Strawberry Schaum Torte

Schaum Torte is one of my favorite all-time desserts that I remember from my childhood.  We had a much smaller gathering than usual for Christmas this year so it seemed like a good time to try out this recipe.  It turned out fabulous, just as good as I remember from my youth, and it was a big hit with everyone.  The inside was a light and fluffy meringue and the outside had the delicious melt-in-your-mouth sugary crisp.  Perfect yumminess.

Strawberry Schaum Torte
Makes ~12 servings

Ingredients:

8 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

pinch salt

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

Strawberries:

3 cups sliced/chopped fresh strawberries

1 teaspoon sugar

Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream, COLD

1 tablespoon sugar (regular or powdered will work)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt.  Beat at high speed until eggs whites form soft peaks (not stiff).  Carefully fold in vinegar, vanilla, and sugar.  Mix on low speed until stiff and glossy and no longer grainy.

Spread mixture in a lightly greased 10" Springform pan (or a 9x13" pan would work).  Bake at 350º for 10 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 250º and bake another 50 minutes.  Turn off oven and leave torte in oven an additional 60 minutes.  Important: DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR during those 2 hours of baking and cooling (The torte is expected to fall a little, but it will fall a lot if you open the door and may also ruin the texture). 

While the torte is cooling, place the chopped strawberries in a medium bowl and mix in a little sugar to help create juices.  Set aside.  Put the bowl of an electric mixer in the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes to get it nice and cold.  When all the ingredients are cold, beat the whipped cream on medium-high speed just until it starts to get soft and is no longer liquid.  Add in the sugar and vanilla and beat until it no longer tastes grainy and has medium-firm peaks.   Don't over-beat.

Serve the Schaum Torte with strawberries and whipped cream.  

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I brought this to serve at Christmas and it was delicious.  

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

9 slices pineapple in juice (20oz can), drained

9 maraschino cherries without stems

1&1/3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

Directions:

Heat oven to 350º F.  In a 9-inch square pan, melt butter in oven.  Sprinkle brown sugar over melted butter.  Arrange the 9 pineapple slices in the pan and place a cherry in the center of each slice.

In a medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients on low speed for 30 second, scraping sides.  Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.  Pour batter over pineapples and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Immediately place a heatproof serving plate over pan and turn over.  Leave pan upside-down over cake to let the brown sugar mixture drip down.  Remove pan.  Serve warm.

Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs

One pan dinners are so easy and convenient.  This was a good one.  I used the same seasoning for the chicken, potatoes, and garden carrots.  It was excellent on the chicken, good on the potatoes, not as great on the carrots.  I should have added garlic to the carrots and potatoes.  I think I'll stick with my balsamic garlic carrot recipe in the future.  But for the chicken, the rub was yummy and the skin was crispy and the meat was juicy.  No complaints.

Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

Pat the chicken dry and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Rub olive oil into the chicken.   In a small bowl, combine all the dry seasonings.  Rub all over the chicken.  Bake in preheated 400º oven for about 30 minutes (depends on size of thighs) until internal temperature reaches 165º.

Balsamic Honey Brussels Sprouts

 

We harvested one of the two Brussels sprouts plants in our garden for dinner.  The plants didn't do as well as last year.  The sprouts were smaller and fewer.  We planted them in the back garden this time where it's a lot shadier so that might be the reason.  Anyway....  This recipe was amazing.  Yummy sweet sprouts. Definitely will use this one for my future sprouts.  

Balsamic Honey Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 lb Brussels sprouts, stemmed and halved

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Toss the sprouts with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 425º for 20 minutes until tender and golden brown.   

In a small bowl, combine the honey and vinegar.  Drizzle or spoon over the sprouts and toss to coat.  Adjust seasonings if necessary.  Enjoy.

Ginger Carrot Soup

The only things left in the garden are lots of carrots and a couple brussels sprouts plants.  On the advice of friends, I decided to try making carrot soup.  This was an easy recipe.  I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would--which is good because the recipe made a lot of soup.   I cheated and used squeeze bottle ginger instead of grated.  It still tasted fine. It didn't need extra salt, but we did add pepper.

Ginger Carrot Soup

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons butter

2 onions, chopped

6 cups chicken broth

2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1 cup whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

parsley, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook until soft, stirring often.  Add broth, carrots, and ginger.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 30-40 minutes.

Remove from heat and transfer to a blender in batches, filling no more than halfway.  Blend until smooth.   Return soup to pot and add cream.  Stir and heat until hot.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Death by Chocolate Cheesecake for Instant Pot

YUM!  I've been craving chocolate, and I've been wanting to try out cheesecake in the Instant Pot for awhile, so that's what I decided to make for my birthday dessert.  IT WAS SOOOO GOOD!   Rich and creamy and decadently delicious.  Honestly, it tasted just as good as Cheesecake Factory.   I was worried about how it would set up when finished, but it worked perfectly.  Also, I liked that it made a small 6" cheesecake.  Any bigger, and I'd feel the need to share it.... haha!  

Death by Chocolate Cheesecake for Instant Pot

Makes a 6" cheesecake, ~8 servings

Ingredients:

20 Double Stuff Oreo cookies (for crust)

2 packs cream cheese (8 oz each), room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

6 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

4 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

Ganache topping:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

To make crust, place whole Oreos with filling in a food processor and blend until they form crumbs.  Press crumbs into a 6" springform pan.  Place in freezer while you make the filling.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on high until light and fluffy.  Add in sugar and mix until just combined.  Add in sour cream and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.   Add the melted chocolate, cocoa powder, and vanilla, and mix until combined.  Lastly, add the eggs and mix as little as possible just until they are fully incorporated.  Pour filling over crust and cover pan with aluminum foil.  

Pour 1 cup water into Instant Pot.  Place cheesecake pan on a trivet with handles and lower into Instant Pot.  Secure the lid and pressure cook on high for 35 minutes.  When finished, allow it to naturally release pressure.  Remove pan and let it cool on counter.  Place in fridge overnight to allow it to set completely.

After the cheesecake has set overnight, make the ganache.   In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and cream.  Microwave in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is mostly melted.  Stir until completely melted and pour over the cheesecake.   Enjoy!

Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs

I decided to try out this Swedish meatball recipe made in the Instant Pot.  It was good, but we weren't blown away.  The gravy was delicious, but there wasn't enough of it. After cooking the meatballs, I froze half of them for another time.  Even with half the meatballs, we could have used more gravy!  I suppose if we ate them by themselves, it would have been fine, but since we served them over egg noodles, we really needed more gravy.  Cooking them in the Instant Pot made it easy and convenient for cleanup at the end.  I seem to remember really liking the Swedish meatball recipe I made 10 years ago for my Muppet party (see link).  I'd probably use that recipe for the actual meatballs and gravy instead but do it all in the Instant Pot since it seemed to work well.

Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs

Makes ~30 meatballs (6-8 servings)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1/3 cup milk

2 large egg yolks

1 medium shallot, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups beef stock

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (for garnish)

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, breadcrumbs, milk, yolks, shallot, garlic, spices, and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir or use your hands to combine the mixture.   Roll into about 30 meatballs.

Set a 6-qt Instant Pot to the high Saute setting.  Heat oil.  Working in batches, add meatballs and cook until all sides are browned, about 3-4 minutes.  Transfer meatballs to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.

Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.  Stir in beef stock, scraping up any browned bits. 

Return meatballs to Instant Pot.   Set pot to Pressure Cook on high for 8 minutes.  When finished, do a quick release of pressure.  Remove meatballs and set aside.

Select high Saute setting again.  Simmer until the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 4-5 minutes.  Stir in the sour cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.   Return meatballs to sauce and stir to warm them up again.  Serve immediately and garnish with parsley.   

Parmesan and Panko-Crusted Halibut

The grocery store had a sale on halibut, so I bought a couple fillets on impulse.   I found this recipe and gave it a try.  It was good.  Likely, anything with parmesan-panko coating will taste good.  And it's baked, so it's relatively healthy.  I cooked green beans from our garden and made a little tomato salsa which gave some moisture to the bite of fish.  

Parmesan and Panko-Crusted Halibut

Ingredients:
2 halibut fillets, skin removed

2 teaspoons olive oil

juice from 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450º F.  Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on the sheet.  Coat the rack with cooking spray.

Drizzle the oil and lemon juice over both sides of fish and season with salt and pepper to taste.   Combine the remaining ingredients on a plate or shallow bowl.  Press the fish into the panko mixture on each side and place on the cooking rack.   Bake for 10-15 minutes (depends on size) until the fish is cooked and flaky.   Serve with a lemon wedge.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

 

We bought a plain pork tenderloin on sale at the grocery store so I found this recipe to jazz it up.  I love grilling a tenderloin because it stays juicy on the inside and gets the tasty grill char on the outside.  I think the honey in the recipe made it char a little more than usual, but it was fine. The marinade flavor was really tasty.  I'll add this to the recipe save pile.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
1 to 2-lbs pork tenderloin

Marinade:

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

Mix together all the marinade ingredients and pour half into a large Ziplock bag along with the pork.  Seal bag and massage marinade into all sides of pork.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Grill over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning every few minutes to ensure even cooking.  Brush reserved marinade over pork halfway through grilling.  When done, transfer to a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Instant Pot Egg Bites

 

I've been wanting to make these egg bites since I got my Instant Pot.  The egg bite silicone molds have been sitting unused in the cupboard, and I finally decided to try them out.  The Instant Pot worked perfectly and the eggs tasted great.  It's like a little bite-size omelet. They were handy to store in the fridge and pop a few in the microwave for breakfast or to take to work.  I liked that this recipe used ingredients I already had on hand and was very easy to make.  I picked some of our garden veggies to add to it.

Instant Pot Egg Bites
Makes 14-21 bites (depends on how much extra stuff you add)

Ingredients:

9 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

~1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste

cooking spray

Optional stuff, to taste (I added chopped chard, green onion, diced tomato, shredded cheese)

Directions:

In a 4-cup measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

Spray two silicone molds with cooking spray.  Pour mixture into each of the 7 openings of each mold about 2/3 full.  Add whatever toppings you'd like.  No need to stir.   Close each mold with the silicone lid and stack in a staggered position on top of a trivet with handles

Add 1 cup water to a 6-qt or 8-qt Instant Pot and carefully lower trivet into the pot.  Close lid and pressure cook on low for 8 minutes.  When done, quick release.  Using oven mitts, carefully lift the entire trivet out of the pot by its handles.  Open the lid of each mold and let cool for a few minutes.  The egg bites should easily pop out.  

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.  Microwave bites to reheat for 30-45 seconds.

Freeze for up to 3 months.  Microwave 60-90 seconds from frozen.