Oh Chocolate Decadence!  Is there a more perfect food marriage than chocolate and peanut butter?

Mom made molten chocolate cake in September when I was home and since she showed me the recipe, I’ve probably made it half a dozen times…yes, in four short months!  I’ve never tried to make it with peanut butter, but I was craving something chocolatey with peanut butter, so tonight I experimented!  Here’s the recipe, adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients:

• 4 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 3 Tablespoons peanut butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray 4 custard cups liberally with cooking spray; place on cookie sheet.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, stir until butter and chocolate are melted and well mixed.

Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour.

Mix peanut butter and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar together. Melt slightly in the microwave, 20 seconds at 50%.

Divide half of chocolate batter between custard cups.  Dallop peanut butter mixture in each cup. Cover with remaining batter.

Bake 12-13 minutes until sides are firm, top is cracked, and center is soft (still jiggly). Let stand 1 minute.

Carefully invert onto plates, top with powdered sugar or whipped cream.

Made this tonight in my new wok.  Recipe from Steamy Kitchen.

1 lb (460 g) top sirloin or flank steak, sliced into 1/8-in (3-mm)-thin strips

For the marinade
1½ teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon cooking oil

For the Stir-fry Sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons black vinegar

For the Broccoli
1½ lb (700 g) broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Marinate the beef in soy sauce, cornstarch and the ½ teaspoon of oil for 10 minutes at room temperature.

In a small bowl, mix together the stir-fry sauce ingredients (I added 1 teaspoon of chile garlic sauce for some kick!).

In a wok or large frying pan, add 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water and salt and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. Broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.

Discard the water in the pan and dry the pan well. Heat the pan over high heat and when hot, add the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry for 15 to 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry 30 seconds. Flip the strips and fry the other side.

Pour in the stir-fry sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat a back of a spoon, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat well.

This came from Eatingwell.com.  Served it with rice.

• 1 pound fresh or frozen okra, stem ends trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 10 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 plum tomatoes, diced, or 1 cup drained canned diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon harissa, (see Ingredient Note) or hot sauce, or to taste

Directions:

1. Place a large bowl of ice water next to the stove. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add okra and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the okra with a slotted spoon to the ice water. Drain.
2. Tie cilantro sprigs together with kitchen string.
3. Heat oil in a tagine dish set over a heat diffuser or a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper. Cook, stirring, until soft, 2 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
4. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, 3 to 6 minutes. Mix in tomatoes, broth, cumin, the okra, cilantro sprigs and half the bell pepper. Reduce heat to medium; partially cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the okra is soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in chickpeas and salt; cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; discard the cilantro sprigs. Stir in harissa (or hot sauce). Serve sprinkled with the remaining bell pepper and cilantro leaves, if desired.

I found this recipe on Eating Well’s website, but couldn’t find Watercress and wanted to adapt the recipe a bit.  Here it is!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Russet potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 2 ounces pancetta, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 bunch of spinach (4-5 cups), cleaned and stems removed
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the Gnocchi:  Prick potatoes all over with a fork.  Bake the potatoes in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until they are fork tender.  Remove from oven and cool slightly.  Alternatively, cook potatoes in microwave until fork tender. Peel the potatoes. Grate potatoes on a box grater or push through a food mill.  DO NOT MASH (it breaks down the structure and releases the water from the potatoes, so the gnocchi do not turn out right).

Gently combine the potatoes with the lightly beaten egg and salt.  Gradually begin to add the flour, a quarter cup at a time, until the dough is not sticky.  Avoid over-mixing, again this will ruin the consistency of the gnocchi and they could come out chewy.  Put dough on lightly floured surface and need 3 to 4 times.  Divide dough into six parts, rolling each part into a rope.  Cut rope into desired gnocchi size (usually about 1/2-3/4 inch thickness).  Set aside.  You can add ridges to the gnocchi if you want, but I never do.

For the sauce:  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add salt to the boiling water.  Cook pancetta in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until golden brown. Add tomatoes, sugar and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes are almost completely broken down, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and salt. Remove from the heat.

Cook gnocchi in the boiling water until they float, 3 to 5 minutes. Place spinach in a colander and drain the gnocchi over the spinach.  This will wilt the spinach just enough for the pasta. Add the gnocchi and spinach to the sauce in the pan; toss to combine. Top with Parmesan.

Here’s a good vegetarian meal that I recently made.  If I did it again, I would make half the recipe (it makes a lot).  We really enjoyed it!  Thank you, Tyler Florence!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 acorn squash, halved and roasted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup lentils, rinsed and cleaned
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley and mint, for garnish

Directions:

Mmmm…fish. Okay, so not my favorite food. However, I went to a fish market where I could literally see the ocean from their back window (though it was night when I was there, so not really). This was a fantastic fish recipe! And of course, I’m sure the fresh fish did not hurt at all (pretty sure it was caught the same day I bought it…yesterday!). Mmmm…

(recipe courtesy EatingWell.com)
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 ounces Spanish chorizo or turkey kielbasa, diced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup dry white wine, divided
1 15-ounce can great northern beans, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 1/4 pounds white fish, cut into 4 pieces
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, chorizo (or kielbasa) and thyme and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are broken down and the wine is almost evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in beans and 1/4 teaspoon salt and remove from the heat.
Sprinkle fish with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; place in the prepared baking dish. Top each piece of fish with equal amounts of the tomato mixture (about 1/2 cup per fillet). Pour the remaining 1/4 cup wine into the pan and cover the pan with foil. Bake until the fish is just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the fish with the sauce spooned over the top.

I made this as an appetizer for Bunco, but I wanted to make it my own.  Lots of recipes called for Puff Pastry dough, and if they called for tart dough, they didn’t have apples or something.  So, I read a bunch of recipes and came up with this one.  It is tasty!

For the dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 7 Tbs. ice water

For the topping:

• 1 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 TBSP Butter
• 2 small onions
• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 1 TBSP Balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 egg yolk

Will and I have been trying some recipes from EatingWell.com in an effort to eat healthier.  Actually, it all started because we are trying to eat vegetarian twice a week since we are surrounded by so many amazing fruits and veggies.  Anyway, this recipe was great and I love using the Crock Pot.  I know there are many great kitchen tools out there, but Crock Pot is in the top five for me (with my Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer, food mill, and my knives!).  Here’s the recipe, courtesy of Eating Well.  I served it with spaetzle.

My first Sunny Anderson recipe, and it was a good’un!!!   We found the ponzu sauce at an Asian market.  You could sub soy sauce, with a little lemon or orange juice if you have it, and it would probably be pretty similar.  I followed this recipe to a T, except I used less oil.  These are GOOOOOOD.

Shrimp Potstickers

Ingredients

Potstickers:

• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 egg
• 40 round wonton or gyoza wrappers
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil

Dipping sauce:

• 1/3 cup ponzu
• 1 scallion, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili sauce (recommended: Sriracha)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

This recipe is from a cookbook Jean gave me from the Eastside Cafe in Austin.

2 T. olive oil
1 C. onions, diced
3/4 C. celery, diced
1/2 C. green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/2 T. garlic, minced
8 C. chicken stock
3 C. cooked, diced chicken
2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. cilantro, minced
1 T. fresh basil, minced
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
fried tortilla chips
1/2 C. jack cheese, grated

Heat olive oiil in a large soup pot over low heat. Saute onions, celery, bell peppers, and garlic for 15 minutes. Add stock, chicken, tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, basil, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Garnish with fried tortilla strips and cheese. Yield: 12 cups