Creative Cupcakes for the Shoe Lover

Aren't these cupcakes so cute?  My co-worker is an amazing baker and made these for another colleague's birthday. 

The shoe is a cupcake and Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookie, and the heel is a Pepperidge Farm Pirouette.  For the bows, she rolled out some Starburst candy, cut them into thin strips and formed them into bows.  So creative!

Recipe: Thai Chicken Curry

I love Thai food and had been wanting to make Thai Chicken Curry ever since I saw the recipe in Bon Appetit's January 2013 issue (see the photo on p.29 or the link to the recipe above -- it looks mouthwatering; recipe is on p.30 in the magazine).

What a disappointment.  I should've known from reading the reviews on epicurious.com that it wouldn't taste as expected.  While it does have curry paste and coconut milk, there isn't any oomph to the dish, if you know what I mean.  The flavors weren't bold at all, and there was almost no hint of spice.  I'm not keeping this recipe around.  It just didn't fit my expectations of a Thai dish.

Champagne Cork: Mytik Diam

Last night, we opened a bottle of Champagne -- the cork had Mytik Diam on it as you can see in the photo.  I thought, "How cool.  Maybe it's a Latin phrase like carpe diem or something that represents what the brand is about."

Yeah, never mind.  I just looked it up, and it's the name of the cork brand.

Pop-Tarts Ice Cream

 

Why didn't anyone think of this before? 

Carl's Jr. is rolling out a new Hand-Scooped Strawberry Pop-Tarts Ice Cream Sandwich to all of its 1,391 restaurants as a limited time offer starting today.

For a limited time, the dessert will be FREE with the purchase of a Super Bacon Cheeseburger combination meal at participating restaurants. The ice cream sandwich will be sold for a recommended $1.49 if purchased separately.  (That sounds like a 3,000 calorie meal.)

I'm not a huge fan of Strawberry Pop-Tarts, but I can imagine Frosted Blueberry or S'mores being pretty good.

What would Gordon Ramsey say?

I was going through the photos on my phone and came across this one that I'd taken last month. 

An example of REALLY awful food photography and marketing at Twisted Root.  What would Gordon Ramsey say?

Recipe: Slice-and-Bake Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Want dessert but don't have anything in the house?  If you cook and bake pretty frequently, you probably have all of the ingredients below to make these Slice-and-Bake Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Bon Appetit (April 2013 issue, p. 32). 

Ingredients needed:  flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, nutmeg, unsalted butter, sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, old-fashioned oats, raisins.

Things I did differently:

• Halved the amount of raisins -- substituted one cup for a cup of chocolate chips to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
• Didn't have whole wheat flour on-hand, so I used all-purpose flour.
• Didn't want to wait to freeze the dough, so I baked them right away.
• It's probably obvious from the photo, but I made very LARGE cookies.

Recipe: Popovers with Gruyere

I made popovers for the first time this past weekend for a party we attended. 

Who knew they were so easy to make? 

This Popovers with Gruyere recipe from Bon Appetit (Sept 2004) requires just 5 ingredients:  flour, salt, milk, eggs and gruyere.  Impress your guests!

2 tips:

• Baking time was only 35 min (not the 40 min noted in the recipe) so watch them so they don't overbrown or burn.
• Make a slit in them as people have noted in the reviews so that they don't deflate completely.
• Think about adding dry mustard and/or mustard seeds like the XXL Gougeres.

What Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor Says About You

First of all, did you know that this month is National Ice Cream Month? 
Also, National Ice Cream Day is Sunday, July 21st.

From Baskin-Robbins' press release:

Baskin-Robbins recently partnered with Dr. Alan Hirsch, a nationally recognized smell and taste expert and founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, to identify what some of the most popular ice cream flavors suggest about someone's personality.

If you favorite flavor is. . .

• Vanilla, you're more likely to be impulsive, easily suggestible and an idealist.
• Chocolate, you're more likely to be dramatic, lively, charming, flirtatious, seductive and gullible.
• Very Berry Strawberry, you're more likely to be a tolerant, devoted and an introvert.
• Mint Chocolate Chip, you're more likely to be argumentative, frugal and cautious.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, you're more likely to be ambitious, competitive and a visionary.
• Pralines 'n Cream, you're more likely to be loving, supportive and prefer to avoid the spotlight.
• Jamoca (i.e. coffee), you're more likely to be scrupulous, conscientious and a moral perfectionist.
• Chocolate Chip, you're more likely to be generous, competent and a go getter.
• Rainbow Sherbet, you're more likely to be analytic, decisive and a pessimistic.
• Rocky Road, you're more likely to be aggressive, engaging and a good listener.

So, what's YOUR favorite flavor?

Definition: Jam, Jelly, Marmalade

Jams, jellies and marmalades are all different styles of fruit preserves.

Jam = a preparation of fruits, vegetables and sugar, often canned or sealed for long-term storage. The preparation of fruit preserves today often involves adding commercial or natural pectin as a gelling agent, although sugar or honey may be used as well.

Jelly = an American term for clear or translucent fruit spread made from sweetened fruit (or vegetable) juice and set using naturally occurring pectin.  Additional pectin may be added where the original fruit does not supply enough, for example with grapes. Jelly can be made from sweet, savory or hot ingredients. It is made by a process similar to that used for making jam, with the additional step of filtering out the fruit pulp after the initial heating. 

Marmalade = a type of fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. It can be produced from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots and other citrus fruits, or any combination.

Source:  Wikipedia.com

Friday Night Dinner

Beef Wellington
Mashed Potatoes
Mozzarella, tomato, basil salad
Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages

 

Life is good.

Definitions: Puree, Paste, Coulis, Compote, Chutney

Purée = a general term for cooked food, usually vegetables or legumes, that have been ground, pressed, blended, and/or sieved to the consistency of a soft creamy paste or thick liquid.

Paste = often used for purees intended to be used as an ingredient, rather than eaten.

Coulis =  most commonly used term for fruit purees.  A form of thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. A vegetable coulis is commonly used on meat and vegetable dishes, and it can also be used as a base for soups or other sauces. Fruit coulis are most often used on desserts.

Compote = a dessert originating from 17th century France made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves, ground almonds, grated coconut, candied fruit, or raisins. The compote is served either warm or cold.

Chutney = a  pungent relish of Indian origin made of fruit, spices and herbs.

Source:  Wikipedia.com

Cherry Bourbon Cocktail

I've been into bourbon for a little while now and was craving a bourbon-cherry type drink the other night.  I really wanted to use some of the all natural Chukar maraschino cherries (they're amazing) our friends gave us, so I searched for "bourbon cherry" online and scanned through some recipes.  Here's the concoction that I created that is my new go-to drink:

• 1.5 oz of bourbon (we use Bulleit brand)
• 4 or 5 Chukar maraschino cherries
• 2.5 tbsp. of Chukar maraschino cherry syrup/juice
• Splash of tonic
• Splash of club soda (so the drink isn't super sweet)
• Squeeze of lime

I've seen some other recipes that mix cherry/bourbon/lime/ginger and cherry/bourbon/triple sec/cream, so I'll be experimenting some new recipes tonight. 

Happy 4th!

Downton Abbey Wines to Be Released

For all Downton Abbey fans, it was announced this past week that a collection of Downton Abbey wines -- Bordeaux clarets and blancs will be introduced in time for season 4.

According to Fox News:  The range of Bordeaux clarets and whites are the type of clarets imported by the British aristocracy from France in the early 1900s. The recreated wines are from grapes grown on the same vines and from the same soil as the era depicted in Downton Abbey.

I wonder if Carson would approve of the wine.

Sources:  HuffingtonPost.com and FoxNews.com

Tableware affects how food tastes

I thought this was fascinating. . . see the full story (super short article). 

The size, weight, shape and color of your cutlery can affect how food tastes, a new study suggests. In the research, participants thought white yogurt tasted sweeter than pink-colored yogurt when eaten from a white spoon, but the reverse was true when a black spoon was used, reported usnews.com. Full Story

Drink Recipe: Strawberry Ginger Basil Cocktail

I needed a refreshing drink during pool time this afternoon and made this cocktail inspired by the recipe in this week's US Weekly.  It's simply:  muddled strawberries and basil, strawberry vodka, and topped with Fever Tree Ginger Beer.  It was a little sweet for my taste, so next time, I'll use less ginger beer and top it off with club soda.

The recipe in US Weekly is called Grey Goose Paradise Presse -- the cocktail was served at the L.A. Dance Project Gala held earlier this month and uses orange juice, strawberry juice, Grey Goose Le Citron vodka, sugar, club soda, strawberries and basil.  (No ginger beer.)  The headline touts that Rashida Jones and Natalie Portman "toss back this berry refreshing aperitif." 

Yes, berry refreshing!

Recipe: Thomas Keller's puree of garlic potatoes

Thomas Keller's puree of garlic potatoes from his ad hoc at home cookbook (p.223) is now my go to recipe for making mashed potatoes.  It's really amazing how his recipes elevate the most basic everyday foods.  Even the names of his recipes sound fancy.  I mean, this is mashed potatoes, but he calls the dish "puree of garlic potatoes."

My changes/shortcuts for this recipe:

• Made half the recipe which is about 4 servings.
• Used a potato ricer instead of a food mill.
• Instead of making the garlic confit (p.266) which takes 40 minutes, I minced 2 large garlic cloves and then cooked them in a couple of tablespoons of canola oil (and made sure not to overbrown or burn the garlic).

We will definitely be serving this at dinner parties at our house.

Guest Post: Summer Corn & Asparagus Salad

Thanks for letting me contribute to the Foodie Friends Test Kitchen!

A couple of months ago I found a beautiful photo of "corn and asparagus salad" on Pinterest. Normally I check the links to make sure I can actually see the recipe or content. This time, I was mesmerized by the photo and pinned without caution.  It went on to my "Summer Eats" board.

Fast forward two months and The Guy (my hubby) came home from the grocery store this weekend with corn and asparagus. Bingo! Back on Pinterest I went in a hurry, looking for the recipe behind the amazing photo. (Insert wha wha wha sound) No link could be found.

So, I improvised. And it was awesome. (I should say "we" because it was a team effort between me, "The Lady" and "The Guy") here is what we did:

Grocery List:
3 small/medium ears of corn
8 large spears of asparagus
I small to medium scallion
Fresh basil
White wine vinegar (just in case your pantry doesn't have it)

Shuck the corn and trim the asparagus (break the stems where they naturally want to)
Drizzle with olive oil, lightly salt and pepper.

GRILL - The Guy is a grill master, he cooks veggies quickly over relatively high heat (charcoal) until very slightly charred and perfectly al dente.

Cool the veggies - cut the corn off the cob when it's cool enough to handle (don't cut too close to the cob, it gets starchy).  Cut the asparagus into inch long pieces (I cut them on a bias) and put in the fridge.

Finely chop the shallot and the basil (I used about 2 tbsp chopped) Put in a bowl with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Mix and put in the fridge.

Combine the "dressing" with the veggies then salt and pepper to taste. Sounds so easy, but the fresh ingredients make it a perfect summer side dish. I'm sure you could sub out basil for lots of other favorite herbs, but it was perfect in my book.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Thomas Keller's endive and arugula salad with peaches and marcona almonds

We cooked a couple of recipes out of Thomas Keller's ad hoc at home cookbook the other day.  The endive and arugula salad with peaches and marcona almonds (p. 140) sounded like a lovely summertime salad, and it was.  It just took a little bit of time because I had to make the peach puree (p.249) first.  However, here are some shortcuts and things we changed:

the peach puree

• I used ONE peach to make about a 1/4 cup of puree.
• Even though the peaches I bought weren't perfectly ripe, I peeled them with a paring knife and skipped the first step of putting them in boiling water and then an ice bath to cool.
• I also didn't strain the puree through a fine-mesh basket strainer because I'm fine with a chunky dressing (and it wasn't even that chunky, just thick).
• I have a candy thermometer and could've made sure that the puree reached 215-220 degrees F, but I didn't.

the salad

• Because endive gets pricey, we used a baby spring mix that didn't have arugula.  I think the arugula would've added a nice touch and extra dimension to the salad, so I'll add that next time as called for by the recipe.

A note on the recipe says that in the fall, pears can be substituted for the peaches in both the puree and salad.  I love pears and so will definitely be trying that out!

Definition: Kosher Salt

So, what is kosher salt exactly. . . I mean, why is it called KOSHER salt?

From Wikipedia.com:

Koshering salt, usually referred to as kosher salt in the US, is a variety of edible salt with a much larger grain size than some common table salt. Like common table salt, kosher salt consists of the chemical compound sodium chloride.

Unlike some common table salt, kosher salt typically contains no additives such as iodine, although some brands will include anti-clumping agents in small amounts. Additive-free nonkosher salt is also readily available.

The term "kosher salt" comes from its use in making meats kosher by removing surface blood, not from its being made in accordance with the guidelines for kosher foods as written in the Torah, as nearly all salt is kosher, including ordinary table salt. One salt manufacturer considers the term ambiguous, and distinguishes between "kosher certified salt" and "koshering salt": "koshering salt" has the "small, flake-like form" useful in treating meat, whereas "kosher certified salt" is salt that has been certified as such by an appropriate religious body.

Also, as you probably know from experience -- it dissolves easily and provides flavor without oversalting.

Recipe: Hot Pepper Noodles

Update on Hot Pepper Noodles (original post was on 3/27/13 - see below).

Have you ever made a recipe, thinking that it was something you'd never made before until realizing it later?  We made Hot Pepper Noodles which I thought was a brand new recipe until I started writing this post and realized that we'd made it before over 2 months ago!  When eating dinner, I even mentioned that it was the best Asian dish we'd ever made (a la my comment below).

This time it was even better:

• Used flat rice noodles which fit the dish perfectly (and is what the recipe calls for).
• Added chicken AND tofu (firm)
• Used FRESH basil from our garden!
• Because of the amount of ingredients we added (3 chicken breasts, 1 whole block of tofu), we made 1.5x the amount of sauce, although next time I'd make twice the amount of sauce.

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This past weekend, we made the Hot Pepper Noodles recipe in Bon Appetit's March 2013 issue (p. 22).  This was a fabulous (and quick and easy) Asian dish -- it was a write-in request from a reader who wanted the recipe from Penny's Noodle Shop in Chicago.  It's one of the best Asian recipes we've made; we'll definitely make it again.  Just looking at this photo is making me hungry. . .

Here are a few tips and changes we made to the recipe:

• Used thin rice noodles.
• Added shrimp to the dish and next time will add tofu too.  (This will require making more of the sauce since tofu tends to absorb sauce easily.)
• Added red pepper flakes when cooking the chicken and shrimp to add heat to the dish.
• Added scallions but won't do this next time because the scallions got overpowered by the other ingredients.
• Will add double or even triple the amount of basil next time.