Wednesday, March 31, 2010

West Virginia

My sister is a character. She's beautiful, smart as a whip, sweet yet sarcastic, loves shoes, flaming liberal, and chill. She met her husband in undergrad and they moved back to his home state of West Virginia.

At first, I thought she was crazy. This girl can crush a day shopping. She's grew up in Northern VA and went to law school in California- not exactly the same lifestyle. I visited her for the 2nd time this weekend and I must say- I like Charleston! It's natural, lush, and laid back. Plus- there's some damn good food and art.

We went to Bluegrass Kitchen for dinner. I really loved the decor! The table lights had graf on them. We had the Beer Cheese Fondue and Crab Rangoon with Mango Marmalade appetizers. I had the Perfect Chicken (delicious!), Susana had the 1/2 Pound Hamburger (yum), Joe had Bourbon Trout & Grits (his favorite there), and Phannarith had Roast Chicken Quesadilla (meh, not impressed). The chips and salsa were perfectly paired.
Tudor's Biscuits were breakfast while heading out. Throw away all your hopes of being healthy. These bad boys are some salted butter biscuits with your choice of meat and egg. I had a side of apples and there was some hash brown action as well. This was simple and sinful.


Also, we had some amazing jerky that comes from Tennessee. My bro-in-law recommended it and drove us out to the only gas station that sells it. I'll have to double check the spelling though.
Country roads, take me home!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Old School Banana Bread

We don't use cook books in my house. The way my family cooks does not require measuring. You add, taste, think, adjust, repeat. However...

There's this one cook book that's been around my house since the dawn of time. I have no idea where it came from. We use one recipe in the entire book: banana bread. This is the only kind that's been made in my oven since I was a little kid. Yes, one day I will try something different. But for now, I love the simplicity of this recipe and how bananas make you feel slightly less guilty.
Preheat to 350 degrees and grease loaf pan.

1 stick margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 large bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup broken pecans (optional- any nut you want)

Cream together margarine and sugar in bowl. Add the eggs and bananas. Sift flour and soda together into batter, blending thoroughly. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Remember, the great thing about banana bread is you don't need ripe bananas. The mushy ones are perfect and have better flavor for baking!

I usually like to add in 1/2 a cup of chocolate chips and a tablespoon of cinnamon. I used chocolate covered almonds this time. Yes, I'm a rebel.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes. The numbers of bananas you put in make a difference. The more banana mush, the longer the cooking time. I've used up to 5 bananas.

Allow the bread to cool and jump right in! This is great for on-the-go breakfast.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Fish Tacos

My brother is a good cook. We didn't know it until he moved into his own place and started playing in the kitchen. Last night, he made fish tacos with a little help from mom and me scampering around his kitchen. His favorite recipe website, where he got this one, is allrecipes.com. I must say, these were a treat but the required a good deal of time. This is easily eliminated if you remember to do your prep work! We eliminated the Honey-Cumin element but feel free to use it.

Fish

1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into chunks or whole filets
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Breading

1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups panko crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs, you can find them in the ethnic aisle)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup veggie oil for frying

Chipotle Mayo Dressing

1/2 cup mayo
2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Coleslaw

2 cups coleslaw blend
1 cup minced fresh cilantro

Flour tortillas


Place tilapia chunks in flat dish and poor lime juice over. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. The longer, the better!

To make the chipotle dressing, place the mayonnaise, chilies, adobo sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cayenne pepper together in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.

To bread the fish, place the flour, eggs, and panko crumbs in three separate shallow dishes. Season the fish with salt and pepper to taste. Dip the fish pieces first in the four, coating evenly, and shaking off any excess. Dip next in the eggs, and last in the panko crumbs, patting the pieces to help the breadcrumbs hold. Set the fish aside on a plate.

To cook , pour 1 cup vegetable oil into a skillet to 1/4 inch deep. Heat the oil to 365 degrees over medium heat. Cook the fish, turning until all sides are golden brown, and flesh is easily flaked with a fork. Drain on paper towels.

Mix the coleslaw and cilantro together in a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chipotle mayonnaise dressing, and pour the remaining dressing over the coleslaw mixture. Toss to coat evenly with the dressing.

Simply put the fish on the tortilla and coat with coleslaw. Wrap it up! Use the little bit of extra dressing as desire. We like to toast our tortillas slightly to keep some heat.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Sweet Seashell Candy

Presents are sweet, especially when they're for no reason, thoughtful.... and for baking! Special thanks to my SB2 (yes yes, I'm SB1). He gave me two really cool molds: seashells and an igloo. He found them on Kitchen Krafts, a site I've never seen before and has a ton of stuff.

In honor of Costa Rica, I decided to use the seashells for a dinner party this past Saturday hosted by one my traveling companions. I didn't want to make tea cakes, not everything can be a cupcake, so I decided to make candy. It's extremely easy to make and hella cute!

I made two batches, one from AllRecipes.com with some minor adjustments and the other was purely melted chocolate.

Chocolate Marshmallow Candy

1/2 cup butter
1 (12 ounce) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped almonds
1 (10.5 ounce) bag of mini marshmallows
1 teaspoon vanilla

Prep the pan! Use some solid vegetable oil (Crisco) and lightly coat molds. Dust with flour. If you don't do this with this pan- good luck. We didn't' do this the 1st round and it was a struggle to get the candy out.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter, vanilla, and marshmallows. Stir until it becomes a guey paste. Add in chocolate chips. Finally add nuts. Dab about a tablespoon in. Lightly tap against counter to make sure the filling is distributed evenly. Place in refrigerator for 45 minutes or in freezer for 20 (until candy hardens).

To remove from pan, either gently tap out of pan or use a toothpick for a lil nudge. Dust with confectioner's sugar (optional).

The fun with this recipe is you can mix and match. Don't like almonds? Swap it out. Want more then just chocolate? Throw in 6 ounces of peanut butter chips or swap out the chocolate chips for butterscotch! This made 2 batches out of the pan. These were amazingly yummy and oh so easy to make!

Simple Candy

Melt the candy your choice (via double boiler or microwave; if you use the microwave use 30 second increments and stir in between) and pour into prepped molds.

Freeze until hardened. Bam! I used semi sweet and white chocolate and mixed them around. I also used some sugar pearls to add that beach look.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Blogging 101: What NOT to do

Imitiation is flattery. I get that. But if you're going to use someone's recipe in your own blog, don't take it verbatim. At least try the recipe yourself. I found some creeper did not just take the Vietnamese Coconut Waffle recipe-- they took my photos and words with absolutely no editing. It was really really creepy to see the boyfriends's name on someone else's site. Lady's, I know you'd cut someone too. Don't take someone's photos; don't take someone's words; leave a link; give credit where it's due.

I am thrilled people are actually viewing the stuff I make. That's amazing in itself. <3

So really- this is what NOT to do by Cake Today. Grumble grumble.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Moist Chocolate Honey Cupcakes

Honey. It's a great old school cure-all, delicious, natural, and one of the few substances that cannot be duplicated in a lab. There's something refreshing about that. If you haven't read it, I recommend the book The Secret Life of Bees. Good story and informational about honey's properties.

My mom loves honey and it's a staple in our house. Staring at a cabinet filled with various jars of the stuff, I selected this recipe from Love and Olive Oil.

I made two modifications: no peanuts and different frosting. The recommended frosting was a honey butter cream. I tried it out and then remembered.... I hate the taste of butter. Paula Deen would shoot me. Sure, a dab of it is okay on some breakfast foods but I found it overpowering. That's just me- I'm biased. If you prefer buttercream, take a look at Love and Olive Oil's recipe!

Instead, I used this frosting that is common in Jewish deserts. This was my first time making it and I must admit- it's pretty much wonderful!

Cupcake:
3/4 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting:
3/4 cups honey
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Pinch of salt
1/2 to 1 cup confectioners sugar (optional; to taste)

Preheat oven to 325. Line 12 muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together the soy milk, oil, sugar, honey, and vanilla extract until incorporated. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in soy milk mixture. Stir until just smooth (do not overmix).
Pour into liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For the frosting, heat the honey in a saucepan or double boiler for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Lightly beat the egg whites in a separate bowl. Slowly pour the honey in a steady stream into the egg whites. Beat with an electric mixer for another 7 minutes. Add a dash of salt. You'll find the texture is like melted marshmallows! To thicken it, I added confectioner's sugar.

The flavor of the honey stays true! I think the texture of this is neatest thing ever. Do not slather it on, a nice even coat is perfect and wont drip. I had a lot of frosting left over, so I'm planning on making some apple muffins or pumpkin cake to finish it. If you don't want so much left over, simply halve the recipe. Also, this makes a great filling for cakes if you wanna core out the center and pour it in. Yes, I'm excited!

The result: a ridiculously fluffy, moist cupcake with smooth, honey licking frosting. This is one of the most moist recipes I have yet to find. Paired with this frosting, they simply melt into one another with each bite. Love it!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Costa Rica

Spent 5 glorious days in Costa Rica! Here are the food highlights! I loved having fruit with just about every meal.
Hats off to Buon Appetito in Tamarindo and the Soda in Mounteverde! Added to the "to-d0" list is Cerviche!



And of course, my life is not complete without some cafe and bread.



Thank you Ashley for showing us a wonderful time!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Magic Bars

As I opened the can of sweetened condensed milk, my mom's eyes lit up. She has a soft spot for the stuff. A few spoon fulls was a childhood dessert. She grew up overseas. I would not say they were in poverty but they were broke. While I was baking, she explained how my great-grandmother would bring cans of it whenever she visited from Africa. It was a tremendous treat and they never had something so sweet in their lives. Amazing how something so simple can leave such a lasting impression.

I wanted to make something quick and easy last night, so I chose Magic Bars. I have no idea why they're named such; that's simply how I was introduced to them by my '2nd mom.' Two things about these suckers: 1) they will rot your teeth- so sweet and 2) if you mess up making these, then you can burn water. They're that easy.


There is another variation i would like to try with oats. Down the line, I will attempt to create the "healthy" version of these bars- I'm thinking honey instead of condensed milk and dried fruits instead of chocolate. We'll see.

Magic Bars
adapted from family

Preheat the oven to 350 and throw the ingredients in a 8x8 or 9x9 pan!

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked or shredded coconut
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (i used hazelnuts)
1 - 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk


Coat the bottom of the pan with the melted butter. Add the graham cracker crumbs and press slightly down. Layer on the coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts. Get creative and add anything you'd like! Coat the top with the entire can of condensed milk. Slap it in the oven for 30-35 minutes and you're done. Bam! It's all about the layers.


Serve with a LARGE cup of milk! Hope you enjoy and make sure you brush your teeth!

Clouds in my Coffee

Curled up on the couch. A warm cup of cafe. With happy little cloud-shaped marshmallows in my mug. Yes, it's about the small things- and this made me smile.


I found these marshmallows online randomly on epicute from Nikole Herriott. If you want to purchase these, you'll have to find the site (I forget which it was) or I can send you a point of contact. She sent them in adorable packaging from Canada. This appears to be a German product and are really sweet and yummy! Just add to your beverage of choice and kick it.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Maple Acorn Cakelets

My nickname is Squirrel (spelled SQRL). It was bestowed upon me my freshman year of college and followed me- even when I transferred. I've grown accustomed to it and it followed me into the break dance scene. Needless to say, people like to give me squirrel related things. This cakelet pan from Williams Sonoma had to be mine the second my brother saw it. Best part, it came with a yummy Maple Cream Cheese recipe. You can use other cake recipes, but this one works really well because it doesn't rise as high as a normal cake mix would. It's actually a lot of fun to use different mixes- you can have alllll sorts of colored acorns! Ridiculous cuteness- and kinda time consuming. You can make this in cupcake tins as well! So don't fret if you dont have the mold.

My only suggestion is to cut the frosting in half- I had a bunch left over.

Cakelets:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup milk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
8 tbs. (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Glaze:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs. water

Frosting:
2 tbs. butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbs. maple syrup
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Add the brown sugar and white sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Spoon batter into 24 greased mini muffin pans. Bake about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then removed to wire rack.

The glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, maple syrup and water. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Set the rack with the cakelets over a sheet of waxed paper. Brush the warm cakelets with the glaze. Let cool completely.

To make the frosting: Beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, add the maple syrup and confectioners' sugar and beat until combined.

Trim the flat side for a smoother fit, add some frosting, and form the acorn! Sprinkle with tubinado sugar or brown sugar for a lil sparkle.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnabuns : Part 2

As mentioned in my previous blog, the Cinnamon Buns came out more "doughey" and I was not too thrilled with the yeast I used. I'm a little stubborn. So I remade them this weekend with my home girl Zareen. They came out sooo much better. I did two things different:

  1. Regular yeast (not organic)

  2. Cooler milk

The true culprit may have been the milk and not the yeast. The recipe calls for warm milk, not hot. Perchance mine was tooo warm last time. As soon as I mixed them- you could tell it was going to be different. Also, the dough rose A LOT more. Even the color is lighter. So remember: warm milk.


I give this recipe a thumbs for good ol fashioned Cinnamon Buns with a lil crunch!