Mint Sour Cream Doughnuts with Chocolate Dipping Sauce

I promised you doughnuts the other day and being a woman of my word; I present to you Mint Sour Cream Doughnuts with Chocolate Dipping Sauce.  Can I get a drum roll please!  Okay that might be a bit much.

I was in an over the top green kind of mood this weekend.  Even though I'm not Irish I love any excuse to join in the celebrating.   At the market I picked up all kinds of green goodies including this cheese I just couldn't pass up.

Seriously, if you see this cheese just grab it you won't be sorry.  I added it to my artichoke stuffing and wow, oh wow.

I'm hoping this makes me at least 1/10th Irish now.  

Even with the corned beef blood bath incident my spirits were still high and I went on to end the evening on a high note enjoying a plate full of warm doughnuts with a warm chocolate dipping sauce.  

Makes 24 doughnut holes

Sour Cream Mint Doughnuts

1 egg 

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 

1/2 cup sour cream 

5-6 drops green food coloring (optional)  

1 tsp. mint extract 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract    

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

5 to 6 Cups vegetable oil for frying 

In a bowl add the egg, sugar, sour cream, green food coloring, mint extract, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Dough will be sticky.  

Use a teaspoon to extract the dough to form a ¾-inch ball.  I used my smallest sized cookie scoop and that worked really well.  Set aside until ready to fry in the oil. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.  In a large heavy pot heat 4-inches oil until it reaches 350 degrees on a candy thermometer. Fry in small batches about 2 to 3 minutes for each batch and flip the donuts once during the cooking process.

Chocolate Dipping Sauce 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

2 tablespoons sugar 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter 

4 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped 

Combine in a medium heavy saucepan: cream, sugar, and butter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add in the chopped chocolate. Let stand one minute and then whisk until smooth. Serve warm.

I saw so many good recipes this week I just had to share some of them with you!  I'm liking this Irish thing.

Spearmint Chocolate Truffles for St. Patrick's Day
Brownies with Bailey's Buttercream
Mint Chocolate Mash-Up Cookies
Black and White Irish Cream Cupcakes
Irish Cream Brownies with Chocolate Ganache
St. Patty's Day Vanilla Cupcakes with Bittersweet Chocolate Buttercream

I could go on and on with the sweets, but how about some veggies and bread instead:
Colcannon
Ballymaloe Brown Bread
Ghost Pepper Salted Guinness Pretzels

Enjoy,

Gina

Panna Cotta and Lunch with 2 Italians

A recipe I like to keep close at hand for a quick dessert is Panna Cotta, especially when ripe fruit is abundant. I had barely unpacked from moving when my Aunt informed me she had signed me up for Italian class. I was a little unsure as to where I'd find the time to spare, but I was long overdue to learn to speak the language properly. My grandparents came here from Italy and spoke Italian in front of us, but they wanted my parents to be American, so insisted they speak English.

After the first two weeks of class I knew there was no turning back and that I’m not quitting until I’m fluent. The biggest hurdle to learning a language is not using it enough, so I told my Aunt she has to come over to my house once a week for lunch and practice.

When she comes over I try and fix her a simple Italian meal with dessert of course and when I don’t have to run right out afterwards a glass of red wine never hurts. (It improves your Italian too, my opinion anyways.)

This week we had a frittata with vegetables I picked up at the farmer’s market, a green salad and for dessert this perfect light and not too sweet dessert. My Aunt is a diabetic, so I made this dessert with her in mind and omitted the sugar in the panna cotta, it works just fine without it and including it is a matter of personal preference.

Vanilla-Almond Panna Cotta

¼ cup vanilla almond milk (or low-fat milk)

1 packet unflavored gelatin (2 ½ teaspoons)

2 cups heavy cream

¼ cup granulated sugar (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 teaspoon almond extract

In a large bowl add the almond milk and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Heat the cream and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the milk starts bubbling. Take the cream off the heat and pour into the almond milk, add the vanilla and almond extract and whisk gently until combined.

Pour the mixture into 4 ramekins that are lightly oiled or do as I did and pour the mixture into 4 empty 8-ounce jelly jars (no need to oil). Cover the jars or ramekins with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a minimum of four hours.

Serve with a generous amount of Apricot Mint Topping.

Apricot Mint Topping

5-6 apricots (I say the more the merrier.)

1 tablespoon apple-mint leaves (2-3), chiffonade

1 tablespoon agave sweetener or honey

Juice from ½ of a lime

Peel, pit and slice the apricots. Add the apricots, apple-mint leaves, agave and lime juice to a bowl and place in the fridge until ready to use.

I planted an apple-mint herb plant this spring and I’m so glad I did, it’s much milder than spearmint. Worth adding to your herb garden if you can find it.

I’ve had the words tired and apathetic running through my mind lately. I believe it’s more tired than apathy, I think the problem is I’m long overdue for a break. My schedule has been punishing as of late and I have some other projects that need my attention. One of them is my niece needs a mural of Rapunzel riding a unicorn over a rainbow. So I think I’m going to take the next few weeks off and just detour for awhile. Trying to reason with my apathy I was drawn to the poem “The New Colossus” written by Emma Lazarus and I knew it was no accident this poem crossed my path considering that my Grandparents were greeted by Lady Liberty when they arrived in this country.

If you e-mail me, I’ll try and get back to you promptly, but I probably won’t be online much.

Thanks everyone,

Gina

p.s.  I already published this once without the photos, duh.  If that isn't a sign I need a break; I don't know what is.

Chocolate Mint Dessert - Happy Birthday Grandpa

I always get a little misty eyed this time of year. August 13th is a bittersweet day for me, Grandpa Silvio's birthday. His birthday was the day before mine and I still think about how he is not here to celebrate with.

I was looking through some old cookbooks the other day when I saw this Hershey's recipe with Creme de Menthe; right away I got a big smile on my face. My parents weren't big drinkers, but we always had Creme De Menthe in the house, so did Grandpa. That fact still surprises me considering the five of us were so bad. I figured this would be a perfect little dessert for us to celebrate with!

Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups (16 oz. can) Hershey's Syrup

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, butter, eggs and syrup; beat until smooth. Pour into greased 13x9x2" pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25-30 mins. Cool the cake then chill it for 1 hour. 

Mint Cream

2 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tbsp. green Creme de Menthe or 1 teaspoon mint extract and green food coloring

In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, butter and Creme de Menthe and beat until smooth. I added a little extra powdered sugar, because it wasn't the consistency I wanted.

Spread mint cream on cake, cover and chill for 1 hour.

Chocolate Topping

6 tbsp. butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a small saucepan over low heat melt butter and chocolate chips. Remove from heat; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Pour chocolate topping over chilled dessert. Cover; chill at least one hour before serving.

I just had to throw this picture in for you; I thought it was kinda cool when I saw it. Help me I'm falling and can't get up (bad humor, I know). They looked good and I couldn't wait to give them a try, Happy Birthday to Me, Right! I must confess they were good, but a little too sweet and not enough chocolate flavor for my taste; hard to believe that came out of my mouth. I did change my mind though after eating half the pan.

I don't really worry about age; it is just a number after all. I'm spending my birthday prepping for my daughter's party on Sunday and I'm quite happy about that. I cook because I want to not because I have to. Wait till you see the desserts I have in the works for her.

Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me!!!! Now I'm happy, never stay sad for more than a moment that frown may become permanent.

Enjoy,

Gina