Today, I make tacos with a bit of a gourmet edge swapping out ground meat for fresh tilapia, iceberg lettuce for purple cabbage and cilantro, and salsa for my own homemade combination of freshly chopped tomatoes, onions, and more.  Dressed with avocado, jalapeño, and served with a side of chips, these tacos are a fresher take on a college favorite.

Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup all purpose flour

* 1/2 tablespoon corn starch

* 1 teaspoon coarse salt

* 1 teaspoon pepper

* 1 lb. (16-oz.) tilapia filets (fresh if you have it)

* olive oil, for greasing pan

* 8-10 flour tortillas

To Garnish

* 1 avocado, cubed

* 2-3 limes, cut into wedges

* 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped

* 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped fine

* 1/2 onion, chopped fine

* 1 cup red cabbage, shredded

* sour cream

1.) In an oversized bowl, whisk together flour, corn starch, salt, and pepper.  Toss mixture with one tilapia fillet at a time and set aside.

2.) Warm a non-stick skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add tilapia to pan (do not overcrowd) and pan roast until bottom is gold and crispy (about 5 minutes). Flip fish and cook until gold and crispy (about 3 minutes).

3.) Transfer cooked fish to a cutting board and slice into 1-inch thick pieces.  Add to taco bar with garnishes.

4.) Warm flour tortillas in skillet with non-stick spray and any remaining oil from fish.  Toast on each side (about 30 seconds) until warm and golden.  Transfer to taco bar.

5.) Prepare tacos by stacking fish with any choice of garnishes and enjoy! Makes 8-10 tacos.

And oh, the baking.

Although Robert didn’t know it at the time, he had introduced me to three dishes that are now staples in my kitchen: a simple and impressive No-Knead Bread that tastes like an artisan loaf, pesto filled with sweet summer peas for this bread, and cookies that I will never turn my back on.

Pulling the chocolate-filled disks from the oven, Robert made these cookies look as if they had magically been placed there by fairies.  Large, round, perfectly chunked chocolate chip cookies glistened with the addition of coarse salt atop their chocolate bits.  An instant nostalgia overcomes me whenever I see homemade cookies as they represent the only recipe I could make in my childhood.  But these cookies weren’t my childhood cookies–noticeably hardier and gooey than I had ever known before, this New York Times recipe offers a more grownup take on a childhood favorite.

Warm and thick Chocolate Chip Cookies sprinkled with Coarse Salt make the Chocolate’s Natural Sweetness Sing.  Pair with Milk for a childhood favorite perfect for any adult.

Pair with milk, red wine, or a refreshing glass of water and indulge in cookies gone rogue.   Through a unique ratio of bread and cake flour, the batter has a stronger consistency that allows them to bake up like the cookies you see at coffee shops and dessert markets.  Omitting All Purpose Flour is a baker’s best kept secret when it comes to beautifully-crafted baked goods.  Share with a friend as a snack or maybe even share with your own Robert (pea pesto and artisan bread optional).

Chocolate Chip Cookies – New York Times Style

This recipe should be prepared at least 24 hours in advance, but preferably 36 hours before baking.  The wait is well worth it yielding a stiff flavorful dough that makes for lovely cookies in construction and flavor.  I’ve cut down some of the sugar and butter based on personal preference, but for the original recipe in the New York Times food section, see here.

Ingredients:

* 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour

* 1 2/3 cups bread flour

* 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

* 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

* 2 sticks butter

* 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

* 1 cup sugar

* 2 large eggs

* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 1 1/4 pounds (24-ounces) bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves

1.) In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients with a whisk–cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  Set aside.

2.) In a standing KitchenAid or like mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).  Adding 1 egg at a time, mix with fluffy mixture until well-combined.  Add vanilla and slowly combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients.  Stop mixer, scrape down sides, and mix one last time until batter is fully integrated.  Add chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

3.) Refrigerate dough for at least 24 hours, but preferably 36.

4.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat and spray lightly with non-stick spray.

5.) Scoop cup dough onto baking sheet using either a 1/4 cup measuring cup or a 1/3 cup measuring cup based on personal preference.  Lightly sculpt dough into balls (optional) and bake until golden brown but still soft, about 15-20 minutes based on your oven.  Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

But these are only some of the things I love about the magazine.  It features beautiful stories, great breadth in cookery culture, and somehow always supplies me with 20 recipes I want to make.  I often say it’s difficult to get to the features of Bon Appetit as I love reading the earliest pages–Adam Rapoport, the Editor, writes lovely letters to his readers and the R.S.V.P. section (“Readers’ Favorite Restaurant Recipes”) gives me mouth watering ideas.

This recipe for an easy and impressive Pistachio Pound Cake was made 10 minutes after discovering it in the RSVP section of last month’s magazine.  Originally sold at The Tasting Room at CityCentre in Houston, the pound cake takes our American favorite into a more modern gourmet arena with just one ingredient–warm, nutty, green pistachio nuts.

A dark brown paper ring mold offers high-end bakery elegance to homemade baked goods.

Knowing that my friends Jessica and Victor were celebrating their third anniversary, I jumped at the opportunity to bake them something chic and simple.  Wrapped in a round paper ring mold, the cake was delicious and elegant, as if baked in a classic French bakery.  After all, I sometimes call my home, “Chez Helana.”

So, try this ever-so-flavorful take on an American bakery classic for your next dinner party, anniversary, or brunch.  The batter’s flavor barely comes near as good as the cake actually tastes and Jessica and Victor simply can’t stop raving about the recipe.  I hope that it made their third anniversary special, and I’m renewing my subscription to Bon Appétit this week.  Bon Appétit!

Pistachio Pound Cake

It appears I’m not the only food blogger who got it into her head this Pistachio Pound Cake was worth making.  See Molly Wizenberg of Orangette’s post here.

Ingredients:

*nonstick spray

*2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting

*1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

*1 teaspoon baking powder

*1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

*2 cups sugar

*5 eggs

*2 tablespoons lemon juice

*2 tablespoons orange juice

*2 teaspoons orange zest

*1 teaspoons lime zest

*1 cup pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped

1.) Preheat oven to 325F.  Spray a standard Angel Food Cake pan with nonstick spray and dust the pan with flour tapping to coat the bottom and sides evenly.  Remove any excess flour.*  Zest lime and orange and juice lemon and orange.  Reserve juices and zests for wet mixture.

*Note: this recipe can also be made in a standard 9x5x3 loaf pan as Bon Appetit suggests on their website here.

2.) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.

3.) In a standing mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes on medium speed).  Beat in sugar and 5 eggs adding each egg 1 at a time.  Add juices and zests until batter is fully incorporated.  Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture making sure to scrape down sides after the full addition.

4.) Fold in pistachios and pour batter into cake pan making sure to smooth out mixture for evenness and aesthetics.*

*Note: Bon Appetit suggests only adding 3/4 cup pistachios to batter and using the last 1/4 cup to sprinkle on the top.  You can see the presentation of this choice on their website here, but I added the entire cup to the batter and loved the more nutty results.  Either choice is delicious.

5.) Bake cake for 1 1/2 hours making sure to rotate pan at the 45-minute mark.  Remove cake from oven and cool completely before plating.  Enjoy! Makes 1 pound cake or 12 servings.

In this month’s May 2012 issue, the RSVP section (“Readers’ Favorite Restaurant Recipes”) prints the words of a Canadian subscriber who just has to make a certain Banana Cake for her husband from Baked Expectations in Winnipeg.  And? Well, Bon Appétit, like any fantastic recipe hunting machine, prints it for her and their surplus readers.

 Super ripe bananas make for a soft, flecked cake reminiscent of a frosted moist banana bread.

One glance at the recipe and you can grasp the desirous minds behind this reader’s request–with ample parts butter, eggs, and bananas, the cake is a soft ripe banana-filled mixture flecked with the markings of a banana bread.  The icing is an insane take on butter cream with large amounts of butter, cream, sugar, and vanilla for a too-go0d-to-be true frosting experience.

In truth, it’s one of the best recipes I’ve made this year (especially for cakes), but I must warn against the calorie content it invokes–all together, you use 5 sticks of butter, 5 bananas, and 4 cups powdered sugar.  This cake means business…and, well, it’s kind of worth it.

Banana Cake

For Bon Appétit’s write up on the recipe, you can read it here.

Ingredients:

–Cake–

*1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

*3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting

*1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

*1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

*2 1/4 cups sugar

*6 eggs

*3 very ripe bananas, mashed

*3/5 cup sour cream

–Icing–

*1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

*4 cups powdered sugar

*1/2 cup heavy cream*

*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

*2 ripe bananas, sliced and not over-ripe

*COOK’S NOTE: if heavy cream is unavailable, use 1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon regular milk for substitution

1.) Preheat oven to 325F.  Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans making sure to tap flour along the bottoms and sides.  Remove any excess.

2.) In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients–flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

3.) In a standing mixer, beat butter until fluffy on medium speed (about 2-3 minutes) and slowly mix in sugar until well-blended.  Add eggs one at a time and slowly mix in dry ingredients making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4.) Add mashed bananas and sour cream until well blended.  Pour batter into two cake pans and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.  Transfer cakes to wire racks and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Cool and trim off rounded tops before icing.

5.) Using an electric mixer, beat together butter, powdered sugar, cream (or milk substitute), vanilla, and salt until well blended.  Scrape down sides of bowl and beat quickly to combine any last ingredients.

6.) Plate cake and top with 1 cup icing.  Smooth to cover top and sides and cover top with sliced bananas.  Top with second layer of cake and ice all over.

Serve immediately or refrigerate.  Makes 16 servings.

Something about the crisp and clean flavors of radishes bedded on a whole grain bread or baguette makes a combination of butter or goat cheese sing.  Radishes are a bit of an alpha-male-like root that can play off a simple base (like butter or cheese) with serious attitude.  As bold as they are beautiful, radishes top my list of favorite spring, summer, fall, and winter roots available all the year round.

Clean and crisp radishes on a bed of good bread, butter, or goat cheese have a natural fresh peppery flavor.

Slice radishes thinly for those new radish eaters, top with coarse salt, green onions or herb de Provence for a beautiful side that’s sure to make people question their love of wintry roots.

Radish Crostinis with Butter and Sea Salt

Although this crostini calls for butter, salt, and greens, you can easily swap the butter for a more flavorful goat cheese.  For a similar (and superbly beautiful) recipe that involves like ingredients, see Garrett McCord’s Sourdough with Butter and Watermelon Radishes here.

 Ingredients:

*3-5 radishes, washed, stemmed, and thinly sliced

*Seeduction Bread (Whole Foods) or French baguette, cut into vertical slices

*unsalted butter, to taste

*kosher or sea salt, to taste

1.) Wash, stem, and thinly slice radishes with a sharp paring knife.  Set aside.  Cut bread using a bread knife at a vertical angle so that slices are long and diagonal.

2.) Butter bread to taste and dress with slices of radishes.  Sprinkle with kosher or sea salt, green onions, or herbs de Provence and serve.  Makes 12-15 servings.

Perhaps I made these pancakes because I’m a “breakfast for dinner” kind of girl, but I just love the cake-like options for a quick and satisfying end of the day meal.  Pancakes for dinner feels luxurious–like breakfast in bed, a shiny manicure, or room service.  Topped with farm fresh strawberries from southern Louisiana, you couldn’t make this food blogger much happier than with these Strawberry Pancakes.

But, the truth is, some dishes are just made better with the addition of this spring-time fruit.  Tarts are yummier, scones are softer, and life is just…better.

Strawberries in Pancakes makes a breakfast classic just a little bit better.

Prepare your favorite buttermilk pancake recipe with the addition of strawberries or any favorite fruit for a little bit of the sweet life–blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even something more daring like coconut and chocolate.  However you make your pancakes, be sure to use your seasonal favorite for a dish that’s perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Strawberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

*1 pint strawberries, washed, stemmed, and quartered

* 1 cup all purpose flour

* 1 tablespoon sugar

* 1 teaspoon baking powder

* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 1 beaten egg

* 1 cup buttermilk

* 2 tablespoons cooking oil

1.) Wash, stem, and quarter strawberries.  Set berries aside while you prepare the dry ingredients: whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Beat egg and add to dry ingredients with buttermilk and oil.  Mix fully to combine.  Fold in quartered strawberries.

2.) Warm a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Grease with cooking spray or butter.  Spoon 1 large spoonful (I use a ladle) onto the hot pan and cook until edges and center of batter are bubbly (about 2 minutes depending on your heat).  Flip and cook other side (about 1 minute).  Flip one last time and cook each side for another 20 seconds.

3.) Plate pancake(s) and serve with butter and maple syrup.  Makes 6 pancakes.

For past successes with granola check here and here, but for a new take on an old favorite, a look at my newly developed Muesli recipe is a must.  Muesli, a dish developed by dietary physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner in 1900 for his patients, uses uncooked oats, fruit, and nuts to encourage unprocessed raw healthy eating.  Developed a hundred years before the chic-ness of raw foods and the worries of package processing, Bircher-Benner had the right idea when feeding his patients–keep it simple, keep it clean.  I couldn’t agree more.

Fresh ingredients like tart green apples keep Muesli cleaner and healthier than most granolas.

Basically, Muesli is the un-cooked half-cousin of Granola.  You process the ingredients together in a food processor (or blender, if you must) and eat with the same topping for cereal, yogurt, and the like.  Made especially with shredded apple, muesli has a unique tart flavor that I just love.  And, in many regards, is much more vibrantly tasty than your regular honey and nut granola.

Trying to keep things healthy? This easy Muesli with uncooked fruit, coconut, almonds, and steel-cut oats is a must for your next berry parfait.

Muesli

Ingredients:

* 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and shredded

* 1/4 cup Medjool dates, roughly chopped

* 1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped

* 1/2 cup sweetened desiccated coconut, shredded

* 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats

* 1 tablespoon cinnamon

* 1/2 cup fresh berries such as blackberries and strawberries

1.) Peel Granny Smith apple and shred in a food processor.  Roughly chop almonds and dates and add to apple mixture with the addition of coconut, steel-cut oats, and cinnamon.  Pulse a few times to combine or until mixture is fully integrated.  Fold in berries and serve with yogurt, cottage cheese, or on a bed of cereal and milk.  Makes 2-3 servings.

Note: be sure to refrigerate any leftover muesli as it will only keep for a couple of days.

I nodded, smiled, and proceeded to swallow the completely green nibble that seemed nothing like potato chips.  Having been on the chip-wagon for about ten years now (it’s something I simply won’t allow in my house), I loved the idea that you could get the satisfying crunch of a potato chip and the nutrient-power of kale in a single bite (see Alison’s write up on the health benefits of consuming kale regularly).

Kale chips taste nothing like potato chips, but I would argue that they taste a little bit better.  Flavorful, green, and just a little bit salty, I find this homemade snack incredibly addictive.  And, I’m not one for chips.

Flavorful, green, and a little bit salty, Kale Chips help scratch that snacking chip-itch many food lovers know.

And the dish couldn’t be easier–simply quick roast kale’s smaller green leaves with a little olive oil and salt and voila! An instant healthy snack with relatively no calories and tons of nutrients.  I ran into a woman at the Baton Rouge Farmer’s Market that complained she always burned her Kale Chips, and to her I suggested the purchase of a silpat.  You will never, ever, ever burn another baking item again as the unique silicone and plastic mat prevents any dark browning at all.  Don’t have a silpat? Substitute wax paper to prevent over-browning.

This is one snack you just have to try.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

*1 bunch kale, washed and torn into bite-size pieces

*olive oil, for dressing

*kosher salt, for dusting

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with either a silpat mat or wax paper.  Lay kale leaves across baking sheet and dress lightly with olive oil and kosher salt.  (Note: don’t worry about over-crowding your kale leaves as they will shrink a good bit during cooking).

2.) Roast kale in oven for 5 minutes and flip.  Roast for an additional 5-7 minutes or until kale is light and crispy.  Remove from oven, cool, and enjoy.  Makes 4 servings.

This past Saturday, I took my friends Jessica and Victor to the Red Stick Farmers’ Market–located at 5th and Main in downtown Baton Rouge–for what I hope will become a grocery ritual for us weekly. Over-stuffed tables baring Ponchatoula strawberries and blueberries, local Muscadine Wines, fresh kale, arugula, spinach, and other leafy greens, and, of course, sage, basil, and every herb we chefs could possibly love overwhelmed my newbie friends.  (Heck, look at the state of this sentence–it has 9-10 subjects!).

Amidst the beautiful produce, sweet wines, and tasty meats sat a lovely bunch of spring red onions.  Having recently developed an appetizer for this recipe for my cookbook, I thought it made a great time to re-test the dish for you readers.  Although I rarely eat onions raw, red spring bulb onions with Italian pesto, good quality bread, Parmesan, and pine nuts was the perfect dinner (albeit with a glass of wine) after my four-mile run Monday.

Spicy Spring Onion Bulbs bedded on pesto, hardy bread, Parmesan, and pine nuts pair nicely with a glass of wine.

Simple to make and even easier to eat, this spring-inspired crostini can be served at room temperature or warmed.  Although I like the spicy crunch of thinly sliced raw onions, the recipe turns out just as nicely when broiled to bubbly perfection.  Hot or cold, young red onions are just one of the wonders of Baton Rouge in the spring.

Spring Onion Crostini: Pea Pesto Crostini with Red Spring Onions, Shaved Parmesan, and Toasted Pine Nuts

I suggest using the Ciabatta Bread recipe from Jim Lahey’s book, but you can easily substitute any whole wheat bread such as Whole Foods’ Seeduction Bread or a warm French Baguette.  Since many gardens in Louisiana yield the sweetest of spring and summer peas, feel free to substitute your own garden’s contents instead of the suggested frozen sweet peas below.  For a regular pesto recipe, see Elise Bauer’s excellent template here.

Ingredients:

—Pesto—

*1 cup garden or sweet peas, cooked

*1 cup fresh sweet basil, chopped fine

*1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded (not canned Parmesan)

*1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

*1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

*1/3 cup basil olive oil, such as the one from Vom Fass New Orleans, or regular olive oil

*3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

*1/4 cup pistachios, chopped

—Crostini Toppers: Red Spring Onions, Shaved Parmesan, and Toasted Pine Nuts OR Sun Dried Tomatoes—

*1 Ciabatta bread loaf, Seeduction Bread (Whole Foods), or any other baguette alternative

*baby spring red onions, sliced thinly where the red bulb meets the green stalk

*salt and pepper, for dusting

*olive oil, for dressing

*1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted in 1 tablespoon olive oil

1.) Thaw and cook sweet peas if using the frozen variation.  If using the garden fresh variety, cook fresh peas in hot water and sit for about 5 minutes removed from heat.  Drain peas.

2.) Add peas, Parmesan, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and pistachios to food processor and pulse to combine until creamy.  Don’t worry about over-pulsing this mixture, as a little bit of texture from the sweet peas is always a fabulous component.

3.) Spread pesto mixture on bread choice and top with halved spring red onion bulbs and pine nuts.  Dust crostinis in salt and pepper and a few drops of olive oil for each.  Makes 12-15 crostinis.

In some ways, these cupcakes fit the bill nicely–easy to whip up and filled with dark chocolate, simple Chocolate Cupcakes make perfect rewards after a culinary feat or small treats for a job well done.  The combination of dark chocolate cocoa with a simple Nutella frosting instantly dresses up an otherwise basic bakery good.

 Nutella icing dresses up a simple Chocolate Cupcake with a fast and easy frosting.

I’ve chronicled my successes and love affairs with this same Chocolate Cake recipe here and here, and believe that whether you’re making the full batch into a cake or mini cupcakes, the results are always great.  Easy to dress and easy to eat, these chocolate cupcakes satisfy when you just need a cupcake…or maybe two.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

–Cake–

* 3 cups all purpose flour

* 1 1/2 tsp salt

* 3/4 tsp baking powder

* 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

* 1 cup + 2 tablespoons water

* 1 cup + 2 tablespoons canola (or vegetable) oil

* 3/4 cup water

* 4 extra large, or 5 large eggs

* 2-3 tablespoons almond extract

* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, optional

* 2 2/3 cup sugar

* 1 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa, unsweetened

–Icing–

* 2 cups Nutella

1.) Preheat oven to 350F.  Begin by preparing your dry and wet ingredients: sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Set aside.

2.) Create wet mixture with a canola (or vegetable) oil and water base.  Mix 1 cup + 2 tablespoons oil with 1 cup + 2 tablespoons water in a standing mixer for 2 minutes. Once oil and water have been mixing for 2-3 minutes, add eggs, 3/4 cup water, almond (and vanilla if using it) extract; mix on low-medium for 1-2 minutes until fully integrated.  Finally, add sugar and cocoa until fully integrated.

3.) Slowly add dry ingredients to wet mixture making sure to scrape down the sides as you combine the two.

4.) Scoop batter into lined cupcake pans.  Since most cupcake pans easily overfill during cooking, it’s a good idea to fill the cupcake halfway.

5.) Bake Cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool completely.

5.) Ice cooled cupcakes with desired amounts of Nutella for frosting and decorate.  Makes 24-30 cupcakes.