-
April 28, 2013 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
My dear, imaginary internet friends, I have a confession to make. I’ve lured you here under false pretenses. Yes, I will eventually get to the velvety dumplings I promised you, and yes, you could just scroll down to the recipe. But I hope you’ll read my shameless plug first.
When I’m not cooking up fabulous dishes in my kitchen, I’m cooking up fabulous musicals for the stage. I work with a small theater company in the Twin Cities and we’re creating a new show all about growing up called Are You There, God? It’s a New Musical Revue! The show, inspired by Judy Blume and other YA fiction, will premiere at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in August.
And we’re raising funds via Kickstarter to offset the production costs. If you’d like to make a donation—even $5 will help—I’d be incredibly grateful. If you’re unable to make a donation, but you’d like to support the show, please pass along a link to your blog readers, your Facebook friends, your Twitter followers, your barista…anyone you think might be interested in supporting our show.
The Ugly Dumpling
I’ve been working on this show for the past decade, and it’s truly a labor of love. And I’d love it if you played a part in it.
And now for the recipe I promised. I’m a big fan of edamame—my favorite movie-watching treat is edamame steamed in the shell, then dusted with truffle salt. I promise: it’s better than popcorn. I wanted to give my fave flavor combo an upgrade, and hoo boy, these dumplings did the trick. They’re younger than springtime—bright, fresh, and tender—yet creamy and luxurious. Dip them in the shallot broth for a perfect sweet-and-salty bite.
Continue reading for the Truffled Edamame Potstickers with Shallot Broth recipe
(more…)
Category Appetizer, Beans, Dumplings, Sauce, Shallot, Vegetable, Vegetarian | Tags: appetizer,beans,dumplings,sauce,shallot,vegetable,vegetarian | 5 Comments
-
April 14, 2013 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Well, this is awkward. I suppose it’s a little late to give a heads up that posting will be sparse until my show opens in August…? Also, the dog ate my homework, and the check is in the mail.
I’m sure you will forgive me for failing to post a new recipe for (gasp!) an entire month, when you try this righteous salad. It’s bright and fresh, yet satisfying, with a perfect balance of salty, sweet, and sour. It’s so delicious that with one bite, you’ll forget entirely what a lazy slacker I am. The recipe is from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman. Do you have this book? You need this book.
The day I prepared this salad is pretty much a blur—I was so rushed making dinner for Mom and Handsome Greg that I barely had a chance to take photos of the meal. So I’m sorry to say that my sad pics don’t begin to do this recipe justice. Just another reason to pick up The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook; the photos are so beautiful you’ll have to resist the urge to devour the actual pages. The only change I made from the original recipe was to omit the tablespoon of fresh, minced ginger, because, as I mentioned before, I’m deathly allergic. If ginger doesn’t send you to the ER, then I suppose you ought to add it to the dressing as Deb suggests. She knows what she’s talking about.
Continue reading for the Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Miso Dressing recipe
(more…)
Category Appetizer, Beans, Cabbage, Family and Friends, Garlic, Handsome Greg, My Mom Rules, Onion, Peas, Radish, Salad, Sauce, Side Dish, Vegetable, Vegetarian | Tags: appetizer,beans,cabbage,garlic,handsome greg,my mom rules,onion,peas,radish,salad,sauce,side dish,vegetable,vegetarian | 11 Comments
-
December 30, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Happy Holidays, imaginary internet friends! And congratulations on surviving the end of the world. Now I’m off to Barnes and Noble to demand a refund for my Mayan wall calendar. Wish me luck!
In the meantime, I hope you’ll take another look at the 10 most popular recipes I shared this year.
S’mores Fried Ice Cream with Chipotle Chocolate Sauce
Asparagus Lasagna with Pancetta, Goat Cheese, and Lemon
Baked Churros with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Dulce de Leche
Loaded Baked Potato Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Cinnamon Roll Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
Toffee Cashew Cookies
Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Pie Crust Crackers
Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich
And the most popular recipe of 2012:
Pepperoni Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Here’s to a delicious (and gooey) new year!
Category Asparagus, Bread, Breakfast, Cake, Caramel, Carrots, Celery, Chicken, Chocolate, Cookies, Corn, Dessert, Family and Friends, Fruit, Garlic, Green Beans, Grilled Cheese, Handsome Greg, Ice Cream, Jalapeno, Lemon, My Mom Rules, No Cheese Left Behind, Nuts, One-Dish Meals, Onion, Pasta, Peas, Pork, Potato, Professor Meowington, Recessipes, Sandwich, Sauce, Soup, Spread, Tomato, Turkey, Vegetable, Vegetarian | Tags: asparagus,bread,breakfast,cake,caramel,carrots,celery,chicken,chocolate,cookies,corn,dessert,fruit,garlic,green beans,grilled cheese,handsome greg,ice cream,jalapeno,lemon,my mom rules,no cheese left behind,nuts,one-dish meals,onion,pasta,peas,pork,potato,professor meowington,recessipes,sandwich,sauce,soup,spread,tomato,turkey,vegetable,vegetarian | 2 Comments
-
November 14, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Just last week(ish), I shared with you all how my allergy to green peppers indirectly prevented me from ever tasting tomatillos. Today, my imaginary internet friends, I’m going to tell another terrible tale: The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Bake Up, Little Suzy’s Exclusion from the Whole of Asian Cuisine.
(I know. The title needs work. It’s a little wordy.)
Bell peppers are not my only edible allergens. I’m also allergic to ginger, coffee, curry, and horseradish. And that bizarre combination not only kept me from coffee house poetry slams in the 90’s, but also excludes me from enjoying the cuisine of Asia to this very day.
I’ve long dreamed of preparing meals that feature the genuine flavors of China, India, Korea, Thailand—but I’ve never really tasted them, out of fear of, well, dying. So I’m attempting to learn about entirely unfamiliar flavors, in utterly inauthentic ways.
I begin today with this fresh and crispy, savory and sweet, salty and crunchy salad. Now I’m assuming that normal people who don’t share my allergies will add ginger to the dressing or the marinade or both. But I found this salad delicious, satisfying, and not at all deadly without it.
Continue reading for the Sesame Chicken Salad recipe.
(more…)
Category Chicken, Fruit, Greens, Nuts, Onion, Orange, Salad, Sauce, Vegetable | Tags: chicken,fruit,greens,nuts,onion,orange,salad,sauce,vegetable | 8 Comments
-
October 28, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Please believe me: I love pretty food.
Now I know that seems unlikely, given the sorry, grey-brown mess that is today’s featured recipe.
But despite its sad mud-pie appearance, this dish has a lot to offer.
Tender, juicy, and highly seasoned ground beef patties are smothered in savory gravy with meaty mushrooms.
Still, this dish needs to accessorize in the worst way. So in the spirit of Halloween dress-up, here are the Salisbury Bats:
Salisbury Jason:
Salisbury Jokester:
And Salisbury Devil:
Happy Halloween!
Continue reading for the Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy recipe
(more…)
Category Beef, Garlic, Mushrooms, Onion, Recessipes, Sauce, Vegetable | Tags: beef,garlic,mushrooms,onion,recessipes,sauce,vegetable | 9 Comments
-
July 19, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Most of the year, I really appreciate the giant, south-facing windows in each room of my apartment. Particularly in wintertime as the sun rises and paints my buttery yellow walls with a gentle glow, I’m thankful that my odd-numbered apartment placed me on the south side of the building.
In July, however, those same windows with tightly sealed blinds conceal an indoor climate of roughly 8 berzillion degrees with a dew point of oh-my-god-my-hair-is-still-wet-three-hours-after-washing-it. I can’t believe I’m talking about the weather, but what the fork? It’s hot.
So hot. Only my lemon understands.
And that’s not just my garbage-crap excuse for failing to post a new recipe for nearly a month. It’s also my garbage-crap excuse for failing to cook anything blog-worthy for nearly a month. I’m smack-dab in the center of my annual mid-summer meal slump. I don’t really feel like cooking and nothing sounds good to me except salads and sandwiches.
So I was shocked—shocked—when I found myself craving pasta. In JULY. One steamy afternoon, I imagined twirling my fork in a mess of spaghetti, and I just had to make a light, sunshiny, quick and easy, pasta dinner. This lemon pesto capellini with shrimp is the perfect combination of bright, summer flavors, tender-toothsome textures, and crave-busting carbs.
Continue reading for the Lemon Pesto Pasta with Shrimp recipe
(more…)
Category Family and Friends, Fish and Seafood, Fruit, Lemon, Pasta, Professor Meowington, Sauce | Tags: fish and seafood,fruit,lemon,pasta,professor meowington,sauce | 16 Comments
-
June 30, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
I had the best idea.
One night I was craving a hearty salad with sweet-tart, fresh fruit vinaigrette. I’d already made salad dressings with lemon, orange, and tangerine, but I wanted to move out of the citrus family and try something different.
And that’s when inspiration struck – I could transform the classic combination of strawberries and balsamic vinegar into a savory salad dressing, with layer upon layer of flavors.
Juicy, caramelized strawberries, fresh garlic, creamy-sharp Dijon mustard, a tender kiss of wild blackberry honey, and aged balsamic vinegar.
Sadly, this brilliant idea occurred to me five months ago, in the dead of Minnesota winter, when strawberries—if they could be found at all—were dry and wooden.
That left me with 147 long, cold days to dream of ripe, juicy berries. In those 147 days, I wondered just what would happen when you roasted strawberries. I finally had a chance to roast strawberries last week, and as it turns out, this is what it smells like when doves cry.
The strawberry halves gently caramelized in the oven, their juices slowly seeping out and thickening, before they became the foundation of my new favorite salad dressing. I tossed the dressing with romaine hearts and scallions, then topped the greens with roasted chicken, goat cheese, and sweet-n-spicy candied almonds.
It was a very long winter.
Continue reading for Chicken Salad with Roasted Strawberry Vinaigrette Recipe
(more…)
Category Chicken, Fruit, Greens, No Cheese Left Behind, Nuts, One-Dish Meals, Onion, Salad, Sauce, Strawberry, Vegetable | Tags: chicken,fruit,greens,no cheese left behind,nuts,one-dish meals,onion,salad,sauce,strawberry,vegetable | 3 Comments
-
May 28, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
It was a dark and stormy summer night. The rain beat against the windows and a vulgar blaze of lightening tore open the night sky. Full of green chile enchiladas and cocktails, Mom, Handsome Greg, Professor Meowington, and I gathered in a circle on the living room floor, passing the flashlight and sharing ghost stories (like that one about the young couple whose car breaks down during a storm when there’s a serial killer on the loose.)
Another chorus of baritone thunder sang through the quiet, and I returned to the kitchen for my 2nd (OK, 4th) vodka lemonade. A blood-curdling scream escaped my throat as my eyes fixed on a most horrifying sight: my toasted marshmallow ice cream balls, carefully coated in two layers of graham cracker crumbs had been left on top of the refrigerator to melt in the summer heat. Nnnnooooooooooo!
The flaccid, lifeless ice cream balls squished under my finger. I threw them back in the freezer, and wondered, who could’ve done such a thing? Who’d been in my kitchen? Oh, my god! The ice cream killer was inside the house.
As it turns out, Handsome Greg left our dessert on top of the fridge when he got out the ice for the last round of drinks. Actually, he was a dead giveaway; Handsome Greg is the only one of us tall enough to reach something above the refrigerator. And the ice cream balls were saved in the nick of time. They hardened up in the freezer as the oil was heating and the chocolate was softening and the thunder was thundering.
Handsome Greg was forgiven, and we all enjoyed a ridiculous and delicious dessert.
In light of my happy ending, I suggest you host a slumber party, tell ghost stores, and fry up some ice cream of your own. You’ll break through the crispy graham cracker coating and toasted marshmallow ice cream will ooze out. Then drag it through the smoky chocolate sauce, and you will have constructed a perfect homage to s’mores in a single, hot-and-cold, campfire-smoky, crunchy-creamy bite.
And all without anyone getting killed and left hanging from a tree branch making thumping noises on the roof of your ‘87 Acura.
Continue reading for the S’mores Fried Ice Cream with Chipotle Chocolate Sauce recipe
(more…)
Category Chocolate, Dessert, Family and Friends, Handsome Greg, Ice Cream, My Mom Rules, Professor Meowington, Sauce, Vegetarian | Tags: chocolate,dessert,handsome greg,ice cream,my mom rules,professor meowington,sauce,vegetarian | 10 Comments
-
May 20, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Well, I feel just terrible.
When I posted the Lime Chicken Lettuce Boats with Avocado Salad and Chimichurri recipe, I made you all a promise – I promised you the recipes for the accompanying Argentina-inspired dessert. That was eleven days ago.
It just breaks my heart to think of you waiting a week and a half for these recipes. I imagine you must’ve leapt from your bed each morning, an hour before your alarm clock rang, tripping over the cat as you lunged for the computer, praying for a fast internet connection, and a creamy, crispy, caramel and cinnamon dessert.
From the moment you first read about this dessert, you must’ve been haunted by dreams of flaky, tender puff pastry sticks with a crunchy candy coating, and cold, velvety cinnamon ice cream slathered in homemade dulce de leche.
As the days crawled by at an excruciating pace, your thoughts became darker. Why hasn’t Bake Up, Little Suzy shared the dessert recipe she promised me? Is she keeping it from me?
Friends, I have no excuse. I’ve just been really busy and had no time or energy for writing.
I’m pretty sure you’ll forget all about this unpleasantness just as soon as the aroma of homemade dulce de leche begins to fill your kitchen. It smells like, what’s the word…? Comfort. Security. What does your 401k smell like? I’ll tell you: it smells like milk simmered with sugar.
And once the candy-coated puff pastry strips begin turning golden brown in the oven, this whole misunderstanding will be a distant memory.
Continue reading for the Baked Churros, Cinnamon Ice Cream, and Dulce de Leche recipes.
(more…)
Category Caramel, Dessert, Ice Cream, Sauce, Vegetarian | Tags: caramel,dessert,ice cream,sauce,vegetarian | 13 Comments
-
May 9, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Whew! Thirty posts in thirty days – I made it through National Grilled Cheese Month. And though I made some delicious discoveries (Cinnamon Roll Grilled Cheese, anyone?), I’m a little cheesed out. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready for bright, fresh spring flavors. And some roughage.
I originally made this dish for Mom and Handsome Greg as part of an Argentinian-inspired meal that began with corn and bacon empanadas and ended with baked churros, cinnamon ice cream, and homemade dulce de leche (recipes coming soon, I promise!).
For our main course, we enjoyed crispy romaine leaves filled with luscious summer salad and tender grilled chicken, and kissed with garlicky parsley pesto. Fresh and bright, hearty but not heavy.
Continue reading for the Grilled Lime Chicken Lettuce Boats recipe
(more…)
Category Avocado, Chicken, Cucumber, Family and Friends, Fruit, Garlic, Greens, Handsome Greg, Lime, My Mom Rules, Salad, Sauce, Tomato, Vegetable | Tags: avocado,chicken,cucumber,fruit,garlic,greens,handsome greg,lime,my mom rules,salad,sauce,tomato,vegetable | 16 Comments
