Elle's New England Kitchen

My Blog is on the move…

2009-06-26T11:31:00.001-04:00

I'll be officially closing my Blogspot blog sometime next week. I loved my home here, and have a lot of good memories--it's where I first started blogging, after all. But I was ready for a change. Squarespace is a great new home for my blog! The people behind the scenes are extremely helpful. And when you ask a question, you get a quick answer. From a real person. Huge, in my book! If you're at all curious, check out their free trial! There's no catch. Plus, they have a lot of built in features to offer. I can change my site design, add extra columns, change the widths of the columns, add extra pages (archives, about, etc), and lots more--all with a few easy clicks!

Here is the link to the new site--it’s just about ready. Just a few more behind the scenes details.

Please remember to subscribe to the RSS feed for this new blog if you're currently subscribed to the old one, and if you're not--now's your chance. ;) That way you won't miss any posts! For those of you that subscribe by email, I’ll get Feedburner email services running there asap (probably right after I post this, hehe). You’ll have to subscribe again, since the site address is different, but there shouldn’t be any problems.

Thanks to all of you for reading my blog. I hope you’ll join Elle’s New England Kitchen at it’s new home!

Raw Food, Part 3: Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake

2009-06-22T19:19:00.002-04:00

You are all going to LO-V-E this one. If this is the first time you dip your toe into the raw food waters, then let this recipe be the one you try. You will not believe how good this is. It’s from Ani Phyo’s new book, Ani’s Raw Food Desserts: 85 Easy, Delectable Sweets and Treats.

Think of the most fudgy, chocolaty, rich cake, covered in a delicious, dark ganache.

Are you thinking of it? It’s a nice thought, right? Now, think of all of the cream and chocolate, butter and sugar. Do you really want to eat those things? I’ve got to be honest, if you’re like me, you do! But you don’t want to feel the guilt after you do. You also most likely don’t want all of the empty calories and bad fats. Here is an excerpt from an interview with Ani Phyo, by way of Crazy Sexy Life:

“Let’s take my Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake as an example. The cake is made with walnuts, considered a super food by the FDA for it’s high levels of omega-3. Walnuts provide amino acids, vitamins E, A, calcium, iron, and have been found to keep our blood cholesterol levels in check. Walnuts are mixed with raw cacao powder, which is defined as a superfood by the FDA for it’s high levels or antioxidants, which fight free radical damage, premature aging and illness. I use dates, a whole food fruit, to sweeten and to bind together the nuts and cacao powder into a flourless cake texture. Dates are full of fiber, potassium, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. All of the ingredients in my cake are good for you super foods.

On the other hand, the baked version uses bleached white flour that’s been stripped of any nutrient value. It’s sweetened with refined white sugar and empty calories, and uses eggs and butter, which contribute to high cholesterol levels. The baked version doesn’t offer much nutritional value.”

Plus, avocados are good for you. So you don’t have to feel one bit of guilt eating this icing!

I only had to make one substitution, and that was in the icing. I had just enough cacao to make the cake, and had to use regular cocoa for the icing. But the rest of this cake is completely raw. In the recipe, they don’t specify raw walnuts, but that’s what I used. If you don’t use raw, it’ll still be delicious, but technically not raw.

Do you remember that dark, rich chocolate cake covered in ganache that I asked you to think about? Guess what?! You can have that cake! And you can eat it without an ounce of guilt, because Ani’s version is packed with things that are good for you. But when you’re eating it, you may feel that “knee-jerk guilt” reaction like I did. Because it’s that good. I’m serious!

This recipe got eight thumbs up from the kids, and four more from my husband and I. I hope you’ll try it! You won’t be disappointed.

Oh! For easy serving, and no messy cake slicing, I made this recipe into eight cupcakes. Just divide the “batter” into about eight equal portions, and press into a cupcake pan. A little chill in the fridge (about 5 minutes), and a nudge with a knife, and they easily come out. And while we’re on the subject, when mixing this up in the food processor, let it go until you can’t see bits of the nuts anymore. I also gave it an extra squirt or two of raw agave. You may see some of the walnut oil coming out, but just go with it, and press them into the pan, or into 2 cake layers. **For these photos, I stacked two cupcakes like a layer cake, with icing between. Find the recipe by clicking here! And in case you’re wondering, you can’t taste the dates, or the avocado.

This is the most decadent chocolate cake you’ll ever “uncook!”

Cashew Toffee Cookies

2009-06-18T14:04:00.011-04:00

You know you want these! When you have that first bite, you’ll know it was meant to be. When you bake them, you’ll thank me. Or, you may hate me--because these are hard to stop eating.

I bought this tub of little cookies at Trader Joe’s months ago. In fact, I made these months ago, but I’m just getting around to posting them now. You know how it goes. You make something, take the photos, eat or give away all of the goodies, and the cycle begins again. Before you know it, you have a bunch of recipes and photos sitting around, waiting their turn. Plus, life happens and you’re busy, maybe you can’t get to your blog as much as you’d like. My train of thought has left the station…

Back to the cookies! I can’t remember what the Trader Joe’s cookies were called, but oh my gosh, were they good! Bits of cashew, pockets of caramel, crunchy cookie. I’d guess they were called something along the line of Caramel Cashew Cookies. See how I made that connection? ;)

I wanted to try to make them at home, and figured it couldn’t be too difficult. And as it happened, I’d picked up the April edition of Everyday Food. There was a recipe in it for Pecan Sandies that had all of the flavors I was looking for in the cookie base, so I ran with it. And don’t believe the reviewer on the site that said the recipe needed an egg, it doesn’t. It’s basically a shortbread cookie, which doesn’t need an egg. (Yes, I know, my mom’s shortbread does use an egg, but it’s an old family recipe, and I’m not messing around with that one. It’s untouchable, like most treasured family recipes are, right? Plus, my mom loved it, and she’d be thrilled that I shared it with all of you.)

I didn’t change much in the recipe, but I did double it. Because if you’re making cookies, why would make only 18 of them? And I increased the salt, to play off the sweetness of the toffee bits. mmmmm….

Bonus! There’s no egg in this, so if you’re inclined to eat raw cookie dough (and seriously, who isn’t?), then this one’s for you.

Cashew Toffee Sandies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cashews, coarsely chopped
1 cup toffee bits (like Heath)

Heat oven to 350. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla and salt.
With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour, mixing until combined.
Fold in cashews and toffee bits.

Roll the dough (it's really easy, not sticky!) into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place them on parchment lined sheets.
Wet the bottom of a glass, and lightly flatten the dough balls. (you'll need to re- wet the glass a few times.)
Bake 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown. If you put more than one sheet at a time in the oven, rotate them halfway through baking time.
Cool on wire racks, and store in airtight container.
Makes about 36 delicious cookies.

Funky Chunks Gift Basket Giveaway--Winner Announced!

2009-06-12T18:15:00.005-04:00

Congrats, Rachelle! And thank you to everyone that entered and retweeted about the giveaway!

It’s time for a giveaway! Michele from Life, Lightly Salted has started a bath and body company called Funky Chunks. She has some very cool soaps and equally cool packaging! Add to that that she’s very creative and a sweetheart, and you’ve got a winning combination. You can also check out her soap blog called Funky Chunks for news and new items. We have a winner! Rachelle, from Mommy, I'm Hungry has won the basket.

Anyway, Michele contacted me last week to see if I’d like to host a giveaway for her. Um, hell, yes! So she immediately got some samples in the mail for me to check out. Not only are they in cool packages, but they look, smell and feel great! My favorite has to be the Hot Chocolate Sugar Scrub, and the Pucker! The Pucker! is an herbal dill blend that smells so fresh and clean. But the Tuscan Summer smells great, too. Really, they all do!

So what do you get? A basket with a $30 retail value, including, from Funky Chunks:

4 full size Chunks of Tuscan Summer, Pucker!, Sweet Basil and Root Beer Float
1 Sample Chunk of Green Tea Zen, a soap dish and a big bath scrubbie.

And bonus! Janine, the owner operator of Things That Make Scents has thrown some stuff in, as well!

Brew This! coffee - Jersey Girl flavor (apples, toffee and peanuts)
Tea light candles in Melon Mania and Blue Sea Glass scents (descriptions HERE )

Michele let me know she may toss a few extra things in there, too--so that’s an extra bonus.

I took a few photos of the samples Michele sent me. I thought you may want to see her products and packaging:

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Here is a photo of the Gift Basket:

To enter!

1) Visit Funky Chunks and have a look around. Come back and tell me which soap you’d most love to try. Leave it in a comment here for one entry.

2) Visit Things That Make Sense. Take a look around, pick a candle scent that you love, and leave another comment here letting me know which one it is--for a second entry.

3) Tweet about this giveaway, come back here, and leave your Tweet link in your comment--for a third entry.

4) You can Tweet about this giveaway as much as you like, for additional entries. Just leave your Tweet links in your comments, please! (When you Tweet, click under your message where it says, for example, One Minute Ago, and it will take you to a page where you can copy your Tweet’s link.)

5) DON'T forget to leave a valid email address!

This gives you a ton of chances to win the gift basket!

Open to US entrants only on this one. Winner will be chosen next Friday. But in the meantime, get your butts over to Michele and Janine’s sites and make your wish lists!

Guys, you should enter, too! If you win, share the basket to your favorite girl!

And taking care of a little business: MySpiceSage is now offering 50% OFF the Ultimate Fathers Day Gift Set that includes Ten 1 Cup Bottles of Gourmet Spices and Seasonings perfect for dad, now $29.75! Normally, this gift set is valued at $60.25 when sold separately. Also, we are offering FREE SHIPPING for this item if ordered by 06/15/2009 AND a free personalized card for dad!

MySpiceSage.com has the Ultimate Gift For Fathers Day! Includes 10 Gourmet Spices, Now 50% OFF (FREE DELIVERY by Fathers Day if ordered by 06/15/2009)!

Raw Food, Part 2: Raw Burgers on Raw Bread

2009-06-02T22:30:00.001-04:00

Welcome to installment two in my raw food journey! We’ve been doing well, considering that we’ve been “cooked food + meat eaters forever. My husband is doing slightly better than I am. He’s got the willpower of…I don’t know what, but he’s almost unbending in this raw food journey. A bull! He’s stubborn like a bull.

We’re still in the “integrating” stage, where we do a lot of raw, some vegetarian/vegan, and meat once a week. We had some beef ribs on Memorial Day weekend that we smoked--and oh man, they were delicious and mouthwateringly perfect! But we both felt sort of sick after eating them. Not only bothered in our stomachs, but it felt weird not being able to get the taste out of my mouth. Beef, I’ll miss you. You were always such a tasty treat…hehe. But back to the integrating--we still have some baked bread and non-raw stuff, but overall, we’re eating much healthier than we were a month ago.

Which brings me to these raw burgers, from Ani Phyo. They were really tasty! Perhaps need just a bit of playing around with as far as seasonings go--I’d like to add the Weber Burger Seasoning that we always use. Used, hehe! And maybe a little Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. (Which tastes just like soy sauce, only lighter, for those of you who have never tried it.)

Overall, they were really good, and we’ll have them again, for sure. I loved the flavor that ketchup added, too, surprisingly! I didn’t make Ani’s raw ketchup, but the one we used was organic. They definitely need some crunch, so go ahead and pile on your crisp greens and sliced onions.

I dehydrated the bread and burgers in my oven with the door propped opened, but as we prepare more and more raw foods, I am starting to see the need for and advantages of a dehydrator. We like to have crackers and chips to snack on--and it would be nice to pop them in there and let them do their thing. But in a pinch, the oven did the job.

The recipe for the burgers can be found here, on Ani’s site. And the bread recipe can be found by clicking here. My tip--if you’re making this without a dehydrator, make the bread on parchment paper, because when it’s time to flip it, it’ll be much easier. Then peel the paper off. And although the bread looks cracker-ish, it’s not. It’s very pliable.

Raw Burger Porn:

All of this healthy stuff…

becomes this super healthy bread:

I hope you’ll continue on with me on my raw food journey. It won’t be all I make and post, for sure. I love to bake, and we’re still eating meat at least once a week, so there will always be something for everyone.

Pesto Parmesan Turkey Burgers and Some New England Sights

2009-05-26T18:08:00.001-04:00

Where to start? I guess, with the food, since this is a food blog, right?

This is a quickie recipe that I whipped up a few weeks ago. We had some ground turkey hanging out in the freezer, like it does, and I wanted something different. Burgers are always welcome, but a little variety is nice. A look in the pantry turned up a jar of Trader Joe’s pesto. Bingo! One easy recipe, coming up!

Note: We had two 3/4 pound packages of farm fresh ground turkey (one white, and one dark meat) that we combined to make these. The farm fresh meat is very moist, so we added bread crumbs. If your ground turkey doesn’t seem extra moist, you can skip the bread crumbs. Bottom line--the patties should hold together, so you be the judge.

Pesto Parmesan Turkey Burgers

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 1/4 cups grated fresh parmesan
1/2 cup prepared pesto
1 1/2 tsp garlic pepper rub
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Pesto Mayo

Your favorite mayo (we like Hellman's!)
prepared pesto

Mix all of the burger ingredients (except the things for the pesto mayo) in a medium bowl and form into patties. (We got 8 for this amount)
Cook in a hot pan with a little heated olive oil, or grill for about 4 minutes per side.
For the pesto mayo, just eyeball the amounts until you get it to your liking.
Add any additional toppings you like.

And now, some shots from around NH. These are some taken at Odiorne Point State Park, in Rye, NH. We love visiting here, and we’re out at the coast all the time, anyway. The park has the Seacoast Science Center, which is full of exhibits featuring the local wildlife. The building itself is built on and encompasses the home originally built on the land in the 1600’s. Here is a bit of history about Odiorne Point from NhStateParks.com:

History
In the dense growth of shrubs and vines, covering much of the park's 330 acres, remnants of Odiorne's past silently remain. Reminders of other eras and stark contrasts; idyllic summer estates and gaunt reminders of coastal fortifications. In terms of man and his settlement of this coastal land, Odiorne Point remained a true wilderness until almost 400 years ago. During summer migrations Native Americans of Pennacook and Abnaki tribes visited the area which they called Pannaway. Permanent settlement began in the 1600s.

In 1623 an agent of England's Council for New England cameto fish and trade in the New World. David Thomson journeyed to New England on the ship Jonathan to establish the first New Hampshire settlement at what would become Odiorne Point. Many others followed, and the original settlement grew and spread along the coast and up the river.

John Odiorne joined the settlement in 1660. He acquired several acres of land from the shoreline west into the marshes beyond. Like the others, he farmed and fished. The Odiornes remained on the property for several generations, always a part of the continuing changes in the Odiorne Point community.

By the 1700s the settlement was well established, but the governing and trading activities had moved north into the deep harbor area of Strawberry Banke (now Portsmouth). The farms of Odiorne Point helped to feed the burgeoning port of Portsmouth for about 150 years.

After the Civil War farming gradually gave way to a colony of hotels and large summer homes. Generations of families spent their summers by the sea. In this era of large seaside resorts, a grand hotel called the Sagamore House was built on the property. Over the years smaller parcels of land were sold for summer homes and estates. Formal gardens and tree-lined drives ornamented the properties. By the late 1930s seventeen families lived on Odiorne Point, including an eighth generation descendent of John Odiorne and the last of the Odiornes to live on the ancestral homestead.

World War II (WWII) brought drastic changes to the landscape and to the lives of these people who loved their land by the sea. In 1942 the federal government purchased all the property from Little Harbor to the Sunken Forest, as well as the adjacent marshland. Within a month the Odiornes and their neighbors were gone.

Military structures were quickly built to house personnel, armaments and supplies. Massive concrete casements, often called bunkers, were constructed and camouflaged with thick vegetation. Because of their open aspect to the sea, many of the estates were demolished, and Route 1A was closed. Odiorne Point became known as Fort Dearborn, and for nearly twenty years, was part of the chain of coastal defenses that protected Portsmouth Harbor and the naval shipyard. In the late 1950s Fort Dearborn was declared surplus property. It was sold to the state of New Hampshire for $91,000 in 1961.

You can see a photo of the original house in the photo on this page. The old house is still there and now a part of the Science Center. Sadly, the area was taken over during World War II and used as part of the coastal defense. This photo from activerain.com shows one of the bunkers that is still there.

My dad grew up on the coast, and his father had the chance to buy a very large, very gorgeous home that is still there today, for $5,000.00. Everyone back then thought the homes on the coast would be destroyed. Thankfully, they weren’t. But sadly, my grandfather didn’t buy the house!

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And here are a few more photos from our trip up the the White Mountains yesterday. There’s a couple of vista shots, and a few of only the second time in my life to see a moose up close. We almost didn’t take the Kancamagus Highway to cut through the mountains, but I’m glad we did. This “little” guy was hanging out on the side of the road! I was able to get right in front of him, and then he crossed the road and went by just a few feet from us. Being a city girl, this was very exciting!

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Browned Butter Blueberry Maple Muffins

2009-05-19T13:25:00.004-04:00

Think Blueberry Pancakes. In a nice little handheld size. And no slaving over a hot griddle making pancake after pancake. These are almost instant gratification!

Some of you may remember the Daring Bakers Cake, Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting, from Shuna Fish Lydon. One of the best cakes ever, and the one I’m requesting for my birthday in September. It’s amazing how browning the butter makes the whole thing better. And it’s a simple step, too! Just make sure you run the browned butter through a strainer (a metal mesh one, so it doesn’t melt!) and let it cool slightly before you add it to your recipe.

So, I was thinking about muffins, as I often do. Yes, really! I love them like family. They make a nice breakfast or a delicious snack. It’s cake that’s contained in it’s own little hand held package. Want fruit? Go for it! Nuts? Chocolate? Whatever you feel like!

While I was thinking about muffins, I inadvertently drifted over to breakfast--->pancakes--->blueberry pancakes--->maple syrup--->muffins! The light went on over my head and hit me like a dozen muffins. Or in this case, ten.

Blueberry muffins. Nearly everyone loves them. But putting a spin on them is the fun part! To mimic blueberry pancakes, I could add maple syrup. And browned butter to get the flavor you get from frying your pancakes up in melted butter.

Oh, yes. Now we’re talking! These are right up there in my top 5 favorite muffins now. I’ll definitely make them more, and in fact, they’re now my official blueberry muffin recipe!

I used frozen Wild Maine Blueberries in these. You know, the little tiny ones? But you can use any kind you like. And even though I think purple muffins are extremely cool, I did rinse them before using. I wanted to see if the browned butter gave the batter some color, and it did. After baking, they were a nice caramel color.

Maple Syrup. Please, if you love me, use real maple syrup in these. Not the doctored up corn syrup with artificial maple flavoring and coloring. In this case, I used a maple agave blend from Trader Joe’s. It’s real maple syrup blended with agave. It’s one of my new best friends! If you can’t get your hands on that, maple syrup is perfect.

I adapted this recipe from one found in 100 Muffins and Scones, by Felicity Barnum-Bobb. This book is packed with mouthwatering recipes to feed my muffin addiction!

Browned Butter Blueberry Maple Muffins
adapted from 100 Magnificent Muffins & Scones, by Felicity Barnum-Bobb

To print this recipe, click here.

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup blueberries (if frozen, rinsed and set aside to dry a bit)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup, for brushing over tops

Heat oven to 375, and lightly grease your muffin pan.
Melt the butter in a small pan, letting it go until it starts to brown and smell nutty. Don't let it burn, but stop
when it gets deep brown. There will be dark sediment in the pan, so pour the butter through a wire mesh strainer
and set it aside to cool a bit. Don't worry if a bit of the sediment makes it through the strainer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and sugar.
In a smaller bowl, toss the berries with 1/4 cup of the flour mixture.
In a large measuring cup or smaller bowl, whisk the melted butter, maple syrup eggs and salt.
Pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff, mix just until blended--then fold in berries.
Fill the muffin cups evenly (I got 10 muffins) and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Do the toothpick test--it should come out clean.
Let the muffins cool a few minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the edges, and turn them out on to a
cooling rack.
Place the cooling rack over a parchment lined pan, and brush the tops with the maple syrup.

A question to you, my readers--what are your favorite kinds of muffins?

Quinoa Polenta with Sautéed Lentils and Portobellos

2009-05-12T14:30:00.004-04:00

This dinner was put together one night when looking for a way to use up a package of steamed lentils from Trader Joe’s, a few Portobello mushroom caps, and some quinoa. Yes, I said steamed lentils! It’s a pack of 2 1/2 cups of lentils, vacuum sealed and ready to go. Now, there’s no reason at all why you couldn’t make your own lentils, but I think it would be better if you made them ahead and let them sit in the fridge for a day. Just like you do for fried rice. It lets them separate and firm up, and hold up better to sautéing—so they don’t turn to mush.

The quinoa part of this is done polenta-style, with some fresh grated parmesan, and is from Whole Grains for Busy People, by Lorna Sass. Couldn’t be easier! I’ve made this quite a few times already, even adding an extra bit of half and half at the end for a little more creaminess. Delicious!

Lorna’s book is loaded with great recipes—I have a ton marked to try. And it’s not a vegetarian book, by any means. There’s plenty of meaty recipes in there, but whole grains are included. And they’re all quick, weeknight meals, with grains that cook quickly. But don’t feel the need to limit them to just weeknights!

So get your quinoa polenta going in one pot, and start the lentils in another pan. If you like, you can do the mushrooms in a third pan, but I just transfer the lentils to a bowl when they’re done, then do the portobellos in the same pan. They’re very quick to cook up, so your other stuff isn’t going to get cold.

Don’t look at the three elements and think it’s too complicated, please. Each one is extremely quick and easy, I promise!

Quinoa-Style Polenta
From Whole Grains for Busy People, and slightly changed

1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth (or use vegetable broth if you prefer)
1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp of your favorite fresh herbs, minced (or about 1 tsp dried)
salt and fresh cracked black pepper

In a saucepan, bring broth and quinoa to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook about 12-15 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Stir in the remaining ingredients and set aside.

Sautéed Lentils

2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer)
2 tbsp of your favorite fresh herbs, minced (or about 2 tsp dried)
fresh cracked black pepper

In a skillet over medium low heat, heat some olive oil, then add the garlic and saute for a few minutes, being
careful not to burn it.
Increase the heat to medium high, and add the onions--cook for a few minutes.
Add the lentils and broth, and simmer for about 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
You want to cook off most of the liquid.
Add the herbs and pepper.
Set aside, or remove from pan--then wipe it clean and slowly heat a little olive oil to get ready for the mushrooms...

Sautéed Portobellos

2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 large Portobello mushroom caps, stems removed and sliced, gills removed, and rinsed
your favorite herbs
fresh cracked black pepper and a little salt

Slice the mushrooms into pieces about 3/4 inch thick. Use the sliced stems, too, if you like!
Heat a bit of oil in a pan over medium low heat, then add the garlic.
Saute, being careful not to burn it.
Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.
Add herbs, salt and pepper.

Layer the quinoa, lentils, then mushrooms in your bowl, and top with extra grated parmesan.

Serves 3 people

My meat-eating husband absolutely loves this one! And see how it serves three people? That means the two of us for dinner, and he gets the leftovers for lunch the next day. That’s how much he loves this dish.

Food Blog Code of Ethics

2009-05-04T14:43:00.005-04:00

There’s been a lot of buzz around the food blogging world for the last few days. If you want to know why, you can click the link and read all about it.

Food Blog Code of Ethics

While the basic idea of this code is common sense honesty, and I’m sure—written with good intentions--there are a few things about it that rub me the wrong way. I’ll touch on those first, then give you some links to other blogs who have posted about it, as well. I urge you to also read through the comments—they’re well thought out and may bring up some points you haven’t thought of.

1) This Code of Ethics was written by two trained journalists that also blog about food. So naturally, they lean towards journalistic ethics. And that’s fine! If you’re a journalist. Which I am not. I write this blog for fun. I look at it as friends having a chat about food.

2) The authors of the code say they had heated discussions with other food bloggers before putting it in writing. What food bloggers? I wasn’t one of them. I don’t think I know any one else that was asked to weigh in on it. I think that before one word of the code was released, it should have been put out there for all food bloggers to offer up opinions on. Granted, there would have been a lot of opinions to wade through, but I think if you’re going to set up “guidelines” that you’d like to apply to all food bloggers, then you ought to give them the option to know about it and be a part of it before you release it to the world. That’s common sense.

3) Honesty. It’s a very good thing! I’m an honest person with integrity. I don’t think that if I put a little badge saying “I Follow The Code” in my sidebar, you’ll all rest easier at night. Will you? I give my readers way more credit than that! You guys can discern between bullshit and the truth. It seems silly to me to have to tell you that I’m an honest person. You’ll either think someone is or not. But more importantly, you’ll form that opinion on your own. I actually read a comment by someone who was all aboard for the code, and said it was a way to *set themselves apart as having standards* they write by.

Well, excuse me (!), but I have standards already, and don’t need a code to proclaim it! Being ethical, honest, and civil are qualities you either have, or you don’t. And no code is going to help you if you don’t already possess those attributes.

4) While we’re on the subject of honesty…I really don’t expect that the thieves out there that steal blog content and photos will suddenly say “Oh, there’s a CODE? Well, that changes everything! I’ll stop stealing your content right away and never do it again!” Please. They’re going to do it anyway, because they’re unethical, and no badge or document will stop them. They have to want to do it.

5) The authors of the code think that restaurant reviews by food bloggers should be fair. I can’t argue with that at all. But they suggest visiting an establishment at least twice before reviewing. Which would be fine if I were a journalist with an expense account. But I’m a stay at home mom, and our budget for such things come out of my husband’s paycheck. I suggest that restaurants learn consistency and put out quality food every time a plate leaves the kitchen, or own up to it—and not get pissed at the food blogger that happened to get a bad plate of food.

6) I fund this blog. Which means I’m “Supreme Ruler and Dictator” when it comes to what I publish on it. If I want to be crude (which I’m not, for the most part) I will. If I don’t want to be civil, I won’t. Please refer to my title in line one, section six if you’ve got an issue with that.

7) From the code:

“As the blogging world expands exponentially, more and more people in the culinary world believe that food bloggers—as a group—are unfair, highly critical, untrained and power hungry individuals empowered by anonymity.”

I’m betting that the ones who think food bloggers are unfair and critical are the very ones being criticized by food bloggers. They call us hacks. I have a simple solution for them. Put out better food, better books, and better products. And put on your grown up panties and realize that not everyone will kiss your ass and tell you you’re awesome! If you’re putting yourself out there publicly, be ready for criticism. It’s part of being in the public eye.

8) The badge. For the time being, they’ve decided to hold off on releasing it, and thank GOD for that. They say: “We’re conflicted about the negative message the badge might convey.”

Negative message is right! Can you imagine new readers coming to a great, honest blog—not seeing the badge, and thinking “Oh, this must be written by an unethical, dishonest hack. I must go elsewhere.”

This badge should never, ever become the defining “badge of honor.” Because there are millions of honest, ethical and civil food bloggers out there, and they don’t need a badge to proclaim it. I’ll say it again. I think 99% of food blog readers are extremely smart people and can tell when someone is trying to bullshit them—and the 1% are trolls looking to piss people off. But for someone who just starts reading food blogs—well, I hope they never have to look for a badge of honesty to decide whether to read a blog or not.

_______________________________________________________________________________

I guess that was a little more than a few. But I feel very strongly about this. Now, the authors state plainly that these are guidelines, not rules. But really, if someone decides not to follow and jump on the bandwagon, does that make them unethical? Dishonest? Uncivil?

Hell, no! But it’s a slippery slope they’re on—trying to govern a very large group of people and hold them to standards that journalists follow. And with all due respect to these ladies, rather pretentious. I don’t know the numbers, but I’m betting most food bloggers aren’t trained journalists like the authors of the code. Will people embrace it, follow it, live by it? Or will the hype die down in a few months as we’ve all moved on to something else? I don’t know yet.

Here are a few links to check out. I hope you’ll go read them, and don’t forget the comments! There are many opinions, and things for you to think about. Whether you’re a food blog writer or a blog reader—you should know about this code, and decide if it’s important to you or not. As a reader, especially. Will you look for the badge of honesty? Or will you let the blogs speak for themselves, and use your intelligence to see when someone is lying to you?

I’ll leave you with this: I’m an honest person. I’m ethical, and civil. And I care about my readers—I won’t lie to you. But I won’t subscribe to someone else’s idea of what a food blogger should be like. I’ll be me, without a shiny badge, and hope that you’ll still come back to read about what I have to say. And thanks to those that do!

Raw Cream of Asparagus Soup

2009-04-27T16:12:00.001-04:00

Yes, you read that right—raw! This soup is completely uncooked, just made in a blender. It’s not even heated up. And don’t think I’m off my rocker, hehe. Think cold soups and gazpacho!

My husband and I have decided to incorporate healthier eating into our diets, in a couple of ways. One, by adding one or two vegetarian meals per week, and two, by adding a couple of raw food recipes to our repertoire every week or so. What are some benefits of eating raw foods? Well, the obvious, of course—you’re not cooking the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals out of the food. Then there’s the fiber—that's an important benefit. But so is feeling good about what you eat.

I’ll be the first person in line when someone’s grilling a steak, chicken, or a burger—I love meat. But maybe I don’t want to eat it every single day. Who says I have to? No one, of course. Maybe some of you are feeling the same way. Especially in the summertime, when eating lighter and not heating up the kitchen sound like two really good things. And eating lots of raw, locally grown and organic foods appeals to us right now.

With these thoughts in mind, we went to Barnes and Noble last weekend, grabbed a bunch of raw (un)cookbooks off the shelf, grabbed a table in the cafe, and immersed ourselves in “uncooking.” Some of the books were exactly what we expected. Recipes were complicated, with three, four, or five separate components. You “needed” a special blender, and a “must have” was a dehydrator. Sure, the food looked amazing, but these recipes were no way to ease into a raw food lifestyle. Not for us, anyway.

Two books stood out among all of the ones we looked at, though. First, Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes, by Ani Phyo, and Everyday Raw, by Matthew Kenney.

See them both here, on Amazon:

Both of these books make adding raw foods to your diet easy and definitely not daunting. The recipes are droolworthy and beautiful. The ingredients aren’t hard to track down. There may be a few new ingredients you haven’t seen or heard of yet, but that’s what google is for, right? And so far, I’ve had no trouble tracking down the few things I didn’t have in my pantry.

In Everyday Raw, Matthew says you don’t even need a dehydrator, which I don’t have. You can use your oven on it’s lowest setting, with the door propped open. What’s the dehydrator for? Well, it’s for raw breads, crackers, crusts—in other words, they’re dried, not heated and baked.

I’m going to try my hand at making raw bread from Ani’s book this week, and will keep you posted. It’s for the Sun Burgers on Black Sesame Sunflower Bread that she’s enjoying on the cover of her book. They look and sound incredible! My husband and I figured that since we’re just starting out and testing the waters, we’d compromise with crusts and breads for the most part. In other words, if we want raw pizza, we’ll make the healthiest pizza crust we can find, bake it, and then add raw toppings. Same thing for tart and pie crusts, breads, etc. As we get better at this, maybe we’ll invest in that dehydrator and see what we can do. A side note—Ani’s tart and pie crusts are not dehydrated—just held together with dates and pressed into the pan.

So far, Ani’s book seems to be the best place to start. She rarely uses a dehydrator—very few of her recipes call for one, and we already know we can use our oven. She also has a website, where you can see some of her recipes.

When we left the bookstore, we headed over to our local natural foods store. It was fate. They were serving samples of this raw soup. Who can resist a free sample? It was delicious—cool, creamy, fresh tasting, and had a little crunch from some fresh corn sprinkled over the top. And guess what? They had copies of the recipe, and everything to make it, right there in one place. Of course we picked up everything to make it at home!

This one’s very good for summer meals when you want a little bit of a starter. Serve a small bowl or a pretty little cup of this to guests and I’m sure they’ll love it. I don’t think I could sit and eat a whole bowl of this, though. It’s amazingly creamy and rich for something that has no cream in it! The creaminess comes from raw cashews blended right in, and an avocado. There’s also coconut water in this. Not coconut milk, but water. That’s refreshing on it’s own! And delicious, too.

Every single ingredient in this recipe, except for the raw cashews, can be found at my local grocery chain. In fact, many of them were cheaper there than at the natural foods store. It’s all trial and error. Also—I think you could easily warm this soup up if you prefer!

Raw Cream of Asparagus Soup

from A Market Natural Foods

Print this recipe here.

Makes 4 servings

1 bunch raw asparagus
1 ripe avocado
1 liter coconut water
1 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup fresh dill
juice of one lemon
1 tsp tamari
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 ear fresh corn, with corn removed

Add all ingredients except corn to blender.
(If it's too much to fit all at once, do it in two batches and mix together.)
Blend until smooth or desired texture.
Top with fresh corn and serve.

Another benefit of raw cooking? For the most part, it’s pretty quick. This one was, anyway. Keep an eye out for more recipes like this one, raw and uncooked. But don’t worry, there’s still meat in the freezer, and bread in the oven, hehe. Baby steps.

Guacamole Ice Cream…sort of!

2009-04-20T15:10:00.001-04:00

Time for the monthly Royal Foodie Joust! What’s the Joust, you ask? It’s a monthly contest started by Jenn, The Leftover Queen. Who also runs The Foodie BlogRoll. And if you have a food blog and haven’t joined yet, what are you waiting for? They have giveaways happening all the time, and all you need to do to enter is join the BlogRoll. Plus, there are forums that are a great way to network, meet other bloggers, and find lots of great information. So get on over there and check it all out!

Last month’s Joust was won by Peter and Christey at http://fotocuisine.com/, and they won with their entry for Almond Crusted Asparagus Rolls with Lemongrass Hollandaise. How amazing does that look? Well, everything they have posted does, right?

The winner of each Joust gets to choose the three ingredients for the next Joust. And this time, instead of choosing specific ingredients, Peter and Christey chose Red, White, and Green. I loved this idea, because it leaves the Joust wide open to interpretation. Feeling sweet, savory, traditional or daring? Doesn’t matter—as long as you use some red, white and green.

This past Saturday, I was having a short chat with Michele, at Life, Lightly Salted. She’s a real sweetheart and has an outstanding blog, so please go and say hello to her. We were talking about ice cream, and she was saying she was going to try making some avocado ice cream. I swear, I almost saw the light bulb go off over my head. I love guacamole, and what if I could make avocado ice cream, but make it look like the dip I love so much?

It all fell into place. Since I’d always wanted to try avocado ice cream, I knew this would be fun—plus my ice cream maker was growing far too lazy. I decided to use diced strawberries instead of tomatoes, shredded coconut in place of diced white onion, and mint would stand in for cilantro.

I used a basic recipe for the ice cream from Alton Brown. You just can’t go wrong with his recipes. I didn’t let the mixture chill for 4-6 hours, though. More like 30-40 minutes, and I had no problems. Damn my lack of patience! And toward the end of the cycle, I tossed in a few small handfuls of coconut, and about 6 large diced strawberries. I almost forgot the mint until my husband reminded me. Whew! I’d have hated to have forgotten that. I just folded that in myself and them tossed it all in the freezer to set better.

I should have taken a photo before scooping some out, though, because when it was in the container, it looked just like guacamole! My daughter came in and said, “gross, mom, that ice cream looks like guacamole!” Good! that’s what I was going for! ;)

My “tortilla chips” would be played by shortbread cookies. This recipe is from my grandmother, and we made it almost every year for Christmas. The cookies are so pretty with red and green sugar on them. We usually make them into individual cookies, but since I was trying to get the tortilla chip thing going, I split the dough into two portions, and patted it out into two circles on a parchment lined sheet. Lightly score the dough into wedges, then bake. After baking, you can separate the wedges. (They take a little longer to bake this way—about 10 extra minutes. they should feel set on the top.) I know, most shortbread recipes don’t use any eggs, but I adore this recipe. They seem lighter, and not so heavy.

Mom's Shortbread Cookies

To print this recipe, click here.

This is my mom's tried and true shortbread recipe. She got it from my grandmother. These are great any time of year, but especially nice for Christmas gifts. You can sprinkle them with green or red sugar before baking. The flavor of these cookies improves with age, so make them a few days before you plan to give them away.

2 cups    flour
1 cup    butter, softened
1/2 tsp    baking powder
1/2 cup    sugar
1    egg
1    fresh lemon rind, of grated

Sift flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.
Cream butter, add sugar slowly, mixing well.
Mix in egg and lemon rind.
Add flour/baking powder mixture, mix in well.
Shape into balls about the size of a golf ball, place on pan, flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass.
Bake at 300° for 15 to 20 minutes, just until a bit golden on the edges.
These last well if kept in a tightly covered container, and actually taste even better after a day or two as the flavors develop.

Yield: 48-60 cookies
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

And that’s it—that’s my entry for this month’s Royal foodie Joust. Wish me luck! And avocado ice cream? Let’s just say it’ll be in regular rotation this summer. Because, yum!

Greek Sandwich with Feta Vinaigrette

2009-04-16T16:42:00.002-04:00

You’re in a hurry! Running late, maybe even stuck in traffic. What’s for dinner? With one quick stop to the grocery store, or better yet—the farmer’s market, you can have everything in one bag to make this tempting sandwich.

We love this one. Seriously. L. O. V. E. It’s cool and refreshing with zero cooking involved, so that makes it great for hot summer evenings when you can’t even think of turning on the oven. What’s so great about it? Well, aside from being delicious and loaded with vegetables, it’s also crunchy, cool, and satisfying. I think it would be great with some grilled chicken tucked in there, too. And now that we can actually see the grill out there in the yard, it’s a perfect time to try that option out. We’ve been enjoying this all winter long. Yes, really! With bagged spinach, Campari Tomatoes or vine ripened, and an English Cucumber—you know the ones, all wrapped up in plastic—this still tastes like a fresh summer sandwich.

Have you guys tried the Campari tomatoes? They’re the closest I've found to garden fresh. They’re sweet and so good. I think I’ll have to do a side by side when we start getting garden tomatoes this summer. Anyway, they’re a bit pricier than the pink, bland “other” tomatoes, but they’re well worth it.

I found this recipe a while back at MyRecipes.com. If you haven’t checked this site out yet, you should. It’s packed with great recipes and tips! Whether you want quick recipes, diet friendly, budget, or party recipes and more, you can find them there. The MyRecipes.com network has recipes from some of your favorite magazines:

Just look at all of those resources, right at your fingertips! So check them out!

You can find the recipe for the sandwich here: Greek Sandwich with Feta Vinaigrette. The only thing I do differently is to use fresh spinach instead of arugula. And do make the dressing to taste—a reviewer said she thought it was a bit lemony, so she added extra oil. It’s all to taste, right?

One side note—we like to really pack the salad into the sandwiches. I know, oink, right? But it’s salad! Can’t fault me for that, hehe. So it can get a little messy. Serve with a fork for picking up the salad that is going to fall out in your plate. And if you’re serving it to guests, make sure they’re people you’re not trying to impress with your graceful eating habits. This sandwich is good. Really good. And worth getting a little messy over.

If any of you decide to try it, please let me know how you liked it, and also let me know if you try it with chicken! One more thing! The dressing and salad make a wonderful side salad on their own, or even with some chicken added for a main dish meal.

Dr. Kracker Giveaway Winners!

2009-04-13T13:21:00.001-04:00

The Random Number Generator has spoken. Here are the 10 random winners:

# 39:

Darshana said... 39

Hands down the Pumpkin Cheddar flavour!
dsen@uwo.ca
=)

Apr 7, 2009 9:08:00 PM

# 54:

Thoughts said... 54

Wow the flat breads look yummy!
Craveinc@gmail.com

Apr 11, 2009 9:11:00 PM

# 44:

cessc said... 44

Yum! I want to try pumpkin seed cheddar
cecilycoleman at gmail dot com

Apr 8, 2009 2:17:00 PM

# 40:

Sylvie said... 40

Pumpkin Seed Cheddar seems like it would be tasty to munch on plain. But the original might be better to spread with toppings.

Apr 8, 2009 3:07:00 AM

# 29:

Anonymous said... 29

Classic 3 seed. I have had these while vacationing in Florida. Excellent!!!
Maxionl@aol.com

Apr 7, 2009 11:51:00 AM

# 65:

Anonymous said... 65

I really like the 3 seed & spelt. Tried them before and would love to win.
Don Frye
donfrye1@msn.com

Apr 13, 2009 11:27:00 AM

# 21:

Lisa said... 21

Those look amazing! I would say I'd love to try the sunflower cheddar. They all look delicious. I have to go back now and see if they sell them in RI!
ghenne64@gmail.com

Apr 6, 2009 5:43:00 PM

# 16:

Maria said... 16

What a healthy snack! I would love to try the Klassic 3 Seed!
twopeasandtheirpod@gmail.com

Apr 6, 2009 3:03:00 PM

# 9:

Tiff said... 9

I think that the pumpkin cheddar crackers sound divine! With a little jam or cheese, hey maybe both, these would hit my snacking spot!
tiffany.r.schmidt (at) gmail.com

Apr 6, 2009 12:40:00 PM

# 42: (Who, sadly, doesn’t qualify because she’s in Brazil. I’m So sorry, Cris, but thanks for helping me get the word out!)

Cris said... 42

On Twitter!!!
Elle! Even if it is only US I spread the word to my US blogger friends who follow me!

So! Since we need one more winner, the Random Number thing will have to work a bit more…

The final winner is # 7:

haley said... 7

Those all look so good! I think I could go for some pumpkin seed cheddar right now.

Apr 6, 2009 11:49:00 AM

Congratulations to all of the winners! I’ll be emailing all of you shortly to get your mailing info for the Dr. Kracker folks.

Stuffed French Toast, and Breakfast Memories

2009-04-09T11:36:00.002-04:00

Is there anyone that doesn’t love going out for breakfast? I don’t think it’s possible. There’s so many choices, and I don’t know about all of you, but for whatever reason, some things just taste better when someone else makes it. I know, I’m weird. But I like other people’s eggs better than mine. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Great the way it is, but when someone makes it for me, it tastes better. Are they putting extra love in it? I have no idea. And don’t even get me started on omelettes. I’m still working on making decent ones—my husband makes good ones! Mine? I definitely need practice.

Going out for breakfast has always been a special thing for us. It wasn’t for me until I met my husband. When we were dating, he took me to all kinds of great places (and luckily, he still does!), and breakfast was no exception. There was one place we loved so much, that we’d wait outside in rain, snow, sweltering heat, or freezing temps just to get in. And it was so busy, that this could sometimes take up to an hour, maybe more. Some of you local readers may remember it—Jakes, in Dover, NH. It was THE place to be on weekend mornings. Seriously.

It was so funny, because there were two little tables by the the windows, on either side of the door? And if you got a window table, you’d have starving people waiting in line, looking in your window and drooling over your food! And when you finally made it inside the vestibule (which could fit about 4 people, but often held 6 or 7 in bad weather, hehehe) you’d see the waitresses carrying trays full of the most delicious foods ever made for feasting on—right in front of your starving face. And everyone would say “I’m having that! And that! Oh, and that, too!” They had amazing omelettes, delicious muffins, pancakes, waffles—and nothing was average. I truly miss that place—it’s gone now. But I have some delicious/hilarious memories of it. Remind me to tell you all about Karl’s someday…Snotty Fries, anyone? ;-) (No, I didn’t go to UNH, but had friends that did, and got to enjoy Karl’s firsthand.)

We still judge being full by “Jakes Full.” As in, “I’m so full!”

“Really? But are you Jakes Full?”

Because you’d waited so damn long to get in, that when you finally did, you wanted everything. hehehe

Good times, gooooood times.

Look at the brown sugar melting into the sour cream…

But our current favorite is Betty’s Kitchen in Hampton, NH. Their food is great, and their menu is huge! They have about a million* omelettes, and a hundred** Benedicts (the lobster one is always a favorite), plus all of the expected breakfast fare. You can see a sample of the menu here. There’s way more! Look at the Specials! And they also serve a great lunch.

*Slightly exaggerating.

**Still exaggerating.

I’m stuck in a rut at Betty’s, though. And by no fault of theirs! I can’t go without ordering their Stuffed French Toast. It gets me every stinking time. It’s too good to pass up—I can’t help myself! It’s French Toast, layered with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. And topped with a dollop of sour cream and brown sugar. And a side note here—if you’ve never tried fresh strawberries dunked in sour cream and then in brown sugar? You’re seriously missing out on one of life’s greatest simple pleasures.

The guests of honor at today’s brunch? Blueberries and strawberries, and their wacky friends, the bananas.

There’s no set recipe for this. French Toast is pretty basic, right? Beaten eggs, a little cream, and extras like vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and we like to use agave instead of sugar. Use what you like and what you have on hand.

Stuffed French Toast

To print this recipe, click here!

your favorite sliced bread
4-6 eggs (depending on how much you're making--I made 9 slices from this amount)
a splash of cream (I use half and half, because it's always in my fridge)
vanilla, a tsp or so
about 2-3 tsp agave (but you can use whatever sweetener you like)
cinnamon, about 1/2 tsp
nutmeg, about 1/4 tsp

Beat all ingredients in a bowl, then pour into something shallow, like a pie plate.
Soak a couple of pieces of bread, on both sides, until they're saturated with the egg mixture.
Heat a little butter and oil in a sauté pan, and when it's hot, add your soaked bread.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side, until golden brown, then cook the other side the same.
After you make the first two, you get the rhythm of how long it'll take to do each side to the doneness you want.
Remove to a plate and keep warm while you cook the rest. I soak the next two slices as two are cooking, so I always have some ready to go into the hot pan.

When you're done cooking, layer the French toast with sliced strawberries and bananas, and the blueberries.
Put a dollop of sour cream on the top, and sprinkle some brown sugar over that.
Serve with your favorite maple syrup.

And speaking of maple syrup! Has everyone seen the Agave Maple Syrup Blend at Trader Joe’s? It’s a perfect blend of real maple syrup with agave. Delicious!

I’m a potato snob and always judge a breakfast place by it’s potatoes. It’s pretty hard to screw those up, but so many places do. In fact, Betty’s potatoes could be a little crispier, but I love everything else there so much, that I’ll forgive them that.

So, what are your favorite things to get when you go out for breakfast? And what is your favorite breakfast place?

Doctor Kracker: The Newest Thing in Flat Breads. Plus a Giveaway

2009-04-06T11:16:00.002-04:00

Tuna Melt with Roasted Red Pepper Strips

Are they crackers, or flatbreads? Either way, they’re delicious! They’re crunchy, so tasty, and as an added bonus, good for you! They’re organic and loaded with great things like whole wheat flour, spelt, oats, bran, flaxseed, nuts and seeds. And just look at their Allergen Statement:

Dr. Kracker's allergen statement:

All of Dr. Kracker's suppliers of flour, grains and seeds have provided our bakery with letters that certify that their products are uncontaminated by peanuts or tree nuts. The only allergens that Dr. Kracker lists are wheat and milk. Further, our bakery is certified organic by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

So for those of you with nut allergies—these are the crackers for you!

Ham and Muenster with Hummus

We’ve been munching on the crackers for a few weeks now—George from Dr. Kracker was very generous and offered to send us some to try, after we told him how much we enjoyed his crackers. We found a box on the shelves at TJ Maxx, of all places, and couldn’t resist. And once we tried them? We fell in love. There’s no other way to describe it. They’re super crunchy and they taste great—and it almost makes you feel guilty, like you’re indulging in bad for you snacks or chips. But wait! They’re good for you !

As I write this, I’m munching on my current favorite flavor, Pumpkin Seed Cheddar. Not only are the crackers good for you, but they’re so versatile and go well with so many things. We’ve had them with dips, with peanut butter and jelly, with hummus and cold cuts, and also tuna melts. To see their other flavors, click here. They also have some new flavors you can see here!

George and crew at Dr. Kracker have been extremely generous and offered to give some of their amazing crackers/flatbreads to you, my readers!

The five Original Flavors served with hummus and Tabouleh.

Ten people will receive a box including eight packs of crackers. One of each of the five original flavors, and one of each of the three newest flavors. How cool is that? And seriously, when you taste them, you’ll wonder where they’ve been all your life.

Look at all of the seed-filled goodness!

And if you’d like to try them in the meantime, you can click to see if they’re available in your area. You can also buy them online. And if they’re not in your area, ask your local stores to carry them!

Good old PB&J

What do you need to do to enter?

1. Visit the Dr. Kracker site, check out the flavors, and let me know which one(s) you’d love to try.

2. Come back here, and leave a comment with a valid email address! If you don’t leave an email address, or it’s invalid, I’ll choose another winner. Seriously. I’ve had to do that already, and it wasn’t fun.

3. You must have a physical address, no PO boxes, please.

4. You can get an extra entry If you Twitter about the giveaway. Come back here with the link to your Twitter post (you must have that!!) and post that link in a second comment for an extra entry. To get the link to your Twitter post, click under your message where it says "less than _____ ago" and that will take you to a page where you can copy the url of your message.

So everyone has at least two ways to get entries. Limit two entries per person.

I’m waiting to hear back from George as to where they ship, and will update this post as soon as I hear back from him. I’m assuming it’s US only, but I will clarify that.

The contest will run until next Monday, April 13th. I’ll choose the winners on that day. Good luck! I want everyone to try these flatbreads!

Ingredient Wars: Fried Fish Egg Rolls with Asian Style Ricotta Dipping Sauce

2009-04-03T12:34:00.002-04:00

Ingredient Wars! This time around, again, was a very fun challenge for me. I went back and forth for a while about what to make (which is why I’d never cut it as a challenger on the actual show, Chopped.) and finally decided on egg rolls.

Making egg rolls used to scare the heck out of me, but thanks to my good friend Canarygirl, who walked me through it a few years back, I realized it wasn’t hard at all. A little time consuming, maybe, but still—pretty easy.

The ingredients this time around were :

1. Cod Fillets (or some other white fish)

2. 1 orange

3. Ricotta Cheese

4. Egg Roll Wrappers

5. Ritz Crackers (or another butter cracker)

I decided I’d pan fry the fish, after dipping it in egg white and the Ritz crumbs. Than adding things from the pantry and fridge, I’d make an egg roll filling to put inside the egg roll wrappers. The ricotta cheese became an Asian Style dipping sauce for the egg rolls.

The Ingredient Wars Judge, aka my husband, asked if we could make a few open-faced egg rolls. Sure, why not? So a few egg roll wrappers were just tossed into the hot oil—man are those delicious as is! But we held back some of the filling to just scoop over the top of the flat fried egg roll wrappers, and you know? That turned out to be my favorite of the two. Who knew? The filling hadn’t been heated up, so it was like a cool, crunchy salad on top. Good stuff!

Recipes:

To print these recipes, click here!

Fried Fish Egg Rolls with Asian Style Ricotta Dipping Sauce

Fish:

1 pound cod, or other white fish
4 egg whites, beaten
1 1/2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs

Egg Roll Filling:

5-6 green onions, chopped
1 head Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced
6 oz bag matchstick carrots
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
3 minced garlic cloves
1/3 cup soy sauce
13 cup rice vinegar
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp or so of orange zest
fresh cracked black pepper
the cooked fish from earlier, flaked
1 package egg roll wrappers
oil for frying

Asian Style Ricotta Dipping Sauce

7 oz ricotta cheese
juice of half an orange
1 tsp or so of orange zest
1 TBSP cilantro, minced
1 TBSP soy sauce
a few drops of sesame oil
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Prepare the fish:

Dip fish in egg whites, then in Ritz crumbs.
Heat a bit of oil in a pan, cook fish for 3-5 minutes per side, or until done.
Set aside to cool.

Prepare the sauce:

Mix all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl, set side in the fridge.

Prepare the egg rolls:

In a large bowl, mix all of the filling ingredients, except the wrappers. Season to taste.
Fill each wrapper with 1/3 cup of filling in the center. Wet edges of the wrapper, and roll up
egg roll style, sealing the edges well.
Heat oil to at least 350°, and fry about 4 egg rolls at a time--3-4 minutes on one side, and 3 minutes on second

side.
Let the oil come back to temp between each batch--this is extremely important so the hot oil sears the egg roll, and oil doesn't seep inside.
Remove to a rack placed over paper towels to drain.
Serve with dipping sauce.

For an open faced egg roll, fry an unrolled wrapper till golden brown on each side, then drain on the same rack over paper towels.

i hope any of you that decided to participate are having fun with the ingredients! Stay tuned for the next Ingredient Wars. I hear from “The Judge” that something sweet may be on the horizon.

Check out what Caleb did with the ingredients this time around! Looks fantastic, doesn’t it?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

And a bit of news—there’s a special promotion going on at MySpiceSage.com.

MySpiceSage.com is offering Free 1 Ounce Samples of their delicious spices! (With a limit of one per order.) The good news is that every time their customers order from MySpiceSage they can try another spice free of charge!

Free 1 oz. sample with no minimum order or strings attached at MySpiceSage.com!

Go check them out!

Chocolate Glazed Donut Muffins

2009-03-31T10:08:00.003-04:00

Cravings. I’m one of those people that can’t stop thinking about them once they hit me. I have to satisfy the cravings to get them out of my head. And they’re for all kinds of things, like the rest of you, I’m sure. A very common one for me is spaghetti and meatballs—I crave that all the time! My family is lucky they don’t eat it every week. Though, I don’t suppose they’d mind…hmmm…I know I wouldn’t!

But that’s not what this post is about! Cravings, yes. Spaghetti and meatballs, no. I had a craving for a Chocolate Glazed donut. Could not stop thinking about them. But do I really want a deep fried, full of fat, greasy donut? Well, maybe, but should I have one? Hell, no! So I went for the next best thing.

Yes. Cake for breakfast. Also known as Muffins. My friends, muffins. I love them! These are no exception—they were so. Damn. Good. And very easy to make—a bonus!

Chocolate Glazed Donut Muffins

To print these recipes, click here!

makes about 9 muffins

2 cup flour
scant 1 cup sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Cake Spice + 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix in the eggs, oil, butter, milk and vanilla.
Grease the muffin pans. Divide the batter between the muffin cups--an ice cream scoop works great!
Bake for about 18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool in pan on rack for about 5 minutes, then turn on out on rack to cool.
Cool completely before glazing.

And here is the recipe for the glaze, from King Arthur Flour. King Arthur is the only flour I use, ever. It’s such great quality and never lets me down. And have you checked out their site? Bakers Heaven!

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup (I use Golden Syrup)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add extra corn syrup if needed to make a smooth, shiny glaze. Yield: about ½ cup glaze.

If you’re using sprinkles, get them on there right after glazing the muffins so they’ll stick. And then let the muffins sit for a bit so the glaze can set up. The easiest way (for me) to glaze them was to put the glaze in a bowl that’s kind of narrow at the bottom, so the glaze isn’t too shallow. If it is, you’ll be bumping the muffins on the bottom of the bowl and won’t get a pretty glaze.

Bucatini with Tuna and Baby Peas and an Announcement

2009-03-27T09:41:00.003-04:00

Easy dinner alert! This one’s a family favorite. We love this dish! Well, honestly, my younger kids don’t because they don’t like tuna or garlic. Crazy kids, right? But my 13 year old loves it, too!

Not only does this one taste great, but the ingredients in it can be kept on hand for a complete pantry dinner! Who doesn’t love that? So not only is it delicious, but you can have everything on hand to make this at a moment’s notice. In fact, I’ll bet a lot of you have nearly all of the ingredients already! And a bonus? It’s extremely quick to make. But it’s pretty! And you know what that means. Guests will oooh and ahhh because it looks and tastes great, but you’ll know you didn’t slave over it. And that also makes this a “guests dropped in, what do I make for dinner?” dinner.

I got this one in an email a few years ago—from my local news station. I’ve made a few little changes, but the main idea is the same. Pasta cooking in one pot, and the rest in a sauté pan, then toss the two together. As far as the tuna goes, I use tuna packed in oil, but if you prefer, you can use tuna packed in water. And the pasta is also up to you—spaghetti, bucatini, this would also be good with penne—but use what you like or have on hand. Bucatini is fun—the noodles are like straws! We love trying new pasta shapes. I know, I know—we need to get out more. You’re preaching to the choir here!

Bucatini with Tuna and Baby Peas

To print this recipe, click here!

This comes together very quickly—so have everything ready to go and right on hand. Because you don’t want to burn the garlic while running around looking for the broth and peas. That would completely ruin this, or any dish!

* 16 oz. bucatini, spaghetti, or your favorite pasta
* 3 tbsp. olive oil
* 6 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth, if you prefer)
* 1 1/2 -2 cups frozen baby peas
* 2 cans tuna packed in oil, drained and flaked
* 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper, or to taste
* 1/8 tsp. salt, or to taste
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* olive oil to drizzle over

Directions

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions is a large pot of salted boiling water.
2. While the spaghetti is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat.
3. Add the garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds--don't let it burn!
4. Add the chicken broth, peas, tuna, salt, and pepper; stir gently until heated through, about 1 minute.
5. Remove from the heat.
6. When the spaghetti is done, drain well and put it in a large bowl, then add the tuna mixture; toss gently to coat the noodles.
7. Add the Parmesan, and toss it all together.
8. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
9. Garnish with more parmesan, and add a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh black pepper.

My Spice Sage

I also want to take the time to announce my new partnership with MySpiceSage.com. They’re a great company selling quality spices—which I’ve been using for the last few weeks, and you’ll see popping up in more of my posts. I’ve loved every one of them so far! And also? The people are nice! That counts for a lot in my book. So say hello to Jon and tell him I sent you. Be sure to check out their About Us page on the site to read more about their company.

Not only do they have all of the major everyday spices that we all use, but they also have some amazing blends. The Greek, Pork, and Pizza seasonings come to mind immediately. We’ve tried all three and they’re fantastic! Check them out—you can click to see them in the two ads in my sidebar. Those will take you to their Bestsellers page, but to see all of their spices, click on the links in their right-hand side bar.

iPod Touch Winner!!!

2009-03-26T17:38:00.001-04:00

Hot off the presses, we have a winner!

It’s Temperance! Congratulations, Temperance, you won! Please email me with your address and I’ll get your iPod shipped right out to you.

Temperance said... 136

I just stumbled across your blog, congatuladions on your blogaversy.
and since I love a good contest (a holdover from the publishers clearing house sweepstakes as a kid) here is my email addres

**In case any of you are wondering why her # is 136 and not 336, Blogger will only count up to 200 on one page, so on page 2 of the comments, 201-400, she’s 136, or technically 336.

Thanks to all of you for playing along, Tweeting, and reading my blog! And stay tuned for more giveaways!

Ingredient Wars! Formerly known as Chopped, the Home Version

2009-03-24T12:20:00.002-04:00

Some of you know I did a home version of Chopped, the Food Network show. It was a lot of fun, and forced me to be creative. A great exercise for my brain, and we got a delicious dinner out of it! And my husband has a lot of fun coming up with my surprise ingredients.

And quite a few of you said you’d love to join in the next time I did it, so here it is! But with a small change. I don’t want to give the Food Network any reason to tell me I need to stop using the name “Chopped,” so I gave it some thought and came up with this name and a button you can all use on your posts:

On Chopped, they start with four chefs, and they prepare three courses, with one chef getting chopped after each course. The ingredients are unknown to them until the beginning of each round.

Now of course, we won’t be chopping anyone here, just doing the surprise ingredient part. Much less stress. And there’s no time limit, either. I know how tough it can be to join in blog events because of time constraints in “real” life, hehe. So if you want to join in, just take the ingredients and do something at your own pace. If you want to get back to me with what you came up with, that would be awesome! I’ll add everyone’s links and a photo in the original post.

And as far as the ingredients go, if there’s something you can’t find, or can’t use because of allergies, go ahead and pick something sort of close to the original one. It’s very flexible--the main idea is to push your boundaries and come up with some new stuff.

And remember, you also have access to anything in your pantry, just like on the show!

So here are the surprise ingredients for this installment of Ingredient Wars:

1. Cod Fillets (or some other white fish)

2. 1 orange

3. Ricotta Cheese

4. Egg Roll Wrappers

5. Ritz Crackers (or another butter cracker)

So there you go! There is no set posting date, no deadline--just take them and do something, then post what you come up with. And you don’t need to have a blog to join in, either. But I’d love it if you let me know in the comments if you participate and what you come up with!

Sautéed Beet Greens with White Bean Mash on Toasted Baguette Slices

2009-03-20T10:34:00.006-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, we were at the (indoor) farmer’s market, and looking at all of the gorgeous fruits and vegetables. I guess when it’s 35 degrees and freezing outside, everything that is fresh looks gorgeous, right? But really, this place has the best stuff. Anyway, I picked out some beets to oven roast, and the beet greens were just beautiful! Usually, the ones I see at the grocery store are gross. Not pretty at all, and full of dirt. Seriously, you wouldn’t even want to imagine putting them anywhere near your mouth. Ick.

But the ones a the farmers market? They were so pretty and green and vibrant, and I knew we could do something with them. Wasn’t sure what at the time, but I couldn’t pass them up.

A couple of days before, I’d been reading blogs and came across Pithy and Cleaver. Great blog! They had me at Garlicky White Beans. Because, yum! I had already picked up the beans for that to have on a baguette, so the beet greens just worked their way into my plans. One whole grain baguette before leaving the market and we were all set.

Sliced baguette, toasted, a bit of sautéed beet greens, some white bean mash, and it’s heaven in your mouth. Seriously, we couldn’t stop eating this. And have been looking forward to it ever since! We lead such an exciting life, do we not?

There’s garlic in both the greens and the beans, but it mellows out during cooking, so you won’t be keeping any vampires away with this one. And really, if they all look like Edward Cullen, why would you want to? There’s also fresh lemon juice in both. Add some fresh basil to the beans, and you’ve got some wonderful flavors going on.

Sautéed Beet Greens

To print these recipes, click right here!

To print these recipes, click here!

Beet greens from 3-4 large beets, rinsed well and drained, then roughly chopped
2 shallots, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth, if you prefer)
1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper

Sauté shallots with garlic in a little olive oil over medium heat--don't burn!
Add the beet greens and toss them in the oil mixture, after about a minute, add the broth.
Cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
Remove the lid, and squeeze in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Bean Mash inspired by Pithy and Cleaver

1/4 cup olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 can white beans (don't drain!)
about 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper

In a pan, heat the oil over medium low heat. When it's heated, add the garlic and cook slowly, to infuse the oil with the garlic flavor.
Add the beans and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
Begin to mash them with a fork, or a potato masher--even the back of a spoon.
Add the basil, lemon and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the greens and the bean mash on toasted whole grain baguette slices.

This is definitely one recipe that we’ll enjoy again and again. it’s so easy to prepare, and it’s not to bad for you, either. Makes a nice appetizer, or a light meal. Unless you eat all of it, like we did, and then it’s not so light. hehehe.

There’s still time to enter my one year blogiversary giveaway! Just leave a comment to be entered to win an iPod Touch.

Thinking Outside the Cereal Box…

2009-03-17T10:43:00.003-04:00

And I’m here to prove it! I was recently contacted by Katharine Schuler from U.S. Mills. She wanted to know if I would be interested in trying some of their products. One of them is Uncle Sam Cereal—we buy that pretty often at Trader Joe’s, so I said yes, please! She asked what I’d like to try, but I left it up to her—though I did add that I have four kids, so if she could tuck a few kid things in there, that would be great. My kids get so excited when a package arrives, but so bummed when there’s nothing in it that they think is cool.

Katharine packed a box so full of stuff, it was like a puzzle. I don’t think I could have ever repackaged it if I had to, hehe. But I was so surprised, and the kids were thrilled! U.S. Mills doesn’t just have cereal, they have cookies, graham crackers, 100 calorie graham cracker snack packs, hot oatmeal---if it’s for breakfast, they probably have it. Have a look around their site—I’ll bet you see something you want to try, or have already tried and had no idea it was from them.

So I had all of this cereal, and aside from eating it in a bowl, I knew I could find something else to do with it. I had a quick look at the recipes on the site, and messed around with a couple. I’m happy to report my experiments were successful!

You all know how much I love muffins—they’re an excuse to have cake for breakfast. So I went with those first. And came up with these Chunky Monkey Muffins. What’s not to love about banana and chocolate? Nothing! And adding a healthy dose of good for you Uncle Sam Cereal was perfect. Gave them a little crunch, and the kids loved them. They were like “Cereal? In a muffin? Have you gone nuts, Mom?” But I knew they’d love them. And I was happy they were getting some good grains into their systems.

Chunky Monkey Muffins
Makes 2 dozen

To print this recipe, click here!

3 1/2 cups Uncle Sam Cereal (Original)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 smallish bananas (1 cup total mashed banana)
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
Add the wet stuff to the dry stuff, fold in chocolate chips.
Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for about 18 minutes, until tester comes out clean.
Cool in pans for a few minutes, then remove to a rack to cool.

Look who was hoping I’d drop a muffin…sorry, Hamilton!

A couple of days later, while looking at the bounty of cereal in the pantry, I decided it was time to try something else. The Erewhon Raisin Bran said “Ooooh! Pick me! Pick me!” So yay, it was the lucky cereal of the day. And it had a recipe on the back for Apricot Nut Bread. I didn’t have dried apricots, but I did have dried figs, and just about everything else it called for, so I got to work and came up with this Fig Nut Bread. It’s very moist and dense, almost like a gingerbread that’s studded with raisins, figs, and nuts. It very much reminded me of Morning Glory Muffins, in fact! It was totally delicious.

Fig Nut Bread
Makes one loaf

To print this recipe, click here!

1 1/2 cups Erewhon Raisin Bran
3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Cake Spice
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup agave or honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup diced dried figs
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350.
Pour the boiling water over the figs and set aside.
Grease a loaf pan.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, blend the egg, oil, agave, vanilla and applesauce together.
Add to the dry ingredients and stir; fold in the figs (and any leftover water from the figs) and nuts.
Pour into loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

SO the moral of the story is…get out and look for these cereals and other good things from U.S. Mills. And stop looking at cereal like it’s only good for eating in a bowl with cold milk. Although that’s cool, too.

But start thinking outside the cereal box!

Chopped! Results--Rubbed Steak with Gorgonzola-Garlic Butter and Stuffed Peppers

2009-03-11T14:39:00.002-04:00

This was a lot of fun, and something I definitely want to keep doing. Having some ingredients put in front of me that I didn’t choose, and trying to come up with something edible was a great exercise for my brain. And I surprised myself. Not only did I come up with something edible, but it was delicious, too!

Here’s what I started with…

First, I rubbed the steak with one of our favorite rubs. (Remember, in Chopped, you get full use of the pantry!) Let that sit for a few minutes.

Trader Joe’s sells boxes of frozen, cooked Jasmine rice. I pulled one of those packets out and heated it up—I think there’s about 2 cups in each packet. Then I took about 4 or 5 of the figs and chopped those up with kitchen shears. I roughly chopped about 1/4 (maybe a little more) of the sweet and spicy pecans, and tossed both of those things into the rice. Then I threw in a couple handfuls of gorgonzola—about 1/2 cup. A little salt and pepper, about 1/4 tsp cumin, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar were added next. This is the mixture I stuffed the sweet peppers with.

Those baked at 350 in a slightly oiled pan for about 15-20 minutes. Turn on the broiler for an extra few minutes for some color on the peppers.

Now for the gorgonzola garlic butter. Get some butter to room temp, toss in some crumbled gorgonzola. Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add a couple cloves chopped garlic and let it slowly sauté. When that’s done, spoon it into the butter, leaving the oil behind. But looking back, I could have easily added that oil to the butter as well.

Broil the steaks for about 11 to 12 minutes. Turning them over every couple of minutes, and when they’ve reached the desired doneness, remove from oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes.

Serve the steaks with the gorgonzola butter and the peppers on the side.

I’m definitely going to keep this up. It’s good to get the creative juices flowing, and leave the safety of recipes behind. Even more fun when you’re presented with ingredients you may not necessarily choose yourself.

The next time I do it, I’ll see what my husband picks up for ingredients, and then post them just like I did here. If any of you want to participate, let me know, then when you post what you came up with, I’ll link them in my post. Sound good?

Chopped! The Home Version

2009-03-09T15:57:00.002-04:00

Have you guys seen the new food Network show, Chopped? It’s a lot of fun! Kind like Ready, Set, Cook, I suppose. Four chefs, three courses, and one by one, they get chopped until there’s one chef left standing.

I’ve had this idea I’ve been kicking around for a few weeks. I’m going to do my own version, right here at home. Only there’s no 20 or 30 minute time limit, and there aren’t three other chefs standing next to me to make me all nervous and sweaty, hehe.

My husband chose the ingredients for me, and he did a pretty good job, I think!

We have Tri-tip Steak, sweet peppers, crumbled Gorgonzola, dried figs and sweet & spicy pecans.

I’ll play around with the stuff tonight and see what I come up with, then post the results here in a day or two.

I’d love this to become a regular thing—I just have to remind him to bring stuff home to surprise me with, hehe. I have been talking with my Twitter friends about it, and a couple of them thought it would be fun to invite anyone that would like to participate to join in. So if you’d like to join me, let me know! If there’s enough interest, maybe I’ll make it a regular thing. But no time limits—you can just take the ingredients and run with them, and post when you get around to it.

Will keep you posted!

Cupcakes are POM Wonderful

2009-03-06T12:26:00.006-05:00

And while they’re not the prettiest things ever, they sure taste great! I never make cupcakes because something always goes wrong. They sink in the middle, or they get too puffy and then run over the sides of the pan…I’m never going to be a cupcake queen. Ever.

But I found this recipe the other day, and it worked perfectly! The cakes had good texture, a slight spiciness from cinnamon and other good things, and they weren’t like cupcake-shaped hockey pucks. And even though they have whole wheat pastry flour, they don’t taste like wheat bread. Honest! And the kids loved them. The recipe is originally found here. I added vanilla and also switched out the individual spices for a Cake Spice blend.

The icing…oh, the icing. I was contacted by Diana at POM Wonderful a couple of weeks ago. She offered me some samples of their juice to try. Um, yeah, thanks! Love that stuff! So in thinking about different recipes to try with it, my husband thought of cupcakes.

I had originally thought about chocolate icing, but looked around and found a recipe for Pomegranate Butter Cream. I didn’t have any POM molasses, so I brought some of the regular juice to a boil, then simmered it until it was thick and syrupy—about 30 minutes or so. Then just follow the icing part of that recipe.

Whole Wheat Cupcakes

Makes 12

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp Cake Spice
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper muffin tin liners.
Whisk the flours, baking powder, and spices in a small bowl.
Cream the butter with the sugar for about 4 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time until blended, and scrape down the sides of the bowl if you need to.
Beat in the flour mixture until just combined, and then add the milk and vanilla.
Spoon the batter into the pan and bake for 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

To print this recipe, click here!

And don’t forget to enter my One Year Blogiversary Giveaway—leave a comment to be entered to win an iPod Touch!

Check out the Savory Pomegranate Chicken Michelle at Life, Lightly Salted did with some of her POM Wonderful Juice!

Polla alla Cacciatora, or the Story of Me and Chicken

2009-03-03T13:00:00.006-05:00

If this keeps up, you'll soon be reading Elle's New Chicken Kitchen. That's a mouthful. All chicken, all day! A birthday? Chicken! Special holiday? Chicken!

That doesn't sound all that great, does it? No. So my next post will be cupcakes. But until then, it's chicken!! I just looked, and four of my last twelve posts have been chicken ones. This makes five.
Ah, well. Hopefully you'll all forgive my extreme chickeneyness. (Yep--that's a word. That I just made up.)

This one is courtesy of Saveur. You know how you get little bonus gifts when you subscribe? Well they sent me two little Italian cookbooks when I first subscribed a few years back. I bookmarked a lot of the recipes, and then...someone (ok, me!)...immediately lost the books. I know, right? How can you lose them so quickly? I have no clue. Guess I'm just really good that way.

So fast forward a couple of years--we were moving. I assumed I'd find them then.

No.

Oooooh. Would I find them while unpacking? *fingers crossed!*

No.

Time warp. TWO years later (last week). My daughter is moving stuff around and picks up an old cooking magazine of mine. Because, you know, we all save those, don't we? Because we really will make all of those earmarked recipes. Eventually. Someday. Maybe.

My two missing babie...I mean--books fell out of the magazine. I almost heard the angels singing. Honest! There they were, right there on the floor. It was as if they were glowing, so happy to have been found, to once again see the light of day! (But what really happened was that they fell on the floor in a patch of afternoon sunlight. But hey, I have an active imagination, ok?)

Aha!!! Now I can make that Chicken Cacciatora I've been dreaming about! After all this time! Or... I could have googled, because, you know--it's right there, online. D'oh!

Hunter's Wife's Chicken (Pollo alla Cacciatora) Serves 4

It's Hunter's Style, but it's named in honor of the hunter's wife--the cacciatora, who traditionally cooked it on the eve of the hunt. So there, Hunter!

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 3-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 cup dry white wine 1
1 (28-oz). can peeled diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock (see note!)
2-3 TBSP tomato paste (see note!)

Note: I didn't need the chicken stock, in fact, I opted to thicken it up by adding some tomato paste. But I'm leaving the stock in the ingredient list in case any of you find you do need it.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes more.
Push onions to sides of pan, then add chicken and fry, turning pieces several times to brown evenly, about 4 minutes per side.
Add wine and let it evaporate, which should take about 5 minutes.
Add undrained tomatoes to the pan.
Stir in bay leaf, rosemary, and parsley (reserving a little for garnish) and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and simmer, for 30 minutes, adding chicken stock gradually (if needed!)as tomato juice evaporates.
Remove chicken from pan, and stir in tomato paste, increase heat to medium and add chicken back to pan.
Simmer 10-15 more minutes until sauce is thickened.
Remove bay leaf and garnish with reserved parsley. Serve with steamed potatoes, rice, or noodles.

To print this recipe, click here!

This dish is wonderful. It makes a thick, rich sauce that coats the chicken nicely. We'll definitely have it again. My husband said it reminds him of the cacciatora he had as a kid. Slightly different, but the closest so far. This is also a very hearty dinner, and I can see why a wife would have cooked it on the eve of the hunt--its good fuel for the hunter.

Don't forget to enter my one year blogiversary giveaway! Leave a comment to win an iPod Touch!

It's my One Year Blogiversary!!

2009-02-26T10:36:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it--a year has passed already! One hundred and twenty-four posts...wow. I didn't know when I started if I'd have anything to talk about. I guess I did, hehe! And it was technically February 24th, but I had to iron out the details of this post with the person who funds most of the stuff I do on this blog--my husband, Billy. I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to do to celebrate, and God bless him, he's just so patient with me, hehe.

This post is going to be short, but sweet. Really sweet!

So I've planned a giveaway, and I think you guys are going to like it. I know I do. Hell, I wish I could win it! But this is to give something back to all you guys that faithfully read my blog. I appreciate each and every one of you.

So what is it???

An Apple iPod Touch, 8 GB (second generation)!!!!

YES!!!! One lucky reader will win one of these babies.

AND!!!! The contest is open to all of you, no matter where you live.

The contest will run for one month, so the winner will be chosen randomly on March 26th.

All you need to do is leave a comment here to be entered in the drawing.

If you tweet on Twitter about it, come back here with the link to your Twitter post (you must have that!!) and post that link in a second comment for an extra entry. To get the link to your Twitter post, click under your message where it says "less than _____ ago" and that will take you to a page where you can copy the url of your message.

Make sure you leave a valid email address where I can reach you! If the address doesn't work, I'll have to choose a new winner. And I don't want to have to do that.

Are there any more rules? Not really, but if you'd like to subscribe to my blog--I'm not gonna lie, that would be awesome! But it's not required. ;)

So good luck! Tell all your friends! And thanks to all of you for coming along on this one year (and more to come) adventure with me. You guys are the best!

My Current Favorite Snack/Breakfast...

2009-02-25T11:43:00.008-05:00

This one is so simple. In fact, I'll bet a lot of you eat this already. It's not unusual, there's no super secret recipe, and no special techniques. Then again, maybe some of you are like me, and see one of these and say "D'oh! I keep forgetting how much I love those, but I never think of making them!" And then you pay the trendy little cafe your $4-$5 and walk away thinking you could make it fresher and cheaper.

It's more of an idea. An idea that you can take and do your own thing with. Put your spin on it, and use what you like.

It's Granola Yogurt Parfait. Granola, yogurt, and fruit. And in this case, nuts. Easy, right? I usually get my yogurt at Trader Joe's, and they have a flavor called Vanana. Vanilla + Banana. mmmmm. But I use strawberry, vanilla, whatever--and always low-fat, but that's your choice. I love my hot cereal, but this one is so cool and refreshing. And you get all the benefits of the fresh fruit, not to mention all the good stuff the yogurt has in it.

This one I recently made was a Good For You Banana Split. All the flavors you'd find in a banana split, without all of the fat, sugar and calories. Although, I didn't add a drizzle of chocolate sauce, but if you'd like to try that--go for it! There are some delicious ones to use, and if you're watching what you eat, use just a little.

So here's what I did this time:

Granola Yogurt Parfait

granola
bananas
fresh pineapple slices
strawberries, trimmed and cut and quartered
your favorite low fat yogurt
chopped pecans

Add some of all three fruits to the bottom of your bowl.
Spoon on some yogurt, and top that with granola and pecans.
Repeat the layer again, as many times as you like.
I usually do two good sized layers. Only two because I like large fruit chunks. ;)

To print this recipe, click here!

Chicken Pesto Tortellini Soup for a Soup Off

2009-02-18T13:25:00.012-05:00

I love soup. L-O-V-E it. It's so comforting to have a big old pot of soup simmering away on the stove. It warms the home and smells so good, too. My mom made soup a lot. Not only because it's a good way to stretch your food budget, but it's a great way to get a healthy hot meal to your family with little effort. Pair it with a sandwich, crusty bread, or even a nice salad--and you've got a delicious lunch or dinner. And leftovers the next day? YUM.

When I heard the Danny at Gourmet Gastronomer was having a Soup-Off to follow up his Mac and Cheese-Off, I knew I'd enter that one, too.

This soup is a favorite. I've made it twice already and we love it! The second time, I added a splash of red wine and a little pesto to the simmering soup--my husband liked it better the first time, and preferred adding a dollop of pesto to his own bowl. Picky, picky...so--you can choose to add those or not, it's up to you.

For the tortellini, I used dry ones filled with pesto from Trader Joe's. I know Barilla has some, too. If you can't find dried ones, go ahead and use the fresh ones like Buitoni. Just add them close to the end of cooking, and remember they only need a few minutes to cook.

Chicken Pesto Tortellini Soup

1-2 TBSP olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 small-ish leeks, rinsed and sliced across, not into long strips
1-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
4 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
6 cups chicken broth
14 oz can chickpeas, undrained
2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced thinly
2 small zucchini, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
3 cups dried tortellini (fresh is fine, but keep in mind those take less time to cook)
fresh cracked black pepper
pesto for dolloping individual servings
fresh shaved Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, leek, garlic and Italian seasoning, and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes, broth, and chickpeas.
Bring to a boil and cover, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the chicken, zucchini, and peas, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 more minutes.
Stir in the tortellini and keep the soup at a low to medium boil for the required pasta cooking time, or until al dente.
Taste first, then season with pepper--I don't think you'll need salt, but add it if you need to. (Keep in mind--you'll be adding pesto and Parmesan to each serving.)
Top each serving with a dollop of pesto and some fresh shaved Parmesan.

To print this recipe, click here!

The Famous Name that Cereal Contest!

2009-02-17T08:45:00.012-05:00

Great Island Common, New Castle, NH

Hey, the sun is up! What's for breakfast?

Have you ever thought you'd like to make your own cereal? That you could make it better than the big guys? You could add all the good stuff, and get a healthy, delicious cereal that isn't loaded with sugar and preservatives. Just the opposite--you could make a blend that was not only packed with flavor, but packed with good for you ingredients from all over the world.

Well now you can! There's a new guy (well, actually three new guys!) in the cereal world and they want to change the way you look at breakfast. Forget the Saturday morning buzz of sugary stuff while watching cartoons (or is that just me?), forget the bad for you, greasy breakfast sandwich that you pay too much for anyway, better yet--forget skipping breakfast at all!

Just one example of a Me and Goji blend.

Me and Goji is the newest thing in artisanal cereals. Meet the three guys behind this genius idea here. Go ahead, look around the site--there's so much to see! And I have to say, it's a lot of fun to design your own breakfast. The idea is that you go to the site, choose from the huge list of ingredients, drag and drop them into the big bowl, and make your own personal blend. Choose only what you want, and leave out the stuff you don't want. And don't think they've forgotten Gluten Free folks! They've got you covered, as well! And here's the fun part! Give it a name--Adam. Alexander, and Carl love to see funny, cool and creative names. Scroll down through this page to see some of their favorites.

Win one of these, full of your personal blend of cereal!

Carl, Adam and Alexander have been very cool and decided to offer THREE of you guys the chance to design and win your own capsule of Me and Goji! So here's the deal:

1. Visit the site and design your own cereal blend.
2. Send your perfect blend recipe and it's funny, creative name to carl@meandgoji.com, and make sure you tell him that it's the Elle's New England Kitchen Name your Cereal Contest.
3. Tell everyone you know about it so they can enter, too!
4. On National Cereal Day, March 7th, they'll announce the winners on their site. They'll also have some other cool promotions going on, so mark your calendars and be sure to check them out on that day!

So go visit the site and make your cereal! Good luck!

PS-- I'd love it if you not only submit your name ideas to Carl, but also to me in your comments. I'm so curious to see what you guys come up with!

PSS--This contest is open to US and Canadian Residents! :)

***Don't forget, to be eligible, you must send your perfect blend recipe and it's funny, creative name to carl@meandgoji.com, and make sure you tell him that it's the Elle's New England Kitchen Name your Cereal Contest.

And the winners are:

1. Danielle Behlmer - Does This Cereal Make Me a Hippie?

2. Julie Cameron Hendrix – Mornin Munchies

3. Genevieve Charet - It's a Luau in My Mouth, and Every Fruit, Nut, and Flake is Invited!

And for anyone purchasing cereal, Me & Goji are offering free goji berries (until 3/31) for those who enter the coupon code FREEGOJIS upon checkout.

Thanks again!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Muffins and an Award

2009-02-11T16:36:00.014-05:00

My inspiration for these came from of course, Mexican Hot Chocolate. I saw some somewhere online and decided to translate the cinnamon-laced chocolate drink to my my favorite little hand-held-excuse-to-have-cake-for-breakfast, muffins.

It wasn't very difficult--a basic chocolate muffin, and add some cinnamon and chocolate chips for good measure. And then a nice chocolatey, cinnamony streusel over the top. I found the streusel here, and just added a good dose of cinnamon to it. It's so good! Could've sat there and eaten the streusel with a spoon. A little crunchy that way, but so tasty.

These are my entry to Grace's Cinnamon Celebration. I love Grace! She makes the most delectable sweet things that constantly make me say "I want that!" And she's got a thing for cinnamon. Lots of cinnamon.

The winner of the Cinnamon Celebration is getting some Vietnamese Cinnamon bark. That's a good reason to enter right there! Head on over and give her your best cinnamon recipe!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Muffins

Muffins:
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 stick (1/4 pound) butter, melted
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

Streusel:
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of flour
2 TB cocoa
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TB of melted butter

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
Sift the dry stuff together, and make a well in the center.
Add the butter, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla and chocolate chips.
Mix well, but don't overdo it.
Fill the muffin cups evenly.

Mix the streusel stuff until it's crumbly and top each muffin with some.
Bake for 17 minutes or so, and check for doneness.
Cool in pan for a few minutes then remove to a rack.
A cooling rack, not the old torturing device.
And really, I hope you don't have one of those lying around.
Because then you're probably too mean to make nice little streusely muffins.

To print this recipe, click here!

The Sisterhood Award

This award comes from Giz and Psychgrad at Equal Opportunity Kitchen. They are two of the sweetest ladies in the food blogging world, and I'm happy to have met them through their blog. Thank you, ladies! Now, all of you, get on over there and check them out--they have tons of wonderful recipes!

Here are the rules:

The rules for recipients are:
- Put the logo on your blog or post.
- Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
- Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
- Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I happily pass this award along to these lovely blogs and sisters in blogging (in no particular order):

1. Kelly at Sass & Veracity
2. Kat at A Good Appetite
3. Grace at A Southern Grace
4. Shelby at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch
5. Deborah at B More Sweet
6. Lori at Recipegirl
7. Nikki at Canarygirl.com
8. Judy at No Fear Entertaining
9. Shaye at Smarter Than Pancakes
10. Dawn at Vanilla Sugar

Look, its a Steak and Cheese!

2009-02-02T10:36:00.006-05:00

Or IS it????

In an effort to eat healthier, I've decided to cut some of the meat from our diet. That isn't steak at all. It's sliced Portobello Mushrooms! And oh my gosh, what a delicious sandwich!

My confirmed meat-eating husband completely loved these. I served them on roasted garlic ciabatta, but you can serve these on your favorite type of roll. Honestly, the flavor is so good that you can't even tell you're not eating meat. And if you can tell, well, it tastes so good that you won't care! Seriously.

I used a frozen blend of herbs in this, but you can use whatever you want. And I was also thinking that the next time I make these, I'll try adding fennel seeds and cook it up the same way I do sausage and peppers. (Scroll down, it's the second recipe.) And I don't see why you couldn't use steak in these--so go ahead and give it a shot if you like.

This is from Eating Well, and I've changed it up a bit.

Portobello "Cheese Steak" Sandwiches

To print this recipe, click here!

2 tsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium red bell peppers, sliced
4 large portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed, sliced
3-4 tablespoons of your choice of fresh herbs, minced (I used a blend of Basil, Oregano, Rosemary and Thyme)
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
reduced fat provolone cheese, thinly sliced
4 whole wheat rolls

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and peppers, cook for 5 minutes.
Pour in a scant 1/4 cup of water, cover and cook for about 4 minutes.
Add mushrooms, cook uncovered for another 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add herbs and pepper.
Reduce heat to low, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat.
Stir in broth and soy sauce, and bring to simmer.
Remove from heat, cover the vegetables with cheese, and let it stand for a couple of minutes,
till the cheese melts.
Divide the mixture between the rolls and serve.

Caprese Chicken and Random Thursday Thoughts

2009-01-22T13:38:00.006-05:00

First up, the chicken. This recipe is my take on my good friend Molli's recipe. What could possibly be bad about chicken, pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella? Nothing! And this is another extremely easy one. How easy? It doesn't even have measurements. Just eyeball it and use as much or as little of something as you like. This is one of those meals that my husband ate with lots of approving noises, lol. That means he's really enjoying what he's eating!

Did I make my own pesto? No, though I do in the summertime. For this chilly New England girl, Trader Joe's is my wintertime pesto savior. Thank you, TJ's! I used fresh tomatoes, also from TJ's--but if you can't find any decent ones, go ahead and try canned. Then it really becomes a pantry dinner! I usually keep shredded cheese in the freezer, too, so if you do that--along with a jar of good pesto, a can of diced tomatoes, and add a pack of boneless chicken, you can have this one on the table with little effort.

Here's the recipe, and like I said--there are no exact measurements. Use as much breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese as you need to coat your chicken. Same with tomatoes, pesto and cheese--use your own judgement.

Caprese Chicken

To print this recipe, click here!

boneless chicken breasts, filleted
kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
a couple of beaten eggs
breadcrumbs
grated parm (some to mix with breadcrumbs, some to sprinkle on chicken)
pesto
sliced tomatoes (or drained canned, diced tomatoes if that's what you've got)
shredded mozzarella

Heat oven to 375.
Fillet the chicken breasts if you haven't already. They cook faster, and stay juicier. Trust me on this.
Sprinkle them generously with the salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders.
In a plate, mix some grated parm in with the breadcrumbs.
Dip the chicken in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs.
Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-med. high heat, then add some oil to the pan-about 2-3 tbsp.
When the oil is hot, add the chicken.
Brown 3-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
Remove pan from heat, and then slather the tops of each breast (the chicken ones, not yours, lol)
with some pesto--as much as you like.
Top each one with sliced tomato, then sprinkle each with parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 3-4 minutes, then if you want some color on your cheese, turn the broiler on-broil for 2-3 minutes. Watch it carefully, though!

Look at the gorgeous Boule Bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day! I can't remember the last cookbook I've gotten so much use out of, seriously.
____________________

Random Thursday Thoughts:

Twitter.

It's so much fun! I didn't think I'd get into it at first, but you know what? It's addictive. And I've made some good friends using it, too! It's a great way to network and get to know people with the same interests as you. If you want to follow me, click here: @elleskitchen

Hello to all my Tweeps!

_____________________

The mailman.

Whatever happened to that old saying? "Neither wind, nor rain, nor sleet, nor snow..." Now, I know how hard letter carriers work. And yeah, they do have to be out in some really crappy weather. But what do you do when your letter carrier...sucks? (I know, not ALL letter carriers suck, so no hate mail, please!) We had a great mail carrier at our previous house, but the one we got when we moved? ugh. He's an old, crusty dude. Grumpy, too. We STILL get mail from people that lived here three families ago! No matter how many times we tell him they don't live here and haven't for years. We get the neighbor's mail, they get ours, sometimes we get none at all, and then the next day, get two days worth. sigh. I think every single person on this street has called and filed complaints about him. So we have to put up with all of his issues, but God forbid there's 5" of snow at the street end (thanks to that last pass from the plow) of an otherwise clear front walk and porch. We get no mail that day, and a note the next day. "Not delivered because not shoveled." freaking grrrrr!
_____________________

Glad I got that off my chest. Thanks for listening! :)

Easy Teriyaki Chicken Wings

2009-01-19T10:01:00.008-05:00

This recipe is one that my mom made forever. It's amazingly simple, and you can change it up if you like. A touch of sesame oil would be good, or you can use fresh garlic and ginger instead of powdered. Also, feel free to add some heat to these, if you like.

I was in a hurry Saturday when I mixed up the marinade, and didn't change anything, just made them as-is.

Every single time I make these, they all get eaten right away. Not just eaten, inhaled! I remember making a huge batch of these for my husband and his friends. It was like watching pigs at feeding time, lol. After being starved for a week.

I don't know what it is--maybe people get sick of the really popular buffalo wings after a while? Please don't send me buffalo-wing-lover hate mail, hehe. I make those, too. See those here and here. We love wings! All kinds of wings. But when my husband knows I'm making these? He's a happy guy.

They're not saucy and drippy after cooking--a little sticky, but not too bad. So they make good finger food. And they'd be perfect for your upcoming Super Bowl parties, too! But make a lot!

I marinate them as long as possible. I've even marinated them in the fridge for as long as 3 days. But if you do that, be sure they haven't already been sitting in your fridge for a day or two. Better safe than wiping out your entire house of guests with food poisoning. Be smart about that, and your friends will thank you instead of charging your house with gardening/angry mob tools. You can even freeze these in the marinade, then thaw when you need them.

Seriously complicated recipe, coming up!

Teriyaki Chicken Wings

To print this recipe, click here!

3 lbs chicken wings
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 Mix all ingredients.
2 Add wings and marinate at least 8 hours.
3 Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
4 Remove to a cooling rack after cooking.

That's it. Easy, right?

Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Poundcake: revisiting an older post

2009-01-15T13:21:00.007-05:00

I'm sure that some of you remember my obsession from this past spring and summer. Some of you may not, but guess what? It's still an ongoing obsession. I can't help it! The combination of raspberry and lime is irresistible to me! It's always popping up to rear it's tasty head and I go off on these tangents every once in a while. As a winner of one of the Royal Foodie Jousts, I got to pick the three ingredients for the next one, and guess what they were? Click here to see, lol. But let's just say it was like having my own minions creating recipes to feed my obsession. How cool is that??

This pound cake is from a recipe I found years ago on a yogurt container. Easy, not too bad for you, and so good! And like any pound cake, it gets better every day. This one I just made lasted three days. The first piece was delicious. the last piece, even better.

It's a not-bad-for-you pound cake because it doesn't use the traditional one pound of butter. Just 1/2 cup! Because you add moisture with the yogurt, you don't need all that butter. And it's still moist and tender.

I used the same recipe from this previous post, but used vanilla yogurt, frozen cherries (about 1 1/2 cups after chopping) that I quartered because they were large, 1 tsp almond extract, and no zest. But truth be told, I *almost* made it cherry lime with some lime zest. I'm glad I left it out, because cherry vanilla was a winning combination.

To print this recipe, click here!

The combinations are endless when you look at the variety of yogurt flavors available, so experiment and see what you can come up with!

New Blog Pimp, Not Going Postal

2009-01-14T11:21:00.002-05:00

I absolutely have to tell you about this new blog, written by one of the most wonderful women I've ever met. Not only is she hilarious with a very sharp wit, she's got one of the biggest hearts I've ever come across. Here is the first line from her About page:

If I were a t-shirt, it would say “I Use Inappropriate Humor as a Coping Mechanism.”

That's a perfect description, hehe. And look at this tidbit of info:

"I have been kicked off a cooking website for being a smart alec. No really. You can’t even say my name over there. It’s like I’m Voldemort with a whisk. However, in the process I made some of my best friends ever."

LOL! I was kicked off of that same site, at the same time. Yep. Troublemaker that I am. I know, right? How do you get kicked off a cooking site? I remember reading about a group of women kicked off a candle making site. I asked one of my friends how in the hell one manages to do that. Her reply? "Hello! We got kicked off a cooking site!" Me: "Oh, right, lol!" I'm not quite at Voldemort status, though. My name can still be uttered there without fear of you being made to disappear, as well, hehe. And she's right. The group of women I met there are truly the best friends I've ever made. We've even (almost) all taken trips and vacations together. I love you guys--you know who you are!

So please go check out Not Going Postal, and say hi. You can tell her I sent you, if you like.

Frozen Herb and Book Giveaway Winners

2009-01-14T09:41:00.004-05:00

Today is prize giveaway day! Woohoo! So there are three prizes to go be awarded--2 packages of frozen herbs, and one copy of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Let's get right to it!

The Random Number Generator did it's thing and we have the winners:

First up, # 58, the winner of the book:

Ann said... 58: I've heard wonderful things about the book, Pick me...please !! And thank you !!!; Dec 28, 2008 3:10:00 PM

IMPORTANT- Ann, I don't have an email address for you--please contact me ASAP, or I'll have to choose another winner. Don't want to have to do that!

Second, # 116, the winner of Herb Package #1:

Ms. Nearlywed said... 116: What a fantastic idea for herbs!!! I just love it. The bread book looks really good too, I've been really into making breads lately so you have me intrigued...I may have to go out and get this book.

Jen(dot)Dubyoski(at)gmail(dot)com; Jan 6, 2009 6:07:00 PM

And third, # 66, the winner of Herb Package #2:

Ari (Baking and Books) said... 66: Artisan Bread is an incredible book indeed, I get much use out of my copy! Whoever wins it is very lucky. :); Dec 28, 2008 7:54:00 PM

Congrats to all of the winners! This was a really fun giveaway for me. I totally stand behind herbs, as I have with everything I've had a giveaway for. If you find that your local stores don't carry the herbs, tell them they must--they are truly wonderful! And the book? It's fantastic, and I'm not just saying that. I've been using it for the past couple of months and have not had a failure yet. On the contrary, we've been enjoying fresh bread more than ever. And I haven't sweated over bread baking, either--it's just so easy.

Stay tuned for more giveaways in the coming months. I love my readers and giving back something when I can makes me truly happy. Love you guys!

Chicken St. Rémy, and one of life's great mysteries...

2009-01-11T14:18:00.011-05:00

Happy Sunday, everyone! Today I'm sharing a recipe I've been fooling around with, and I think I've finally gotten it right.

Herbes de Provence is featured in this dish--and it's one of my favorite herb blends to use. If you've never tried it, you should! The name of the dish was chosen by my friend, Jane. St. Rémy is a town located in Provence, and from what I've seen online, it's a gorgeous place! Someday, right?

So this recipe came to be from a pack of boneless chicken, and a trip through my pantry. We've got canned tomatoes, Herbes de Provence, some shallots and garlic, and the ever important red wine. mmmm. And it's really easy, too!

Chicken St. Rémy

To print this recipe, click here!

2 boneless chicken breasts, filleted (about 1 1/2 lbs total)
salt
pepper
dried Herbes de Provence, for sprinkling over the chicken
2 good sized shallots, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup red wine, for deglazing pan
1 cup chicken broth
14 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp dried Herbes de Provence
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper, to taste

Sprinkle both sides of filleted chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and Herbes de Provence. How much? Not too much, but don't be stingy, either.
Heat a pan over medium high heat, and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Saute each piece of chicken for 2-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness. You're not cooking them fully now, just getting some nice color on them.
Remove to a plate.
Add shallots and garlic to the pan, deglaze with the wine, and saute for about 5 minutes.
Add broth, tomatoes, the 1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence and basil.
Bring to a boil, add the chicken and any accumulated juices back to the pan.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is done.
Serve chicken with tomatoes and sauce.

The potatoes in the photos are amazingly simple, and totally addictive. Take your favorite potatoes, scrubbed clean. Partially bake them in the microwave--but be sure to poke them with a fork so they don't explode first! Give them a few minutes in there, then cut them into roughly equal size. Heat some oil in a pan, add your potatoes and whatever seasonings you like-salt and pepper, in this case a little Herbes de Provence. Really, whatever you like. Get them nice and brown and crunchy and that's it. So easy!

And now for the mystery. Disappearing flatware. Does this happen to you guys? I don't know how in the heck it happens! Sometimes it's forks, other times it's spoons or knives. At this moment, it happens to be forks. WTF (what the fork)? We had a lot, now I need to go out and buy some. And also 1/4 cup measuring cups. I have 3 sets of measuring cups, and each one is missing the 1/4 cup. huh???

It's like socks in the dryer. I just don't get it. And...I don't like it. ;)

Experience the Cheesy Goodness that is Mac and Cheese.

2009-01-04T14:47:00.013-05:00

Is there anyone out there that doesn't like Macaroni and Cheese? Anyone? Bueller? I didn't think so. It's right up there at the top of my list of good old comfort food.

I used to love the Blue Box when I was a kid, and occasionally my kids have it, too--and ok, I'll confess to having a bite or two. Childhood memories and all that, you know? But they do love the homemade stuff, as well! In fact, my five year old asks me to make it. The first time I made the good homemade stuff, he told me he'd eat it every day if I made it for him. How's that for a compliment? Or maybe he said he'd plead with me every day not to make it for him...nah--I'm sure I heard him right. Right?

I use a tried and true recipe, given to me by one of my best friends, Jen. It makes a cheesy, totally creamy mac and cheese. You know how some homemade ones can be grainy and well, kind of curdled and dry? This one is nothing but creamy. The secret? Food snobs, you may want to avert your eyes now...

Velveeta. Yes. I'm serious. I tried a few other recipes for mac and cheese. They tasted fine, but were dry, and I just couldn't get the famous "creamy" type that I was looking for. But with Jen's recipe, it's super creamy and just so damn good.

This one's being entered in a Mac and Cheese Off that was put together by Danny from the Gourmet Gastronomer. So have a look at his site, and check out all of the cheesy goodness.

Voting will open to the general public on Tuesday, January 6th at 5:00pm and close on Friday January 9th at 5:00pm. So if any of you guys feel inclined to head on over there and vote, that would be awesome. Also, if you want to join in, you can contact Danny anytime before voting opens.

I made some changes this time around. Yesterday, we packed the kids up in the truck, and headed to Vermont. We went to the Vermont Country Store. We love going there--they have so much in the store--cool retro stuff, great foods, and amazing Vermont Cheddar. LOVE their cheddar. It's creamy and melts in your mouth. So we grabbed a big old hunk of that, along with a bunch of other things, went out to dinner, and called it a day. You should have a look around their site--I guarantee you'll see stuff you haven't seen since you were a kid, or stuff you remember your parents and grandparents using. We make a trip up there at least three times a year and come home with bags of stuff.

Vermont Country Store, at twilight.

So anyway, I used half Vermont Cheddar and yes, half Velveeta. I can't get away from it's creamy goodness in this dish. The result? The Velveeta gave it the ultimate creaminess, and the cheddar gave it that extra kick of flavor. It's delicious! And a nice sprinkling of panko bread crumbs over the top give it some nice crusty crunchy goodness.

I'm eating some right now, hot from the oven, and wishing I could share it with all of you! But I can give you the next best thing--the recipe:

Vermont Mac and Cheese

To print this recipe, click here!

16 ounces elbow macaroni (cooked)
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup flour
3 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 lb cheese, Velveeta cut into cubes
1/2 lb Vermont Cheddar
panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a pan, melt the butter along with the salt, pepper and flour and stir until smooth.
Remove from heat add milk and wine, then return to heat and bring to a boil.
Boil 1 minute while whisking.
Remove from the heat and add both cheeses, and stir until melted.
Pour over elbows, mix well, and pour into very lightly greased baking dish.
Sprinkle with panko and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

So...maybe it's not gourmet with the Velveeta and all, but it's good. Really good. And in the big picture, isn't that what counts? And I could have added a bunch of additional things, but then my kids may not have eaten it. And my husband and I don't really need to eat a whole pan of this by ourselves, hehe.

Don't forget to check out Danny's site and vote for your favorite mac and cheese!

I've been tagged by Karen at Mignardise for Six Random Things about me.

Six Random Things About Elle

1) I think I love football more than my husband does, and he's the one that got me into it. I yell at the coaches
when a play goes wrong, or at the refs when they make a bad call. AND at the players when they celebrate in
the end zone--I'm looking at YOU, Wes Welker. A snow angel? Seriously? Did you not think you'd get a penalty?
A fine, even! Stupidest rule ever, but still!

2) I love to dip french fries into a chocolate shake--just did last night at dinner, in fact!
It's like food for the gods. Seriously.

3) I don't like goat cheese. There, I said it! Am I the only one that hates the taste, the aftertaste,
and how you can still taste it 8 hours later? Yuck! Sorry to be uncool, but it's just gross.

4) I love to sketch and paint with watercolors. I used to be really good at it, but am terribly out of practice.

5) I'm addicted to Twitter. Follow me there: http://twitter.com/elleskitchen

6) I'm also addicted to my new Blackberry, aka Crackberry. I can even Twitter from it,
so it feeds addiction #5, as well! hahaha!!

I'm not going to tag six people, but I am going to leave this open so anyone can do it and keep it going. Once you do, tag six more people if you like, and be sure to let them know they've been tagged!

Bananas Foster Cupcakes, fit for a Royal Joust

2008-12-28T23:45:00.008-05:00

Jenn, The Leftover Queen. The Foodie Blogroll. The Royal Foodie Joust. This cupcake recipe.

These four things are all connected. Jenn is not only The Leftover Queen, she's also the Queen of the Foodie Blogroll. And every month on the blogroll forums, we have the Royal Foodie Joust. For each joust, three ingredients are chosen, and members that want to participate come up with dishes using them. This month's joust has a Caribbean theme, and the prize up for grabs is a Caribbean cookbook! If you haven't joined the Foodie Blogroll, yet, what are you waiting for?

The three ingredients for this month are rice, coconut, and bananas. I had quite a few ideas knocking around my head, but this is the one that came to be. Banana cupcakes are great, but what about Bananas Foster Cupcakes? With mashed up Bananas Foster instead of plain old bananas? And oooh, buttercream frosting topped with toasted coconut? Yeah... And the rice shows up in the form of brown rice flour.

Yep! I made Bananas Foster--first time ever. It was extremely easy, and so delicious. And yes, we took a couple of bites, then I mashed it all up for the cupcakes! Well, I did save the sauce. I wasn't sure what for, until I was making the buttercream. It was meant to be. Caramelized brown sugar, rum and spices--poured into the icing, along with a nice dose of salt. Perfect!

I'll get to the recipes, because there are three--but they're all very simple! The cupcake recipe is adapted from a recipe passed along to me by one of my best friends, Shaye. Here it is, with my changes:

Bananas Foster Cupcakes
makes about 17 cupcakes

To print this recipe, click here!

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 recipe for Bananas Foster, bananas mashed, sauce set aside
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in bananas, then eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition.
4. Add vanilla.
5. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt and add alternately with buttermilk to mixture.
6. Beat just until blended.
7. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
8. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
9. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bananas Foster
recipe adapted from Alton Brown

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tbsp water
4 under ripe bananas, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup light rum

Isn't that cool? This was done under the supervision of Fire Marshall Bill, aka my husband.

Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over low heat.
Add brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg and stir
until sugar dissolves.
Add water and bring sauce to simmer.
Add bananas and cook for 1 minute on each side, carefully spooning sauce over bananas as they are cooking.
Remove bananas from pan to a serving dish.
Bring sauce to a simmer and carefully add the rum.
If the sauce is very hot, the alcohol will flame on its own.
If not, using stick flame, carefully ignite and continue cooking until flame dies out, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
If sauce is too thin, cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it is syrupy in consistency.
Immediately spoon the sauce over bananas and serve. Or smash up to make cupcakes!

Bananas Foster Buttercream
adapted from Gale Gand

The added salt in this really adds a nice touch and cuts the sweetness.

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sauce from Bananas Foster

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter.
Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
Add vanilla and sauce and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more.

Make your Bananas Foster, bake your cupcakes, make the frosting, toast some coconut, and you're all set! These are really delicious. If you don't want to use the rice flour, go ahead and use whatever you prefer. The cupcakes themselves aren't sweet at all, so the big old heaping pile of icing is very nice, not to mention the toasted coconut!

And that's my entry for this month's Royal Foodie Joust. Check out my past winning recipe--it was my first joust ever, too!

Frozen herb giveaway & the book that changed everything about bread baking

2008-12-27T16:17:00.010-05:00

I have a lot to cover in this post, so please grab a mug or tall glass of something and join me!

First up--the herb giveaway. I was contacted a little while ago by Matt From Daregal Fresh Frozen Herbs. He wanted to know if I'd like to try a sample. Heck, yeah! Trying to find reasonably priced and super-fresh herbs in the cold months isn't always easy. Not to mention that if you only need a little bit, and you have to buy a whole bunch, then you've got to come up with ways to use the rest up before they go bad, which is always sooner than later.

So here comes Daregal, with the perfect solution! Their herbs are 100% natural, salt free, and processed within three hours of being picked. They're not sitting around on store shelves losing flavor and freshness like the ones we've seen up until now. The herbs are washed, chopped (no stems included!) and ready to use in your favorite dishes--no thawing required, not even for salads. And you might think they'd be all stuck together, but the herbs get a very light misting of natural vegetable oils so they flow freely out of the container.

Basil

Original Blend: Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme and Onion

We've been testing some of them this weekend and I have to say, I think I'm in love. The basil, right out of the container, tastes like I just picked it from my garden in August. Same goes for the Italian and Original Blends--nothing but delicious herbs in there, tasting as fresh as you'd expect from your own herb garden. And they're already minced for you, so less work. Now, everyone would love to have a year-round herb garden, but for most of us, that's not happening. So these are the next best thing. I've tried the little frozen teaspoon sized cubes of herbs, and while they taste alright, they're not convenient if you're making an uncooked dish. The Daregal Herbs are like sprinkling your own fresh minced herbs into anything you're making. So far we've made Bruschetta with the basil, and a focaccia-loafy-type bread with the Italian Blend. Also, the Grilling Blend sprinkled into some olive oil made a perfect blend to dip our bread in.

Bruschetta, soon to be topped with fresh mozz and popped under the broiler.

See the pretty minced basil?

So Matt and I talked for a little while and came up with a great giveaway! They're going to send out two packages of an assortment of herbs to two random winners. What will you get?

Package #1: One of each--

Original Blend
Basil
Cilantro
Parsley
Oregano

Package #2: One of each--

Italian Blend
Basil
Cilantro
Parsley
Oregano

These will be shipped to your door packed in dry ice, and ready to be popped in your freezer to start using right away. And let's not underestimate the fun factor of dry ice...um, not that I'd know. Just be careful if you decide to make a cauldron of spooky smoke, and read the precautions first, ok? Ok. So the herb giveaway starts today, and two winners (US only on this one, sorry.) will be chosen on Wednesday, January 14th. In the meantime, check out the Daregal site, and maybe you'll find a store in your area that carries them so you can get a sneak preview. And a huge thanks to Matt and Daregal!

And now, the book that changed everything about bread baking. For me, anyway, and countless others that have bought this book. What book is this? Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking .

My bread baking has gone from "pretty good" to "knock your socks off!" And all with very little effort. Seriously! There's no kneading, only about 5 minutes of mixing time. The dough rests at least 2 hours, then you can use it or pop it in the fridge. Want some bread? (I feel almost silly calling it "bread," when it's more like food of the gods.) Pull out some of the dough, shape it and let it sit for 40 minutes (or 20 if you haven't put it in the fridge yet), then bake it. The high moisture content in the dough is what makes it rise, right in the oven. And then? Prepare to BE AMAZED. Be prepared for your family and friends to start begging you to make more bread. Which you'll be happy to do because of the little bit of effort involved.

We've been experimenting with the book and haven't been disappointed yet--just the opposite, we've been thrilled! For Christmas Day, I made the Vermont Cheddar Bread from the book, but using half the dough, made 12 dinner rolls. They were so damn good, and even the fussy kids loved them. The rest of the dough went back in the fridge overnight and this afternoon, we shaped 2 flat-ish focaccia type breads. We brushed them with a little olive oil and gave them a sprinkle of good sea salt. Then--how easy--we sprinkled some Daregal Italian Blend over the dough, then let them rest for 40 minutes. When it was time for them to bake, we added sliced Campari tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Instant lunch! We got 2 delicious pizza-focaccia-bread type loaves with about 10 minutes total work.

We've also tried the Boule and the Pizza Crust from the book. Both are fantastic! And with bread this easy, there's no more excuse to not have your own fresh baked bread. No more being afraid of yeast. And no more fear of kneading. You CAN do it with this book.

And I'm so thrilled with the book, that I'm giving a copy away to one lucky reader! Same as the herb giveaway, but this one is open to US and international readers. The contest starts today, and on Wednesday, January 14th, I'll choose a winner.

SO! You have a chance to win three prizes--the book, or one of two packages of frozen herbs. (Herbs-US only, book-US and international.)

Just leave a comment here to enter. And if you want a BONUS ENTRY, just Twitter or Facebook with a link to this giveaway, and come back to comment again with your link from that included in your comment. That will give you two chances to win.

Good luck! I hope you all had happy holidays, and here's to a happy and healthy new year!

Chocolate Minty Cookies and Holiday Wishes

2008-12-22T15:29:00.009-05:00

Mmmmm, mint and chocolate. As good as, maybe even a little better than peanut butter and chocolate? I don't know, that's a tough one. Given a choice with chocolate--I'll almost always go with mint.

I was grocery shopping and saw that they had Andes Mints on sale. Pass those up? No way. I knew I wanted to bake something with them. It was either that, or be faced with eating all of them. Cookies immediately came to mind. I did a search and found that there was pretty much one Andes cookie recipe. The one where you place a whole candy over the hot cookies and let it melt there, which looks good. Then there's this one, from Erin. That looks great too, right?

But I wanted to do something different. I started with a basic chocolate cookie, but instead of chocolate chips, I chopped up the mints, coarsely, so you get chunks, and added those to the batter. The result? Delicious cookies! You can immediately taste the mint in them, which is good. Some of the chocolate melted directly into the cookies. They are a cakey cookie, which isn't my first choice, but still, they're very good--almost like little brownie bites. Everyone still loves them--I can see right now that our supply of them is almost gone, so that's a good indication of yummy cookies.

Next Time:

I'd definitely leave larger chunks of the mints. I cut each one into roughly three pieces, so maybe just cut them in half next time.

I'll probably search out a chocolate cookie base that'll be chewier, since that's my favorite kind of cookie.

All in all, I'd make these again for sure, just tweaking the cookie part. But if you like soft, cake-like cookies, you'll love these!

To print this recipe, click here!

makes approx 60 cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 (28 piece) boxes Andes Mints, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 375.
Beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in mixing bowl until fluffy.
Combine the flour, cocoa, soda and salt, then add alternately with the milk--blend well.
Stir in the mints.
Drop by teaspoons on parchment covered baking sheets.
Bake 8-10 minutes--don't over bake!
Cool for a minute on the sheets and remove to cooling racks.

Holiday Baking, Week 5: The EASIEST Chocolate Truffles you'll ever make

2008-12-15T13:54:00.006-05:00

I know, it's not really week 5, more like 8 or 9, but...stuff happens. Hopefully, this easy--but incredibly delicious recipe will make up for it!

I've made chocolate truffles before, and I wouldn't say they're hard to make, but messy. These are simple, but not messy at all. They're even easier than making fudge, I swear! And anyone lucky enough to be gifted with some of these will love you forever. But don't let them know how easy it is--let them think you're a chocolate making genius. Let them offer to do something for you, in return for some of your amazing truffles, lol!

This one is from Donna Hay's Christmas book. If you don't know Donna Hay, you should! Her recipes are simple, but fantastic. I dare you to look through one of her books and not find 30 recipes that you want to try immediately.

This has two ingredients. Well, three if you count cocoa for dusting the truffles. Ok, four if you add Raspberry Chambord, like I did. Not in the original recipe, but I couldn't resist! But still, that's only four ingredients for decadent chocolates that you can use to bribe your friends.

Are you ready for this extremely complicated recipe? Let's go!

Chocolate Truffles
by Donna Hay

To print this recipe, click here!

1/2 cup heavy cream
10 1/2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
cocoa powder for dusting
if you're adding another flavoring, like the Chambord--about 3 TBSP

Isn't that pretty chocolate?

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to almost a boil.
Add the chopped chocolate and stir for one minute.
Remove from heat and stir until completely smooth.
Stir in the Chambord, or your choice of liqueur. This is optional, but so, so good in the finished truffles!
Pour into a square pan (her recipe says 6", but I only had and 8" pan, and it was fine) that you've greased and lined with parchment paper. Don't grease the paper. I cut two sheets of parchment to fit, one sheet going one way, the other going the opposite way, so there were "handles" for lifting on each side.
Refrigerate for two hours or until firm.
To serve, lift the truffles out with the paper, cut into squares, and dust with cocoa powder.

Let them come to room temp for about 20 minutes before you serve.
Will keep in fridge for 10 days.

Now how easy is that? And just wait till you taste them! And yeah, they're not round, but then again, you didn't have to get messy rolling them, did you? ;)

Stay tuned for another giveaway, coming very, very soon! It's something that'll make cooking during the colder months a little more convenient...and a lot tastier, too.

Leftover Cranberry Sauce? Yogurt Cranberry Coffeecake!

2008-12-10T12:05:00.000-05:00

So, I had all of these good intentions for making cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. I even looked around and found a recipe I was going to mess around with and change up. Made my T-Day grocery list, and headed off to Trader Joes...

Wouldn't you know, they had their own cranberry sauce in the refrigerated section--regular and cranberry-orange. So yeah, good intentions and recipes went right out the window, and I picked up a container of each. Ingredients? Water, cranberries, sugar, orange--pretty much it. And one less thing to make on T-Day. Woo!

We opened the plain one first, and dear Lord, it was perfect! It didn't need spices, or alcohol, or nuts--it was amazing in it's simplicity. I could have eaten that entire thing myself! We didn't get around to the orange one, though, so back in the fridge it went.

I knew I wanted to make something with the sauce, and a quick search brought me to this recipe from King Arthur Flour: Yogurt Cranberry Coffeecake. You know me, I love using yogurt in baked stuff! I read the reviews, and it seemed the consensus was to add more cranberries, so of course I did. More fruit filling? Um, yeah, I'm all over that one! I used about 1 1/2 cups, which completely covered the bottom layer. So now you get fruit in every single bite, like it should be, right? That's a no-brainer. The streusel topping is fantastic--cinnamony and not too sweet. The cranberries add their signature tart/sweet flavors, and the bottom cake layer is moist and just right on the sweetness. Don't forget, there's yogurt in there, so it's anything but dry.

This is my dream coffeecake. Fruity, tender and moist, and not too sweet. It doesn't need a glaze over the top to cover up dry cake on the bottom. AND, it makes a lot. A whole 13x9 pan. So you can share--or not, lol. I don't know how it freezes, but I don't see why you couldn't cut the recipe in half. And I also think this would make amazing muffins, which I'm definitely trying soon!
Click here for the recipe, and after you get that, have a look around and try not to add $200 of stuff to your shopping cart. But the best part--it's all useful stuff, so you can totally justify it. ;)

100th Post Cookbook Winner

2008-12-09T10:16:00.004-05:00

The Random Number Generator has spoken and the random winner is comment #70, Dawn from Vanilla Sugar.

Dawn said... 70: Oh my gosh my dumb computer crashed 2 years ago and I lost all my settings, bookmarks, addresses, etc.... Thankfully I did back up and didn't lose any work. I really think computers are only meant to last 3-5 years as so many people lose their computer after this about of time.
Congrats on 100th post. Wild huh? And I do remember those skillet smashed taters, vividly...I fell in love with them.; Nov 19, 2008 4:12:00 PM

Dawn will be receiving a copy of Ina Garten's brand-spankin' new book Back to Basics.

Congratulations, Dawn! All I need is your address so I can get the book out to you. :)

Stay tuned for more giveaways, because there are more coming!

Chocolate Cake, Marry Me!

2008-12-07T15:57:00.009-05:00

Yes, I'll be Mrs. Chocolate Cake, ok? Think my husband will mind? He can be Mr.- Mrs. Chocolate Cake.

This cake. This cake....oh my goodness. Anyone that knows me, knows that my favorite kind of cake is chocolate. So for my son's birthday, I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. Is it wrong that I totally steered him toward chocolate cake with chocolate frosting? (Don't worry. He loved. This. Cake.) We had the idea of making a giant sort of Ring Ding cake. I know, some of you might not know what a Ring Ding is. Poor souls, hehe.

Anyway, I had the killer cake recipe, and I had the killer frosting recipe, but I needed a filling recipe. I was in a hurry, and looking back, wish I took more time to find a good recipe for that, too. Don't get me wrong, the one I used is delicious, but not great for layering between two big cake layers. I used a whoopie pie filling that I'd used before...for whoopie pies, of course. It didn't hold up well to the cake layers, and before I knew it, I had a cake slide going on. Damn.

But I kept on. I poked a couple of chopsticks through the top and stuck it in the fridge to try and set it more. After 20 minutes or so, I frosted the sides with the chocolate frosting and set it back in the fridge. When I frosted the top a little later, it was still sliding, so the chopsticks went back into the top.

And you know? When it was time to serve it, it was a little lopsided, but it was for family, and they don't really care. Thank goodness, right? lol!

The cake recipe is from Epicurious. I can't even say enough good things about the cake. It's easy to make, it's dense and chocolaty, it's moist, and most important, the taste is out of this world! It's my new official chocolate cake recipe. It's my new best friend.

The filling is also from Epicurious. I've made these whoopie pies before and they're another great recipe. Unfortunately, the filling just doesn't hold up to heavy cake layers. Whoopie pies? Yes! Cake filling? No!

And you can't have cake without frosting, can you? I don't make frosting very often, but when we do have frosting, it's this one. It's perfect, like the recipe title says. I got this recipe from a friend a few years ago, and haven't made another one since. It's incredibly simple, but homemade--so it tastes great. It's dark and chocolaty, and nice and creamy--good for spreading on cake. Please don't skip the sifting the sugar step--you don't want to have lumpy frosting, do you?

Perfect Chocolate Frosting

6 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup butter, cut into tablespoon sizes
2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Place a large bowl, filled halfway with ice, in the sink (a bowl that is large enough to hold the pot that you will cook the frosting in).
In a medium size pot over med low heat; melt chocolate, cream, and butter.
Stirring constantly, cook the mixture until all of the butter and chocolate melts and thickens, about 5-6 minutes. Do not boil.
Remove pot from heat.
Whisk in the sifted confectioners' sugar until mixture becomes smooth (approximately 1 minute). Put the pot on top of the bowl of ice. (Be careful to not allow any ice from the larger bowl to get into pot with the chocolate mixture.)
Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 4-5 minutes until frosting becomes smooth, thick, and fudgy. Remove from ice.
Spread onto cooled cake layers.
The frosting will thicken as it sets up.
If the frosting gets too hard to spread, put back on low heat and stir constantly until you get the spreading consistency desired.

So even with the leaky filling, this cake was awesome. My son kept thanking me for making him such a great cake for his birthday, and my other son has requested the same one for his birthday. Hopefully I'll find a sturdier filling by then!

That's it. No more talking. I'll show you how good this cake was.

**Warning! The following images may not be suitable for those of you with good table manners. Notice that one kid isn't even bothering with the formality of a utensil.

I think if I'd tried to get a bite of that slice, I'd have lost a limb. That was the last slice of cake, by the way. I had a flock of vultures hounding me the entire time I was taking photos, one even had a fork at the ready! That last series of pictures happened over a period of about 45 seconds. Piggies.