.
2. Sift together 2 cups of flour and the yeast.
3. Add water and salt and mix well.
4. Gradually add in the remaining flour just until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. Once this happens, stop adding flour (so, you might not use all the flour the recipe calls for.).
5. Knead the dough for about 4 or 5 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. (While you're kneading, you can get creative and add in some herbs or spices, but only if you want to do that). Be careful not to over-knead the dough.
6. Form dough into 10 balls.
7. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a 5-6 inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. (Be sure to sprinkle a little flour on both sides to prevent sticking).
8. Place on a non-stick baking sheet and allow to rise 30 minutes, or until slightly raised.
9. Just before you place the pan in the oven, flip each pita over on its other side.
10. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 5 minutes. (The instant hot heat will help them puff up).
11. When the pitas come out of the oven they will be hard, but they will soften as the cool.
12. Store them, while they're still warm, in plastic baggies or an airtight container.
13. Cut the pitas in half crosswise and stuff with your favorite fillings (beans and rice, taco fixings, thick stews, curries - anything goes).
14. Pitas can be reheated in a 350°F oven or in the microwave.

NOTE: On the second time around, I added about a tablespoon of italian seasoning - wow, what a difference! It really livened them up! I definitely recommend adding your favorite herbs!

No TWD: It seems I am generating a pattern!

I had myself convinced that I was going to make this week's recipe, Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, in such a way that I could bring it to work (a difficult feat when the recipe won't hold for longer than 8 hours). After some thought, I finally conceded today after looking at my history in the group to make sure I'd be ok with another skip. I noticed that I am following a pattern here... since joining on February 19th (Almost Fudge Gateau), I have missed:

March 18th: Brioche Raisin Snails
April 15th: Marshmallows
May 13th: Florida Pie

It seemed only fitting that I miss this week, due June 17th (middle of the month), to maintain this pattern that I was completely unaware of. :-)

The other reason being I've given up all sugar for 2 weeks and this sounds WAY too good to resist. I'll be back in the swing next week with Mixed Berry Cobbler, chosen by Beth of Our Sweet Life!

In the meantime, check out the other TWD bakers here. Thanks to Caroline of A Consuming Passion for this week's choice! I will definitely be making it in the future!

Wilton Open House with Colette Peters!

Saturday, June 14th, I drove on down to Darien, IL for the Wilton 80th Anniversary Open House (at THE Wilton store... yes readers: ONE store, ALL Wilton - dangerous! [Especially at 25%off]). It was a day filled with cakes, demonstrations, raffles (I didn't win, BOO), more cakes, and of course - shopping. There were 4 demonstrations: Sugar Artistry, Fondant, Gum Paste, and Brush Embroidery, taught by Colette Peters! Gum Paste and Brush Embroidery are, by far, my favorites. In addition, they had a cake decorating contest that morning and displayed the cakes through the day. Here are some of my favorites:

Here is the Wilton 80th Anniversary Cake!

After the demos, I had the opportunity to meet Colette and get her autograph. Yay! (But I certainly felt silly being the only person in line without a book of hers! Hey, I'm just starting out, if you didn't notice.)

More decorating practice...

I decided to make Dorie's Perfect Party Cake (from Baking: From My Home to Yours) for an occasion at work, and use it as a chance to practice more cake decorating (see my first attempts here). I had lots of issues with icing consistency (I used the Wilton buttercream recipe, sub-ing half the shortening for butter), and it was about 85 degrees in my kitchen. Hopefully the next time around, my roses will stop falling over. :-)

BB: Pasta, Pesto and Peas

I was so excited to make my first BB dinner. I'd been hearing other Barefoot Bloggers say that the recipe makes a ton, so I cut it down a lot. I started with 1 cup of basil for the pesto and adjusted everything around that. It turned out GREAT, but we couldn't wait for it to cool so we ate it warm. :-) The mayo is not something I'd repeat... maybe I'll use yogurt next time or something. I didn't love that part. Otherwise, it was a great deviation from the regular marinara sauce for pasta.

I thought it would only be fitting to dry the basil with The Ina Method of swirling them over your head in a kitchen towel and letting the water fly. :-)

Thanks to Elizabeth at Ugg Smell Food for choosing the recipe! Check out the other Barefoot Bloggers here!

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas

TWD: La Palette's Strawberry Tart

This week's recipe was chosen by Marie of A Year from Oak Cottage, and BLESS her heart for choosing something so simple! It was my "weekend off" from the kitchen after sort of over-doing it last week, so I was trying to do as little as possible. As an added bonus, the second time seemed to be the charm with the sweet dough. It had a completely different texture this time around, and I think I was a lot closer to what it is meant to be. I cut down the recipe and made two mini tartletts out of it.

This was simple to put together and I used the "forest berry" preserves that I got for Dorie's Perfect Party Cake, which I will be making later on tonight. I had 4 pounds of strawberries, so I was happy to have a place to put them! The dough is certainly not a soft dough, but was very good. Overall it was a delicious end to the weekend. Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.

The love affair continues...

In celebration of my new found appreciation for spaghetti squash, I've been looking for other ways to incorporate it into dishes (having 2 sitting on the counter is a great motivator!). When I saw a recipe for spicy shrimp over at Lovestoeat, I knew my husband would love it. With every intention of making shrimp, I found myself with some thawed chicken that needed to be used, so I substituted that instead. I ask my husband if he'd rather have spaghetti squash or real pasta (thank goodness he likes it enough for me to be able to ask that!), much to my disappointment, he requested real pasta. I couldn't put my love aside... so... I did it. I made HIM pasta and ME spaghetti squash. He was happy, I was happy, and the oven was on anyway for some cupcakes (and apple crisp, but we won't go there). This turned out GREAT and we both loved it... very light, but full of flavor! Spicy Chicken with Spaghetti Squash
Lovestoeat

~4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (mine were small) or 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
~2 Tbsp Olive Oil
~1/2 chopped Onion
~1/2 tsp Thyme
~1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
~1/2 tsp Black Pepper
~1/2 tsp Basil
~1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce
~1 Tbsp Garlic, chopped
~1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
~1/2 cups Tomato, peeled and diced (I omitted the peeling step)
~2 Tbsp Sugar-I omitted this
~1/2 cup Green Onions, chopped
~3 cups Chicken Broth
~1 lb Vermicelli or Linguini, or 1 spaghetti squash, cut in half and roasted, then shredded.
~1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated-I omitted this

Directions:
In a large pot, start cooking your pasta (if using). Boil until tender.

Meanwhile, in a non-stick fry pan, sauté the onion in the olive oil for approximately 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Add thyme, cayenne and black peppers, and basil and cook at low heat for 5 more minutes. Add everything else except for the pasta, shrimp, and cheese, and cook over low heat for about one-half hour or until the liquid is reduced.

Meanwhile, in another fry pan, sauté the shrimp or chicken in some butter and garlic until three-quarters cooked. Add the onion and garlic mixture and cook for an additional two minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). Add the cooked pasta and toss well with the grated cheese.

Spaghetti Squash - My New Love!

Cara accomplished in one recipe what my mother spent years trying to do: get me to like butternut squash. So I knew she wouldn't steer me wrong, and after lots of talk about spaghetti squash, I finally decided to try it. WOW I am so glad I did! I LOVE it! Thankfully, my husband does, too :-) I made two of Cara's dishes, for which I will offer some particularly poor photography :-P I can't wait to experiment more!

Spaghetti squash with sausage and pumpkin sauce

Sausage, cheese and squash bake (for which I used goat cheese... mmmmm goat cheese!)

TWD: French Chocolate Brownies

I couldn't WAIT to make these brownies, after all the buzz about them. Since I can't leave well enough alone, I wanted to doctor up the recipe. I finally decided on adding little York Peppermint Patty Baking Chips to the middle of the batter (which subsequently sunk to the bottom, btw). In case those were bad, I still wanted the original recipe, so I split it in half and used two load pans. I don't know if it was the way I cooked it (semi-burnt) or just the recipe itself, but I did not care for it, at all. Oh, hi butterscotch caramel brownie recipe, you are still my fav!

French Chocolate Brownies
Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen by Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook
See more TWD bakers here!
Makes 16 Brownies

~1/2 cup all-purpose flour
~1/8 teaspoon salt
~1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
~1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
~1 1/2 tablespoons water
~1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
~6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
~1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
~3 large eggs, at room temperature
~1 cup sugar

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it. Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

My (Cup)Cake Decorating Debut!

I wanted to try my hand at cake decorating. I have a Wilton book, and some tips, so I decided to play around a bit. Using the Lime Cupcakes with White Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes from Kelsey, I did some simple leaves and (possibly the easiest) flowers. I can't wait to make some decorating icing (this wasn't quite right) and try more!

First, some stars :-)

Then flowers!