Lemon Marscapone Cake

In honor of my Super Fabulous Friends Weekend, I am posting the recipe for a super fabulous dessert that me and an old friend shared on Saturday night from Stonebridge in Milford, CT. Obviously I am not sure if this is the actual recipe or not, but it is pretty close. It was light, fluffy, lemony, and amazing. Now, if only I could find the recipe for the whipped cream... I def ate more of that than the cake, even!

The Recipe

Courtesy of: a recipe by Cindy Mushet

Ingredients:

Cakes:
   6 large eggs, separated
   7 tablespoons (3 ounces) sugar plus
   7 tablespoons (3 ounces) sugar
   1 3/4 cups (6 ounces) sifted cake flour

Syrup:
   1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
   1/2 cup (4 fl ounces) water
   1/4 cup (2 ounces) freshly squeezed
   lemon juice

Filling:
   2 1/2 cups (20 ounces) heavy whipping cream
   7 tablespoons (3 ounces) sugar
   1 pound mascarpone
   1 cup lemon curd, plus 1 1/2 cups for layering and garnish

You will also need:

   Two Ungreased 9 by 1 3/4-inch Round Cake Pans Lined with Parchment Paper

   Pastry Brush

   Small Offset Spatula

   Icing Spatula

   Pastry Bag Fitted with a 1/2-inch Star Tip

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Position oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven.
2. Make the sponge cakes: Place the egg yolks and 7 tablespoons of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on high speed until the mixture is thick and very light in color, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside while you whip the egg whites.
3. In a clean bowl with a clean whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium speed to soft peaks. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining 7 tablespoons of sugar and continue beating until the egg whites hold firm peaks. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the beaten yolks, then sift half of the flour over the top and gently fold it in. Repeat. Fold in the last of the egg whites until no streaks of white remain.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top is golden, firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out free of crumbs. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely.
5. Make the lemon syrup: Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the liquid is clear. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Stir in the lemon juice.
6. Make the mascarpone filling: Place the cream and sugar in a bowl and whip to soft peaks. Refrigerate. Place the mascarpone and one cup of the lemon curd in a bowl and stir until blended—it should be the consistency of pudding. Gently fold in the whipped cream until the mixture is homogeneous and thick. If the mixture becomes overworked, it will look grainy or separated. If this happens, stir in several tablespoons of cream with a rubber spatula—stir just until the mixture has smoothed out again.

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Laugh much, cook often, and always wear stilettos

xoXO ~ Coleen

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Mushroom Stuffed Chicken

The Recipe

Courtesy of: Hungry-Girl (as usual)

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 wedges the Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese
Two 5-oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
1/8 tsp. each salt and black pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" X 8" baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Cook and stir mushrooms and onion until softened and lightly browned, about 6 minutes. 
3. Transfer cooked veggies to a medium bowl, and blot away excess moisture. Add onion powder, garlic powder, and cheese wedges, breaking the wedges into pieces as you add them. Stir until cheese has melted and coated the veggies.
4. Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Evenly divide veggie mixture between the centers of the cutlets. 
5. Roll up each cutlet over the mixture. If needed, secure with toothpicks. Place in the baking pan.
6. Cover pan with foil, and bake for 20 minutes.
7. Remove foil and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Nutrition:

1/2 of recipe (1 stuffed chicken breast): 210 calories, 3.5g fat, 450mg sodium, 4.5g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 3g sugars, 36g protein -- PointsPlus® value 5*

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Laugh much, cook often, and always wear stilettos

xoXO ~ Coleen

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Fettuccine Alfredo {Single Serving}

I love a good pasta swap. Spaghetti squash is my usual go-to when I am trying to avoid the starchy wonders of pasta (whole wheat or otherwise) - but even when I do it in the microwave, I still find that it's a little time consuming to make. I needed something more.

As we all know, I frequent hungry-girl.com and I often see her kudos towards tofu Shirataki noodles (shira-whaaaaaat) and have started to become intrigued. I happened to notice the Shirataki noodles as I perused the produce section yesterday at my local grocery store, and threw them into my basket.

(Note: HG recommends House Foods tofu shirataki noodles, that are 20 calories per serving/40 calories per bag. There are others that she says are somewhat of a different consistency and 0 calories. The ones that I purchase by Nasoya do not contain tofu, but are also 20 calories per serving/40 calories per bag. I will say they had a somewhat chewy consistency, but I also have nothing to compare it to. Chewier than pasta, but tasted fine)

Next, I had to figure out something to do with them. (Only good thing about quarter close when tt is at work until all hours....I get to experiment with food that I know he would never eat!) - cue HG again, and her Fettucinne Hungry Girlfredo. Get ready to have your mind blown.  



 

The Recipe

Adapted from: Hungry Girl's Fettucinne Hungry Girlfredo

Ingredients:

1 package shirataki noodles (fettuccine)

1 wedge Laughing Cow light swiss cheese

1-2 tsp fat free or light sour cream

2 tsp grated parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper

Optional: Nutmeg (I added this because I add nutmeg to practically everything)

Instructions:

1. Rinse and dry noodles well. Microwave in a bowl for 1 minute, and drain/dry again
2. Break apart cheese wedge, add that, parm, and sour cream to bowl. Microwave for additional 1 minute, and mix thoroughly once cheese is melted.
3. Add salt and pepper (and nutmeg!) to taste.

MAKES 1 SERVING

Nutrition:

PER SERVING: 80 calories, 3g fat, 242mg sodium, 9g carbs, 4g fiber, <1g sugars, 4g protein -- PointsPlus® value 2*

When made with 1 cup cooked whole wheat pasta: 216 calories, 3g fat, 216mg sodium, 41g carbs, 4g fiber, 2g sugars, 9g protein -- PointsPlus® value 6*

Also, click here for other variations of this recipe including Chicken Alfredo and a veggie option. Stan, this one's for Y-O-U !!! muah!

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Laugh much, cook often, and always wear stilettos
xoXO ~ Coleen
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Chocolate Chip Cookie {Single Serve}

This recipe popped up on my FB news feed and I thought to myself... "self, this sounds like something that needs a little test run" (and Stan is always asking for single serve recipes!) And so tonight, I tested. My findings were slightly disappointing. Maybe I didn't mix it well enough (and admittedly, I did leave out the salt) but it didn't so much cookie as it did crumble. Don't get me wrong- it tasted just the way it was supposed to. It was just a bowl of chocolate chip cookie crumbs. (Although, now that I'm writing this, is that really a bad thing?... perhaps not) ~ So I guess, here goes.

The Recipe

For those days you just want to make one cookie... 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1 tbsp. white sugar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

3 drops of vanilla

pinch of salt

1 egg yolk

1/4 c. flour

2 tbsp. chocolate chips

Instructions:

MICROWAVE 40-60 SEC IN A CUP OR BOWL.

and voila... {single serving} deep dish chocolate chip cookie (kind of)

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Laugh much, cook often, and always wear stilettos

xoXO ~ Coleen

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Spiced Scallop-Zucchini Kebabs

So, today is tt's father's birthday. We are having them over for lunch tomorrow and I am oh so happy to announce that tt is cooking!! (All I need to contribute is picking up the house, and making my adorable little lemon meringue pies, which I am 100% ok with having 2 weekends in a row)

This whole thing sparked a conversation, because he wants to make scallops and swordfish (but does not want my input). He remembers these kebabs that I had made with squash and scallops and that I "put some of the stuff on them and it was really good, but then {I} put more of the stuff on them and it really wasn't good. What was that green sh*t anyway?" -- He doesn't know what he is talking about. This was delightful. I believe that we had these one summer evening last year, and enjoyed them while sitting out on the deck. Either way, he's thinking something along this line, maybe with or without the green {stuff}... Enjoy! 

The Recipe

Courtesy of Food Network Magazine  

Ingredients:

For the sauce...

1/2 cup lightly packed

fresh cilantro

1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint

1/4 cup light coconut milk

Juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed

1 small clove garlic

1 teaspoon sugar

Kosher salt

For the Kebabs...

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, cracked

1/8 teaspoon hot paprika

Kosher salt

12 to 18 large sea scallops, muscles removed

2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2-to- 3/4-inch-thick rounds (*Tip* Make sure to cut the zucchini into similar size pieces as the scallops so it all cooks evenly!)

Vegetable oil, for brushing

Lime wedges, for serving

You will need skewers, of course, probably 4-6 depending on how many scallops/zucchini pieces you end up with. *Tip* If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 15+ minutes so that they don't burn. Believe me, do not skip this step.

Instructions:

1. For the sauce: Combine the cilantro, mint, coconut milk, lime juice, jalapeno, garlic, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender; puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve or up to 1 day.
2. Then, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When it foams, stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove the spiced butter from the heat and let cool. (The butter can be made up to 1 day in advance.)
3. Alternate the scallops and zucchini onto your skewers. Brush the grill generously with vegetable oil. Stir the spiced butter, then brush on the kebabs and season with salt. Grill the kebabs until the scallops are firm and just cooked through and the zucchini is marked, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Brush with more spiced butter. Serve with the chutney and lime wedges.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Level: Easy

Serves: 4-6 people

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Laugh much, cook often, and always wear stilettos

xoXO ~ Coleen

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