Foodival - The Carnival of Cooking and Baking

Blueberry Boy Bait!

2011-10-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

Oh. Hey guys. Hey there. I didn't see you there.

Actually, I did.

That might be creepier, huh?

This is a delicious recipe I made and am actually posting. I'm munching on it now, while at work. I took the photos with my iphone, can you believe that? These are slightly more grainy than the pictures taken with my regular camera. Slightly. And it's a nice 10 megapixel olympic something or another. Sometimes I really wish I had a nice camera. My boyfriend's roommate's girlfriend (of Cake & Heels) has a very nice camera and a light set she takes photos of her food with. I am not nearly this cool. I sit in my dim office and take photos with an iphone 4 after making cake in an ancient square silver coloured metal pan that one of my college friend's mother's gave me as a family heirloom. I feel like she maybe wanted me to marry her son, which is a whole other story full of sighs.

This cake, however, is full of blueberries. Which only causes one named Kyle to sigh. It's got a lovely, thick buttermilk batter. That is also full of butter. It's got tangy blueberries ripe for the tasting. It's quite delicious, though honestly if I were to make it again I would tweak the recipe of the batter. I made it straight from Smitten Kitchen's recipe, which is straight from someone elses recipe (replacing milk with buttermilk), and it's mighty fine. But to my tastebuds, I think there is something too hearty for me in this here batter. It's got a country morning kind of feel. I think I either want it sweater or saltier. I think I technically want it with cornmeal. It reminds me of johnny cakes with blueberries.

That said, I still highly recommend it. The recipe is, as always, posted below. I made this in a night at 5 AM after putting together Ikea furniture. I now have three cat litter boxes (this relates to the Ikea furniture). One in my closet, that's huge, that my big fat dumb cat Tseng can use because he's a big fatty. There are two others-- one is in Ikea's "Billy" furniture, tucked into the living room portion of my studio. The other is in another ikea piece and is tiny and is tucked into the dining room portion of my studio. All of this is to prevent Big Fat Tseng from peeing and pooping on my couches. Gross, you guys don't want to come over to my place do you? You can imagine that if you have a cat who seems to want nothing more than to ruin your nice couches in a studio apartment, coming home isn't always a joyride.

But I was putting together furniture, and I said to myself, I said... I'm going to watch Marie Antoinette (a movie I shamelessly love) and clean and make this blueberry cake in honour of Kyle's visiting Canadian friend. Done and done. One hour later I was in bed dreaming of having it for breakfast. I must say, I don't think I baited any boys with this one, but I definitely one some brownie points (harhar, food jokes).

Oh yeah. There's a story attached to this recipe that is far more interesting than my droll ramblings.

So, the year was 1954. There was a really charming 15-year-old girl that stole the show in the Junior Division of an early Pillsbury Bake-Off with a variation of this recipe. She claimed the name came from the effect it had on boys. Despite the effect she (or her cake?) had on boys, she only won second prize, but the magazine Cook's Country dusted this recipe off from the Pillsbury Bake-Off Desser Cookbook and tweaked it to our modern age. Gone was the butter, added were more blueberries, and more sugars. This story was shamelessly ganked from Smitten Kitchen.

I bought my blueberries from Trader Joe's and the boy who checked me out was very curious about what I was making. When I told him it was Blueberry Boy Bait, he seemed more interested than before, and asked me if I was baiting for any boys. I scurried out of there in shame.

Blueberry Boy Bait

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and adapted from Cook's Country, adapted from somewhere else.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flower, plus 1 teaspoon for blueberries

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour.

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup blueberries, fresh.

For the Topping:

1/2 cup blueberries, fresh.

3/8 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a baking pan. Mine is small. It overflowed. I suggest a larger one (the recipe before mine calls for a 13x9" baking pan).

Whisk together the flours (sans 1 teaspoon), baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating them until just incorporated and scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Reduce the speed and beat in one third of the flour mixture until incorporated. Beat in half the buttermilk, and once mixed in repeat with half the flour, the rest of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour. Toss the blueberries with the remaining flour and gently fold them into the batter. Spread the batter in your prepared pan.

Now, this is where I deviated.

For the topping:

Sprinkle 2/8 of the sugar over the battle, also with cinnamon (I honestly just shook mine on top because I have a love affair with cinnamon). Now, toss the blueberries with the remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the batter. For some reason, these still all sunk to the bottom for me. Curse you blueberries!

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for at least 20 minutes.

PS. I've secretly been liking recipe calculators lately. So I calculated, and this recipe contains the following nutritional information for 16 servings (which is what I made):

253 Calories, 12.8 Grams fat. 3.6 grams protein. 1.1 grams fiber.

Now you know!

2011-09-14T13:19:00.001-07:00

I understand I haven't posted in a long time.

My posts steadily declined after the break up with Jeff, and even more after the break up with Brian. Actually, they more or less stopped.

I have a backsection of just... tons of stupid photos of stupid food I made that I doubt I'll ever post about. Because I don't even remember how I made half of those things. I moved. I got a new boyfriend. I got diagnosed with PTSD, GAD, and Panic Disorder. It's just been too much.

But, on the bright side, yours truly is a full time working animator now. I'm working currently on a show called China, IL, and one of my most recent projects was The Venture Bros.

I actually made some brownies for that screening, but I just gobbled them with everyone else and didn't photograph them.

But I keep thinking I want to get back into it. The biggest problem is finding inspiration. I get envious of some of my friends who can just continue coming up with good ideas. But I just don't have a lot of passion for cooking anymore. Or food. Maybe I do. It's just hard to get the time and feel strongly about it.

But I want to make the oath to start working on this again. There's so much I want to do, I really need to refocus and get myself in gear.

Thank you if any of you still ever read my dumb posts about my dumb delicious food. Please cheer me on in trying to get myself back into gear and living life again. It's been a continuous struggle and I thank everyone for the support.

Here's a picture of an egg sandwich.

Chicken Breast over Pesto Cream Pasta

2011-02-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

Let me just say for the record that I love basil. I love it. It is my favourite herb, by far. I could eat it in so many things and be happy. I love basil in chocolate. I love basil in sauces. I love basil with tomatoes. I just love it.

So it is needless to say that I also, in turn, love pesto. It took me a long time to realize I loved pesto as much as I do. I never ate it through middle or high school (eyuck, green stuff!). I don't even think I had it throughout most of college. Then it was all about tomato sauces. I didn't even like cream sauces that much. So when I finally owned up and just HAD pesto I was blown away.

Pesto is something, I feel, that may be hard to make right. Sometimes I get it at restaurants and it's too oily, or way too salty. I like it when it's... you know, just the right amount of basil punch. Thick and rich. I like it to be salty with the taste of parmesan, not salt. I want it to take fresh and rich. I never buy it from a tub (again, yuck!).

But I love it, still, all the same. Spread on my sandwiches, put in my pasta, topping my risotto. So I had to try my hand at some pesto cream sauce (I know, it took me way too long rambling about how much I love pesto and basil to get to this part). This was a recipe I seriously made from scratch, just fooling around in my kitchen. It's also I made a long time ago (surprise, surprise!). That said, I remember eating this and just being so happy with it. I remember how warm and rich it was. I remember adding more basil leaves because I couldn't get enough. It made me a very pleased Stephanie, and so... I probably will have to make it again. If and when I do, I will likely revise this recipe for better deliciousness.

(I enjoy my basil pesto pasta with a bottle of blackberry beer. Note, this was NOT a good combination).

The chicken, too, was a welcome addition. I try to make sure all my flavours will go together well when I make it.... so I seasoned this with some poultry seasoning, rosemary, and some extra dried basil as well. I also spiced it up with a little cayenne pepper. Then it was grilled on my Wolfgang Puck grill while I made the sauce. I didn't want the chicken to have too much flavour so that it would overpower the pesto, but I also didn't want it to sit alone and not have anything at all going for it. So that was a triumph!

Mmm, pesto. This makes me so happy.

Chicken Breast over Pesto Cream Pasta

2 chicken breasts

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons crushed rosemary

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup basil

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4-1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/8 cup pine nuts

1 clove garlic

1/8 cup cream

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 box of pasta, boiled el dente (I use fancy multigrain protein plus style pasta, personally)

Boil Pasta in salted water as per directions~

Rub each side of each chicken breast with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon olive oil. Follow with evenly divided portions of seasonings for each chicken breast. Rub it in.

Grill over medium-high heat until cooked throughout.

Meanwhile, blend together the garlic, pine nuts, and basil. Once thoroughly blended, slowly pour in extra virgin olive oil. Take pesto and transfer to a saucepan, add in parmesan cheese and cream and heat over low to medium-low heat. Continuously stir until well mixed and thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain pasta and stir in a little olive oil so it doesn't stick. Serve topped with chicken breast and pesto cream sauce, garnish with basil, some pine nuts, and maybe even a little extra parmesan cheese.

So good~!

Mary's Pasta Salad

2011-02-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, is this an old post!! This was a pasta salad that Brian had made, about a year ago-- it took me that long to get the recipe from him! I'm glad I did, because now I can carry on the recipe myself. It was sent to him by his mom, Mary, whom I adore-- I am so glad that she was willing to pass on some of her recipes so I can share them with everyone!

The trick with this pasta salad is that the dressing is a little vinegary-- which I thought would be weird at first, but honestly turned out to be quite delicious (I'm so lucky to have been able to try it!!). It melds really well with the broccoli, carrots, olives.... I especially loved the olives, tomatoes, and cubes of cheese. The chicken that Brian had used was a precooked lemon chicken breast, I believe, and the lemon to the chicken provided a really nice combination of flavours.

This recipe makes a huuuge portion, we ate it for like a week! So next time I make it I know that I'll be able to eat it for basically forever. It seems like such a great dish to take to a family potluck or picnic or something-- and I can't wait to make it again. Now all I need is to get their grasshopper pie recipe. :)
Mary's Pasta Salad
Recipe by Mary Retchless

Dressing

1/3 Cup Olive Oil
½ Cup White Wine Vinegar (or up to 2/3 Cup if you like a stronger vinegar taste)
1 Tbs. Dijon Mustard
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Cloves Garlic minced or crushed
2 tsp. Basil Leaves

Combine all and whisk together

Salad

2 Cups Broccoli Flowerets (boil in water 2 minutes, remove and rinse under cold water)
1 Cup Chopped Carrots (boil in water 2 minutes, remove and rinse under cold water)
½ Red Bell Pepper, sliced thin into 1” long strips
4 Scallions chopped with green ends included
2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes
¼ Cup Cilantro chopped
1 Cup sliced black olives
1 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese, cubed
Grilled Chicken Breast, cut into small bite-sized pieces
1 16oz pkg. of Tri-Color or Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta, cooked el dente and rinsed with cold water.

Combine all the above ingredients. Pour in dressing. Toss thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lamb with Basil-Mint Pesto, Mushroom Rice Pilaf, and Green Beans

2011-01-23T19:12:00.000-08:00

Alright, so... once again, I made this forever ago. I actually (overall) remember this dish though. I don't remember why I made it, I don't remember what occasion... but I do remember that I really liked the mint-basil pesto. I really liked the idea of the pesto with the savory lamb. I mean, mint with lamb is pretty typical, but the salty mix of parmesan (for the pesto), the roasted rich flavor of walnuts (used instead of pine nuts), and the addition of basil... related to mint. I dunno, but it was a good decision.

I served it with green beans and a rich and flavorful mushroom and wild rice pilaf. I was trying to get some healthier options in my diet at the time, so I used brown rice with the wild rice. The mushrooms were a pleasing addition, especially with the rich earthiness of the lamb and mushrooms. I think I should make this again-- I can give everyone a better opinion then.

Lamb with Basil-Mint Pesto

3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves

1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

1 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

1/6 cup extra virgin olive oil

Blend the mint, basil, nuts, cheese, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor (or blender, as I used) until all of it is finely chopped and mixed together. With the machine running, gradually blend in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

1 1/2 pounds lamb (chop, leg, rib, whatever you choose)

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1 tablespoon etra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Generously sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper and thyme. I tend to rub it into the meat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a grill pan or heavy skillet over high heat. Place the lamb in the skillet and cook just until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the lamb meat side up to a heavy, large baking sheet. Continue with all meat.

Roast the lamb in the oven until cooked to desire doneness (about 20 minutes). Transfer the lamb to a work surface and let sit for 10 minutes. Cut the lamb, and spread the pesto over 1 cut side for each chop. Serve.

Mushroom Rice Pilaf

1/4 cup Brown Rice

1/8 cup Wild Rice

1/2 pound Mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme

1/4 Onion, chopped

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup Chicken Stock

1/8 cup Red Wine

Salt

Pepper

Heat the oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and thyme. Cook until the mushrooms are tender.

Stir the wild rice and broth into the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the brown rice, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garlic Green Beans

1/4 pound Green Beans, trimmed

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon stock

Salt

Pepper

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the green beans, garlic, and red pepper flakes, sautéing until tender. Add chicken stock if necessary to keep beans moist and from drying out. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Carrot Cake Shortbread

2010-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

I made these shortbread cookies around Easter! They were mighty tasty. I believe my shortbread was a little softer (or, rather, the dough was) when I was making it than it should have been, however... the cookie parts turned out relatively good, despite being a bit prone to cracking. I also feel like my 'frosting' came out a little softer than it should. Perhaps my kitchen had been too hot that day... as of now, it's hard to remember. I think I made these in my current apartment, and it isn't like it really gets that hot...

THIS ALL ASIDE-- because honestly, is it really that important (the answer is no), these were quite good! They were very rich, and I... I think that maybe I was not the biggest fan of all the cookies I've made. Now that I think more about it, I bet the shortbread could have done with some nuts. Or the frosting. I think the original recipe actually had a giant walnut on top, and I should have done that but forgot while I was making them. That would have really made these cookies feel like they were going all the way.

Honestly, I wish I had more to say. I am including the recipe, which I used from a cooking blog (Piggy's, linked below) and I had it in my storage banks for recipes for what felt like quite a long time. It was one of the recipes I was waiting for a certain time of year to use... carrot cake and carrot bread usually make me think of early fall or Easter time. I'm sure it's because of things like Thanksgiving and Easter (the Holiday feast) that make me feel that way.

Okay, but seriously, I am going to stop rambling. I soon will be out of posts about things that I made so long ago I've completely forgotten about. I think. Honestly, I haven't pulled photos off my camera in awhile.

By the way, I opened up an art blog! Right now it is all the same drawings I have on facebook and/or Deviant Art, but it is there none the less. I have also been thinking of layout changes for Foodival (as well as) making a layout for it. I believe I called it Art Timez. It is creative, yes?

Carrot Cake Shortbread

Recipe from Piggy's Cooking Journal

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup shredded carrot

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon shredded carrot

Oven at 300 Degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter, carrot, and vanilla extract until creamy. Transfer butter mixture to a piece of clingwrap, shape into a log, and freeze for 20 minutes.

Stir together the flour, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Remove the butter mixture from the freezer and add into the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter mixture into the flour mixture until it resembles fine crumbs and clings together. Knead the dough until smooth and it forms a ball.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookies with a 1 1/2 inch fluted cookie cutter. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies turn slightly brown.

Separately, in a medium mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and lemon juice until smooth. Stir in the shredded carrot.

Spread the frosting on about half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies. Serve!

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2010-10-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

I made this for game night! Like... six months ago! HAH! So! This was a jalapeno popper dip. In my hometown, or rather, a suburb of my home town, there was this little mexican restaurant that I was really into. We would go there-- and I wasn't the hugest fan of mexican food (I was well known for putting black olive rings on my fingers and waving my hands about as if I were the world's fanciest little girl) but they had these jalapeno poppers stuffed with cream cheese that I adored. There was this spicy sweet sauce that went with them too, but I ate less of that. There's just something really delicious about a mild, but somewhat spicy pepper, fried, and stuffed with the rich smoothness of cream cheese.

It was an instant win.

So when I found this recipe by Kevin, ages ago, I decided I had to make it-- the very idea of it was so nostalgic that I was tempted beyond words. I kept putting it off, however, because I didn't want to make it just for myself... South Park Wednesdays weren't really happening, and I tended to be one of the only people I knew who liked or could eat spicy things. So... alas. Eventually, however, Brian and his roommates hosted a game night in which everyone came over and something happened (I don't remember what, I imagine it was a game).

That night, I made this. And cookies, I believe. Have I posted those? Hmhmhm. Anyway! I made stuff. And it was good. This turned out rather tasty-- and I believe it was completely eaten. It was rich, mildly spicy, a bit vinegary. I was surprised by the inclusion of mayonnaise, I believe-- not something I normally use. My spinach artichoke dip has nothing of the sort in it. But it was still really good! It probably needed something to make it thicker. I believe I served it with tortillia chips-- but I like to imagine other uses for dips. Like a spread for a sandwich. Now, I probably won't make this again to make a sandwich spread, but it is a delicious idea. Or at least I think so.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Recipe from Closet Cooking

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano
1 (4 ounce) can sliced jalapenos (pickled)
2 jalapeno peppers (chopped, optional)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano

Oven at 375 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano and jalapenos in a bowl and pour into a baking dish. Mix the panko bread crumbs and parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle over the dip.

Bake until bubbling on the sides and golden brown on top, about 10-20 minutes.

Vicky's Raspberry Chocolate Cake

2010-10-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

So... I know it has (again) been ages since I've posted Foodival. A lot of that is because of two posts I have had sitting here in my 'edit posts' for later posting. This one, and another. One is Brian's Pasta Salad-- I wanted him to guest post it, but... he is not much of a blogger. So, I may just get the recipe from him and post it without his input. Take that, boyfriend!! The other is this recipe, a chocolate cake I made for my friend Vicky for her birthday before she left LA to live in NY with her boyfriend (the timeline is more stretched out than that, but eh, whatever. It has happened that way).

The problem is... I can't seem to find the recipe for this cake. I'm not sure how I made it. I kind of don't completely remember it. I feel like it was raspberry cake. Or a chocolate cake. But I think it was a raspberry cake! I believe I made a white cake, added raspberries, added extra flour. Then I made uhh... white chocolate frosting for the inbetween layers. Then I made chocolate mousse or chocolate frosting for the frosting of the cake~

I can't recreate this recipe. I mean, I can now, like today-- but I'd rather do a new post about it.

Still. It was a lovely cake.

The layers of the cake fell a little flat. But it tasted good. I remember I was trying to base it off of the cupcakes at Sprinkle's...

And now I have looked through all my e-mails and all my recipes and all my files and I still have not come up with anything that resembles what may have been links, mashing up recipes, or anything that hinted to how I was trying to make this cake work. I am sorry, blog followers. I am sorry that the only post I have made is about something without a recipe.

Epic fail, Stephanie Simpson. Epic. Fail.

That's okay. I am trying to be better. I put it on my todo list. So, hopefully more blog posts will happen!! You know me, anyway, I like fall cooking better than summer cooking. I guess the break up with Jeff really made it hard for me to Foodival. Food was very connected to me in that relationship so my creativity there has been so-so. But I believe it is coming back. I am excited about pumpkin!

Go go pumpkin!

(Man, I want pumpkin beer and a pumpkin latte so bad right now).

Did I mention this birthday was in Feb? Oya oya.

Thea's Bananas

2010-05-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

My friend from college, Thea, posted on Facebook awhile ago with a very simple statement. It said "Fried banana, sourcream, cayenne. Perfection." I took one look at it and realized I had to make this. I went out and bought the ingredients (for I only had cayenne on hand) and decided to fry them up as a simple treat for myself. I've made it twice since.

I really enjoyed this snack. I believe her recipe was simpler, just fry the bananas in some butter. But I couldn't resist spicing them up with a sprinkling of brown sugar, a bit of salt, and a dash of the cayenne right in the frying plan. I feel like it gave the bananas some extra umph. They were rather hard to keep from disintegrating in the pan, maybe mine were too mushy? I don't have a lot of experience panfrying bananas.

I also really liked how these photos turned out. You can see that I get minimal sunlight through my kitchen/dining room window because I have a whole array of bushes and trees in the way. I like it that way though. My apartment tends to be pretty dark, but also tends to stay cool. But I think it made the photos seem even dreamier.

After I fried the bananas I just topped them with a generous scoop of sour cream and even more cayenne. The result: sweet, spicy, creamy, savory. It was decadent (though not really), but also fresh and flavorful. Gotta say, Thea's got it on this one. Thanks, Thea. I was going to link to things of hers (like, her personal website, or her event websites) but she doesn't have any links available on Facebook for me. Alas. If I ever figure out some of her sites I will link her amazingness to this post. In the meantime, enjoy a quick and simple dessert or snack via bananas.

Thea's Bananas

1 banana, sliced in half

1 tablespoon butter

1 heaping tablespoon sour cream

cayenne pepper to taste

1 teaspoon brown sugar

salt to taste

In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium-high eat. Place the bananas in the skillet and fry up. Sprinkle brown sugar and cayenne pepper and a bit of salt over them while they're cooking. Allow a crust to form. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprinkle of cayenne.

Valentine's Day (uh, late...) - Spicy Chocolate Cookies and Raspberry Rose Cheesecake!

2010-04-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

Alright, so this is... this is a little late. I get that. I could just not post it at all. But-- but this was very nice, and very special, and a fantastic recipe. And I loved my Valentine's Day, it was the best.

It started with this breakfast in bed that I made for Brian. I made the cheesecake the night before while he also made some surprises for Valentine's Day. He had no idea what I was making, it was so cute. The recipe I made actually made two mini ones. The cheesecake is a white chocolate based cheesecake, with a raspberry and rose flavoured syrupy topping. I also served it with some whipped cream and breves! And a vase of flowers. I know, it's super silly and girly to do such a thing for your boyfriend-- but I really, really wanted to show him how much I care. And whatever, I'm a girl. I'm gonna show caring in a girly way. Sometimes it's in a boyish way. I guess. I dunno.

I had this recipe for the cheesecake in my archives for, I believe, over a year. I've had this post sitting in my posts for like... two months. Because I haven't felt like posting it. Its not that I didn't LOVE my Valentine's Day (I did), it's just that it's so long ago, who is going to care about this-- but thats also partially because I'm taking so long to post them. So let's see... I had this recipe in my archives, but was delaying because its use of rose made me go "wut, I gotta save this for valentine's day", so I did.

This cheesecake consists of a rich white chocolate (cheesecake) base. A chocolate crust. And a layer of raspberry 'sauce' that's cooked with rose water. I also used rose nectar (did I mention that before??)

The cookie on top is what I used to make the crust, per the suggestion of the recipe I got it from. It's a "mexican heart of fire" cookie. So it's got cinnamon and spiciness and amazingness. I really liked these, though they were slightly bitter. They were good with tea!!

I had such a great V-day. I made this for breakfast for Brian, then we went to the beach in Malibu and had a picnic (he made pasta salad!!) with strawberries, some of the aforementioned pasta salad, whipped cream, bread, cheese, and wine. Then he took me down to Santa Monica (I napped a bit on the way) and we had dinner at JiRaffe. it was sooo good. I was so full by the end of the night.
Ok, I think that's all I have to talk about. :x For now. I have a fashion show tomorrow (YES!) and some pretty packed evenings/days planned, but I think I'll have more things to post soon. :)

White Chocolate and Raspberry Rose Cheesecake
Recipe adapted from Luna's Cafe

1/8 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (listed below)

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 package cream cheese

3 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup raspberry jam

1 tablespoon rose flower water

1 teaspoon rose nectar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla vodka

1/8 cup fresh raspberries, mashed.

Oven at 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

To prepare the cookie base, mix together the cookie crumbs and butter and sprinkle over the bottom of the pan, making a thin layer.

Begin by melting the white chocolate: put it in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue microwaving until creamy, 10 seconds at a time. Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese with the sugar with a hand mixer until smooth. Add in the eggs and white chocolate and pulse until combined well. Pour the batter into the cookie coated pan and bake for 15 minutes. Be sure to put a small pan of water in the oven to keep the cheesecake moist.

Remove from the oven and let rest for five minutes.

While baking, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla. Let set until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the sour cream mixture over the cheesecake and return to the oven for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Make the raspberry topping by bringing the jam to a simmer in a small saucepan. Whisk in the rose water/nectar and vodka until smooth. Add the crushed raspberries in. Strain the mix through a strainer and let cool slightly, then spread onto the cheesecake. Refrigerate until set.

Serve with a dollop of rose flavored whipped cream (like I did) and some coffee. Or by itself!!

Mexican Heart of Fire Cookies

Recipe from Luna's Cafe

1/4 cup flour

1/8 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup + tablespoon sugar

minced zest of 1/4 orange

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon orange extract

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon chile powder (I used ancho chile)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder

Oven at 325 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt. In a separate bowl cream together the butter, sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, orange extract, cinnamon, chile powder, and cayenne pepper. Once thoroughly combined, add in the flour mixture. Should be pretty dry. Divide the dough into pieces. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Once cool, remove from the fridge and roll to be thin, like 1/8" or so. Cut into heart shapes and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes.
Heat some of that white chocolate in a bowl in the microwave as per previous instructions and drizzle over these cookies for amazingness.

Chorizo Omelet

2010-04-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

I winged this one morning when I had leftover chorizo from making kale stews. I gotta say, I love making eggy dishes on weekend mornings. During the weekdays Brian and I eat a lot of cereal-- usually until we run out of cereal, then we'll realize we've run out of cereal/milk/something and I make us egg sandwiches with a fried egg and some cheese. Those are nomnom (that's what we did this morning). But every now and then I make something tasty like this omelet. And filling too!!
I think this is very good hangover food btw. I may or may not have had a hangover when I ate this. It's hard to say so far back....
I've never been very good at making omelets. I would always get lazy and not fold them right and they'd sort of just turn into a scramble. This one wasn't folded quite right... you can see an inch of the interior. Which makes for a good picture, so I can't complain.

This omelet was soooooooooooo tasty. It reminds me of a chili omelet. I love chili cheese omelets. Or chili cheese anything really. Shh, it's a secret my agency isn't allowed to know! (winky face).

Enjoy!

Chorizo Omelet

3 eggs

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon water

1/4 of a pack of chorizo

1/4 of a red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 of an onion, chopped

5 or 6 thin slices of pepperjack cheese

1/8 cup shredded cheddar cheese

a dash of cayenne

ground black pepper

a dash of salt

a dash of hot sauce

In a large skillet, saute the chorizo, bell pepper, and onion with the cayenne, black pepper, and salt until cooked over medium-high heat. This should only take a few minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, water, hot sauce, a dash of salt and pepper. In a small greased or non-stick pan, pour the egg mixture in and cook slowly over low to low-mediumish heat. When the eggs are cooked relatively thoroughly, place the chorizo and jack cheese as well as a sprinkle of cheddar on top. Fold and let the cheese melt and cook a few more minutes. Top with shredded cheddar.

Could be real good served with avocado. I didn't have any! Or sour cream. Or both. Nomnom.

Potato Kale Stew

2010-04-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

Finally I'm getting around to actually catching up with my posts! Maybe when I catch up I'll feel like cooking more. :) There's nothing that gets me motivated more than running out of posts for Foodival, hah!!
I made this stew on my kale-kick. I'd say it's a really healthy stew, but it's full of coconut milk, which is not healthy. Otherwise it's just vegetables-- potatoes, sweet potatoes, the kale. Some onion. It's basically like a curry, but less awesome than the curries I've had at thai restaraunts. :( Though still very good.
Because this was supposed to be like.. you know, a soup or stew. It's supposed to be thinner and more liquidy. I wouldn't say it was perfect but it did a good job. And it was nourishing, though not my favourite. Brian liked it a lot, but I thought it was rather bland, personally. But I think that's because when I looked at it I expected it to be yellow curry, knew it wasn't, and it definitely didn't taste like it. I served it with a bit of toast, because I like toast with my stew.

It's a good try, it's vegetarian, so that's nice.

Potato Kale Stew
Recipe from 28 Cooks

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 small sweet potato, cut into 2" pieces
1 small white potato, cut into 2" pieces
1/4 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2" dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 can coconut milk
1 cups sliced fresh kale leaves

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and salt, and saute 3-4 minutes until it starts to soften. Add potatoes, bell pepper, garlic, ginger, and spices, and saute for a minute or two. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Add kale leaves, remove from heat, and allow to sit for a minute or two for kale to soften. Serve and enjoy!

Rose Berry Float

2010-04-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

I saw this post somewhere awhile ago and immediately fell in love. I love rose in things. Rose ice cream was one of my favourites at this ice cream shop in Savannah called Leopold's (a producer owned it, Leopold Stratton I think?). He made awesome rose ice cream. Also, rose in baklava, cookies, cheesecake, all good ideas. For Valentine's Day I made rose cheesecake (still haven't posted that... I think)-- but a rose float? oh jeez! That sounds amazing.

So I went to this little market in the Farmers Market on 3rd Street to Monsieur Marcel's and they had not only rose water (yumyum) but rose nectar, which is like... already sweet, and from... the nectar, I guess? So I also have a bottle of that-- it's a soft, perfumy pink fluid sitting in my fridge (still). And it's amazing.

Part of the reason I got the nectar was for this float, it seemed like a good idea. I had strawberry ice cream in my freezer for forever, as well as some frozen berries (including ones I picked last year with Jeff in San Fran. Woops.) Those ingredients combined made this amazing float-- luxurious and delicious. I admit, the water with the rose was... perfumy, not as much sweet. I think a float goes better with more sweetness in the liquid. Maybe mixing a strawberry or raspberry juice with carbonated water and the rose would have been a bit more appetizing, then also floating the berries and strawberry ice cream in it. Yeah, that'd be good. Or perhaps using a sweeter soda water than I did.

But whatever the case, I still really enjoyed it-- I felt like Marie Antoinette, drinking a rose flavoured delicacy. And as far as I'm concerned you can't steer wrong with that.

Rose Berry Float
Recipe from The Jewels of New York

1 1/2 cups sparkling water
1 teaspoons rose syrup

1 teaspooon rose nectar
1 scoop strawberry ice cream
raspberries and blackberries to garnish

In a tall tumbler, mix in Pellegrino and rose syrup. Add in raspberries and blackberries and top with a scoop of strawberry ice cream.

Honey Walnut Baked Apples

2010-04-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to be healthy. Really! I know I make a lot of pastries and I'm not exactly the most health conscious person to eat nomnoms, but sometimes I really do like making healthy things! This is... more on that path. I actually meant to make two of these, but I didn't end up using the other apple (I forgot it was in the fridge [yes I keep my apples in the fridge]). But Brian and I ate this for dessert one night after a deliciously filling meal. It was good-- nice and rich and juicy without being excessive. It felt nice, healthier than my usual cake/cookie/brownie/chocolate creations. I like baking, but sometimes it's nice to just make something simple and more au natural.

I really think I would've liked to use a Honeycrisp apple for this-- I loove honeycrisps (and pink ladies). Unfortunately my grocer didn't have either, so I used a... a granny smith, I believe. Or maybe a golden delicious? Its sort of hard to tell and I don't really remember. Like most things I've been updating with recently, I made this awhile ago. I really should do better at catching up (sorry, readers).
Or maybe this was a honeycrisp. Hmmm. Those are usually like, the only applies I buy. But whatever the case, the skin sort of got... soggy, I think I cooked it too long. But the apple was sort of caramelized by everything, which went well with the ice cream. It was a nice treat-- I should make more, except that I haven't been feeling up to cooking a lot lately. Though Brian and I made a tasty Easter dinner together last night and that was fantastic. :D

Anywho, that's it for now, more updates soon! Sorry this one is mostly pictures! :D

Honey Walnut Baked Apples
Recipe from Cooking by the Seat of my Pants

1 medium apple
1 teaspoon sugar
a dash of cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, or in a deep bowl or cup in the microwave. Add sugar and cinnamon to a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add honey and melted butter, whisk until smooth. Stir in walnut pieces sit a long spoon. Set aside.

Core the apple and cut a shallow slit around the center of each apple, just through the skin, approximately 1/8 of an inch deep. Fill each apple with 1 to 2 tsp of the filling mixture. Arrange in a high-sided baking dish just large enough to hold the apples. (I used an 8-inch square baking dish for these, but a pie tin would have worked as well.) Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until apples are tender. If filling begins to blacken, cover the apples with foil and continue cooking.

When done, set on serving plate and serve immediately with a little honey or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cinnamon Chip Danish

2010-03-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Oh.

My!

This dish-- this.... this cinnamon chip danish... this was so heavenly. Brian and I had it every morning for breakfast (practically) for like a week. Once I even had it for dessert. I just wanted more and more. It could be because I'm hopelessly addicted to cinnamon. It could be that we love pastries. I don't know. It was just... tasty, tasty, tasty. Now that I'm posting about it, I'm tempted to make it again. Maybe I'll make a cherry or strawberry danish instead?? Or chocolate? Because... I mean, right now I really want chocolate. But it's Spring!! It's time for fruits and berries and amazingness!!

But whatever!! Cinnamon chip danish, you are my hero. Actually, I watched Inglorious Basterds twice in the week that I made this, and I kept thinking of the scene where he orders Shoshanna whipped cream and a danish (growing up, my best friend was named Shoshana, and I thought of her a lot because of that movie), and so every morning when I cut slices for Brian and myself I made sure to serve them with whipped cream on the side. It seemed necessary, and went well with our coffee.

It was really fun to make this. Sure, it took awhile (I made it the night before with some soup, I believe), but it was fun. I like making pastries and bread items-- I like letting them rise and kneading them and cutting the pieces and folding it to be pretty. When it came out of the oven it made me so happy-- it was so pretty. I believe I squeeled and was like "Look how pretty!". And since it was breakfast, the pictures turned out nice too. Also, Brian turned out nice to, he's below. ;)

Look at him enjoying my danish, isn't he cute? This picture makes me want to give him a hug, but he's still at work. I will give him a mental hug right now.

The inside of the pastry is cream cheese, sweetened and folded with cinnamon chips. It's rich-- definitely, and not as dry as a lot of the cream cheese filling in danishes I've had in the stores (probably the yolk --> cream cheese ratio, which looks something like this [ cream cheese > egg yolk ]). The cinnamon chips, which my mom got for me while I was at home for Christmas because I can't find them here (which is funny, because I've had this recipe in my box for like, a year and a half now, and I made this like over a month ago... oy, I'm so bad at this updating thing.)

I liked making thick slices and heating them briefly in the toaster oven and then topping them with whipped cream. Once we put butter on, but it didn't taste as good-- the other flavours were weakened. So boo on butter. Give me sugar cream!!

We would eat like, two slices each a morning, but it still lasted us about a week. By the end of the week it was kinda dry, but I wrapped it in plastic every day and tried to make it last. It was still pretty moist for staying out that long though.

I don't think I have anything else to say, but wanted to break up these images. This was so good. My mom is here (she and the rest of my fam delivered to me my furniture from Savannah where I went to school-- they also brought me a buttload of stuff for my kitchen. A box was still left at home, but I now have my kitchen scale back... means I can make french things a bit more easily, no? Hah! No more conversion for me!!)

Cinnamon Chip Danish
Recipe from The Other Side of Fifty

The Filling

6 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp butter
1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups cinnamon chips, divided

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and egg yolk until well blended. Set aside three tablespoons of the cinnamon chips for garnish. Stir the remaining cinnamon chips into the cream cheese mixture. Set aside.

The Dough

1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice plus enough milk to make one cup (warm to 100-110 degrees in microwave)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons honey
3 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups flour

Combine the honey and warm milk in bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until bubbly.
Add in the butter, salt, wheat gluten, and flours. Mix until the flour is incorporated.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it's all smooth and elastic, this should take about 8-10 minutes. Turn the dough into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in volume (1-2 hours, depending on room conditions.)
Like the original poster, I preheated Brian's oven to it's lowest setting (170 degrees), then turned it off, and this is where I let my dough rise.
Punch the dough down, then turn it onto lightly floured working surface and pat it into a ball.
Roll the dough into a 12x18 rectangle. Spread the cream cheese mixture lengthwise down the center third of the dough rectangle. Cut 1-inch wide strips from the edges of the dough almost to the filling. Begin the braid by folding the top row toward the filling. Alternately fold the strips at an angle from each side across the filling toward the opposite side. Fold bottom row toward the filling and finish by stretching last strip and tucking under to seal. Transfer to baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray or you can use parchment paper to cover the baking sheet.
Brush the loaf gently with a beaten egg and cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the loaf 25-30 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and cool.

To Glaze....

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp softened butter
enough milk to make of the desired drizzle consistency
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
a dash of cinnamon

Stir the powdered sugar and butter together in a small bowl. Add vanilla extract and cinnamon and mix. Add milk until you have the needed consistency. Drizzle glaze over cooled danish and garnish with reserved cinnamon chips.

Chorizo Kale Soup

2010-03-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Can't remember how long ago it was that I made this-- but it was in my whole 'kale' phase. I think I've made all the kale recipes for now-- just in time, it's leek season. I've gotta put leeks in EVERYTHING. Now it's Spring, so I keep wanting fresh vegetables and fruits... its a dire craving. Unfortunately, I'm pretty broke. I try to keep my expenses cheap then, and while fresh vegetables aren't exactly expensive, they don't last as long....

But whatevs! This was an AMAZINGLY flavourful stew. This was so good! I loved the spicy chorizo in it. The recipe I took it from suggested chorizo, though they used Italian sausage. I kind of thought the chorizo would be slicable-- and maybe sometimes it is, but the chorizo I bought just fell right apart and became mushiness in the pan. And in the soup-- but that was fine! It led to a bright red colour, which I appreciated.

In the original recipe they called it Portuguese Kale Soup, but I dunno, I don't know enough about the history of this soup to be like, yeah, this is from Portugal. So I'll just say it's Chorizo kale soup.

Brian and I really enjoyed this with some bread. It made enough that we had leftovers for two or three days, and every day it just got better. I didn't have some of the stuff that they originally used in the original recipe, so I adapted it to my own use. Which I did, in fact, enjoy greatly.

I keep getting distracted as I write my post because my new kitten is chasing my cat, Tseng, around the apartment and attacking him. Tseng is usually pretty mild mannered, but he's chasing her back. He's much fiercer with her than he has been previously, but he still never hurts her. She's silly, though, because she keeps attacking him, then running and hiding. Coward, hah!

Anywho. Yes... soup... right now it's really chilly in my apartment and I could go for another bowl of this. I made this like... forever ago, though. So I definitely don't have any left. In fact, I don't think I have any soup. I could make oatmeal, but I'll probably end up making tea and an egg or something. I haven't had a lot of protein lately (this morning Brian and I had bagels for breakfast) so that's probably a good idea.

I'm actually catching up with my posts!

This recipe, by the way, was really easy to make. I totally suggest it-- it's like... a piece of cake, and really worth it. Serve with some bread, it's awesome!

Chorizo Kale Soup
Recipe from One Tree Past the Fence

1/2 pound of kale

4 cups of chicken stock

1 pound of chorizo

2 cans of white northern beans

1/2 to 1 cup cooked white rice (depending on preference)

3 cloves garlic

1/2 red onion

salt

pepper

Cajun essence

3 drops hot sauce

1 drop lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the chorizo. Remove the chorizo when cooked thoroughly and add the onion and garlic and saute. Once tender, add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the kale, simmer for about five minutes then add the rice. Continue simmering until the kale softens. Add the beans and chorizo back in. Add in the hot sauce, cajun essenese and lime juice. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Saffron Scented Macaroni and Cheese

2010-03-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Macaroni and Cheese has long been one of my favourite meals. When I was a kid it was basically all I would eat (the Kraft kind, which is still something I eat all the time). I feel like I made macaroni and cheese before and talked about that but since I can't find any posts about macaroni and cheese under 'pasta' or 'cheese' that must not have happened. Perhaps that was me preplanning THIS post in my brain. It's like the weirdest sort of deja vu...

Anyway... yeah, so I totally adored Kraft macaroni and cheese. I remember once my mom moved to Chicago for a brief period because she was working as a contractor for Kraft and I was like... "Mom, does that mean they'll give us free macaroni and cheese all the time?"

They didn't. How little did I know back then. If only they had, my little life would have been the best.

I remember also my favourite dish as a kid (I partially remember this because I wrote it in one of my diaries which I then later read-- I remember reading my words, more than the actual feeling, though I still have that somewhat too) was my mom's pork chops with macaroni and cheese, green peas, and lemon poppyseed muffins. Big meal for a little kid, but man, I loved eating it. I think the flavours complemented each other well, I guess I had a taste for things before I even knew it.

I can't say this was the best macaroni and cheese I've ever made (I'm sorry!). I had to break down the recipe because only Brian and I were eating it, and even then it made too much-- but the cheese flavour wasn't strong enough. The cream cheese helped provide the creaminess, but really, I had to add sooo much cheddar to even start making flavour happen. I'll have to retool this and figure it out better-- I think if I make macaroni and cheese again (which I will), I might try to find very flavourful cheeses to see if I can make the most flavourfull macaroni and cheese ever. I mean, for this dish I could see why they did a softer flavour-- if you cover up the saffron with cheese flavour, whats the point? But still, this was missing salt, which I added, and just... general flavour. But then again, I like my stuff cheesy.

Anyway, we made it cheesier and saltier and I still tasted the saffron so that much was good, but it was neither of our's favourite dish. We also added broccoli to it, because broccoli is awesome. I also used rotini, because rotini is awesome (also it reminds me of Kraft Spirals, which is also my favourite).

Hah, I'm a childish dork. :)

Saffron Scented Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe from The Adventures of Kitchen Girl

1/2 pound elbow pasta

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

2 1/2 cups non-fat milk

4 ounces low-fat cream cheese

4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese

small pinch saffron threads

1 tablespoon hot water

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne pepper (optional)

An hour or so before making the macaroni and cheese, grind the saffron threads into a powder using a mortar and pestle. IN a small bowl combine the ground saffron and the hot water and allow to steep. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente (about 8 minutes). Drain, then return to the pot.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onion in 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet and whisk in the flour, cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. whisk in the milk and bring to just a boil lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened, and the cream cheese and cook. Add cheddar cheese (remove from heat0, stir until smooth, add the saffron water and onion. Add to pasta and stir until combined. Season.

Colcannon

2010-03-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

For a last minute minute St. Patrick's day festivity offering, I decided to make Colcannon for the honey, who I believe does have quite a bit of irish (he describes his chin as Irish. I believe it's because his beard is reddish, but he said something about it's shape, I dunno) in him. I've made colcannon once before, when I was younga'-- in college. Everyone came over, I had made colcannon and irish soda bread (from scratch!). I can't remember what I thought of it back then.
Apparently it's a tradition in Brian's family to have boiled corned beef and cabbage. I've never even had corned beef, so I wasn't about to step into those britches. Boiled cabbage I could do-- and for the amount of colcannon I have I'll have plenty left over for him to have with some...... uh, chicken, I guess.

As I'm boiling the cabbage I am aware of the odor it is releasing. Apparently this is a problem for most people, but I think it actually smells rather tasty. It makes me think of butter. Hmm.
Colcannon is apparently a traditional Irish dish-- with ham, or leeks, or kale, or cabbage, or any combination thereof. It's basically mashed potatoes. I'm making mine with red potatoes, because last night when Brian and I were e-mailing back and forth, he said "red potatoes!", and I like to give him things he likes. Skin on red potatoes, cabbage, salt, and a pool of butter. I'm looking forward to the butter, myself.

I'm also adding leeks to this.... I've read its often done. Partially just because I -love- leeks. I love them. Brian's not a huge fan (though I added some to our pasta the other night and he said they 'weren't bad'. Hah!!).

I think the hardest part about making this will be waiting for Brian to get home. He may or may not be off of work right now (he tends to leave any time between 5:30-6:30), but I already started making it. Because I'm sort of silly. Also, I avoid things I have to do and sometimes cook instead. But waiting to eat it will be hard-- I might try a bite before he gets back.

I did--it was good, and he enjoyed it as well. :D
It did make us a bit stomach-achey after some beer that night though. Forewarning. Anyway, yay!! Colcannon!

Colcannon

1 1/2 pounds of red potatoes
1 small head of cabbage, decored and sliced
1 tablespoon butter
A few leaves of leek, chopped
milk
salt and pepper
a dash of mace
1/4 pound of ham

boil the cabbage in a large pot until tender. Remove from water and drain. Fry in a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter until dried out a bit. Add the potatoes to the cabbage water. Boil until tender. Meanwhile, in a small pot, heat the chopped leek and milk. Mash the potatoes, add salt, mace, and pepper. Add the leek and milk. Add the cabbage and mix until fluffy. Add the ham and mix a bit more.
Serve with a well of salted melted butter. Enjoy!

Tuscan Ribollita

2010-03-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Tuscan Ribollita is basically a bean stew. An extremely delicious bean stew. It's hearty, it's rich, it's warm... It's everything a girl like me could want on a cold day. This particular batch was shared by my ex-roommate Vicky, Brian, and I with a loaf of sourdough bread. I don't completely remember what it tasted like, except that it smelled amazing and tasted very rich and good. It was very hearty, and filling-- I felt like I should live in a much colder climate than Los Angeles to be eating this meal. Which is funny, because when I imagine Tuscany I sort of envision sun and ripe grapes. But, as I've never been to Italy (as we've gone over before) what do I know?

I do know that when I was younger I didn't really like beans. I mean, I liked refried beans/pintos and cheese from Taco Bell, but if I got minestrone soup I wouldn't eat the beans, or if something came with beans in it, I'd avoid them. I liked green beans though, and lentils. So it wasn't a thing against legumes. I'm not sure what it was. I think maybe beans filled me up too much-- I still sometimes avoid them because they start making me feel very full very fast. Which is what happened with this stew. As you can see in these photos, each of us didn't have a very large portion, but it was more than enough to fill us up (though this may also be because of the bread).

Vicky will hate me for posting this photo of her, but I think she looks cute. Oh, yeah, we had this with red wine. I believe on Shutterbean it was a suggested serving, but I don't remember what kind of wine we had with it either. Man, I really need to start posting these closer to when I make them so I remember more about them. It's just-- it's just stuff came up! (Like the Eggland contest!!) And I also get distracted by life.
I have a casting for Ed Hardy today. Wish me luck!! I ate one of my macarons from a few days ago just a few minutes ago. Probably not good 'I'm-about-to-prance-around-in-my-bathing-suit' food... but I don't regret it.

Tuscan Ribollita
Recipe from Shutterbean

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1/2 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 small carrot, peeled and chopped

2 oz pancetta, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 a 15 oz can whole peeled tomatoes

1 15 oz can cannelini beans, drained & rinsed

1 cup chicken broth

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1/2 bunch kale, roughly chopped

1/8 cup toasted bread crumbs

grated parmesan

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the first five ingredients in2 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the beans, broth, and rosemary. Simmer, covered, until the beans break apart-- about an hour. Add the kale and cook for five to seven more minutes. Stir in the bread crumbs and serve, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with cheese.

Adventures in Eggland: Chocolate Rose Meringues

2010-03-12T16:04:00.000-08:00

I made that baked alaska last night and had leftover meringue, so I just mixed in some honey, and rose, and nomnom. I baked them up, then Brian distracted me (by showing me this clip for his improv group, Hot Biscuit, that he's been working on) for a good time, and I let them cook a little long. I think this is time to pull out one of my old internet-dorkiness faces. -.- That will be close enough. My friend Mark used to do one that definitely looked more irritable than that. Don't know how to do that anymore, I feel like those are key strokes only known on AOL. Hah.

All kidding aside, I wasn't irritated.

Pink, rosey, and chocolatey. I don't have much else to say-- they came out a little tender, but I really like the flavour. I should have made these for Valentine's day. Oh, I guess I should mention how I made them pinkish. I had some pink luster dust leftover from a few Valentine's Days ago. And I used that. I just mixed it right in, which made the meringue even shinier and pinker and prettier. I really enjoyed the look of it (maybe more before I baked it).

Once I got these little rose meringues that were supposed to be meant as perfumey breath mints. They were rose flavour too! Which is what kind of gave me the idea, but I liked the idea of the chocolate.
Nomnom.

OK! Enjoy the pictures!!
If I think of anything to say I'll come back and edit it in! :x

Chocolate Rose Meringues

1 egg white
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon rose water
pinch (I know, terrible measurement) cream of tartar
chocolate powder for dusting

Oven at 200 Degrees Fahrenheit

Beat the egg white until foamy and add the sugar, honey, rose water, and cream of tartar. Until fluffy and stiff peaks form. Spoon onto a non-stick baking sheet, dust with chocolate powder and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Adventures in Eggland: Dreamsicle Macarons!!

2010-03-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

Unlike my Baked Alaska, I have had macarons before, and these are not perfect. However, despite their flaws (not quite crisp enough, didn't grind the almond fine enough, the cream is a little runny, didn't quite form the right foot but they still don't look too bad) they were very tasty. These turned out to taste exactly like I wanted them to-- very dreamsicle esque. They're super sweet, with a rich orangeyness and a strong vanilla flavour. Its not separated like a dreamsicle is, but all melded together, like when you've mixed it somewhat. I dunno, I really liked it. This was after it took me forever to figure out what flavour I wanted to do. At my disposal I have things like chocolate, rose, lavender... more common macaron flavours (though I doubt dreamsicle is uncommon) but I wanted to do this. I thought it'd be tasty. And different.

What's important is that they turned out pretty good, though! I'm happy with them. And they really could have been a big disaster as I was taking a bunch of recipes and converting them to the cup/tablespoon system (instead of grams, I don't have a kitchen scale!!). And also I was using my measuring spoons and kept getting distracted by my kitten and measured my egg whites (which were previously frozen btw) with my 1 1/2 tablespoons measurement instead of my 1 tablespoon measurement, so my recipe below may not be 100% accurate to what I actually made. :x It will probably be better. But whatev'.

Look, I made all the photos and all the cookies! This recipe only made 8. Well, my macarons may have been a bit big-- I got a bit over ambitious when piping (also, my piping bag sucks. I like to sometimes think to myself, when I have money.... alas, I don't think that will ever happen). Anyway. They're really rich and sweet. So... I kind of have to have pieces of them at a time, with tea, that's not sweetened. I gave one to Brian today for him to have at work (yes, I am posting the same day/day after of making them! Gasp!) but I don't know what he thought of it. So I guess we'll find out. I imagine he'll say something like "Oh, it was good, darling! Very sweet. But I loved it-- thank you!" and he'll kiss me on the cheek/forehead or give me a hug. Because that's very like him.

Have I mentioned that he makes me happy?

The colour scheme of these pictures is vaguely the colour scheme of my kitchen. There's this silly yellow tile (that I love) and I'm painting one of the walls robins egg blue. And there's a brown oven and stovetop, and the microwave is red. It doesn't quite fit in, but it works. :)

And I'm done. Enjoy!!

Dreamsicle Honey Macarons

1 cup icing sugar
1 cup almond flour
1 vanilla bean

2 egg whites
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons honey

Oven at 390 Degrees Fahrenheit

Grind together the powdered sugar almonds, and vanilla. Grind until fine.
Whisk the egg whites and sugar until stiff. Fold in the almond mixture with spatula, then fold in the honey carefully.

Pipe onto non-stick baking sheets. Let rest for five hours (or until a skin forms). Bake for 8-10 minutes until cracking and forming feet and fantastic. Let cool. While cooling, make the filling!!

3/4 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure orange extract
1/2 teaspoon orange marmalade

Combine all ingredients and whip until creamy and fluffy! Spread on one half of a macaron cookie and put the other half on and voila!!

Adventures in Eggland: Neapolitan Baked Alaska

2010-03-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to finish up these posts for the Eggland's Best thing. I did soo many recipes with those eggs (so it felt, to me) so it's been hard... I had a lot of leftover egg whites, after everything, and with those I finished up with this Baked Alaska.

I admit, I had more egg whites left over than I could fit on the baked alaska so I separated them once they were beat up and added some rose water and honey and pink and made little meringues. Which weren't very crispy-- probably because I didn't really look up how to make meringues. But whatever, they taste good!!

But yeah, the baked alaska was sooo goood!! I loved the idea of making it Neapolitan flavor. I had leftover chocolate french toast from my visit to The Griddle. And... and, I'm sorry Jodi, but I couldn't eat it all, so I used it. :x It was still topped with marshmallows when I put the strawberry ice cream on, and then the meringue, and then...

Threw it in the oven to make golden brown and creamy. This is it first removed from the oven-- you can see me in the background putting stuff in the dishrack of my new apartment, yay!!! I baked it on a silicone sheet, because I thought it wouldn't stick-- but for some reason they've been sticking more than they used to. I don't know why, it's silly.

Gotta get that sucker off. It was stuck tight. But I did it, with Brian's help.

I have a lot of pictures for this post, I just had a lot of fun with the camera. Hah. Here's the meringue. I loved how crispy the outside was. I made sure to make it very vanilla-y, because that definitely went with the whole Neapolitan thing. It was soft and tender on the inside, too, which I believe meringue is supposed to be. I haven't had a lot of meringue. (I know, failure). It's all soft and squishy AND crispy. Wowza.

Ok, I don't really know what else to say, I should probably just group these images, especially because I have two more posts to type up. Brian took this while I was digging into the first bite. I made some funny noise at him like "ehwakjerhjwer put the camera down and eat it!"

The strawberry custard/ice cream is beginning to melt out. OH! I know something I wanted to say about this. Whenever I make certain recipes (like my pasta carbonara) I think of the Sims.... because even since the first Sims game they made things like pasta carbonara, baked alaskas, and lobster thermidore. When I first began playing the Sims I had no idea what those things were-- I'd never had carbonara (later, when I was dating Ryan, he introduced it to me, it was his favourite) and until today I'd never had a Baked Alaska. Still haven't had lobster thermidore-- but there's still time. I'm only 24 after all. But it's nice to make things and be reminded of how nerdy I am. It's kind of the same thing sometimes when I have certain Japanese foods. I'll think of glistening Hot Bowls from Slayers or ramen from various things, or often, Final Fantasy VII foods-- which aren't really mentioned.

Look how gooey!! The chocolate french toast was sooo good under this (though a brownie or cake probably would be better. I mean, bread is bread after all. But still, soo tasty). The marshmallow completely melted on top of that, and then covered by the melted strawberry gooeyness. Meringue on top, traps the whole thing in so that it all melts and gets caught and-- and-- okay... I bet you just want to make it for yourself now. Look below!

Neapolitan Baked Alaska

1 chocolate cake, of moderate size (or some chocolate french toast, or something)
1 large scoop of strawberry ice cream

2 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar
a dash of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Whisk the egg whites in a bowl, add sugar and cream of tartar and some vanilla extract. Beat until stiff peaks form. Layer the strawberry ice cream and meringue on top of the cake/brownie/whatever. Stick it in a preheated oven until baked and melty and freakishly amazing.
Serve immediately.

All gone!!

Adventures in Eggland: Beef Ragu with Papardelle

2010-03-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

As part of the Eggland challenge through Foodbuzz I made homemade pasta. I really enjoyed the experience, though it was tough (warning, it took forever). I made two types out of the one recipe, and had plans for both-- the other was this strozzapreti with kale, potatoes, and browned butter. The other was this delectable beef ragu inspired by Jason Cooks.

I really-- really enjoyed this ragu. It took awhile too make, which is always tedious, especially when sometime smells so good. Letting a sauce reduce is hard-- just out of pure impatience. I'd never really made pasta sauce before, either (well, I've made alfredo's and carbonaras, but not a tomato based sauce) so that also added an extra challenge.

And I gotta say, it turned out amazing. Brian LOVED this dish-- he devoured it. It was rich, the cabernet was strong and aromatic. The beef tasted amazing-- it was seasoned well (from me tasting it so many times). Yes, indeed, this was a fantastic italian dish. I don't know if I'll make it again any time soon-- after all, making the pasta was a long drawn out process, and making the sauce was equally so. But, I did enjoy it, and I wouldn't mind eating it again.

Papardelle is also like, one of my favourite pastas. The first time I had it was for an anniversary dinner a couple of years ago (or Valentine's, it used to be that they were very close together for me) and it was amazing!! It was served with a rich wine sauce and chunks of tender beef. It wasn't quite a ragu, but it was amazing.

I really enjoyed that serving of pasta, but I gotta admit, I like the homemade love of this one.

It was homey and rich, without being too overdone. A few days ago I watched this movie called Everybody Wants to be Italian, directed by a photographer I know named Jason Todd Ipson who is, in fact, a really cool guy (we've been talking about doing a shoot posing with food-- because come on!) and in it the girl is pretending to be Italian and her Italian neighbor is teaching her to make a ragu or some sort of sauce, and is like... a way to a man's heart is through his stomach (that old proverb). I don't know how true that is-- though my boyfriends have always loved me and my cooking, I don't think any of them are truly blown away by the amount of good food I put infront of them. But this ragu makes me think of that movie (now, even though I watched the movie after eating the ragu) because if I had an Italian grandma neighbor making me pasta, I think it'd taste something like this.

Also, Brian's roommates Dan and AJ just got back from a trip to Italy (like, two days ago?? It was AJ's Birthday. Happy Birthday girly!!). I've never had true Italian pasta-- heck, I've never been out of the country (despite my desire to. Please send me out of this country, Next Models. Let's work together to get me some work. Even if you won't sign me for print. Oh, fickle modeling agencies)-- but I dunno. It might also be something like this, right? I guess I have to go to Italy to find out. Maybe Dan's family will make me some pasta. I know AJ has been trying to make a variety of recipes for Dan/etc, and from what I hear they've been pretty amazing.
I just realized this post doesn't have much to do with the ragu anymore.

But yeah, it was good. Very rich, very flavorful. I loved the extra basil I added-- but that's because Brian and I are kind of in love with Basil for life. FOR LIFE!!

Beef Ragu with Papardelle
Recipe adapted from Jason Cooks

1 pound beef - I used some steak, since you can't really get a pound of beef chuck roast. But it was a chuck steak. Unfortunately, too long ago to remember specifically.
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 basil leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
2 sprig of thyme
1 carrot
1/4 onion
1 shallot
3 oz mushrooms
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 can crushed tomatoes
1/3 bottle cabernet
2 garlic cloves, peeled and seperated
1 cup beef stock

pappardelle
basil
parmesan

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sear the sides of the beef. Add all the vegetables and cook until slightly tender and aromatic. Add the flour and stir in. Add the crushed tomatoes in and continue stirring for a few minutes. Add the garlic, beef stock, and all the herbs and leave on the stove too simmer for 3 hours or until reduced by half. Continue checking and stir occasionally, and when close to being finished start shredding the beef with a fork.

In the last 30 minutes of cooking the sauce, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the papardelle and cook until al dente. Drain and pour into two bowls. Serve topped with the ragu, shredded basil, and a heaping of parmesan cheese.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

2010-03-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

Remember when I made my post on Holiday Pumpkin Bread and I mentioned how I had like... a giant tub of pumpkin left? Every time I use that pumpkin I feel like-- oh, this is the last of the pumpkin, and it turns out there's more. THERE IS STILL more pumpkin!!! I can probably make..... tons more pumpkin things (and I will, even though it is, in fact, March and we're safely out of pumpkin season, hah!)

This recipe is one that I had seen on Closet Cooking a long time ago and saved thinking, one day I will try this. It's not a very difficult recipe-- obviously it's just oatmeal, with stuff mixed in. Though Irish Steel cut oats aren't exactly the easiest thing to make (really, it's kind of just like making rice). I figured since it was a cold day and I had all that pumpkin and I really wanted to make something delicious and warm and rich, this would do the trick.

It was, of course, very tasty.

I can't say I altered the recipe that much. I just... mixed it, basically like Kevin did. I did top mine with almonds and cranberries (two things that I think go very well with pumpkin. Walnuts would do too. Kind of like in my pumpkin bread that I previously mentioned). I like the rich nuttiness of the almonds with the sweet tartness of the cranberries-- all over the warm, spicy, richness of the pumpkin flavoured oatmeal. I also have mine topped with milk-- I love oatmeal this way, warm and creamy with the cool liquid sections to cool my mouth and provide a backdrop. I'm not sure where I picked up having it that way, but every time I do. I think Brian thinks it's gross ( ;) ).

Now that we're getting into warmer weather I'll be less likely to make more oatmeal--despite the fact that I have a plethora of it. I kind of wonder if I made oatmeal cookies with irish oats if that'd be weird. Probably. I should try it anyway....

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Recipe adapted from Closet Cooking

1 serving irish steel cut oatmeal (cooked)

4 tablespoons pumpkin puree

2 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon dash cinnamon

1 dash nutmeg

1 dash ginger

1 dash cloves

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

A splash of milk, and a drop of cranberries + almonds

To make the oatmeal:

Bring 1 cup of water to boil in a small-to-medium sized saucepan. Stir in the oats and reduce immediately to low. Add a dash of salt and watch carefully to prevent from boiling over. Simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes. Add milk in if the liquid evaporates too quickly.

Combine the steel cut oatmeal in the last few minutes of cooking with the pumpkin. Stir in, once at the right texture, the sugar, vanilla, and spices. Top with milk, cranberries, and almonds and serve with a cup of warm and enjoyable coffee!!

Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-03-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

The simple unimposing chocolate chip cookie. That's what this photo reminds me of. I have made so many chocolate chip cookie recipes it's not even funny... they're a classic request. These I made for a party held at Brian's house-- months and months ago. Maybe in November? Or December? I don't remember. Maybe it was in January. Whatever! That doesn't matter...

I decided to try out a different style of cookie. When I make CCCs, they're soft, tender, slightly crisp on the edge, spicy, sweet, with a bit of a salty bite. So, I found this recipe on Chow for crisp CCCs. Crisp? I never make crisp cookies. I tend to avoid crisp cookies. But after talking about it with Brian, he expressed his enjoyment of crispy CCCs. He likes it both ways, apparently. He would. ;)

So I made them for the party. They went over alright. I wasn't very impressed (I'm sorry!). They were too salty, in my opinion, and kind of floury. Not very crisp, either, and I'm not sure why... I followed the recipe, but it just didn't come out... how it should, I suppose.

The pictures were taken by my friend Mel, a sweet and hot chicky who likes to carry around a camera to the various parties. That's why they're more artistic than normal, and I approve of them.

Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from Chow

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

Oven at 375 Fahrenheit.

Whisk the flour and salt in a medium bowl and set the bowl aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix well, making sure to incorporate thoroughly. Mix in the flour. Using a large spoon, fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon onto a cookie sheet, 3 inches apart and bake until the bottoms are golden brown, approximately 10-12 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes and serve!

*So, if I were to suggest changes to this recipe, which I haven't tried, this is what I'd do.

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar (light brown sugar will have too much moisture, won't be as crisp)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (there were a lot of chips)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder (not sure about this)

Hot Chocolate French Toast @ The Griddle

2010-03-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Apparently I'm just going to keep doing reviews of The Griddle here in Los Angeles. You see, last time I went to The Griddle I was lucky enough to get to try one of their Red Velvet Pancakes (I was with my friends and one of them had followed The Griddle on Facebook, and that's how we got the hook up). Yesterday, I went again with my boyfriend for our 6 month anniversary, and got to chat a little bit more with Jodi, the owner. She's doing some pretty awesome projects, and I had recently seen on Facebook that she'd also made this CRAZY Hot Chocolate French Toast. See, I was just going to get another Red Velvet (because, umm, yum), but after talking to her about it I was again lucky enough to try this new creation.

Which is good, because it means I can write about it more on Foodival. I don't really want this to become a restaurant review blog, even though I've done more (okay, so mostly for The Griddle. For some reason) recently... maybe I should make a blog JUST for that. Except I don't really eat out enough (at enough new places) for that to make a lot of sense to me. It's really gotta impress me to be like... yeah! Posting this to Foodival!

That's why The Griddle has made it on here twice and Mataam Fez has made it on here as well. These are some of my favourite places. Once I find more, they will come on here too. Last time I had better photos-- this time my camera was dead, Brian didn't bring his, so these are cell phone images. Not bad, right, for a cell phone that's not an iphone? I do what I can.

Oh, but you wanna know what this tasted like, don't you?

This decadent treat was amazing. The bread (I'm not sure, did she bake it? I should ask...) is very rich and chocolatey, it honestly tastes like Hot Cocoa-- not just... chocolate bread. It's got that... milky chocolatey heated taste. Almost like Swiss Miss, but not processed hot cocoa powder. So this decadently soft and rich bread is-- is cooked, french toast style, I'm guessing in a vanilla batter, but I honestly have no idea. Maybe it's in a chocolate batter, thus the extreme hot cocoaness of it. It's then topped with marshmallows which are flambed for good measure. And some whipped cream. And some powder sugar and cocoa powder.

Hell.
Yeah.

I definitely could only eat like... a third of it. It was so intense. It's sitting in my fridge now and I kind of want to eat more of it but I'm not sure my stomach can handle it right now. It was rich and sweet and delicious, I didn't feel sugar sick eating it (bready), but I definitely could not eat it all. Love the whipped cream on top too!! I was threatened that if I put syrup on it I'd be kicked out forever-- which, I wouldn't have done anyway. Because I don't put syrup on most things.

I'd say if I had to choose between this and the red velvet pancake again, I'd choose this-- don't get me wrong, I LOVED the Red Velvet Pancake. It was amazing. I will eat more of them. But if I'm in the mood for a decadent morning item, this has got to be it.

My advice to you people is to follow The Griddle on Facebook, see when she's making these amazing off-menu creations, and go try them out.

Oh, and what did Brian get? He got The Golden Ticket. Amazing as always. Very well done!!

Also their coffee rocks my socks off.

OMG THE GRIDDLE.

http://www.thegriddlecafe.com/

/positive review

Holiday Pumpkin Bread

2010-02-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

Nearly every Christmas (except for last Christmas), I make this pumpkin bread. When I was in school in Savannah, I created this recipe based on loving pumpkin and wanting healthy pumpkin bread. Over the years, it's changed to become less healthy. And more pumpkiny. Hah! I love pumpkin bread.

This year I promised Brian that I'd make it for him when I got back from Christmas Break. Because of many many things I didn't actually do it until like a week and a half ago, and then we consumed it rapidly. But I'm glad I made it, it wasn't that hard-- I thought it'd finish off my pumpkin, but it didn't end up doing so. So I still have lots of pumpkin left. That's my goal to finish off after I finish the Eggland stuff. I have a lot of food goals. (This post probably won't get posted until after I post all the Eggland stuff. I feel theme-y).

Admittedly, my pumpkin bread is thick, it's a bit heavy, but it's super moist. It's nice and sweet. The pumpkin would be stronger flavoured if my pumpkin was fresher-- but it's still very pumpkiny. Brian said he could taste it (when he didn't put butter on it. My boyfriend is awesome). I love the texture of cranberries and nuts in it, but I know a lot of people have a problem with texture in their baked goods, so feel free to take them out and whatever. I like them there. And also the struesle style on top.

I suggest cutting off slices, toasting, spreading with a small amount of butter, and serving with coffee and cream. Or tea. Or ice cream. Hah!

Holiday Pumpkin Bread

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon all spice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
¼ cup dried cranberries
1 small bag chopped walnuts
1/8 cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon flour

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

Prepare a loaf pan by spraying with Pam or greasing them. Sprinkle the insides with about a tablespoon of white sugar, barely dusting the bottom and edges.
Roll the dried cranberries in sugar.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and eggs. Add the pumpkin and water and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add to the pumpkin mixture and stir together.
Stir cranberries and about 1/4 cup walnuts into the mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
In a small, separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and remaining walnuts, butter, and flour. Sprinkle the mixture over the bread.
Bake one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Adventures in Eggland: Cloud Souffle

2010-02-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Can I say oh-my-god?

This was amazing!
It was so simple.... tasting. Sort of. BUT AMAZING.
Basically while searching for things I wanted to make with my Eggland eggs, I found this recipe for 'Cloud Souffle' at Almost Bourdain. It was gorgeous, and it didn't seem too difficult, and I had to have it. So last weekend we woke up, stretched, and I made it.
Ironically, it's really not... a souffle. Like, it's more of a meringue, but it's still really good. Souffle, I mean, has flour and is a bit more cake like with a mix of the yolk inside of it, all tempered and such, but--- but... whatever! Right? It doesn't matter what it is as long as it tastes good-- kind of like my zucchini hash that wasn't really, technically, a hash.

So how do I properly describe this? Look above. You'll see the fluffy meringue layer (egg whites, beaten with a bit of salt, provided the cup and topping for this delectable dish). Inside is a mix of the cheese, the egg yolks, the cream. The pepper. It's like... the richest, creamiest breakfast that's so pretty to look at. Brian said that it doesn't make a lot of sense for any normal morning, but for guests it would be awesome.
I said I should make it for his mom sometime.
See what I did there?

The original recipe calls for Gruyere cheese-- but I didn't want to buy any new cheese since I had the Fontina left over from one of the pastas I made recently. I really liked the fontina cheese in it, I think gruyere would have been good, but gruyere is a little less... rich than fontina. I liked the richness it added.

I also have way more pictures than I have things to say about this. It was sooo yummy, but I've already described it. It wasn't difficult to make. Though a little time consuming. I actually cooked it longer than the original recipe called for-- and I accidentally broke one of the yolks when I put it in there, but Brian said that I should tell people to do that, because it was tasty. That yolk kind of cooked and had little pieces that Brian really enjoyed.

Nuvolone
Recipe from Almost Bourdain

2 eggs, separated
Sea salt
1/8 cup cream
1/8 cup sliced Fontina cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer. When they start to become stiff, and salt to taste (shouldn't be too much). Continue beating the egg whites until they firm stiff peaks, like a meringue.
Spoon the egg whites into a ramekin. With the back of the spoon, make a well in the middle, pushing the egg whites up the sides-- you'll need to only put about half or a fourth of the egg whites in to achieve this. Carefully drop the egg yolks into the well. Add the cream and fontina cheese, and grind some black pepper over. Add the knob of butter. Top with the remaining egg whites to form a lumpy peak, cloud style.
Bake for 5-10 minutes, until the cloud is golden but not burnt or cooked, watch it carefully. You have to cook it a little longer to make sure that the inside with the cream and egg is hot. The butter, egg, and cream should all be heated thoroughly.
Serve and enjoy.

Adventures in Eggland: Egg Salad

2010-02-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

Honestly, when I made this egg salad, I wanted to make something fancier than I did. I wanted to include all sorts of fresh herbs and watercress on fancy bread-- but that didn't end up happening. I made it at my house, and at my house I don't have anything fancy. Just dried herbs. All of my fresh herbs are at Brian's. However, I did use my homemade mayonnaise in it, and it tasted so darned good!

This egg is so pretty freshly boiled. Though I suck at peeling it. But yeah, simple egg salad sandwich, hearty lunch. Don't know what else to say about it...

And that's partially because something happened to me.

I found a stray kitten outside. She's so cute, and so sweet-- she came right up to me and started rubbing against my legs. I've taken her in (temporarily), but I can't keep her in my apartment-- if she has worms, Tseng will get sick. So she and I are at Brian's right now. I'm trying to find a home for her, but haven't had a lot of bites. I'm not quite sure what to do with her-- I could take her to the vet, and I was thinking about taking her to get spade and just... take care of her, in general. Until I can give her a home. But I can't really take great care of her-- though I am tempted to. Truthfully, I'm tempted to keep her, but it makes much more sense to give er a home. She's frisky, and I am starting to think she doesn't have worms. But how do I know? I can't really afford to take her to the vet (I fear that'd be super expensive), so I'm not sure what to do. I don't really want to give her up to the pound, but I may have to.

So yeah, that's what's happening in my life!
Hurray!

My fresh mayonnaise is on these eggs.

This is a lame post, I know, I'm sorry. I admit, I'm a little distracted. :D But I did want to share I made something tasty.

1 hard boiled (eggland) egg
1 1/2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon mustard
salt and pepper
a dash of cayenne pepper
basil
parmesan cheese
1 slice of toast

Combine the first six ingredients. Spread on a piece of toast and top with parmesan cheese.

Adventures in Eggland: Mayonnaise

2010-02-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

One of my latest attempts with my vonderful Eggland's Best dozen is homemade mayonnaise. Something I had never thought to attempt before, but while brainstorming for ideas to try to make with these eggs, things I've never made before or are fun and interesting to make, this was one of them. In the video game, Harvest Moon, which is like... Farmville but older/better, you can put eggs into a machine and make mayonnaise-- from chicken and duck eggs. The duck stuff is called duckonnaise I think. Which is funny.

So I made it! It was hard to whip it up, and it didn't set properly at first. I couldn't get it to emulsify just as I wanted it to, but after it sat in the fridge when I'd given up it thickened up considerably. Unfortunately, I don't eat a lot of mayo, so I'm pretty sure this is going to go to waste. I used it in my egg salad sandwich, but I haven't gotten any sandwich meats or anything (I might do that today) so that Brian and I can eat it, and now I'm nervous it won't be good anymore. (It's sitting in his fridge). I know it has a day or two shelf life. You'd think mayonnaise would last longer than that in the fridge. Preservatives sure do a lot.

I adjusted this recipe from The Joy of Cooking. Brian owns a copy, the handsome devil. I used olive oil , despite the book's warning to use a milder oil to mix. But I liked it-- it's got a heavy evoo flavour, but it's still very tasty. Still tastes eggy too.

Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk
juice from 1/4 a lemon
sea salt/rock salt (I used pink sea salt)
1/2 cup oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
white pepper
about 1/2 teaspoon mustard
paprika
cayenne pepper

Beat the egg yolk and lemon juice together until thick and frothy. Add salt to taste and continue whisking. Slowly, VERY slowly, add the oil in a very very slow drizzle. This is important -- that it's slow, you don't want the emulsion to break. I was able to slowly dribble some out of my container. Once combined, mix in the white pepper, mustard, and a little dash of paprika and cayenne. Continue whisking until thick --- if you can, until it's really thick and fluffy. That didn't work for me, so I mixed it for fifteen minutes or so then put it in the fridge.

I'm obviously not going to be a mayo maker, haha!
But I want to make like... garlic aioli out of this. :D

Adventures in Eggland: Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

2010-02-07T11:24:00.000-08:00

I really like chocolate mousse. It was one of the first 'fancy' desserts I ever made. It's nice to revisit it from time to time, though it's so heavy (unless I make a light mousse, I guess), that I don't make it often. I should make it more, it's not like it's all that complicated. Still, I dunno, cookies tend to be easier and more versatile for me. Though that's just because I haven't been pushing my creativity as much lately.

That said, I want to explain that this post will be short. I'm sick, and I feel weak lately. I expended my energy this morning making a nice eggland breakfast so that will be updated soon. So, not as much rambling. Probably.

Also sorry for the pootastic pictures. Brian kept giving me a shoulder massage as I tried to take snapshots. Also, green may not be the best backdrop for everything. Note to self taken.

That said, mousse was very good!! I liked the extra touch of frangelico, inspired from Not So Humble Pie. I like Frangelico, it's one of my favourite liquors. I normally have no trouble mixing mousse, though, and this one I couldn't get the chocolate to completely incorporate, I had to put it through a sieve. And even then it was still a very thick (tho delicious) mousse in the end. Might have been too much chocolate. It was ridiculously sweet, in a good way, but very heavy-- Brian and I split the portion I made and it was probably too much for two people. I definitely got a tummy ache, we had eaten a lot.

But it was so rich and delicious and smooth that I was happy. The recipe is below. Can't tell if Eggland eggs had anything to do with it, but whatever, they're eggs, and they're good eggs. Maybe the vitamins in them will help me get better.

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

2 egg yolks
¼ cup granulated sugar
1/6 cup Frangelico liquor
½ cup dark chocolate pieces (I use chips)
½ cup heavy cream

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until rich and creamy and ribbons form. Put on top of a double boiler and whisk together, until thick and cream-- do not allow to clump or get too hot, continuously whisk! Add the liquor and whisk, again, until thick. Remove from the double boiler and add the chocolate-- they will melt while you whisk.
In a separate bowl whisk the heavy cream until large and fluffy. When the chocolate mixture is cool, fold together and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Serve topped with slightly sweetened whipped cream.

Strozzapreti with kale, potatoes, and browned butter sage sauce

2010-02-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

My original theme for the week was going to be kale, before it became eggs. Along time ago (I'd say nearly a year), I was collecting recipes to make I horded something like... 6 kale recipes, which I of course wanted to make but kale was out of season. So finally kale season came around again and I had almost entirely forgotten-- except I was trying to get back into updating Foodival more and lacked inspiration so was turning to these recipes, until the egg thing came along, but now I'm making these recipes anyway. :) At least some of them. This one I saw on Mimi Katzchen and wanted to make-- because I love pasta, and I liked the idea of such a simple recipe of just a green veggie, and carbs. And cheese. Hah! Such comfort food.

I've also been sick lately, so that also helps. I want comfort food (or soup) when I'm sick, and that's it. And chocolate, sometimes, haha, but that's a comfort food. Last night I made this pasta with chocolate mousse, so I had both. The recipe was very tasty-- though I altered it to my own needs. And, of course, I used my homemade strozzapreti that I also made yesterday. When I ate it, it very much seemed like it was worth the effort.
This was also such a filling dish, neither of us were able to finish our servings-- I nearly did, Brian had lunch and thus ate less (I had skipped lunch, I was so busy making pasta all I had was a granola bar and a latte).

This recipe is very fall/wintery. It has kale, a winter veggie, as well as the browned butter and sage-- which I often associate with pumpkin and butternut squash, also fall flavours. I really enjoyed it though, because I love browned butter and this isn't so far off from my typical Parmesan Cheese + garlic powder + butter/olive oil pasta that I normally make myself (because I'm lazy). That sometimes I'll be wild and add frozen spinach and cubes of mozzarella too. This just had potatoes. Which I never add to pasta, but seem to love together.

I'm very happy I made this. It was mild, but delicious. It was heavy, but comforting. It was just what I needed, and I'm happy with it.
So this is also an Eggland recipe, because I used my fresh eggland pasta with it. But at the same time, it isn't. Whatever the case, it's fantastic and I <3 it.

Strozzapreti with kale, potatoes, and browned butter sage sauce
Adapted from mimikatzchen

2 tablespoons butter
1 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed
5 sage leaves
1/2 a bunch of kale
salt and pepper
1/2 a medium white potato, chopped into small pieces.
1/2 pound strozzapreti
3 oz italian fontina cheese, cubed
freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a small pan, melt the butter. Add the garlic and sage after butter is melted over medium to medium-low heat until the butter is lightly browned and nutty smelling. Turn off the heat and discard the garlic.
Chop the kale coarsely. Add the salt and kale to the water when it is boiling and boil for four minutes. Add the chopped potatoes and boil for six more minutes until both are tender. School out, shake off water, and reserve. In the same water, cook the pasta until al dente and drain.
Combine the pasta, kale, and potatoes. Pour the butter and sage over the mixture and use some of the pasta or kale to wipe out the butter pan. Add the fontina cheese and a generous portion of parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss well.

Adventures in Eggland: Fresh homemade pasta!

2010-02-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

I've had the concept of making fresh pasta for some time. When I found this recipe at Rosa's Yummy Yum's, I finally decided I should do it. I really wanted to make fresh pasta. I ended up not using Rosa's recipe, though I used a variety of her links, but instead used semolina flour in the dough (according to my flour's directions) mixed with all purpose flour. Etc. I don't know, that seemed like what I wanted to do. I probably should make it all semolina, to be supa' traditional. But I didn't. Because semolina flour is expensive.

So I made homemade dough. Part of this was because I wanted to, part of this was because I have 2 pasta dishes on my menu this week and thought it'd be fun to try with them. Part of this was for the Eggland Foodbuzz dealie, because I figured... egg yolks, in the pasta, you'll get to taste the flavour and see the difference. And I feel like you may have, it was very good pasta. But partially because it was homemade.

These are some of the eggland eggs, fresh cracked. Look how bright the yolks are. This picture is like a sunny day-- yellow sphere in a blue background. I appreciate that. I've noticed that the shells are sort of hard to crack open, for me, likely because they're so fresh. The inner membrane is holding taught. Or maybe there's another reason, I don't know. I don't know enough about eggs, I should probably google that shiz. I wanted to post a picture of the cracked eggs yesterday, but I didn't have the opportunity-- because I forgot to take a picture. But this time, this time I was ready.

This is a combination of my flours and such. I thought it made for a cool image. I don't really have a lot to say about the pasta except OH MY LORD is it hard to make! The dough is very tough, and it takes forever. So WARNING, do not make this pasta unless you have plenty of time on your hands or a pasta roller. Because I don't. I have wine bottles at my house, which I used as a rolling pin. I don't have a pizza cutter-- I used a knife (thus the very awesome even edges of my pappardelle pasta, below). I used the one recipe of dough for two kinds of pasta, ate the one type (strozzapreti) last night in dinner, and plan to use the pappardelle soon. I fell in love with pappardelle last Valentine's Day when Jeff brought me to this tasty restaurant (I don't know the name), where they served it with like... a rich wine and beef and mmmm. Drool. I had never seen such wide ribbons of pasta before, and they made me so happy. They were so thin and delicious. My pasta is not as thin-- I don't have the arm/man power. I was dreaming of a pasta machine while I made this, fantasizing. Alas, none appeared.

The strozzapreti cooked up wonderfully. I think I boiled it like 6-8 minutes, and it was still a bit on the tough side (not quite al dente), but that was my own fault. I let these dry most of the day, at least 6 hours. The papardelle is hanging out in my fridge. Its kind of amusing to me how different homemade pasta tastes from store bought pasta-- and I obviously buy storebought. I wonder how many restaurants actually make homemade pasta, probably very few-- the ones that do are the expensive ones, I imagine. However, I like the authenticity. I want to go to Italy to be like, mm, authentic.
I also kept thinking while I was making this pasta how it must have been to be like... a cook back when we didn't have any mechanics. So women/men would spend all day making pasta, rolling it out, shaping it, forming it to make dinner that night/that week. Same thing with like, tortillas, they're not exactly the easiest buggers. Or bread. All that work, just for food later. My roommate, Vicky, was saying if it were her-- she would have been the one to invent gruel. Just water and some sort of flour substance. Or just poke some meat or vegetable on a stick and hold it over a fire for like 5 minutes, and then eat it. She also said she probably would have poisoned herself fast.
It's amazing. I don't think I can make homemade pasta often. I made it once before in college, I made egg noodles for chicken noodle soup-- these turned out better. Those were definitely thicker, though similar. I hung them from a clothes hanger to dry--hah!
These all came out shorter. There was less dough, which I couldn't get as long. But that's okay... they're easier for me to handle this way.

Fresh Pasta

1 3/4 Cups All-purpose flour and semolina flour, split, plus extra semolina for kneeding
2 large (Eggland) eggs, lightly beaten
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
Semolina (semolina di grano duro) flour, for dusting
water, to moisten

Sift together the flour and salt into a mound on a working surface. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. using your fingers, gradually incorporate the flour, then kneed for about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and cover with a towel, let rest for 15 minutes. Cut the dough into four pieces and dust a working surface with semolina. Keep the pieces covered while you roll each one out. Roll as thin as possible, like... .25 inches.

To shape the pasta, you can cut strips-- I made pappardelle and strozzapreti. For the pappardelle I cut 3/4" strips, for the strozzapreti I cut 1/2" strips or so and rolled each side so it was facing away from each other (so I folded it in thirds accordian style), then I twisted the strands and cut then into 1 1/2" pieces. Which is... I'm not sure if that's how it's done, but whateva'!

You can follow a guide here.
Allow to dry on a towel.
To cook, boil in salted water until el dente.

*Use water to moisten the dough if it's too stiff. Mine was often too stiff.
*These can be preserved in the fridge for a few days, or allow to dry for 24 hours, wrap tight, and keep in the cupboard.

Adventures of Eggland's Best: Zucchini "Hash", a poached egg, and hollandaise

2010-02-04T10:30:00.001-08:00

As one of Foodbuzz's Featured Publishers, I was given the opportunity to opt in to trying Eggland's Best Eggs. Normally, I purchase the Ralph's (/Kroger/KingSoopres) brand eggs, they're your basic large eggs. They're like, a dollar, they do there job. I'm not asking for much when it comes to eggs... they need to taste like eggs and they need to not spoil immediately and they need to be able to whisk into what I want them to. And also bake well. So, most eggs do the job. When I was in college, I'd buy these special omega-3 eggs that were all natural and organic and whatever from The Fresh Market (where I used to work, much like Whole Foods). That was when I wasn't fending for myself in LA, trying to make ends meet.

So yeah, I'm saying, to me, these eggs are expensive. I'm really happy I get to try them. My actress roommate uses them when she uses eggs (otherwise, eggbeaters). She swears by them, says that they taste better. I don't disagree-- If I can get away with it, I only drink organic milk, because I can taste the difference. I'm sure it happens in eggs too.

That said, there are definite health claims to these eggs. This is what they say "EBs deliver even higher levels of important nutrients like vitamin A , B2, B12, D and E, along with lower levels of saturated fat and cholesterol". Now, I'm not sure how to tell that-- I only wish I could taste the nutrition in something (I imagine if I could, I'd eat cereal and go, "mm! I really like the riboflavin in this!") But I don't see why that couldn't be true, either, and I look forward to seeing the difference-- most of my dishes this week are now egg based. Let's see how I feel, eh? Probably sick of eggs, by next Friday.

They are pretty eggs. That I admit. I like the little individual stamps. And eggs photograph so prettily, I totally see why artists render them all the time. I meant to take a picture of one fresh cracked, but I definitely got too excited to cook.
Also, forewarming, while my food in this dish tasted DELICIOUS, it did not come out as pretty. My poached egg, I didn't handle it carefully, and it broke itself. My hollandaise? Hah. I knew better. I'm sick (headache, sore throat, stuffy nose) and was impatient and didn't think. It was beautiful (I swear I can make a beautiful hollandaise, check here!) and then I was like, THIS IS TOO COLD! MICROWAVE 5 SECONDS.
Yeah.
I knew better.
Don't throw... eggs at me.
Hah!

Anyway... that said, again, this came out delicious. I was really happy and proud of myself. In the end, yeah, its important that the food looks pretty, I guess, but what's more important is the flavour. I need to work on presentation (and photography), I know, but my main concern is flavor, the way things combine, the way things taste. So, one thing at a time.
I decided to open my Eggland Adventure with a poached egg. That way, I could taste the flavour of the egg itself, without frills. Then I decided I wanted hollandaise too-- that's another egg based dish that has a lot of rich flavour. In fact, all the ideas/recipes I've set up for these eggs lay importance on said eggs. They may not be, say, all scrambled eggs and egg custards, but you can't get away without having them. I'm excited about this, actually.

So, I decided to pair of my egg with a zucchini hash. Technically, a hash is fine chopped and contains meat, etc, but I don't know what else to call this. It's a sautee of zucchini and mushrooms and spinach, finely chopped, at breakfast, and so it's a hash to me. This was to be my bed for the egg, until I decided I wanted some bread too, and thus toasted a piece of my roommate's potato bread because it seemed fancier than my loaf of generic wheat bread.
That then became the bed for my poached egg. Which I tasted before layering with hollandaise sauce. It tasted like... an egg. But a good egg. A nice, fresh egg, which is possibly because I bought these last night at Ralph's. But it was good. The yolk was bright and the egg whites were very fresh and springy. I was pleased with it. I probably could've gobbled it all up.

But I had a hollandaise sauce to eat. As you can see (below), the hollandaise sauce turned out less than pretty. Also, I broke my poached egg. The sauce was creamy and light and perfect and then I went and messed it up, I'm so ashamed. However, I want photographic proof on this blog to everyone else so I can say BEWARE! DO NOT DO THIS!! Even when you feel sick and crummy and your head is in a fog, never ever put it in the microwave, while it becomes deliciously warm and still tastes good it makes for very bad photos!! And also Chefs everywhere will probably smite thee!

But whatever, it still tasted good. Really good. I'm excited to try more of the Eggland eggs.

Zucchini Hash

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 zucchini, chopped
2 mushrooms, chopped
1/8 cup frozen spinach
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook for a minute. Add the mushrooms and spinach and sautee for a minute or two to heat. Add the spices, and sautee until all is tender and warm.
Set aside.

Hollandaise (for one)
Note: this is an imperfect art. You can also follow this hollandaise sauce recipe if you haven't made it before, because its more accurate and less me being like I know how to do this and how it should taste in a lesser serving size!

1 egg yolk (Eggland's Best)
about a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice, maybe less
salt to taste
about 2 teaspoons of butter

In the top part of a heated double boiler, combine the egg and lemon juice. Whisk until thick and creamy, without cooking the egg. Remove the bowl from the heat and add small piece of the butter, one or two pieces at a time, and whisk to combine. Add salt and perhaps a sprinkle of cajun seasoning if you're feeling crazy. Serve immediately or keep heated in a thermos bathed in hot (not boiling) water. DO NOT MICROWAVE!! <-- I am a failure.

To assemble, also have

1 slice of toast
1 egg (Eggland's Best)
parmesan cheese

In a medium skillet, heat water to a simmer. Crack the egg into a ramekin and gently slide into the water to hold shape. You can also use a large plastic spoon. This is where I failed this time. Let simmer and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until solid but not cooked through. Remove from water.
Assemble toast (buttered), hash on side, egg on top, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cover in hollandaise. Serve with a sprinkle of better and a big smile!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Filling and Chocolate Frosting

2010-01-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

These I made shortly after Christmas-- and this leaves for the last of my Christmas posts. Now all posts will actually be from this year-- hurrah! That's more caught up than I expected to be!
While I was home and cooking for my little brothers I went through a whole slew of my recipes to decide what to make for them. I had leftover pumpkin from making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and I thought that was a good reason to make more pumpkin flavoured things. I still didn't use all the pumpkin before I left.
My mom doesn't really like pumpkin (or any squash) either.

But whatever! Originally this recipe calls for a dulce de leche frosting, but I decided to go with chocolate instead. I really like the combo of pumpkin and chocolate, though I can't exactly tell you why. It's probably just the spice and chocolate, since I love mexican chocolate and cinnamon chocolate too. Spicy, sweet, bitter, all in one load-- can't go wrong with that.

My dulce de leche didn't set very well. I was sort of under time constraints (imagine, with two little boys running underfoot) so I didn't give it as much time as it needed. Thus, the dulce looks good here, but within a day or so it was completely absorbed into the center of the cupcake and just made it moister. Which was fine-- considering half a week later I was feeding them to Brian and they were still almost as moist as the day I had made them (unlike the red velvet cupcakes).
These were moist cupcakes anyway-- which were more like muffins, really, with the way they were prepared and the texture inside. But they were still tasty-- muffins with frosting. Less complicated than cupcake making, and still really just as delicious. I really liked the chocolate frosting.

They were a hit among the boys, and Brian, and etc. I was pleased with the results. I didn't get around to making pumpkin bread yesterday (I realized I had left my spices at Brian's), but I have every intention of doing it today. :D

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Dulche de Leche Filling
Inspired from Sweetest Kitchens

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7.5 oz of pumpkin puree
1 small can sweetened condensed milk

Oven at 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together your dries (including the spices). In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, eggs, butter, and vanilla. Add the dries, then add the pumpkin.
Pour into 12 prepared cupcake cups and bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

For the Dulce de Leche, take one small can of sweetened condensed milk and bake in the oven for one hour in a tin. Until golden and thick.

To prepare the cupcakes, once cool, using a melon scooper remove the centers of the cupcakes and add a dollop of Dulce de Leche. Replace cupcake centers and top with frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1 oz bakers chocolate, melted with 1 1/2 teaspoons of butter
1 pound of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk, optional, to thin

Combine butter and chocolate, whisk until smooth. Add powdered sugar when butter starts to break apart, and mix until thick and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2010-01-25T10:53:00.000-08:00

So for Christmas I made these red velvet cupcakes. I know what you're thinking--Christmas? Well... now it's the end of January! What happened!
I wrote the recipe down on a piece of paper which I then lost when I came back home. Not to mention I've been very busy with photoshoots (going in to see my agency this week, cross your fingers I start getting paid to work or there will be even fewer posts from now on). Also, I'm working on an animation for mofilm--which I should be doing right now-- but I wanted to post while I still have it in me. It's on my "to do" list.

But yeah, so, I live in Los Angeles, and here we have Sprinkles cupcakes. They have amazing red velvet cupcakes (as does Yummy cupcakes, and also this vegan place near Titmouse, they have amazing red velvet too). Sometimes, I just want red velvet. When I was in Savannah I would rarely ever get it, even though Red Velvet cake is notoriously a southern food. I don't really think it's a Christmas cake-- but I don't see why not. It's red and white and delicious all over.

It took some doing to get my mom to want to try the cupcakes. But she seemed to enjoy them-- eveybody did, even Brian, who had his after New Years because he was quite sick when I came home from Colorado.

I really wish I had some of these right now. The cake was perfect-- mildly chocolatey, rich in moist texture, and brightly coloured. The frosting was thick, sweet, tangy, the perfect accompaniment. I topped the entire thing with a red hot and red sugar crystals and sprinkles for decoration (I admit, I'm not a great decorator). My little brother, Dylan, who is 8 or 9ish, helped me.
By the time I left, even with having made pumpkin cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies, these were gone. I was even able to give some to my childhood friends, Shoshana and Jenny, when they came up for a visit.
I encourage to make these. I might make them again soon. Or at least, I would, if I didn't have so many other recipes to try.

I'm kind of disappointed with myself. These are the only things I've really 'made'-- from my own head-- and really the recipe is a hodge podge of other peoples things. I used to make my own food more often, create my own recipes, but lately it's mostly been trying other peoples. I think I'm in a dry period. I'm going to have to go through all the recipes on my laptop and just hope that I get creative influence again. Like I used to have. Alas.

However, I am excited to try some of these recipes. I'm going to try to make a stew tonight. :) I'm also going to make some pumpkin bread today. But, knowing me, you won't see those recipes for another month. Sorry, guys!Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 oz red food colouring (I believe I only used 1 oz in the end)
1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Oven at 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Sift the cake flour and baking powder in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy -- approximately five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time.
In a small bowl, mix together the cocoa, red colour, and vanilla. Add to the batter. Stir the salt into the buttermilk and add in 3 batches, alternating with the flour.
In a small cup, mix the baking soda and vinegar. Mix into the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure evenly combined.
Pour into prepared cupcake cups-- makes about 36 cupcakes.
Bake for 20 minutes or until springy and centers come out clean when stuck with a toothpick. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
I believe this is the Sprinkles Recipe, thereabouts

1 stick of butter
8 oz of cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 pound of powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Mix butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add salt and sugar. Finish with vanilla extract-- add milk if necessary to even and smooth out for easier frosting.

Christmas Dinner

2010-01-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

Hi all! You guys are seeing bits and pieces of my Christmas dinner--especially because I've kind of been too poor since I've come back to make anything new (it's been suggested to me to make a donation tab, which would be helpful, but I admit I feel bad asking anyone for money ever. Except the California Government. And even that has a twinge of guilt and shame). So here are a few pictures of things that I had. Above, devilled eggs. These are my moms creation, she's made them every year (every holiday) without fail for the last... oh, since I can remember eating. I love these buggers. She puts pickle juice and dijon mustard in them and that makes them all tangy and good. Now whenever I have an egg sandwich it doesn't have enough tang unless it has dijon. Same with devilled eggs, except for the roommate AJ, she makes good ones too.

This is my brother, older brother Chris, I believe, reaching for another egg. I had two halves. I wish I could have eaten more than that-- but between the 6 of us all the eggs disappeared. I think this plate is part of my mom and dad's wedding china. Isn't it pretty? I wonder if people still get wedding china. I love the idea of it, it's so quaint and cute. I'd probably just end up taking photos on it all the time....... but what's the harm in that?

This is the Turkey I made. I have a recipe for it, which... I'll edit this post and add it later. It's basically Alton Brown's recipe, really. My mom made Turkey for Thanksgiving and had a lot leftover in the freezer so she didn't want me to make a lot of Turkey. But she did want to try my version (which she loved, by the way, the Turkey was flavorful, succulent, tender. EVEN THOUGH I forgot to defrost it the night before and had to be archaic and give it a water bath. Sorry Alton, I know, I'm a loser). This method includes a brine and then slow roasting. I like roasting.
I like Turkey. Especially mine (slash Alton's).

This is the stove. In my last post for the Cranberry Pinot Noir sauce I said that I had like, the last 10 minutes to make it before my mom was anxious. This was me multitasking with cranberry sauce, spinach, and gravy. The gravy was weird, but still good in small doses. Inside the oven are rolls (Sarah Lee. Lawl).
Look at those wooden spoons!! Aren't they fantastic? I GREW UP with those. They're my dad's. I kind of want to inherit them someday. They're so great because they're just... rustic, and I haven't found wooden spoons quite as awesome as these sense. Also, be impressed by the electric smooth cooktop. I know gas ranges are, generally, better... and they're all that I use out here in LA because they're all that you can find. However, I'm just... always so amazed to see an electric cooktop when I go home.

Okay, that's enough. I hope all of your holidays were swell and full of fantastic food and fun!

Pinot Noir Cranberry Sauce

2010-01-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

I love cranberry sauce. It's one of my favourite things about Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love it in Jelly form, I love it in tasty non jelly form. I love it in any kind of cranberry on turkey or ham or sandwich form.
Yeah.
I like cranberry sauce.

I also really adore pinot noir-- it's my favourite type of wine. So when I saw this recipe on Closet Cooking, I was like. Man. Kevin is onto something. Really!

So I tried it out for Christmas. I didn't let it cook long enough to set all the way (my family was like "I WANT TO EAT NOW!" so the last few items such as the gravy and cranberry sauce were a bit rushed), but the flavor was fantastic. My only issue with making my own cranberry sauce is I make so much of it, I can't bring it back to LA with me. Heck, I think I even still have some from last year in my freezer that I was making into sauce for waffles and things.

This has a rich flavor. Richly cranberry, but rich also because of the depth of the pinot noir with it. I can't remember what pinot noir I bought (though I did finish it that night. Surprise surprise). Anywho, I could see me making this again. I want to make it for Brian. I just need the occasion.
Maybe we should have 'cranberry sauce' night. Hah.

Pinot Noir Cranberry Sauce
Recipe from Closet Cooking

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups cranberries
1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
2 cups Pinot Noir
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 pinch of Chinese five-spice powder

Heat the oil in a pan and add the cranberries and ginger. Stir until the cranberries begin to burst. About 3-5 minutes. Add the wine and sugar and boil for fifteen to twenty minutes until reduced. Stir in the crystallized ginger, curry powder, and Chinese five spice.

Sauteed Spinach

2010-01-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you need to post a really simple dish. This is one of those.
This was one of the sides I made for Christmas dinner (I know, kinda late for that. Well, be prepared, there's a lot of those posts coming up. I'm on back log, I've had a lot of photoshoots when I got back to LA). It's really simple. It's just... spinach. Garlic. Parmesan. Oil. Salt and pepper! Parmesan. Sauteed. But, you know, it's one of those things that you just sometimes have to do, have to share. I really love sauteed spinach-- I especially made it because Brian loves spinach that's sauteed and covered in parmesan (he, however, does not like frozen spinach, which I eat all the time).
Anyway, there are healthier ways to make this. Less oil, less cheese. But I like cheese, and olive oil is at least somewhat decently good for you. This also makes a lot of spinach, my family of 6 ate the entire thing. Except for Ricky. He doesn't like spinach.

Sauteed Spinach

1 bag of fresh spinach
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large pan until warm. Add the onion and sautee until just lightly golden. Add the spinach and sautee until beginning to wilt. Add the garlic and continue cookie. Once all the spinach has wilted down, add salt and pepper. Serve covered with parmesan cheese.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-01-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

While home in Colorado for the Holidays, I spent a lot of time with the two child'ins that are my adopted little brothers. I was planning on making all sorts of treats for them, and I did, though not as many as originally planned. These kids were quite the hyper bunch, so too many sweets set them on edge. Luckily I got to make them savory food for Christmas Dinner, though the eldest did turn his nose up at some of it (he wasn't a fan of sweet potatoes). Nor was he a fan of pumpkin, quite like my mom, and so these cookies were also sneered at. The youngest, however, loved them, and I though they were quite good, if somewhat soft and squishy. When I made these cookies, I didn't compensate for the altitude-- I had forgotten-- but it really turned out not to matter much. I made them with a batch of my chocolate chip cookies so as to keep everyone happy. Needless to say, regular cookies went faster. Hah.

The cookie itself was soft, tender, squishy, but flavorful. It had a heavy kick of spice which I enjoyed. I kept eating it over my holiday as a breakfast cookie (as if it were that. It isn't. While pumpkin may have health benefits having it in a sugary treat is no doubt a failsafe way to pack on the waistline). I love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies-- when I used to work at Fresh Market in Savannah, GA, we would get them every halloween until Christmas. I would be sooo excited. Honestly, they were just oranger spicier versions of our regular chocolate chip cookies-- perhaps slightly, just slightly softer (but our regular cookie was somewhat stiff, in my opinion). So to make my own (finally) was quite the thrill.

This is my dad eating a regular cookie. I just thought it was awesome.

Anywho, big hit, yatta yatta. I realized I make a lot of cookies on this blog-- I used to make more. I am making some pumpkin bread soon, that will be slightly different. Hurrah!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Inspired from Deelish Dish

1 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and lightened in color. Beat in the eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix the flour mixture and stir until smooth (I often switch to a wooden spoon for this part). Stir in the chocolate chips.
Scoop mounds of the dough onto a prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the top feels firm and a toothpick inserted comes out dry, about fifteen minutes. Let them cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack or plate to cool completely

Lamb Risotto

2010-01-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

These aren't very good photos. We were starving, I didn't have time to set it up. I apologize in advance. HOWEVER. This is, I promise you, a very good dish. I created this years ago, making my own lamb stock and everything. You'll find its different than normal risotto-- I use red wine instead of white. Lamb stock instead of chicken. It's tasty, very rich, full of flavour. I believe I used a cabernet with this particular version-- but that's because I'm cheap and it's what I had. A merlot may actually be better. Or a pinot noir. However, whatever works, really, it's the headiness you're after.

You can use beef stock if not lamb stock. I always get way more lamb than necessary so I can, in fact, make the lamb stock-- this time I didn't get quite enough bonestuff, so I have to admit, the stock was a bit weak. But, still very tasty. Honestly, I love this stuff, it's one of my favourite dishes ever, it's just so complicated I don't make it all that much.

The trick with risotto is you have to slowly stir the stuff in. I use a rubber spatula, just cover the rice (Alton Brown method), and stir occasionally and allow to thicken. I also keep the stock warm in a pot right next to the main one-- I don't have an electric kettle, nor can I afford one or have room for one at this point in time. However, the idea is awesome.

I made this for Brian. He seemed to enjoy it. I'm not 100% sure if he reallllly loved it, but he said it was very good and was pleased. This was always a hit, though, with anyone I made it for, so it comes highly recommended.

Honestly, it's hard to give this recipe up.

Lamb Risotto

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup and 1/8 cup arborrio rice
3-4 cups of lamp stock
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup sweet onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/8 cup tablespoons red wine
salt and pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon rosemary
¼ cup peas
¼ cup chopped, cooked asparagus
¼ cup chopped, sauteed mushrooms
1/4 cup cooked lamb

Heat the olive oil in a small pot. Stir in the the onions and garlic, sauteeing until golden. Stir the rice in and cook one to two minutes to break the hull. Pour in the wine and stir for another one to two minutes. Add a little lamb stock, just enough to cover the rice, and simmer until dry, adding a small amount (like 1/8 to ¼ c, just enough to cover the rice, and stirring all the while) at a time continually for about 20 minutes or until the rice is soft. Mix in the butter and the Parmesan cheese and stir until melted and combined, making sure everything is soft and creamy. Add the vegetables and spices, salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

To cook the lamb.

Take a lamb shoulder, chop, or whatever piece you have-- with bone. Rub with coriander, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Sautee olive oil, onion, and garlic. Place the lamb in and brown on each side. Scrape the pan with red wine, and roast until medium.
Remove meat, use the bones with vegetable scraps and 5 cups water to create lamb stock. Reduce and skim the fat from the finished stock.

For the Mushrooms:
Take mushrooms and clean and slice them. Sautee in olive oil with poultry seasoning (I knooow), salt, pepper, garlic, and onion until just withered. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the asparagus, sautee in olive oil and white wine, with a little salt, until just crisp. Set aside.

white wine and olive oil - asparagus

Bacon and Rosemary Quiche

2009-12-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

I told Brian I'd make him a few things before we left town-- Rosemary Quiche, we'd make a gingerbread house, and lamb risotto. I made all three-- I plan to make pumpkin bread when I get back. This was one of our dinners earlier in the week (so he could have it throughout the week while I was busy with other things). And man, it was sooo good. I got the recipe from Imperrfections. I admit, I changed it a little, but it probably didn't need it. I just like trying things-- and I tend to add nutmeg to most egg based dishes.

But yeah, it turned out really good-- sorry for not having a picture of the entire thing. I admit I burned the crust a little, and it didn't look nearly as pretty from afar as it did upclose. I was also staaarving by the time this was finished since I made this and the gingerbread on the same day-- I spent the entire day baking and cooking (igloo cake, quiche, then gingerbread, we stayed up all night doing all of this. Brian's a saint to stay so long doing stuff like this with me...).

But great flavor, great texture. The hashbrown crust was so good too. And I love the combination of rosemary and bacon. I'm kind of tempted to do that all the time. Rosemary seems good with everything, to me-- though my roommate Karin might disagree.

We enjoyed our quiche with some frozen vegetables--but I'm pretty sure some salad would be good. We also had it for breakfast with some coffee. Excellent!

Bacon and Rosemary Quiche with Hashbrown Crust
Recipe Adapted from Imperrfections

Crust:
1 red potato, shredded
1 white potato, sredded
3 TBS butter
1 tsp salt

Filling:
4 eggs
1/4 C milk
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
pinch of salt and pepper
4 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 C shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 C onion, chopped

Oven at 450 degrees Farhenheit

Shred the potatoes with either a cheese grater or with a food processer, soak them in a bowl for 10 minutes to get rid of extra starch. Drain and squeeze the shreddings to remove as much moisture as possible from them. Use anything possible to do this.

After drying, toss shredded potatoes with butter and salt then press into the bottom and sides of a pie plate to form a crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes until it's lightly browned.

Whisk eggs with milk, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix in the bacon, cheese, and onion and pour into the hash brown crust. Make sure the filling is spread evenly then bake for 25-30 minutes.

Gingerbread Outhouse!

2009-12-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread house! Brian and I actually made a gingerbread outhouse this year. The recipe for the gingerbread can be found in my previous gingerbread post here. I think I took better photos last year-- the lighting is better this year, but I liked the 'making of' pictures. Also, I forgot Jeff suggest that I make a template for everyone. Next year. Maybe when I get back Brian will take a picture of our gingerbread with me. But I don't know how keen he is to appear on Foodival.

So mostly this post is going to be a photo montage. Hah.

See the moon on the door? Hah!

Can you guess what that kiss was supposed to represent? ;)

Happy Christmas and Holidays everyone!!

Igloo Cake (Coconut and Mascapone with Sauteed Dates)

2009-12-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Last year for Christmas my mom got me this fantastic Igloo pan. It's huuuuge-- much larger than I thought it was. (The original recipe for this only filled a quarter of this pan, which stunned me and I had to scramble to change the recipe to make up for it. So yes, this was a science experiment. Luckily, I know enough about baking that I was able to make up for some liquids, fat contents, etc. It definitely was difficult...)

So yeah, I decided I'd make this tasty little contraption-- beautifully rendered in igloo format. Originally I saw the recipe for the mascapone and coconut cake and was like-- woah! That sounds delicious. I love mascapone cheese and dates, and my roommate (Caitlin) loves coconut. This seems to be perfect. Wintery enough to make sense for an ingloo cake, and requiring no frosting.... yes, perfect indeed (except small).

I had to convert the recipe into cups and tablespoons-- I don't have a kitchen scale. I used to. Before I moved to LA and became homeless, hah. The original recipe I found at 1001 hours.
What I really liked was how much like a pound cake this turned out to be. The edges were all brown and crusty and thick, and the inside was soft, tender, moist... delicious. It wasn't too sweet, it was hearty-- which paired well with the uber sweet date topping. I made a huge batch of that and kept a lot of it in my fridge which I then reheated when I needed it.

I also made this igloo cake at the apartment I share with the girls-- I'm not sure if Karin had any, but Caitlin and Vicky seemed to enjoy it and most of it was gone by the time I left LA to go home to CO for Christmas. That's where I'm blogging from now, currently. The good old town of Boulder.
Okay, the rest of this is mostly filler. My mom wanted me to make the igloo cake for my little brothers, but I wasn't about to take this pan home with me. It's huge, it'd fill like... a quarter of my suitcase. Nooo thank you.
I loved that the coconut stuck out-- it gave the cake a heartiness and a chewiness that was really nice and complinted the dates. Really, all the flavours of this complimented well. Even though I altered it quite a bit. I'm still curious how the original dessert would have turned out-- someday I'll have to make it. But this is quite nice too.

I liked the texture of the cake on the outside, and I loved the crispness of the crust. Again, this made a lot of cake, it'd probably be frugal to half the recipe and make a smaller amount. my bundt pan was humongous and even with all of this recipe it didn't fill it up entirely.

Look how thick that cake is-- and it's even pretty with a slice taken out, hah!
The dates were rich and tender. I tend to make dates at Christmas time for my brother and I make them the same way. I cook them in a little butter with some honey and cinnamon and we just eat them whole-- well, we remove the pits afterwards. They're all gooey and creamy. I fed a full date to Brian before I left, and he said he liked them better as a paste for the cake-- he said they're too paste like to be a solid object. I guess I can see that point of view. But darn, another boy who doesn't like dates as much. Luckily I can cook them and I think he'll like them better.

I love dates, I'm glad they're such a wintery tasty treat.

Coconut and Mascapone Cake with Sauteed Dates
Adapted from 1001 hours

2 cups sugar
1 cup grated coconut
1 package mascapone cheese
half a package of cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 6 oz container vanilla yogurt
11 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

Oven at 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease your pan.
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour the dough into the prepared pan and bake -- this large of a cake took me about an hour and a half to bake. Hah!
Allow to cool, top with powdered sugar and dates.

2 tablespoons butter
1 package fresh dates, chopped and pitted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Melt butter in a small pan. Add all ingredients and cook until melted and heated throughout.

Goopy Carbonara

2009-12-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

As you all know I tend to not make fancy meals every day of the week. Most of the time, I'm more inclined to make a quick meal such as macaroni and cheese, or pasta with parmesan cheese. If I'm with Brian, I'll do something like "add chicken". With Jeff, we often added hot dog and ham to things. BUT, Carbonara pasta is -supposed- to have ham... okay, okay, pancetta. But come on, I love ham. I actually tend to like it better than pancetta because often pancetta has thick piece of fat on it, and I really, really dislike chewy things. It's a texture thing. So, ham it is. I can get lean ham, I can make lean ham, and it is all salty and sweet and tasty. Mm.

So, this pasta is just carbonara. It's super easy. And I kind of got the idea of making it goopy from the Sims. Yeah, I know, lame, but come on-- goopy carbonara?! How good does that sound? It's GOOPY!

Please also forgive me for my terrible pictures. Sometimes, I can take good ones. Sometimes, I can't. It depends on the dish, the lightning, the day, and how much time I have and how hungry I am. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. As for the recipe below, I sort of wing things like this, so I have to vaugely remember how I made them. I hope if it's remade by any of you readers, you'll tell me if it seems correct and what you may have done different. If I make it again, I'll try to make it specific to this recipe and will see if there's any changes I need to do. (Might be too much parmesan, hmm).

Goopy Carbonara.... approximately

1/4 cup cooked chunks of ham
1/4 cup frozen peas, heated
1/2 package angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup milk, cream, or combination there of.
1/8 tsp (or less) freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 onion, chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Boil the pasta in salted water as per directions on package.
In a medium skillet, heat the butter and olive oil until combined. Mix in the flour to create a roux, and cook into light golden. Add the cream, onion, garlic, and spices. Bring to a simmer and stir until thick. Add the parmesan cheese. When the angel hair pasta is done, drain well and fold into the cream sauce with ham and peas. Top with pepper, cajun, extra parmesan, or whatever you wish.

Basic Crepes

2009-12-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

Crepes are something that I love. I grew up going to this restaurant in my hometown (Colorado Springs) called La Creperie. They had all sorts of crepes there-- filled with turkey and mushrooms or asparagus or chicken and bechamel sauce (I didn't know what that was at the time, I tended to substitute hollandaise which I recognized as the funny yellow sauce my mom would sometimes make from the packet. Hee!). I really enjoyed going there for most of my life and thus grew up with a special affinity for crepes.

Fast foward a few years and I was in college-- it'd been years since I've had crepes. Savannah had very few french bistros or crepe joints. So, I began making my own. My boyfriend at the time, Ryan, bought me a book of french recipes and from it I started making crepes (as well as a few other things you've seen on here). The first thing I actually made from that book was chocolate mousse... which I later made into a cinnamon chocolate mousse pie that I shared with Jeff. At the time, it was just mousse. Then crepes. The crepe recipe in the book is fairly straightforward, and I've sort of just adapted my own over time. But originally, crepes came from my French cookbook (which is Williams Sonoma, I might add, I suppose).

After that I didn't make crepes very often. It's kind of difficult to do it in a frying pan that sticks easily and doesn't have gently sloping sides. But I made do. Eventually (not sure when anymore) I got a crepe pan. I spent the summer after graduating college in Denver, with my best friend Sarah (who's an editor/writer/awesome person) where I made her crepes time after time. We called them blini, but really, they were crepes. Except the one time I made them out of buckwheat. But whatever.

Fast forward. I live in Los Angeles and I haven't made crepes once. I used to get them with Jeff-- sometimes, when we were down at the Del Alamo Shopping Center, there was a crepe place there and we'd get the occasional treat. Also, we'd sometimes eat at Monsieur Marcel, and I remember getting crepes there, maybe once.

However, since Brian and I started dating I've had crepes multiple times-- we actually had crepes once when we were just friends and we went to lunch at the Farmers Market-- those were okay. Just okay. Then, in Boston, we had supper at a crepe place in Coolidge Corner called Paris Creperie. It was fantastic! We've also had crepes in Santa Monica for ~~our3monthsversaryyesi'maromanticnerd~~ some reason and enjoyed those but maybe not as much. But I did unpack my crepe pan from one of my boxes in persuit of my igloo pan, and promised my roommate Vicky I'd make her crepes.

She's Russian. My roommate, Vicky. So I just assume she likes crepes-- because Sarah (the bff) majored in Russian and went to Russia and likes crepes. So I assumed. Luckily, she did like crepes. I made them for her for breakfast one morning (after I made her kasha, which I didn't take a picture of-- sorry guys). We both enjoyed them sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and drizzled in butter. My crepes are probably too buttery, and they are a tad small-- my crepe pan is but a small one. However, that makes them feel all homey to me-- not perfect like the kind I can buy out of my own home.
I'm not very good at making crepes anymore, however. The first batch came out very thick, but I got the hang of it and started making them thinner. Still, not perfect. But whatever, they tasted very good.

Basic Crepes

1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter

Whisp together the flour and eggs. Gradually add in the milk, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter and beat until smooth.
Heat a crepe pan or griddle over medium high heat. Oil the pan with butter and pour the batter into it, swirling it around ot cover the entire pan-- do this quick! Try to get them as thin as possible. COok for about 2 minutes, loosen with a spatula, flip, and cook for another two minutes-- until each side is very lightly browned.

Cheesy Potato Bread

2009-12-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving Dan, who is Brian's roommate, and is a wonderful and awesome guy, made like... 5 pounds of mashed potatoes. Or maybe it was 15 pounds. It was a lot-- a LOT of mashed potatoes. He brought them to two potlucks, they were eaten, and there was still a gigantic bowl left over. I was eating mashed potatoes for days-- and after a few, I said... hey, why don't I make something out of this?

So I pulled out an old recipe I had been meaning to try, this cheesy potato bread from Real Mom Kitchen, and was like... yeah. Yeah, this is perfect. This is exactly what I need-- it's snacky, we don't have a lot of bread right now, and it uses 3/4 a cup of mashed potatoes (which is far less mashed potatoes than I thought. It barely dented the bowl).

I flavoured up the potatoes a little bit before putting them into the bread. It's not that Dan's potatoes weren't flavourful, but since they were going into a bready substance I figured they should be punched up as much as possible. This included adding some sour cream, butter, thyme, salt, and pepper. I also added some more thyme to the actual dough. And cheddar cheese-- I used extra of that.

I liked the bread-- it could've used more salt, but it was good. We tried it with various condiments-- spicy chipotle mustard being one of the winners. Good old butter wasn't a bad choice at all-- and strawberry jam cut the cheddar quite nicely. All in all, a good day for quick and easy potato bread. I made it while Dan, Brian, and AJ (Dan's fantastic fiance who I adore) were at improv -- they're part of a group called Hot Biscuit. I have nothing to do with improv, so I stay home and meander and some
I believe we wrecked this cheesy potato bread before dinner-- but I think there was just a liiiittle bit left, so we paired it with some seared herby chicken and frozen vegetables. Again, trying to eat healthy-ish. Not sure cheesy potato bread is the way to go on that but-- eh! C'est la vie!

Cheesy Potato Bread
Recipe from Real Mom Kitchen

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup seperated.
1/4 tsp dried, crushed thyme
3/4 cup mashed potatoes
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Oven at 425 Degrees Farhenheit.

Mix first 4 ingredients together. Add 1/4 cup cheese and the potatoes to the flour mixture and mix together. Add the water and oil and mix them together to make a soft dough. Turn the dough onto floured surface and shape into an 8 inch circle. Place the dough on a greased pan and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool before eating.

Tarte a la Citrouille

2009-12-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

Sometime before Thanksgiving I found this recipe for French pumpkin pie-- Tarte a la Citrouille. With lots of little a dashes and accent pieces on letters that I don't necessarily know the short keys for, and am not very willing to get out my character map to do them. Sorry, blog readers, I'm a little lazy aboout accent marks. I hope you can all forgive me. But believe me, if I were writing it in script and I knew them all by heart, I would make sure to mark them down-- I believe it could change the word otherwise. Luckily I'm pretty sure google knows what I'm talking about, so you can google it and voila!

I got really excited about this -- I love, love pumpkin pie and really wanted to make it for Thanksgiving, but something seemed strange and exciting about making a French version.
Well.
The French version wasn't that much different. The one I had found had a little less sugar and no spices, it was also in metrics-- so I had to convert the metrics over to what I understand (also, I don't have a kitchen scale anymore), which did involved looking up other recipes. Still, I'd say that this pumpkin pie was a bit smoother and less thick than the American version. Not quite as sweet, though I added spices to give it more of the punch that I really, really appreciate this time of the year. It'd be like drinking chai without the spices-- then it's just a sweet tea latte.
Maybe I should make a chai pumpkin pie next year. Hmm, cardamom....

I made fresh whipped cream to go around the edges-- and I'm pleased to say it was a hit. We had a huge potluck at my roommate's place, and Brian and I also went to a potluck up in Van Nuys at a friend of his place. The food there was excellent-- one of the friends was an excellent cook. I happened to make my marbled mashed potatoes which is a hit every year with everyone. Brian made green bean cassarole. Yes, the kind from the can-- and it was amazing. I helped him spice it up a little, but I gotta admit, I like a few things from the can. Like green bean cassarole. Or cranberry sauce.

Though I'll take the non can version of either, of course.

It was definitely an excellent pumpkin pie. I even got to use my leftover frozen pumpkin puree (it's old, I need to use the rest of it-- gonna try to make some pumpkin bread!! I haven't made it in ages.)

Tarte a la Citrouille
Recipe inspired from a number of sources, but mainly from Foodbeam

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon butter

2 eggs
1/3 cup raw sugar
1/8 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
seeds from half a vanilla pod

Oven at 325 Fahrenheit.

Whisk pumpkin, spices, sugars, vanilla beans and extract. Add eggs. Whisk in heavy cream. Pour into blind baked pate sucree. Bake for 45 minutes.

Pate Sucree

3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
seed from 1/2 vanilla pod
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cream butter. Mix in sugar, ground almonds, vanilla seed. Mix in eggs. Mix in flour and salt until just incorporated.

Form a large ball with the dough and gently press them down, wrap them in cling wrap and refrigerate overnight (or up to two days).
Roll the dough between two sheets of baking or waxed paper. Cut into a disk an inch or so larger than your tarte pan. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
Line the pan with your pate sucree. Place it on top of the tarte pan and press down and into the folds, pinching slightly with your fingers. If you have a fluted tarte pan as I do, its about making sure it fills the gaps. Chill for an hour.
Remove from the refrigerator line with baking powder, fill with dried beans or rice. Bake at 350 Degrees Farhenheit for 17-25 minutes then remove the paper and bake for another 3-5 minutes until nicely coloured.

Allow to cool before filling.

And here's some photos from our Thanksgiving!

Brian, Vicky (one of my three roommates), and I are eating Jeff's ham. I should say DEVOURING Jeff's ham. It was very good. My pie is in the corner-- Brian is like, framing it with his hands.

This is the hand turkey I made. The one on the right. I called her 'glamour turkey'. She's got nail polish and everything. Hah!

Turkey Burgers

2009-12-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to eat a little healthier lately (not only for my sake), and that resulted in me getting onto a huge protein kick which involved wanting to buy buffalo, the grocery store not having it, and me buying Turkey instead. It's a lean protein-- and a tasty one, but not as good as buffalo.

But I like ground Turkey. I got the extra lean kind and used it for the rest of the week, cooking it up in scrambles or in pastas. I tend to add a lot of spices which make the turkey super tasty. Can't go wrong with that. But I can't necessarily tell you what spices, it changes every time-- but I tend to stay in the heavy on the garlic, poultry spice, maybe some cajun, and then rosemary or thyme or both. Sometimes parsley? I dunno, I really like playing with it-- cinnamon is a good spice to sometimes add as well. I've done that before, though not for the Turkey burgers. For the turkey burgers I just did different types of herbs so as to compliment the cheddar cheese and our sparse toppings.

This is me cooking the turkey burgers in a cast iron skillet-- my roommates have one and I try to use it as much as possible. One, because my skillets are packed away. Two, because I like cast iron and also Alton Brown tells me to. *zombie face*.

I cooked the patties and then covered them with cheese, of course. I basically coated the pan with olive oil, so its sort of like pan frying. I guess it is pan frying. I don't have a grill right now! I actually have no idea where my indoor grill is at the moment (oh wolfgang, I miss you). And there isn't any room for it anyway. On the plus side, the shredded cheese that fell off turned into tasty fried cheddar cheese crispies. Mmm.

We finished off our burgers on wheat bread (no buns, this was an impromptu dinner), sliced fresh sweet onioon, and spinach. They were very tasty, nothing overpowered the flavor of the herbed turkey, so that was nice. I really like fresh onions on my burgers, thanks to In-n-Out. They very much got me into that amazingness.

This wasn't so bad for a quick, easy meal. From like, a month ago.

Turkey Burgers

1/2 pound of ground turkey
1 tablespoon panko
1 teaspoon worsestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed rosemary
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients and a bowl and mash mash mash. Mix up and form into patties. Cook in a pan on medium-high heat, until the outsides are golden and the interior is cooked thoroughly. This may take covering with a lid and turning down the heat, if you form especially thick patties (like I did, ahem).

cheddar cheese
spinach
onion
To top and make tasty. With some ketchup and mustard. Oh, and a bun of some sort.

Potato and Apple Gratin

2009-12-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

Awhile back my roommates and I were hanging out, and I decided to whip up this potato and apple gratin for brunch. It kind of made a nice snack-- it was enough for I believe the four of us to have some. Vicky and I went back for more. I had mine with a fried egg, for extra protein. I gotta say, this was a pretty tasty treat. It wasn't difficult to make--it'd be much simpler with a mandolin, but even with a knife it's just slicing the potatoes/apples thin, layering, and topping with tasty cream and cheese.

I actually have a french cookbook that I rarely cook out of. I've made a few recipes out of it, and there's a potato au gratin in that. I think I have actually made it-- and this isn't the first time I made potato gratin. Though I can't tell you when else I made it (maybe Thanksgiving one year? Or Christmas?).

Growing up my mom would buy potatoes au gratin in the box in the store. Yeah, you know the kind. Little red box. Potatoes in it, you just pour them in a pan and sprinkle the stuff over it. You know, making your own potatoes isn't that much more difficult. Heck, it might even be easier. And tastier. I encourage everyone to make potatoes au gratin from home and not from a super lame box mix. Unless you really like the box mix and have a love affair with it, like I do with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Which is what I had for brunch today. Hah.

Anywho, check out this recipe, try it, maybe have it for breakfast with some eggs (heck, potatoes and apples and eggs, what's not to love?).

Potato and Apple Au Gratin
Recipe inspired/from Six Course Dinner

1 large apple (I believe I used Honeycrisp, nomnom)

1 large white potato

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper

rosemary, crushed or chopped

Oven at 375 Fahrenheit.

Thinly slice the potatoes and place in a large bowl of water to remove the excess starches. Thinly slice the apples and reserve. Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet to evenly coat the bottoms and sides. Alternate slices of apple and potato in the skillet until the bottom is covered. Continue layering until finished. Pour the heavy cream, rosemary, salt, and pepper on top, then coat with cheddar cheese (use extra if you want it extra cheesy, like I did). Cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until tender and bubbling. Remove the foil and cook until the cheese is golden brown. Serve warm.

Brian's Birthday!

2009-11-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

The beginning of November was Brian's birthday-- so, again, this post is quite old. I'm catching up! Only a few more until we're at Thanksgiving, hah! Then maybe I'll get to Christmas ones before Christmas happens. We'll see.

I cannot begin to tell people how I appreciate Brian. He has been so, so very helpful to me. In many ways, my life fell apart pretty quickly. After Jeff and I broke up, I lost my job (show was cancelled), could not find nor afford a new apartment, and a lot of family issues started popping up. One right after another. Brian was definitely a stone-- he was my friend who helped me through the break up, then later when we were together, he helped me move, he helped me find a place to stay (I split my time between him and a few of my female friends who are wonderful, wonderful people and I adore them endlessly), and talked me through many of the other issues of the time. He's patient and understanding and doesn't get upset too often.

He's also helped me (by just happening to talk to the right people at the right time) with finding a job. I am now an agency signed fashion model. Woah! That's pretty crazy, right folks? I'm including in this post a rare photo of myself, at a recent fashion show.

Yes, that is me. Without the normal Foodival picture formatting.
Anyway, there's a lot of good things that have happened and some of them I can thank Brian for, and some of them I can thank Lady Luck for. For example, this blog was listed in PC Magazine's top 50 blogs of 2009, found here. I have many to thank for that, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to? (You know who you are, and I appreciate you very, very much).

This is starting to sound like a Thanksgiving post. I AM GIVING THANKS. Well, it is after Thanksgiving, and so the mood perhaps is just striking me.

Also I have a few other opportunities up my sleeve. And this being-a-model-and-not-spending-75-hours-a-week-animating thing does give me more time to bake. But it also means I guess I'm supposed to watch it? Or something? Eh! Caution to the wind!

Anyway, on to the food.
So for Brian's birthday (oh yeah, that's where this posted started), I really wanted to show him how much I adore and appreciate him. And thus I made him BBQ Ribs! I mean, come on, that's how you show a guy you like him, right? Ribs? Yes? (No?) Well, it was my way. With it, I made smokey cheesy creamed corn, which I made mixing a recipe I found here with what I have had before at Grub (tasty place, that).

The ribs I made in the Alton Brown method-- the kind he made on both Good Eats and when I went and filmed with them in Florida for Dear Food Network. Except I couldn't find baby back ribs at my local market (what!?) so I used spare ribs (eh-heh-heh). And I also made my own glaze, because I wanted to do things my own way. I'm stubborn that way. But you'll see inspiration. You should check out Alton's recipe, because who doesn't love Alton Brown? It can be found here.

My glaze came out a little thin-- but Brian liked it. It was, however, very flavourful. I really liked it. My dinner came out much better than my cake-- which was delicious, but I did an attempt at meringue frosting that failed terribly. That's why I'm not showing a picture of it. However, I will probably attempt something similar again because the cake was so darn tasty, maybe make it into cupcakes, and post it. We still haven't finished the cake-- it was too much for one guy and one girl. Nobody else seemed to want it's scariness. Hah!

But the dinner. Now that was envy inspiring.

Brian's BBQ Ribs
Based loosely in method and style off of Alton Brown's Baby Back Ribs

1 rack spare pork ribs.
kosher salt
black pepper

Rub: note* This will make enough rub for many a rib rubbing. Also good on any pork product.
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup chili powder
1/8 cup paprika
1/8 cup garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayennee
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard

BBQ Sauce:

1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/4 cup instant espresso or very strong coffee
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup hard apple cider
1 teaspooon onion powder

Place the ribs on a sheet of wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil. Season them liberally with salt and sprinkle approximately 3 tablespoons of the rub on. Turn the rubs, meat side down, and tightly seal each pouch. Refigerate overnight.

The next day, heat the oven to 250 degrees.

Open one end of the pouch and pour in 1 cup of hard apple cider. Reseal the pouch and place on a sheet pan in the oven for 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the oven, carefully open one end of the pouch and pour the braising liquid into a heatproof measuring cup. Reseal the pouch and place it and the liquid in the fridge (for up to 8 hours).

The fat in the braising liquid will have solidified on the top and can be removed at this time. Transfer the liquid to a small saucepan and add the honey, brown sugar, ketchup,apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, espresso, cayenne pepper, celery salt, and onion powder. Whisk to combine. Set over medium high heat and reduce to a glaze.

Heat large, cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Brush with olive oil, and place the ribs flesh side down, and cover. Decrease the heat to medium, and leave alone for 4 minutes. Flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Repeat if not charred enough. Remove the ribs from the pan and cut the ribs (I had to break mine with my hands, it was gruesome). Add the ribs and half the glaze to a large, large serving bowl, and toss throughly. Serve the remaining glaze on the size.

Roasted Potato Stacks
Recipe from Seasaltwithfood

2 white potatoes, scrubbed
1 tablespoon Cup Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Chopped Rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons Lemon Juice, or to taste
Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Oven at 425 Degrees Farenheit.

Lightly oil two muffin cups in a muffin pan

Slice the pootatoes very thinly with a mandoline or a sharp knife.
In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
Stack the potatoes in a muffin pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy on the outside and the flesh is soft.
Transfer the muffin pan to racks to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before carefully removing the potatoes. Serve warm.

Smokey Cheesy Cream Corn
Recipe inspired from Food Channel

2 strips bacon, 1/2-inch diced and drippings
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1/2 package frozen corn
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup half and half or cream
Salt and pepper
1/8 powdered ginger
a dash of cayenne
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp chipotle powder
1 clove of garlic, minced
a sprinkle of cajun, if desired

Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and cool, then crumble.
In the drippers saute the onions until soft, but not brown. Add the garlic and allow to cook for 1 minute. Add the corn and cheese. Cook stirring about 10 minutes. Add the cream and seasonings. Heat until bubbly, then serve topped with bacon.

Chocolate Caramel Tart

2009-11-25T11:08:00.000-08:00

So after I made the delicious Autumn Pork Roast, I served up this delicious dessert of Chocolate Caramel Tart. I actually had this recipe bookmarked for a long time before actually making it, I kept coming back and eyeing it-- when will I make this? On what occasion can I possibly make this?
Ah, on this such occasion.

This was delicious-- it's super rich, sweet. The caramel is delicate (the first time I burned it), and it goes well with the chocolate pastry and the ganache. Well, how can you go wrong? Really, it's a simply flavoured dessert. Rich, dark chocolate. Rich, sweet caramel. Topped with some sea salt, and voila! There really isn't much to say.

What I will say is this. It's absolutely fantastic to pull this out of the fridge, slice it, and have the caramel just slightly puff and ooze out from the sides. It's fantastic to have there be a string of caramel to your mouth. The salt adds another dimension of flavour (this salt I got from Il Fornaio for participating in their passport program). The chocolate is both rich and dark, not too sweet, to allow the caramel to shine more keenly.
The chocolate crust, while a little difficult (again, I don't have a lot of room in other peoples kitchens), was yummy-- very tender, almost cookie like.
I could also see this being very good with a chocolate mousse layer as well, then topped with a ganache. My ganache was pretty mousse like-- I was in a rush and didn't really concentrate on how much cream I was pouring in. It just missed the fluffy.

Chocolate Caramel Tart
Recipe from Lottie + Doof

Chocolate Tart Dough

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Caramel Filling

1/2 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoons sour cream (or creme fraiche if you can find/afford it)

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, and mix until just combined. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and form it into a disk; wrap well. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the tart dough into a large circle 3/16 inch thick. Transfer the tart dough to a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press into pan. If it falls apart at all just push it back together in the pan. Chill the tart shell in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Prick the shell all over with a fork. Line with parchment paper filled with pie weights or dried beans and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights, and bake until the pastry looks dry and set, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. (The tart shell can be made 8 hours ahead.)

Place 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. Add sugar and corn syrup, and cook mixture over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until it becomes an amber caramel-- you might want to remove it at about medium color, I removed it at a lighter colour because my pans cook hot-- this should take about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and carefully (the mixture will bubble up) and slowly add the heavy cream followed by the butter and sour cream. Stir until smooth.
Pour the caramel into the cooled tart shell and allow to set, first at room temperature and then in the refrigerator.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, and let stand for 2 minutes, then stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour the ganache over the tart. Refrigerate until set.

Remove the tart from the refrigerator 5-10 minutes before you are ready to serve it. Cut the tart into slices and sprinkle each with Fleur de Sel.

Also, I had to change my blog counter (sad!). The other site I think has died, and so it has started over. Goodbye 10k hits. Maybe this time I'll do you right and make you something.

Autumn Pork Roast

2009-11-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

I gotta admit, it's been busy. We all know this, I've said it like my last five posts. We all know this because I made this beauty back in like, September. Maybe late September. But it was still September. Since then I've made few other things (it sucks to not have your own kitchen, let me tell you that. I'm fine with using other peoples, but jeez, it's still kind of difficult).
But that's okay. Because I've made some pretty delicious things the few times I've actually made things.

This was a pork tenderloin, a recipe I got from Dutch Girl Cooking/Kayotic Kitchen

It was a nice little dinner I made for Brian and I. It wasn't too difficult to prepare-- I actually remember it being quite easy (as opposed to the dessert, which wasn't too hard either, but I think we were under a time constraint).

The pork turned out super tender and delicious. The mushroom cream sauce was divine!! I mean, it was kind of like a cream of mushroom soup-- but in sauce form-- and also fresh. Which makes sense, since it was basically a roux with mushroomness added. Whatever, it was good, and I loved it, and Brian loved it too.

To go with it I made a quinoa pilaf. Brian is trying to do a healthy thing, and I was trying to be mindful of it (sort of). Quinoa is super healthy, it's high in fiber and protein, one of those delicious ancient grains. I believe I flavoured this one with vegetables, and... chicken stock, I think. And some saffron. And rosemary. It's been too long, so I fail. Next time, I promise to write down what I do-- because it was quite delicious (though a liiiittle bland, I needed to heavier on the salt, at least).
All in all a fabulous meal. I don't make pork a lot so it was a nice change of pace-- and these pork tenderloins (hah, I accidentally typed porn at first) are quite easy to make and delicious.

Autumn Pork Roast
Recipe inspired from Dutch Girl Cooking/Kayotic Kitchen

1 pork tenderloin
3 oz mixed mushrooms -- I used a mix of regular white button and criminis.
1/2 medium red onion
1 1/2 heaping tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon course mustard (I used dijon)
1/2 tablespoon crushed rosemary
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk (I used a bit of cream too)
2 tablespoons butter
flat leaf parsley
worcestershire sauce
pepper
salt

Rub the pork tenderloin with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Rub the course mustard and rosemary over the meat. Set the meat aside and allow the flavours to meld.
Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms and onions, coarsley.
Grate or mince one medium sized garlic clove.
Heat a tablespoon of the butter and sautee the onions for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook over low heat for about another 3 minutes, until the mushrooms are starting to soften and 'wilt'. Add the flour and cook for a minute to nuetralize the floury flavour. Pour in the milk/cream and stir until it is lump free. Bit by bit, pour in the chicken broth until you have the right consistency-- I think I may have used 1/2 cup because I wanted it thick and creamy, but not too dry. Simmer the sauce on a low heat for about 15 minutes.

Heat the remaining butter over medium-high heat and brown the meat on all sides. Cook for a few minutes on each side. Pour in some of the broth (or some water), and cover, allow to braise for 10 minutes or so (make sure it's cooked all teh way through, but with some very slight pinkness to the center).

Chop the parsley.

Once the meat is done, remove from the pan and cover with aluminum foil -- allow to rest for 5 minutes. In that 5 minutes, season your sauce with worcestershire, pepper, and salt. You may need a lot of it. :) Add the parsley last, serve over the pork tenderloin.

Red Velvet Pancakes -- The Griddle

2009-11-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Alright, I'll admit, these aren't the best photos. I'll also admit that these were taken awhile ago. Also, I didn't make these. The Griddle did. Now, I know by now I'm not the first blogger to post about The Griddle's pancakes-- they're pretty amazing. Nor am I the first blogger to even post about their Red Velvet Pancakes-- a special that they've been bringing back more and more.

However, out of respect to these pancakes, I decided to make a rare post about someone's cooking that wasn't my own.

Oh, The Griddle. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
1 way is coffee, served fresh in a french press.
2 is the bacon, cut thick and fried right.
3 is selection, from breakfast to lunch
4 is.... well, this list could just keep going, so let's cut to the chase and say it's the pancakes.

I used to come here with Jeff, when I did we'd get the Golden Ticket -- Brown sugar bananas, caramel, streusel, walnuts.... sweet, rich, and definitely more than either of us could handle alone.
Another good selection? Barry Yellow -- raspberry lemon. Delicate, but delicious.
Also good is Eyes Wide Open -- chocolate chips... with espresso. Yes, espresso. I got these the day that I also tried the most amazing pancake in the world.

Yes.

The Red Velvet pancakes.

I feel like more places are following this trend-- Red Velvet is originally a southern thing. I hadn't even heard of Red Velvet until I moved to the South (I also lived in a food bubble). But since I've moved to California they seem to be a staple in most cupcake-cake-restaurant related places. Either that or, hah, NY Cheesecake. You'd think they'd lean towards something that has more Californian flair. For that I have no reason, except maybe after eating a lot of avacados all you want is some sweet, sweet red chocolate with cream cheese frosting.

But yeah, Red Velvet Pancakes. These are completely awesome. The pancakes are huge, the size of my face (or your face, but I don't know how big your face is), sweet though not overly so-- not as sweet as, say, a cupcake. They're lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar... and topped with swirls of cream cheese frosting. When served, they are brown on top-- chocolate pancakes! But once cut into.

Look at that. It's below. The red is so brilliant, so bright.
Serve up with a side of bacon and some french press coffee and you have yourself one of the most fantastic mornings. And maybe, just maybe, a sugar coma. :)

So, if you are ever in Los Angeles. And you ever want something delicious. Go, go and try The Griddle. At least check out there super rocking out menu online. Then go. Come to LA to go-- and also eat a lot of other good food here. It is highly recommended.
By me.
By Kirsten (who got us the Red Velvet pancakes).
By South Park (they go the very last morning on the very last episode of the run, ie seven episodes)
By Los Angeles.
By the Hanson Brothers?

(Sam, Kirsten, Caitlin all enjoy red velvet pancake more than they know how to describe)

Chicken... Kiev. Esque.

2009-11-02T10:07:00.000-08:00

Alright, enough about depressing posts that talk about all the food I made before sadness happened in my life. Right? Right!

Let's get onto some new things. I HAVE made things, despite what it seems like. I make grilled cheese sandwiches, and pastas. :) Things I don't really post (though, I am tempted to start posting grilled cheese sandwiches. They're just so good!). But I did make this a little while ago, and it turned out really nice-- and I have lots of plans to make things in the future. I have a whole list of recipes I want to try out in my favourites folder to get me feeling more into cooking so I can create some of my own again. Plus, I have my whole list of personal recipes that I HAVE made and HAVEN'T posted on here that I get the pleasure of making for Brian.

Oh, right, Brian.
Him.

So there's this guy, he's pretty awesome. He's tall. Funny. He's the kind of guy that watches sappy movies and works at CBS and thinks about Meta things and does improv. I like to make fun of him a lot-- but not as much as I like to hang out with him. Oh, yeah, he's my boyfriend now. Probably should mention that part.

None of this has to do with food, except that hurray! He likes to eat!! That means more food on the table. When we first started, I dunno, dating or whatever, I made him this meal of-- of basically chicken kiev. Except I didn't roll it stuffed with butter and herbs. I instead flattened it, dredged it in flour --> milk --> panko. Then I pan-fried (sigh) it in a butter I had earlier mixed with herbs and deliciousness in my mortar. So the butter was all... buttery and herby.

Served with some creamy mashed potatos-- just white rose potatos mixed (with a fork) with butter and sour cream and milk. And a bit of parmesan. Oh, and some rosemary. Oh, and some garlic.

Mm, yeah.

I topped the 'chicken kiev' with some fresh basil, it sort of got sauteed in. Brian loves basil, and so do I. So basically that means basil is going to go in everything, hah! If only I could get him to admit that cinnamon is as awesome as it is.

I still plan to cook some for Jeff. We're still good friends (oh, crazy life). But you'll see less mentioning of him here. That's okay, I know you're not here for the personal life, you're here for the food. Unfortunately, the two are married in my mind.

Chicken Kiev

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup (approx) panko bread crums
1/2 cup (approx) flour
salt and pepper
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, basil, and parsley
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
chopped fresh basil to top
salt and pepper

Grind the rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley and garlic together in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle. Add the butter, salt, and pepper and mix to form a paste. Refridgerate for 30 minutes and allow the flavors to meld.
Mix the flour with salt and pepper. Take the chicken breasts and flatten them with a meat mallet. Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour, dip in the milk, then into the panko bread crumbs.
Remove the herbed butter and melt the majority of it, saving some, in a medium saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and fry until golden brown on the outsides and cooked all the way through-- approximately 4-5 minutes each side.
Top with chopped basil and serve, covering with the saved melted butter. Salt and pepper to taste.

Maple Oat Bread

2009-10-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

There was a brief period of time before I moved out that I really wanted to make bread-- so I pulled out my yeast (that sounds odd) and my loaf pan and decided to give it a go with Closet Cooking's Maple Oat Bread recipe. The only unfortunate part about this is-- well, I don't use bread fast enough. It takes me forever to go through a loaf of store bought bread, and this bread was quite a bit heavier for me. Needless to say, it went stale before I could finish it-- my bad, nobody elses.

I mainly used this bread for PBJs, to spread with butter and consume, or to spread with peanut butter and honey, such as above. Each slice was thick-- slightly dry, which may be my own fault. There was a sweetness to it, but not too sweet. I tried to make the loaf as healthy as possible-- that's always been a goal of mine. But it wasn't a difficult bread to make. I may not have let it rise long enough-- I tend to get impatient, it's what makes me a bad bread maker. I try to patiently wait for each loaf to rise, but in the end I just want to eat it (I also think we may have been squeezed on time, this was back in the Jeff days too).

But it was totally worth it. I had thought of a lot of delicious things to make with it, and thinking back I should've used the stale bread to make bread pudding. I love bread pudding, but Jeff didn't like it. Maybe I can convince someone else to like it with me.... :)

Sorry my life has been so hectic and the posts have been slow. If I get a job again, and if I get my own apartment again, Foodival is going to have so many posts it won't even be funny. Meanwhile I'm totally content to cook for Brian and the girls I've moved in with.

Oh, I haven't introduced Brian yet.
Well, that's for next post.... teehee.

Maple Oat Bread
Recipe from Closet Cooking

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

Mix the hot water, oats, maple syrup, butter, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the flours and yeast and stir to form a dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until elasticy. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise to double its size, about 60-90 minutes.
Deflate the dough and form it into an 8 inch long log. Place the dough into a greased loaf pan, cover and let it rise over the edge, about 60-90 minutes.
Bake in a preheated 350F for 35-40 minutes. Cover in foil after the first 15 minutes to prevent burning. Let cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan.

Easy Chicken Satay

2009-10-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

I don't even remember when I made this. It was definitely some time ago. It was definitely while Jeff and I were still together. It was so easy to make though-- typically chicken satay is made by flattening chicken and threading it onto skewers and then grilling them. However, I had no skewers, so I cut the chicken into strips and just grilled them flat. That also made me need to pour some of the tangy peanut sauce ontop. But it was good!!

The recipe I found and used was on bloomalicious. I don't even remember how I had stumbled upon it, but it definitely had been sitting in my 'food' favourites folder for a long time before I actually got around to making it. I have always enjoyed chicken satay at restaurants so it seemed like worth a try.

I feel that the peanut sauce was a little vinegary-- which it's probably supposed to be. I liked it. Also, don't be fooled, that's black rice that it's sitting on. Which I loooove.

Snappy Chicken Satay
Recipe from Bloomalicious

2 boneless chicken breast
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 garlic clove minced, or a teaspoon of pre-minced garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
spray vegetable oil

Method:

Cut chicken into about 10 strips, and toss with sesame oil, soy sauce, cilantro, garlic, and red pepper flakes in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat grill to high heat and spray with oil, cook chicken for about 1 minute per side.

For sauce blend peanut butter and vinegar, add water if necessary for desired flavor and consistency.

Key Lime Pie

2009-10-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

I don't remember how long ago--maybe two months? We'll say that's right. About two months ago Jeff's dad came into visit. And I love Jeff's dad. He is the funniest most jovial awesome man ever, and I still hope to keep him even though Jeff and I are no longer together (still close, though, that boy and I. <3)

So Mister G's favourite is key lime pie, so since he was surprising us with a quick visit into town I decided to make him homemade key lime pie! It was rough to do it under such short notice, but it's really very easy to make key lime pie. And luckily they even had some key limes here (flown in from Florida? Sigh, talk about not natural local cooking. Opposite ends of the country...) so that worked out nicely. It took forever to squeeze the little suckers for juice, but Jeff helped me and we made it through.

Basically key lime pie consists of lime juice and sweetened condensed milk. That's about it. There's some other stuff too, you can find that under the ingredients and such. But that's the flavour of key lime pie. Mine was pretty tart and limey-- with just a bit of sweetness, which I liked about it. The whipped cream on top lended to more of the sweetness, which I think was nice-- the light sweet fluffiness verses the cold thick custardy tartness. Yes. Good stuff. Jeff's dad declared it the best key lime he ever had.

The pie crust was made out of graham crackers (I wanted to use my lemon ginger cookies that I had leftover but I had left them at my house in my fridge and I was at Jeff's at the time). It was simple. Graham crackers, sugar, and butter = done. I should really make key lime pie more often since it's so easy.... I made it for my dad once years ago and it didn't turn out as well, but I was really just beginning back then and I think I made it with ice cream (or was that pumpkin pie? I can hardly remember anymore).

Here you can see all my little limes.
And I really don't have more to say. These posts are so old and I made these so long ago that I can't really remember more about them other than I made them and they were delicious and fun. Everything has a sort of warm fuzzy glow like it does in the movies, which is sort of bittersweet (like this pie? Maybe key lime is the perfect heartbreak pie).

Follow the photos for (what I remember of) the recipe....

Pie Crust

11 or so graham crackers
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted

Crush the graham crakcers in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin (that's what I do). Or use a food processor, if you have one of those fancy things. Mix all the ingredients together and press them into a 10" pie pan. Bake in a 325 Degree Oven for about 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

Key Lime Pie

1 Graham or Cookie Pie Crust
1/2 cup fresh key lime juice (12-15 key limes. I think I may have done more like 15-18)
4 teaspoons grated lime zest
3 egg yolks
1 egg
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup cream
sugar to taste
vanilla extract

Beat together the eggs, lime zest, and sugar. Stir in the can of condensed milk and lime juice and beat until thick and creamy. Pour into the baked pie shell and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then wrap lightly with plastic wrap, just touching the surface so a skin won't form. Chill for at least 3 hours, preferrably overnight.
When ready to serve, prepare the whipped cream by whisking together the cream and the sugar (to taste). I prefer mine sweet and fluffy, which goes well with this pie.

Enjoy!

2009-10-08T01:14:00.000-07:00

I have updates coming:

I'm in the process of finding a new apartment-- and Jeff and I broke up. Both things have made it hard for me to continue working on Foodival (I have blog posts from when Jeff's dad came to visit, etc, my readers I'm sure can understand the emotion). I will post them as soon as I can settle a little. Maybe tomorrow? Let's hope.

In the meantime, I need some inspiration. Any ideas?

Drop Biscuits

2009-08-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Biscuits are obviously awesome. I got the idea to make these from Obsessed with Baking. I wanted to make something for breakfast, and I kept wanting to make this cinnamon chip danish, but I can NEVER find cinnamon chips!! Does anyone know where to buy cinnamon chips?! It's insane how rare they seem to be in Los Angeles, and I know I could never find them in Savannah.

But since I couldn't make those, I made these instead. Like a girl who went to school in the South, I love biscuits. Like a girl whose roots are in the south, I loooove biscuits and gravy.
I also love cheddar bay biscuits, but that's another post...

These tasty biscuits were the product of simple work, because they're drop biscuits. The sausage is actually italian sausage that Jeff used to make lasagna awhile back. I used it to make little patties, and then I made up quick (and slightly bland much to my disappointment) sausage gravy out of it. It was STILL really good. You can super taste the fennel in this italian sausage, I wasn't sure if the gravy made it more pronounced. I'm more used to spicy southern sausage, myself.

The biscuits turned out fluffy with a slightly crisp outter edge. Very good, very biscuity, but not quite what I was hoping for. One of these days I'll have to make Alton Brown's biscuits and really give them a go.

They made a huge serving which I tried to make Jeff eat all of while we went disc golfing, but we didn't end up eating them all. I think there's some still in his freezer, but I'm not sure. You may want to eat those, Jeff.

Best Drop Biscuits
Recipe by Cook's Illustrated

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing biscuits

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475°F.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl.
Combine buttermilk and 8 tablespoons melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl. Using greased 1/4-cup dry measure, scoop level amount of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (biscuits should measure about 2 1/4 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high). Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes.
Brush biscuit tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Steak and Potato Dinner by Jeff.

2009-08-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

I really wanted a steak dinner. So Jeff made one for me!! I don't have a lot to say about this... it was really good, I loved it. I love tearing apart a baked potato and smashing sour cream and cheese and butter and enjoy it immensely and I love tearing through steak and Jeff had seasoned it beautifully.

It was very sweet of him.

Potato.

Steak.

So good....

Thank you, sir. Thank you for the steak.

Anyway, I baked bread, and I lost pictures of it. I don't know what happened to them (maybe they're on Jeff's camera?). That was going to be the next post then I lost them. I've had a very, very rough week. I am working a lot again, and I am quite drained... sorry for the slow posts.

It was my bffs birthday and I plan to make her CCC cookies. But there is a fire here that is heating the air and making LA 99-110 degrees, and I don't have A/C so I just caaaan't stay in there. Currently I'm at my friends house because they have A/C and I do not. I might end up making the cookies here.

That's a good idea. I will think of that.

Oh, yeah, we rubbed the baked potato in olive oil and salt and baked it in the oven. Jeff... uhmn, I don't really know what he did. Maybe he will comment and explain what he did. I know he used seasoning salts and oil. And I think he seared it, and then roasted it in the oven.

It was very tasty!

Lemon Bars

2009-08-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

In my last post I talked about how I made Lemon Ginger cookies from Coconut & Lime just to make Lemon Bars. So I made the lemon bars.

AND OOOH BOY ARE THEY GOOD!!!!

I'm so glad I made these and didn't eat all the cookies. I actually ended up crushing one too many cookies and had too many cookie crumbs left ofter-- so I think I might make them into the crust for a key lime pie or something at some point. I'm waiting on that. But in the meantime, yeah, I made these. And I still have some left-- they're so rich and decadent I can only eat half of one at a time... so I've been trying to have half of one a day (if not more). I'm hoping we can finish them this week, though they seem to be preserving well. But I want to make some blueberry boy bait, haha!!

So yes, about these... the cookie crumb is excellent. The lemon ginger cookies are the perfect flavor accompaniment-- mostly because of the lemon, but the ginger gives it a nice spice and sweetness that goes against the lemon bar. The lemon bar is rich and lemony-- sooo lemony, which is perfect. I actually didn't even use as much sugar as she suggested, because I didn't want a super sweet lemon bar, I wanted a lemony lemon bar. The powdered sugar on top is not only pretty but makes the whole thing taste lighter and sweeter... it's really a perfect summer treat.

These weren't hard at all to make. I mixed them all up in like 5-10 minutes. I finished and Jeff was like, really? They're done? They still had to finish baking but yeah, they were done, what a cinch! A nice treat to make for people coming over or if you just want something fast for desserts for a week. And if it's hot outside, these are sure to cool you down-- it had been 80s-100s here and I know I was snacking on them.

Now I don't have much to say about these... they're so awesome that I just want to say that. They're awesome. The only thing I can say is this recipe is quite different than the recipe we had at The Fresh Market-- which is the grocery store I used to work at during college in Savannah, Georgia. We made the lemon bars fresh in house (which was like, the only thing we made from scratch) and they consisted of much more sugar + egg to lemon ratio. They were good, but I think these are better by far... but I remember they had this five at a time cutter, it was like a pizza cutter but you know, five of them. You could set them to be any particular width and we had to cut the bars out. I was sooo bad at cutting them evenly, and true to this day, I'm sitll pretty bad at it though I use a single pizza cutter instead of a fanch shmancy one. But I did put them in little cupcake holders like we did at Fresh Market. So I tried to make them pretty for you guys, really.

Lemon Bars
Recipe from Coconut & Lime

4 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
zest of 3 lemons
10-12 lemon ginger cookies (check this post or this post)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the cookies in a large ziplock bag and crush them with your hands or a rolling pen. Measure out 2 cups worth of the crumbs and mix into a small bowl with the melted butter. Press firmly into a non-stick sprayed 8x8 baking dish (I use one that my friend John's grandma gave to me) and bake for 5 minutes.
Remove the cookie crust from the oven and allow to cool while...
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the cookie crust.
Return the pan to the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until set and not at all shiny. Mine had a few small spots of light brown. Cool completely then sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, cut with a pizza cutter and serve.

I plan to have half of one with strawberry ice cream tonight.