Life According to Lisa

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

With St Patty's Day more than a week gone by, Easter around the corner, I have two, yes two cravings that must be satisfied. First you must know that I can't get enough of those Philly special Irish Potato Candies. Buttery, creamy coconut balls rolled in powdered cinnamon by far beat any truffle I've ever tasted. On top of all that, I can't get Aunt Mickie's best ever New York cheesecake off my mind. See her dad, my husbands grandfather was a baker at the Waldorf Astoria raising nine kids in lower Manhattan at the turn of the last century. Boy, could that family bake! Her cheesecake was legendary at family gatherings. But now I've divined a way to combine a Philly Classic with a New York goddess. And it's baking away as we speak. Here's what I did to mosh these two divinities.

Irish Potato Candy Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Prepare 9"springform pan by spraying with cooking spray and wrapping outside of pan with large sheet of aluminum foil.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
4 8oz. Packages cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
2 Tablespoons butter (softened)
Powdered cinnamon
Crust:
In medium bowl, use a fork to combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into bottom of prepared springform pan. Chill while assembling filling.
Filling:
In cuisine-art, process flaked coconut until fine. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in sugar, coconut, and vanilla. Beat all ingredients until smooth. Do not overbeat.
Pour/spoon filling into springform pan and set pan into larger roasting pan. Add boiling water to roasting pan so it comes up to about an inch on sides of springform pan. Set this into oven and bake 50 minutes or until cake is almost set. Turn oven off and let cake cool for an hour in oven before removing. Let cake cool completely before serving. Best if refrigerated overnight. Enjoy!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Braised Chicken Provencal

yield: Makes 4 servingsactive time: 25 min

total time: 1 1/2 hr

Featuring olive oil and the combined herbs and produce of the south of France, this one-dish country dinner will transport you to a café table in...

ingredients

1 jar Florentine Pasta Sauce

1/2 cup sliced, drained green olives

2 large garlic cloves, sliced

1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 whole chicken (cut up)

1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons herbes de Provence

preparation:

Preheat convection oven to 325°F or regular oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Remove excess fat from chicken and pat dry, then dredge with seasoning mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence in large zip lock bag.

Toss together carrots, mushrooms, onion, and sliced garlic, in a 13- by 9-inch or other 3-quart shallow baking dish.

Over medium heat, in large saute pan, brown seasoned chicken pieces 3-4 minutes per side. Then put chicken in baking dish.

Deglaze saute pan with white wine. Stir in florentine pasta sauce and drained green olives. Pour sauce over chicken dish.

Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour in convection oven; 1 to 1 1/4 hours in regular oven.

Let chicken stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley. Serve with vegetables and pan juices.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Chocolate Cravings Gone Wild!

Every night after dinner I crave something sweet. It's just something I've become accustomed to battling. To fight off this obsession, I usually resort to cereal or yogurt, but tonight I'm going to all out and will indulge myself in this intoxicatingly easy creation. If it all goes well, I'll bring the ingredients over to Amy's Saturday for girls night of popcorn and pictures.
Craving the sweet and salty combination? Here’s a salted caramel chocolate mug cake that takes just 2 minutes to make. We like to refer to it as Heaven in a Cup.
Salted Caramel Mug Cake
{makes 1 mug cake}
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg – beaten
3 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 salted caramels
1. Into a small bowl add: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix to combine. 2. Pour mixture into a regular sized coffee mug. Drop caramels into center of mixture one at a time. 3. Microwave on high for one minute and 30 seconds. If needed {if cake batter is still gooey}, microwave on high for up to an additional 30 seconds.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Get ready High school, here I come!

Summer's my time to run. Run here, there, around the neighborhood, through the park, going solo or with family and friends. I'm always dashing somewhere. This week we dashed to Gettysburg to settle Johnny into his freshman year at college. Next week, we dash down to Hot'lanta for Mimi's senior year. Life keeps dashing by me. But I'll forever be young, as I get the pleasure to teach high schoolers with autism in a local public school of excellence. Each morning I start the day with a run to clear out the cobwebs and wake up the brain. It's my Me time. My Zone time. time to reflect, gather and inspire myself to be the best that I can be. For the past 20+ years of my 56 year old body, I've been an aspiring runner. Way back I signed up for a 5 miler and only trained for a 5K. And when I say trained, I say it very loosely. Should I have been shocked when my friend and I finished last and next to last for this event? Heck no! My goal has always been to complete, not compete and boy I was so relieved and yes, proud to have finished the course that day. Today I can still run an eight minute mile and keep on going no matter the distance. Well maybe not a marathon, but maybe it's time to contemplate that item on my bucket list. Is there a marathon in New Zealand I can train for?