Coconut Pudding Roll

I had these rolls at Sara's house for James' 1st birthday dinner (so that tells you how long ago).  I HATE, HATE, HATE coconut so I didn't want to even try them.

But I did.

And I LOVED them.

And have been dreaming of them ever since.

We had friends over for a BBQ last weekend. Ken wanted to grill coconut shrimp, so I figured it was the perfect excuse to make these dreamy rolls.

I admit, Ken and I were both skeptical when I poured all of that liquid on the dough.  I didn't see how all of it could possible be absorbed and still have the dough cook.

No need to worry...they turned out SO DARN GOOD.  The recipe made 24 and between four adults and one Linus we were able to eat all but 3 (which I took for lunch the next day). 

Make these rolls today.  And thank me (and Sara) tomorrow.



Coconut Pudding Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 package dry active yeast
• 3 1/4 cups plus 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled, plus more for buttering bowl
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 can (13 1/2 oz.) coconut milk

Preparation

• 1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter, salt, and egg until smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour and knead into soft dough, adding up to 1/4 cup flour as needed. Put dough in a large buttered bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down and allow to double again, about 30 minutes.
• 2. Whisk together coconut milk, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 tbsp. flour until smooth. Set aside.
• 3. Divide dough into 24 small balls. Put them in a 9- by 13-in. baking pan, cover, and allow to double, about 30 minutes.
• 4. Preheat oven to 350°. Pour reserved coconut-milk mixture over raised rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Greek Chicken Pasta

Clearly it's Ken's week to cook. 

He made the Greek Chicken Pasta (again, from the May 2011 issue).  It smelled so great and tasted even better.  The feta and olives were the perfect mix. 

(I tried to eat it for lunch the next day and I have to admit the left-overs weren't as good as the night before.)

Greek Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

• 6 ounces spaghetti
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 8 ounces baby spinach
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
• 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
• 1 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 3 ounces good-quality feta cheese, crumbled

 Preparation

• 1. Cook spaghetti as package directs.
• 2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach, wine, chile flakes, olives, pine nuts, salt, and pepper.
• 3. Drain pasta, return to pot, and add onion mixture and chicken. Stir to coat and cook over medium heat until warmed, about 4 minutes. Transfer to plates and top with feta cheese.

Simple Salmon Chirashi

Janeece here.  So Ken's been wanting to try this salmon recipe ever since the May Sunset arrived in the mail.  It seemed like it was pretty easy to make.  (I was in the basement playing Lego's with Linus so it seemed easy to me!)  It turned out super duper yummy.  I especially liked the wasabi soy sauce (but Linus didn't).  The seaweed made it way, way, way to salty so we picked the seaweed out (Linus loved the seaweed and kept his in, as well as eating the left-over seaweed).

Simple Salmon Chirashi

Ingredients

• 1 cup medium-grain white rice
• 1 pound wild salmon fillets, such as sockeye, skinned and cut into 4 pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup halved and sliced English cucumber
• 1 cup cubed avocado
• 1 sheet nori, torn into pieces
• 2 green onions, sliced diagonally
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons wasabi powder
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Preparation

• 1. Cook rice as package directs. Preheat broiler. Sprinkle salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. Broil fish until done the way you like it, about 6 minutes for medium.
• 2. Divide rice among 4 serving bowls. Lay a piece of salmon on each. Top each serving with cucumber, avocado, nori, onions, and sesame seeds.
• 3. Mix soy, wasabi, and oil in a small bowl and serve with the salmon and rice.

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies

If you like brownies, you might want to try your hand at making these.

Acapulco Enchiladas

Acapulco Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped ripe olives
• 1 cup slivered or coarsely chopped almonds
• 3 cups Mexican Enchilada Sauce
• 12 corn tortillas (7-inch)
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons minced green onions

Preparation

• 1. Combine chicken, olives, almonds, and enough of the enchilada sauce to moisten (about 1/3 cup).
• 2. Use tongs to dip the tortillas into medium-hot oil. Fry tortillas just a few seconds, until they bubble and are limp--do not fry crisp.
• 3. Dip fried tortilla into heated enchilada sauce as soon as it comes out of the hot fat. A cake pan just larger than the tortilla is an ideal utensil.
• 4. Lay sauce-dipped tortilla out on a board or pan. (This part of enchilada making is admittedly slightly messy, but well worth the trouble.) Generously spoon the chicken filling in the center of the tortilla.
• 5. Turn tortilla over the filling, roll, and place (with the flap pointing down) in baking pan. Fry, dip, fill, and roll remaining tortillas. Ladle additional enchilada sauce over enchiladas and top with cheddar. Place enchiladas in a moderate oven (350°) for 15 to 20 minutes--or until thoroughly heated. Mix cold sour cream with onions and serve as a sauce.

june sunset

gluten free organic pasta salad

gluten free organic pasta salad

1 box of brown rice noodles

1 can organic diced tomatoes

1 cup of diced fresh mozzerella 

15 diced kalamata olives

1 jar organic garlic pesto sauce

cook the pasta, then cool under cold water. 

add everything else.

from annie brown

blue cheese and pear tart

Blue Cheese and Pear Tart

• 1 sheet thawed frozen puff pastry (8.6 oz.)
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup gorgonzola dolce cheese
• 1/2 small onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ripe pear, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 425° with a rack set on bottom. Lay dough flat on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Poke holes all over dough with a fork, leaving the outer inch untouched. Bake until dough starts to puff, about 10 minutes.
• 2. Whisk together egg and cheese until smooth and spread over dough, using a spoon to move mixture toward the corners. Sauté onion in oil in a frying pan until softened. Scatter onion and pear over cheese.
• 3. Bake until pastry is golden brown and egg has set, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with thyme and cut into squares.

Salsa Ranchera (Sunset - January 2010)

One word... SIMPLE. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.