Recipe Girl

Patriotic Red, White and Blue Pastries

Lori Lange — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:50 +0000

Lots of people ask me how I got started with writing recipes for brands and companies. Here’s the story: Back in 2009, I received an email from the nice folks at Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. They were asking me if I’d like to create four recipes for them using Puff Pastry. I was so excited to receive an offer to create for a brand that I use in my kitchen quite often, so I quickly said, “Yes!” It was a fabulous experience… I put the Puff Pastry on my counter and stared at it until I came up with four really amazing treats. It really was a lot of fun. So they’ve asked me again, and I’ve accepted… the Puffection™ Springtime Entertaining Challenge from Pepperidge Farm. My task: create an original, spring-inspired recipe using Puff Pastry. I’ve created a recipe utilizing the fresh berries that are beginning to appear in markets and farm stands: Patriotic, Red-White-and-Blue Pastries

These puff pastry pockets are filled with jam and a sweetened cream cheese, and then they’re topped with fresh berries. They’re for breakfast, they’re for lunch, and they’re for dessert! And they’re kind of perfect for a patriotic holiday like Memorial Day or 4th of July or just a spring/summer treat. Here’s how you make them:

Sold in the freezer section as sheets or shells, Puff Pastry thaws at room temperature in 40 minutes. Lay out two sheets of thawed Puff Pastry on a flat surface. Cut each sheet into 12 equal squares. Then take a star cookie cutter and cut 12 stars out of 12 squares. Place the intact squares on a baking sheet.

Place a spoonful of jam (raspberry… blueberry… strawberry) on each of the Puff Pastry squares.

Place the cut out squares on top of the jam squares.

Seal the edges of each Puff Pastry square with the tines of a fork. Sprinkling with chunky white sugar is an optional step (I did it).

Bake for 20 minutes. You can put the stars on a separate baking sheet and sprinkle them with goodies or whatever. This is where the “puffing” happens, as you can see from the photo!

Fresh out of the oven, you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Let them cool completely while you make the filling. The filling is simple: cream cheese + powdered sugar + cream.

Scoop the filling into a piping bag and pipe it into the star center of each pastry. If you don’t have a fancy schmancy piping bag, just spoon it into a plastic zip bag, snip the corner and squeeze it on that way.

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Stuff I’ve Gotta Share and You’ve Gotta See

Lori Lange — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:36:39 +0000

Here’s more weekly gossip… stuff I’ve gotta share and you’ve gotta see:

First up: my feature this week on Parade Magazine’s food blog: These Honey-Molasses Chicken Drumsticks + 9 additional delicious recipes for chicken drumsticks. Drumsticks are hip. They’re cool. They’re food that kids will eat (since most kids like to pick up food and eat it with their hands anyways!) There are some great ideas for dinner over on that post.

Kinda sorta BIG NEWS!! >>>>> I’m going to be a guest on QVC next week sharing The Recipe Girl Cookbook!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s just a little bit exciting and scary and fabulous all at the same time! I’m traveling to their headquarters in Pennsylvania next week to appear on “In the Kitchen With David,” where we’ll be talking about my cookbook, ogling over the recipes that are on display, and selling The Recipe Girl Cookbook to QVC customers! Will you watch and cheer me on?!? >>> Wednesday, May 22nd, 8PM EST (That’s the 5 o’clock hour for you West coasters). Wish me luck

New Book Out from the amazing CakeSpy! > The Secret Lives of Baked Goods- Sweet Stories and Recipes for America’s Favorite Desserts by Jessie Oleson Moore. This is a fun book unveiling the stories behind 40 of America’s most popular and nostalgic desserts- things such as Animal Crackers, Gingerbread Men, Tunnel of Fudge Cake, Baked Alaska, Whoopie Pies and New York Cheesecake (recipes included). So it’s good bedside reading, and then you get to get up in the morning and bake stuff too!

And finally, here is the novel my sister Susie (the most avid reader of all time) is recommending- a favorite that she has read recently:

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Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley

Lori Lange — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:00:45 +0000

I’ve come to realize that I haven’t shared too many side dish recipes on this ‘ol blog here. There are many side dish options here on RecipeGirl… but to be featured in the coveted blog spotlight is a tough gig to get. And truthfully, side dishes just aren’t usually all that droolworthy. Here’s one you can drool over though: Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley

There are a few other things tucked in there that you may be able to spot: golden raisins (trust me… that little sweetness added in there is a very good thing, indeed!), shallots, and a little bit of lemon zest.

Are you familiar with Israeli (pearl) couscous? It’s larger than traditional couscous, it’s round, and it cooks up quickly to a wonderfully chewy consistency. I messed with the recipe on the back of the box of Israeli couscous from Trader Joe’s. It looked good enough to me, so why not?

Toasted pine nuts are one of the things that make this planet a nice place to live. Try and eat just one. Try and eat five. It’s impossible. When they’re toasted, they’re just sooooo good. They tend to be expensive, so I splurge on a large bag at Costco and store them in the freezer so they’ll last a long time.

Step 1: Saute the shallots in a smidge of butter until they are golden-brown, then add the dry couscous, a bay leaf and a cinnamon stick. Push around the couscous for a while until it gets a little bit toasted.

Step 2: Add chicken broth and salt and bring this pot to a boil. Then reduce heat, place a lid on top, and simmer until the couscous has absorbed all of the water (just like you make rice).

Step 3: Stir in parsley, pine nuts and lemon zest.

Step 4: The brave souls who trust me will add in the golden raisins. Seriously, that’s what makes this side dish unique and delicious!

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Dark Chocolate- Oatmeal Cookie Cupcakes

Lori Lange — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:00:33 +0000

Yesterday was a pretty amazing day in this crazy life of mine. It started with a feature on the front page of the food section of the San Diego Union Tribune. I opened up the paper to see a HUGE photo of me and my son in our kitchen preparing artichokes. Such a fun memory we’ll get to share! Then I had lunch with a very good friend from college, and while we were at the restaurant… our hair stylist of the last 25 years called the restaurant and paid our tab (how sweet is that?!) Because of the article in the paper, I had phone calls, emails and texts streaming in all day, connecting me with friends I hadn’t talked to in years. It was a neat day indeed. So let’s celebrate with cookies. No, cupcakes. Okay, let’s compromise with both: Dark Chocolate- Oatmeal Cookie Cupcakes!

These are best described as an oatmeal cookie dough that is studded with dark chocolate chunks and baked into cupcake tins. Why not, right?

I used a big chunk of Scharffenberger dark chocolate and chopped it into bits, but you can certainly use any sort of chocolate you’d like (or even chocolate chips).

You can stuff the cupcake tins pretty full (I used an ice cream scoop to make things easy). You’ll be able to fill 16 of them.

They bake up like a giant cookie. In fact, it’s kinda-sorta a nice, secret ploy to be able to eat a couple of cookies in one dessert. A drizzle of chocolate ganache on top is the right way to finish it off.

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Stuff I’ve Gotta Share and You’ve Gotta See

Lori Lange — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:23:21 +0000

I’m really loving this weekly feature of sharing stuff you’ve gotta see! I come across way too many fun things in my foodie life on and off the internet, so I simply MUST SHARE!

1. I can’t even tell you how excited I am about sharing this recipe with you: Peanut Butter French Toast topped with Bananas and Honey!! Rich challah egg bread dunked in a peanut buttery French toast batter and fried to perfection. YUM. You can find the recipe here: Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast

2. I spotted this book today: Bacon Nation by Peter Kaminsky & Marie Rama, and I am really looking forward to purchasing it! We’re big BACON fans in our house. Here’s the description from Amazon: Bacon Nation is a bacon-lover’s dream, a collection of 125 smoky, savory, crispy, meaty, salty, and sweetly sensuous recipes that go right through the menu. Starters like Spiced Nuts with Bacon; Bacon, Pear, and Humboldt Fog Salad. Main courses featuring meats—Brawny Bacon Beef Bourguignon; poultry—Paella with Chicken and Bacon; fish—Flaky Cod Fillets with Bacon and Wine-Braised Fennel; and pasta, including an update of the classic Roman dish Bucatini all’Amatriciana. Even dessert: Rum Ice Cream with Candied Bacon Chips and Chocolate-Peanut-Bacon Toffee.

3. Here’s what’s been happening on my other food blog: Culinary Covers… Visit and find recipes that were shared for decadent and easy Caramel Pie, (healthier) baked Lemon-Buttermilk Doughnuts, gluten-free Blackberry Farm Griddle Cakes and breakfast for dinner: Chicken & Biscuit Waffles! To get regular updates to Culinary Covers, subscribe HERE.

4. And here’s what my almost-12-year-old RecipeBoy has been up to lately: making Avocado- Bacon Toast drizzled with HONEY. This is seriously the best snack ever, and it makes a pretty good alternative breakfast too. And wait until you see what he has made as a “special Mother’s Day recipe” for this week >> Lookie > HERE!

5. If you happen to be in San Diego… check out the FOOD SECTION in the printed newspaper The UNION TRIBUNE on Wednesday, May 8th! The kiddo and I were interviewed, and they featured us in the food section. Kinda fun to be be featured together… the week of Mother’s Day!

Peanut Butter Caramel Corn {cookbook giveaway}

Lori Lange — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:07 +0000

I’m sharing a recipe today that you’re going to love. In fact, if you begin munching on this stuff… you’re likely not going to be able to stop. It took all of my available willpower to package up this Peanut Butter Caramel Corn and deliver it to my neighbors. But that was only after I ate a few cupfuls myself! Giveaway details are at the end of this post.

This Peanut Butter Caramel Corn is good stuff… every bite of it. And it’s worth every.single.calorie consumed. Picture caramel corn- only HOMEMADE- and with a peanut buttery flavor. Yeah.

The recipe comes from a new book by Heather Christo: Heather Christo’s Generous Table: Easy and Elegant Recipes Through the Seasons.

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Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Tacos

Lori Lange — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:00:58 +0000

One of the things I’m most happy about as a parent is when I can find/create meals that my child will actually eat and enjoy. I tried to do that with The Recipe Girl Cookbook- focused on family-friendly meals that EVERYONE will enjoy. My family does enjoy all of the recipes in the book. I continue to experiment, and I’d love to say that my son wants to eat everything I make for dinner, but that’s not always the case. Enter last night’s dinner: Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Tacos

This was one of those dinners I had in my head, so I opened my vegetable drawer to see what was lurking in there and basically just grabbed what I saw. Also in my head was the thought that my son doesn’t like most vegetables, but I was bound and determined to make this recipe delicious enough for a veggie-weary child.

I went with yellow squash, zucchini, onion, red bell pepper and sweet potato. Corn would work nicely in here too, as would butternut squash. These are tossed with a small amount of olive oil and salt and pepper, then roasted for 45 minutes. This step can be prepared the night before and then just combined w/ the rest of the ingredients to make the tacos.

I like to prepare taco tortillas the way my Mom taught me to make them. I fry them in oil. Yes, OIL! They’re just kind of the best that way- nice and pliable and they do not crack apart when you eat them. Just heat the oil and fry each tortilla for about 20 seconds (see the recipe below for details).

Those roasted veggies are mixed with black beans and a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes (you can use freshly chopped tomatoes and canned chiles if you’d like). A homemade taco-spice blend is mixed in too. Tuck a few spoonfuls of the mixture into the center of each tortilla…

… then add your fixings! I opted for a few good slices of fresh avocado and crumbled feta cheese. Dress them up however you’d like though… other nice add-ins: lettuce, fresh tomato, salsa and sour cream.

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Stuff I’ve Gotta Share and You’ve Gotta See

Lori Lange — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:05:02 +0000

Here are a few things that I’ve gotta share and you’ve gotta see.

1. If you’ve been a longtime reader of RecipeGirl, this cake might look familiar to you. I’m sharing my Margarita Cake (and 5 additional margarita-themed recipes) over on Parade Magazine’s food blog. I highly recommend this delicious and tender cake recipe for Cinco de Mayo. It’s seriously good.

2. My friend Lauren of the blog Lauren’s Latest has a new ebook out! If you would like a collection of delicious, family-friendly favorite recipes… this ebook might be for you. Check out the details on Lauren’s blog. And she’s also hosting a GIVEAWAY FOR A MINI iPAD!

3. My cute boys (husband and son) threw a Recipe Girl Cookbook launch party for me! How sweet is that?? On another note… see how tall my ALMOST TWELVE YEAR OLD is?? I’m wearing pretty high heels in this photo, so he’s actually taller than me ordinarily (and I’m 5’8″). We’re hoping for a college basketball scholarship…

There were all kinds of surprises- like friends I hadn’t seen in ages and fun decor that matched my cookbook colors. My husband even had the caterer make recipes from my cookbook to serve as party appetizers.

And these cupcakes from Beau Coup Cupcakes in San Diego for dessert. DARLING. I was blown away by the cuteness of these. Aren’t my boys the absolute BEST? So sweet.

That Recipe Girl Cookbook you keep hearing about can be purchased online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indie Bound. And now… I’m off on a secret-destination trip… something I can’t tell you about yet, but I hope to be able to share with you very soon! Have a great week!

Bacon, Avocado and Corn Salad

Lori Lange — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:00:51 +0000

Today I’m happy to share with you a recipe from my good friend Gaby Dalkin‘s newly-released cookbook: Absolutely Avocados. My entire family loves avocados. We’re super lucky to live in Southern California, where beautiful, ripe avocados are available to us all-year long for a good price. Seriously, most of the time you can pick them up for 99 cents, and often they are 2 for a dollar. LUCKY, right?! We’re grateful. And we eat them OFTEN. The recipe that caught my eye first in this avocado cookbook was the Bacon, Avocado and Corn Salad.

It was the bacon that did it. Bacon and avocados are two well-loved ingredients in my kitchen! And they’re perfect when paired together too!

There it is- Absolutely Avocados by Gaby Dalkin. There are 80 amazing recipes for every meal of the day (even dessert… seriously. We’ll talk about that later in the post)…

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Creamy Coconut Polenta

Lori Lange — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:00:29 +0000

Have you discovered polenta yet? I just started experimenting with it in the last couple of years, and I worry that it’s an under-appreciated and undiscovered ingredient for many people. I LOVE IT!! There is an appetizer recipe in The Recipe Girl Cookbook for BLT Polenta Squares. That recipe features polenta in solid form- flavored with fresh herbs and topped with sundried tomato, creamy cheese and watercress. I could eat a million of those. The recipe I’m sharing today is also in my cookbook. But this polenta recipe turns out a very creamy and wonderful side dish: Creamy Coconut Polenta

This polenta may be eaten as a lovely side dish to chicken or beef or seafood… or you may wish to top it with something too (see the photo far down below for an idea…)

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