Author Archives: tinycookba

Rhubarb – the Jewel of Spring!

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The first time I tried rhubarb was about 2 years ago and ever since then I have been obsessed with it.  It has such a unique tart flavor that I can’t even describe – you just need to try some!

I’m also obsessed with vanilla beans,  so rhubarb and vanilla beans together makes me a very happy person.  Instead of a crisp or other baked good, I decided to experiment with a compote – and it came out great!

Rhubarb Compote

1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (remember the leaves are poisonous)

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, added at the end)

1/4 – 1/3 cup sugar (more if you like it sweeter)

pinch of salt

Mix everything together in a square glass baking dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, stirring once, midway through.  OR, put everything in a skillet and cook for about 20 minutes until everything is cooked through.

My kids loved this over their ice cream and I loved it over my Greek yogurt for breakfast. It would be great as the J on a PB & J, delicious on toast or scones, or just eaten with a spoon, which is how I ended up eating most of it:)

Vanilla Bean Coconut Cupcakes

Posted on by tinycookba
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I had such high hopes for this recipe, as I love vanilla beans and coconut  – and I was intrigued by the idea of reducing the coconut milk and adding it to the batter and the frosting!  I got the recipe here, from Epiciurious.com.

It was a bit labor intensive, with reducing the coconut milk and toasting the coconut as additional steps to making batter and frosting.  (Once again, I should remind you that I do not have a sweet tooth so my perspective might be a little different than yours.)    I expected to bite into a moist coconut dominantly flavored cupcake – there was coconut flavor, but not as much as I expected, and it wasn’t as dense and moist as I had hoped for (keep in mind that I undercook my cupcakes by at least 2 minutes because I hate dry cupcakes).  And I felt like the frosting was WAY too sweet.  Everyone else seemed to like them, but as for me, I prefer Martha Stewart’s Yellow Butter Cupcakes (made with vanilla bean).  Give those a try – and make sure not to overcook them:)

A little tip on vanilla beans, you can get them super cheap at Costco around the holidays – I always stock up for the year, otherwise they are so expensive.  I also use them in sugar cookies and caramels – which I’ll blog about a little later.

Deviled Eggs – 3 Ways

Posted on by tinycookba
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Nothing says Easter like deviled eggs.  So for Easter I decided to make some deviled eggs, but I wanted to shake things up a bit and try a few different varieties:  1) Classic, 2) Chipotle, 3) Smoked Salmon.

1) Classic Deviled Eggs

I used one of Martha Stewart’s recipes – except here are my changes:  I used hot sauce instead of cayenne – and I started off with 1/2 tsp lemon juice and then added more until it tasted how I liked.  I just mashed the yolks instead of using the food processor, which was fine, except that I couldn’t use the fancy piping bag because it would have gotten all clogged up.  I wish I had some paprika on hand because that would have looked nice sprinkled on top.  A good basic recipe!

2) Chipotle Deviled Eggs (pictured at the top)

I happened to have some chipotle aioli in the fridge, so I added about 1 T per egg and then put a cilantro leaf on top of each filled egg – nice presentation and they tasted great – definitely the favorite of all the varieties of deviled eggs.  Here’s my recipe for chipotle aioli (it’s great to dip veggies into – especially roasted or grilled fingerling potatoes and asparagus!):

Chipotle Aioli

2 cloves garlic

1/2 chipotle chili (from the can) (add a little at a time)

1/2 can fire roasted tomatoes, drained

1 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Best Foods or Hellman’s brand)

2 scallions, chopped

kosher salt, to taste

Whiz the garlic cloves in the food processor until chopped up finely.  Add everything else and blend until smooth and combined .

3) Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs

I got this recipe from Fine Cooking.  It was delicious, but maybe a little heavy for deviled eggs.  I think I would have preferred the Classic Deviled Eggs with a piece of smoked salmon on top of that.

Overall, they were all good eggs.  Yum.

Mushroom Marsala Lasagna

Posted on by tinycookba
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Let me start by saying that my husband said this is one of the best things I have ever made – that’s big praise from a man who does not get nearly as excited as I do about food.  As far as lasagna goes, I’m not a big fan of ricotta cheese ( I prefer it in desserts), so I don’t find myself liking most lasagnas.  I do, however, love the combination of mushrooms and marsala and have been wanting to make a mushroom lasagna for awhile.  I had planned on doing a bechemel with sauteed mushrooms, but this recipe I found from Gourmet magazine, takes it a few steps further with flavorful porcini mushrooms and whipped cream on top!  You can find their recipe for Mushroom Lasagne with that link.  I did make a few changes and here they are:

  • I used marsala instead of sherry (personal preference).  The recipe calls for 2 T to be stirred into the cream sauce when it’s finished, I added 3T because I couldn’t taste the marsala with only 2T.
  • I used cremini mushrooms instead of white mushrooms because I’m a mushroom snob.
  • I added more salt (kosher salt) and not quite as much nutmeg.
Absolutely delicious!  If you like mushrooms, then you have to make this – you will not be disappointed!