BLOGHUNGRY

Pajas

Popmuse and I were recently invited to a tacos and scrabble night at a friend's house and wanted to bring a dessert to the event. Not being the biggest fan of flan I sought out other Mexican desserts to make and came across this recipe. Pajas are kind of like macaroons, but have dried fruit and chocolate involved. They are super easy, but are a little messy. Be sure to line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a good layer of cooking spray. It's also important to flatten the cookies once on the sheet. They won't spead when baked, so flatening them beforehand helps them stay together and form more of a cookie than a pile of coconut.

Pajas

1 cup pecan halves
1 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate morsels
7 ounces canned sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or use a nonstick pan.

Toss the pecans in the melted butter to evenly coat. Spread the nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and aromatic. Set aside to cool, and then chop roughly. Place the chopped pecans and the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly moistened. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter for each cookie onto the lined baking sheet and gently flatten to circles of about 2 1/4-inches in diameter (these cookies do not spread). Bake 10 minutes or until the coconut turns very pale golden, being careful not to overbrown. Transfer to racks to cool.

Chicken Stew

This chicken stew recipe from Giada De Laurentiis is kicking ass and taking names. I doubled the recipe for my bad movie night group last week and we still sucked down every drop and licked the pot clean. Don't let the chicken on the bone scare you. It's pretty easy to cut and shred off the bone once cooked and the flavor is more than worth the effort.

Giada's Chicken Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)

Serving suggestion: crusty bread

Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.

Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread.

Bloody Finger Cookies

So Halloween is a week away and you're starved for bloody body parts and dirty fingernails. I got your back. We made these for a Halloween party last weekend and although a lot of the kids were too scared to eat them, they were a big hit with Academy Award Nominee Forest Whitaker. They take a little time and dedication to finger craftsmanship, but the recipe is easy and the cookies are surprisingly tasty for an almond shortbread.

Bloody Finger Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp banking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup almonds, whole blanched
1 tube red decorator gel

Cream the butter butter powdered sugar. Mix in egg, and extracts until creamy. Sift and add the dry ingredients. Blend to make a soft dough. Wrap and refrigerate dough until it is easy to work with (about 15-20 minutes). Roll into a finger shapes about 3” long and ½” thick (They will rise when baked so make them smaller than you'd like the finished finger to be.) Place finger on lined cookie sheet. Using a butter knife lightly press a flat nail bed shape at the end of the finger and cut 3 lines in the middle of the finger to form knuckles. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 3-5 minutes. Put a bit of red gel in the nail bed and press the almond fingernails into the end of the finger.

Popmuse Birthday Cupcakes

Letters have been pouring in and the phones have been ringing off the hook. Viewers are demanding the Popmuse birthday cupcake recipe for 2006. I would like to thank everyone who made it out to the polls this year. It's clear that P Diddy's hard work paid off. After an overwhelming insurgence of celebrity voting, the Popmuse birthday cupcake poll blew up in the 11th hour. The winning cup cake was the Cappuccino Chip Cupcake.

Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes

cupcake liners
1/3 cup water
4 teaspoons instant coffee powder
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup mini chocolate chips
plus 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips for garnish

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Place muffin liners in muffin pans. Place water and instant coffee in a small glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 40 seconds. Set aside and let cool for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, place cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, and coffee and blend with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of bowl and continue to blend on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Fold in the chocolate chips, making sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Scoop even amounts into muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool. Frost with Mocha Buttercream Frosting, sprinkle with remaining mini chocolate chips and serve.

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

1/4 cup milk
1 heaping Tblsp instant coffee powder
1 stick butter, at room temp
3 oz dark chocolate finely chopped
3 1/2 confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp water, if needed

Place the milk and instant coffee in a small glass measuring cup. Place in microwave on high until milk is hot enough to dissolve coffee (30-40 seconds). Remove and stir until coffee dissolves. Set aside and cool. Place coffee, chocolate, and butter in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds until softened. Slowly add sugar and continue to blend until smooth and well combined about 2 minutes. Blend in extra water if frosting seems too stiff.

Pumpkin Soup

Fall is here and one of my favorite fall foods is pumpkin soup. This is a quick and tasty pumpkin soup recipe that can't go wrong. It's a thin and creamy soup, so I recommend pairing it with a toasted crusty piece of bread or maybe even some grilled cheese sandwiches.

Pumpkin Soup

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 bay leaves
2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
6 cups chicken stock
1 (28-ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 cups half and half
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in half and half and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

X-treme Jello Salad

I know that Jello salad has gotten a bad rap over the years, but this is truly the jello salad recipe to end all jello salad recipes. My mom used to make this for potlucks and dinner parties and it always left guests wanting more. It's so good that I serve it as a dessert more often than a salad. The secret is in the apple sauce. It gives the jello a depth of flavor and texture that you can't get otherwise. You can sub any jello flavor or frozen fruit combination, but this combination tends to be the biggest crowd pleaser. Jello takes a few hours to set, so you may want to make this the night before or morning of your lunch or dinner.

Mom's Jello Salad

2 pkgs sugar free raspberry jello
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups apple sauce
1 bag frozen mixed berries
rectangular casserole dish or baking pan

In a large glass measuring cup or small bowl, combine 1 cup of boiling water and both packages of jello stirring until well dissolved (about 2 minutes). Pour jello into pan and mix in 1 cup of cold water, 1 1/2 cups apple sauce, and bag of frozen berries. Place pan in fridge to set for 4 hours or until firm. Cut into squares and serve.

Popmuse Birthday Cake Poll

Popmuse is aging another year this Saturday and can't seem to decide on his cake concept this year. Much like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars before him, he has decided to let the American public make the final decision. The remaining nominees for Popmuse's birthday cake 2006 are:

1. Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes: Mini yellow cakes infused with vanilla, coffee, and mini chocolate chips that are topped with a mocha buttercream frosting.

2. Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes: Mini yellow cakes infused with vanilla that are filled with a variety of fruit preserves and dusted with powdered sugar.

3. Warm Chocolate Cupcakes with Molten Centers and Cinnamon Creme Anglaise: Mini chocolate cakes filled with a molten chocolate ganache that are dusted with powdered sugar and served with a warm vanilla and cinnamon custard.

**All votes will be counted on Thursday night and a winner will be chosen. You can vote as many times as you would like before that time.

Grilled Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan

I am coming out publicly as a fan of the new Rachael Ray show. She's a little loud, tacky, and full of shtick, but her food is consistently good and she offers some pretty good information. This recipe is from her show last week. Just grill up some chicken cutlets and eggplant in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then layer them with chunky tomato sauce and cheese and toss it in the broiler. She makes her own sauce, but I just used a jar of store bought and it was still pretty great. I made this last night for my bad movie night group as we pushed our way through the tragically bad 180th season of America's Next Top Model. The food was well received, but Tyra is really off her game.

Grilled Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
12 1/2-inch thick slices eggplant (1 large eggplant)
8 chicken cutlets, pounded thin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 jar your favorite chunky pasta sauce
2 balls smoked mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Pre-heat an outdoor or indoor grill to medium-high heat. Pre-heat the broiler.

Drizzle the eggplant slices and chicken cutlets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. On one half of the grill place the eggplant slices. On the other half, place the chicken cutlets. Cook the eggplant and chicken for about 4 minutes per side. There should be no pink in the middle of the chicken.

To assemble, place 4 grilled chicken cutlets on a baking sheet. Top chicken with 1-2 slices of eggplant and a layer of tomato sauce. Top tomato sauce with another chicken cutlet, more eggplant, and another layer of sauce.on each. Finish off with a healthy sprinkle of parmesan and a slice or two of smoked mozzarella. Place baking sheet under the broiler to melt the cheese.