Red Wine Chocolate Fudge Brownies

These brownies were featured in a list I found on Pinterest that showcased ideas for using leftover wine in cooking. I don’t know that eating a fudgey brownie is any healthier than just having went for that last glass of wine, but I did think these were appropriately festive for a holiday treat.

Red Wine Chocolate Fudge Brownies
For the Brownies:
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 c butter, cut into pieces
1/4 c red wine
2 eggs
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 c flour
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c chocolate chips

For the Glaze:
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 T butter
2 T red wine
pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter an 8″x8″ pan and line it with two sheets of parchment paper, each buttered. (I think this might be unnecessary and just helpful for cleanup. I haven’t tried the recipe without the parchment paper step, but I do appreciate my pan not being crusted).
2. Melt the 4 oz semisweet chocolate and 1/2 c butter atop a double boiler until smooth.
3. Whisk together eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the bowl, then the 1/4 c red wine. Keep your double boiler heated. Add flour, cocoa powder, and salt into the large mixing bowl until blended. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Pour your batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a knife or toothpick comes out fairly clean. About 15-20 minutes into the batter baking, melt all the glaze ingredients in the heated double boiler. Remove the brownie batter from the oven once it’s thoroughly cooked and spread your glaze evenly across the top of your brownies. Allow to cool, then slice into squares and serve.

Chai Spice Pumpkin Kiss Cookies

I have had the recipe for these cookies pinned for quite some time, despite everyone I love objecting to the autumnal flavors of Pumpkin Spice Hershey’s kisses. How could you not love a handful of them mixed into your coffee? They are even better atop these spicy little cookies.

Don’t forget to calculate an hour of refrigeration time when making these (as I did the morning of a Friendsgiving party… oops!). I did, however, manage to unwrap my kisses the night before and set them in the fridge to cut down on prep time.

Chai Spice Pumpkin Kiss Cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c spiced chai concentrate (I used the recipe I’ve featured before on this blog)
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
A few dashes each of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg
20-25 pumpkin spice Hershey’s kisses

1. Blend butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Add egg, chai, and vanilla. Then mix in flour, baking soda, and salt. Cover your dough and refrigerate for one hour.
2. Preheat oven to 325° F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. Once refrigerated, roll your cookie dough into one-inch balls. Place on parchment paper with enough space to expand, then sprinkle all your dough balls with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
4. Bake your cookies for 12-14 minutes, until a knife or toothpick comes out cleanly. While they’re baking, unwrap your kisses and set in a bowl if you haven’t already.
5. Remove your cookies to cooling racks, quickly adding one kiss per cookie as you do so. Gently press the kisses into the center of each cookie, not touching them again once placed.

Tempeh Chili con Frijoles (y cerveza!)

I found this recipe on Post Punk Kitchen a couple years ago and have kept it in heavy rotation ever since. It’s completely vegan, but I have added shredded cheddar or Greek yogurt on top for some extra flavor. I’ve also just sliced an avocado across the top for a similar effect, but while still keeping the dish vegan.

Tempeh Chili con Frijoles (y cerveza!)
1 8-oz package tempeh, diced medium
1 large yellow onion, diced medium
1 bell pepper, diced medium
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 T olive oil
2 T soy sauce
3 T chili powder
2 t cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 1/2 t salt
A few dashes black pepper
15 oz can pinto beans, drained (I used black beans this time because they were all I had on hand – it was still delicious)
1 c Negro Modelo
15 oz can diced tomatoes
3 T tomato paste
1 1/2 c vegetable broth
2 t maple syrup
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Handful cilantro, chopped
Avocado, sliced (optional)
4 T Greek yogurt (optional)
1/4 shredded cheddar (optional)

1. Cook onion, bell pepper, and carrot over 1 T olive oil in a large pot for about 20 minutes, until soft.
2. Meanwhile, add tempeh to a large frying pan. Add water until it is nearly covered, as well as the soy sauce. Boil until the water is nearly gone, then mash with a fork or wooden spoon. Add the remaining olive oil and sauté over low heat until crispy, about 15 minutes.
3. Add garlic to your veggie pot and simmer for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add spices. Add beer, deglaze the pot. Drink the remainder of your beer while you let the beer simmer for two minutes. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, salt, and vegetable broth. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over medium. Uncover and cook for another 30 minutes. Add lemon juice and maple syrup. Serve with chopped cilantro. Add avocado, Greek yogurt, and/or cheese if you’re feeling really hungry.

I think I’m going to start doubling this recipe. It feels like it would freeze well, and even if it doesn’t.. it’s usually gone within a day and a half at my house anyway.

Asparagus Feta Frittata with Shallots and Fresh Chives

I know asparagus and chives are spring vegetables, but they were both calling to me in the grocery store this week. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with either of them, but the asparagus looked particularly tiny and tender and flirted their way into my cart. Asparagus made for the perfect add-in to the frittata I put together this weekend and was a welcome light-but-filling breakfast yesterday morning after a busy week of eating out.

Asparagus Feta Frittata with Fresh Chives
4 eggs
1 T olive oil
10-12 stalks asparagus, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 c feta, crumbled
2-3 T fresh chives, minced
Salt & Pepper
Crushed red pepper

1. Whisk eggs together in a bowl.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add shallot and sauté until tender. Add asparagus and sauté 3-5 minutes, until tender. Spread the veggies out so that they are covering the pan fairly evenly.
3. Add whisked egg to pan, ensuring that the entire pan and the veggies inside are covered in egg.
4. After egg has begun to set, add feta, salt and pepper, and crushed red pepper. Allow egg to cook until bubbling throughout.
5. Gently use a spatula to lift up the egg around the diameter of a pan. Slide your frittata, cooked-side down, onto a large plate. Quickly flip the plate so that the uncooked side of your frittata lands face-down in the pan. Cook another 3-5 minutes over medium heat, until egg is cooked thoroughly throughout. Slide onto a fresh plate, snip chives over the frittata, and serve immediately.

I’ve eaten this piping hot and at room temperature and enjoyed it each way, similarly to quiche. You can reheat it on low in the oven and add some hot sauce if it’s dried out. I would avoid the microwave though, because it tends to add condensation and make the texture a little wonky.

Cheesy Potato Chowder

This chowder is quick to throw together for a weeknight meal and I usually have most of its ingredients on hand. It works as a main or as a side when paired with a salad or sandwich. I really like it at the end of a long, rainy (or just all-around crappy) day. It tastes like it’s been simmering in the crockpot all day, when it actually only takes 20-30 minutes of stovetop action. My brother is the king of all things potato and I think he has eaten entire pots of this without assistance. The original recipe can be found on Allrecipes here: Potato Chowder Soup I. My adaptation is below:

Cheesy Potato Chowder
2.5 c potatoes, peeled and diced (I’ve used Russet and Yukon Gold in the past, both with success)
3/4 c carrots, peeled and diced
3/4 c celery, diced
1/4 c onion, chopped
1/4 c butter
2 c milk (I used 2%)
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1 T crushed red pepper (I like some heat)
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 1/5 c fresh or frozen corn
2 1/2 c cheddar (reserve 1/2 c for sprinkling over your serving)
Cornbread croutons, optional
Dried or fresh parsley, optional

1. Place potatoes, carrots, celery, and salt in a large pot. Cover with water, add lid, and boil for about twenty minutes (until soft). You can easily chop these veggies up the night before.
2. While your veggies are boiling, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add milk and stir together. Slowly whisk in flour and continue stirring until it has thickened in.
3. Optional Croutons: I chopped some cornbread I had made the day before into cubes and sautéed it in a bit of olive oil in a third pan with salt and pepper until just crisped.
4. Once your veggies have softened, add the corn and stir. Add your milk mixture and stir again. Finally, add 2 c of cheddar cheese, black pepper, red pepper, and dried parsley if desired. Stir in completely. Ladle into bowls. Top with remaining cheddar, as well as croutons or fresh parsley if you’re using them.

Crunchy Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad

For being a vegetarian, it is really hard for me to stomach a salad once the weather starts to turn colder. My natural instinct is to reach for soup or something involving melted cheese. Something about adding insulation for the winter, maybe? In any event, this salad is the exception to the rule. Even my kale-hating husband eats it right up.

The first time I made this, I worked on it with my little brother at our parents’ house in Valley City. It’s a good two-person project because you have (veggie) bacon, veggie chopping, and dressing mixing happening all at once. Our whole family, including Grandma, enjoyed it and it’s in the regular rotation at our parents’ house now too.

Here’s a link to the recipe as I found it on Pinterest: Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad w/ Bacon and Pecorino. My take is featured below.

Crunchy Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad
Crunchy Stuff
4 slices veggie bacon
1/2 c parmesan pecorino, finely grated*
1/4 roasted/toasted almonds**

Dressing
2 T lemon juice
1.5 T Dijon mustard
1 T shallot
1 garlic clove
1/4 c EVOO
Dashed S & P

Veggies
2-3 c thinly sliced kale (1/2 a bunch OR 1/2 lb of chopped and bagged)
1 lb brussel sprouts, thinly sliced

1. Cook up your veggie bacon and almonds.
2. Slice up your kale and brussels sprouts and mix them together in a giant bowl. Or a bowl with a spill-proof lid that you can shake up to mix everything.
3. Combine your veggie bacon with almonds and cheese in a food processor or blender. Pour into the kale and brussels sprouts and mix all that up.
4. You don’t even have to clean the food processor, just add all the ingredients for your dressing. This will actually help make sure you get every delicious bacon/almond/cheese crumb. Pour it all over your salad and mix well. Ready to serve immediately, most easily with tongs.

* You can absolutely sub in nutritional yeast for cheese to make this vegan or just plain old healthier. The salad is so flavorful that you won’t miss the cheese, it mostly just serves to thicken up the dressing and the nutritional yeast will do the same job.
** I have made this salad by roasting almonds in the oven, buying them roasted, or – in this instance, simply toasting them in light oil on the stovetop. Any of these methods worked fine. Just make sure you chop ’em up fine after for most optimal crunching.

Salad dressing on veggies before incorporated

Blue Cheese and Olive Biscuits

I am a sucker for salty and these fit the bill. Incredibly rich, these little Pinterest treats are the perfect treat alongside a full-bodied red wine in the cool fall weather. I brought them to a dear friend’s house for ladies’ wine night and they seemed to go over well. Will definitely be stashing these in my party snack repertoire as they are easy to make ahead and don’t take all that long to assemble.

Here’s the link to the original recipe: Olive-Blue Moons. The original poster called them moons because her cookie cutter was shaped like a moon; I call them biscuits because who know what shape of cookie cutter I can find in the bottom of my kitchen drawer on any given day.

Blue Cheese and Olive Biscuits
10 oz freshly shredded Sharp Cheddar
6 oz Spanish olives, drained and chopped
1/2 c butter, softened
2 oz blue cheese, crumbled
1 T half & half
1 t kosher salt
1/2 c flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat cheddar, olives, butter, blue cheese, half & half, and salt until blended. Add flour slowly to blend. (I used the dull plastic blade of my food processor, which I already had out from shredding my block of cheddar).
3. Turn dough out on well-floured surface. Cut in half and flatten one half to 1/8″ thickness. Use a cookie cutter or the bottom of a small glass to curt biscuits about two inches in diameter. Place, set apart, on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden, and cool on wire racks.

The cookie cutter I used is meant for actual cookies that can cutely dangle over the side of a coffee cup, but they can also manage to fit a savory treat around the stem of a wineglass… I have no complaints!

Crispy Panko-Crusted Green Beans

I found these little guys on Pinterest from a blog called The Fountain Avenue Kitchen – whose author created the dish using asparagus. I have used this recipe with asparagus too, and enjoyed it, but I actually preferred how crispy the green beans became. I have made these the night before baking as well without a problem.

Link to the original recipe: Roasted Asparagus with Panko

Panko-Crusted Green Beans
1 pound string beans or asparagus, washed and trimmed
2 T plain Greek yogurt
2 T Dijon mustard (I used Trader Joe’s and liked the kick)
1 t lemon juice
1 c Panko
Oil Mister
Salt & Pepper
Parchment Paper (Lining the sheets with this makes cleanup a dream – plus, the beans set really well)

1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. Mix yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, and a shake each of salt & pepper on a large plate. Put Panko with a few shakes of salt and pepper on a separate large plate. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Roll your beans in the yogurt mixture, then the Panko mixture. I keep a spoon in each to help me drizzle enough over each bean. Set on parchment paper-lined sheets. They don’t need a ton of space, but don’t let them touch each other. Mist with oil.
4. Bake 15 minutes, flipping once at the halfway point.

These are so flavorful and tender that they really don’t even need a dipping sauce. I plan to make them next summer with a variety of colors of string beans. Also, another shoutout to Justin’s family for the produce!

BBQ Pulled Seitan Burritos with Slaw

I scooped up Westsoy’s pulled BBQ seitan after a glass of wine on a whim at Whole Foods last week and finally sat down to figure it out. I honestly don’t think I have ever eaten any version of BBQ pulled pork in my life, even during my childhood pre-veg days. So I thought about Southern-style BBQ places I’ve been to – in St. Louis, New Orleans, and the Carolinas – and that there’s usually some sort of slaw involved. I’m not a big fan of creamy salads, so I made my slaw more of a vinaigrette and then drizzled aioli over it before wrapping the burrito. The results were incredible – this will definitely be a go-to dinner in our household.

We made mashed potatoes on the side because, well, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to throw some mashed potatoes on the side to a lot of the meals I make. The result was a hearty and quick weeknight dinner. You can even prep the slaw and aioli ahead of time to really speed up the process.

BBQ Pulled Seitan Burritows with Slaw

BBQ Seitan
1 1/2 T vegetable oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
Westsoy BBQ Seitan
Additional 1/3 c BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s)
1/2 t garlic powder
dash liquid smoke
dash vegan worstechire sauce

Slaw
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
3/4 c shredded purple cabbage
2-3 T red wine vinegar
1 t salt
1 t maple syrup
1/2 t grape seed oil

Lime Ailoi
1/4 c mayo
1/4 t salt
1/2 t EVOO
1/2 lime, juiced
1 clove garlic, diced

Accoutrement
fresh cilantro
queso fresco, crumbled
tortillas (I did a giant 10″ tortilla burrito and split it with my husband, but this would go well and look pretty in tiny taco tortillas too)

1. Prepare your slaw first so it has time to marinate. I shredded my vegetables in the food processor, then put them directly in a bowl with the liquids and salt and into the fridge while I prepped the rest of dinner.
2. Prepare your aioli. I simply mixed each of these ingredients in a bowl, then also set it in the fridge to chill. If I weren’t so lazy about doing dishes, I would even consider throwing the ingredients in the food processor with the cilantro next time. I was just hungry and didn’t want to create more mess to deal with!
3. Add oil, onions, peppers, and garlic to a large skillet. Sauté until softened. Add BBQ seitan and additional sauces and spices. Simmer and stir for 10-15 minutes.
4. Chop your cilantro. Warm your tortilla. Layer your BBQ seitan, then slaw, then aioli and finish with cilantro and crumbled queso fresco. Make sure you have napkins on hand, this gets a lil sloppy.

Notes
1) If you can’t find BBQ Seitan, I think any version of seitan or tempeh would do. Just balance it out by pre-marinating in BBQ sauce or sautéing it in double sauce and cooking it down longer.
2) This could easily be made vegan if you skip the aioli or use vegan mayo, drop the queso fresco (sub in some tofu!), and ensure that your BBQ sauce has no honey in it.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did at our house!

Sneaky Kale

I bought a giant bunch of curly kale recently without any plans for it, and ended up using the leftover sauce from Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Crispy Tofu with Honey-Sesame Glaze to fancy it up. This kale was particularly curly and particularly fresh, so fresh that I found lots of mud hiding in some of its curls. My husband thinks this is disgusting and a sign that one should not eat said dirty vegetable, but I think it’s more a sign of the opposite. In addition to hiding bits and pieces of its former home inside, curly kale is also particularly sneaky because of the way it shrinks in size once you heat it up. I started with this:

And ended with this:

Totally bluffing.

Anyway, the sauce leftover – mentioned above and linked to again below in the recipe – was the perfect addition to my kale. This recipe would make a great side for two, but I just ate the entire recipe as lunch for myself and wasn’t mad about it.

Sneaky Kale
1 bunch curly kale (washed, de-stemmed, and chopped)
2 T grape seed oil
1/4 to 1/3 c leftover glaze from Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Crispy Tofu with Honey-Sesame Glaze
2 T vegetable broth
2 T sesame seeds, toasted in the same pan right after you cook kale

1. Heat 1 T grape seed oil in the bottom of a large pan or wok. Add your pile of chopped kale. Drizzle second tablespoon of oil over top of kale. Stir kale so that newer top sections continue to become rotated to bottom of the pan or wok.
2. Add broth. Once all your kale has been rotated throughout the pan and started to shrink, add your leftover glaze and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant.
3. Remove kale to serving bowl. Toast sesame seeds in the same pan for two minutes, shaking constantly so they don’t over-brown. Sprinkle over kale and enjoy.