Saturday, May 28, 2011
moving.
I hope to see some of you over there, it feels like starting all over again....There will still be some delicious recipes, but I will also be adding in some running stuff, fashion, event planning and all things pretty!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
School Spirit Cupcakes
They are the Highland Huskies and the colors are blue and yellow. I made chocolate and vanilla mini cupcakes with chocolate and vanilla buttercream. I dyed the vanilla cupcakes blue and the vanilla buttercream yellow. They were very festive and delicious. I'm sharing the cake recipes today, stay tuned to tomorrow for the buttercream recipe!
Dark Chocolate Cake
Makes 3 dozen mini cupcakes
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini cupcake pan with pan liners.
In the bowl of a stand mixer mix together sugar, four, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on low (careful - it can poof out!) until well blended.
Add in egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract then mix them into the batter. Once well combined add in the hot water.
Batter is very liquidy, I put it into a liquid measuring cup to pour into cupcake pan.
Bake 11-13 minutes until baked throughly
Best Vanilla Cupcake
Adapted from Smitten Kitten
Makes 3 dozen mini cupcakes
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer. Mix together vanilla extract and eggs and add into butter mixture. Once very light and fluffy add in baking power, baking soda, and salt. Mix in flour, alternating with buttermilk. This is when I added in the blue coloring.
Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan half way through.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Chewy Caramel Chocolate Cookies!
This week's cookie was inspired by a cookie that I saw while surfing around the Internet. The cookie called for a chocolate dough wrapped around a Rolo. They reminded me of these brownie bites that my Aunt Cindy makes. She makes her favorite brownie batter and bakes it up in mini muffin pans and then immediately out of the oven she presses in either Rolos or Reese's peanut butter cups. They are delicious and all of my cousins love them.
I ran with the concept and I made my own caramels this week (see the previous post! They were amazing!) I made a chocolate cookie dough and wrapped the caramel in it, they were really delicious!
Chocolate Cookies with Chewy Caramel Centers (That is a very alliterative cookie name!!)
Adapted from: Two Peas and Their Pod - I love this blog!
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
Caramels (home made preferably!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream together butter and both types of sugar in a stand mixer. Once it is light and fluffy add in the eggs one at a time. Then mix in the vanilla extract. Add in cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, mix until well combined. Mix in the flour and mix until smooth-ish. Some lumps are ok, they will bake out.
Take a tablespoon or so of dough and wrap it around the caramel. Place it on a cookie sheet (I lined mine with silicone mats - it helped when some of the caramel oozed out!) Bake for 11-13 minutes.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Salted Chewy Caramels
Add in the heavy cream mixture. BE CAREFUL! It will boil up violently!!! Return to heat and stir frequently until mixture reaches 248 degrees, it took about 8 minutes on my stove. Pour into the lined baking pan and let cool.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
10 Weeks of Christmas cookies!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Breakfast foods
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Super Bowl Cake
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Lime Mini Cakes
(from Salt and Chocolate)
Monday, July 20, 2009
Summer Galette
There is nothing I like more than a fruity dessert after a hot summer day. The only downfall to any of these desserts are that you have to turn on the oven to make them. But in the end, it is completely worth it. Especially when the dessert is topped with a side of ice cream.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Most indulgent brownies
Outrageous Brownies
(Recipe adapted from the Barefoot Contessa)
Ingredients:
- 1 pound unsalted butter
- 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
- 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 6 extra-large eggs
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
- 2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Melt together butter, 1 pound of semisweet chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate and set aside.
Stir together eggs, coffee, vanilla and sugar. Add in the chocolate and butter mixture.
Mix together one cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in the chocolate mixture.
Stir together remaining chocolate chips with remaining flour, once they are fully coated, add into the batter, stirring gently.
Bake in a 9x13 pan for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. DO NOT OVER COOK. I actually liked them a tiny bit undercooked.
Once they cool, store them in the refrigerator, it makes them even better the next day!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
DB - Better late than never.
I found the dough to be fun to work with, I think that if I had let it rest longer, I would have been able to stretch it more, but I got impatient after the minimum 30 minutes. I had no trouble rolling it out and then stretching it with my hands. Once it got large, I did get a few sporadic holes, but nothing big.
Preparation time
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes
15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool
Apple strudel
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)
1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.
3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.
4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.
Strudel dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.
2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Flatbread Caesar Salad
Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 heads romaine lettuce
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shaved
3 chicken breasts
1 loaf of bread
Caesar dressing
Method:
Grill chicken and slice thinly. Meanwhile, make bread and let cool.
Wash and dry lettuce thoroughly. Lay out lettuce on a platter and toss with dressing. Top with Cheese and chicken. Serve with warm flat bread.
Flatbread Recipe:
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups ice water
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
dried basil, oregano, chives and garlic
Method:
Mix together first 5 ingredients and then knead for 8-10 minutes or until smooth. Let rise for 3 hours. Punch down and spread onto a oiled cookie sheet. Let rest for 1 hour. Punch down again, baste with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle liberally with dried basil, oregano, chives, and garlic.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until bread looks golden brown.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Breakfast cups
Lately on tastespotting there have been tons of posts with adorable mini breakfast cups. These are muffin tins filled with an entire bite sized breakfast. For Easter I decided to test them out. There were 6 adults and 2 kids eating. Just too many for custom egg dishes and the perfect amount to actually do taste testing with.
Then came the hard part, deciding what in the world to put in these cups. I had seen it all, from what could basically be described as an omlette to simply a single egg on toast. I know that Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage is a favorite among the men I was cookng for, and that bacon is the favorite of the younger crowd, so I did half and half.
Recipe (serves 6)
Ingredients:
1 package Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage
1 lb thick cut bacon (I used applewood smoked)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Butter
12 slices of bread (I used potato whole wheat)
12 large eggs
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook bacon in a sautee pan. Once bacon is finished cooking, set aside and pour out extra fat and return the pan to the heat. Add in 1/4 of the package of sausage and cook (crumbling) sausage until cooked through, set aside. Form the rest of the sausage into patties and cook thoroughly.
Roll out bread with a rolling pin, making it thin and slightly longer. Remove the crust. Butter both sides of all 12 peices of bread thoroughly. Smoosh the bread into a muffin pan, making a cup out of the bread.
Crumble 4-5 peices of bacon and place a few peices into 6 of the bread cups. Fill remaining 6 cups with the cooked sausage. Top all 12 cups with cheese.
Crack 1 egg into each of the cups, gently shake the pan to help the egg settle and fill the cups completely. Top with salt and pepper.
Cook until the egg has reached the consistency of your liking. I cooked ours for approximately 11 minutes. 10 minutes will yeild very runny yolks and 15 minutes will yeild solid yolks.
Serve with remaining bacon and sausage as a side.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Grilled Ham and Cheese
Ingredients:
2 slices artisan bread (home made or store bought!)
3 ounces gruyere cheese
2 ounces ham steak sliced very thin.
Spicy mustard to taste
Butter (softened)
I started by grilling ham steaks until heated through. I then sliced them very thin and put them on sliced bread with mustard and gruyere. I buttered the outside of the bread and put it on the grill. I grilled until the cheese was very melted and the bread was nicely toasted.
Grilled Cheese Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 slices artisan bread (again - home made or store bought!)
2 ounces munster cheese
1 ounce sharp white cheddar cheese
Butter (softened)
For me, since I don't eat ham, I did a blend of sharp white cheddar and munster cheeses, approximately a 1:1 ratio. I didn't use any condiments on my sandwich, but I did butter the outsides. The saltiness of the munster against the cheddar was a divine combination.