The Best Coffee Cake

'Tis the time for holiday traditions and spending time with loved ones! Stuart and I are currently at my family home in Nevada, and are soaking in a few relaxing days free of work and responsibilities. Today we went snowshoeing in a beautiful alpine meadow, followed by a soak in our favorite natural hot springs at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. 

Tonight we are eating Thai food and preparing for tomorrow's big Christmas feast (we basically repeat Thanksgiving dinner in its entirety, down to the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie!). One of our favorite longstanding holiday traditions is to make my dad's sour cream coffee cake every Christmas morning. It is a moist and classic recipe that I would love to share with you - who knows, maybe it will become part of your own holiday tradition!

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup butter, softened

3 eggs

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups sour cream

Filling:

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup finely chopped nuts

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

1.     Heat oven to 350. Grease a 12-cup Bundt cake pan or 2 loaf pans (9x5x3 inches).

2.     Beat sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla in large mixer bowl on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

3.     Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream on low speed. Prepare filling.

4.     Spread 1/3 of the batter into pan and sprinkle with 1/3 of the filling mixture. Repeat 2 times until batter and filling are used up.

5.     Bake about 1 hour, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly and remove from pan to cool completely. 

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clusters

Ok, I think it's time for...a cookie recipe! I've tried to keep all you blog followers healthy by not posting too many tasty treats so far this month, but that trend stops today. Because these cookies are sinfully chocolatey, rich, and delicious. While these are technically not Christmas cookies, my family always makes them around the holiday season, so in my mind they've become synonymous with December festivities. 

Originally from a 2003 issue of Sunset magazine, we've been faithfully making these chocolate macadamia nut cookies for many years. The messiest part is adding the melted chocolate to the sugar/egg mixture, but the messy hands are well worth it (plus side: you can just lick your fingers clean!). I hope you make these soon - they are decadent and perfect for holiday parties, gifts, co-workers...just keep them away from your dog, since chocolate will make dogs very ill!

  

Ingredients:

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (can use chocolate chips)

1/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (yes you read correctly, that’s tablespoons!)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups unsalted roasted macadamia nuts

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup sweetened flaked dried coconut (4 oz.)

Directions:

1. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water), stir chopped chocolate and butter often until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from over water and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Add chocolate mixture and beat until well blended. Stir in flour and baking powder, then beat just until moistened. Stir in macadamia nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut.

3. Drop dough in 1-tablespoon portions, about 2 inches apart, onto buttered or cooking parchment-lined baking sheets.

4. Bake cookies in a 350° oven just until firm on the edges but still soft when pressed in the middle, 8 to 10 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.

 I used Baker's squares for the chopped chocolate

 

The chocolate and butter melting over a small saucepan

 

The batter - filled with macadamia nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut 

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Butternut Leek Parmesan Spaghetti

Mmm I just discovered an amazing recipe that is an exciting departure from your average spaghetti dinner. This creamy and delicious recipe involves a sauce made from pureed butternut squash, chopped leeks, and Parmesan cheese. Once you add the chopped sage, it smells and tastes like the perfect warm and wintery dinner. It is also extremely creamy, but you can eat it with a clear conscience knowing that it's just blended veggies! Obviously, this leaves you room for other holiday indulgences, like cookies (more cookie recipes coming up soon, by the way!). 

I discovered this recipe on Skinnytaste.com, so you know that it must be holiday appropriate! The "hardest" part of this recipe process is pureeing the hot butternut squash in a blender. This is actually quite easy, it just means you have an extra appliance to wash when you're done eating your delicious pasta. This recipe can easily substitute ANY pasta, so don't feel obligated to use spaghetti noodles if you prefer a different type. 

Ingredients:

      1 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced (available pre-cut at Trader Joe's)

      1 tbsp butter

      8 oz spaghetti or pasta of your choice

      1 (1 cup) large leek (white part only, sliced thin)

      2 cloves garlic, minced

      1/4 cup fresh shaved Parmesan cheese

      4 sage leaves, sliced thin

      kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.     Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2.     Add butternut squash and cook until soft (about 12-15 minutes). Remove squash with a slotted spoon and place in a blender. Blend until smooth.

3.     Add pasta to the boiling water and cook pasta according to package directions for al dente, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.

3.     Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet, melt the butter and sauté the leeks and garlic over medium-low heat until soft and golden (about 5-6 minutes).

4.     Add pureed butternut squash to leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a little of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce to your liking. Stir in Parmesan cheese and sage and mix in pasta until well coated.

Eltana Bagel Cafe

Hello food blog world! I am just now wrapping up a long fall quarter of grad school and teaching. My tunnel vision of "eat-read-grade-sleep" (not always privileging the "eat" part, unfortunately) is slowly receding, and I am looking forward to a wonderful holiday. Stuart and I are planning trips to both my family home in Nevada (near Lake Tahoe) and his family in Santa Barbara. I can't WAIT to post about my favorite foods, home-cooked and otherwise, in both locations. Only a bit of student grading lies between me and lazing around for three glorious weeks.

Meanwhile, the Seattle food scene is still introducing amazing new finds on a near weekly basis. Last weekend, Stuart and I explored an amazing spot called Eltana Bagel Cafe. They are a small local chain that specializes in wood-fired bagels boiled in honey water. I know, sounds delicious right?! Another feature that makes them unique in that both sides of their bagels are "top" sides - no fighting over who has to eat the boring, flat side of the bagel that missed out on all the sesame seeds!

Their spreads and cream cheeses are also made in-house, and boast some pretty unique flavors. I went with the spice garlic cream cheese (which is truly spicy!) and Stuart tried the sweet fig apricot compote. We bought a few bagels to go, along with a pack of the honey almond cream cheese that we just couldn't resist. Definitely a new favorite cafe, with its light and airy interior and cheerful wood burning oven! Multiple locations make this a must-try causal breakfast in Seattle.

 

  

 

  

 Salt bagel with fig apricot compote (top) and sesame bagel with spicy garlic cream cheese (bottom)

Caprese Skewers

It's that wonderful time of year again when festive parties abound! Personally, I always love to bring homemade food to contribute to a holiday party. However at Christmas, you are usually the 10th person to show up with a platter of sprinkle-bedecked cookies or a bottle of bubbly. I always feel like a nice veggie platter or salad would round out the buffet table, but those items both scream "boring" and "hassle to serve/eat" respectively. 

The solution? I recently made these awesome Caprese Salad Skewers after being inspired by a work colleague at a grad school potluck. I think they are the perfect party contribution because they 1) look classy 2) can be eaten as finger food and require no serving utensils & 3) are supremely simple to assemble and transport. Plus, the just look pretty and colorful, especially if you use multicolored cherry tomatoes! I hope this idea solves at least one of your holiday party conundrums -- sorry, what outfit you choose to wear is still up to you ;)

 

Ingredients:
One large pint cherry tomatoes
Basil
Mozzarella balls 
Wooden skewers 

(I used the mini mozzarella balls from Trader Joe's, which are marinated in herbs and olive oil) 

Local 360

A year or two ago, before I moved to Seattle, a work colleague told me about her favorite breakfast spot in Seattle called Local 360. At long last, I visited this cute and delicious spot for a late brunch, and it did not disappoint. 

Located in Belltown, not too far from Pike's market, the restaurant boasts that all of its food and ingredients are sourced from within a 360 mile radius. From the solid wood tables to the fresh flowers to the yummy potato hash, I'm so happy we chose to explore this little gem. Everything was so fresh and flavorful - I really do think that "local"and sustainable ingredients make a big difference when it comes to the flavor and quality of a dish. While we can't afford to eat like this every weekend, if I'm going to spend money I want to spend it on something delicious and high-quality!

 

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

There appears to be a new favorite cookie recipe in our household of two...taking the award is peanut butter Nutella! That's right, these scrumptious cookies feature a delicious combination of peanut-buttery goodness and chocolatey Nutella hazelnut spread. I am always a sucker for eating raw cookie batter (salmonella dangers, I know, I know!) and the batter for these cookies is no exception. You will probably find yourself eating it by the spoonful, as well as eating the baked cookies by the handful. 

Our tip for cookie control? Leave some out on the counter, but put the rest in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer. You can take them out and thaw as needed, or if you have an immediate craving, you can eat them straight from the freezer and they don't taste half bad (trust me, I know!).

Original recipe from The Sisters Cafe. 

 

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature

2/3 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cup flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup Nutella (can add more according to taste)

Directions:

1. Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla together until smooth.

2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and add to butter mixture.

3. Add Nutella in dollops over the top of the dough.  Use a butter knife to swirl the Nutella through the dough.  Do not over mix.  

4. Chill the dough in fridge for 15 minutes before spooning onto cookie sheets.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until slightly brown at the edges.  Let cool a few minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Thanksgiving Food Coma

Well, it is the day after Thanksgiving and I am experiencing the usual feeling of a food coma! Stuart and I had an amazing Thanksgiving with both of our families, who traveled to Seattle for the holiday festivities. The day was spent baking pies, mashing potatoes & sweet potatoes, simmering whole cranberry sauce, mixing stuffing, and of course, roasting the turkey! The spread was delicious as always - hands down my favorite meal of the year!

No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

This week, I did something I have never done before: baked my very own bread! Bread is arguably my favorite food group, and I have wanted to try and bake my own bread for ages. However, I was always unsure of how to use yeast as an ingredient, and thought that the idea of kneading bread sounded time-consuming and difficult. 

When I shared my concerns with a grad school friend who regularly bakes, she gave me a (very un-scary) package of active dry yeast, and I came across this amazing recipe for making bread in a dutch oven. The only downside is the 12-18 hour rise time, but if you mix up the ingredients in the evening and bake the bread the following afternoon, it feel like to time at all. 

All credit for this recipe goes to Frugal Living NW, which has amazing step-by-step instructions and photos that you should check out NOW.
 
Basic No-Knead Bread


Ingredients:

6 cups bread (recommended) or all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface


1/2 t. instant or active-dry yeast


2 1/2 t. salt


2 2/3 c. cool water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated; the dough should be wet and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest 12-18 hours on the counter at room temperature. When surface of the risen dough has darkened slightly, smells yeasty, and is dotted with bubbles, it is ready.

                  

2. Lightly flour your hands and a work surface. Place dough on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice and, using floured fingers, tuck the dough underneath to form a rough ball.

                   

3. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with enough flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran to prevent the dough from sticking to the towel as it rises; place dough seam side down on the towel and dust with more flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran. Cover with the edges or a second cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

                   

4. After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 425-450 degrees. Place a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot, such as a cast-iron Dutch oven, in the oven as it heats. When the dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove top towel from dough and slide your hand under the bottom towel; flip the dough over into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

                   

5. Cover and bake for 40-50 minutes. Uncover and continue baking about 5-10 more minutes, until a deep chestnut brown. The internal temp of the bread should be around 200 degrees. You can check this with a meat thermometer, if desired. Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing (wait at least 1 hour or bread will be gummy in texture).

 Sticky and not pretty at this stage, but fortunately that does not matter - the end result will look great!

 Makes quite a large load of bread - perfect for dunking in soup or making sandwiches...we did both!