Tis the season for citrus fruits!  I’ve had a recipe for olive oil cake that I’ve been meaning to try for the past 2 years.  I finally saw some blood oranges at the supermarket and decided to make Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake.  The cake tastes almost like a pound cake but much lighter since there’s no butter.  I also created a glaze of confectioner’s sugar, blood orange juice, and milk.  The glaze makes this cake look pretty-in-pink and gives it an extra sweetness.  I definitely like how the olive oil cake turned out and will be trying this recipe with lemon next.  Enjoy!

• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
• Juice of 1 blood orange
• 1-2 tbsp milk (or until desired consistency)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Grate the zest from 2 of the blood oranges and place it in a bowl. Dump in the sugar and, using your fingertips, rub the ingredients together until the sugar is evenly flecked with the zest and the smell is irresistible.

3. Supreme two oranges: Lop off the bottom and top so a bit of the fruit is exposed and the orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Starting at the top, cut away the peel and white pith with the tip of your knife, following the curve of the fruit. Slice down one side of a section and the other, using your knife to wiggle the fruit out, releasing it from the membranes and letting it fall into a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the sections and do the same to the second orange. Break up the segments with your fingers.

4. Halve the remaining orange and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. You’ll have about 1/4 cup. Add enough sour cream to the juice until you have 2/3 cup of liquid. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the zested sugar and whisk well. Then plop in the eggs and whisk until incorporated.

5. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil a little at a time. Fold in the orange segments. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

6. Bake the cake for about 55 minutes, until it is golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan and onto the wire rack, right-side up, and cool to room temperature.

7.  Meanwhile, whisk frosting ingredients together until desired consistency.  Once cake has completely cooled, drizzle frosting over.

Yield: 2 dozen

 *Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and unsweetened chocolate.  Heat, stirring often, until melted, about 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt.  Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir until just blended.  Stir in the chips.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out almost completely clean, about 30 minutes (longer if using a metal pan).  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.
5. Meanwhile, to make the frosting, cream peanut butter and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed. On low speed, mix in sugar until combined, then beat mixture on high speed until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes.
6. Once brownies have cooled completely, spread frosting on top (you will have frosting left over).  Sprinkle Reese’s Pieces over frosting and cut into squares.

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 48 Oreo Cookies (you need 24 cream-filled sides)
• Reese’s Pieces  (24 brown for eyes and 12 orange for beak)

*Adapted from how Sweet it is

I made these Cornmeal Muffins to go with my White Turkey Chili that I made this past weekend.  Since this week has been super cold in the D.C. Metro Area, this is the perfect comfort food.  I am pretty acclimiated to cold weather; I grew up in Syracuse and went to college in Rochester.  However, let it be noted that these are not walking cities… we turn our cars on, let them get warm, and then drive everywhere.  Normally, you’re not walking very much outside or at least not 4 blocks to work like I do every morning from the metro.  It’s during these times that I miss driving to work.  But as I’m walking faster than most people are driving in D.C., I go back to being grateful for public transportation. The grass is always greener right? 

In other news, I have to tell you about this book that I read right before Christmas.  It’s called the Soldier’s Wife by Margaret Leroy and is one of the best books that I’ve read in a while.  It’s historical fiction (which is my fav) and is set during WWII on a tiny island off the coast of Normandy in the English Channel called Guernsey.  I had planned on bringing this book home over Christmas to read, but instead, finished it in 2 days right before we left for the holidays.  Ooops!  It was that good.  I highly recommend.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease 11 standard muffing cups with cooking spray.  Fill the unused cup halfway with water to prevent warping.
2. Sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and sage into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the milk, olive oil and eggs. Fold into the flour mixture and stir 15-2o strokes; do not overmix.
3. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling them level with the rim.  Sprinkle each muffin with parmesan cheese.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden on top or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

*Adapted from Muffins

Going back to work after a nice week-long hiatus is always hard, but since today was my birthday, it could’ve been worse!  :-)  I made this White Turkey Chili over the weekend along with some Cornmeal Muffins.  I wanted something easy that I could throw in my slow cooker that was hearty and full of flavor.  This chili was definitely a pleasant alternative to the regular stuff.  I added some of my favorite beans (butter and cannelini) and also a can of hominy.  I had never cooked with hominy before, but saw it while browsing around the Goya aisle at the grocery store.  According to Dictionary.com, hominy is “coarsely ground maize prepared as a food by boiling in milk or water.”  Haha I dunno… but it was good and gave the chili a unique flavor!  Enjoy and have a wonderful week.  Stay tuned for the delicious birthday dinner my hubby made me!

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in large sautee pan over moderate heat and add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink about 2 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable and turkey mix to your slow cooker.  Add the cannellini and butter beans, broth, oregano, and hominy to the slow cooker.  Stir to combine and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Cook on low for 6 hours or until ready to serve.
4. Spoon hot chili into bowls and top with shredded cheese immediately so cheese will melt.  Garnish with fresh parsley and fresh lemon.  Serve alongside Cornmeal Muffins (To Be Continued!).

*Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Enjoy and have a Merry and blessed Christmas!!!!!!

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup eggnog
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt

Frosting:

• 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp eggnog
• 3 tbsp rum (I used Captain Morgan)
• Nutmeg for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light.  Add egg and eggnog and mix until blended.  On low speed, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until blended.
3. Drop dough by the teaspoon onto cookie sheet, spacing each cookie 2″ apart.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool completely on wire rack.
4. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine confectioner’s sugar, eggnog, and rum and beat until smooth.  Underneath the wire rack, place a sheet of parchment or wax paper to catch the excess frosting.  Using a butter knife or metal spatula, frost the top of the cookies and sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg.  Allow to dry.

Yield:  36 cookies

*Sweet Maria’s Big Baking Bible