Supplicious

TWD: Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

2010-11-09T00:01:00.002-05:00

If you think the title of this recipe is a mouthful, wait till you bake this delicious dessert! The recipe itself is very simple, a shortbread dough divided into a top layer and a bottom layer. The in between layer is a cranberry orange jam filling.

I was a bit hesitant to bake these up. I don't really know why other than trying to be careful of baking too many sweets and life just keeping me busy. When I looked over the recipe, I realized it was very simple. So simple, all I had to do was make the dough.

You see, last summer, my grandma taught me how to can. I went a little obsessive and canned everything I could think of, especially jams. Jam is one of the simplest things to can. I'm sure you can see where this is going. I didn't realize last summer, how long it would take 2 people to eat through everything that I had canned, especially the jam. We have definitely found some creative ways and fun ways to eat jam. One of my husband's favorites was the cranberry orange jam that I came up with.

The bottom line, the cranberry orange jam that I created last summer was almost the same as the one Dorie uses as the filling in this cookie! I was so excited to have another way to use up the jam on my pantry shelf. This recipe was so simple and so delicious. The best part is the versatility of this recipe. You can fill it with whatever sweet, fruity, jam type filling you can think of!

Our hostess this week was Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen. The recipe can be found on her blog.

TWD: Peanuttiest Blondies

2010-11-02T05:28:00.000-04:00

This week's recipe was sure to be a huge hit with my husband. He loves all things peanut butter. Growing up we rarely had chunky peanut butter. I'm sure there was a reason but we were a smooth household.

When I got married, my husband requested chunky peanut butter. Ok, by me but I found I still prefer smooth. Nevertheless when I look at this recipe I knew he would love it...and he did! I wasn't the biggest fan. For some reason the combination of chunky peanut butter, salted peanuts and the sweet bite of a chocolate chip did just not appeal to me this week. I suppose you can't win them all.

Thank you to our hostess, Nicole from Bakeologie. The recipe can be found on her blog.

TWD: All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie

2010-10-26T18:04:00.004-04:00

I could say something about my absence the last several months but I'm sure I probably don't have any readers left. I'm sure you all have busy lives and don't want to hear about mine. Life happens.

While life is happening, sometimes I am baking and sometimes I am not. For the things have made and not blogged about, I am planning to post. I find the hardest part is not finding the time to bake but finding the time and words in which to blog. I am not a writer, never have been and never will be and most days I don't have any interesting stories. But, I do love baking!

I recently got the chance to meet Dorie Greenspan, the author of this amazing book we are baking through and without whom, this group wouldn't exist. She was even more wonderful in person than I imagined her to be. What struck me as the most inspirational that night was when she said that Baking: From My Home to Yours and Around My French Table are what she considers to be her autobiographies. I am going to remind myself of her dedication every time I want to be a slacker.

That said, I have actually made this pie 3 times! The first pie, seen below, I made with apples from last year. I had peeled, cored, sliced and frozen them and needed to clear them out of my freezer. I made it for the first day of school for the teachers my husband works with. They all loved it. I was not impressed. The problem was with the apples, they tasted fine but had a mushy texture that I did not enjoy. Two days later, my husband came home and said one of his fellow teachers had dreamed about my pie.

The second time, I made the pie, I forgot to take a picture. I am so disappointed because in my opinion, it came out the best. One of the most beautiful apple pies, I've ever seen. I took the pie to the cast party for my husband's show. Again, I received rave reviews. Not only did I not get a picture, I never even got a bite. They inhaled it.

The third time, pictured at the top, I made as a thank you gift. The reviews were just as amazing as the first 2 pies. She has also requested more baked goods as soon as possible.

In the end, I only got a sliver of the first pie, which I didn't like! But The reviews speak for themselves, the pie is amazing!

The only change I really made was that I used flour as the thickener instead of tapioca. I didn't have tapioca and the flour substitute turned out great.

Thank you to our hostess this week, Emily of Sandmuffin. The recipe can be found on her blog.

TWD: Chockablock Cookies

2010-04-27T05:00:00.000-04:00

Molasses, Oats, Cherries, Chocolate, Pecans, Coconut...Oh My!

Yes, folks, that is a lot of ingredients to pack into one little cookie. But let me tell you they are delicious.

Dorie's recipe uses a combination of both butter and shortening, I decided to take the lazy way out and just used all butter. She also gives a lot of room for creativity in this recipe. You can use any combination of nuts and dried fruit you would like. I opted for using dried cherries and pecans in additional to the oats, coconut and chocolate chips that were already part of the recipe. I loved the flavors together. They all complimented each other really well. The cookies were sticky in texture from the molasses and the the dough had a strong molasses flavor but in the end I didn't really notice a molasses flavor at all.

Thank you to Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet. You can find the recipe on her blog.

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

2010-04-20T05:00:00.004-04:00

I bring FABULOUS news! As of yesterday afternoon, my oven has been fixed. Since only the glass shattered, they were able to just replace the glass (and my landlords don't have to buy me a new stove). Putting the door back on proved to be quite a challenge for both our handyman and my husband who was helping. Apparently we have an older stove and the door is heavy and the hinges are old so the heavy door on the old hinges was a bad combination. But after a few adjustments, I am back in business!

Since, my oven wasn't finally repaired until yesterday afternoon and last week was so successful, I decided to go back to my trusty toaster oven this past weekend. We had a house guest on Saturday morning so I decided to whip up a batch of biscuits for our brunch. And when I say whip up, I mean it! A few dry ingredients, pour in some cream and roll out the biscuits. These were so much easier than using a pastry cutter to cut cold butter into flour.

First Batch, 1/2" thickness

I followed Dorie's instructions and roll them to 1/2" thickness. I used a square cookie cutter and got about 10 biscuits. They didn't rise as much as I wanted them to but they weren't flat hockey pucks either. While the first batch was cooking (I could only fit 4 on my toaster oven stoneware pan) I went to the P&Q for this week and found many people mentioning Alton Brown's instructions to be very helpful. I hadn't seen the episode and couldn't find it online so I read the instructions of his recipe hoping for a couple hints. He mentions placing the biscuits close together on the baking sheet. Of course, I thought this way odd. When I make cookies, I always space them out for spreading. I decided to give it a try. When the second batch of biscuits went into the toaster oven, I placed them close together, expecting them not to rise very much since these were also the biscuits I rolled out second so they were worked a little more. And to my surprise, they rose! They didn't rise a ton but again I didn't have flat hockey pucks.

Second Batch, 1" thickness

I sent the extra biscuits from brunch home with our friend. And later that night I remembered I had bought strawberries that were on sale and had wanted to have strawberry shortcakes. Since the biscuits whip so fast and I still had 1 cup left of heavy cream. I decided to make another batch.

I had also noticed in Alton Brown's instructions that he said to only roll out to 1" thickness to prevent from overworking the dough. Since we were having strawberry shortcakes I thought thicker biscuits would be better. I only got a total of 7 out of the second recipe but the rose very nicely.

I know the key to making biscuits is not the overwork the dough and I definitely saw a difference. These were delicious and easy and will most likely be my go to recipe for biscuits.

Our hostess this week was Melissa of Love At First Bite. You will find the recipe on her blog.

TWD: Swedish Visiting Cake

2010-04-13T16:25:00.008-04:00

If you read last week's post about my oven. You heard my tale of woes. I won't bore you again with the details except to tell you I want to bake in the worst way. As luck would have it (and with my strong desire to bake) the buzz about this cake all week on Twitter and our P&Q was that this cake was easy and fabulous. I was disappointed to say the least.

When I opened my Google reader this morning it was filled with posts about the Swedish Visiting Cake and how wonderful and easy it was to make. One of the first ones I read was my friend Clara, IHeartFood4Thought. Even though being sick she was able to whip up a few MINI Swedish Visiting TARTS! And the light bulb went off. My toaster oven has a bake setting. Certainly my cast iron skillet wouldn't fit inside (actually, its home is on top!) but I could fit a mini tart pan in my toaster oven!

To say I was determined was an understatement. I went to work thinking about nothing except my plan. I couldn't wait to get home. And as luck would have that, I had a very short day at the account closest to my house.

I think this may be my most memorable TWD, The One With the Toaster Oven! And of course my friends on twitter did not disappoint. This cake was super easy to whip up. To quote our hostess this week, "If you can stir with a spoon, you've got this cake made."

Our hostess this week is Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs. You can find the full recipe on her blog. Thanks, Nancy, for a great selection to help me find the motivation I needed this week!

Edit: I was so excited to post this and tell everyone about my great experience I left out a few details. I made a 1/2 recipe and got 3 4.5" tarts. On the bake setting on my toaster oven I still baked them at 350 but only for 20 minutes since they were mini. And if you are on the fence at all about making this let me just tell you from start to finish, including taking pictures and writing this post, I think I used a total of an hour and a half of my day. And it tastes fantastic!

TWD: Dulce de Leche Duos

2010-04-06T20:19:00.003-04:00

If you came looking for a Coconut Tea Cake; you unfortunately will not find one here. I had a minor mishap last week and am without an oven...Until Further Notice! What is a girl to do?? Don't the oven gods know I have baking to do! I am may be alone in this fact but once I am told I can't do something it only makes me want to do it more. I want to bake something in the worst way and not even because I am craving a sweet but just because I want to bake.

However, even though I am disappointed that I don't have an oven. I will not disappoint my fellow TWD bakers and readers. I have a few recipes that I made and for some reason or another never got around to posting. I will post those until I have a new oven or a new glass door or whatever it is that my landlords replace my mishap with.

These sweet cookies were our TWD recipe a couple weeks ago. I took the advice of several TWD bakers and made the dulce de leche in the crock pot method overnight. I was pleased with the results however, I think it could have cooked a bit longer. It didn't come out in a dark caramel color. It was a bit lighter and to me still tasted like sweetened condensed milk. I loved the cookies by themselves. I ate several before I wrapped them up and froze them in order to save my waistline! Adding the extra dulce de leche in the middle to make a sandwich is still gooey and sugary and yummy but I love a good plain cookie.

Our host was Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake and the recipe can be found here. For tips on making your own dulce de leche you can see our TWD discussion here and here.

PS. If your heart was set on a Coconut Tea Cake head over to see Carmen of Carmen Cooks for the recipe!

Wordless Wednesdays: One Week Before Easter

2010-03-31T18:26:00.002-04:00

TWD: Mocha-Walnut Marbled Bundt Cake

2010-03-30T06:00:00.002-04:00

As you can see this is not a bundt cake. I don't have a full size bundt cake pan and didn't feel like dealing with the tiny ones I have that never come clean. My solution was to make half the recipe and I put it in my loaf pan!

The other big change I made was substituting the walnuts. I already had ground up almonds in my cupboard so I took the easy route. I have been having a bit of a hard time getting my Dorie recipes made every week because if it says in the house, I eat it and well...that hasn't really been a good problem to have. I am also really good at making new new things and not sitting down and blogging them. I'll never make it as a professional blogger that's for sure!

Never the less, I made this week easy on myself. I used my loaf pan and almonds. I thought it came out great. The two pieces you see cut in the picture are all the were consumed in this house; one for me and one for my husband. (I have to at least taste test it right?!) I then wrapped it right up and put in the freezer. I'm planning to mail it to my brother in college.

This week's host was Erin of When In Doubt...Leave It At 350. You can find the recipe on her blog.

PS. If you came look for a Coconut Tea Cake, come back next week. We had the option of choosing either with the Easter holiday coming up.

TWD: My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-02-16T17:27:00.001-05:00

As usual I was excited about this week's recipe. My mom has made my grandma's chocolate chip cookie recipe for as long as I remember. It is good, it stands up well, not flat, good flavor and perfect for dunking in milk.

When I got married and moved away, I was suddenly without my mother's favorite recipe book and all her hand-written recipes! I may or may not have had a slight panic attack. When the day came to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies I decided to just used the Original Toll House recipe on the back of the bag. I had bought the chocolate chips. I needed a recipe. It was there. Now dont panic on me but I really enjoyed them. I loved the extra buttery flavor. I loved that they came out flatter and crispier. And since the recipe was on the back of the bag it became my new favorite. It was just convenient. And delicious!

There were some mixed reviews on Dorie's recipe. I don't think anyone had a problem with her recipe (although some found it best to chill the dough before baking and I agree). I think the mix of reviews comes from different tastes.

Some like them chewy, others like them crispy.

Some like them with milk chocolate, other like them with bittersweet chocolate.

Some like them buttery, others like them less fatty!

When it comes to finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, I think it is all a matter of preference.

When it comes to Dorie's recipe, I am a big fan! This recipe, like many other Dorie recipes, will become my new default recipe. And the husband said he liked these ones better than the Toll House recipe.

This week's host was Kait of Kait's Plate and you can find the recipe on her blog.

TWD: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes

2010-02-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

This week's hostess for Tuesdays With Dorie was Kristin of I'm Right About Everything. You will be able to find the recipe for this week on her blog.

My tiny little nibble of this cake was amazing. It is mild in chocolate flavor and not too sweet. I didn't have a taste once the glaze was on so I'm sure the chocolate flavor increased after that addition. I'm am quite proud of myself for 2 reasons. One for getting this recipe baked and two for resisting to eat this sweet treat.

However, I must confess.

While I may not have eaten the final product...some small amount of batter may have been consumed.

Ok, fine...A LOT of batter was consumed. It was amazing.

And thus, I was not allowed to eat the final product due to the calories I consumed in making this beautiful little cake.

Now, I must go "taste test" the new bread recipe I made today. You must go make this cake! :)

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

2010-01-26T08:45:00.001-05:00

Dorie's

Okay, so I'm a week behind. I don't have this week's Cocoa-Nana Bread but if you are looking for the recipe, you can find here on Obsessed With Baking by Steph. I just didn't get it done this week and the brown bananas on my counter are the evidence of my lacking of timing.

It looks like I might have some more free time in my near future. I am not loosing my job but my work load seems to be getting considerably lighter. I suppose this is both a good and bad problem to have. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few more things posted here for the very few readers I have.

Now, back to the chocolate...

I was really excited to make this recipe because I make a very similar recipe of my own and its one of my all time favorite cookies. Whenever my mom made these, she took them to a party or an event of some kind, never leaving any at home of course. If she made them for the church bake sale, I would go and buy one just so I could eat one. Yes, they are THAT good.

Dorie's recipe did not disappoint. There aren't too many differences. Dorie puts nuts in her cookie base, I skipped this so I could have a better comparison. She also uses old-fashioned oats as opposed to quick oats. Dorie's were definitely chewier, my mom's are a bit more like a cookie. Dorie puts raisins in her chocolate filling. I have a problem with raisins and chocolate, unless they are Raisinets, I don't like the combo. I decided to put dried cherries in mine. I loved the added tartness in an otherwise very fudgey chocolate filling.

Mine

In the end, I don't have one that I like better. Both recipes are fantastic. You can find my recipe here on my blog. This week's host was Lillian of Confectiona's Realm and you can find Dorie's recipe on Lillian's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie!

Dreaming of Vacation

2010-01-13T18:34:00.004-05:00

5 months and 6 days...this is where I'm headed, Riviera Maya, Mexico. Life has been very crazy for me lately and the temperatures have been frigid to say the least! Tonight I am dreaming of a warm and relaxing vacation!

This picture isn't a picture of where I'm going exactly but what I'll be doing on vacation...relaxing!

TWD: Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake and Happy Birthday TWD!!!

2010-01-05T17:44:00.002-05:00

Tuesdays With Dorie is celebrating our 2 year anniversary as a group! For this very special tuesday we were given a choice of 2 recipes to pick from. I thought it very fitting to make the birthday cake.

This is the Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake. It was fantastic and very easy to make. This cake was a huge hit at a dinner party I hosted a few days after Christmas. You can find the recipe here, on our fearless leader's blog. Laurie had no idea what was in store for her when she started this baking group 2 years ago. She is a fantastic leader and baker!

I realize I have fallen behind on posting the fabulous Dorie recipes that have been chosen in the past few months. I am planning to do a recap soon. Back looking forward I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of blogging.

Soup's On!

2009-10-27T23:08:00.001-04:00

Soup is definitely one of my favorite fall/winter comfort foods. And I just love these soup bowls! If I don't win, I may have to go find some of my own.

My friend's mom is hosting this contest. Head over to see Rhonda at A Home With A Smile to enter yourself in this contest. But stay awhile over there, she has wonderful crafting projects to look at and she finds ordinary stuff at yards sales and makes them extraordinary!

Apple Crisp

2009-10-25T17:09:00.003-04:00

Baking has become a huge passion for me. After a rough day at work, coming home to my kitchen and making dinner or baking is relaxing to me. It has become my therapy.

With that in mind, I have been trying to decide if baking/cooking is something I was to pursue as a career of some kind. I love being the behind the scene person or serving people. As we speak, I am waiting for our dinner guests. I can't wait for them to get here so I can serve them the yummy dinner that has been simmering in the slow cooker all day. I had to give up on making a dessert. They really wanted to bring something so my husband told me I had to share.

I'm slightly off topic...I have recently decided I am going to try to sell some of the things that I make. The problem with that is that every recipe I make is someone else's work. After a bit of research I figured out how to make something my own.

Here I present to you the first recipe I have written...Apple Crisp.

I had to start simple. I am really pleased with how it come out and even more proud to call it my own. I debated whether or not to share this news with you as I am not ready to share the actual recipe yet. It still needs some tweaking, as evident by the juice in the bottom of the bowl. But I was so excited about this first step that I had taken that I had to share the news.

I think I hear the door bell! I'm off to greet my dinner guests!

The Come Back!

2009-10-23T14:02:00.002-04:00

It is long over due but I think I am ready to make a comeback into the blogging world. I know I have been gone a long time and for various reasons.

With this return to the blogging world is going to come some changes. Some of these changes you will see in the near future but for down I am updating my blog url. I'm sorry to do it because I know it means more work for you. When I created this blog, I really didn't know what I was doing. So the title of my blog does not match my url and my url is not as cool as my title and since I am going public with it (big hint) I want to make them the same.

If you are reading this in Google Reader, please, please, please update your subscriptions. If you are a casual reader of my blog, please update your bookmarks and favorites and please come back soon for some more exciting changes.

My old url: http://lloydsdinnerandamovie.blogspot.com/

New and improved url: http://supplicious.blogspot.com/

TWD: Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies

2009-07-07T06:00:00.002-04:00

Not only are we giving a tribute to Katherine Hepburn and her brownies this week we are also giving a tribute to Lisa of Surviving Oz. I am also giving giving my husband a special tribute as today is our 2 year anniversary! But for now back to the brownies...

You will notice at the top of this post a new TWD logo. A while back our TWD admins presented a contest to us, come up with a new logo for our group. Lisa of Surviving Oz was our winner and her reward was selecting our next recipe (and if you know how big our group is, jumping the line on picking a recipe is a BIG deal!)

So, Thank You Lisa for our new logo and this week's recipe!!

I chose to skip the cinnamon and the coffee. I baked them a little bit longer than the recommended 30 minutes as early reviews from fellow bakers had gooey brownies. I took these to a 4th of July BBQ and they were a big hit. We made them into brownie sundaes. Personally I prefer Dorie's French Chocolate Brownies but these are good too!

Hoestess: Lisa of Surviving Oz
Recipe Here!

TWD: Parisian Apple Tartlet

2009-06-09T22:27:00.000-04:00

I think this is by far the easiest TWD I have ever made! I'm sure it helped that the recipe called for store bought puff pastry dough (props to those who made their own puff pastry!) I don't think it gets much easier than this. I will definitely be keeping this one in my back pocket for last minute guests.

The only change I made was to add some additional brown sugar right after they came out of the oven for an added sugar crust. We served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Amazing!

Our Hostess: Jessica of My Baking Heart

TWD: Chipster-Topped Brownies

2009-05-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

FINALLY!!!

This was my week to pick our Dorie recipe!

I have to say I was very excited. The instant I received the email telling me my week was approaching, I grabbed the book and sat down with my husband. It didn't take us long to pick a recipe once we stumbled upon this brownie recipe. You see my husband has a weakness for chocolate chip cookies and an even bigger weakness for brownies.

I started getting a little nervous when the reviews from bakers who bake our recipes way in advance starting coming in about the cooking time being off and getting gooey middles. I took the advice of one baker who suggested baking the brownie layer for 15 minutes while mixing the cookie layer. It definitely helped to bake the brownie layer first. In the end, my total baking time was 60 minutes and an additional 15 for the brownie layer. I did placed some foil over the top for the last 15 minutes so my cookie layer didn't burn. I also didn't try to spread the cookie layer out, I just let it spread on its own while it baked.

At first I was slightly disappointed because my chocolate chips seemed to sink into my brownie layer leaving me with a brownie with a golden colored top. My disappointment didn't last long once I tasted them. Amazing! I personally still would have preferred more of a cookie layer but these were still great!

Thanks to all who baked with me this week!

Chipster-Topped Brownies
Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From my Home to Yours

Ingredients

For the Brownie Layer:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the Cookie Layer:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store bought chocolate chip

Getting Ready
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line it with wax paper or parchment paper and butter the paper. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To Make the Brownie Batter:
Put both chocolates and the butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, heat just until the ingredients are melted, shiny and smooth. If the mixture get too hot, the butter will separate from the chocolates. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing only until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then, still on low speed, add flour, mixing only until it disappears into the batter. Using the spatula, fold in the walnuts, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.

To Make the Cookie Dough:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Working with the stand mixer in the cleaned bowl or with the hand mixer in another large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the yolk, beating for 1 minutes after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Still on low, mix in the chopped chocolate. Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter and, using a spatula and a light touch, spread it evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cookie top is deep gold brown and firm and a thin knife inserted into the brownie layer comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocolate. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

When the brownies are completely cook, carefully run a knife between the sides of the pan and the brownies, then invert them onto another rack, remove the paper and turn the right side up onto a cutting board. Cut into bars about 2 inches x 1 inch. (You can cut larger bars if you're serving cookie lovers with Texas-size appetites.)

Makes 24 servings.

Serving: Ice cream, whipped cream and creme fraiche are all great accompaniments, as is a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Storing: Wrapped well or packed in an airtight container, the bars can be kept at room temperature for 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Playing Around: The cookie top can be varied easily be swapping peanut butter, butterscotch or white chocolate chips for the chopped chocolate. You could even use all of them.

TWD: Fresh Mango Bread

2009-05-19T18:51:00.001-04:00

I had a hard time motivating myself to make this week's recipe. It just didn't seem to appeal to me and I really don't know why.

The hardest part was peeling and coring the mangos. I am very thankful for my mango corer! My mangos had great color and weren't green and yet were still a bit green underneath. I wish I had double peeled them and got rid of some of the tougher skin. I bought 2 mangos for fear I wouldn't have 2 cups with just one. I ended up with about 3 1/2 cups. I added the extra mango just for the fun of it. I skipped the raisins and the lime zest.

I made the full recipe and actually ended up with a loaf of bread and 12 muffins! My husband loved it and took the bread to his rehearsal (as usual!).

The bread reminded me of a spice cake. The texture and flavor of the bread actually reminded me of a rhubarb cake that my mom made when I was little and I loved it. I'm glad I made the bread but I think I will stick with my mom's rhubarb cake (the rhubarb is easier to cut!)

This week's hostess was Kelly of Baking with the Boys. You can find the recipe on her blog.

PS. Come back next week for Chipster-Topped Brownies and I'm next week's hostess!!!!

TWD: Tiramisu Cake

2009-05-05T22:19:00.001-04:00

I have to say that I was not excited for this week's recipe. Tiramisu is just not my dessert of choice. You must be asking yourself how anyone could not like tiramisu. Well, someone who doesn't like coffee, that's who! I love the aroma of coffee (which is good, since J loves coffee!) but I just never developed a taste for it.

I really struggled with whether or not to make this cake. I have missed the past two weeks due to life in general. So, missing this week would not have gone over very well. J and I have also been trying really hard to eat healthier and shed some unwanted pounds. I thought I had come up with a master plan to make the cake and send it away until...

I dropped an egg shell piece into the moving mixer.

It was an accident. J scolded me by saying isn't that why you are supposed to break it into a bowl first. Yes, that it true. However, I'm sure I probably haven't learned my lesson either!

In the end I made the whole cake intending to cut a little piece off for me sans the coffee. I remembered to cut the bottom corner but not the top. I give you my tiny piece of tiramisu cake without the coffee. It was good. I can honestly say I don't feel like I'm missing out by not eating anymore.

J loved it and wished it had more coffee. I just made a pot of regular coffee instead of the espresso coffee extract and liquor. I also made it in a square pan because I was too lazy to deal with 2 round cake pans.

Despite my procrastination, I am glad I made the cake!

For the recipe, please visit this week's hostess, Megan of My Baking Adventures

TWD: 15 Minute Mage: Chocolate Amaretti Torte

2009-04-14T07:00:00.001-04:00

If you are a regular reader of this blog, get ready for some chocolate. TWD is going to be baking up some fabulous chocolate recipes this month! And I have the inside scoop to next month because I am one of the hostesses next month!

Anyway, to start off our run of chocolate recipes, we have the chocolate amaretti torte. Its a chocolaty fudge brownie but classier! The base of the cake uses the Italian almond cookie called amaretti. Open the bag and take a big sniff, the fragrance is amazing!

The cookies are finely chopped with additional almonds. Add butter, sugar, eggs and some melted chocolate and you have your cake. A chocolate glaze is added and to top it off an almond flavored whipped cream!

This cake was a huge hit with my family when I served it after our Easter dinner. It was so easy, it might become a regular tradition. And who wouldn't love being able to hop on a subway train, get off in Little Italy, pick up some amaretti cookies and head home to bake!

Thanks to Holly at Phe/MOM/enon for a great selection!

CEiMB: Salmon with Sweet & Spicy Rub

2009-04-09T21:19:00.004-04:00

This week's recipe was a super easy one! Mix a couple spices together, rub it onto the fish and cook! This week's recipe also tasted fabulous!!

You are probably wondering where the salmon is for which this post is titled? There wasn't any salmon in the freezer only tilapia! My husband and I both loved the rub on the fish and because it is so quick and easy will probably use it often and on more than just fish, such as chicken or pork.

The best part of this recipe and Craving Ellie, is that I think, no I'm pretty positive that my husband enjoys eating fish. If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know this is a big accomplishment! I first introduced him to salmon, then we tried Ellie's fish tacos and now this rub!

Thanks to Pam of Lobster & Fishsticks for this week's selection!

TWD: Banana Cream Pie

2009-04-07T21:02:00.004-04:00

What do you do when you are a member of a weekly baking group, baking for only 2 people, both of whom are trying to shed a few pounds??? Portion Control!

I was really excited to make my first ever banana cream pie. My mother-in-law makes one that I absolutely love. But bananas don't age well at all. With that in mind, I knew a whole pie was out of the question. Suddenly the light went off! Tartlettes!!!

It worked out perfectly! I made a whole recipe of pie dough and froze half. Rolled the other half into balls and pressed them into my muffin pan. Half the pie recipe made 6 little tartlettes.

The cream part of this recipe was a bit of a problem for me but I made it through. I used skim milk instead of whole milk. I only made half the recipe and in the end even that was too much. We skip the whipped cream topping to save the calories too! The cream was super thick for me. After cooling it in the fridge, I put it in my mixer and slowly added more milk until it was creamy.

My husband and I both loved these!

Head over to Amy at Sing for Your Supper for the recipe.

Beef Brisket

2009-03-31T18:40:00.002-04:00

I promise that this piece of beef tastes a LOT better than what is looks like in this picture! You may remember a previous beef brisket recipe. Since there are only 2 of us here, I had cut the meat in half and stuck it in the freezer for future use. Well, the future has arrived for the second half to be used. Jake found a great recipe from allrecipes.com. Our changes are noted below.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef-Style Brisket

Ingredients

1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 bay leaves, crumbled
8 whole black peppercorns, crushed
1 tablespoon pickling salt (we used sea salt)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon celery seed (omitted)
1 (4 pound) beef brisket
1 cup water
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (omitted)
1/2 small head cabbage, sliced into strips (omitted)

Directions

Stir together the onion, garlic, mustard, vinegar, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, parsley, and celery seed in a bowl. Cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours. (We

Rub the brisket with the mixture, wrap tightly, and refrigerate overnight.

To cook the brisket, place it into a slow cooker along with the water. Cover, and cook on low for 5 hours. Add the carrots, and cabbage, and continue cooking until the brisket is tender, about 3 hours more.

We omitted the overnight part and the slow cooker part of this recipe entirely! We mixed up the rub, rubbed it on the beef and put it in the oven for about an hour (it was a small piece!) We served it with a side of curry couscous!

Curry Couscous

2009-03-30T21:31:00.004-04:00

This is a twist on a recipe from a Weight Watchers menu. The original recipe uses rice. We decided to use leftover couscous. I wasn't a big fan but my husband loved it! I don't know why, maybe it was just the texture of leftover couscous.

Curry Couscous

couscous
dried fruit (I think ours was raisins, apricots and cherries)

Rehydrate the fruit with just a little hot water. Add to couscous including water. Heat through, adding a little butter, 3/4 teaspoon of curry powder and a pinch of salt.

Apple Cinnamon Caramel Topping

2009-03-29T19:34:00.004-04:00

French Toast with an Apple Cinnamon Caramel Topping!
Yummy!

I don't have a recipe for this as my husband made dinner for me once again. From my bird's eye view on the couch, I believe it was made like this:

Cook the diced apples in a pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with a little salt and sweat out the apples a little. Add some sugar and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. Cook until softened and the sugar is caramelized a little. Place on top of french toast (made traditionally) and drizzle with your favorite caramel sauce.

German Chocolate Cake

2009-03-28T23:00:00.006-04:00

For the past 2 years my husband had requested German Chocolate Cake for his birthday. Being the loving wife that I am, he requested and I happily baked!

2008 was my first time making the cake ever and it tasted fantastic. It just didn't come out of the pans very well. I have learned a bit since last year and didn't have any broken cake pieces (at least not large ones, a few crumbs though).

2009 was better than 2008. I still have trouble with layered cakes. This year I made only one change and that was cutting the recipe in half. This cake is so good, we could eat the entire thing ourselves. Since there are only 2 of us and we have a weekly Dorie recipe in the house, I made a smaller birthday cake this year.

Next year I'm hoping the third time will be a charm!

2009

2008: The good side

2008: The bad side

I use the recipe on the inside of the Baker's German Sweet Chocolate box. It is excellent!

Wegmans

2009-03-27T23:19:00.002-04:00

This is my favorite grocery store ever. Sadly, the closest one to my home is an hour away and not convienent very often. But when I do get the chance to go, it reminds me of home. If you've been there you know that is more than just a grocery store.

thursday

2009-03-26T23:15:00.000-04:00

Its 11:15pm and I don't know what to write.

I am emotionally drained this week. I've been trying to put me thoughts in order but it just doesn't seem to be happening yet. I'm praying for some peace and clarity after tomorrow.

What should be the most exciting time in her life suddenly became the darkest, how do you make sense of that? 17 years later, having gone through the most exciting time in my life, I can still feel the pain like its yesterday.

What I do know without a doubt is that God is with me all the time. He will heal all pain and He has the ultimate plan for my life and hers.

So, tomorrow will be a celebration of life even through the tears.

Tulips

2009-03-25T21:19:00.010-04:00

Today tulips make me smile.

credit: Laroque photocredit.com

photographer: Elizabeth Lloyd

credit: Canadian Tulip Festival

photographer: Delia Anderson

photographer: Delia Anderson

TWD: Blueberry Crumb Cake

2009-03-24T22:30:00.004-04:00

I'm at a bit of a loss for words tonight.

But I will say that this cake went over extremely well with 2 people who either do not like cooked fruit or do not like blueberries at all! I can say that I will be making this one again!

Our recipe this week was chosen by Sihan. A few bakers chose other fruits and/or made muffins instead of cake, check the TWD blogroll to see what the other bakers came up with!

Quick Pizza Dough

2009-03-23T23:57:00.002-04:00

Pizza dough

Source: Judy's Gross Eats

(with whole-wheat flour}

1 package active dry yeast

2/3 c. lukewarm water (105-115°F)

2 t. sugar

½ t. salt

1 T. olive oil

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat flour (I sometimes use all-purpose flour)

Dissolve yeast in warm water (with a pinch of sugar) in the processor bowl. Add sugar, salt, oil, and all the AP flour. Process with the metal blade for 15 seconds. Let rise for 30 minutes in the processor bowl. Add whole wheat (or AP) flour and process until a ball forms on the blades.

Remove dough and knead on floured surface for 1 minute. Roll out into a large circle or rectangle to the desired thickness, about 1/8 to ¼ “ thick. Pinch up a rim around the edge.

Top with your favorite pizza toppings.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

2009-03-22T17:58:00.002-04:00

I really love watching the Ellen DeGeneres Show. She is just so funny and really makes me laugh. She is the best cure to the end of a bad day! This interview is one of my top favorites. This little girl is so cute!

First Day of Spring in NYC

2009-03-20T20:40:00.008-04:00

Today's post will be brought to you in pictures; how I spent the first day of spring in NYC!

March Madness

2009-03-19T22:40:00.003-04:00

Its a basketball weekend!! The only problem is my husband despises all sports and my childhood best friend is in town visiting us for the week and she too is not a sports fan! Thankfully its only the first weekend of games. I did sneak in a few games in between activities this evening, haha! I also have 2 more weekends in which to get my basketball fill.

My family and I have a tradition in our house. We each fill out a bracket and see who the family winner is. We only win bragging rights but its is a fun tradition. Surprisingly I actually convinced my husband to fill out a bracket. We'll see how he does! PS. He picked the teams based on how he liked the name of the team :)

Happy March Madness everyone! :)

CEiMB: Nutty Granola

2009-03-18T21:02:00.004-04:00

This is terribly long overdue but here it is anyway. An old Craving Ellie recipe from several weeks ago. I didn't make it at the time but really wanted to. In fact when it was my turn to chose a recipe, this is one of the recipes I considered.

I am finally getting this up because each time its been made and there have been several, my husband has eaten it all before I could get a picture. Granola is one of his favorites! Needless to say he has loved this recipe. It is so incredibly easy to make and very yummy!

TWD: French Yogurt Cake

2009-03-17T22:21:00.005-04:00

Its Tuesday again folks! That's right another delicious baked treat :) I couldn't wait to share this recipe with you. I baked mine early this week. I wanted to make sure I had time to fit in in before my weekend trip.
It worked out perfectly because I was able to take it home with me and share with my family. We sat down for dinner and as we were finishing, I jumped up and said, "I brought dessert!" They loved it. And there aren't too many lemon lovers including my husband and I but Dorie is slowly winning us over.
The next morning I was craving a piece of the cake, only to find out that someone had a midnight snack and finished it!

I didn't use the glaze because I wanted it to travel well without making a mess. I will try it next time and there will be a next time! It was so easy to whip up and smelled so good while it was baking.
Many thanks to Lilana for this weeks selection. You will need to visit her blog for the recipe!

Also, Tuesdays With Dorie had a special St. Patrick's Day treat. The membership was open for today only. You have till midnight tonight to send in and email to jump on the bandwagon before the membership door will be closed again!

Happy Baking! :)

White Chicken Chili

2009-03-16T22:26:00.002-04:00

White Chicken Chili
Source" Slow Cookers for Dummies"

Ingredients

3 Tablespoon olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 15 oz cans white kidney beans, drained and rinsed with cold water
3 cups low sodium chicken stock
minced cilantro leaves (optional)
sharp cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions

Lightly spray 4 to 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

Heat 2 T olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook until no longer pink on outside, about 5-6 minutes. Remove and place in slow cooker.

Add remaining 1 T olive oil to skillet and cook onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, oregano and cumin, 7-8 minutes or until soft. Place in slow cooker.

Add white kidney beans and broth to slow cooker. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until the chicken breasts are very tender and shred easily.

Shred chicken breasts using 2 forks. To thicken chili, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot with a fork.

If desired, garnish with cilantro and cheese. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

Makes 6 servings.

My Wedding Day

2009-03-15T11:06:00.000-04:00

1) When was your wedding day?
July 7, 2007

2.) What day of the week was it?
Saturday

3) Did you get married in a church?
Yes...North Central Assembly of God

4) How many in your wedding party?
20
My side-2 matrons, 1 maid, 5 bridesmaids, 1 jr bridesmaid and 1 flower girl
His side-1 best man, 2 groomsmaids, 5 groomsmen, 1 jr groomsman, 1 ring bearer

5) How many guests were invited to your wedding
745, I think total attendance was like 425

6) How long did you wait to tie the knot after your proposal?
10 months

7) Did you register for gifts?
Yes, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target and Pampered Chef

8) Who did you hire as your photographer & videographer?
DigiPro Photography <-----Best Money Spent, If you live in the Central NY area, He's amazing!!

9) Did you have a DJ or a band?
Not really, we had a friend work the sound system for dinner music and his uncle was emcee

10) Did the father walk the bride down the aisle?
We lit a candle in my dad's memory and my brother walked me down the aisle

11) What color were the bridesmaid dresses & groomsmen vests?
Pink and Black

12) Who was the Maid Of Honor? The Best Man?
Kristina and Delia (my best friends) were my matrons and Krista (my sister) was my maid of honor; Josh (Jake's best friend) was the best man

13) Did the bride have a bridal shower?
Yes, I had 3

14) What type of limo did you get?
We borrowed a white Cadillac Escalade from the dealership I worked for at the time and a family friend was our chauffeur

15) Where did you go for your Bachelorette/Bachelor Party?
I actually had 2. A couple weeks before the wedding with some close friends, we went to dinner and back toa friends house for presents and games. The night before the wedding with my girls, we went to see a movie (License to Wed!) and back to a friend's house to hang out.

16) What type of wedding gown/tux did you two wear?
I wore a white Symphony gown with a sweetheart neckline and a rhinestone pin. Jake for a black tux with black pin stripe

17) How was the weather?
It was perfect, sunny and beautiful

18) Where did you go on your Honeymoon?
Disney World!

19) What was your favorite part of your wedding day?
I loved the whole day and would live it all again in a heartbeat (minus the planning!) I think the best part was marrying my best friend!

20) How long have you been married?
1 year and and 8 months

21) What was the most memorable "bridezilla" moment?
3 days before the wedding, I flipped out at while decorating/setting up the church, Jake had to "set me straight" and after that I was no longer involved in the set up of the church and wasn't allowed near the gym till after it was done.

22) What was your most memorable wedding-related mental breakdown?
Inviting over 700 people caused many mental breakdowns

23) What is the one thing you would change about your day?
I would have eloped! (just kidding but I can't think of anything I would have had the power to change)

24) What was your song?
The Next Ten Minutes from the The Last Five Years Musical

25) Who had the greatest dance moves at the event?
Since Jake and I had the one and only dance, then we were the best!

My Weekend!

2009-03-14T22:31:00.000-04:00

I'm at a loss tonight for a post but I'm having a fabulous weekend.
My husband and I are visiting our families back home. We got in Friday evening and I decided to crash a friend's party. Several of my friend's were going to be there and none of them knew that I was going to be in town. It was totaaly worth keeping the secret. The look of surprise of their faces was priceless!
The surprise was then on me when my childhood best friend announced to us that she is now pregnant! I was in shock but it was so great to be there in person for the big announcement :) We of course went out to celebrate. I miss having quality girl time and didn't want our night to end but I am thankful for the time I did have with them!
Today we had nice relaxing morning then we went to spend the afternoon with my favorite little girl, my niece! I loved every minute of the time with her and the time with my one and only sister. Then, we went to dinner with my husband's family.
I can't wait to see what fun tomorrow has in store.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

Ravioli Casserole

2009-03-13T11:00:00.002-04:00

This recipe is super easy. I hunted down a few before I started cooking. In the end, I didn't have enough ingredients to make any of them. If you have ever made lasagna this is basically this same thing but much easier!

I started with a layer of sauce on the bottom. Then a layer of cooked raviolis (they were leftover from the night before). Then I cut up some leftover turkey meatballs and layered those in. I sprinkled in mozzarella cheese. Repeat! When I layered the last of the mozzarella cheese, I also added Parmesan cheese. I baked this about 30 minutes at 350 or until the raviolis and meatballs are warmed through and the cheese is melted. Serve with garlic toast!

CEiMB: Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

2009-03-12T21:31:00.004-04:00

This is the husband. Tonight I was in charge of making our "Ellie" recipe. After procuring the necessary provisions from the market, I set about this little task. I was not raised to be a consumer of "fishy" food, but have expanded my pallet in my "old age". These were surprisingly quite delicious. The chipotle sauce (albeit perhaps a little hotter than it should have been) helped give great flavor to this bland fish.

We did top ours with corn (brief story pause: I detest corn. I always have. My mother use to try to make us eat our portion of veggies as kids and clever boy that I was thought, "Hey, if I put my corn in a glass of mile - my fav drink of choice at the time - I can just swallow the corn. Needless to say it made me sick and I really swore off corn from that point forward! But tonight, I ate the corn. I'm learning! Back to blogging:), we also used lettuce - instead of cabbage, and ommited the cilantro.

All-in-all these were a hit, something I imagine we will revisit time and again! For all of you who think fish tacos are "gross", give it a try and find something new to experience in life!

This week's host was Sara from imafoodblog. She is also our new (and fearless) leader of Craving Ellie in My Belly. A big thank you to Natalie for all your hard work as our (previous) leader!

Syracuse Basketball

2009-03-11T20:54:00.005-04:00

Orange Out Day at the Carrier Dome 2/14/2009

I am a native to Syracuse, NY, born and raised. Though I don't live there now, I am still a devoted Syracuse University fan, much to the dismay of my friend Julie, who is a devoted Duke fan.

I didn't attend the university (actually I did take a couple summer classes). I still wear my sweatshirts with pride. As I will be doing tonight while watching the Big East tournament. Now that I live so close to Madison Square Garden, maybe one day I will get to attend the tournament in person! Hey, a girl can dream, can't she :)

You will probably be reading some non-food related posts this weekend. I will be traveling back to my beloved Syracuse to visit my family! I can't wait. I also seem to be at a loss for food posts these days. Maybe I didn't have as much material as I thought to fill a 30-day posting challenge. I am not giving up. I actually had the lights off last night and got out of bed to post because I am determined not to fail! I am just going to have to get creative :)

TWD: Lemon Cup Custard

2009-03-10T22:58:00.004-04:00

Sorry folks, no TWD here. I have been working like crazy. Long hours, long days and very long weeks! I have literally been crashing on the weekends. My husband and I are funny about textures and I just couldn't see either one of us enjoying this recipe. I just couldn't justify spending time making something that we wouldn't eat.

Please head over to out fabulous host Bridget at The Way the Cookie Crumbles. I guarantee she has fabulous pictures to look at. I truly envy her photography. You should also visit the TWD blogroll to see what other creativity surfaced this week!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2009-03-10T22:38:00.003-04:00

If you read yesterday's post. then you are probably wondering what I did with the pork rub. When my husband I were dating we had a weekly date nite that we affectionately called "movie nite". It was the one night a week solely devoted to us. It was almost always the same night of the week so we had something to look forward to and knew that was our night so nothing else was planned. Since we didn't live together, some weeks it was the only night we actually got to see each other. On a normal movie nite, Jake made dinner and we watched a movie.

On occasion when we didn't know what to have for dinner, we would go to the store together in search of something. One night we stumbled upon this pork rub. Not being big on pork, we decided to try the rub on some baked chicken. We loved it. It has a sweet and savory taste to it, kind of resembling a BBQ flavor but spicier.

One night when we needed a new dinner idea, we put this together and another winning recipe was born!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

pizza dough
chicken
McCormick's Grill Mates Pork Rub
BBQ sauce
mozzerella cheese

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Cook they are almost pink. Sprinkle pork rub seasoning over chicken. Finish cooking chicken until no longer pink, it will cook a little more in the oven.

On a rolled out pizza dough, brush with your favorite BBQ sauce. Layer on the cooked chicken. Top with mozzerella cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted and dough is crispy.

Teaser

2009-03-09T22:27:00.004-04:00

I am afraid that today you are going to have to settle for a teaser.

You are probably asking yourself why?
I arrived home tonight at about 9pm after working a 16 hour day.
I couldn't sleep last night because daylight savings time had me all screwed up.
I worked together with my boss today.
I haven't seen my boss in 6 months (he lives in Baltimore, I live in NYC)

But I am dedicated to fulfilling my goal to of NaBloPoMo!

Check back tomorrow to see what I made with this pork rub. I'll give you a hint...it wasn't pork!!

Roast Chicken

2009-03-08T17:34:00.005-04:00

Jake and I have found a love for roast chicken. And they are cheap which is an added bonus! I usually just put it in the crock pot stuffed with onion and garlic. This time I wanted something different. I found a recipe for a rub at Kalyn's Kitchen. She was making this rub and bagging it up into Christmas gifts. So, I scaled the recipe way down. I also didn't follow her instructions for use. It came out fabulous and juicy. I then took the rest of the chicken apart today and we had chicken soup with lots of leftovers. I have now turned a roaster chicken into 3 meals.

Just to give you a reference. I bought the chicken at Sam's Club. The roasters come in a 2 pack for $8.42. That's 1 chicken for $4.21. And I am going to get 3 meals out of 1 chicken. That's $1.40 per meal. Now I realize that I add things to the meal but how can you go wrong when the protein for your meal costs $1.40!

Here is what I did:

Roast Chicken Rub

6 Tablespoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoon thyme
2 Tablespoon parsley
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sage
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rosemary
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper (I omitted)

Mix all ingredients together. Store in a air tight container.

Roast Chicken

I mixed 2 Tablespoons of the rub into 1/2 stick of softened butter. I rinsed the chicken and patted it dry. I then trimmed it of excess fat and loosed the skin from the chicken breasts being careful not to break the skin. I salted and peppered the inside cavity of the chicken. I then rubbed the mixture onto the chicken breasts under the skin. I then used the remaining mixture to coat the outside of the skin including the legs and wings.
I laid the chicken on a bed of baby carrots. Added enough chicken stock to fill the baking dish up about half way (2-3 cups)
I cooked the chicken for about 25 minutes at 450. I took the chicken out, turned the oven down to 325. I basted the chicken with the liquid from the bottom of the pan. I returned the chicken to the oven and cooked for about an 1 and 15 minutes until the temperature on a meat thermometer read 165 degrees. I basted the chicken even 20-30 minutes. I covered the chicken with foil towards the end to prevent it from burning while I was waiting for it to come up to temperature.

Chicken Soup

I saved the cooking liquid from the bottom of the pan and ran it through a strainer. I removed all the remaining chicken from the bones. Added carrots, egg noodles and enough water to have a good amount of broth. Let it simmer for 45 minutes.

Happy Birthday Braelyn!

2009-03-07T21:07:00.010-05:00

1 year

These days I am surrounded by babies. I counted today and discovered that I have 12 friends that are currently expecting a child. I am super excited for all of them. Today I was uninspired to write about food. As I dug through my pictures nothing struck me until I found these pictures. So, today's post is dedicated to my favorite baby ever, my niece, Braelyn Dawn.

First Day in this World

I love this little girl to pieces. She is cute and adorable and fearless and mischievous and loud and funny and you just can't help but love her. I miss her terribly and wish I could be near her. The time I do get to spend with her is priceless. She turned 1 a week ago. I had to miss the festivities but we are going to celebrate when I see her very soon and I can't wait.

3 months

6 months

9 months

I think she looks like me in this picture :)

"I am a trouble maker but you still love me!"

Penne with Vodka Sauce

2009-03-06T22:53:00.004-05:00

My husband and I both grew up in homes where alcohol was forbidden even for cooking. A few months ago in a conversation with my mom she mentioned having fresh parmesan cheese in the house. I found this unusual for my mom (just not something you find my mom's kitchen). She said she needed it for a recipe she had made recently. The cheese lover in my inquired as to what she made and she replied, "Penne with Vodka Sauce". I was intrigued. I asked, "You went to a liquor store and bought Vodka?!?!". She replied (as if this was no big deal), "Yes". Picture now my jaw hitting the floor! I was in amazement and needless to say I asked for the recipe!

My youngest brother plays soccer, basketball and baseball for the small Christian school he goes too. Some of his friends play every sport with him. One night before a big game one of the moms made Penne with Vodka Sauce for the team. My brother then requested my mom to make it his birthday dinner and she agreed. Anyone want to guess out of 5 children where in line this brother falls?

This recipe came from the mom of my brother's best friend. Its their family recipe. I know that my mom has played with the recipe. The nutrionist in her didn't like the fat content. I have for the original recipe, I think my mom is still perfecting her version. I think I am going to make a few changes in the future. I didn't use the panchetti and wish I had because I think it would have added a lot of flavor and I thought this was a little bland.

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 pound panchetti, diced
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup vodka
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 pound penne pasta, cooked
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce

Directions

Melt butter in a large fry pan, when butter foams add panchetti and brown slightly. Add vodka and stir. When finished smoking, stir in tomato sauce and cream. Stire for 5-8 minutes. Add cooked pasta and parmesan cheese.

Apple Spice Bars

2009-03-05T19:37:00.007-05:00

It is only day 5 NaBloPoMo and I find myself already struggling to get this post up. It is not for lack of material to post but a lack of creativity. I find I don't know what to write. I don't know what to say to inspire to get to your kitchen and make the recipes I'm posting. I find great joy in my kitchen. And when I am successful I find even more joy.

Maybe that is why I am struggling today. I have lost my joy. I am frustrated with circumstances in my life. I want answers. If I can't have an immediate answer than give me some hope that we can find one in the future. I want to feel normal. I don't just want to just feel normal, I want to be normal! I realize for many of you that little tantrum doesn't make any sense but that is what is on my mind right now. Those are the thoughts clouding my mind.

These bars however, give me great joy! It is the next best thing to a homemade apple pie without all the work. This recipe is super easy to whip up. The longest prep is the slicing and dicing of the apples. Truthfully, if the apple cutting was any easier, these would be in my house far too often! I love the spice combination of cinnamon and nutmeg mixed with a touch of clove. And the house smells wonderful when they are in the oven!

The original recipe comes from Katie at Good Things Catered. I have made a couple slight changes but you can find her original recipe here.

Apple Spice Bars

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 Tablespoon flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and diced
cinnamon sugar mixture for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Give it a good coating, these are sticky when cooled.
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Whisk to combine well and set aside.
In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter. Beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Fold in apples. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30-4- minutes. Remove from oven and let cooled completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving; bars will be very soft.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

2009-03-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

This is the first of many, many posts that I have never posted. I think I baked these cookies back in September. I got the recipe from a friend who copied it out of a cookbook at Barnes & Noble. So, I don't have an exact source for this recipe.

I made one batch with chocolate chips and another batch with raisins. I preferred the raisins but the chocolate chips went over better with the middle schoolers that my husband teaches. Go figure!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. (1 stick) softened butter
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. solid-packed pumpkin
2 c. uncooked oats
1 c. dried cranberries (optional)

Sift flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and baking soda

In separate bowl beat brown sugar and butter in large mixer - 5 minutes or till light + fluffy

Beat in eggs and vanilla

Add pumpkin and beat at low speed till blended

Beat in flour mixture until blended

Add oats, mix well

Stir in Cranberries (or chocolate chips)

Cook at 350 for 12 minutes or until golden brown
Makes 2 dozen cookies

TWD: Chocolate Armagnac Cake

2009-03-03T20:14:00.006-05:00

I have the most amazing husband ever! Life has just been very crazy for me for the past several weeks. My in-laws were in town this past weekend and then I got the double bonus of a snow day on Monday! I took full advantage of resting and relaxing. Now I did do some baking but I chose to make chocolate chip cookies first. You see my husband just finished up the production of Godspell at the high school he teaches at. I decided that he needed a little treat. So, I made him his favorite cookies.

Then, I was too tired to make the cake I needed to make this week. Would you believe my amazing husband offered to make it for me?!?! I tend to be a little possessive about TWD and usually decide I can do it better my way when he offers to help. Being the smart man that he is, he waited until I left for work. He even took pictures for me!

I usually cut the recipe when I don't have somewhere to take it. So, he made 1/3 of a full recipe and used our large sized Corningware ramekin. He used Amaretto instead of Armagnac (since we don't have any) and used cherries instead of prunes.

The cake was okay. It tasted good and I really liked the tartness of the cherries in contrast to the sweet cake. I'm not a big lover of chocolate cake and so far I have only found one chocolate cake that I love.

I am very grateful to my husband for making this recipe. Thank you to LyB for this week's selection!

PS. He used his King Kong plate to show his manliness!!

NaBloPoMo

2009-03-02T14:08:00.006-05:00

March is National Blog Posting Month! Since I need something to get my blog going again. I am giving myself this goal, to blog everyday in the month of March. I certainly have enough material to post!

The theme for this month is Giving (UP). I don't know if I will follow the theme or not. I do know that I am not ready to give up on this blog so if nothing else the theme is providing me with motivation to NOT give up!

Comments are always good encouragement, especially because I know that someone is actually reading my blog. Feel free to keep me accountable to this goal!

TWD: Caramel Chrunch Bars

2009-03-01T19:15:00.002-05:00

Life has just been crazy here in out house. I apologize for my lateness. But I couldn't just let this one slide and not post it. These bars were amazing! Pure butter and sugary goodness.
Thanks to Whitney for a great selection!

TWD: Devils Food White Out Cake

2009-02-17T12:28:00.003-05:00

Chocolate Cake! Do I really need to say anymore than that?

This week's recipe was chosen by Confessions of a City Eater! It was a perfect selection. I made this cake for my husband and I for Valentine's Day. We both loved it.

I didn't make the frosting in the book. I don't have a candy thermometer and by the time I realized I needed one it was too late to go out and buy one. So, I just whipped some cream and we had a whipped cream topping. Let us just say It was hard to not eat the whole cake in one sitting!

Tuesday with Dorie!

TWD: World Peace Cookies

2009-02-03T23:17:00.003-05:00

I am down to the last hour but it is still officially Tuesday here on the East Coast. This week's recipe was chosen by Jessica of cookbookhabit. Thank you Jessica!!!

These cookies were a bit of a challenge. You see, there is no egg in this recipe, therefore, no binding ingredient to hold everything together. So, the dough is in crumbles. I followed the instructions and took some advice from my fellow bakers. The first log that I rolled together sliced pretty well. I had a few crumbs but I had a few successful cookies as well. The second log I rolled together was very unsuccessful. Mind you both logs came out of the same recipe so who knows what I did wrong. Maybe I didn't wrap the second log tight enough for everything to stay together.

The crumbs certainly did not stop me from loving these cookies. I am a huge fan of sweet and salty snacks so this was a fabulous cookie in my book! So, what do you do with cookies crumbs??

Put them on top of ice cream!!

My camera batteries were dead so the good looking cookies were long gone by the time my camera was ready to be used. I will be making these again!!

Check out my fellow bakers on Tuesday With Dorie!

TWD: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread

2009-01-30T12:32:00.000-05:00

This week's recipe had me skeptical. I am not usually a big fan of ginger. It is a strong, spicy flavor. However, I learned this week that when it is used in the right combination of ingredients, ginger can be fabulous.

Now I have to admit because I was previously not a fan of ginger, I skipped the optional ginger. I didn't use the crystallized fresh ginger or the stem ginger in syrup so my bread just had ground ginger in it. I used chocolate chips and just added them instead of melting part of them. I also used dark karo syrup instead of molasses and added a bit of vanilla for flavor. And if you couldn't tell by the picture, I skipped making the chocolate ganache topping as well.

I have to admit that I loved this bread! All my chocolate chips sunk to the bottom and the middle of my cake also sunk. My husband loves the cake including the chocolate layer on the bottom. I preferred the cake by itself. I liked it without the extra ginger but maybe next time I'll double the ground ginger and leave out the chocolate chips altogether.

Our host for this week was, Heather of Sherry Trifle.

Happy Baking!!

PS. TWD authorities, I'm sorry for posting this late, I really did make it on time! :)

TWD: Berry Surprise Cake

2009-01-20T18:31:00.005-05:00

I really wanted to bail on this week's recipe. Several TWD bakers had tried their hand at whipping up this cake before I got to it and some were not very successful. I was not excited about failing. Particularly because I planned to serve this cake as dessert at my first party this past weekend. Not exactly the first party I've ever planned or hosted but the first in my own home in NYC with new friends. I wanted everything to be perfect. So a tricky cake recipe was calling me chicken.

As you can see from the pictures I baked the cake! Thanks to my husband for pushing me out of my comfort zone (he's good like that!). He reminded me that one of the reasons I joined TWD was to learn to bake out of my comfort zone. Cakes are just not my thing.

So, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work and a lot of work it was. There was several time consuming steps for this recipe. Many TWD bakers complained about the cake sinking in the middle, though it is normal for it to sink slightly, many were disasters. I carefully followed the instructions (I love Dorie's descriptions!). My cake sunk slightly but I considered it normal. Once I had the cake fully assembled, you couldn't even tell it sunk. The filling does a good job of make up for lost cake!

I altered the filling a bit and added more sugar and more vanilla based on a few complaints that it was bland. I loved my end results and have been eating my leftover filling but the fingerful straight out of the fridge! I also had to give in and use frozen berries. I couldn't bear the thought of buying berries out of season; they are too expensive and don't look good! I thawed them before putting them in the middle of my cake.

In the end, I was very pleased with my cake. I was glad I made it and I loved the filling. However, I didn't love the cake. It was bad but just not was I was expecting. A slight disappointment for me in the end BUT my husband LOVED it! And by love I mean, I think he ate half! I was surprised because neither of us really love cake. But, my party was a big success so all is well in the end! :)

Thank you to Mary Anne of Meet me in the Kitchen for challanging me to step out of my comfort zone. You can find the recipe here. Check out the other TWD bakers to see how their cakes turned out!

CEiMB: Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary and Chocolate

2009-01-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well, if you follow my blog regularly you know that I have been absent from Craving Ellie in My Belly. But I'm back! I have to confess that my husband actually made this week's recipe but he gave me the approval to claim it for myself. I have such an amazing husband. Work has been physically stressful this week and he knew how much it meant to me to participate in this week's recipe so he offered to make it. I sat at the counter and kept him company.

Ellie mentions in her notes that this really works for any cut of beef. Since it is just the 2 of us, I decided to just pick up 2 steaks. The sauce takes quite a while to reduce down but it was worth the wait. I was very hesitant. If fact the picture above is my husband's plate, my sauce was in a dish on the side in case I didn't like it! I was pleasantly surprised.

The aroma of the sauce with the spices was quite overwhelming and I thought for sure I wouldn't like it but Ellie proved me wrong and I will definitely make this again in the future.

Other than substituting the cut of meat, the only other change we made was using a cooking sherry instead of red wine. I was not interested in making an extra stop to the liquor store this week. I'm not a wine drinker so I can't tell you if it made a huge difference but if it did than I like it better my way!

Thank you to Amanda of Beckett Bakes It for this week's selection. You can find the recipe on her blog. Don't forget to visit CEiMB too!

TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

2009-01-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

I'm sure you all thought I abandoned my blog but that is just not true. I am back on board with TWD! I have missed a lot and I hope to catch up on a few of the ones I missed.

This week's recipe was a great one to jump back in with. It was super quick and easy to mix together. I am do not love things too spicy and I have a hate relationship with cilantro so I left out the bell peppers and the jalapeno peppers and the cilantro. My husband likes corn muffins but does not like corn. So, I scooped out 6 muffins for him before stirring in the corn. Since, it was only 1/4 of a cup, I didn't cut it in half for the last 6 muffins and in the end I wished I had doubled the corn for just my 6 muffins. I really liked the sweetness of the corn with the spiciness of the chili powder and wished I had added more of that too.

I made these at the last minute so we just ate them by themselves but they would be a great addition to many meals. Therefore, I will be making these again!

Thanks to Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake for this week's selection! Please visit her blog for the recipe! And if you'd like to see the muffins with peppers, check out the TWD blogroll.

TWD: Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

2008-12-09T07:42:00.005-05:00

Ulrike from Kuchenlatein was our host this week and she picked a fabulous sugar cookie, very festive! I thought these were super easy to make. I did both the slice and bake and rolled the dough in colored sugar before slicing. I also did the traditional cutouts. I loved these!

Check out the TWD website to see many other fabulous versions of these sugar cookies!

TWD: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

2008-12-01T09:31:00.002-05:00

I made the pie. It was quite the event. Then I got very sick. Then I went out of town for Thanksgiving. So, more details of my pie making to come later today, I hope.

CEiMB: Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

2008-11-28T13:39:00.004-05:00

I made it. It was fabulous. More details and recipe to come later :)

CEiMB: Oven Fried Chicken

2008-11-20T19:30:00.005-05:00

I have been finding it really hard to cook or bake lately. Work is kicking my butt! If that weren't enough, Jake has been super busy. He is gone pretty much every night. So with my work schedule craziness and his work schedule craziness, we have been doing very little cooking. It has been all about convenience these days.

All that to say I had to drag myself into the kitchen last night to make this week's recipe. And so glad I did!!! This week's selection was chosen by MacDuff. He chose this recipe out of a love for fried chicken. I loved this recipe just for the addition of a new chicken recipe.

I made a few alterations. I used white saltines because that is what I buy. I left of the sesame seeds and cayenne pepper because I didn't have any. I subbed in ground pepper and onion powder. I wanted to leave out the Dijon mustard because I really don't like mustard but in the end I found some honey mustard in the fridge and threw it in. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and made chicken tenders.

I will definitely be making these again. I even cut up the leftovers onto a salad tonight so I had another convenient dinner.

Check out MacDuff's blog for the recipe and the new Craving Ellie in My Belly blog.

TWD

2008-11-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Not this week folks. I just couldn't make it happen. Please visit Isbelle or TWD to see rice pudding.

I promise to return next week with a special Thanksgiving treat-Dorie style!

CEiMB

2008-11-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have to apologize for missing another week. My husband has been in the middle of rehearsals for an upcoming show that opens tonight! So, meals have been low key and quick.

Please head over to the new Craving Ellie in My Belly website to see Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Easy Tomato Sauce that everyone else cooked up this week! Our selection this week was chosen by Marthe.

Please head over to What's for Supper? by Natalie, new leader of CEiMB!

Tragedy

2008-11-11T09:37:00.002-05:00

I am out of sugar!

Don't you hate when you think you have more of something on your pantry shelf and when you need it, its not there! TWD is not going to happen for me this week. I would make it late but I am leaving in the morning for a business trip to Boston!

Check out TWD website for everyone's Kugelhopf and thank you to The All-Purpose Girl for this week's pick!

Viagra Commercial

2008-11-10T20:19:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I just can't help myself!

Giveaway!

2008-11-10T19:17:00.002-05:00

Who loves to win things??

Who loves new things for you kitchen??

I do, I do!!!

Check out Whitney's blog for a fabulous Thanksgiving giveaway!

CEiMB: Sweet and Sour Brisket

2008-10-30T05:00:00.001-04:00

In case you missed it a couple weeks ago, I've joined a new cooking group, Craving Ellie in My Belly. We are cooking from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger.

This week's selection was chose by Natalie from What's For Supper? It was a perfect pick for a comfort food night. I have been craving pot roast and this definitely hit the spot!

I cut the recipe in half and put the other half of the brisket in the freezer for a future meal. I only made a few minor ingredient changes. I left out the allspice berry of which I didn't have and added a pinch of both cinnamon and nutmeg. I also added a bag of carrots and cut up a few potatoes as a side.

I don't own a Dutch oven (yet, its on the Christmas list!) so I used my slower cooker. I put the carrots and potatoes right on the bottom and brisket on top with all the sauce. It could have used just a bit more sauce since the carrots and potatoes soaked some of that up.

I was pleasantly surprised by the ingredients and the flavor outcome. I never would have thought that beef, tomato sauce, raisins, chicken stock, cinnamon and nutmeg would all got together. But, I really loved it and my husband requested it to be a a regular meal this winter.

TWD: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

2008-10-28T20:03:00.006-04:00

This week's recipe was chosen by my very good friend Clara!! I was not surprised when I learned that Clara's selection was a cupcake. She has a LOVE of cupcakes! I was also not surprised to learn that Nikki twisted her arm to get the cupcake and that Clara really wanted to chose the White Chocolate Brownies! LOL You both never cease to make me laugh!!

Clara suggested that we decorate the cupcakes for Halloween. I'm not really a fan of the holiday, never really was but I do LOVE fall! In an effort to be festive, I purchased mini-cupcake liners decorated for Halloween which sadly you can't really see with a chocolate cupcake. I also purchased black and orange sprinkles. Then I added the fall pumpkin sprinkles that I received in a care package from my mother-in-law!

As for the cupcakes, I chose to make mini cupcakes in order to send them to Jake's rehearsal and feed the starving actors and actresses! I realized about half way into the baking process that the bittersweet chocolate I thought I had in the freezer I had already used. No problem, I have lots of chocolate stock piled! I pulled out some milk chocolate chips! They worked great.

Unlike many of my fellow TWD bakers, my cupcakes were not dry. Knowing that some were having trouble, I was careful not to over mix them and since they were mini I only baked for 10 minutes and pulled them out a tiny bit gooey so they didn't dry out.

These were very good, not mind blowing in flavor but still delicious!

Jake participated in decorating the cupcakes. He was Sprinkle Boy!

CEiMB: Banana Cream Pie

2008-10-23T00:08:00.002-04:00

Sorry folks. I know its only week 2 and I'm already having to bail. Wednesday afternoon bossman called and said I need you in Philly for the next 2 days. Its both a pro and con for my job. As much as I enjoy the traveling, it is not always convenient. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to make this as a re-wind. I was really looking forward to a healthy version of Banana Cream Pie.

Please visit Craving Ellie in My Belly to see what everyone else came up with. Thank you to Heather from Randomosity and the Girl for selecting this week's recipe.

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

2008-10-21T04:00:00.001-04:00

Yum, yum, yum!!! These were amazing, easy to make, delicious, flavorful, sweet and spicy! A new favorite in my book. I don't think I need any more words except, GO MAKE THEM!!

Thank you to Kelly for this week's selection. A fabulous fall recipe.

Ok, for the details of the recipe. I left out the nuts because all I had were peanuts and I just didn't feel like they were going to do justice. I also didn't have sunflower seeds for the top and didn't feel the need to spend the extra money.

I bought a fresh pumpkin and pureed my own instead of canned pumpkin. It was super easy, more to follow on that in another post.

Lesson learned this week: Don't crack the egg on the side of the bowl, while the mixer is running. For example, the beater might bump your hand, causing you to drop the entire egg into the batter. Luckily, my quite reflexes stopped the mixer so the shell was still in large enough pieces so I could pick them out easily. So far no one has complained of a crunchy muffin!

CEiMB: Steak Tacos with Cucumber Avocado Salsa

2008-10-16T22:26:00.006-04:00

Are you tired of cookies, chocolate, and only seeing baked goods on my blog? Then you've come to the right place because......I've joined a new event!! This time its a cooking and eating healthy event! Craving Ellie in my Belly or CEiMB is cooking out of Ellie Krieger's book The Food You Crave.

I must be a glutton for punishment as my blog has been severely lacking this past month. But, I'm thinking this might be just what I need to get my game back and better for the waistlines in this house.

My husband is excited about this one as well because he prefers cooking over baking so this is an event we can do together. We are always looking for healthier recipes. He also said this is something we can actually eat rather than taste and give away to someone! (Side note: Don't for a second think I'm leaving TWD though!)

So, thank you to Leigh for starting this new event! And thank to my good friend Clara for a hosting a great pick this week!

Now about this week's recipe...it was a great one for us to start with. We LOVE tacos and the like. I really loved the flavor of the steak. I omitted the cayenne pepper because we didn't have any but probably could have used that kick.

The salsa I was a little nervous about and therefore I ended up changing quite a bit. Basically I diced the cucumber and avocado and added the lime juice and salt to taste. My husband added red onion to his tacos and I diced up some tomato for mine. I had a bad experience with cilantro one time making my own salsa and hated it. I love things with flavor but not super spicy so I left out the jalapenos.

In the end I wanted to add sour cream and cheese for more flavor since I left most of it out but I resisted the urge to add fatty calories to my healthy dinner. I will be making this again, especially since I have a lot of red cabbage left even after buying the smallest one! Any good cabbage recipes out there?

For more information about this new event or to join us go to Craving Ellie in My Belly!

(I'm working on my photography skills. What do you think?!)

TWD: Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake

2008-10-15T08:36:00.004-04:00

To my fellow bakers at TWD I am sorry for my slacking recently! My kitchen has not been dark; I just fell into a funk about posting to my blog. I really envy some of you!

I was really excited to make this recipe. If you look at the picture in the book, it makes you want to salivate all over the picture. Unfortunately I was disappointed with the end result. The recipe calls for an 8" springform pan, my is a 9" so I cut my baking time and my brownie came out dry. I also had more than a slight crater in the middle which is supposed to be normal, mine looked like a cave in.

As disappointed with the cake as I was I LOVED the caramel. I have never made it homemade before and I was really impressed. I was very careful to watch for fear it would burn but I had great success. I love this recipe just for learning how to make caramel.

Thank you Tammy for this weeks selection!

TWD: Chocolate Chunkers

2008-10-15T08:27:00.004-04:00

I am not going to make this long an drawn out since this is so late and everyone has moved on from these but better late than never right! I can promise you these cookies were made on time and they were fabulous! Thanks to Claudia for hosting.

My blog needs a facelift!

2008-10-05T20:27:00.002-04:00

Check this out! You could win a blog makeover! For those who actually read mine, I certainly could use something new here. However, for all my computer knowledge, I have no knowledge of graphic design!

TWD: coming soon...

2008-09-16T20:12:00.001-04:00

...they're in the oven now and the batter tasted amazing! Come back tomorrow to see the final product!

Dedicated to My Husband!

2008-09-03T20:01:00.004-04:00

How well do you know your husband/wife?

1. They are watching TV..... What are they watching?
Judge Judy, Jeopardy, Family Guy, Food Network

2. You're out to eat.what kind of dressing do they get on their salad?

Caesar

3.What's one food this person doesn't like?

seafood, peas, corn (that's all I can think of at the moment but I know there are others)

4. You go out for a drink. He/she orders...

Alcoholic: Corona, Non: Diet Coke

5 Where did he/she go to high school?

Eliakim (the school his parents founded)
Faith Heritage

6.What size shoe do they wear?

10, depending on the show because one foot is slightly larger than the other

7. If this person were to collect anything, it would be?

Disney lithographs and musical posters

8.What is their favorite type of car?

he hates cars and prefers public transportation

9. This person could eat __________ everyday?

Chinese (if only it were calorie free and fat free!)

10.Favorite cereal?

Wegmans brand Frosted mini-wheats

11. This person wouldn't be caught dead wearing...
Something that didn't match; he wears pretty much anything (I think!)

12.Favorite sports team?

He's not a sports fan but I can list his top 3 favorite musicals! Miss Saigon, Ragtime and Chess

13.Who will he/she vote for?

I'm not sure he even knows who is running

14.What is their sign?

Aquarius (We don't follow these so I actually had to go look it up)

15.What is something you do that he wishes you didn't do?

I tend to be a little too anal

16.How many states has this person lived in?

New York, born and raised

17.What is his heritage?
French

18. You bake them a cake for their birthday....What kind do they want?

German Chocolate

19.Did he/she play sports in high school?

He didn't play sports

20. This person could spend hours....

playing the piano

Now... how well do you know your spouse? (JKnotties, this means you!)

P.S. I borrowed this my friend, Laura!

TWD: Chunky Peanut Buuter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

2008-09-02T21:13:00.004-04:00

A great cookie was chosen this week by Stefany of Proceed With Caution.

I only made slight changes to the recipe this week. My first change was by mistake. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and somehow completely forgot to add the nutmeg and salt. The nutmeg wasn't missed but the salt would have brought out the flavors more. Oops!
My pantry was lacking 1 of the total 3 cups of old-fashioned oats needed so I used 1 cup of quick cooking oats. I opted to use semi-sweet chocolate chips.

The peanut butter flavor is there but only a hint. If I had used raisins instead of chocolate chips I would have thought I was eating an oatmeal raisin cookie with the strong flavor of cinnamon. And the combination of oatmeal and chocolate reminded me of an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. In conclusion, I LOVED the 3-in1 cookie!

I strongly suggest visiting Stefany's website for the recipe and baking up a batch today. You won't be sorry!!

Tuesdays With Dorie

Chicken and Dumplings

2008-08-27T06:30:00.000-04:00

Despite what it may look like, I do cook regular food type meals not just TWD delicacies! Though these pictures were taken the first time I made this, I have made it several times since then. It has become one of our favorites.

I remember chicken and dumplings being one of my mom's favorites so it was something we ate often in my house growing up. I know you don't think of a stew being something you want to make in the summer but this one comes together very quickly and using fresh summer vegetables makes it appealing 12 months of the year. I find it to be a great comfort food when I want to relax.

I have to give props to Rachael Ray because we really love this variation. I do want to make my own chicken stock but that I will save for a winter day! I've learned to double this so we have leftovers too.

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders (Remember to COOK them first)
1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 russet potato, peeled and diced (skin can be on or off, we've done both)
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced or thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped (I use my microplane to get all the flavor and none of the texture)
1 rib celery, diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
2 tablespoons flour, a handful
1 quart chicken broth or stock, canned or paper container, preferred brand Kitchen Basics
1 small box biscuit mix(preferred brand Jiffy Mix) (I use Bisquick)
1/2 cup warm water
Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas

Dice tenders into bite size pieces and set aside. Wash hands.

Place a large pot on stove over medium high heat. Add oil, butter, vegetables and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season mixture with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir broth or stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken to the broth and stir.

Place biscuit mix in a bowl. Combine with 1/2 cup warm water and parsley. Drop tablespoonfuls of prepared mix into the pot, spacing dumplings evenly. Cover pot tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Steam dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cover and stir chicken and dumplings to thicken sauce a bit. Stir peas into the pan, remove chicken and dumplings from heat and serve in shallow bowls.

TWD: Chocolate Banded Ice Cream Torte

2008-08-26T16:39:00.004-04:00

Chocolate and Ice Cream...2 words I am very familiar with. Who wouldn't be excited about making a dessert that included both?!

I was really proud of myself this week...I made it early (because we were going out of town and I knew I would be too tired when I returned) and I only made 1/4 of the recipe (therefore, eating very little!)

The hardest part about this recipe is the time requirement. You have to freeze each layer before adding the next one. My variations lead me to use chocolate chip ice cream since it was already in the freezer. I still wanted the flavor of a liquor and the raspberries that Dorie uses. So, in one layer of ice cream, I mixed in amaretto and the other layer I mixed in a raspberry syrup. I just eye balled both amounts and later wished I had use more of both because the chocolate was very rich. I have found that Dorie loves bittersweet chocolate and I prefer semi sweet so I always adjust accordingly. This week I think I would have preferred Dorie's palate.

I made mine in a ramekin and since it doesn't have a removable bottom I lined it with parchment paper. I loved the way it looked when I pulled it out. A very eye catching dessert!

I did enjoy this recipe but I plan to play with it some more in the future. To quote my husband, "I enjoyed it. A little rich but tasty and decadent!"

This week's recipe was selected for us by Amy of Food, Family and Fun. You can see other torte variations by checking out the TWD blog roll!

TWD: Granola Grabbers

2008-08-19T19:24:00.002-04:00

This week's edition of Tuesdays with Dorie is a good one! I am a big fan of cookies and oatmeal raisin are one of my favorites. My husband's favorite cereal is granola and he loves coconut so these were a big hit.

I made only a couple of slight changes. I used flax seed instead of wheat germ. I'm not really familiar with either so I didn't noticed any difference. Dorie suggests using granola without fruit because it is often too dry and therefore leaves the cookies dried out. My raisins seemed to be a bit dry on their own so I hydrated them in some warm water before adding them in. It worked great.

Thanks to Michelle of Bad Girl Baking for a great selection!

TWD: Not this week

2008-08-12T06:10:00.001-04:00

I'm afraid I had to miss yet another week of baking. We just returned from vacation and tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday) I leave again for a business trip to eastern Massachusetts. I fully intended to jump in the kitchen in between trips to whip up this week's recipe, Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream chosen by Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity.

However, I didn't expected to be nearly so exhausted from our trip. Then, we woke up this morning to find our very own "ratatouille" (or mouse-ouille). I have an awesome husband who is taking charge but until he is gone I refuse to step foot in my kitchen.

In the mean time, I have tucked my blueberries into the freezer to be used in the future for this recipe. Please visit Tuesdays with Dorie to see everyone's ice cream.

TWD: Black and White Banana Loaf

2008-08-05T08:01:00.004-04:00

This week's recipe was chosen by Ashlee of A Year in the Kitchen. She chosen Dorie's take on banana bread. I personally love banana bread. I usually buy a couple extra bananas beyond what we can eat so I have a couple to throw in the freezer.

I decided not to make a loaf for a couple reason. I've only used my king size muffin pan once since I bought it and thought this would be a great opportunity to use it again. Some of my fellow bakers had some trouble with the batter being too runny and the loaf cooking for up to 2 hours and I just wasn't interested in having my oven on for 2 hours! I figured the cooking time would be less with a smaller surface area.

The batter came together pretty easily for me. I did leave out fresh lemon zest as I didn't have any. When I got to my flour I found my pantry to be lacking a new bag and was left with only what was in the canister. I was short only a couple tablespoons and since I had already started mixing things I didn't want to run to the store. Since many had runny batters, the last thing I want to do was skimp on the flour. So, I added a couple tablespoons of oatmeal. It worked perfect and I didn't even notice it in the muffins. I am also not a fan of rum so I substituted with amaretto and could even taste it in the end. My batter wasn't really runny, maybe a little thinner than a typical banana bread but not drastically different.

I wasn't sure how much of a swirl pattern I could get with my muffin pan so I decided to do layers. There was supposed to be 3, white, chocolate and white on top. As you can see I only ended up with 2. I'm really not sure why the chocolate layer over took my top white layer. But, they came out great and tasted fabulous!

If you really have your heart set on seeing a black and white loaf, please visit Tuesdays With Dorie. This probably won't really be my go to recipe for banana bread but I'm sure I will make it again!

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn't post last week's recipe until Friday. If you missed it please scroll down and see my summer fruit galette and pictures of my new kitchen!

TWD: Summer Fruit Galette

2008-07-31T20:31:00.009-04:00

If you are a faithful follower of Tuesdays with Dorie then I'm sure you have already seen a ton of galettes this week. My reasons are legitimate and I do apologize for being late. It is really hard to get settled again after moving. Of course, life doesn't ever slow down enough for you to make a major move without feeling some stress. I have dealt with too much stress recently and though I wish I could say life is going to slow down it just isn't going to slow down right now.

I did manage to make this delicious treat on time. I had a lot of trouble with my crust this time. I was rushing and just didn't take the time to let it rest enough. Thankfully, this is supposed to be rustic and not pretty so all worked out in the end.

I had a rough time blanching the peaches. I think they may have been a little too ripe. But no worries, Dorie's 8 peaches is more than enough to fill the galette. I paired the peaches with some homemade red raspberry jam. It was amazing!

Thank you to Michelle of Michelle in Colorado Spring s for selecting such a fabulous treat for a very stressful week!

And as promised...pictures of my new kitchen!

TWD: Coming to a Blog Near You...

2008-07-29T20:36:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow! Sorry, I'm falling asleep trying to type. Please come back to see my summer fruit galette and pictures of my new kitchen!

TWD: Chocolate Pudding

2008-07-15T07:06:00.002-04:00

The bowl says "Somebunny needs a treat" and somebunny ate one! I did take a picture with the bowl full however, my pictures were just bad.

This week's recipe was selected by Melissa of It's Melissa's Kitchen. I was super excited to make this recipe for a couple of reasons.
1. My husband loves pudding.
2. I have never made pudding before and I've been wanting to make it from scratch (see #1).
3. I am in the process of moving and this looked easy.

Well, I can tell you that this is super easy. Having never made pudding before I wasn't sure how complicated the process was going to be. Dorie's instructions say to use a food processor however, I don't have one big enough. I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the whisk attachment and it came out perfect.

The pudding was amazing. I will be making this again!

If you need a visual of the pudding, check out the blogroll at TWD. Thanks Melissa!

P.S. I won't be around for next week. This weekend is the big move and I don't anticipate my kitchen to be up and running by Tuesday. When I return, I will have pictures of my new kitchen, its bigger and better. I can't wait!!

TWD: Double Crusted Blueberry Pie

2008-07-08T07:45:00.005-04:00

I'm am posting this super fast because I'm heading out the door for a business trip. This week's recipe was chosen for us by Amy of South in Your Mouth. The original recipe was for a blueberry pie and though I've recently learned to almost like eating cooked fruit, cooked blueberries are still a problem for me. I know I'm weird I can't help it. And my husband does not like blueberries at all.

Fighting the urge to skip this week's recipe all together, I remembered a bag of frozen raspberries left over from our mixed cobbler a couple weeks ago. The crust came together very easily for me which I was surprised by since I have never made pie crust before. Dorie's explanation and tips lead me all the way to a fabulous flaky and buttery crust. I did forget to put the breadcrumbs at the bottom of the pie but mine came out great anyway. I loved this pie. The crust was amazing and the fruit was sweet with a zing of lemon! Another winner in my book!

For actual blueberry pies, check out our blogroll at TWD.

TWD: Apple Cheddar Scones

2008-07-01T18:05:00.007-04:00

I can't believe its July already and its another Tuesday. My summer has been a whirlwind of activity and it sure isn't going to calm down in the near future. I was super excited about this week's recipe. I have never made scones before but I love them so I was excited to try them on my own. The best things about TWD are learning new things, new techniques, new flavors, meeting new people and stepping outside of my comfort zone.

These scones came together very easily. Though the dough is super sticky, they are worth all the mess. The cornmeal was a little odd to me but it added another layer of texture that really worked great.

Since I had never made scones before I wanted to try a variety of flavors. Trying to stay within budget and use what was in my pantry I settled on milk chocolate chips and dried cherries. I loved the apple cheddar combination; sweet and salty is one of my favorites. I opted for fresh granny smith apples instead of dried apples and it worked perfectly. The chocolate scone and the cherry scone were also great but missing a little something. Next time I'll try the combo together or add another flavor to tie them in. The chocolate was a tiny bit dry. The cherry scone was also the same way but I didn't put enough cherries in either.

I will definitely be making these again. Thank you to Karina from The Floured Apron for this week's selection. And don't forget to visit the blogroll at Tuesdays with Dorie for more fabulous scones.

TWD: Mixed Berry Cobbler

2008-06-24T05:00:00.000-04:00

This week our TWD host was Beth from Our Sweet Life. She chose a perfect summer dessert. However, Dorie threw in a twist! A mixed berry cobbler with frozen berries. I have to say I was surprised when Dorie recommended them. Fresh berries were an option if we so chose but I'm a picky eater sometimes. I don't like cooked fruit. I'm a texture eater and for those of you who share that with me, you understand what I mean. There are certain foods that I just can't eat based on texture. I make one exception when it comes to cooked fruit, my grandma's apple pie. Other than that, if the fruit is cooked and mushy I won't eat it.

Enough about my eating issues because this week's recipe changed that for me. I found frozen berries at Target and for what I considered to be inexpensive. I chose a bag each of mixed berries, raspberries and blackberries. Once cooked, these berries did not lose their structure. They were not mushy! I couldn't believe it.

The recipe came together very quickly. On the recommendation from fellow bakers who baked before me this week, I added cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to the crust for flavor. It was perfect. My husband loved the crust too.

I was tempted to skip out this week but I'm really glad I pushed myself to try something new. To see more fabulous looking cobblers visit our TWD blogroll.

TWD: Peppermint Cream Puff Ring

2008-06-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

To say that I was nervous about this week's recipe is an understatement. I was terrified! Pate a choux??? I couldn't even pronounce it. However, Caroline of A Consuming Passion chose this recipe with that very thought in mind. Trying something new.

Putting my best foot forward I started this week's recipe. I chose to make 1/4 of the recipe just in case I did manage to pull it off I didn't want dozens of cream puffs around for me to eat. I actually didn't have any trouble with the pastry. It cooked nicely. I followed other recommendations to let it cool a bit before adding the egg and that worked great. I piped out 7 little éclairs and a mini cream puff. I didn't think about the baking time before I put them in so I ended up cooking mine at 425 for 15 minutes and they were done. They did come out slightly lopsided though.

My vanilla pastry cream did not come together quite so easily. I am still not exactly sure what went wrong. I tempered the eggs, I'm pretty sure I brought it to a boil and cooked it a bit longer. It looked like a pastry cream at this point. Then, I let it cool for 5 minutes before adding the butter like Dorie says and that's when it turned into scrambled eggs. It didn't taste bad but the texture was not creamy at all. I think I must have overcooked the cream. I'm not one to be defeated so I will try this again but I ran out of time for this week.

I didn't use Dorie's chocolate glaze recipe. I was going to but tried to take a shortcut by putting it in the microwave and I burned it. I just melted some milk chocolate chips with a little milk and then dipped the éclairs in.

My husband enjoyed the éclairs and I'm glad I attempted this recipe. To see much more fabulous looking cream puffs and the original cream puff ring, please visit our TWD blogroll.

MasterBaker: Vanilla

2008-06-14T21:20:00.001-04:00

I realize that this post is way overdue and I don't really have an excuse. Well, I do but I'm sure you don't really want to hear them. However, since the roundup still isn't posted I figured I still had time. That and I really loved this recipe. And although it is posted very late, I did make this on time!

The master baker ingredient was vanilla and since I had never used real vanilla beans before I wanted to give it a try. I've heard rave reviews about vanilla beans. Someday I will become adventurous enough to make my own vanilla extract and vanilla sugar. Vanilla is one of my favorite flavors.

I decided to make vanilla bean angel food cake with a fruit salsa. I didn't have a very much success with the angel food cake. I have a mini-bundt cake pan with designs on the top. You can see in the picture above how well that turned out.

Since, I don't have a regular sized bundt pan, I put the remaining batter in my springform pan. It certainly didn't rise very much. It ended up being a dense little cake. I learned that angel food cake can only be made in a regular size bundt cake pan.

Despite the appearance, it tasted fantastic!! And the fruit salsa on top was amazing!!

Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake
Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 (2-inch) piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup sifted cake flour (about 4 ounces)
12 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°.

Place 3/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean, and add seeds to sugar; discard bean. Work the vanilla seeds into sugar with fingers until well combined.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and sugar mixture, stirring with a whisk to combine.

Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in juice. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in after each addition.

Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert cake onto plate.

Fruit Salsa
Source: Cooks Illustrated via All Things Mimi

Ingredients
2 T. apple jelly
2 T. light brown sugar
1/4 c. orange juice
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
2 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and chopped fine
1 pint strawberries, hulled and chopped fine
3 kiwis peeled and chopped fine

Directions
Whisk jelly, brown sugar, orange juice and chile together in a large bowl. Add apples, strawberries and kiwi and toss to coat.

VTV: Freestyle=Eggplant

2008-06-14T20:00:00.001-04:00

This week's vegetable was up to us! Since I missed eggplant week I thought I would go back and revisit that vegetable.

Eggplant is something I don't really remember eating as a child. I think my mom stuck to the basic in order to please 5 children.

One of my favorite ways to eat eggplant is parmigiana style. I found this recipe while watching a Tyler Florence episode in which he searched the world for eggplant dishes. He visited a charming woman in Sicily, Anna Tasca Lanza. I decided to give it a try. It is fantastic! I chose to grill the eggplant instead of frying them so I felt like it was a healthy version of eggplant parmigiana.

Involtine di Melanzane con Capelli d'Angelo
Recipe courtesy Anna Tasca Lanza via foodnetwork.com

Ingredients
3 eggplants
2 cups olive oil, to fry the eggplants
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 fresh basil leaves, roughly shredded
1/4 pound angel hair pasta, or spaghetti
1 cup tomato sauce, or passata
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons caciocavallo cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut off the bottoms and stems of the eggplants. Peel them using a vegetable peeler and slice them into 1/2-inch slices.

In a heavy bottomed pan heat some olive oil and fry the eggplant slices for about 4 to 5 minutes (if you prefer a healthier version of the dish, you can grill the eggplants). Place the cooked slices on some paper towels to drain any excess oil.

In a large bowl combine the butter, freshly grated Parmesan, and salt, to taste. Add the roughly shredded fresh basil leaves.

Place the angel hair pasta or spaghetti into a pan of boiling water, bring back to the boil and cook until al dente. Drain.

Add the cooked pasta into the big bowl with the butter mixture and combine.

Take a small portion of the pasta and place it on top of an eggplant slice. Roll the eggplant around the pasta and place it in an oven-proof dish. Repeat this process with all the eggplants slices.

Pour some pureed tomato sauce, or passata, over the eggplant rolls. Place slices of cacioavallo on the top. Finally cover the dish with more freshly grated Parmesan.

Place the dish in oven for around 20 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Side Note: Does anyone know how to make the VTV logo smaller for my sidebar??

TWD: La Palette's Strawberry Tart

2008-06-12T21:33:00.000-04:00

Super apologies for my lateness!!! My excuses are as follows...

Thursday through Tuesday's temperatures exceeded 95 degrees in NYC.
Only the bedroom of my apartment has A/C (I actually put the tart dough into the pans in my bedroom using a TV tray)
Thus, you can conclude I am a dedicated TWD baker for turning on my oven in these conditions.

I had grand ideas for these little tarts! One day soon (I hope) I will execute my ideas. For now, I bring the original recipe with strawberry jam and strawberries (my favorite, so far) and black raspberry jam with raspberries (a little too sweet). I loved the tart (and so did my husband!) even though mine wasn't crumbly because the butter was melting as I was cutting it into the dry ingredients!

In conclusion, I am very happy I braved the heat to turn on my oven because these tarts were fabulous!

Thank you to Marie from A Year From Oak Cottage for hosting this week!
See other amazing tarts on the TWD blogroll.

TWD...

2008-06-10T20:32:00.001-04:00

This week's recipe is coming, I promise! Come back tomorrow evening, please :)

TWD: French Chocolate Brownies

2008-06-03T05:00:00.000-04:00

My husband's rehearsals are often where I send my baked goods so they don't stay in the house for us to eat. This week was perfect because they were having dinner together in between rehearsal and their show so I offered to bring dessert. I, of course, was running a bit late so the brownies were barely out of the oven before I had to leave. I figured I would just have to settle for cell phone pictures. My husband posed for me while eating a brownie. Check him out at the bottom. Luckily, the group is small so I was able to bring a couple home and got a good picture.

I really enjoyed making these brownies! I love the way the top crackled and the fruit...oh, it was just fabulous. I am not a drinker of any kind but on occasion I enjoy a good beverage. My favorite drink is an amaretto sour. What can I say, I like the sweet drinks. That said, the only alcohol in my pantry is amaretto. I paired that with dried cherries and lets just say that I should have doubled that part of the recipe for all the cherries I ate before I mixed them in! I didn't get a flame when I tried to ignite the cherries. I think I burned off the alcohol too quickly.

Thank you to Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook for a wonderful selection! Check out the TWD blogroll for more fabulous looking brownies!

French Chocolate Brownies

- makes 16 brownies -
Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) I didn't chose this option
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden I made my own option here and used dried cherries
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum There is no rum in my pantry but there was amaretto!
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped I used semi-sweet chocolate
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

My Month of May

2008-05-28T19:51:00.017-04:00

I can't believe how fast the month of May has flown by. Jake and I had a super crazy and super fun month. With our schedule, I did very little cooking and when I did cook it was our favorite go-to recipes. I also missed another Tuesday. This week's recipe was Pecan Honey Sticky Buns. Madam Chow was our host. Check out her blog as well as the TWD blog to see the wonderful goodies that were made. I will be making this in the future and I will be returning next week!

Now for a slide show of the fun things we did this month...

Mother's Day weekend we traveled back to Syracuse for oodles of celebrations.
My sister-in-law's bridal shower. We were slightly hesitant about the weather but in the end bad weather held off and we had a beautiful day!

The day of the shower was also my mother-in-law's birthday! It was a milestone birthday for her but a lady never reveals her age! Isn't she beautiful :)

On the same day (yup, 3 events in one day!) my own mom graduated from Syracuse University with her bachelor's degree. She went back to school a couple years ago and she has worked very hard. I'm so proud of her!
I couldn't be at the actual ceremony because of the shower so my husband made sure she didn't take her gown off so I could see her and we could take a picture together as soon as she got home!

Through all the celebrations I managed to sneak in a baseball game to see my little brother in action!

And a weekend back to Syracuse wouldn't be complete without spending time with my sister and my niece! Aren't they beautiful!

The following weekend we had visitors back in NYC. My best friend and her husband made NYC a stop during their vacation. We had a great time.

Taken from the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) with the Empire State building in the back.

Memorial Day weekend we traveled back to Syracuse again!!
The celebration this weekend was the marriage of our wonderful, Beth and her now husband Mike. Jake and Beth (#2) taught at the same school together and co-produced two musicals during their time at the school. And, no Jake is not standing on the wrong side, he was a bridesman. Congrats, Beth and Mike!

We also got a chance to spend time with some other very close friends!
This is us with Colin, son of our friends Sam and Tim. Look at that face!

This is the whole gang minus Sam and Colin (it was his bed time!)

The Lovelies, friends since high school and beyond.

And more time with Braelyn...she loves her Uncle Jake!