Game of Thrones Stamped Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

Game of Thrones Cardamom Shortbread Cookies – House Stark and House Targaryen

House Targaryen Cardamom Shortbread Cookie

House Stark Cardamom Shortbread Cookie

Tonight it the final season premier of Game of Thrones. I’m prepared: have rewatched the entire series since January and can’t wait to find out what HBO has in store.

To celebrate the final season, here are some cardamom shortbread cookies stamped with the sigils of houses Targaryen and Stark.  If you’re using the cookie stamps (I purchased mine here from Target), be sure to generously flour them between pressings because the dough will get stuck. The dragon sigil is particularly challenging to work with as the details are very fine and basically didn’t work well with this mix and I had to try several times for each Targaryen press but the idea is there. 

Stamped Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

• Servings: 36
• Time: 1hr
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Game of Thrones inspired cardamom shortbread cookies - a warming spice because the night is dark and full of terrors.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces unsalted butter (cut into chunks)
• 1tsp – 1 tbsp ground cardamom (depending on how much cardamom you like)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with either a silpat or parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, pulse together the butter, brown sugar salt and cardamom until well mixed. Pulse in the flour 1/2 cup at a time until well mixed. If the mixture is a little dry/crumbly, add in water, 1 tbsp at a time until the dough mostly comes together in a ball. 
3. Roll the dough into about 1-inch balls and press each ball with a well floured cookie stamp. If the dough gets stuck, re-roll into a ball, flour the stamp a couple of times, knock off the excess flour and try again. 
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden brown on the bottom. Cool on racks and enjoy!

Makes about 36 cookies.

Inspiration: Sweet Paul recipe.

Sweet Potatoes with Fluffy Meringue – A Healthy Thanksgiving Side

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. To me, it means getting together with family and friends to spend quality time together. And of course, sharing some great food.

Growing up, I remember having sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. This Thanksgiving dish is ultra sweet with the sweet potatoes from a big can and mini marshmallows melted on top, delivering dessert during the dinner.

So, can you have your sweet potatoes with marshmallows with a fraction of the sugar and calories? Absolutely. I read a great recipe in Good Housekeeping a few years ago that reformed helped me reform my Thanksgiving sweet potato staple into something healthy and delicious.

These meringue topped sweet potatoes taste so much like toasted marshmallows to me — but rely on the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes for most of the sugar flavor but without the added calories.

Sweet Potatoes with Fluffy Meringue Recipe

Sweet Potatoes with Fluffy Meringue for Thanksgiving

5 large sweet potatoes (about five pounds)
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (I use Trader Joe’s)
5 egg whites
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
Pinch of salt

Clean the sweet potatoes and pierce all over with a fork or knife. Microwave the sweet potatoes on a plate or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap until well cooked and soft — about 15-30 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave (it takes about 30 minutes in mine). Let the sweet potatoes cool until you can handle them without burning yourself. I like to slice them in half to let the insides cool a bit faster.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove the peels from the sweet potatoes and mash them well. You can run them through a food processor but if they’re soft enough, the sweet potatoes can be mashed with a fork (less clean up!). Mix in pumpkin pie spice (I use 2 tbsp as I like the flavor but use less if it’s too strong or more if you like more flavor) and a pinch of salt. Taste this mixture* and if you like it, spread it evenly across a 9×13 pan (3 quart).

Put the egg whites, cream of tarter and maple syrup into a mixing bowl and beat until you have stiff peaks. Gently, remove the well beaten egg whites from the bowl and spread over the top of the sweet potato mixture. If you’re feeling fancy, put them in a piping bag and pipe onto the top of the potatoes.

Bake at 400 for 5-8 minutes – remove from the oven when the top is golden brown (and likely when you smell it).

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

* Some people might not find these sweet potatoes sweet enough. I swear that the sweetness will be there and but if you need more sweetness, add up to 2 tbsp of brown sugar or maple syrup to the mix after adding in the spice and the salt. I also really like using ginger maple syrup in this recipe because it adds a nice sweet spicy kick. The ginger maple syrup I use is from the Deep Mountain Maple stand at the Union Square Greenmarket but I’ve noticed they’re selling it online too. Have a great holiday everyone!

Smokey Split Pea Soup (vegetarian, vegan)

I received a bounty of gorgeous split peas from my CSA (via Cayuga Pure Organics) and wasn’t feeling well last week so I made a lovely split pea soup. The original recipe is from Vegetarian Times but I didn’t have a lot of the ingredients (spinach, fennel) in house so I made my typical modifications to use what I had from my CSA  share and the results were utterly delicious and quite healthy.

Smokey Split Pea Soup topped with toasted fennel seeds

Smokey Split Pea Soup

• 2 cups dried green split peas – rinsed and picked over
• Cooking spray (enough to coat the pan – about 5 seconds)
• 2 cups chopped onions (one large or likely 2 medium)
• 5 cloves minced garlic
• 6 cups chopped cabbage (one small head or a portion of a larger one)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (plus 1 tsp more for optional toasting)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 6 cups baby kale
• water

In a large pot coated with cooking spray, saute onion and cabbage until soft — about 7-10 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for another two minutes.

Deglaze the pot by adding in 1 cup of broth and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in split peas, 1 tsp fennel seeds, dried thyme, smoked paprika, salt, 8 cups of water and remaining 2 cups of broth. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Simmer covered for about an hour or until the split peas are tender, checking it every 10 minutes or so to give it a nice stir.

Add in kale and cook about 4-5 minutes until kale is wilted and tender.

Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth (and double check the blender for stray cooked kale — mine kept getting jammed). Season with salt/pepper as needed and add in 5-10 drops of the liquid smoke (depending on how smokey you wish it to be!). Stir well or run the immersion blender again.

If you wish, take 1 tsp of fennel seeds and toast them in a small skillet for two minutes or until they turn golden and smell yummy.

Serve soup and top with optional fennel seeds if you wish.

Enjoy!

I ran the recipe ingredients through the recipe calculator on MyFitnessPal to see what it netted out to be. If you portion this into six servings (mine were 2 cups each), here’s the breakdown:

• Calories: 309
• Fat: 1.8 grams (.1 polyunsaturated, .1 monounsaturated)
• Cholesterol: 0
• Sodium: 548.4 mg
• Potassium: 1,142.1 mg (almost a quarter to a third of the recommended allowance depending on the measure!)
• Carbs: 54.9 g
• Fiber: 20 g (!!!!)
• Sugars: 11.8 g
• Vitamin A: 19.8%
• Vitamin C: 113% (!!!!)
• Calcium: 16.9%
• Iron: 20.7 percent

Split peas – dried and ready to be used in another batch of smokey split pea soup!

Recipe: Baked Ginger Cranberry Sauce

I love fresh ginger. That spicy sharp flavor makes me happy. And when I saw a recipe for cranberry ginger sauce in Real Simple, I knew I had to make it for Thanksgiving — especially because it has only three ingredients.

This sauce was a hit with the family too and I’ve made it every year since.

However, I lost the recipe and can’t seem to find it anywhere online so I’m sharing my own version of the recipe here.

Baked Cranberry Ginger Sauce

1 C minced fresh ginger
1/2 C. sugar (I prefer organic)
2 12 oz. bags of fresh cranberries – rinsed and picked over

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and mince the ginger. I like to peel mine running a spoon along the piece. You’ll end up with a good pile of ginger.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Mix together all ingredients and spread out in the pan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the cranberries get soft and syrupy – as pictured below.

Cool and serve.

Makes about 2.5-3 cups. Fills a pint and a half Ball jar.

Fresh ginger – minced and ready to be mixed with the cranberries.

Baked sauce – fresh from the oven!

Lightly mixed together to spoon into the jar.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Minorly Obsessed: Cold Brewed Iced Coffee

I have a problem. I adore cold brewed iced coffee. It’s addictive because there is no acidic taste like you get with hot coffee – just pure, ultra-caffeinated deliciousness.

Plus, it’s simple to make. You just take a large scoop of coffee, cold water, stir (or shake), let sit for 12 hours, strain and — voila — cold brewed ice coffee concentrate.

Amazing.

Here’s my recipe for coffee perfection. And if you’re clever like me, order up some Community Coffee. They have a New Orleans style blend with Chicory in it, adding a hint if chocolate flavor. Mmmmmm.

Since I’m lazy about measuring, I use a one quart ball jar because the measurements are on the jar. Could it be easier? I think not!

Cold Brewed Iced Coffee Recipe:
1 Quart Ball Jar (or container of choice)
1 Cup Coffee
Cold Water (about 3 1/2 Cups)

Put coffee in the ball jar. Fill to top with cold water, leaving about a 1/2 inch of space.

Cover tightly.

Shake.

Leave the jar on the counter for 12 hours.

Strain.

Drink immediately or put into another jar for storage. This strained mixture fits really well into the pint and a half Ball jars.

For the perfect cup of cold brewed iced coffee, fill a glass 2/3 with ice. Pour in coffee concentrate until about half full. Top with your choice of milk. Swirl and drink!

Repeat. Try not to repeat too many times or coffee jitters will follow.

Enjoy!!!

Get Pinned

A few months ago, I joined Pinterest and have been pinning relatively regularly – on many completely random things I adore like:

• fun nail polish designs,
• delicious food,
• teas & tea gadgets,
• kitty cats,
• lovely art,
• irresistible looking places, and
• so much more.

I love being able to discover new recipes, get inspiration from my friends, track the things I love and generally organize my likes online in a place where I can find them again in six months, a year, etc. While I’ve never been a collage maker, Pinterest is totally my speed.

Are you pinning? Let me know where and let’s follow each other! Post your Pinterest link in the comments.

Me on Pinterest

verify

Recipe: Cheddar Cheese Cornbread with Cayenne or Dill

Thanksgiving is almost here and since I joined my CSA, I’ve been looking for great ways to use the lovely flours from Cayuga Pure Organics in unique and delicious ways. I’ve been making versions of this cornbread for three years now and I think it’s finally ready to be shared because it is bonkers good.  Plus, it’s relatively easy to make – no mixer needed!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Cheddar Cheese Cornbread (with Dill or Cayenne)
2C bread flour (or all purpose – mix of white and wheat or all wheat is fine)
2C cornmeal
3T baking powder
1/2tsp kosher salt
1/8C sugar
1/2tsp cayenne pepper (optional) or 1c well chopped fresh dill
1C (2 sticks) unsalted butter (melted)
2C milk (1% or other lowfat is fine – use regular if you wish)
4 large eggs
8oz aged cheddar cheese – grated

Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar – plus cayenne if using). In a separate bowl, melt butter and stir in the milk and eggs. Mix wet mixture into dry ingredients until ingredients are mostly combined and lumps are pretty much gone but don’t worry too much about getting them all (and please don’t over mix). Stir in 1/2 the grated aged cheddar (and dill if using). Rest mixture at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Butter a 9x13x2 baking pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees while mixture is resting.

Spoon batter into prepared, smooth the top and evenly distribute the rest of the cheddar on the nicely smoothed top.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. Mine took about 40 minutes but my oven runs cool. And I do love a little bit of a golden top – yummy!

Cool and cut into 24 pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Helpful hints:
— Feel free to make the cornbread the night before – tastes great the next day!
— If your aged cheddar cheese is salty, feel free to eliminate the salt. The original recipe called for 2tsp of kosher salt, which made for a really, really salty batch.
— I hate chopping dill at times and have found that if you pulse it in the food processor a few times, it give you a perfect chop!
— For the cheese, a grate will give you more consistency in the melted cheese on top. I shredded the dill version and the cheese never quite fully melted, which was disappointing. A finder shred (like on a zesting microplane) works perfectly too.

Based on Ina Garten’s Cheddar Dill Cornbread with some modifications for more cornbread taste/texture and other bits. Original recipe can be viewed at this link.

Divine Dinner at Home

Seared Tuna Salad with Roasted Beets and Squash, originally uploaded by MinorlyObsessed.

Since I joined a CSA this year, I’ve been doing a lot of cooking at home. Mostly it’s because I’ve gotten these beautiful, fresh veggies but I also do like to pretend I’m a chef.

Typically, I make pretty simple fare but I decided to take that and create something spectacular (can anyone tell that the new season of Top Chef started? ha!). Tonight, I made a rather divine dinner that started the other day in prep.

On the menu:
Seared Tuna Salad with Roasted Beets and Squash
Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

The salad was pretty simple. I seared some tuna (originally frozen – defrosted it last night) to pretty well done (haven’t figured out how to get to medium rare yet) and put it on top of some broccoli slaw that I rough chopped into smaller pieces. Then I added small cuts of my roasted beets and butternut squash (which I roasted a few weeks back).

Then came dessert. As a kid, I was fairly obsessed with strawberries. My Mom told me that when she took me strawberry picking, I would eat a strawberry and then add one to the pail. Then eat a strawberry …. and so on. Pair some strawberries with rhubarb and you’ve got a mix I just love, love, love. So I decided to use the fantastic rhubarb I got from the CSA last week and make ice cream. It took a while to make but the result is a sweet, tart little bit of heaven.

Click on the salad photo or here to go see the rest of the set on Flickr in my photo stream.

What’s the best meal you’ve made? Share it in the comments!