Chicken- Latin style with Black Beans and Sweet Potatoes

This is an interesting one pot Chicken dish made in the slow cooker. The secret ingredient is sweet potatoes. They absorb the spices and are a nice contrast to the chicken and beans. The picture on the right is one of my favorite Dancing with the Stars past contestants Apolo Ohno. Could he do a mean Salsa !

3 lbs of bone -in chicken thighs, with skin removed
2 Teaspoons cumin
1 Teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 Cup chicken broth
1/2 Cup Salsa
1 heaping tablespoon bottled minced garlic
2 Cans ( 15 to 19 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes
1 jar roasted red pepper cut into strips ( 1 cup)
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves- chopped

Sprinkle chicken thighs with 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/3 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.
Brown chicken in a large skillet on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate. Remove skillet from heat.
In same skillet, combine paprika, allspice, remaining cumin, broth, salsa, garlic.
In slow cooker, combine beans and sweet potatoes. Place chicken on top. Pour broth mixture over chicken.
Cover and cook, about 8 hours on low, 4 hours on high.
Stir in roasted red pepper strips.
When serving, sprinkle cilantro on top. Serve with lime wedges.

Lemon - Lime Bars Recipe

I love anything Lemon so I was in search of the perfect Lemon Bar Recipe, and got this from my golfing friend Susan; she loves to bake and goes to a lot of cooking classes (lucky dog). I made these over the weekend and I have to admit they are a great version of this treat. The crust is a shortbread texture, and stayed crisp (so many lemon bar recipes get soggy). The secret ingredient is actually LIMES and GINGER which make the flavor pop. Note that these take a little bit extra time versus other bars and brownies to prepare because there is a cooling period between the two bake sessions, so plan accordingly.

A couple of things to point out- 1- these definitely taste best eaten same day or within 24 hours, or else they start to break down. 2- they were a bear to get out of the baking pan. I didn't treat the pan, but next time I am going to try some non-stick spray to try to make them easier to remove. 3- since they are very rich, I cut them into smaller than normal size squares ( about 1 to 1.5 inches). 4- make sure you use large eggs, (no bigger) or else your lemon topping will taste like an omelet.

2 1/4 Cups flour
1/2 Cup confectioners sugar, plus extra for dusting
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Cup of unsalted butter, softened ( about 35 minutes)
4 large eggs
2 Cups of granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of grated lime zest ( about 1 large lime)
2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest ( 1 medium lemon)
2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground ginger

Pre-heat oven to 350. Coat a 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick spray.

In your large bowl of your stand mixer, sift together 2 cups of the flour, the confectioners' sugar, and salt. Add the butter, and mix at low to medium speed until thoroughly combined but not too creamy ( do not over-beat or your crust will get tough).

Bake until pale golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature ( about 1/2 hour or so).

While the crust is cooling, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the granulated sugar, lemon and lime zest, lemon and lime juice, ground ginger, and remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Whisk until thoroughly combined, and pour over cooled crust.

Reduce the temperature to 325, and bake until firm, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen. Allow to cool completely. Dust with confectioners sugar, and cut into bars. If the edges are hard, you might want to cut in 1/2 inch from edge of pan to start the rows of each bar.

Dulce de leche Brownies with Hazelnuts Recipe

I served these at my Masters party yesterday ( go Phil ! ) and they were a hit. These are incredibly moist and fudge-y, my favorite kind of brownie. This recipe is from David Lebovitz - I modified slightly by adding nuts and chocolate chips. The secret ingredient to this recipe is definitely Dulce De Leche, which is a Mexican caramel dessert topping you can find in specialty stores ( check out Whole Foods) . I've read about making it on your own ( it is basically sweetened condensed milk that is cooked to a caramel texture), but I bought a jar for my first attempt of this recipe.

These brownies are very rich, so I cut them into very small pieces ( 1 1/2 inch squares). That way you can have two and not feel guilty :)


8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips plus a 1/4 cup additional
1/4 Cup of cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 Cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Cup flour
1 Cup of hazelnuts, chopped ( or your favorite type of baking nut)
1 Cup of Dulce De Leche

preheat oven to 350

1-Line an 8 inch square pan with tin foil ( make sure tin foil covers bottom and all four sides- these brownies rise and stick) . Spray tin foil with non -stick spray.
2-Melt butter in medium sauce pan (you will be mixing everything in this pan, so do not go too small ). Add the 6 oz of chocolate chips and stir constantly over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
3- Mix in cocoa, stir until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time and mix, add sugar and mix, vanilla and flour and mix until smooth. Add extra chips and nuts and stir.
4- Pour half of batter into pan. Drop 1/3 of the Dulce De Leche evenly spaced over the batter. Use a knife and drag through the caramel to make swirls. make sure that you swirl to the edges . Spread the remaining brownie batter over this, then drop the remaining Dulce De Leche in spoonfuls on top and swirl slightly. Again, make sure you swirl to the edges.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. These brownies are fudge-y, make sure you don't over bake them. Center feels slightly firm. Edges will get dry if you over bake.
I had a hard time at first cutting these (because they are gooey) so......- cool on a wire rack completely. Then take them out of the pan ( lift out with tin foil) and put in the refrigerator for about an hour before you cut them. They will be much easier to cut.

Store in refrigerator for up to two days ( although I promise, they won't last that long )

Lemon Bundt Cake

Just in time for spring- a delicious bundt cake ! the secret ingredient is of course, the lemons !

I like to serve this with cut up strawberries and whipped cream.

Make sure you only use large eggs ( no bigger) or your cake may get dry. And if you use salted butter, then i would omit the salt in the recipe.

Ingredients

Cake

1 Cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature , plus extra to grease pan

2 Cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

3 Cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Cup of buttermilk

Grated zest of 2 large lemons

Juice of one large lemon ( 2 1/2 tablespoons)

Glaze ( the best part!)

1/2 Cup of unsalted butter softened

1 1/2 to 2 Cups of confectioners sugar, sifted

Grated zest of one large lemon

Juice of one large lemon ( 2 1/2 tablespoons)

preheat oven to 325 .

Grease and flour a 10 inch non- stick bundt pan.

1- Using electric stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together for 2 minutes until fluffy and pale. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping down sides of bowl.

2- In a medium bowl, with an electric hand mixer, mix flour, baking soda, and salt for 30 seconds. Sift into a second bowl. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. DON"T OVER MIX. Just fold gently until batter looks well blended. Fold in lemon zest and juice.

3- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing top with rubber spatula. Bake the cake for one hour to one hour 15 minutes, or until tester inserted in center comes out clean, and cake has begun to pull away from sides of pan. ( do not UNDER BAKE, or you wont get the bad boy out of the pan). Transfer pan to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.

4- While cake is cooling slightly, prepare the glaze. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter with hand electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sifted sugar, zest, and juice, until a creamy, pourable consistency is achieved. If too stiff, add more lemon juice or a little water. If too runny, add more sugar.

5- Say a prayer, and then invert the cake onto a wire rack and hope the pan comes off. Spoon glaze over hot cake. If your cake has broken a bit, use the glaze to glue it together.

Let cake cool completely before cutting. Like most baked treats- this cake is best served same day made, but keeps for a a day or two in airtight container at room temperature.