Crispy Baked Parmesan Garlic Wings

Here in the Cook Lisa Cook home, we adore wings. Some of the wings we've blogged about were our Baked Buffalo Wings, Baked Teriyaki Wings, Baked Tandoori Wings, and Baked Chinese Five-Spice Wings.  One thing you'll notice about all the wings which we make is, every-single-one is baked.  We bake them hot and fast so they remain juicy and moist inside and even without frying, they have a wonderful golden & crispy skin.  We each have our favorite but honestly, lately, I feel like we've been in a wing rut and in need of a new flavor.  Enter, Crispy Baked Parmesan Garlic Wings.  What made me think to make these was, I was making for Maisie, the gluten-free version of one of my favorite childhood dishes, noodles with butter, parmesan & garlic and thought, wouldn't that be wonderful on some wings.  Seeing as we had just purchased wings and we were going to do the same-old-same-old, we just went with the new idea and winged it...get it? Winged it... ;)  The new wing recipe was a hit!  Buttery, garlicy and cheesy all on a perfectly cooked and crispy skinned wing. Perfection and delighted to have a new flavor in our wing line-up!

Crispy Baked Parmesan Garlic Wings

• 4 lbs. wing pieces, flaps and drumettes
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup Ghee (or butter,) melted
• 1 TBS. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 TBS. fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Line a baking sheet with foil and place a baking rack on top. Using a paper towel, dry the wings off as well as possible. Place the wings in a large bowl and sprinkle with the baking powder, salt, pepper and 1 tsp of the garlic powder. Using your hands, toss to coat well. Place the wings, skin side up, so that they are close but not touching one another, on the rack. Allow the wings to dry with the mixture on them for about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 500F. Bake wings for 20 minutes, until golden brown. If at the 15 minute mark, you notice that they are not browning nicely, place the wings under the broiler for the remaining 5 minutes. (I have a convection oven and use the roast setting so our wings are cooked from top and bottom.) During the last 5 minutes of cook time, melt the ghee or butter and add to a large bowl. Stir in the 1 TBS. garlic powder & 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan. Once the wings are fully baked, using tongs, add them to the bowl of buttery garlic cheese and toss to coat. Add the parsley and give a final toss. Place wings on serving plate and sprinkle with the shredded Parmesan and remaining 1/8 cup grated Parmesan.  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Curried Deviled Eggs

We’ve been on a bit of a deviled eggs kick here in the Cook Lisa Cook house as the eggs are a super simple delicious, ready to grab bite, for a meal or a snack.  They’re also a nice treat along with our Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms to enjoy with a drink on these hot summer afternoons when we’re kicking back and relaxing on our dock doing nothing but looking out at the water and listening to nature.  We’ve continued to enjoy the Sriracha Deviled Eggs but this week decided to change things up a bit and made some awesome Curried Deviled Eggs.  Again, super simple to make and ready to eat at a moment’s notice. 

Curried Deviled Eggs

• 12 eggs
• 4 TBS. mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. hot Jamaican curry powder, plus extra for dusting at finish
• 2 TBS. mango chutney, minced finely if chunky
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• Himalayan salt to taste

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Carefully add the eggs to the pot and bring the water back to a full boil.  Allow the eggs to boil for 30 seconds. Cover tightly and reduce heat to low so that it’s just at a simmer.  Cook for 11 minutes. Using a large slotted spoon, remove the eggs from the hot water and place in a bowl of ice water.  Allow the eggs to cool for at least 15 minutes before peeling under cool running water.

Once the eggs are peeled, slice in half and remove the yolks to a bowl and place the hollowed out whites on a platter.  Using the tines of a fork, mash the yolks.  Add in the mayonnaise, curry powder, mango chutney and pepper.  Combine until smooth and add salt to taste.  Place the yolk mixture in a piping bag or Ziploc bag fitted with a star or round piping tip.  Fill each egg white with the yolk mixture.  Dust with curry powder.  Serve cold.

Enjoy!

No-Bake Energy Bites

It seems like forever ago, a friend, Alison, posted a recipe on Facebook for these No-Bake Energy Bites and we thought they would be a hit with Maisie.  That thought was immediately confirmed when Alison shared some of the ones she made with Maisie and she begged to make them that very night!  We have made these bites numerous times and they’re still a requested favorite.  They are simple to make and hold up well in her lunch and gym snack bags. 

The original recipe came from Maggie’s blog, Smashed Peas & Carrots, where she states “You can substitute almost anything for any of the ingredients to work around food allergies, special diets, etc. Soybutter, almond butter, cashew butter, sun butter, etc all works in place of peanut butter. You can use creamed or liquid honey, or agave nectar or even maltitol syrup in place of the honey. If you do not like or cannot eat coconut try some type of crushed cereal, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, granola, cocoa powder...the possibilities are really endless. If you cannot find ground flaxseed you can buy it whole and grind it yourself in a coffee grinder or magic bullet or you can substitute any other dry ingredient in it's place. Yes, the mini chocolate chips can be regular sized or carob or you can use raisins, cranberries, goji berries, or crushed nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, whatev) of some kind.”  We have stuck to the recipe below because it’s a winner in Maisie’s book but if you try other options, let us know what you did and how they turned out!

No-Bake Energy Bites  (from here)

• 1 cup oatmeal 
• 1/2 cup peanut butter  (or other nut butter)
• 1/3 cup honey  
• 1 cup coconut flakes  
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed   
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate bits  
• 1 tsp vanilla 

In a medium bowl, mix everything above together until thoroughly incorporated. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Bars ~ Gluten, Egg & Dairy Free

Yummy Pumpkin Pie Bars.  Cake-like on the top and bottom and chewy creamy in the middle.

 

April is National Soyfoods Month and I was contacted by Soyafoods* and asked to try and use their products in one of my recipes.  We use a number of soy products here in the Cook Lisa Cook house as we all adore edamame and go through a package in nothing flat.  Snacks like Sunrich Honey Nutz are always a favorite, especially for Maisie at school or at the gym where it gives her that extra protein and calories she needs to make it through her long gymnastics practices . I use tofu in a number of recipes and because Maisie’s allergic to milk, I often substitute soy milk for dairy milk when baking.  I was totally onboard with featuring a recipe which includes soy, in this case, Westsoy soy milk.  Today’s recipe is for some absolutely delicious Pumpkin Pie Bars, which are Maisie “safe” as they don’t contain any wheat, egg or dairy…but you’d never know that from the flavor.  These bars are sort of a cross between cake and pie because the top and bottom of the bars have the texture of cake and the middle has a nice moist and somewhat chewy creamy texture, not quite as custardy as pumpkin pie, but close.  The bars are simple to make and of course, totally delicious!!

Maisie’s been cooped up at home for a the past few days, recovering from sinus surgery and avoiding our outrageous pollen counts so she was excited to help Mama cook, especially as the final product was for her!

Licking the spatula is always a delicious treat.

I love using my Slice Solutions Pan as it makes perfect portions.  One note though, when using this pan with the insert, it cooks faster than an undivided pan so you’ll have to adjust your cooking time depending on your oven and which pan you use. 

Pumpkin Pie Bars fresh from the oven, with the insert removed.

 Maisie approved, Pumpkin Pie Bar success!!

Pumpkin Pie Bars ~ Gluten, Egg & Dairy Free

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour 
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum  
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 6 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 4 TBS. ground golden flax seed
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup Westsoy soy milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 – 15 oz. can 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix) 

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 9 x 13-inch Slice Solutions Pan or baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the rice flour, tapioca flour, corn starch, xanthan gum, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, flax seed, brown sugar and granulated sugar.  With the mixer on low, slowly add the soy milk, oil and lemon juice.  Once the wet ingredients are fully incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pumpkin puree.  Mix on low until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Add the Slice Solutions Pan insert and then bake for 50-60 minutes until the tops of the bars are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out clean.  (Note, when I cook with the Slice Solutions Pan my baked goods cook faster so if just using a regular undivided pan, your baking time could be as much as 30 minutes longer so keep checking to make sure that your bars aren’t over or under baked.)

Enjoy!

April is National Soyfoods Month so it’s the perfect time to learn about the place for soy in a healthy diet and easy ways to incorporate it into everyday meals.  Packed with protein and fiber, soyfoods are a tasty way to reduce calories, saturated fat and maintain your weight.  Many soy products like veggie burgers cook and thaw faster than traditional meat sources so that means more time and convenience—who couldn’t use more of both?

The Soyfoods Association of North America (SANA) provides information about the health benefits and nutritional advantages of soy. SANA offers fun recipes and convenient ways to incorporate soy into meals for everyone – from athletes to families. SANA is dedicated to spreading the word about soy, especially during National Soyfoods Month in April!  Here are just a few ways that soy can help make your life easier and healthier: Take this mixed berry smoothie up a notch with creamy and delicious WESTSOY Soymilk made from whole organic soybeans: Berry Smoothie WESTSOY Soymilk.  Need a snack on-the-go? Grab some gluten free SOYJOY bars to fuel up with nutrients in seconds, SOYJOY bars. On those busy weeknights, add some Wildwood tofu to the standard stir-fry for more protein or this spinach fettuccini to your favorite pasta sauce, Wildwood Tofu.  Packing lunches with the same snacks can get a little boring, but honey roasted soy nuts are a sweet and crunchy snack packaged in individual sizes, perfect for the lunch box, Honey Roasted Soy Nuts.  Packed with protein and fiber, soyfoods are a great way to reduce calories, cholesterol and saturated fat. They also serve as a great source of iron, calcium, vitamin B-12, magnesium and zinc.  Including soyfoods into your diet is easy and convenient. See the recipes below: Soymilk adds a healthy twist to any smoothie and these scalloped potatoes: Soy Milk Scalloped Potatoes.  Edamame makes a great energy-boosting snack and puts in an interesting twist on this hummus: Edamame Hummus,  Easy recipes to get cooking with soy ingredients: Easy recipes to get cooking with soy

Follow the SoyFoods Association on Twitter at @SocialSANA

Follow SoyFoods Association on Facebook

 

Disclosures:

* This sponsorship is brought to you by Soyfoods Association who we have partnered with for this promotion. I was provided with a box of products to sample.  This is a compensated post but all the views and opinions expressed are my own and based upon my experiences with Soyfoods Association products.

Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites

I almost missed this month of the Improv Cooking Challenge but thankfully I scheduled a reminder on my calendar which pinged me the other day and got me on track. I’m telling you, Maisie’s schedule is keeping me busy and I’ve barely had time to cook let alone sit down at the computer to do any blogging.  I think I need to better organize my life but that’s a project and story for another day.  Enough whinging and back to the challenge.  This month our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the two specified ingredients of the month.  This month, being the month of love with Valentine’s Day and all, Kristen did a little pun and had our challenge ingredients as Hearts and Flours.  We didn’t have to use hearts, we could make anything as long as it was
either heart shaped or served/photographed in a heart serving dish but it did need to contain at least one flour of some sort.  I actually did think about possibly making some lightly batter-fried chicken hearts, I mean I’ve done it with great success with chicken livers, but instead I opted for something a little less offal (yes I can play the pun game too) and a whole lot sweeter.  So for my Hearts and Flours challenge I present, Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites.

I don’t know where this recipe originated but I’ve seen it all over the internet and it’s absolutely genius.  Being as easy as it is and the fact that it includes the nectar of the Gods Nutella, I’ve been wanting to make these for ages but as I’m always watching my “white” intake (flour and sugar), I just needed the right opportunity to present itself so to have an excuse to make these tasty little treats and thanks to this month’s challenge, the time came. 

So, how were they?  Well for only three ingredients (plus salt if desired), less than five minutes of work and ten minutes of cook time…they were amazingly delicious.  Shoot had they taken twice the work, ingredients and cook time I’d still be making these again and again.  I love the simplicity of this recipe and that I always have the required ingredients in my pantry so when the craving strikes I can easily whip up a batch.  One last great thing, the recipe can be halved only making 6 little bites and making them in a muffin tin, they’re portion controlled!!  I easily could have eaten the entire batch but after the one I enjoyed, I left that task to Eammon and he enjoyed each and every one.

If you make these, be sure to not to overcook them because the ooey-gooey slightly undercooked center absolutely makes the brownie bites all that much better. 

Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites 

• 1 cup Nutella
• 2 lg. eggs
• 1/2 cup plus 2 TBS. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a microwave safe bowl, heat the Nutella until slightly warm and runny.  Stir in the eggs, flour and salt until fully combined.  Portion the batter between 12 full sized muffin tins lined with cupcake liners or use a silicon cupcake pan sprayed lightly with cooking spray. (I used a heart shaped silicon cupcake pan)  Depending on your oven, bake 10-12 minutes, just until the tops of the Brownie Bites are just cooked.and dry.  Do not over cook as you want the centers to be slightly undercooked and gooey.  Allow the Brownie Bites to cool slightly in the pans, remove to a cooling rack, dust with confectioners sugar and then enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

January 2013  Bananas & Nutmeg:  Baked Bananas 
December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Lemon Almond Biscotti

It’s Secret Recipe Club time again, one of my favorite times of the month.  I love receiving my secret cooking pal assignment, going through their blog, checking out all their recipes, choosing one to make and feature and of course reveal day is best of all as I we all post and see what everyone has made.  This month my assignment was to cook from Kate’s Food Babbles.  I have been a reader of Kate’s blog for a while as I not only participate in the Secret Recipe Club with her but we also both participate monthly in the Improv Cooking Challenge.  I also “know” Kate from the lovely and kind comments she always leaves on my challenge recipes.  Kate’s blog is filled with so many gorgeous food photos, I just wanted to make everything,  I think that this month I was craving sugar as I had a real rough time deciding on a recipe.  I narrowed it down to Kate’s peppermint patties, maple bacon caramel corn, bacon caramel tart, potato chip cookies, Mexican hot chocolate and her Lemon Biscotti. In the end the biscotti won out as I had everything in the house and I’ve also been craving lemon, but trust me, a few others from the list will be made soon. 

I’ve made biscotti in the past and both Eammon and I love them with our tea and coffee but I’ve never made them with a citrus and as I’ve been craving lemon, these biscotti were just perfect.  I changed Kate’s recipe a little, really just bumping up the lemon a bit with the addition of lemon extract and in place of her almond extract I used vanilla bean paste and then to get that bit of almond flavor back in, I chose to add toasted slivered almonds.  These biscotti were simple to make, super crunchy, the lemon flavor really shined through and the combo of the lemon, almonds and white chocolate was light and delicious.  These biscotti were a big hit here in the Cook Lisa Cook home and I’m looking forward to making more of Kate’s delicious recipes.  Hop over to Kate’s blog to check out the original recipe and all of her other wonderful treats.

Lemon Almond Biscotti (slightly adapted from here) 

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste 
• 1 tsp. lemon extract
• zest of 1 lemon, finely minced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted 
• 8 oz. white chocolate 

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper and set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla bean paste, lemon extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Whisk at medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and holds its shape.  Using a silicone spatula, fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture and then fold in the slivered almonds.

On a lightly floured surface, with damp hands, divide the dough into 2 portions and shape each into a 3-inch diameter log.  Transfer the logs to the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly.  Bake for 16 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes on the baking sheet.  Reduce oven temperature to 300F.

With a sharp slice each log into ½”-thick slices.  Arrange cookies, cut sides up, in a single layer on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake until firm, about 20 minutes, flipping midway through baking.  Cool completely. They will get crunchier as they cool.

Line a cool baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.

Chop the white chocolate and place in a glass or metal bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Do not let the bowl touch the water. Stir until the chocolate is smooth and melted.  Dip the bottoms of the biscotti into the melted chocolate and place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Allow the chocolate to set completely.

Store in an airtight container up to one week.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

Loaded Buffalo Chicken Texas Toast

Here in the Cook Lisa Cook home, Eammon and I are huge fans of buffalo-ed foods.  One of our favorite meals is my Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole and we can’t resist Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings, so when I saw a recipe on Mercedes’ The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife for Buffalo Chicken Texas Toast, well I was on it faster than you can say aye, aye Captain!

I made a few changes to Mercedes’ recipe.  First, I didn’t have wing sauce so I made my own and then I completely mixed her Gorgonzola cheese as we don’t care for stinky or blue veined cheeses.  I also decided to add bacon because…well, I just thought it would make the recipe and for us, and it did.  These Loaded Buffalo Chicken Texas Toasts were wonderful and I will say,quite filling. 

I’m not a huge bread person but I loved the thick, buttery, garlic Texas Toast and it held up well to the creamy ranch dressing and the spicy chicken and sauce.  

I loved that I could make all the components of the dish and have them ready so that when it was time to serve, it only took a minute or two to assemble, heat it up and have a wonderful little meal or a delicious appetizer, and these will be especially easy and good for the guys on game day.

Loaded Buffalo Chicken Texas Toast

• 8 slices Texas Garlic Toast
• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces
• 2 TBS. peanut oil or oil of your choice
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt 
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper 
• 1 tsp. garlic powder 
• 2/3 cup hot sauce 
• 5 TBS. butter 
• 3 TBS. ranch dressing 
• 1 cup Fiesta Blend Cheese or shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled bacon bits 
• 4 green onions, sliced

Bake Texas Toast according to package directions, allowing them to get a bit toasted.  In a microwave safe bowl combine the hot sauce and butter and heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and incorporated into the sauce.  Set the sauce aside.

In a separate bowl mix together the cheese, bacon bits and green onions and set aside.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Toss chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder and add to the skillet.  Cook quickly until the chicken is just cooked through.  Don’t over cook as you want the chicken to remain moist.  Add 1/2 cup of the buffalo wing sauce and stir to toss and coat the chicken.  Remove garlic bread from oven and switch oven to broil. Brush each slice first with ranch dressing, then with hot sauce mixture.  Next add the chicken and top with the cheese mixture.  Broil toast 2-4 minutes, watching closely and rotating the pan as needed. Once the cheese has melted, remove from the broiler and top with another drizzle of the hot sauce mixture.

Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe is spicy and on my Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole I get a lot of questions from people saying that they don’t do hot foods and what could they substitute for the hot sauce or how to tone down the spiciness.  So to address that question on this recipe, here are some suggestions if you don’t care for spicy foods.  Feel free to use your favorite BBQ sauce in place of the hot sauce.  Another suggestion is to increase the ratio of butter to hot sauce so to cool it a bit, On my casserole recipe people have had good luck using Italian dressing as the seasoning on the chicken and still using the ranch sauce as well.  Still others have mixed a little bit of hot sauce in with a larger amount of ranch dressing just to give a little flavor of Buffalo chicken.  Use this basic recipe and tailor it to you tastes and enjoy.

Buffalo Cauliflower ~ Baked not Fried ~ Vegetarian Style Buffalo “Chicken”

I have been on quite the cauliflower binge lately but that’s what happens with it’s a super loss leader at the market and I stock up.  I’ve seen a few recipes for buffalo cauliflower but they’ve all called for frying the cauliflower and well, I’m just not really into frying and part of making Buffalo Cauliflower, in addition to using up some, is to get away from all the fat and grease of Buffalo Chicken Wings, baked or fried.  So, when I saw this Buffalo “Chicken”-Vegetarian Style from The Curvy Carrot, I knew what one head of cauliflower was destined to become.  Well holy hot sauce Batman, this Buffalo Cauliflower was freaking amazing!!  I had my doubts if I’d like the batter on the cauliflower as I’m not a batter person but I really, really loved it.  When baked onto the cauliflower the batter gave both a crunch in places and a nice chewy texture in other places and had a wonderful tangy, garlic flavor…what’s not to love?

I tried to keep the florets whole as cauliflower can be very delicate and fall apart but for the really big florets I did cut them in half.  I changed very little about the recipe.  I don’t keep buttermilk in the house but I always keep buttermilk powder so I mixed up what I needed and I also don’t use garlic salt so I did a combo of garlic powder and sea salt.

Buffalo Cauliflower ~ Baked not Fried ~ Vegetarian Style Buffalo “Chicken” (adapted from here)

• 1 head cauliflower, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 TBS. buttermilk powder mixed with 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt 
• 1 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce  
• 1 TBS, butter, melted
• Blue cheese or ranch dressing and celery for serving

Preheat the oven to 450 F.  Prepare a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, flour, garlic powder & salt, whisking until mostly smooth.  Very gently place the cauliflower in the bowl and lightly toss to completely coat with the buttermilk mixture.  Spread the cauliflower on the prepared baking pan and bake for about 15-18 minutes.  Keep and eye on it as it may start to brown up quickly.

While the cauliflower is baking, rinse out the used large bowl and in it, combine the buffalo sauce and the melted butter.  Carefully remove the hot cauliflower from the oven and add it to the bowl of buffalo sauce and toss gently to coat it as best you can.  Return the coated cauliflower to the baking sheet and place it back in to the oven another 5-8 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Baked Bananas

It is now month 16 of the Improv Cooking Challenge and this month our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the two given ingredients of bananas & nutmeg.  Unlike last month where I just was uninspired, but still managed to make a wonderful White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark, this month there were so many delicious things I wanted to make.  I’m talking about cakes, cookies, pancakes, muffins, fritters, ice cream and smoothies, so many wonderful things to be made with bananas and nutmeg.  But here it is, a new year, and after all our indulging over Thanksgiving, during our trip to Savannah, during our two weeks in Aruba, over Christmas, New Years Eve and then visiting with friends and our week at Disney…well I needed something delicious but very healthy.  With that in mind, may I present, Baked Bananas.  I saw this recipe on Epicurious and knew that I had found a winner. 

And a winner it is, just minutes to make, all the ingredients are staples in my home and delicious…well just insanely!!  I have made these Baked Bananas a few times already, once as a dessert with a little bit of whipped cream sprinkled with nutmeg and a few times I’ve put them over plain oatmeal, a delicious breakfast.  One night I served these Baked Bananas as a sweet little side dish along side some roasted pork (amazing combination) and I even just baked up a half recipe one night when I was craving something sweet.  I’d bet that these bananas would be fabu over some vanilla ice cream…one day I will give that a try.  I suggest that you give this recipe a try as you’ll be amazed at how just a few ingredients and a tiny bit of time totally transforms simple bananas into an insanely delicious treat.      

Baked Bananas (adapted from here)

2 bananas

Juice of 1 lemon

1 TBS, dark rum  

1/4 tsp. ground roasted cinnamon 

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg 

1 TBS. Whey Low Gold or brown sugar 

1 TBS butter 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel the bananas and slice in half lengthwise. Lay the pieces into a buttered 9x9x2-inch ovenproof dish. Pour the lime juice and rum evenly over the bananas. Sprinkle on the cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Dot on the butter and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with a bit of whipped cream sprinkled with a pinch of nutmeg.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies