Happy Spoons.

Happy Spoon likes to celebrate Presidents’ Day by making Corn Dodgers.

Recipe (featured on GroupRecipes.com):

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• butter, for serving
• honey, for serving

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• In a small saucepan, bring cornmeal, butter, salt, sugar, and milk to a boil, stirring well.
• Cover with a lid, turn off heat, and let sit for 5 min.
• Mix in baking powder thoroughly.
• On a greased or non-stick baking sheet, scoop the dough into Tablespoon sized balls.
• Bake in the oven for 15 min, until golden brown around the edges.
• Cut in half and serve hot with butter and honey…yum!

Fun Fact: Corn dodgers are one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite foods…feeling presidential yet?

Happy Spoon likes to make Moroccan Baked Salmon.

Recipe (adapted from Zov: Recipes and Memories from the Heart):

• 2 salmon fillets (size as pictured)
• Moroccan spice (can be purchased, but I made my own by mixing the spices below and keeping the extra stored in a spice jar)
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use olive oil mayo)

Moroccan Spice (recipe featured on Food.com)

• 5 tsp ground nutmeg
• 5 tsp ground cumin
• 5 tsp ground coriander
• 2.5 tsp allspice
• 2.5 tsp ground ginger
• 1.25 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1.25 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

• Turn the broiler onto high
• Take the salmon fillets and rub the Moroccan spice into the exposed surfaces to coat entirely.  Let sit for 30 min.
• Meanwhile, mix the onion and mayo in a small bowl; set aside.
• Place the fillets on a foil-covered baking sheet, skin side down
• Broil the salmon for 5-6 min, then remove.  Scoop the mayo/onion mixture into a thick layer on top of each salmon fillet.
• Return to the broiler for 2 min more.
• Remove from the broiler, and serve hot!

Fun Facts: Salmon goes great as an entree to follow up an appetizer of tasty Crab Cakes.  Also, mayo/onion sauce might sound gross, but it’s actually delicious!

Happy Spoon likes to make Crab Cakes with Spicy Remoulade Sauce.*

Recipe:

• 2 crab cakes (I bought two fresh crab cakes from a seafood market)
• olive oil, for pan frying

Sauce (confession: I didn’t actually measure anything, I just added stuff.  These measurements are approximate and can be adjusted to personal taste.)

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use olive oil mayo…healthier!)
• 1 Tbsp freeze-dried chives (found by the herbs and spices)
• 2 tsp dried parsley flakes
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
• Pan fry the crab cakes for 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown
• Remove from oil and place on paper towels
• For the sauce, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly
• Serve crab cakes hot with a dollop of sauce on top; remaining sauce can be served on the side.

Fun Fact: The fresh, uncooked crab cakes from the market are 100 million times more tasty than frozen crab cakes in the freezer.  I served them as an appetizer with my Moroccan Baked Salmon.

*Happy Spoons original recipe!

Happy Spoons Special Retro Edition!

Happy Spoon likes to make Beer-Battered Corn Hot Dogs.

This post requires a little back story:  Over Christmas, my mom was cleaning out her cupboard and found this “Quick Baker & Hot Dog Maker” made by Exeter.  I tried to find something about it on Google, but was not very successful save for an advertisement in a newspaper clipping from 1978.

Apparently this device played a large part in my childhood dining experiences.  “Don’t you remember those cheese corn dogs I used to make?” my mom asked, with a sparkle in her eye beaming full of nostalgia.  Sadly, I did not.  However, the retro vibe had me intrigued, so I took it home to experiment.

It doesn’t exactly make corn dogs, but what it does is bake the hot dog bun around the hot dog of your choice while simultaneously cooking the hot dog.  There is a little recipe book that came with the appliance, so I made beer-battered corn bread hot dogs, featured here.  I assume you could mimic this recipe using a muffin pan or something.  Perhaps you could make a weird, bundt cake-shaped corn bread filled with hot dogs? Go crazy, my friends.

Recipe (enough batter for ~6 hot dogs):

• Hot dogs (I use Hebrew National all-beef dogs…they were a little too long for the baker so they underwent a “procedure” to make them shorter)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup corn meal
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup beer (I used a pale ale)
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• condiments and such that you would eat with a corn dog or hot dog

Directions:

• Preheat the hot dog maker (or oven, maybe 350 degrees?)
• In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, mixing thoroughly.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs, beer, and oil until combined.
• Add the flour mixture into the liquid mixture; beat with a hand mixer for ~30 s or until just smooth.
• For the hot dog maker: scoop ~1/2 cup of batter into each slot.  Stick a hot dog in there (pictured), then cover with a little bit more batter.  Close the baker and bake for 7 minutes.
• For the oven: Depending on what pan you have decided upon (mini loaf pans may work best to recreate the true hot dog baker design), you generally just want to cover the hot dogs with batter and then bake until the batter is baked through (slightly golden brown).  Insert a toothpick into the thickest part of the batter and it will come out clean when done.  In an oven, this will probably take longer than 7 min…you’ll just have to experiment.
• Serve hot!  I put ketchup and mustard on mine, others have put guacamole, cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce.  Go crazy!

Fun Fact: Why does this thing exist?

Happy Spoon likes to make French Puff Ring.

Recipe (featured in French: The Secrets of Classic Cooking Made Easy):

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup water
• 6 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
• 3 eggs
• Optional: cheese (in the book they use 3 oz Gruyere cheese, cut into cubes…I omitted it to make it dairy-free)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and set aside a lightly greased baking sheet (I use PAM baking spray on a pizza pan)
• In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg
• In a medium saucepan, bring the water and butter to a boil
• Remove from the heat and add the dry ingredients all at once, beating with a wooden spoon for about 1 min or until the mixture is well blended and pulling away from the sides of the pan
• Put the saucepan back over low heat and cook for 2 min with constant beating, then remove from heat
• Beat the eggs together in a small bowl, then beat 1 Tbsp of the egg mixture at a time into the mixture.  Beat thoroughly after each addition until the dough is smooth, shiny, and well mixed…continue until all the egg has been incorporated.
• If you were blessed with lactose tolerance, add your cheese now.
• Make little adjoining mounds of dough in a cute, circular shape on your baking sheet.  It should resemble something like the picture.  Alternatively, you can make any shape you want with little mounds.  Creativity is always welcome.
• Bake for 25-30 min, until well browned.  Cool slightly on a wire rack and then serve warm!

Fun Fact: I served my French Puff Ring as a accompaniment to my Delicious Pumpkin Soup!  EVERYONE loves French Puff Ring; it’s like eating little croissants from heaven.

Happy Spoon likes to make Nutty Hoisin Sauce Stir Fry.

Recipe (altered from a recipe featured in Homestyle Vegetarian):

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2.5 cups rice (we used short grain brown rice)
• 1 lb extra firm tofu, cut into ~1-in cubes
• 1 red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed (or I use that giant vat of minced garlic)
• 14 oz of green beans, ends snipped and cut in half
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce (in the Asian aisle)
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp mirin (also in the Asian aisle; it’s a sweet cooking sake)
• ~9 oz of walnuts, roughly chopped

Directions:

• Cook the rice (I use my rice cooker), set aside and keep warm
• Heat 2 Tbsp canola oil in a large frying pan or wok.
• Stir-fry the tofu until light golden brown and crispy on all sides.  Set aside on a paper towel, and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel when cooled.
• Add the sesame oil to the frying pan and heat.
• Cook the chili and garlic for 1 min, or until lightly browned.
• Add the green beans, hoisin sauce, and brown sugar.  Stir-fry for 2 min.
• Stir in the mirin and cook until the beans are tender but still crunchy.
• Add the tofu, and stir until well-covered with sauce.
• Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts.
• Serve with the rice!

Fun Fact: Seemingly ordinary, this sauce tastes like HEAVEN SO MUCH!

Happy Spoon likes to make Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Maple Butter Frosting.*

Recipe:

Cookies

• 5 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.25 cups unsalted butter, room temp
• 2 eggs
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cardamom

Frosting

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 8 cups powdered/confectioner’s sugar (2 lb)
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tsp maple extract
• Red and yellow food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Cookies

• In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth.
• Beat in the eggs, milk, and vanilla.
• Beat in the salt, baking powder, all of the spices, and gradually mix in all of the flour.  Once almost all of the flour has been added, it may be necessary to mix using a spoon or your hands.
• Divide dough in half, and shape into two giant poo-shaped logs.  Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for ~1 hour to firm.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• After they’ve been chilled, remove from fridge.  I usually work with about 1/4 of the dough at a time.  Form a glob of dough into a little ball.
• Place the dough ball onto a floured surface (I use my bamboo cutting board) and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until smooth and ~1/4 in thick.  You may have to sprinkle the dough with flour periodically to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin.
• Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut out shapes.  I used a pumpkin cookie cutter, for obvious reasons.
• Place cookies onto a cookie sheet (I use a silicone sheet rolled onto a metal cookie sheet).  Generally you won’t need grease since there’s so much butter in the dough already.  Also, the cookie don’t really get much bigger, so you don’t need to space them out that much.
• Bake the cookies for ~8 min.  Do not overbake!  Remove immediately to a wire rack to cool.
• Repeat the rolling of the dough, cutting of the cookies, and baking until all of the dough had been used up.  Usually the last cookie is misshapen, which I use for a “taste test” at the end.
• Let the cookies cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will melt away!

Frosting

• In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until smooth.
• Gradually add in ~2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
• Mix in the milk.
• Gradually add and beat in the remaining powdered sugar.
• I used food coloring to make orange frosting.  I just eyeballed it, using red and yellow gel food coloring.  I kept squirting it in and mixing it until it was an orange suited to my liking.
• Use the frosting to frost all the cookies!  You can use sprinkles if you like.  If the frosting dries out, simply add small amounts of milk with mixing until it reaches a good consistency.

Fun Fact: Maple extract is god’s gift to earth.

*Happy Spoons original recipe!

Happy Spoon likes to make Tasty French Crepes.*

Recipe:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1.5 cups milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• toppings (berries, syrup, etc.)

Directions:

• Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
• Meanwhile, combine all ingredients into a large bowl, whisking together until smooth.
• Scoop approximately 1/4 cup of the batter onto the hot skillet, lifting the skillet off of the stove while swirling the batter around to evenly coat the skillet.  Place the skillet back onto the stove.
• After 15 seconds, flip the crepe over and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
• Remove from the skillet, and keep warm in a low oven until all of the crepes are prepared.  Serve warm with your choice of toppings…I like fresh berries and boysenberry syrup!  You can roll them up (pictured), fold them into fourths, or just serve flat, your choice.

Fun Fact: Crepes are tasty.

*Happy Spoons original recipe!

Happy Spoon likes to make Tasty Lime Squares.

Recipe (adapted for limes from a Taste of Home recipe):

• 1 cup flour (+ 2 Tbsp for filling)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (plus more for topping)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (I used limes from my own lime tree!)
• 1 tsp grated lime zest

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, butter, and confectioners’ sugar.  Press into an ungreased 8x8-in square baking pan.
• Bake the crust at 350 °F for 20 min, until barely golden brown.
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs.
• Add the sugar, 2 Tbsp flour, baking powder, lime juice, and lime zest.  Beat everything together until frothy.
• Pour the filling over the hot crust, and return to the oven to bake for an additional 20 min, or until the center no longer jiggles.
• Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
• Dust with powdered sugar, cut into 9 squares, and serve (I like to eat mine after chilling them in the fridge first).

Fun Fact: A great way to make your citrus into a tasty dessert!  You can use lemons, limes, tangerines, etc.  My lime tree is going crazy, so I had to do something!

Happy Spoon likes to make Chorizo and Egg Veggie Burritos.*

Recipe (makes two burritos):

• 1 tube soyrizo
• 3 green onions, diced
• about 1-2 cups frozen cut spinach
• 4 eggs
• 2 large tortillas (I use whole wheat)
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• Hot sauce (optional)
• Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add the green onions.  Sautee for ~3 min.
• Add the frozen spinach, and allow it to thaw, breaking it apart.
• Add the soyrizo, and fry everything together until hot and the chorizo starts to look tasty and sizzle and whatnot.
• Add the eggs into the skillet, and mush around until they are cooked and everything is all mixed up.
• Warm the tortillas by microwaving them for 10 s or heating briefly on a large dry skillet; set aside.
• Scoop the chorizo mixture onto the tortillas and wrap them up like a burrito!  Add hot sauce or cheese to your liking.

Fun Fact: A great way to make a tasty chorizo and egg breakfast burrito, but much healthier than normal (soyrizo tastes the same as chorizo but without the fat, and spinach makes it healthy…right?).

*Happy Spoons original recipe!