Blue Cayenne

Russian Salad

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Ingredients

• 1 pound potatoes
• 2 large carrots
• 3 large eggs (hard-boiled with the potatoes and peas)
• 1/2 C. blanched green peas (fresh or frozen, stay away from canned)
• 1 large red beet
• 2 t. salt
• 1 medium red onion (diced)
• 1/4 to 1/2 C. chopped kosher dill pickles
• Fresh Dill (chopped and to your taste)
• 1/2 C. mayonnaise
• Paprika or cayenne pepper (for garnish)
• Extra chopped fresh dill (for garnish)

Instructions

1. In a large pot of boiling water, boil potatoes, carrots and eggs together with 1 teaspoon of salt. The potatoes and carrots don't have to be peeled at this stage. This will take about 15 minutes--a bit more for the potatoes. (Be careful not to over boil the potatoes. You want the potato cubes in your salad to hold their shape.) Set aside to cool so that you can handle the vegetables and eggs to peel. (I speeded up the cooling by putting my boiled vegetables in a bowl of iced water.)
2. Cook (or defrost) the peas in the same water that you used for the carrots, eggs and potatoes. Remove from hot water, drain and set aside. Be careful not to overcook the peas. You want them to be firm and beautiful in the salad presentation.
3. Wrap a large red beet in foil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the beet is easy to slice. This will take about 45 minutes. Use a paring knife to stick into the beet to be sure it is baked through.
4. Peel the cooled hard boiled eggs. Peel the potatoes and the carrots. Cut everything into small cubes. Set aside.
5. Peel the cooled red beet. Slice into thin slices. Set aside.
6. Using a large mixing bowl, mix potatoes, carrots, eggs, peas, onion, chopped dill pickles, chopped and fresh dill together. Add the mayonnaise and mix well. Season with salt to your taste.
7. Arrange the salad decoratively on serving plates or serve in a large bowl. I used the beets as the foundation for the salad by arranging the beets in a pattern on the plate and tucking them tightly around the base of the salad. If I were to serve this salad in a large bowl, I would boil an extra egg and use egg slices and beet slices to decorate the bowl of salad. Alternatively, you can mix the beets into your salad but you will have a less attractive pink-colored salad.
8. I sprinkled a bit of paprika on the finished dish, but I think a sprinkle of cayenne pepper would be great too. I scattered more chopped fresh dill on top of the salad and I decorated the final dish with a sprig of dill.

Nutrition

Calories

1240 cal

Fat

84 g

Carbs

109 g

Protein

17 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Triple Chocolate Espresso Brownies

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Ingredients

For the Brownies
• 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C. dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 t. instant espresso powder (I used King Arthur brand)
• 1/4 t. kosher salt
• 1/2 C. unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (chopped)
• 1 1/4 C. granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1/2 C. chocolate chips
For Chocolate Glaze
• 6 oz. dark chocolate (50-70%) (chopped)
• 1/4 C. heavy cream
• 1/4 C. unsalted butter (cubed)
• 1 T. corn syrup
• 1 t. instant espresso powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare an 8 by 8 inch square baking pan by lining it with parchment and lightly buttering the paper.
2. Put flour, cocoa powder, salt and espresso powder into a medium bowl and whisk these dry ingredients together. Set aside.
3. Put butter and chopped chocolate in a saucepan over low heat. When the mixture is melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar until it is partially dissolved and forms a grainy paste. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes and then whisk in the eggs one at a time. Completely mix the first egg into the batter before adding the second egg. At this point, you need to continue whisking the batter for 1 to 2 more minutes until the batter is smooth and shiny.
4. Whisk the vanilla into the batter.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and fold in until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Scrape the batter into your prepared 8 by 8 inch pan. Bake for approximately 35 minutes. When the brownies are done put the pan on a rack. Let cool completely or refrigerate overnight.
7. Prepare the glaze by combining chocolate, cream, butter, corn syrup, and espresso in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour over the brownies and spread with a spatula to ensure that you have an even layer. Tap the pan of glazed brownies on your counter top to help the glaze settle and to remove any air bubbles. Cool for at least 1 hour and then place the brownies (covered) in your refrigerator so that the glaze will be completely set before trying to cut the brownies into individual portions.
8. When you are ready to cut and serve the brownies, remove the brownies from the refrigerator. Using the parchment paper as handles, remove the complete block of brownies from the pan. Use a large knife to slice the brownies into 16 squares. (I ran mine under hot water and then dried ithe knife each time I was ready to make a cut.)

Nutrition

Calories

4791 cal

Fat

177 g

Carbs

730 g

Protein

33 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Lemon-Buttermilk Pound Cake

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Ingredients

Cake
• 2 3/4 C. cake flour
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• 3/4 C. buttermilk
• 3 T. lemon juice
• 5 large eggs (room temperature and separated)
• 2 C. plus 3 T. white sugar
• 2 T. grated lemon zest
• 13 T.(1 1/2 sticks plus 1 T.) (room temperature and divided-I used unsalted butter with a generous pinch of kosher salt)
Glaze
• 1 C. powdered sugar
• 1 or 2 T. lemon juice (to your taste)
• Coconut milk to thin the glaze to the consistency you want

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. and thoroughly grease a bundt pan with 1 T. of softened butter. (Use a pastry brush to help grease your pan by brushing the softened butter into the crevices on the pan.) Adjust the baking rack in your oven to a middle position.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine buttermilk and lemon juice. Set aside.
4. Using the whisk attachment on your stand mixer, whisk room temperature egg whites at medium speed for about a minute. You want the whites to be light and foamy. Keep the mixer running and slowly sprinkle 3 T. of sugar into the whites. Continue to whisk until the mixture turns thick and glossy and will hold soft peaks. This will take about 1 minute. Gently scoop out the egg white mixture and put it into a bowl and set aside.
5. Change the tool on your mixer to the paddle attachment. Put 2 C. sugar and lemon zest into the stand mixer bowl. Mix the sugar and the lemon zest for about 1 minute. You want to thoroughly mix in the zest and you want the mixture to begin to clump. Add the remaining 12 T. of room temperature butter and continue to mix until the ingredients are well-combined and begins to form around the paddle attachment. You should be using a medium-low setting on your mixer. Next, raise the speed of your mixer to medium-high and beat the mixture until it turns pale and is a bit fluffy. This will take 3-4 minutes.
6. Lower mixer speed to low and add egg yolks one by one, mixing and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Once the egg yolks are well-incorporated into the batter, slowly add about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Mix on low. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture. Mix on low. Repeat ending with the last of the flour mixture.
7. Fold 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the batter, mixing thoroughly. Then, add the rest of the whipped egg whites folding the whites carefully into the batter to keep from losing too much of the air in the whipped whites. Do not over mix. You only want the whites to be lightly mixed with the batter in this last step.
8. Pour the batter into your prepared bundt pan. Level the top of the batter with a spatula. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 50 to 60 minutes. Halfway through the baking, rotate the bundt pan in your oven to allow for more even baking.
9. When the cake is done (it should be firm when pressed and should spring back when pressed), remove it from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Next, run a knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Also, run the knife around the center tube of the bundt pan to loosen it from that part of the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving plate.
10. Prepare the glaze by combining powdered sugar, lemon juice and coconut milk. Drizzle with lemon glaze.
11. Cool cake completely before serving.