Salted peanut butter and jelly blondies, two great guys left out of the Oscars and a mediocre movie

When it comes to the Oscars apparently every year there is a very talented person (or more than one) left out of the competition, and I’ve written about it already. This year both Tom Hanks and Paul Greengrass were “forgotten” for their remarkable work in Captain Phillips, which is really unfair to me. I wouldn’t say Hanks’ performance was the best among the nominees – that title still belongs to Leo – but it is certainly superior to Christian Bale’s in the mediocre American Hustle and to Matthew McConaughey’s in Dallas Buyers Club.

As far as directors are concerned, David O. Russell’s nomination is just a bad joke and to think that he was included in the game at the expense of Greengrass makes this year’s competition even more ridiculous (I think you’ve already noticed how much I hated American Hustle). :D

After wasting 138 minutes of my life on such a lame movie I needed something tasty and quick to put together – the halfway-through jar of raspberry jam in my fridge (left from the cookies I baked a while ago) and the recently bought jar of peanut butter were combined to create these blondies. As I sliced them into squares and thought of the movie, it hit me that Bradley Cooper – the poor actor who stars in things like The Hangover – is a two-time nominee in a two-year period (for two below the average movies) while it took the Academy more than twenty years to first nominee the best actor in the world – that made me so mad I had to eat a blondie right away. :D

Salted peanut butter and jelly blondies
slightly adapted from Bon Appétit magazine

½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, melted
1¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
200g light brown sugar
¾ cup crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ tablespoons raspberry jam
flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a square 20cm (8in) baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and table salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla extract; fold in dry ingredients. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Dollop with the jam. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Cool completely in the pan, then cut into squares to serve.

Makes 16

Caramel and chocolate bars and turning things interesting for adults

Long ago, many years before vampires were “in” (or were turned into creatures that walk around in broad day light), a very respected filmmaker made a masterpiece out of Bram Stoker’s book, and my favorite actor set the bar high for anyone else ever to play a vampire again.

Little over twenty years later a very interesting movie trailer gets released, in which Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston play vampires – apparently dark ones, nothing covered in glitter, thank heavens. :D Both of them look absolutely amazing in Only Lovers Left Alive and now I cannot wait to watch the movie. I don’t think anyone will ever be able to match Gary Oldman playing a vampire, but I really believe that Tilda and Hiddles can seriously make those creatures of the night interesting again for us, adults. :)

I’m not a spokesperson for super healthy food – I do buy and eat processed food sometimes, and I am sure you remember my baked goods filled with chopped Oreos and Snickers. :) However, candy bars are not my cup of tea: I often find them too sweet, even the ones I used to love as a kid. Bill Granger’s bars, with layers of cookie, caramel and chocolate, are a great way to turn a certain candy bar interesting for us, adults – and the salt sprinkled on top makes all the difference in these addictive little morsels of deliciousness. :D

Caramel and chocolate bars
slightly adapted from the delicious and beautiful Holiday (I bought mine here)

Crust:
125g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (90g) sweetened flaked coconut
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
125g unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
100g unsalted butter
100g brown sugar
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
150g dark chocolate – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
flaked sea salt, to taste (I used Maldon as suggested by Bill)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x30cm (12x8in) baking pan, line it with foil leaving an overhand in two opposite sides, then butter the foil as well.
Crust: in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, coconut, sugar and melted butter and mix until a dough forms. Press this mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden.
While the base is in the oven, prepare the filling by placing all the ingredients into a medium saucepan. Cook over a low heat while stirring, until all the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, constantly stirring, until it has turned a light golden color. Pour this evenly over the cooked base and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool completely over a wire rack.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Once melted, pour onto the caramel and spread evenly. Allow the chocolate to set before sprinkling over the sea salt. Cut into squares or bars.

Makes 24

Salted chocolate caramel tartlets

Talk about perfect timing: the fall issue of my favorite food magazine arrived one day after I’d opened a jar of dulce de leche just to eat a spoonful of it (just ONE, guys, I swear). :)
Since I could not eat the remaining contents of that jar – wanted to, but couldn’t – I’d already started thinking of something to make with it; that was when, flipping through the beautiful pages of the magazine, I saw these tartlets – filled with dulce de leche and topped with ganache, they were just what I needed.
I know that not everyone likes salt in their sweets – my sister had her tartlet without salt – so consider it an optional addition.

***

So you don’t think I’ve forgotten about the “The Hunger Games” trilogy: after reading the first two books in a very short period of time, I’ve been procrastinating like hell with “Mockinjay” – is it just me or this book is boooring? :/

Salted chocolate caramel tartlets
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay Magazine

Pastry:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
½ cup (45g) cocoa
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) icing sugar
pinch of salt
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, cold and chopped
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon iced water

Filling and topping:
1 cup dulce de leche
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
120g (4oz) dark chocolate chopped
sea salt flakes, for sprinkling – I used Maldon

Start with the pastry: place the flour, cocoa, icing sugar, salt in a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the egg yolks and vanilla, then the iced water and process just until a dough starts to form. Transfer to a large piece of plastic wrap and bring the dough together with the tips of your fingers. Shape into a disk and wrap in the plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Lightly butter six 8cm tartlet pans. Divide the pastry into 6 parts. Between two pieces of lightly floured baking paper roll each piece of pastry into a rough circle then line the pans, removing the excess pastry. Prick the pastry with a fork then freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and cut roughly into six squares; place the foil squares, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. And here is the very best part: Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then carefully peel off the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake the crusts for 10-15 minutes longer or until cooked through. Cool completely in the pans.
Divide the dulce de leche between the pastry cases and, using the back of a spoon, spread evenly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place the cream in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy. Spread the tartlets with the ganache and refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Sprinkle with salt to serve.

Makes 6 – I made the exact recipe above, used 9cm (3½in) tartlet pans and got 10 tartlets; I first divided the pastry in 8 parts, then rerolled the scraps once to get two more tartlets

Crispy salted oatmeal white chocolate cookies

Oatmeal haters, please, hear me out: these cookies are going to change the way you feel about oats. Trust me and Deb on that – they are absolutely delicious.

And since I don’t want the other readers to feel left out: the oatmeal lovers like me will adore them, too. :)

Crispy salted oatmeal white chocolate cookies

1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (196g/1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup (200g) sugar
¼ cup (44g) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups (288g) old-fashioned rolled oats
168g (6oz) good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped
½ teaspoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.
Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets 5cm (2in) apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about 2cm (3/4-in) thickness.
Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie.
Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

Makes 24 - I halved the recipe, used 1 rounded tablespoon of dough per cookie and got 19

Roasted tomato and goat's cheese tart with fresh oregano

Apparently, it’s still winter here – after a week of 33ºC (91.4ºF) days, we’ve been having much colder ones.

I know that tomatoes are much tastier in the summer, but I would never be able to wait that long to make Pille’s wonderful tart. Would you? :)
The only change I made was to use fresh oregano instead of thyme - just because I happen to grow it.

I used to have a hard time digesting garlic but is all in the past now: my friend Clarice told me to remove the central root off the garlic cloves before using them and it has worked like a charm.

Oh, and a little side note: remember my sake panna cotta? It was the most voted recipe on the event I made it for! Yay! :D

Roasted tomato and goat's cheese tart with fresh oregano

500g puff pastry, rolled
150g soft and creamy goat cheese*
4 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves
2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
500g ripe plum tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

Roll out the puff pastry to 30x40 cm rectangle and place on a slightly oiled baking sheet. Carefully score a line about 1 cm from the edge along the pastry, but do not cut through! This will help the filling to stay inside the pastry and the edges to puff up nicely.

Mix the goat cheese, minced garlic, oregano leaves, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Spread the mixture evenly on the puff pastry sheet (remaining inside the scored line).
Cut the tomatoes into 3-5mm slices and place nicely next to each other on top of the goat cheese. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle some olive oil on top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pasty is golden and tomatoes have dried up a little.
Before serving, scatter some more oregano leaves on top. Cut into squares and serve.

* my cheese was a bit crumbly, so I added a bit of olive oil and mixed it all with a fork

Serves 6-8

Crash-hot potatoes

I was devastated when I learned that Tastespotting had been closed. Luckily for me and for all the foodies, there new options for our daily dosis of food porn: Food Gawker and RecipeMuncher. Go check them out!

Deb, from the super yummy Taste and Tell, has mentioned a couple of times that she has trouble choosing side dishes. Deb, my dear, these are for you! Not only they are extremely simple to make but they’re also delicious! And one can play around using their favorite herb – I followed one of Jill Dupleix’s suggestions and went for thyme.

This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Joanna, from Joanna’s Food.

Crash-hot potatoes
from Totally Simple Food

16 small, round potatoes
salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon thyme or rosemary sprigs – I used a bit more

Heat oven to 230 or 250ºC/445 or 480ºF - yes, hot. Don't peel the potatoes. Just bung them into a pot of salted water, bring to the boil, and simmer for around 15 minutes until they'll take a skewer without too much resistance. They should be just about cooked, without being soft.

Drain, and arrange on a lightly oiled baking tray or sheet. Use a potato masher to squash each potato flat, until it is twice its original diameter.

Brush the tops with olive oil, and scatter with sea salt, pepper and thyme.

Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until terminally crisp and golden. Serve hot.

Serves 4

Ricotta gnocchi with lemon thyme butter sauce

I know that many people frown at the simple mention of the name “ricotta” - right, C.? :)

I’m not one of those. I really like ricotta and find it very versatile. You can use it in both sweet and savory recipes and jazz it up with a diversity of flavors.

Valentina posted this gnocchi recipe a while ago on her blog in Portuguese and it sounded so easy I had to try it myself. Another use for the wonderful lemons in my fridge and also for my newest addiction: fresh thyme.



This is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Margot, from Coffee and Vanilla.

Ricotta gnocchi with lemon thyme butter sauce

Gnocchi:
250g ricotta cheese
¼ cup (25g) grated parmesan
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra grated parmesan, to serve

Sauce:
80g unsalted butter, room temperature
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Start with the sauce: place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, until the butter melts completely. Remove from heat and set aside.

Now, the gnocchi: place the ricotta, ¼ cup parmesan, egg, flour, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well until smooth – the ricotta cheese we have here in Brazil is a bit dry, so I started by breaking it with a fork and then added all the other ingredients. You'll see specks of ricotta in the gnocchi because I did not want to overmix the dough.

Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased or coated with cooking spray surface and shape into a long log; cut the gnocchi – they should be about 2cm.
Make indentations in each dough ball with a fork – I did not do that.

Cook the gnocchi in a large saucepan with boiling salted water – as soon as the balls come up to the surface, they will be almost ready; let them cook for another 30 seconds then remove them carefully from the pan, using a skimming ladle.

Heat the sauce, pour over the gnocchi, sprinkle with parmesan and serve at once.

Serves 2