April 2013 - Willow Bird Baking

Month: April 2013

How to Make Perfect, Easy-to-Peel Boiled Eggs

This is a quick phototutorial of the Barefoot Contessa method for making quick, simple boiled eggs. They come out easy to peel with fluffy, bright yellow yolks. I eat boiled eggs all the time and loved her little tricks. I hope you do, too!

Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Place eggs in a saucepan of cold water on the stove. The water should just cover the eggs.

Step 2: Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil.

Step 3: When the water boils, immediately cover the pan and turn off the heat (leaving the pan where it is). Let the pan sit for 5 minutes.

Step 4: Transfer the eggs to a separate bowl to cool for 2 minutes. Run cold water over the eggs for a few seconds after they’ve cooled and then drain it off.

Step 5: Crack each egg on one side and then on the opposite side.

Step 6: Gently roll the egg back and forth to create a “web” of broken shell. This is going to allow you to use the membrane just under the shell to “lift” off the broken shell in large patches, making peeling easy as pie!

Step 7: Peel the egg.

Step 8: Salt, pepper, eat!

One year ago: Gooey Chocolate Skillet Cake Ice Cream Sundae
Two years ago: Chocolate Birds’ Nest Cupcake Toppers
Three years ago: Banana Coconut Cream Cakes

5 from 1 reviews

How to Make Perfect, Easy-to-Peel Boiled Eggs

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

Enjoy some fluffy, yellow boiled eggs that are quick to make and easy to peel!

Author: Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

eggs (I used about 4 in a small saucepan)
salt and pepper

Instructions

Place eggs in a saucepan on a stove, with cold water enough to cover them. Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. As soon as it boils, cover the pan and turn off the stove (leaving the pan where it is). Let the pan sit for 5 minutes before pouring off the hot water and transferring the eggs to a separate bowl to cool for 2 minutes. Run cold water over the eggs for a few seconds after they’ve cooled a bit and then drain it off. To peel, crack the egg on one side and then on the opposite side. Gently roll it back and forth to create a “web” of broken shell. Now you should be able to peel as easy as pie! The thin membrane just inside the shell will act like a little net, helping you peel away the shell easily. Salt and pepper and eat — or use in a recipe!

April 29, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 32 Comments

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Rustic Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

I had a second cookie for dessert tonight. I figured I deserved it after spending the better part of my week with some very energetic (albeit lovely) 7th graders. We just completed our annual overnight field trip with Inside Out in the mountains of North Carolina.

The trip in numbers:

3 days.

28 seventh graders.

4 hours in the bus round trip.

0 cell phones, video games, iPods, televisions, computers for the students.

over 55 hours spent all together, bonding as a class.

3 teachers, 3 camp counselors.

1 giant rock face to climb.

27 kids who climbed at least partway up.

about 27 kids who, upon turning around on the rock, said, “WHOA” at the view.

1 awesome rock climbing instructor who, apart from coaching each student, recited poetry for us.

1 time when I was forced to use a portable bathroom which, thank God, turned out to be one of the only clean and pleasant-smelling portable bathrooms in the universe. I wish I knew the company who cleaned it so I could write them a thank you letter. I’m not kidding.

4 gorgeous waterfalls, one of which thundered just above us as we stood on the rocks below and watched the rainbow in its spray.

1 opportunity to serve by cleaning up at the Carl Sandburg Home.

5 baby goats cuddled profusely at the dairy farm.

1 mama goat who, as it turns out, bites.

4 snakes seen in one day alone (today). Thankfully, they were seen from afar.

1 sluice in the same mountain stream where Katniss Everdeen swam.

hundreds of trees.

hundreds of bugs.

1 tsunami of bug spray in the girls’ cabin each morning.

about a dozen times when a student (or teacher) accidentally knocked over a chair in the dining hall.

7 meals eaten at camp, including 2 picnic lunches.

1 liter of food waste or less after the first meal.

0 liters of food waste at the last meal.

1 soaked camp counselor who fulfilled his agreement to jump in the lake if the kids had no food waste.

innumerable games and team challenges.

many kids who impressed me by communicating well, leading, or following wisely in said challenges.

3 student-created skits, including one with a doughnut-related crime and another with a pet chicken.

2 campfires.

1 round of awesome s’mores.

1 silly photo with my entire girls’ cabin in Princess Leia buns.

14 girls absolutely quiet by 10:30 each night. No word about the boys’ cabin, but I have faith in them (and their chaperone)!

2 cramped bathrooms behind one shower curtains that wasn’t quite wide enough to cover both.

14 girls making it “so public” when they were in one stall or the other so as to prevent ANY confusion.

0 shower conflicts. Did I mention 14 girls? My ladies were low-maintenance. Except for the mascara — but I promised I wouldn’t say a critical word about it, since I brought my own tube, too.

5+ morning dippers each day — if you aren’t sure what the “morning dip” is, think freezing water first thing in the morning.

1 very dramatic story by a campfire.

1 crawfish, 2 salamanders, 1 minnow, and 1 tiny bass caught for observation and released.

3 coke zeros smuggled into the cabin by a certain teacher who then found it difficult to scold the student who had smuggled in the chocolate truffles. And the one with the cheerios. And the one with the doughnuts. We’re a hungry bunch.

29 letters written to our future selves, which will be mailed to us next year!

1.5 dozen doughnuts consumed over 2 days.

1 very tired, proud teacher.

And for you? 2 cute pizza mushrooms with a ton of flavor, minus the carb count. Enjoy — while I take a nap!

What was your favorite school field trip? Answer here or join our Facebook discussion.

One year ago: Gooey Chocolate Skillet Cake Ice Cream Sundae
Two years ago: Chocolate Birds’ Nest Cupcake Toppers
Three years ago: Banana Coconut Cream Cakes

Rustic Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 2 servings

I wanted an umami-heavy pizza here, so along with the roasted mushroom “crust,” I added an anchovy filet. I also found that a few black olives and a smashed clove of roasted garlic did not go unappreciated. You should feel free to add whatever pizza toppings you enjoy — in fact, you’ll notice that I tucked a few leftover crumbles of Italian sausage into the mushroom cap in the foreground above, though those weren’t in the original recipe. The sky’s the limit!

Ingredients:
2 large portobello mushroom caps
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and few grinds pepper, divided
freshly grated Mozzarella cheese, to taste
4-6 slices pepperoni
a handful of sliced black olives*
2 cloves roasted garlic**, smashed
1 anchovy filet, chopped lightly with a fork
6 tablespoons pizza sauce of your choice***
crumbles of cooked Italian sausage (optional)
*I used some pitted black Cerignola olives marinated in olive oil and red chili flakes from my specialty grocer, but you can use any you like.
**I bought mine from the specialty grocer, but you can roast a head yourself using this guide — you won’t believe the sweet, mild flavor. You can use raw, but use less, because raw garlic is much hotter, spicier, and obnoxious. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
***I just used a jarred brand I love.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Clean the mushroom caps by brushing gently with a wet brush. Remove the stems from mushrooms and gently remove gills with a spoon. Brush each mushroom cap with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and a grind of pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the mushroom) or until they are nicely roasted but still holding their general shape.

Let the mushrooms cool until they can be handled. Drain any excess moisture from the caps and spoon a few tablespoons of pizza sauce into each one. Top with sliced olives, anchovy pieces, pepperoni, Italian sausage (if you’re using it), the smashed roasted garlic, a generous sprinkle of Mozzarella cheese, and another small grind of pepper. Place the mushrooms back into the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.

April 27, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 18 Comments

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Lasagna Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

If you’re feeling bad, gather a roomful of 7th graders and pass out the Fruit Roll-Ups that have press-on tongue tattoos. In case you ever wondered: 7th graders are totally not too old for a good tongue tattoo.

These kids are so sweet and fun. I hope they’re just as sweet when they’re protected by a computer screen, shrouded in anonymity.

This comment stopped me in my tracks today on an online entertainment website: “Her voice sounds like screaming — it’s so annoying! I’ve never liked her! And she still looks like that even while working out twice a day?”

I had been scrolling through the comments of an article about a singer who just two years ago had tried to take her own life. She was now feeling happy, healthy, and back on track. In the article, the singer lit up about her kids, pilates, and other things that replenished her joie de vivre. It was a celebration. I was enjoying the sweet well wishes from her fans.

And then, like a punch to the gut: screaming . . . annoying . . . never liked her . . .

Listen, I don’t care what opinions you hold (unless they’re truly unacceptable: racism, sexism, a penchant for arson. You know.) You can like what singers you like. Detest each and every note of the singers you don’t like. That’s your business.

But stop being mean on the internet. No, really. STOP BEING MEAN ON THE INTERNET.

Remind yourself to THINK: Ask yourself, “Is it True, is it Helpful, does it Inspire, is it Necessary, is it Kind?” Sometimes we do have to say the hard stuff to help our friends, to stand up for what’s right. But that hateful comment that picked at everything from the singer’s voice to her weight was far from necessary. It was at best disrespectful and at worst, possibly destructive.

I know you’ll say: “Just don’t ever read the comments!” That’s my rule, too, but I break it far too often and always regret it. In fact, I can’t wait until online media outlets realize they shouldn’t include comment sections at all — that format inspires so much nastiness. Maybe comment sections provide an outlet for all the hateful, evil feelings we keep under wraps during our polite daily lives. The problem is that we don’t need to feed that part of ourselves, and doing so by venting on the internet is not without consequences.

Kim Kardashian might never see you talking about how you think that dress looks on her, but what do you gain by snarking about it?

And more importantly, what do you lose? What do the people that see your comment lose? Do they lose heart about what people think and won’t say to their face? Do they lose hope that people are really kind and good at heart? Do they lose confidence as they wonder what a stranger would say about how their own outfit looks today?

I always say that you can send positivity or negativity out into the world. Either way, you’re altering the balance. Maybe just the slightest bit — the weight of one snide remark in a comment section — but it counts. I know I’m not perfect, but I try. And I think it’s time for all of us to try a little harder. Will you?

* * *

And now a little online positivity for us all: stuffed mushrooms! I love the fluffy ricotta and rich tomato sauce layered into traditional lasagna, but don’t always need the carb count from the noodles. These stuffed mushrooms are filling, hearty, and delicious. Double the recipe for a quick and easy dinner.

What’s your “policy” for yourself about how you behave and chat online?

One year ago: Brownie-Bottom Coconut Chocolate Cream Cake
Two years ago: Banana Coconut Cream Easter Cupcakes
Three years ago: Coconut Cream Tart

Lasagna Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 2 servings

Lasagna, stuffed into mushrooms. Simply fantastic.

Ingredients:
2 large portobello mushroom caps
3 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 link hot Italian sausage
6 tablespoons tomato pasta sauce*
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 egg (lightly beat it, then discard half)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
2 cloves roasted garlic**, smashed
freshly grated mozzarella and pecorino romano cheese, to taste
**I bought mine from the specialty grocer, but you can roast a head yourself using this guide — you won’t believe the sweet, mild flavor. You can use raw, but use less, because raw garlic is much hotter, spicier, and obnoxious. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
*I just used a jarred brand I love.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Clean the mushroom caps by brushing gently with a wet brush. Remove the stems from mushrooms and gently remove gills with a spoon. Brush each mushroom with a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and a grind of pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the mushroom) or until they are nicely roasted but still holding their general shape.

While the mushrooms roast, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet. Remove the casing of the Italian sausage with a sharp knife and cook the crumbles until browned. Place the sausage on a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Let the mushrooms cool until they can be handled. Drain any excess moisture from the caps. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, half a lightly beaten egg, basil, rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, and a grind or two of pepper. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of pasta sauce into each mushroom cap and top with a smashed garlic clove and a generous heap of the ricotta mixture. Press half of the Italian sausage into the ricotta mixture on each mushroom and top with another tablespoon or two of pasta sauce, a generous sprinkle of Mozzarella cheese, and another small grind of pepper. Place the mushrooms back into the oven until the ricotta mixture is set and the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

April 22, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 28 Comments

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Samoa Monkey Bread with Ganache Dipping Sauce

I need the Care Bear Stare, no joke. The past couple of weeks have been rough, and I know the trouble I face is nothing compared to what others are going through around the world. I feel a little jaded.

I don’t have any fancy belly power (unless you count dessert-making), but I can compile any bits of joy into a salve of sorts: my list of things that make me hopeful. I hope it’s as helpful to you as it is to me.

Things That Make Me Hopeful

1. I ran out of toothpaste and toilet paper this week but miraculously found that I had more of both in the cabinet. This never happens.

2. One of my students has decided her passion is kindness, and she is currently trying to complete 101 Random Acts of Kindness. She’s blogging about it on her adorable blog.

3. Beautiful dishes. Rosanna sent me (for free) the gorgeous pink cake pedestal you see here to review, and now I kind of want to buy out the whole store. I can’t get enough of it. In fact, I don’t actually put pretty dishes like this away — I use them to decorate my living space.

4. I locked myself out of my bedroom and somehow managed to pick the lock with a bobby pin. Profuse self-congratulating (and God-thanking, because I’m not totally delusional) ensued. Please call me MacGyver.

5. I was gifted two beautiful bouquets of flowers when I moved into my new apartment. They’ve long since died and dried out, but they’re still too gorgeous to dispose of. I decided one of them should make an appearance in the background of these photos.

6. My friend Jessie, a current senior at my alma mater, Davidson College, writes a beautiful blog, Eating Aarti. She’s about to move to Seattle and work at a crumpet shop, and I can’t really explain how happy that sounds to me.

7. Humans of New York.

8. Spring is here and to enjoy it, I walk to the gym each evening instead of driving. I’m going to buy a couple of plastic chairs and some ferns for my balcony and create a little outdoor workspace. I’ve been excited about doing this all winter, and now I finally can!

9. One of my students has been working very hard on an absolutely stunning short story. When he finished, I gave him a series of revision challenges, but he came up to me with a very serious look on his face. He said, “Ms. Ruble, I really don’t want to change my story. I really want it the way that I have it.” I read him a stirring passage from a novel and asked if he wouldn’t like to use a similar extended metaphor in his work and he said, “Maybe. I just feel like it will mess it up to change it.”

His resistance was clearly not due to laziness or a desire to be finished; he just loved his story and felt strongly about how he had arranged things. I had him make a copy so he could experiment on one without risking his perfect draft. And then I sat down and thought about how priceless it was that he was proud of his work.

10. Brave New Voices is a collection of organizations that support young poets. I’ve been clicking around on YouTube watching teams of these kids who are so passionate about being heard and so worth hearing. I cry every time I see this one.

11. Girl Scout cookies. Actually, I’m just going to say it. You’re going to act like I punched a kitten, but I’m going to say it anyway. I don’t really love Girl Scout cookies. Couldn’t the Girl Scouts sell cake? Or pizza or pad thai or something? But Girl Scout cookies nevertheless give me hope, because nothing can unite a group of people like pulling out 8 or so of those brightly colored boxes. Suddenly everyone’s all Do-si-doing and Samoaing in harmony.

This Samoa Monkey Bread will have a similar effect, but with a little more panache, perhaps. It’s a riff on regular monkey bread — which is already the bee’s knees — except that each nugget is stuffed with melty chocolate and the whole thing is covered in coconut with a ganache drizzle. I added an extra bowl of ganache for dipping and it did not go unappreciated. I’m not going to lie: it’s tedious tucking chocolate into each little dough ball, but it’s also beyond worth it. This is one of those “must make” recipes. And I hope it makes your “Things That Give Me Hope” list!

One year ago: Pure Insanity: Pumpkin Oatmeal Cake Ice Cream Sundae
Two years ago: Rich Ice Cream and Coffee Cheesecake
Three years ago: Chocolate Tart with Pretzels

Samoa Monkey Bread with Ganache Dipping Sauce

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking, heavily adapted from Pillsbury
Yield: 12 servings

Samoa Girl Scout cookies are good. Monkey Bread is good. Samoa Monkey Bread is INSANE. You have to make this one! It’s a little fiddly filling each dough ball with chocolate, but so worth it.

Ingredients:
4 (7.5-ounce) tubes of refrigerated biscuits
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon coconut extract
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 bag of Hershey’s Baking Melts* for stuffing
1 cup chocolate chips (I prefer Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips for this ganache)
1/2 cup heavy cream
*Karly turned me on to these and they’re perfect for this application, but you can use chocolate chips or even chocolate kisses if you need to.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 12-cup tube or bundt pan. Toss sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and 1/2 cup coconut in a gallon-size plastic zip bag to mix. Cut each refrigerator biscuit in half and place a baking melt on it. Pinch the dough around the baking melt to close completely. Put the dough balls into the prepared bag and toss gently to coat. Then place the coated dough balls into the greased tube pan. Once you get a full layer of dough balls in the pan, sprinkle on about 1/2 cup of shredded coconut flakes. Keep layering dough balls and coconut until the dough balls are all in the pan. Sprinkle a little more coconut over the top.

Mix melted butter, coconut extract, and brown sugar carefully and pour over the dough balls. Bake for about 45 minutes or until well browned (so the middle won’t be doughy). Remove the pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before (carefully — the hot butter might splash) inverting it onto a plate.

While it cools slightly, put the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for about 1 minute — long enough to make it hot, but not enough for it to boil. Pour it over the chocolate chips and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then whisk in small circles to form ganache. Drizzle a little over the top of your monkey bread before pouring the rest into a bowl. Serve the ganache with the warm monkey bread for dipping.

April 15, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 22 Comments

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The Best of Willow Bird Baking: Chocolate and Coconut Recipes

I’ve been on a coconut kick again lately, in case you didn’t see that huge hunk o’ cake down there. Today I got a hankering to compile all the Willow Bird Baking coconut recipes and then realized I wanted to do the same for chocolate recipes. And for recipes with both coconut and chocolate. So why not compile all the goodness together in one big roundup post? If you love coconut or chocolate or both together, this post is dedicated to you! And this is the perfect time to unveil a new little Willow Bird feature: you can now hover over any photo to pin that photo to Pinterest. Happy baking — and pinning!

April 5, 2013 by Julie Ruble | 10 Comments

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Month: April 2013

CHOCOLATE RECIPES

COCONUT RECIPES

CHOCOLATE AND COCONUT RECIPES

**CHOCOLATE AND COCONUT RECIPES**