B's Food

Tea Rooms (not) Inspired by Tea Rooms

2011-02-22T20:04:00.000-08:00

My coworkers and I went to Crown and Crumpet tearoom on Monday in Ghirardelli Square. Crown and Crumpet is very pink and lets play tea partyish kind of place. I did not order the traditional for fear of being extreamly let down, but most everyone else did. We did share everything, so we could all have a little taste. The sandwiches on the traditional were crusty like they had been sitting out for a long time, and the smoked salmon was disgustingly fishy, I had to spit it out. Cucumber tasted fine, dill something, cucumber. It's hard to mess up a cucumber sandwich. The large pots of tea we had were all good

The crumpets and scones were good. They did not serve Devon or Clotted cream, but butter, jam and lemon curd. The bottom tray of sweets, a tartlet shell filled with blue something, and had sprinkles. It was supposed to be passion fruit flavor, but tasted like whipped cream. There was a little nickel sized short bread cookie which was good. Then two different mini chocolate cups with cheese cake filling, very fluffy and creamy, like a light sour flavor folded into whipped cream.

I ordered the jacket potato, which came with mixed greens. A potato came on a plate, which had been cut in half with lunch meat like ham stuffed inside, and cheddar cheese on top. The potato had an obvious been cooked in a microwave taste, and once the ham and cheese were gone, was just a potato. I have no complaints about the greens. A few ordered the soup of the day, and I some how ended up with a cup of it. Vegetable sausage soup. In the cup was broth, with some onion bits, and three little sausage rounds. Greasy, and tasteless. Two people ordred the crumpet sandwiches, and they seemed to be happy with it, except for, the ROCK hard avocado that couldn't be cut.

Long story short, go there for the experience,tea, scones and crumpets. But if you are hungry go some where else.

Kara's Cupcakes was some what of a let down. They have 6 locations around the bay area. The girls who worked there didn't seem very happy to be there, they wren't very friendly. I ordred a peanutbutter cup cake, raspberry cup cake with a raspberry curd like filling (which was really good), java cup cake, and an orange creamsicle cup cake. All of them had chocolate cake bottoms, and the cake was wonderful! The peanutbutter one was my favorite, and Adam enjoied the orange creamsicle.
The Java and raspberry were not so good. The frosting on both of them tasted like whipped butter with a little bit of flavoring. Not sweet in the slightest. It grossed me out! Imagine biting into a spoon full of whipped, unsalted butter with a coffee flavor or barely raspberry flavor. I probably won't be getting cup cakes from them in the future.

I'm not a real chef, I just play one on TV.

2011-02-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

I miss old school cooking shows, before the whole food thing got popular. When I was like 6, I would get up super early on Saturday and Sunday morning to watch TV. Not cartoons, but cooking shows. Jacques Torres was one of my favorites! He would make these chocolate cups with blown up water balloons. I always dreamed of the day my mom would let me make them, but of course it didn't happen till my advanced baking and pastry class at culinary school.

Even though I had never made them in real life, I considered myself a pro at it. How many times had I seen that episode? Far to many to count. Tempering the chocolate is always touchy, blow up the balloon, dip deep in one side, then the other sides to create a flower like pattern, shake and let it drizzle off so when you set it down on parchment it doesn't create a large foot at the bottom. When fully set up and hard, pop the balloon and hope for the best.

I have been working 6 days a week since 2011 hit, and It has really opened my eyes to how many people are in the food industry that just should not be in it. Why would you open a restaurant and then complain the few days you do come in about having to make food for it? And then thinking it's acceptable to serve something you messed up on because you "didn't feel like" making another batch correctly? If I did that, I would be fired. I try not to complain about working so much, when i'm tired because I had a hard night sleeping, just want a second day off, or not being able to go out late with friends. I try to just be thankful I have a job at all.

With all of this, super popular bad food tv, and people not giving a care about what's being served in their restaurants has renewed a fire in me, to want to make sure I can put out the best food I can possibly put out. To just grit and bare it, do it right from the start or do it over again until it's the best I can possibly do.

In my next post I will be talking about my trip to Ghirardeli Square, Crown and Crumpet Tea Room and Kara's Cup Cakes. Which fuels my fire even more, such a let down everything was!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving? We sure did! Aside from a little frozen turkey (which Stilton was very interested in) it went smooth! Adam made these amazing twice baked sweet potatoes with a parmesan bacon topping. The sweet potato skins were to soft for us to scoop out the inners and use them for severing so we just put it in a casserole dish. I am so stuffed again just thinking about the left overs.

Pumpkin, a little on the savory side.

2010-11-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

There's so many things you can do with pumpkins, amazing pumpkin carvings, and even more amazing pumpkin dishes. There's tons and tons of sweet pumpkin recipes, pumpkin pie, cake, cookies, gelato, I could go on forever. But what about savory pumpkin dishes? There's just as many, if not more! In my search for savory pumpkin recipes, I found this savory muffin, with pumpkin and feta cheese. The amazing pictures make my tummy grumble, I can't wait to try the recipe. Some more savory pumpkin recipes I came across.

At Martha Stewart.com I found savory pumpkin puffs, puff pastry with a pumpkin mixture in the middle. Also a Pork with mashed pumpkin.

At Food & Wine.com I found Pumpkin soup with sage and ham, a nice hearty winter soup for cold days. Pumpkin Lasagna, sounds yummy, fast and easy, it calls for no boil noodles so don't worry about having to slave over the pot of boiling water, and broken sheets of noodles! Winter Squash and Gruyère Gratin , what's better than melty crunchy cheese?

At Eat Drink Better.com I found Beyond Pie: 10 Great Savory Pumpkin Recipes. There are some great sounding recipes, pumpkin pretzels, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin hummus, and fresh pumpkin pasta just to name a few.

I personally do not care for pumpkin, but I do love other squash. So if you feel the same way, you can substitute another winter squash in for the pumpkin. Don't know much about other winter squash? Read up about winter squash on the Wikipedia page.

Do you have any favorite savory pumpkin/squash recipes of your own? Please share them with me!

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, are you ready?

Healthy "fried" Chicken

2010-11-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

Do you like crispy fried chicken but don't eat it that often because of all that oil. A friend of mine told me about a Healthy "Fried" Chicken recipe she used to use while on weight watchers. It's fast, healthy, and really good!

Here's what you are going to need:

boneless skinless chicken breasts

mustard

corn flakes

pam cooking spray

foil

cookie sheet

and a preheated oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit

-I use one chicken breasts per person. Cut chicken into strips, or chunks.

-Put cut up chicken in a bowl and coat it with mustard

-Cover the cookie sheet with foil and spray with pam

-Crush up corn flakes and coat the mustardy chicken and place on cookie sheet (my cat loved watching me breading the chicken)

-When all the chicken is done spray some more pam over the top of the chicken

-Place in oven and cook until done, if they are bigger pieces you can turn them half way through cooking.

I know some people don't like mustard, and that's not a problem. You can use any type of mustard, bbq sauce, ranch dressing, or any other sort of saucy like condiment. I use honey mustard, it tastes so good you don't even really need to dip it anything else.

Merry Chri..... Wait! Don't Forget Thanksgiving!

2010-11-08T17:00:00.001-08:00

Who else is excited about Thanksgiving??

I am doing my first Thanksgiving dinner, and my first full turkey this year. I think I already have my menu ready. Nothing super fancy, just good eats for 3 people.

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, green chili corn casserole, tangerine cherry cranberry sauce, baked yams, pumpkin pie, cranberry sorbet, and pumpkin gelato. Wow! Sounds like a lot now that it's all in a list.

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving day dishes?

Last Taste Of Summer

2010-10-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Raspberry Sorbet, the last taste of summer.

I had the privileged of borrowing a gelato maker, no ice, no salt, no air. Plug it in and go. It was fantastic, Thanks Maryellen!

Raspberry Sorbet

48 oz fresh raspberries, cleaned (I suppose it would work with frozen raspberries too)

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

1 lemon

Zest and juice the lemon into a sauce pan, add sugar and water mix and bring to a boil stirring occasionally.

Strain and cool until completely chilled.

Puree the raspberries and strain into a container. Cool in the fridge until chilled through.

Mix the chilled raspberry puree and the sugar mix, strain one more time.

From here just add into your ice cream machine and follow the machine instructions.

Yes, it's a lot of straining and arm power but it's so worth it. A nice creamy soft sorbet. You can also use lime instead of lemon, just use two. And if you really want to get fancy add some mini chocolate chips when you remove it from the machine and hard freeze in the freezer.

Food Photography - Oatmeal Thumb Printing

2010-04-29T21:06:00.001-07:00

Bees love cookies too! Specially when they are filled with Blood-Orange Jam. These cookies are delicate, buttery and great for any time because you can fill them with whatever flavor jam you'd like. You can find a similar recipe to which we use here at Epicurious.com. Remember, just because they are labeled oatmeal 'raspberry' thumb-print cookies you can use whatever flavor jam you want!

Hail Caesar

2010-04-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

I know it's been entirely to long.... I've been a little busy, and a little lazy. Not to mention uninspired, and peeved at the food world. Sure, I've come up with a "menu changing" idea at work, but, I just really haven't been into cooking at all lately.
Adam has inspired me to remind everyone how great and easy a classic Caesar salad is.
Keep reading after the recipe for the back story on my new/old love for a classic.

Classic Caesar Salad
Items you will need:
Crisp romaine hearts
Croutons, home made or store bought will do just fine
Fresh shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano, or Asiago cheese
2 Egg yolks
2-3 anchovy fillets, more or less depending on your taste
1 lemon juiced
Worcestershire sauce
1-2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil

In a food possessor, or blender add the anchovies, yolks, garlic, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, half of the lemon juice, and blend to combine. Slowly drizzle the oil till smooth and creamy, salt and pepper to taste. If it's too thick, add a splash of warm water, and the rest of the lemon juice. If you break it, meaning it's separated and yucky looking, you probably added too much oil. Put one egg yolk in a metal bowl and break out your whisk. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a splash of water to the yolk, then slowly start whisking in the broken mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.
Toss with your crisp romaine, add your cheese and croutons, and enjoy!

What lead up to new/old Caesar inspiration?
I called Adam from work today with the question "what's for dinner?"
Chicken Caesar Salad he says, even though we have no Caesar dressing, which is completely fine as long as I don't have to cook or do anything with it when I get home. So the rest of the day at work I dream about the ranch dressing in the fridge, and the sweet and spicy BBQ sauce. A mixture of the two is a "southwestern chicken salad" in my book. It's all I think about food wise for the rest of the day. So when I finally get home from work, Adam says he's going to start grilling the chicken, oh and by the way "I made some Caesar dressing, without the anchovies because we didn't have them"
My thoughts start racing, "Great! Now I can't have my "southwestern" salad",
"Where did he get the recipe?",
"I know we didn't have anchovies, but how good/flavorful is it going to be??",
"What!? He really made Caesar dressing from scratch!?".

He mentioned about how much EXTRA oil he had to add, and I knew right then it was 'broken'
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!

Oh how the thought, just the thought of a broken Caesar brought me back to culinary school, and Waterbarge days. Making Caesar dressing at least, AT LEAST once a week, if not more, and fixing "the new kids" broken mess.

One egg yolk, a splash of warm water, a splash of lemon juice, a broken 'sauce', a metal bowl, and a whisk. Houston, we have a Caesar.

It is absolutely bizarre to me to how one can break a Caesar in/using a machine.AND I will never understand the usage of already made mayonnaise in Caesar dressing, via the food network. Really??? Can you kill my trust in the food network any more these days!!??

Meyer Lemon Sorbet

2010-02-11T06:36:00.000-08:00

When life gives you lemons.............Make ~~lemonade~~ SORBET.
Often used as a palate cleanser between courses, this light sweet citrus sorbet is also great for snackin'.

Tips & Tricks

* Add the lemon zest to the water and sugar right away to get the full flavor potential of the zest

* If you don't like bits and pieces in your sorbet (I know I don't) still add your zest into the water and sugar, but strain it out before you mix in the lemon juice.

*If you do like all those bits and pieces in your sorbet don't strain the lemon juice, just make sure to get out all the seeds.

*You don't need to bring the sugar and water to a boil like normal simple syrup. When it turns clear it is ready.

*If you are squeezing lemons by hand, use a fork! Stick it right in the middle of the cut end for some leverage.

* When life gives you lemons, and you make sorbet, but are still wanting lemonade, dissolve a spoon full or two in a cup of water and enjoy!

*Don't throw away those juiced lemon ends just yet! Clean them out more, take a little slice off the bottom so they stand up right, and freeze them for a cute little 'lemon cup'. Make sure there is no holes for when it starts to melt. *You can also use a whole lemon if you take the top off, hallow it out, and freeze them, then you can use the top as a little lid. Who wouldn't like that super cute presentation!

Meyer Lemon Sorbet

recipe from SimplyRecipes.com

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed juice from meyer lemons (about 3-4 lemons)
2 teaspoons fine lemon zest

1 In a small saucepan on medium high heat, make a simple syrup by heating sugar and water until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix in the lemon juice and zest. Chill, either in the refrigerator, or by placing in a metal bowl over an ice bath.

2 Once the mixture has thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can pour the mixture into a shallow pan and freeze in your freezer until semi-solid. Then take a fork and fluff it up, returning it the the freezer to freeze firm. Then put in a food-processor or blender to process until smooth.

Place sorbet in an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

3 Scoop out preferably with a melon-baller. Garnish with mint. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Green Chile Corn Casserole

2009-11-22T21:28:00.000-08:00

This recipe came from one of my aunts in Texas. It's one of my new all time favorites, sweet and spicy, creamy and crunchy cheese on top. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Green Chile Corn Casserole

¼ C butter

½ onion chopped finely

1 poblano chile chopped finely

1 pinch of salt

2 cloves garlic minced

1 C sour cream

1 egg beaten

1 can (11 oz) white shoe-peg corn drained

1 can (11 oz) Mexi-corn

1 can (16 oz) creamed corn

3 cans (4 oz) diced green chiles

1 C shredded pepper jack cheese divided

1 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided

1 package (9 oz) corn muffin mix

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in sauce pan, add onion, poblano and pinch of salt. Sweat onion until soft and translucent, but not brown. Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 mins. Set aside and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350'F

In a large bowl combine onion mixture with all the butter, sour cream, egg, corn, green chiles and ½ cup of each cheese. Add corn muffin mix and sir until moistened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour mixture into greased 2 ½- quart round casserole dish. Bake for 45 mins. Remove and top with the rest of cheese. Bake for 15 mins or until top is well browned.

Candy of the month Oct. 09

2009-11-06T19:22:00.001-08:00

We've renewed our candy of the month club! Who doesn't love candy shipped to them every month? When we got home from our vacation last month it was waiting for us in a manila envelope. We opened it to find Chick-O-Stick(s). My first thought was all this money and they send us Chick-O-Stick.............A butterfinger type candy 'stick' rolled in coconut. I already know I don't like them because many times i've tried to convince myself I did. I can't stand coconut. Except... who doesn't like a butterfinger type candy!? I convinced myself to try it one last time. It wasn't as bad as I had remembered. I suppose i've warmed up to them. The Chick-O-Stick is made by the Atkinson Candy Co. located in Texas. They come in a long stick (like the one pictured above), small round bite size pieces, or (my favorite version, it has less coconut) bite size flat sticks.
The Atkinson Candy Co. also makes one of my other favorite peanut butter candies. The peanut butter bar. A thin white hard candy with flakey peanut buttery layers in the middle, as Rachel Ray says "YUM-O"
Both candies are available in most every store, and in the Atkinson Candy Co. online store in bulk and sugar free options.

Microwave your way to happiness

2009-09-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

It seems to good to be true. Cake and brownies in under 5 mins from start to finish. Okay, under 5 mins, in the microwave... how good are they going to taste?? I had to try it. They actually are good! The brownie is on the left side of the picture and cake on the right. The brownie was a bit dry so i suggest not doing it the whole 2mins, specially if you like them gooey. The two recipes are very similar with the exception of an egg in the cake. Both recipes were found on ehow.com

Brownies in a Mug

You'll need:
~ 1 microwaveable mug
~ 4 Tbl flour
~ 4 Tbl sugar
~ 2 Tbl baking cocoa
~ 1/8 tsp baking powder
~ 3 Tbl water
~ 3 Tbl veggie oil
~ a pinch of salt
~ something to stir and scrape with
(Optional: 3 Tbs chocolate chips,
a splash of vanilla, a hand full of nuts)

Mix dry ingredents in mug
Add water and oil
Make sure it's all mixed and scrape down sides
Microwave for 2 mins, or less if you like them gooey
Turn out of mug onto plate or enjoy it right in the mug.

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

You'll need:
~ 1 microwaveable mug (the biggest one you have)
~ 4 Tbl flour
~ 4 Tbl sugar
~ 2 Tbl cocoa
~ 1 egg
~ 3 Tbl milk
~ 3 Tbl veggie oil
~ 3 Tbl chocolate chips
~ a splash of vanilla
(optional: 2 Tbl nuts)

Mix the dry ingrents in mug
Add milk and stir while adding oil
Add egg mix well
Add nuts, vanilla, and nuts if you are using them
Microwave for 3 mins. It will rise, and will rise a lot if
you are using a small mug, don't worry it will go down.
Eat it stright from the mug or turn out onto a plate. Enjoy!

Have your chai and drink it too!

2009-09-07T11:52:00.001-07:00

Mary at my work brought this recipe in. It's great because you can adjust all the spices, sugar and milk to your liking. I like mine with more cinnamon and not as sweet as already made chai latte, I also use soy milk. Thanks Mary! Now everyone can have chai just the way they like it!

Masala Chai

8 cups water
12-14 black pepper corns
12 cardamom pods
12 whole cloves
1 full star anise (with seeds)
3 T Assam tea leafs
1 cinnamon stick
1 inch fresh ginger (peeled and chopped)

Simmer over low heat for 30 mins.
Strain and refrigerate. Add sugar and milk to taste. It may get cloudy but when it's warmed it will clear up.

Fudge and Peanut Butter x3

2009-08-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

How yummy does that fudge peanut butter cake look!? I would do just about anything for a slice of that right now! I found this recipe on Bakers' Banter which is the King Arthur Flour Test Kitchen Blog. Someone please make up an excuse to come over and make this cake with me... pleaseee.?

Buckeye Peanut Butter-Fudge Cake

Cake

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons Instant ClearJel or cornstarch
3/4 cup Double Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-Process cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups water

Filling

4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk

Icing

1 1/3 cups chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour (or grease, then line with parchment, then grease again) two 8" x 2" round cake pans. Note: These pans need to be at least 2" tall; if you have non-standard, shorter 8" pans, substitute 9" round pans.

2) To make the cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until smooth.

3) Gradually add the water, beating until smooth.

4) Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

5) Bake the cakes for 35 to 38 minutes (a bit less if you use a 9" pan), or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn them out of the pans to cool completely on a rack.

6) To make the filling: Mix the sugar, peanut butter and vanilla till crumbly. Add the milk and mix till smooth, adding more milk if necessary to make a spreadable filling.

7) Divide the cooled layers in half horizontally, to make four layers. Place one layer on a serving plate, and spread with filling. Repeat with the next two layers. Top with the final cake layer.

8) To make the icing: Combine the chocolate chips, cream, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave till the cream is very hot, and the chips are soft.

9) Stir till the chips melt, and the mixture is smooth.

10) Spread the icing atop the cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

11) Serve in thin slices; the cake is very rich.

12) Yield: one 8" layer cake, about 12 to 16 servings.

Frosted Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

2009-08-15T23:34:00.001-07:00

I just found this recipe and it sounds so delicious(!) I had to post it. Who wouldn't love a lemon poppyseed cookie? Letalone a lemon poppyseed cookie with a sweet yet tart glaze on top! I cannot wait to try them out. I found this recipe on bakingbites.com. Baking Bites .com is perhaps one of my most favorite baking sites i've come across. Some of my better cookie recipes have come from that site.

It’s a bit hard to say what makes lemon poppyseed such a good combination in baked goods. Zesty lemon flavors are always good, of course, but the poppyseeds don’t contribute much in the way of flavor. They do, however, add a hint of additional texture to a cake or muffin and that crunch is a nice break from otherwise soft pastries. Perhaps it’s the subconscious idea that the teeny tiny amount of opiates in the seeds will make you feel good (and fail a drug test, if what I’ve seen on Seinfeld is true!). In reality, it’s probably a combination of some of these things: a bit of crunch from the seeds, a bright acidity from the lemon and the sweetness of the dough that surrounds them.Anyway, the combination is a good one and that’s all you really need to know before baking these lemon poppyseed cookies. The lemon flavor in the cookies comes from fresh lemon zest. It’s fairly subtle at first, but really pops once you add a lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar glaze to the top of the finished cookies. The cookies are soft and a little bit cakelike, rather than crispy. They remind me a little bit of scones or teacakes and go great with iced tea.

These are drop cookies that come together very quickly. There isn’t a whole lot of juice called for in the recipe, and one lemon is really all you need. You’ll get a better flavor with fresh zest than with lemon extract, so it’s worth picking up a fresh lemon if you don’t have one on hand. You can also try these cookies with lemon, orange or other citrus fruits for a little variety.

Frosted Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp poppyseeds

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in egg.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then stir in poppyseeds. Drop by 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set and just begin to brown at the edges (the bottoms may be lightly browned, but not the top of the cookies)
Cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool before glazing.

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Whisk together juice and sugar until icing is a smooth, pourable consistency. Add additional juice if yours is too thick to drizzle easily or additional sugar if it is too thick.
Drizzle over cookies. Cookies should not be hot, but it is ok if they are not completely at room temperature before frosting.
Cookies must be cooled to room temperature before being stored.

Makes 2 dozen.

Sorbet.

2009-08-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

The joys of having an ice cream machine!! Super healthy sorbet whenever you want it! Great for a snack anytime, or dessert.
I seen this kiwi sorbet recipe in the gourmet magazine a few months ago and i'v been dying to try it out. Finally! I did today. It's so good!!! It's so smooth, sweet and tangy all rolled into one. I absolutely will make this again and many more times after that! It's so pretty too!

Kiwi Sorbet
2 lbs kiwi (about 8 kiwis)
3/4 C sugar

Peel the kiwi and cut them into quarters
Put them in the food processor with the sugar
Pulse kiwi and sugar together until almost smooth
Put the kiwi puree into a bowl and into the fridge until chilled
Put it in your ice cream machine and let it go, don't over churn it or it will not be smooth.
When it's ready it will be fairly soft still so transfer it to the container you want to store it in and then put it in the freezer until it's set up all the way.
ENJOY!

Strawberries

2009-06-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but I love Strawberry Season! Sweet juicy red strawberries delicious in cereal, pies, cakes, smoothies, ice cream and sorbet with whipcream or just on their very own. These Strawberry recipes are simliar to ones i've made before so they should be yummy! We serve a strawberry soup close to this recipe at work when it's really hot out in a nice cold half a cantaloupe bowl.

STRAWBERRY - BUTTERMILK SOUP (Serve
cold) from cooks.com

2 pt. fresh strawberries
3/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. sugar
4 1/2 c. low fat buttermilk or plain low fat yogurt
Mint sprigs, optional

Rinse and hull strawberries. Place in blender. Process until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in orange juice and sugar. Continue stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in buttermilk or yogurt. Refrigerate several hours before serving. Spoon into soup bowls and garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Strawberry Shortcake from allrecipes.com

3 pints fresh strawberries
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2 cups whipped heavy cream

Slice the strawberries and toss them with 1/2 cup of white sugar. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar and the salt. With a pastry blender cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg and milk. Stir until just combined.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in pan on wire rack.
Slice partially cooled cake in half, making two layers. Place half of the strawberries on one layer and top with the other layer. Top with remaining strawberries and cover with the whipped cream.

RHUBARB - STRAWBERRY PIE from cooks.com

1 1/4-1 1/2 c. sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 c. rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 c. sliced fresh strawberries
1 tbsp. butter
Pastry for double crust pie (click for crust recipe)

In large mixing bowl stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and ground nutmeg. Add rhubarb pieces and sliced strawberries, toss gently to coat fruit. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the pastry. Trim pastry to edge of pie plate. Pour fruit mixture into pie plate. Dot with butter, place pastry on top of filling. Cut slits in top to allow steam to escape seal and flute edge. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Or you can skip the top pastry and make an almond crumb topping.

1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sliced almonds

To chocolate, or not to chocolate!?

2009-06-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to vote in the Chocolate poll! ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT!
Will it be the creamy sweet milk chocolate, the rich almost too much dark chocolate, or the overly sweet White chocolate!? You decide!
There's so many uses for chocolate, in baking, cooking and just plain eating.

My favorite, i can't really decide (not to mention i'm a girl and i should never have to decide) I really like white and milk chocolate. I'm not a huge fan of Dark chocolate, unless it's the really good kind we have in a bar at work! YUM!

VOTE! YES WE CAN eat chocolate whenever we want!

Candy of the month mar. 09

2009-05-31T22:06:00.001-07:00

So I've been MIA for a few months thanks to work and other things, but oh all the food adventures I had! There will be much more soon!
We had our last candy of the month in March, hopefully we'll be renewing it soon. Our last was the Idaho Spud candy from the Owyhee Idaho Candy Co. It's a marshmallow center covered in chocolate rolled in coconut candy bar which is supposed to look like a potato? Now thinking about it i don't really understand how it's supposed to LOOK like a potato, because nothing about it does except the lump like a potato shape. I know right off the bat this is NOT the candy for me because i don't like coconut at all, and i'm not the biggest fan of marshmallow. Boy oh boy i can't wait to try it.. . .. .. . ... Wincing as take the first bie...... It's worse than i'd ever imagine!!! Okay so the coconut wasn't THAT bad but the marshmallow was the most disgusting thing i'd ever placed in my mouth. It wasn't soft gooey sweet marshmallow we are all used to. It was like they added way tooo much gelatin, and it tasted like cookies N' cream (not the good kind either) not marshmallow. I do not recommend this gelatinous candy to anyone! But if you do like marshmallow, coconut and chocolate i think you may like it.
You can buy some of these little spuds and read more about it at http://www.idahospud.com

Rice Noodles

2009-03-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

These noodles are yummy when pan fried. Even though they are a bit chewy and sometimes a little slimy. A recipe we've duplicated from one of our favorite Thai places is wide rice noodles, egg, chicken, broccoli, and soy sauce.

Ingredients:
*half bag of wide rice noodles
*two chicken breasts cut into small chunks
*half bag of frozen broccoli
* two eggs
*soy suace
*pepper flakes
*garlic
*oil, veggie or olive doesn't really matter

~Soak half a bag of rice noodles in cold water for about half an hour before cooking.
~ Dump some oil in a pan let it heat up all good, add some garlic, pepper flakes and sauté them for a few mins then add your chicken. When the chicken is done set it aside in a bowl
~ Scramble your egg in a bowl and cook it, when it's done add it to your chicken
~ Microwave broccoli for about a min.. just enough to take the frost off of it.
~ Cook noodles in boiling water, drain and add to a hot fry pan with oil.
~ Let get yummy and pan fry a bit, add the broccoli toss a few more times then add egg and chicken
~ Toss while adding soy sauce until it's all coated
And it's done! Eat and enjoy!

Corned beef and cabbage

2009-03-17T20:38:00.001-07:00

When I was little I looked forward to st pattys day just for the corned beef. No one ever seemed to make it any other time of year. Yummy salty stringy beef with lots of mustard on it, soft usually mushy cabbage, lots of little red potatoes.... and carrots. Seriously, who likes the carrots? To me there's nothing worse than cooked carrots, but that's a whole nother story.
It's so easy, open the meat, boil it, add veggies, and there your have it. Yummieness. I think corned beef and cabbage, along with a whole 'thanks giving' turkey should both be eaten once a month, I could only wish. Now that I able to make my own, the only question now is, what kind of mustard? Spicy brown, regular old yellow, dijon, spicy brown with horse radish, honey mustard, sweet and spicy mustard.... i'm sure the list could go one. Me, persoanlly, I am all about the regular old yellow, or spicy brown.
Here's some history of this "Irish" dish

So to everyone, enjoy your corned beef and cabbage and don't forget to have a green beer! Happy St Pattys day!

Pasta

2009-03-09T18:41:00.001-07:00

What's better than a light dusting of flour everywhere because you just made fresh pasta? NOTHING. Once you have fresh pasta it's hard to go back to dried or even the "fresh" pasta at the store. It's so easy to make. I suggest if you do want to make fresh pasta on a regular basis to get a pasta attachment for a kitchen aid mixer. I have a hand crank machine but kitchens these days are not built for a hand crank pasta rollers, so it usually consists of Adam and I both holding down the machine while I try to change settings and crank the crank. But it's so worth it! If you are feeling adventurous you can do it on the counter top, but it does take a bit to get the hang of not letting the egg go everywhere, but it does turn out the same if you use a bowl or not.

1 3/4 Cups flour
2 eggs lightly beat
pinch of salt
more flour for dusting

Sift the flour and salt together. Make a well with the flour and pour the egg in the middle. Slowly mix from in hole out till all the flour is mixed in. If it's to dry add some water and if it's to wet add some more flour. Knead dough for 10 mins. Let rest covered with a damp towel for about 15 mins. Then roll it or form it into whatever pasta you want to use. Of course cook it like 'normal' pasta till al dente. ENJOY!

**If you'd like some green spinach pasta add 1 cup of cooked well drained finely chopped spinach to the egg in the flour well.

Focaccia (watch your mouth young lady)

2009-03-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

Focaccia, like pizza, is a bread that has almost and unlimited number of topping possibilities. In it’s most basic form, the flat bread can be topped with just olive oil, salt and herbs. If you want to move away from the very traditional type, it’s easy to dress it up with any kind of vegetable or cheese, and you can even use fruit if you want to try a sweet (non-traditional) variation. I tend to think that meat and non-olive oil sauces move the bread a little too close to pizza, so I stay away from those.

This version of focaccia has a topping made with several different kinds of peppers - including red and yellow bell peppers, diced green chilies and a few jalapeños - that give it a bold flavor. There is also cheddar cheese inside the dough. The cheese doesn’t affect the open, slightly chewy crumb of the bread, but it does give it a good flavor and is an excellent match for the fresh peppers.

I made this dough with an overnight rise, leaving it in the refrigerator overnight and baking it the next day. The slow rise in the fridge helps the bread to develop a nice, airy crumb and it also means that you don’t have to do too much work in one day to turn out the finished product. That said, you can certainly let it rise on the counter top until doubled in size if you want to bake it the same day. The bread requires no kneading and can be made entirely in a stand mixer, although you will have to press it down into the baking pan with your fingers once it has risen.

This bread makes a great side dish and is an great way to soak up both soups (like chili!) and sauces. It is especially good when warm, with a crispy bottom. If you’re not eating it fresh, or have leftovers, reheat the focaccia by placing it directly on the oven rack for about 5 minutes at 350F. It also makes excellent sandwiches, both un-toasted and toasted (panini-style). I used sweet bell peppers and spicier chilies in combination on my bread, but you can use any peppers that you like - all jalapeños if you like it very spicy, or all bell peppers if you prefer to keep things on the sweeter side.

Peppers and Cheese Focaccia
1/4 cup finely diced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups water, warm (100-110F)
4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup bell peppers, chili peppers and/or jalapenos, thinly sliced
olive oil and sea salt, for topping

In a small frying pan (nonstick or with a bit of olive oil added), saute onions and garlic until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment(or a large bowl, if you prefer to mix by hand), combine active dry yeast, water, 2 cups of the all purpose flour. Stir well, then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Blend in salt, egg and onion/garlic mixture. Add 1 additional cup of flour and beat at medium speed for 1 minute. Stir in the cheddar cheese and remaining flour, and mix until the batter forms a thick sticky dough (it will be more wet than many bread doughs). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Set the dough in the refrigerator to rise overnight (12 hours) or simply let it sit on the counter to double in size at room temperature (about 2 hours). Both options will work, so choose what fits into your schedule.
Turn dough out into a lightly greased 10×15-inch jellyroll pan. Using your fingertips, press the dough out to spread it into the corners of the pan. If your dough was refrigerated, let it warm up for 15 minutes so that it is easier to work with.
Preheat oven to 350F and let dough rise, covered with a clean dishtowel, for 30 minutes.
Brush dough lightly with olive oil, top with sliced peppers and sea salt.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until bread is lightly browned.
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Nocab... that's Bacon backwards!

2009-02-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

Bacon.

What is there to say about bacon? Except it is the best thing ever! So here's some BACON recipes for your sweet and savory side. Enjoy! Oh, also here's some links to bacon anything you've ever wanted.

Bacon Products:

~ Bacon Salt and Baconnaise because everything should taste like bacon!

~Bacon Shirts

~Bacon watch, floss, band aids and more

~Bacon for those of you who love to wake up to the smell of bacon instead of coffee

~ Bacon just some giggles for the girls, bacon bra!

~ Bacon Candy

~ Bacon Tattoos

~ The Royal Bacon Society

Bacon Recipes:

Burbon Bacon Brownies

Bacon Cheddar Cheese Scones

Asparagus with Bacon Dressing

an assortment of bacon recipes

Live, Laugh, Love, Eat Bacon.

Golden Gingerbread

2009-02-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

Adam and I made gingerbread from my newest cook book The Bread Machine Bible by Anne Sheasby. There's so many yummy sounding recipes we can't wait to try like the pesto-parmesan pull apart. I wasn't particularly thrilled about making gingerbread, but Adam talked me into it. We had everything.... or did we? Everything except the brown sugar. We debated about going to the store,or had gotten some from Adams mom? Wait one minute! We have molasses and sugar, we don't need to go anywhere! So I looked it up... One cup of sugar to one Tablespoon of molasses for light brown sugar and two Tablespoons of molasses for dark brown sugar. Okay NOW we have everything. We did everything, poured it in the bread pan, set it, and licked the bowl. Oh it was so good I couldn't wait for it to be finished. An hour or so later it was finally done! My only question now was what did we do wrong? It didn't rise very much. It was very dense and heavy and the crust was hard to cut through. But the middle was so moist and so good! We will make this bread again, hopefully next time it'll rise more.

Golden Gingerbread

½ cup packed light soft brown sugar

¾ stick butter

½ cup golden syrup or light corn syrup

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground gingerbread

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup milk

a pinch of salt

~ Remove the kneading blade from the bread pan. Remove the bread pan from the machine, grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan, and set aside.

~ place the sugar, butter and syrup in a small sauce pan and heat slowly, stirring, until melted and blended. Remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, and ginger into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix together the egg and milk and pour into the well along with the melted mixture. Beat together using a wooden spoon until smooth and throughly mixed. Pour into the bread pan.

~ Place the bread pan in position in the machine and close the lid. Set the machine to “bake only” for 60 minutes. Press start.

~ After baking, a fine skewer inserted into the middle of the gingerbread should come out clean. If the gingerbread requires more baking, bake on the same setting 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until baked through.

~ Remove the bread pan from the machine using oven mitts, then leave to stand 5 minutes, before turning the gingerbread out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cold in slices.

Today I took it upon myself to make another black bean recipe. The black bean brownies. They were so easy to make. I put everything in the food processor, sprayed the pan and popped them in the oven. They took about 25-30 minutes to cook. I let them cool just barely enough to cut them. They were good. Really moist, soft cakey, smooth, but I think next time I'll cook them a tiny bit less for more fudgy-ness. You can't taste the black beans at all. I did not add any of the coffee, but it had a slight coffee flavor. They are not super chocolately. For a 'healthy' brownie they are not too shabby.

Candy of the month feb. 09

2009-02-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

A not so good few days I've been having has all been made up for since Adam brought in the mail! Our candy of the month from Lollyphile/Candyphile is here! Boyer Smoothie Peanut Butter Cups complete with play money! A butterscotch peanut butter cup, that's right, just like a regular peanut butter cup except butterscotch instead of chocolate. The butterscotch isn't over powering. The peanut butter in the middle is the sweetest part, it's a little lumpy, you can see the small peanut pieces through the butterscotch covering. The PB middle reminds me of a De La Rosa Peanut Candy, same texture but not quite a dry, the after taste of both are very close. I would defiantly consider ordering these some time in the future. Visit the Boyer website fore more information on the 'smoothie' cup and more yummie treats such as a mallow cup.

The All Mighty Black Bean

2009-02-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

The poll is closed! Black beans are the winners!! Not by much, but they are. As I promised something special for the winner. Black bean recipes all around!! Black beans can be used in savory and sweet dishes believe it or not. A nice healthy substitute for meats and flour, and eggs.

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw
found in this months issue of Bonn Appetit

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon and 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix
2 green onions, chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro (optional)
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce

Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, cilantro, and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon ¼ of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta cheese and slaw. Serve with hot sauce.

Black Bean Burgers
found on allrecipes.com

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

1.If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2.In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3.In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4.In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5.Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6.If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

Black Bean Brownies
also found on allrecipes.com

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.
2.Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.
3.Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Black Bean Soup with Cumin and Jalapeño
Found on epicurious.com

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño Chile with seeds, divided
2 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, undrained
1 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped green onions
Crumbled feta cheese

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Mix in cumin and 1 teaspoon jalapeño. Add beans, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer 3 cups of soup to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer soup until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon jalapeño, if desired.
Ladle soup into bowls. Pass cilantro, green onions, and feta cheese separately.

Cheesy Black Bean Dip
found on cdkitchen.com

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup diced white onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon canned diced jalapeño peppers (adjust to taste)
1 can (15-ounce size) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella OR Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese (OR substitute crumbled cow's milk feta)
Tortilla, pita OR bagel chips OR cut up vegetables OR sugar snap peas
In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeño peppers; saute until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and smash with the back of a ladle or large spoon until softened and heated through, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in Mozzarella cheese, sour cream, cumin and cayenne pepper, stirring until cheese is melted. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle cotija cheese on top. Serve warm or at room temperature with chips and/or vegetables

Valentines Day Anyone?

2009-02-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Red and chocolate are the themes for the day right? Are raspberries, white chocolate and red velvet good enough for you? How about a white chocolate raspberry cake with lemon butter cream? Or maybe a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting? Super moist slightly chocolately super red dye cake with sweet soft fluffy cream cheese frosting on top. YUM.

RED VELVET CAKE

Cake

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
Red food coloring (2 ounces or so)

Icing

1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (That’s 175 degrees for those of you who do the Celsius thing). Prepare 3 round 8 inch cooking pans with cooking spray, flour or oil.
In a large bowl, mix sugar, oil, and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix food coloring and vinegar with the buttermilk. In a third bowl stir baking soda into flour. Alternate mixtures into one big bowl and mix well. Stir 1 teaspoon vanilla into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick
inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove and cool.
Mix together cream cheese, butter or margarine, confectioners’ sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in nuts. Frost once the cake cools

Risotto

2009-02-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

Risotto one of my favorite dishes ever! Sweet or savory. I really like creamy cheesy risotto with veggies, asparagus and mushrooms are the best combo I think. If you don't feel up for sautéing the rice, stirring stirring stirring until the rice is tender and creamy, the box of Safeway brand cheese risotto is good and easy to make, just par cook the veggies and throw them in when the rice is ready. Use chicken or veggie stock instead of water for extra flavor. I have two recipes that are good and easy. One sweet, one savory.

Three Cheese Risotto from www.culinarycafe.com

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

Salt and white pepper

6 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 pound Arborio rice

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/4 cup grated Romaino cheese

1/4 cup grated Asigo cheese

2 tablespoons chopped chives

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes, or until the onions are slightly soft. Add the stock and garlic. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 6 minutes. Add the rice and simmer for 18 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the mixture is creamy and bubbly. Add the butter, cream, cheese and chives. Reseason with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes and serve immediately.

Chocolate Risotto Pudding from foodnetwork.com

6 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 pound chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts
Small piece white chocolate, to shave for garnish

Bring the milk, sugar and vanilla beans to a bare simmer over low heat for 10 minutes to infuse vanilla flavor. Remove the bean pods and keep the milk hot.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat. Stir in the rice and cook, stirring until the rice is hot, about 2 minutes. Begin adding the hot milk 1 cup at a time, stirring often and adding more milk when the previous addition has been absorbed. Adjust heat to maintain a nice simmer. It will take about 20 minutes for the rice to become creamy and al dente. It is possible you may not need all of the milk. Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the remaining butter, and chopped chocolate. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts, shave white chocolate over the top and serve.

~Striped Butter mints~

2009-02-05T20:07:00.001-08:00

In Middle School I went on a field trip to San Francisco to see A Christmas Carol play. After the play we all packed on the bus and headed home. One of my best friends and I sat in the back, you know, the spot in the back where you sit and look out the emergency exit. She opened her bag and pulled out some after dinner mints and offered me some. We sat there chewing and sucking on pink, yellow, green and white after dinner mints all the way home. It was the first time I really remembered eating these wonderful soft mints, and i loved it! I love it when you suck on them and they just dissolve in your mouth, or the way they stick in your teeth like you'd been chewing spoon fulls of cornstarch (not that I ever have, it's just what I'd imagine it'd be like) and it's all stuck in your teeth. When my mom worked at cost plus I always looked forward to Christmas time, she would bring home a few boxes of soft peppermint sticks, and/or the soft peppermint balls. I would eat them till my tongue hurt.

This month from my cook book club I ordered Brittles, Barks & Bonbons delicious recipes for quick and easy candy by Charity Ferreira. I was so excited to see there's a recipe for stripped butter mints. It seems easy enough once you have all the ingredients. I can't wait to try them!

~Striped Butter Mints~

4 1/4 to 4 1/2 Cups powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp.
1/4 Cup whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon peppermint oil*
Gel food coloring*

Makes about 1 pound of mints

Step 1: With a mixer on low speed, beat together the sugar, the butter, cream and peppermint oil until well blended. The mixture will be stiff, when it becomes too stiff for the mixer, turn it out onto a surface lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar and knead by hand, working in more powdered sugar as necessary, until the mixture is soft and smooth but not sticky.

Step 2: Divide the mixture into 8 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time (cover the remaining pieces with plastic wrap while you work, to prevent them from drying out), add a few drops of red and green (or other) food coloring to different spots, and work the pieces gently in your hands until the color is distributed in irregular streaks (to tint the mints a solid color, just mix the food coloring completely in until no streaks remain). On a surface dusted with powdered sugar, roll each piece into a rope about 10 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut the rope into 1/4 inch squares. Place the mints on waxed paper-lined baking sheet.

Step 3: Cover the mints loosely with a second sheet of waxed paper and let them stand at room temp. until dry, about 8 hours. Rrefrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

* Gel food coloring and peppermint oil are available at stores that sell candy-making supplies. You can substitue regular food coloring and peppermint extract, but neither the flavor nor the color will be quite as intense.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Cookies

2009-02-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

At the Fancy Food Show we tried these lavender, and lavender with lemon mini short bread cookies. I loved them! So of course I've been looking for lavender lemon short bread cookie recipes to make some. I've found three I can't decide on, could I be any more indecisive!? So under strong review I bring you two lavender lemon short bread cookie recipes. Both picked for certain reasons, I can't wait to buy some Lavender, Lemons and make cookies! As for rolling out or pressing into a pan, you can throw it all into a freezer size ziploc bag, roll it out in the bag, and it's the perfect thickness, then refrigerate or freeze, when you are ready to use cut off the bag and cut them into squares. No fuss, no muss, no mess.
Enjoy!

And in no particular order:

Lavender Lemon Shortbread #1 brought to you by http://www.recipe4living.com
I like the idea of using lavender sugar to sprinkle on top!

Lavender Lemon Butter Cookies #2 brought to you by www.choosy-beggars.com This one has some great pictures!

Apple Asiago Pie?

2009-01-30T21:00:00.000-08:00

Pie
Pie
Me oh my
Nothing tastes sweet, wet, salty and dry
all at once o well it's pie
Apple!
Pumpkin!
Minced
an' wet bottom.
Come to your place everyday if you've got em'
Pie
Me o my
I love pie

I know most everyone loves eating pie, but most everyone hates making it....Well I do NOT love eating pie at all. There's nothing worse than cooked fruit, or icky custard type fillings, and soggy crust, heck I don't even like the crust if it isn't soggy. Baking a pie on the other hand I LOVEEE doing. There's nothing better than making pie crust, getting everything nice and cold, cutting in the butter, adding the right amount of ice water. I've been told it's a hard thing to make, and most people don't like doing it. I'll never understand why people think it's such a hard thing to do. It's like second nature to me, i could probably do it blind folded, one hand tied behind my back.
Pretty much anything can be made into pie, well ANYTHING could be made into a pie if you really wanted to but.... Fruit pies, and custard filled pies usually go over the best. So pick a flavor, the next hardest decision, top with pie crust, open faced, or crumb topping?
I am best known for my Asiago Apple Pie. Yes, that's right, apple pie with an asiago cheese crumb topping. There's no real recipe, it's yet another one that comes from my head. It's one of the most carried on recipes from the waterbarge days. Did you know (?) it takes 10 regular sized apples to fill a pie, And if you stand your apple right side up, peel it verticaly beacuse it won't turn brown, at least not nearly as fast if you peel it round ways.
I am not going to give out "my recipe" for this pie, but just basic pie steps... If you would like a real recipe for this pie feel free to e-mail me at ki13wi@aol.com, or if you don't want to make one, but you want to eat one... use the same e-mail.

-Make your dough. Use your favorite pie dough recipe, if you do not have one try this site, i've used it before, i've heard it's pretty darn good crust.
-peel, core and slice your apples, coat with cinn. and sugar, dash of nutmeg and ginger.
-make a basic crumb topping, brown sugar, flour, butter, add grated asiago cheese.
- Blind bake your pie crust.
- par cook your seasoned apples
- fill crust with apples, top with crumb topping
- cook until golden brown on top, or until you smell asiago cheese.
- Enjoy!
A-la-modie even if you like.

Late Night Bread

2009-01-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

What's better than late night eating just made warm bread watching CHEF!?
We've recently inherited (thanks Brie!) a bread machine for the time being. Along with the machine a book, The Bread Machine Book (over 100 recipes for easy-to-make spectacular breads) by Marjie Lambert. All the recipes we had used before were really good. Adam decided to make Italian Herb Bread. In the book it's described as 'this is a delicious white bread, seasoned with garlic, and italian herbs. it makes delicious cheese or meat sandwiches , and is an excellent dinner bread'
I think it would be really good to grate some asiago or parmesan cheese into the mixture. It's really good, so soft and moist the butter rips right through it, YUM!

Italian Herb Bread 1 1/2 LB Loaf

3 T olive oil
1 or 2 cloves of garlic pressed
1 1/2 t dried basil
3/4 t dried oregano
1/4 t dried rosemary
1/2 t dried thyme
3/4 C water
6 T milk
1 1/2 t sugar
1 1/2 t salt
3 C bread flour
2 1/4 t yeast

- heat oil in small skillet
- add garlic and herbs, saute for 2 mins taking care not to burn the garlic
- put herb oil and remaining ingredients in bread pan in order suggested by your bread machine instructions.
- set for white bread, medium crust
- press start (haha i can't believe press start is actually a direction, really!?)

Who Doesn't Love Biscuits and Gravy?

2009-01-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I was over at my dads and he wanted me to help him make biscuits and gravy. Easy peasy! This recipe is certainly no secret but people still don't know... I've used this same recipe since I've learned how to make them when I was like 13. Simple but yummie.

Biscuits and Gravy one of many recipes found in my head.

You will need:
~1 roll of jimmy dean sausage (i prefer the HOT)
~flour
~two regular sized cans of evaporated milk
~salt and pepper
~can of grands big flaky biscuits (or whatever kind you prefer)

- Preheat your oven to 350 (or whatever the biscuit can says)
- cook off your sausage
- do not drain the grease and coat the sausage pieces they will look like a gummy mess
- when they look like a gummy mess but the biscuits in the oven
- add the evap. milk, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil
- once it boils it will start to set up fast, turn it down to low and wait for the biscuits to be just about done
- thin out now really thick gravy with second can of evap. milk
- It's now ready to serve! Cut biscuit in half and top with gravy
- Eat and enjoy!

Super Bowl XLIII

2009-01-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to work this weekend on Sunday as I always do, but the other girl I work with needed to switch days. Oh, sweet, two days off in a row! When I told my dad he said to come on over for a super bowl party. My thoughts on the super bowl?? I managed to avoid football all the season so far, I have no clue who is playing, nor would it make a difference if I did know,BUT... of course there's always a BUT... I get to make food for people! SCORE! Two days in a row off and I get to make tons of food I don't have to worry about eating.

So what's in store for my super bowl menu you ask? Well seeing as I've already posted about white, kidney and no beans one more is fitting. Roasted garlic hummus (ode to my brother) with pita chips and" red lobster's" cheddar biscuits.

"RL" Cheddar Biscuits found on abcnews.com

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix

¾ cup cold whole milk

4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Bush on Top:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes

½ teaspoon garlic powder

pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.

4.20Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

Roasted Garlic Hummus found on RecipeZaar.com

Ingredients

2 cups canned chick-peas or cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 large head of garlic
1 lemon, juice of
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F Cut off the very top of the garlic clove (about 1/4") so that the tops of most of the cloves are exposed slightly. Coat with a little olive oil and wrap securely in tin foil. Roast garlic in oven for 1 hour. Remove and allow to cool.
Using your fingers, squeeze the soft, roasted garlic out of each clove into food processor. Rinse and drain cooked or canned chickpeas. Add them, and all other ingredients, to the food processor and blend until completely smooth.
Scrape ingredients off sides of food processor to make sure it blends evenly. If you find that the hummus is too thick, you can add additional olive oil at this time. Add it very slowly, allowing the mixture to combine fully before adding more liquid.
Serve at room temperature with crudites, warm pita or crackers.
Optional: Sprinkle with chopped parsley or paprika before serving.

The Dangers of Kidney Beans

2009-01-26T16:31:00.000-08:00

The real truth about dried kidney beans (found on offthecontrary blog spot)
I guess it's a good thing i HATE kidney beans.

"I made a humongous pot of chili tonight for supper. Chili is great for making a lot and then freezing it for later, so I like the aspect of cooking once and eating several times. Mmmmmm, laziness.

One of the ingredients in my chili is kidney beans. They are a tasty and healthy food, containing nutrients like iron, thiamin (Vitamin B1), folate, molybdenum, manganese, and fibre. But there's something else inside these innocent-looking legumes. Something downright sinister that could make you very sick.

Phytohemagglutinin is a compound found in many raw beans but is especially high in uncooked red kidney beans. This chemical can make you ill if ingested in high quantities, causing nausea and severe vomiting before inducing a wave of diarrhea. Yummy.

So how many raw kidney beans does it take to make you sick? The answer: 3. Just a few beans can trigger the above mentioned intestinal roller coaster ride.

You may ask "Why haven't I heard of this?" or "Why didn't I get sick from eating kidney beans at a salad bar yesterday?" It's all about cooking the poison away. By boiling kidney beans, even for 5 or 10 minutes, you reduce the amount of phytohemagglutinin 200-fold and bring it down to a safe level. We always eat cooked beans, so we never worry about the toxicity.

Canned beans are great because they are already cooked. No fuss, no muss, no vomiting. Dried beans need to be soaked for a while and then cooked for about 2 hours, but the important thing is to boil them at some point. If you simmer the beans for the entire cooking process without boiling them, they will still contain a high level of the toxin and you'll start feeling their effect 3 hours after eating them.

A friend of mine made her own chili a while ago, but bought dried kidney beans and didn't cook them first. She just added them directly to her simmering pot. When she tasted her chili she realized her mistake, but by that time she had already eaten 4 of the hard beans. The next 12 hours for her were not very pleasant.

So the next time you buy dried beans, especially kidney beans, make sure to cook them properly or else you'll face the painful consequences. "

CHEF!

2009-01-26T01:07:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this tv show one late night of no sleep. I watched one episode and i was hooked. CHEF! is a Brittish comedy about Gareth Blackstock the finest chef in england, possibly even the world!? Le Chateau Anglais, finest French resturant in England. If anything in the culinary world can go wrong, will go wrong for Gareth, but like a true chef he makes it work.
I'm not sure how may 'normal' people (people who are not in the culinary world) could actually sit down and actually appreciate it and giggle at it for other reasons than it's a "comedy" 1. who gets brittish comedy? 2. who gets culinary jokes/issues if you arn't in the culinary world? 3. who gets brittish culinary comedy? CHEF! IMDB
It has become one of my favorite things to watch! It tackes culinary "issues" from food critics and famous chefs who you do not want to dissapoint and you'll do anything to please them by making the perfect salmon mousse, and battling the law for unpasturized stilton cheese. To kitchen 'relationships', love life and family wise, having to fire your boss' daughter. Hiring people who don't belong in a kichen at all!
Sadly it was only on for three seasons, you can catch re-runs on channel 10KTEH, it's always on at odd hours so keep an eye out for it. Or if you really want to see it you can purchase the DVD's season 1-3 for a pretty reasonable price an amazon.com ( if anyone is thinking about something to get me..hint hint)

White Bean Soup

2009-01-26T00:41:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I was craving my Grandmas bean soup so I tried making my own. Of course it's not the same as Grandmas soup, but it wasn't horrible either. Every thing that day took twice as long as it should had, and I had forgotten to text Adam to put the beans on heat. I used a maple bacon, chopped it up, threw it in my big pot and waited for it to fry. Except it didn't. It started to poach itself in.... maple water? So we drained it, I threw some oil in and cranked the heat as high as it would burn. Finally, some frying action. Beans were boiling away. Bacon was finally done, pulled it out poped in the veggies and spices, added in 3/4 of the beans... okay so here's where I got lazy.. instead of pulling out my food processor I used the masher to mash the beans. It wasn't the same, it never got that nice texture I like for bean soup. We decieded to add in all the bacon for a bean and bacon soup. It was bland eventhough I added a lot of salt and pepper, spices. Next time I suppose i'll just have to ask my Grandma to make some for me or use a ham bone or something. I don't know why I have such a hard time making soup, to me when I make soup doesn't matter what kind it is, it always taste like the same soup, weird.

White Bean Soup from www.about.com

Ingredients:

8 ounces dried Great Northern beans
4 cups chicken broth
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup minced onion
2 stalks celery, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon lemon juice
pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Rinse and pick over the beans; soak beans overnight in cold water to cover. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-low heat until crispy. Remove and reserve to use as a garnish, if desired. Increase heat to medium. Add onion, celery and garlic to the bacon fat. Sauté until tender. Add beans, chicken broth and bay leaf. Simmer until beans are tender, about 2 hours, adding additional stock or water as needed. When beans are cooked, remove bay leaf and discard. Puree 1/4 cup of the soup in a food processor or blender and return to pot. Adjust consistency with more stock or water if necessary. Season with lemon the juice, pepper and salt. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon.
This white bean soup recipe makes 6 servings.

Chewy Caramel #1

2009-01-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

I made the first chewy caramel recipe yesterday. It was really easy. Instead of adding the pinch of salt, i added three table spoons of sea salt when i added the vanilla at the end, and obviously i didn't dip it in chocolate. It's a little to soft for me, the flavor is a little brown sugary, but over all it's not too bad. I'm not sure i'll make this recipe again. I can't wait to try the other caramel recipe.

Craving those girl scout cookies?

2009-01-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

Home made girl scout cookies! As good as they are I hate paying for them. Even though I once sold them, if someone told me i could make my own instead of begging people to buy them from me, heck yeah i would have made them. Four flavors i found recipes for at www.bakingbites.com.

Thin Mint
Tagalongs
Do-si-dos
Samoas

Chewy Caramel with our without salt?

2009-01-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

I went to the fancy food show in San Francisco with my boss and some other girls from work, there was so much food. Sweets, savories, drinks.... you name it, they had it. One of the best things we came across was some really good chewy caramels. They had a bunch of flavors, plain caramel, sea salted caramel, chocolate caramel with our with out sea salt, chipotle caramel and more. We are getting some in at work, but i thought until then i'd try my hand a making some.
I found two recipes that sound really good, one with Sea Salt and one with out (for all you anti-salties)

Chewy Caramel Recipe from www.grouprecipes.com
Ingredients

1 c butter or margarine
1 lb light brown sugar
1 c light corn syrup
1 pinch salt
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract

Directions

Step #1 In a heavy bottomed saucepan over med-heat/flame, brown sugar, mix the butter, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup & salt.
Step #2 Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Step #3 Heat to between 234 & 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water & placed on a flat surface.
Step #4 Cook for 2 mins at that temperature.
Step #5 Meanwhile, butter a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Step #6 When the caramel is ready, pour this into the buttered pan.
Step #7 Allow to cool completely at about room temp.
Step #8 Remove from the pan & cut into squares using scissors.
Step #9 Wrap individual pieces in waxed paper or cellophane.

Salted Butter Caramels from www.recipezaar.com

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (preferably unflavoured like safflower)
1 1/3 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup honey
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (paste if available)
3 teaspoons fleur de sel or other fine sea salt
1 lb bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil that overhangs. with a paper towel, coat the bottom and sides of the foul with 1 tbsp of the oil.
In a 4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil. Add the sugar, corn syrup and home and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula until the mixture comes to a boil (about 5 minutes).
Wash down the sides of the pan two times with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent the sugar from crystallizing.
Place a candy thermometer in the pan, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally until it registers 257°F on the thermometer (about 15 minutes [ hard ball stage if dropped in a glass of cold water].
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla paste, and 2 teaspoons of the sea salt.
Pour the caramel into the prepared pan and let it sit at room temperature until cool and set (about 1 hour).
With the remaining tbsp of oil, coat a cutting board and the blade of a large chefs knife. cut the caramel into eight 1-inch wide strips, then cut each strip into four pieces.
Melt and temper the chocolate. place a caramel in the chocolate, coating it completely. with a fork, remove it, shake off the excess, and let fry on a baking sheet.
While the chocolate is still not set, sprinkle on the remaining sea salt, and let set up for about 2 hours.

Candy of the month jan. 09

2009-01-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

The candy this month is a Ruth Hunt Candy called a Blue Monday Bar, it's mint flavored (one of three Blue Monday Bars). Shiny silver package with green print. It's a 1oz rectangle bar with a rusching like pattern on the front. Covered in semisweet chocolate, take a bite and light green middle melts in your mouth. It's like a really soft after dinner butter mint covered in chocolate. A really mild minty flavor, it's perfect! This is one that could, and should be loved by all. To order some of your own (and i suggest you do) visit http://www.ruthhuntcandy.com/defaultt.html

WTF came in the mail?

What is your favorite bean!!??

2009-01-23T23:17:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to poll your favorite bean this month! There's good things to come for the winning bean!

yummy yummy citrus boys

2009-01-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

On the big kitchen with food cooking show with 5 year old Julian Kreusser is so cute! I wish my parents let me have my own cooking show when i was that young. http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/06/big-kitchen-with-foo.html

Candy of the month dec. 08

2009-01-23T23:03:00.000-08:00

We signed us up for a candy of the month club through http://www.lollyphile.com.
They have some interesting lolly pop flavors, which we have yet to try. Maple Bacon lollys, Absinthe lollys, and their newest flavor Wasabi-Ginger lollys. The Candyphile section is where you can sign up for your own candy of the month, get more information and prices, and see what next month's candy is.

December was our first month, and the candy was Sifers Valomilk. On the package they are described as creamy flowing marshmallow in two milk chocolate cups. They were really big,, deep like the resses BIG peantubutter cups. Bite into them and marshmallow starts to go everywhere, you better eat them fast. If the chocolate broke in the package you bet you'll be gnawing all the marshmallow off the package. They were extreamly sweet, but pretty good. I don't care for marshmallow, i could barly eat one of them. I think i'm going into sugar shock just thinking about eating one again. If you really like marshmallow, and really sweet these are for you, other wise beware! Not for the faint of heart. To find out more about the candy itself visit http://www.valomilk.com/

Ode to a bear

2009-01-23T22:35:00.001-08:00

Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair, fuzzy wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy was he?????