Perfect Hardboiled Eggs

Having grown up with my mom boiling eggs to death, I set out early in my cooking career to find the perfect hard boiled egg technique. I'm definitely a "white of the egg" person, and can only stand eating egg yolks when they are perfectly yellow with a creamy, slightly soft center. The technique below has held up with repeat testing. And it's so easy, you will wish you thought of it first!

Say "ADIOS" to chalky, green yolks... the recipe is below!

Perfect Hardboiled Eggs (according to Lydia)

1. Place eggs gently in a single layer in a pot, and just cover the tops of the eggs with cold water. 
2. Bring water to a boil on the stovetop, then immediately turn off the heat and cover the pot for 10 minutes. 
3. Drain hot water, and run cold water over eggs for a few minutes. Peel and eat! 

Cookie in a Jar

Cranberry Hootycreeks. Where in the world did this name come from?! But it sure makes a pretty, festive gift! I made these layered cookie jars for my girls' group for the holidays!

Cranberry Hootycreeks (allrecipes.com)
makes 1 jar

5/8 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Layer the following ingredients in a 1 quart jar, in the order listed.
2. Attach tag with the following instructions: Cranberry Hootycreeks 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet. 2. In a medium bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until fluffy. Add the contents of the entire jar, and mix together by hand until well-blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. 3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Remove to cool on wire racks. 

Homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits

These cheese garlic biscuits are easy to whip up. I made them for an "American" dinner party and paired it with a prime rib a few months ago.

A few tips:

• Use whatever cheese you have on hand. I used a Mexican four cheese package. 
• Do not overmix the batter, or else the biscuits will turn out hard and dense. Unless you want hockey pucks on your dinner table, mix until the dough just comes together! 
• I chose to bake my biscuits in a muffin tin, but you can just drop spoonfuls of batter on a baking sheet. 
• You can play around with the baking temperature to find your ideal baking temp at which your biscuits with be golden brown and the cheese nicely melted. 

Cheddar Bay Biscuits (modified from allrecipes.com)

makes 12 biscuits

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

5 tablespoons butter

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare pans by greasing muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, garlic powder, and baking powder. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or 2 forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add in milk and cheddar cheese, stir until just combined. Do not overmix! Divide batter into 12 muffin tins. 
3. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until tops are lightly browned. Combine melted butter and minced, then brush garlic butter over hot biscuits. 

Who Needs Pick-Up Lines When You Can Bake

This banana bread recipe gets the title "best banana bread ever" since it's partially responsible for my 3 day weekend! Here's an important life lesson for all you boys and girls- when you need a favor, just remember that no one says no when you combine your request with baked goods!

"Here's a slice of homemade banana bread... and can I get Monday off?" 

"Do you like muffins, because these have your name on them! (Also, hope you mind me taking off early today.)" 

Think of it as a pick-up line, but more effective. 

Banana Oatmeal Bread - modified from allrecipes.com
1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3 bananas, mashed

1/4 cup milk

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. 
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars, then beat in eggs and vanilla extract until fluffy; add bananas and milk and mix well. 
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture until just mixed. Do not overmix batter. Fold in walnuts and dried fruit if using. 
4. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake for 50-60 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

Tackling Cake Pops

Cake pops are like the anti-wallflowers at a party. They are guaranteed to get oohs and ahhs. No one can resist tiny cute balls of cake covered with sugary coating and a variety of toppings. More fluff than substance, cake pops dazzle and awe just like a magician's tricks on stage.

But let me tell you, despite the little actual baking involved, those cake pops are tricky! I ended up making cake truffles (instead of pops) as I had no luck finding lollipop sticks at the grocery store. Cake pop making easily is a two-day affair: mix the cake batter, bake the cake, pulverize the cake (surprisingly therapeutic...), add frosting, form cake balls, melt the sugar coating, then it's the dip-swirl-sprinkle action for the last touch. You can also continue the process by coating the cake balls in crushed nuts, drizzling designs, add cute edible decor, and/or shaping the cake balls into different shapes. Phew! This may be my one-and-only cake pop experience! (Good thing the fad seems to be disappearing... except at bridal showers, baby showers, and girly birthdays.)

Tip: Freeze cake balls prior to dipping in coating. I wish I had known this sooner (I usually am so good at reading reviews prior to making the recipe too!) as my biggest problem was definitely the cake ball falling apart on me or sliding off the toothpick while dipping!

Cake Pops
1 package cake mix (18.25oz)
1 can prepared frosting (16oz)
Melting chocolate (wafers, bark, bar)

1. Prepare cake according to package instructions in any pan size. Once cake is done, crumble cake while warm into large bowl and stir in frosting until well-blended.
2. Melt chocolate in tall, narrow bowl or cup in the microwave. 
3. Form balls out of cake batter using melon baller or small spoon. Freeze cake balls until hardened. Dip balls in melted chocolate using toothpick or lollipop stick. Place balls in paper liners to harden. 

Resuming Where We Left Off

First, I'm not quite sure why I haven't posted in 8 months. Although the timing of the abrupt stoppage was coincidentally around the time when 4th year rotations started. Thinking back, I have been alternating between busy and really really busy ever since rotations began. Work life does suck all the energy outta ya... The last thing I want to do when I finally get home after putting in my 9-10 hours at work is spend more time in the kitchen. 

So, less free time + much less energy = no cooking, and definitely no blogging.

But, I remembered why I started my blog in the first place (outlet source). And right now, I definitely need a distraction and a satisfying project in my life to take my whirling mind off of residency applications. Food + pics always places a warm, fuzzy feeling of accomplishment in me. 

I saw a picture of these individual portions of monkey bread on allrecipes.com (4th or 5th favorit-est website) yesterday. Had all the ingredients. Had a little bit of time. Was and have been craving sweets.  Sooo... I got my lazy butt off of the couch and peeled my eyes away from Big Bang Theory for a moment. Voila! Be warned, these go fast- I can probably eat all 6 in one sitting if I allowed myself!  

Monkey Bread in a Muffin Tin - modified from allrecipes.com 

(makes 6 muffins)

1 12 oz. can biscuit dough

1/4 cup white sugar

1-2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp. butter

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Line 6 muffin tins with paper liners. 
2. Combine white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Cut each biscuit into quarters, and thoroughly coat each piece of dough in cinnamon-sugar mixture. (Alternately, you can place the cinnamon-sugar in a large ziplock bag, add biscuit dough pieces, then shake to coat.) Place 6-7 pieces of dough in each muffin tin. 
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring to a bubbling simmer, stirring constantly, and heat until sugar is dissolved. Spoon mixture evenly over each muffin tin. 
4. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until biscuit dough is lightly springy.