Greek Tortellini Salad

This pasta salad and I are now BFFs (best friends forever). We just got along swimmingly! I loved everything about it! The dressing just perfectly complemented all the ingredients and there was such a wonderful tang when you bit into a tortellini! I used three cheese tortellini, but I'm sure any will do. It would no doubt be extra fun to make your own tortellini for this too! I made this as a side dish for 3 people and we had more than enough left over for my lunch the next day. I'm making plans as we speak to make and devour more of this salad, thats how good it is!

Greek Tortellini Salad
Adapted from All Recipes

1 9-oz package tortellini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh parsely
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup slivered red onion

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add tortellini, and cook for 7 minutes or until al dente; drain.

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, parsley, oregano, and salt. Place the cooked tortellini in the bowl, and toss to coat. Cover, and chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place eggs in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and allow eggs to sit in the hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, cool, peel, and quarter.

Gently mix the spinach, feta cheese, and onion into the bowl with the pasta. Arrange the quartered eggs around the salad to serve.

S'mores Whoopie Pies

I read an article awhile back (I can't even remember where it was from) that said whoopie pies are going to be the new cupcake. The argument is that everything people love about cupcakes (its portability and blend of cake and frosting to name a few), holds true for whoopie pies as well! And I LOVE me a good whoopie pie!

These are much more elegant than your average frosting sandwhiched between two cakey-cookies whoopie pie. It is made with a specialty pan that my dorky self picked up at Williams Sonoma. The "cookies" are made with a chocolate cake recipe, which would make it very difficult to do this without the specialty pan, although I'm sure you could use any cookie recipe and get great results!



I got to play around with our kitchen torch to brown the marshmallow filling, which always makes for a fun time in the kitchen. And when it is put together, the cake is topped with chocolate ganache and crumbled graham crackers.

This is definitely a whoopie pie that you will need a plate to eat, but you will certainly not be sorry! YUM!



S'mores Whoopie Pies
From My Baking Addiction

1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

4 egg whites
1 cup of sugar
¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ounces of semisweet chocolate
½ cup heavy cream

graham cracker crumbs for garnish

For the cake:

Heat oven to 320 F. Spray your whoopee pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour 1 ½ tablespoons of batter into each well of the whoopie pie pan.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan then invert the pan and allow the whoopies to cool completely on wire racks.

Wash and dry the pan and re-spray with non-stick cooking spray and repeat with the remaining batter. You will end up with 36 whoopie cakes that once sandwiched will yield 18 whoopie pies.

Once your whoopies are cool, prepare the marshmallow frosting.

For the frosting:

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.

For the topping:

Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and allow to sit for a few minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Assembly:

Pipe filling on the flat sides of half the cakes (18 of them).

Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast the marshmallow frosting. Top each with one of the remaining cakes; flat side down.

Place a spoonful of ganache on top of each whoopee pie and spread in a circular pattern; garnish with graham cracker crumbs and allow the ganache to set up.

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

There's nothing like making a huge batch of pasta to have for lunches all week long. And this Orzo Salad did just the trick. In fact, I had more than was enough for a weeks worth of lunches! I love most foods Greek/Mediterranean so I knew I would like this one which has a great addition of vegetables. I'd never had orzo before, but what a unique little pasta! This would really be good with any kind of pasta and I may try penne next time. This recipe would be great for a picnic or another potluck-type gathering.

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen, a great resource for new recipes!

Mediterranean Orzo Salad
Tasty Kitchen

16 ounces, weight Orzo Pasta

1 whole Red Pepper, Chopped

1 whole Medium Tomato Chopped

½ cups Kalamata Olives, Chopped

1 cup Fresh Spinach, Finely Chopped

½ cups Fresh Basil, Finely Chopped

½ cups Feta Crumbles

1 dash Salt

1 dash Pepper

½ cups Olive Oil

½ cups Balsamic Vinegar

Cook orzo according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain. In a large bowl, toss pasta with chopped bell pepper, tomato, olives, spinach, basil and feta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil and vinegar. Pour over pasta vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Chill before serving.

Double Cookie Dough Ice Cream

So the other day I got a craving for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. As any normal person would in a pinch, I picked some up from the grocery store. I take it home and upon first bite, I recoil! Hmmm...it seems that my constant production of homemade ice cream has made me sour at the store-bought versions.

Not to worry, I was able to whip up some Cookie Dough Ice Cream and have even managed to polish it off, while the store-bought stuff still sits in our freezer.

This isn't any Cookie Dough Ice Cream, either. Its DOUBLE Cookie Dough! And really, I'm not sure you can get much better. This ranks right up there with Cake Batter Ice Cream. Meaning, I have to exercise extra self control not to each the entire container at once (this seems to be a constant problem with me...hmmm)! I used 2% milk and half and half to make it slightly healthier. But please, use the good stuff if you have more self-control than I!

Double Cookie Dough Ice Cream
From Annie's Eats

For the cookie dough:
5 tbsp. salted butter, melted (or unsalted butter plus ¼ tsp. salt)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup flour
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup chocolate chips (I used mini chips)

For the ice cream:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cups half and half
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
4 large egg yolks
Pinch of coarse salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ cups 2%milk
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

To make the cookie dough, stir together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth.  Mix in the flour, then the vanilla and chocolate chips.  Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

To make the ice cream, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Continue heating, stirring often, until the butter is a deep golden brown color, being careful not to burn it.  Whisk in the half and half and heat until simmering.  Meanwhile in a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and the egg yolks until pale and fluffy.  Once the cream mixture is warm, add a small amount to the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly.  Slowly whisk in the rest of the cream.  Mix in the salt.  Return the egg-cream mixture to the saucepan and heat until just slightly thickened, and the temperature reads 170-175˚ F on an instant-read thermometer.  Immediately remove the mixture from the heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.  Stir in the vanilla extract and the 2% milk.  Cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Once the mixture is chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Chop the disk of cookie dough into small chunks.  As soon as the mixture is done churning, transfer to a bowl or airtight container and stir in the chocolate chips and the chunks of cookie dough.  Store in the freezer until firm.

Cupcake Pebble Treats

So I've got an issue with sugary cereals. Actually, the issue is all mine because if I buy sugary cereal I just end up eating all of it straight out of the box in one sitting.

That's why, when I discovered Cupcake Pebbles at the grocery store, I knew I would have to make something with them. And what's better on a hot day than giving the oven a rest and making a form of Rice Krispies Treats?

These were just simply awesome. The Cupcake Pebbles are just as delicious as the Cocoa Pebbles and make a wonderful marshmallow treat!



Cupcake Pebbles Treats

1/4 cup butter
1 10.5-oz. package marshmallows
1 11-oz. package Cupcake Pebbles Cereal

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add marshmallows and stir until they are melted. Remove from heat and add cereal.

Press mixture into a 9 by 9 inch pan coated with cooking spray. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.