And the official, inaugural dish cooked in my maaahvelous Le Creuset is…

…Chicken Tortilla Soup!   I love a good bowl of soup in the winter time, and when you live in one of the most frigid places in the country, soup can not only be a meal, but also a supplementary heating device.  Seriously, I can keep our thermostat 5 degrees lower when soup’s on the dinner menu.  Gus and I fell in love with Chicken Tortilla Soup after spending 2 weeks in Nuevo Vallarta for our honeymoon, so I decided it would not only be a great winter meal, but also kinda romantic too.  One big collective, “awwwww”.  The substitutions to make this healthy and Daniella-ified were pretty simple and easy, yet still left us with a very flavorful, filling soup.  Sure, the honeymoon version was better but that’s due to a number or reasons… 1.) Full fat cheese, sour cream, and fried tortilla strips served on top…you have to indulge on the honeymoon right?!, 2.) Those Mexican chefs definitely know a lot more than me when it comes to authentic Mexican cooking, 3.) Piquillo Peppers.  They’re everywhere in Mexico, but I can’t find one stinking Piquillo Pepper in the 3rd largest city in America to save my life, and 4.) Everything just tastes better when you’re enjoying it with your brand spanking new husband.  Time for another “awwwww”.  Alright, alright, enough of the schmoopie talk. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy (and romantic!) Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 1 lb. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 2 cans of Black Beans, drained
• 2 cans of Green Chilies, drained
• 1 can of Enchilada Sauce (I used hot, but if you’re a big ole wimp, then mild will suffice)
• 1 can of Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped
• 2 cups of Chicken Broth
• 2 tsp. Cumin
• 2 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

Ideas for Toppings:

• Dollop of fat-free Greek Yogurt
• Chopped Scallions
• Handful of Whole-Wheat Tortilla Strips (Don’t reach for those evil Tostito’s!  Take 1 Whole-Wheat tortilla, cut into strips, lay flat on baking sheet, spray lightly with olive oil, bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes until they crisp up)
• Sprinkle of low-fat Cheese
• Slice of Avocado
• Squeeze of fresh Lime (sounds funny, but this is how they served it in Mexico and it was shockingly delish)

 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a baking dish with olive oil and lay the chicken breasts in the pan.  Season to taste and roast the chicken for 30-35 minutes, or until the juices run clear.  Once the roasted chicken has cooled, shred with two forks and set aside.
2. Coat the bottom of a stock pot or dutch oven (why helloooo, my lovely Le Creuset!) with olive oil and sweat the onions and garlic over medium heat.  Next, add in the green chilies and sweat those for about 30 seconds before turning the heat down to low. 
3. To the veggies, add the chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, and enchilada sauce.  Stir to incorporate the liquids then add the beans, shredded chicken, cilantro, and seasoning to the pot.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour, while stirring occasionally. 
4. Serve with your favorite assorted toppings…mine happen to include a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt (I know I sound like a broken record, but this stuff makes healthy stuff taste oh-so-naughty), a sprinkling of diced scallions, toasted whole-wheat tortilla strips and a squeeze of fresh lime.  Ahhh, it’s *almost* like being back on the honeymoon.  Minus that whole it’s-negative-thirty-outside-and-we-have-a-foot-of-snow-on-the-ground part.

I’ve got something cookin’…

…and that something is healthy, delicious, romantic (sounds strange, but more on that next time), spicy, filling, AND it’s even pretty!  How is it pretty, you ask?!  Why because it’s cooking away in my brand new Le Creuset pot, courtesy of my Dad and Step-mom!  When I opened this on Christmas morning, my Dad couldn’t believe that I was that excited about a pot, but if you cook, then you know that Le Creuset is basically the equivalent of a Mercedes-Benz in the kitchen.  It’s simply the best dutch oven you can use in the kitchen, and it just happens to come in fabulous, vibrant colors.  Gus got a good laugh too over my excited pot reaction, but that’s just typical of him…when my Mama gave me the infamous Kitchen-Aid Mixer for my 23rd birthday, Gus couldn’t believe that I was that excited about “a blender”.  GASP!  How dare you compare the glorious Kitchen-Aid Mixer to a mere blender!?  He’s slowly learning not to insult my cooking equipment.  So now I present to you, the official debut of my fabulous red Le Creuset pot…but since the pot definitely deserves it’s own post, you don’t get to find out what’s in it till next time, so stay tuned…

 

 

 

The very best type of Bark…it should be obvious that it doesn’t involve trees or a doghouse.

Hip hip hoorah!  It’s my last holiday recipe posting and I’ve managed to get it in before MLK weekend.  We also got all of our Christmas decor taken down last weekend, so it’s definitely been a record setting year already.  I have so been the girl with the tree still up in mid-February, so I don’t judge if that’s you.  Even though it’s after the holidays, the good news is that this next recipe is,  1.) a delicious treat for any holiday or no holiday at all, and 2.) it looks oh-so-fancy, but doesn’t have oh-so-fancy instructions.   Chocolate Bark always comes out in stores around the holidays and a little bitty tin of it is almost always overpriced and skimping on the good stuff, so why not make your own really big tin with lots of delish add-ins?!  And this recipe is so easy that once you make one type of bark, you pretty much just repeat the process but with different variations of chocolate and goodies.  Take that Crate and Barrel with your $15 tiny tin of Chocolate Bark! 

 

Peppermint Oreo Swirl Bark

 

 

 

 

• 8 oz. White Chocolate, chopped
• 4 oz. Vanilla Almond Bark
• 8 oz. Semisweet Chocolate, chopped
• 4 oz. Chocolate Almond Bark
• 1 cup Andes Peppermint Chips (or just break a bunch of peppermint candies with a hammer)
• 25-30 Oreo Cookies, crushed

 

1. Line an 11 x 17  jelly roll pan with wax paper.  Set aside. 
2. Melt the white chocolate and vanilla almond bark together for 30 second intervals.  Stir after each interval and continue heating and stirring until smooth.  Do the same for the semisweet and chocolate bark in a separate container. 
3. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of peppermint chips and about 1/3 of the crushed oreos onto the bottom of the pan. 
4. Gently pour the melted white chocolate into random areas of the pan.  Follow with the dark chocolate.  Using the flat edge of a spatula, swirl the two chocolates together into pretty little swirly patterns. 
5. Sprinkle the remaining peppermint chips and oreo pieces on top of the swirled chocolate.  Chill until firm. 
6. Once bark has set, break into pieces and store in an air tight container. 

 

 

Milk Chocolate S’mores Bark

 

 

 

• 16 oz. Milk Chocolate Chips
• 4 oz. Chocolate Almond Bark
• 10 Graham Crackers, crushed
• 1.5 cups Mini Marshmallows

 

1. Line an 11 x 17  jelly roll pan with wax paper.  Set aside. 
2. Melt the milk chocolate chips and chocolate almond bark together for 30 second intervals.  Stir after each interval and continue heating and stirring until smooth. 
3. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mini marshmallows and about 1/3 of the crushed graham crackers onto the bottom of the pan. 
4. Gently pour the melted chocolate into the pan
5. Sprinkle the remaining marshmallows and graham crackers on top of the chocolate.  Chill until firm. 
6. Once bark has set, break into pieces and store in an air tight container. 

 

 

White Chocolate Cranberry Almond Bark

 

 

 

• 12 oz. White Chocolate, chopped
• 6 oz. Vanilla Almond Bark
• 1 cup Dried Cranberries
• 1 cup Almonds, chopped

 

1. See above and do the same but with these ingredients.  If you can’t figure that out, then you shouldn’t be in the kitchen. 

Playing catch-up…The Tale of Two Cakes.

I bet you can guess what my New Years Resolution is…to be a more timely blogger!  I have so much to get caught up on that I don’t really know where to start, so I’m just gonna jump right in and pretend it’s still mid-December…

 

The tale of two cakes starts out with a very important occasion…Happy Birthday Hubby!  We celebrated Gus’ birthday in typical Gus fashion with a quiet dinner at home and his most favorite cake ever…Duncan Hines Yellow cake with Chocolate Frosting.  That’s right, the man loves his cake from a box and so cake from the box is what he got.  Every year Gus’ Mom decorates his birthday cake with pretty colored icing and perfect writing, so I tried my best to copy her work, but as we all know, decorating isn’t really my strong suit.  Looks aside, I have to say that it was a very moist cake and it took about half as long as the “from scratch” version, so I couldn’t really argue with that. 

 

Gus’ Favorite Birthday Cake

• 1 Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix
• 2 cans of Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge Frosting
• Colored Icing and Sprinkles for Birthday Flair

 

1. Follow directions on the box and allow the birthday boy to lick the bowl. 
2. Frost the cake and decorate the top as best you can, even if that means it looks like an 8 year old did it. 
3. Light candles, sing Happy Birthday, watch the birthday boy try to blow out the trick candles a couple times, laugh at him, and then eat cake!

 

Just for comparison sake, I decided to go the “from scratch” route for an impromptu work holiday party later that week.  I don’t like to think of myself as a cake snob, but I always thought that “from scratch” would beat out “from the box”.  Boy, was I wrong.  And sure, I could have kept this to myself, but I like to keep it real here at Cucina di Daniella, so that means sharing the good and the bad.  Now, this recipe isn’t necessarily bad, but it just wasn’t that great.  It uses a very different mixing method, and I was definitely skeptical from the get-go and now I know why.  The cake was very crumbly and coarse…it wasn’t uber dry, but it just wasn’t very cake-like.  Definitely still edible, as my coworkers polished it off, but when compared to Gus’ favorite birthday cake, I have to say, Duncan Hines knows his stuff.   The “from scratch” buttercream was definitely tasty, so it was really just the cake that was the problem. Maybe it was just me and you’ll have better luck trying, so I’ll still post this dud of a recipe…but if I were you, I’d just go buy me some Duncan Hines and call it a day. 

 

Blah Yellow Cake (not bad, just blah)

• 1 3/4 cup Cake Flour
• 1 1/4 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp. Salt
• 1 cup Unsalted Butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 4 Eggs
• 1 cup Whole Milk
• 1 tsp. Vanilla

 

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake.

 

 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 6-8 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 tsp. Vanilla

 

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy.
3. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency.