Dessert

Santa Fe Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

written by Ali

This post is sponsored by Imperial Sugar. All opinions are mine alone.

One of my favorite parts about #Choctoberfest is getting to work with Imperial Sugar as a sponsor. I received a generous package of sugar, stacking measuring cups, and a silicone baking mat, all of which were positively instrumental in creating these Santa Fe Style Chocolate Chip Cookies. The silicone baking mat was perfect for baking these cookies. Imperial Sugar has a great contest going on through October 20^th: The Scary Scramble. Each day this week, Imperial Sugar will post a scrambled recipe title and a clue for you to find the recipe in their Halloween recipe collection. Once you complete the entry form with the unscrambled recipe name, you’ll be entered to win a great prize package of a cookie decorating kit, a silicone baking mat and 10 free sugar vouchers. Just think about all the great cookies you could be making this season!

When the days start to cool off in fall and the leaves start to turn, I am always transported back in time to New Mexico. The leaves, the light, the shorter days – I can practically smell chilies roasting in the air. I also start thinking about spending time in Santa Fe and enjoying chocolate chip cookies with pine nuts. It is such a nostalgic taste for me. On rainy and cool days here on the coast, I just want to hunker down with a cookie and a cup of tea and read for hours on end. These Santa Fe Style Chocolate Chip Cookies represent the best of both worlds for me – the nostalgia of fall in New Mexico and the present day rainy-day bliss.

Yum

Santa Fe Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup lightly packed Imperial Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Imperial Sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup pine nuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream the sugar, egg, and butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla.
Stir the flour mixture into the sugar and butter mixture.
Fold in the chocolate chips and pine nuts. Mix just till combined.
Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or using a silicon baking mat.
Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the sheets. Each baking sheet can hold six to eight cookies.
Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until lightly browned.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.
Enjoy!

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October 15, 2019 3 comments

Baked Goods Beverages Breakfast Dessert Foodie Lists Holiday Recipes

10 Ways to Use Eggnog This Holiday Season

written by Ali

It’s the season for eggnog and just in case you have some leftover in the fridge, check out these 10 ways to use eggnog this holiday season!

First up are Eggnog Ricotta Pancakes - these are one of my all time favorite pancakes to make.

4 Sons R Us whipped up this beautiful Cranberry Sauce Topped Eggnog Cheesecake using two of my favorite holiday treats - cranberry sauce and eggnog!

Champagne Tastes Pumpkin Eggnog looks absolutely divine!

These Eggnog Snickerdoodles from Palatable Pastime would be great for setting out for Santa Claus!

Eggnog Crème Brûlée from Culinary Ginger seems like it would be a perfect New Year’s Eve dessert.

A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures’ Eggnog Macaroons are lovely and would make such an adorable Christmas gift!

Easy Holiday Nog Panna Cotta from Sidewalk Shoes looks so good!

And if you aren’t quite in the mood for panna cotta, check out this Homemade Eggnog Pudding from Plating Pixels.

How about coconut eggnog in your breakfast? Caroline’s Cooking Coconut Eggnog Overnight Oats are so creamy and tasty looking!

Last but not least is the recipe I know I’ll be making for Christmas morning brunch this year - Three Olives Branch Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls

December 7, 2018 0 comment

Baked Goods Dessert Foodie Lists Foodie Parties Holiday Recipes

Choctoberfest 2018 and a Keto Chocolate Roundup

written by Ali

Welcome to #Choctoberfest 2018 with Imperial Sugar! This is one of my favorite weeks of the year, because #Choctoberfest is finally here! From now until the end of the week, I am joining forces with over 100 other bloggers from around the world to post delicious chocolate recipes. Every day, #Choctoberfest bloggers will be celebrating all things chocolate - milk, dark, white, bittersweet, semi-sweet, and cocoa! And wouldn’t you know it - Choctoberfest happens in the same month that I decided to try out the keto diet! Needless to say, I did all my baking and recipe tasting before starting keto. I promise you I will be looking longingly at all the other choctoberfest bloggers’ recipes this week and pinning them all for trying out in November! In the meantime, I’ve been gathering some great keto chocolate recipes for a roundup to get the week rolling. But before we get to the roundup, check out the awesome #Choctoberfest prize pack from our generous sponsors. Scroll down to learn how you can enter to win. One lucky winner will receive the following:

A 100-Piece Cake Decorating Kit from our blog sponsors The PinterTest Kitchen. This set includes a cake turntable, piping bags, piping tips, flower nozzles, scapers, and more.
An Instant Pot and a 40-Pound Case of Granulated Sugar from our gold sponsor Imperial Sugar. Imperial Sugar provides high-quality sugar and sweetener products and over 100 years of time-tested recipes. Sweet things happen when people come together in the kitchen, and that’s why Imperial Sugar has been at the heart of family traditions and celebrations for generations.
Coconut Oil and Chocolate Silk Greens from our silver sponsor Barlean’s, your trusted source for chocolatey goodness superfood nutrition. Barlean’s has a commitment to staying ahead of the innovation curve in providing the absolute highest quality product.
A Chocolate Gift Pack from our silver sponsor Forte Chocolates. You’ll receive 12 of their most popular chocolate bars. With Forte Chocolates, you can celebrate life through chocolate. They also have a line of chocolate developed specifically to use in savory recipes.
A Chocolate Gift Pack from our silver sponsor Divine Chocolate. You’ll receive one of each of their baking bars, a white chocolate bar, and their top 5 everyday bars. Divine Chocolate is the only Fairtrade chocolate company in the world that is owned by cocoa farmers. Their baking bars are also a delicious vegan option.
A Selection of Sprinkles from our silver sponsor Sprinkle Pop. Sprinkle Pop’s bespoke sprinkle creations are one of a kind, just like you! At Sprinkle Pop, you can also order a custom sprinkle mix; there isn’t a sprinkle mix that you can dream up that they can’t create.

That’s a prize pack worth over $400! Open worldwide, except where prohibited. Must be 18+ to enter (21+ in some locations). See terms and conditions for more details.

To enter, simply follow our sponsors using the widget below. You can gain additional entries by following me and the other participating bloggers. A winner will be drawn on October 21, 2018 and contacted via email. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to come back to my blog for more chocolatey goodness between now and October 20.

Onto the keto chocolate recipes.

The first few keto recipes are straight from #choctoberfest.

First is Strawberry Cheesecake Fat Bombs from Chef Sarah Elizabeth.

Next up are a series of three amazing recipes from April Golightly.

Keto Hot Chocolate

Keto Chocolate Fat Bombs

Keto Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

And this one from one of my favorite low-carb bloggers - Low Carb Yum. Check out this delicious Easy No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie.

Looking for something that would be perfect for the holidays? Check out these Crunchy Raspberry White Chocolate Fat Bombs from Allergy Girl Eats.

I’m such a fan of baked goods and I really thought that would be a problem on the keto diet. Not so much with great recipes like these Low Carb Double Chocolate Protein Muffins from Wholesome Yum.

Check out this great low carb fudge from More or Less Cooking. (And check out all of her great recipes for #Choctoberfest!)

I love a good souffle - I think I assumed it would be off limits for keto, but not so. Look at this gorgeous Low Carb Chocolate Souffle from Simply So Healthy.

So my month of keto unfortunately is happening during Halloween candy season. I have a soft spot for chocolate peanut butter cups. Fortunately, there’s a Keto Peanut Butter Cup recipe to the rescue from Savory Tooth.

I confess that I really like avocado and chocolate as a combination. Avocado can make such a great base for creamy recipes - no wonder this Chocolate Almond Avocado Pudding from Simply So Healthy looks so good.

These Chocolate Keto Fat Bombs from Diabetes Strong look like a perfect snack to me.

And last but not least, check out our participating bloggers for #Chotoberfest2018:

The PinterTest Kitchen ♥ 2 Cookin Mamas ♥ 27th and Olive ♥ A Day in the Life on the Farm ♥ A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures ♥ A Little Fish in the Kitchen ♥ addicted 2 recipes♥ Amy’s Cooking Adventures ♥ An Affair from the Heart♥ April Go Lightly ♥ At the Table with R and R ♥ Baking Sense ♥ Blade & Barbell ♥ Blogghetti ♥ Body Rebooted ♥ Books n’ Cooks ♥ Bottom Left of the Mitten ♥ Canning and Cooking at Home ♥ Cheese Curd In Paradise♥ Chef Sarah Elizabeth ♥ Cindy’s Recipes and Writings ♥ Coconut & Lime♥ Cook With Renu ♥ Cook’s Hideout ♥ Cookaholic Wife ♥ Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt ♥ CopyKat.com ♥Daily Dish Recipes♥ Everyday Eileen ♥ Fairyburger ♥ Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskere
Accomplice ♥ Family Around the Table ♥ Fix Me a Little Lunch ♥ Frankly Entertaining ♥ Frugal& Fit ♥ Get the Good Stuff!
♥ Growing Up Gabel ♥ Hardly A Goddess ♥ Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks ♥ Home Sweet Homestead ♥ House of Nash Eats ♥ Intelligent Domestications ♥ jenniferbakes ♥ JoAnn’s Food Bites ♥ Join Us, Pull up a Chair ♥ Jolene’s Recipe
Journal ♥ Jonesin’ For Taste ♥ Karen’s Kitchen Stories ♥ Kate’s Recipe Box ♥ Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats ♥ LeMoin Family Kitchen ♥ Life on Food ♥ Life, Love, and Good Food ♥ Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish ♥ Little House Big Alaska ♥ Long Distance Baking ♥ Maria’s Mixing Bowl ♥ Moore or Less Cooking ♥ Must Love Home ♥ Norine’s Nest ♥ Our Good Life ♥ Our
Sutton Place ♥ OVENTales ♥ Palatable Pastime ♥ Prettysweetblog ♥ Red Cottage Chronicles ♥ Restless Chipotle
♥ Reviews, Chews & How-Tos ♥ Sarah Cooks the Books ♥ Sarah’s Bake Studio♥ Savory Moments♥ Seasonal
and Holiday Recipe Exchange ♥ Seasoned Sprinkles ♥ Seduction In The Kitchen ♥ Simple Family Crazy Life ♥ Simply Inspired Meals ♥ Snacks and Sips ♥ Soulfully Made ♥ Stephie The Happy Mom ♥ Sumptuous Spoonfuls ♥ Sweet Coralice ♥ Take Two Tapas ♥ Tampa Cake Girl ♥ That Recipe ♥ The Baking Fairy ♥ The Beard and The Baker ♥ The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine ♥ The Gingered Whisk ♥ The Heritage Cook ♥ The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen ♥ The Olive Blogger♥ The Pajama Chef ♥ The Redhead Baker ♥ The Saucy Fig ♥ The Spiffy Cookie ♥ The Weekday Gourmet ♥ This is How I Cook ♥ Trampling
Rose ♥ Turnips 2 Tangerines ♥ Walking Fruitfully ♥ Wendy Polisi ♥ Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen♥ Zesty South Indian Kitchen

October 14, 2018 0 comment

Dessert Quick and Easy

Chocolate Quicksand Pudding

written by Ali

Rainy, gloomy days have made me long for a comfort dessert. So I made chocolate quicksand pudding, both to brighten my day, but also as this month’s contribution to Food ‘N Flix. January’s movie is Wreck it Ralph, hosted by Amy’s Cooking Adventures.

This one was on my holiday watch list for awhile, so we watched it very early this month while I was still on vacation. For those of you who may not be familiar with this one, here’s a quick synopsis:

Ralph (John C. Reilly) is tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer), the “good guy” star of their game who always gets to save the day. But after decades doing the same thing and seeing all the glory go to Felix, Ralph decides he’s tired of playing the role of a bad guy. He takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a game-hopping journey across the arcade through every generation of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero. On his quest, he meets the tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty. But it’s the feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, whose world is threatened when Ralph accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens the entire arcade. Will Ralph realize his dream and save the day before it’s too late? — (C) Disney

This movie pays such loving homage to video games of the arcade era. I loved the animation, the characters, and the plot. Plus, it was a treasure trove of inspiration. My notes included beer, pies, cookies, cherries, cocktails, cake, shrimp cocktail, root beer, cotton candy, and lots and lots of candy. After all, Ralph ends up in the game Sugar Rush, so most of the movie is dominated by candy. My favorite were the devil cake devil dogs - but I eventually landed on making chocolate quicksand pudding (as inspired by the Nesquik sand that Felix and Calhoun get sucked into. Never fear though - laughing taffy to the rescue).

I have to confess that it’s been a long time since I made chocolate pudding. It’s one of those foods that, sadly, got a bad association going on about five years ago. I had all four wisdom teeth extracted in my thirties (yeah - not a great idea to wait that long) and ended up eating a lot of pudding for days. Granted, being a foodie and all, it was homemade chocolate pudding that I made in advance, but still. Pudding. Bleh.

Fortunately, I’m past it and chocolate pudding tastes really good again. I love this recipe for chocolate quicksand pudding because it’s about as close to instant as homemade pudding can get. In other words, in about 10 minutes time, you’ll have pudding ready to chill in the fridge.

Yum

Chocolate Quicksand Pudding

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add the milk and whisk over low heat for 10 minutes or until the pudding thickens. Once it thickens, continue to cook for one more minute. (Note - be sure to cook over low heat. It will feel like the pudding is never going to thicken, but it will and it will happen all at once).
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the pudding to stop a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold and set.
Serves 4. Enjoy!

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January 29, 2018 5 comments

Dessert Holiday Recipes Quick and Easy

Lemon Syllabub

written by Ali

If you are looking for a very easy dessert for holiday entertaining, look no further than a lemon syllabub. Plus, just saying syllabub is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face.

One of the best parts about food blogging is getting to know other bloggers and learning about their great projects. Laura Kumin, blogger at Mother Would Know, recently published The Hamilton Cookbook.

If you are looking for a gift for your favorite foodie, I highly recommend this book. About half of the book is a history of both Hamilton, but also the foods that were contemporary to his life. While the information about Hamilton is interesting, what really spoke to me were the descriptions of cooking during his time. Let’s just say that I have a whole new appreciation for my electric appliances.

I’m not one to read a cookbook cover to cover. However, I did just that with The Hamilton Cookbook. I can’t wait for my upcoming break to cook some of the recipes in the book. I’m particularly intrigued by West Indian Pepper Pot Soup, Bread Pudding, Slow Cooker Corned Beef, and Salamagundy Salad. Plus, there’s a really amazing looking apple pie recipe. I think I know what our dessert is for Christmas this year.

Laura Kunin was gracious to allow bloggers reviewing her book to share a recipe. I chose lemon syllabub. In addition to just thinking it sounded fun, I had all the ingredients on hand. Syllabub was popular in the 16th through 19th centuries. I have no idea why it fell out of fashion, as it’s a perfect after dinner drink/dessert. I had someone ask me if it was a drink or a custard - it’s really sort of both. Lemon, wine, and heavy cream are combined. The acid from the lemon and wine curdle the cream slightly, making it into a near custard consistency. I am certain I’ll be making these again this summer. Truly, I can see adding raspberries to these and serving in shot glasses.

Yum

Lemon Syllabub

Ingredients

1 lemon, cut in half, with rind grated from half and juice from one or both halves for a total of 1/4 cup juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Rub the grated lemon rind into the sugar with your fingers until they are well combined. Mix the rind, sugar, lemon juice, and the wine.
Add the cream and whisk the mixture until it froths. Gently pour it into two glasses. Let them stand on a counter for about 2 hours, then refrigerate until serving. As the glasses sit, the froth will rise, leaving the lemony wine on the bottom of the glasses.

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Recipe reproduced with permission from the author.

December 11, 2017 2 comments

Baked Goods Dessert Foodie Parties

Ecto Eclairs

written by Ali

Ecto Eclairs – it’s what’s for Halloween dessert this year. This month’s Food ‘n Flix movie, hosted by Coffee and Casseroles, is the Ghostbusters re-boot. I have to confess – I didn’t think I’d ever watch the reboot. It wasn’t the all female cast that bothered me. It is just the whole movie reboot phenomena. Plus, I love the original Ghostbusters. It’s one of my all-time favorite 80s comedies. I wanted to be either Egon or Janine when I grew up. I definitely wanted to see some ghosts.

But, in the interest of food, I went ahead and watched the reboot. I had hoped I’d be pleasantly surprised, but in reality, I felt kind of meh about this one. It wasn’t awful and it wasn’t great. I thought Kate McKinnon did a great job as Dr. Jillian “Holtz” Holtzmann. Leslie Jones was good, too. Overall, though, there wasn’t the cohesion between the actresses as there was between the original cast. I have to admit, I don’t watch much contemporary comedy, so was kind of clueless about who the actresses are. I kind of forgave them when I realized that they didn’t have the same kind of history that Akryod, Murray, and Ramis had prior to Ghostbusters.

Still, the movie had some great special effects and plenty of ghostly slime. In fact, it’s the ghostly slime that inspired my ecto eclairs. Ecto-plasm is the stuff that the ghosts exude all over the place in the movies, so I aimed for some ecto pastry crème to fill my eclairs.

Eclairs can look like a daunting pastry. However, I found that making the actual pastry for these was super easy. The pastry crème was straightforward, too. I had quite a bit of fun using gel food dye to get the Slimer-level green going on. (Slimer was always one of my favorite parts about Ghostbusters – and in the reboot, Slimer gets a girlfriend – ok, I liked that part). This recipe also works quite well for normal eclairs, so is a good recipe to save for the holidays. Of course, you may be able to tell from the photos that I had a lot of fun with this - it’s not often I genuinely get to play with my food.

Yum

Ecto Eclairs

Ingredients

Pastry Cream

1 1/4 cup milk (I made it with 1% and it was fine - would probably be best with whole milk)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter

For the Choux Pastry Dough

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
3 eggs

For the glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
gel green food coloring if desired

Instructions

Pastry Cream

Make the pastry cream first - it will need time to cool. Combine the sugar, flour, egg yolks, and vanilla to make a paste. Set aside.
Bring the milk to a simmer over low heat. Remove from the heat and add to the sugar/egg paste, stirring constantly.
Return to low heat and stir constantly until the mixture becomes thick. Add the butter. Set aside to cool for ten minutes and then refrigerate for at least an hour.

Choux Pastry Dough

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the butter and water in a small saucepan. Heat to a boil. Add the flour and salt, stirring constantly and cook for a minute.
Remove from heat and cool. You can speed up this process by beating for about three minutes with a handheld or stand mixer.
Once the dough is cool, add the eggs, beating constantly until all the eggs are incorporated and the dough is smooth.
Use a 1/2 inch pastry tip, preferably with ridges. Spoon the choux dough into a pastry bag. Evenly pipe the choux dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Eclairs should be about 4 or so inches long.
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until puffy and evenly brown.
To fill the eclairs, either poke small holes on the bottom of the eclair and fill with the pastry cream via these holes, or cut in half and fill.

For the glaze

Combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Add food coloring, if desired, or add a bit of melted chocolate. Glaze the eclairs.
Makes 12. Enjoy!

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October 25, 2017 10 comments

Appetizers Dessert Farmer's Market Foodie Lists Lunch Recipes Main Dishes

Ravioli Day Roundup

written by Ali

It’s National Ravioli Day! I get so excited about ravioli, it’s kind of ridiculous. There’s just something so lovely about filling wrapped in dough. Ravioli is particularly special, as it works so well with some of the best sauces out there (I’m thinking Alfredo, marinara, tomato sauce with vodka…you get the idea). Did you know that the first written mention of ravioli occurred in the 14^th century in Venice in the personal letters of a merchant? Ravioli wasn’t served with tomato sauce, though, until the 16^th century (because tomatoes weren’t introduced to Italy until then). Prior to the 16^th century, ravioli were served in broth. If this doesn’t get you hungry for ravioli, I don’t know what will. Maybe these ravioli recipes will do the trick.

Let’s start with Ravioli with Creamy Roasted Pepper Sauce from Confident Cook, Hesitant Baker! The star here is the sauce – and it is such a quick sauce to make. I’m holding on to this one for farmer’s market season when peppers are available in abundance.

Pumpkin and other winter squash is such a natural paring with ravioli. Up your ravioli game by making these Pumpkin Ravioli with Browned Butter, Sage, and Walnuts from What a Girl Eats

Rabbit and Wolves prove that ravioli doesn’t have to be made using cheese for it to be good. These Vegan Broccoli Rabe Pesto Ravioli are a perfect spring ravioli option for vegans and non-vegans alike.

This Carrot Ravioli with Broccoli-Ricotta Filling from Caroline’s Cooking is another great spring ravioli option.

Carrot Ravioli with Broccoli-Ricotta Filling

This Balsamic and Garlic Mushroom Ravioli from Krumpli combines the great flavors of balsamic vinegar, garlic and mushrooms and wraps it all up in a neat package of yummy!

Balsamic and Garlic Mushroom Ravioli

Next up is Orange and Pecorino Ravioli with Rosemary Brown Butter from Use Your Noodles. This looks like such a light and refreshing ravioli – just imagine how that bit of orange zest in the ravioli would complement the rosemary brown butter.

Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli (With a Kick) from Slow the Cook Down gets its kick from the addition of a finely chopped red chili.

Kitchen Sanctuary’s Spicy Burrito Ravioli takes the traditional ravioli and gives it a great twist with the addition of burrito flavors.

Butternut Squash Ravioli Bake from the Girl on Bloor is a great quick meal if you have squash or pumpkin ravioli already on hand. Ravioli pairs well with all the ingredients in this one dish meal.

Last, but not least, if you are still craving even more ravioli (which I always am), here’s a beautiful dessert ravioli: White Chocolate Mascarpone Ravioli with Raspberry Sauce from Pinch Me I’m Eating.

I’d love to be eating this right now – I’m starting to feel inspired to do a three-course ravioli dinner, with a ravioli appetizer, a ravioli entrée, and a ravioli dessert. Maybe for next year’s National Ravioli Day!

March 20, 2017 11 comments

Baked Goods Dessert Holiday Recipes

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

written by Ali

Today is my 41st birthday, so I made myself a red wine chocolate cake to celebrate. There’s a back-story here. Last year, I turned forty. For months prior to this milestone, I’d contemplated baking myself a fancy cake to celebrate. I’d just started blogging the year before, and I envisioned a perfect blog post with a beautiful cake. I’d also envisioned having a tapas party and cooking great food with friends.

Sometimes fate has other plans: what I really did last year on my fortieth birthday was work my first meeting at a new job and then drive back to our house in Southern Oregon to finish packing so we could move to Portland and I could officially start work mid-March. I didn’t bother cooking for nearly a month, much less blog. Clay bought a couple of really good cupcakes from a bakery near our soon to be house and we went to dinner for Italian that night. While I was more than content to spend my fortieth this way, I started making plans for this year.

So this year, I’m 41. First and foremost, I want to say that I really love being in my forties. I’m more comfortable in my own skin than I’ve ever been. I feel like I’ve finally figured out who I am - I have a style that’s unique to me. I can look in the mirror and be happy with what I see. I love my work. My relationships is steady, stable, and happy. I started blogging as a creative outlet and have had so much fun making this my primary hobby. I’m content having a car that’s nearly at 100,000 miles. I know what I like and I know what I don’t. So, yes, forty has been awesome.

Baking this red wine chocolate cake was my birthday present to me this year. I set aside an entire day to bake and frost. I tackled Swiss Buttercream frosting and made something that tasted like it came from a bakery. It was an awesome experience. I loved setting up the photo shoot and taking the pictures of this cake, too.

I love how birthday cakes can be such a symbol of love. My favorite birthday cake when I was growing up was a cake my grandma made for me when I was a kid - and then once again when I turned 18 because I begged her to. The cake was a bunny cake, which was several sheet cakes formed together to make a bunny, with frosted “ears” and chocolate Easter eggs for the eyes. I could never eat the bunny head - that was just a bit too much for me. But I loved that fluffy white frosting and cake and I loved that she made the cake just for me. The photo in this picture was taken on my 18th birthday. Yes - a birthday cake is special.

My red wine chocolate cake is a layered chocolate cake some yummy red wine to flavor. The chocolate Swiss buttercream got covered with chocolate sprinkles on the top. Clay helped frost - he watched what I was doing, told me that the process of frosting was a lot like spackling, and took over my spatula. Yes - a birthday cake is about being loved. We’ve nibbled our way through the cake all week. (Given that do have a day job, it wasn’t actually practical to bake my cake on my birthday in the middle of the week, so I made it on Sunday, instead).

If you’ve never made a birthday cake for yourself or for others, I encourage you to do so. It doesn’t matter how it turns out - the important thing is the act of cooking because you love someone or because you love who you are.

A couple of things to note about the frosting. First, I used this recipe for Swiss buttercream and have linked it rather than trying to adapt it to suit my purposes. It made a lovely frosting, but our kitchen was definitely too warm for this to go well on the first try. If your buttercream turns out runny, it really does work to refrigerate for about 30 minutes and then whip it again. I will tell you though, use a bigger bowl than you think you need. My entire kitchen, including me and Daisy (who likes to lurk right under the counter top when I’m cooking) were covered in buttercream. Ok – in fairness, the dog thought this was awesome, except for the part where there was buttercream on her back that she couldn’t lick off. The other is that this recipe makes a lot of buttercream frosting. I like a little frosting and this ended up being way too much.

The recipe for the cake is adapted from Liv for Cake’s Mocha Chocolate Cake Recipe.

Yum

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
¾ cup Dutch process cocoa
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegetable oil (olive oil works for this recipe)
¾ cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
¾ cup red wine
Frosting of your choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out parchment paper circles to line the bottom of three 9 inch cake pans. Butter the pans (including the parchment paper) and sprinkle with cocoa powder to cover.
Sift the cocoa powder. Combine all dry ingredients, from flour through salt and stir until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated. Add the oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and wine and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Divide the cake mix between the three pans.
Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until a knife or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Frost with your favorite frosting. I used this recipe for my Swiss buttercream – but beware, this makes enough for several cakes.
Serves between 8 – 16.

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This post is linked up to #CookBlogShare, hosted this week by Hijacked by Twins

This post is also linked to Saucy Saturdays #87. For more great recipes, check out the hosts’ sites:

Take Two Tapas, La Petit Chef, Mid-Life Croissant and The Flavor Bender

March 8, 2017 12 comments

Breakfast Dessert Holiday Recipes Lunch Recipes Snacks

Star Anise Panna Cotta

written by Ali

Star Anise Panna Cotta is a great recipe for an indulgent breakfast treat or late day snack. It’s also my entry for February’s Food ‘n Flix for the movie Pan’s Labyrinth. (Food ‘n Flix is hosted this month by Katharina at Pretty Cake Machine). Pan’s Labyrinth is a dark fairy tale directed by Guillermo del Toro. The story takes place in post-civil war Spain in 1944. There’s an undercurrent of political unrest and distress, and the film itself is a dark telling of a young girl following mythical creatures into the labyrinth. I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice it to say, it doesn’t end well. It’s one of those films that’s incredible for its filmography and story, but probably best not watched if you are depressed.

Both times I’ve watched this movie, I’ve done so kind of between my fingers - yep, I’m a wimp when it comes to dark movies. Still, I was inspired to create my star anise panna cotta. The inspiration came from the scene in which Ofelia encounters the Pale Man at a banquet. Of course, much like Persephone going into Hades, Ofelia shouldn’t be touching any of the food at the banquet - and of course, all the food is beautiful and alluring (and of course, she eats something, thus jeopardizing her very future). I was particularly drawn to the molded desserts, which got me to thinking about jello molds and the like - very old fashioned desserts. The whole temptation and desire thing came to mind, too, especially since we are moving swiftly toward Valentine’s Day.

All of this led me to making panna cotta. Panna cotta is a rich, creamy dessert that has that air of old-fashioned about it. At first, I thought I might aim for a bright sauce for my panna cotta, but then decided to go a bit darker, landing on a star anise caramel for the sauce, which complements the star anise panna cotta nicely.

Just in case you don’t want to try to get the panna cotta to cooperate coming out of its mold - this tastes just as good in a small jar. It sets nicely, and you can just drizzle the sauce over the top, throw a lid on it, and call it an afternoon snack.

Yum

Star Anise Panna Cotta

Ingredients

Brown Sugar Star Anise Simple Syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
3 star anise pods

Star Anise Panna Cotta

2 tablespoons cold water
1 packet unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
4 star anise pods

Star anise caramel

1 cup sugar (either white or brown)
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar star anise simple syrup

Instructions

Make the brown sugar star anise simple syrup first. Combine the brown sugar, water, and star anise pods in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool for at least an hour (though for more intense flavor, refrigerate overnight). Remove the star anise pods.
Make the star anise panna cotta. In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Bring the gelatin/water mix to a simmer and fully dissolve the gelatin. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream and the star anise pods and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for five minutes. Add the milk and sugar, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Take the mixture off the heat and add the gelatin (it will have formed a gelatin pancake - just scrape the whole thing into the heated milk and cream and mix until dissolved). Remove the star anise pods and pour the panna cotta into individual ramekins or half-pint jars. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or over night.
As the panna cotta sets, make the star anise caramel. Combine the sugar, heavy cream, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat and stir occasionally for 7 minutes. Take off the heat and add the simple syrup. The caramel will thicken as it cools. If it gets too thick, microwave for thirty seconds or so.
To serve, drizzle the caramel over the panna cotta and enjoy!
Makes four servings.

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This post is linked up to Weekend Cooking - check it out!

February 7, 2017 18 comments

Baked Goods Breakfast Dessert

Rainbow Marmalade Pop Tarts

written by Ali

Fandom Foodies #Nyanuary is the inspiration for my rainbow marmalade pop tarts.

via GIPHY

Ok - so not the original Nyan cat, but who doesn’t love Pusheen? The whole Nyan cat thing got me down the road of homemade pop tarts, and I happened to have blood orange marmalade on hand, so decided to make rainbow marmalade pop tarts. I couldn’t resist a cat-inspired challenge, since our much loved cats both inspire me daily (inspire me to take more naps, relax more, and enjoy my food with great relish).

I couldn’t resist - they are so adorable!

Ok - back to the food. I’ve thought about making pop tarts for quite some time - they are pretty easy to make, since they are basically pie dough, filling, and frosting. They make a great coffee treat first thing in the morning, as well as go well with afternoon tea. I had so much fun playing around with these - who doesn’t enjoy decorating with rainbow sprinkles, after all? Creating a good Nyan cat out of pop tarts, frosting, and sprinkles turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected. Clay came in at one point and told me my creation was #nailedit. Ok - that might be a fair assessment of the final product. Still. I did all my photos and then realized I needed at least one photo with my maneki-neko cats and a rainbow marmalade pop tart.

Here’s the Nyan cat attempt:

And here are some better photos of the actual pop tarts - both frosted and un-frosted:

Put it all together, and you definitely have #Nyanuary

Hope you enjoy making these rainbow marmalade pop tarts as much as I did!

Yum

Rainbow Marmalade Pop Tarts

Ingredients

For the dough

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
4 - 6 tablespoons cold water (or as needed)
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the filling

1/2 jar of marmalade

For the frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk (or as needed)
Rainbow sprinkles to decorate

Instructions

Combine the flour, butter, and vanilla in a small bowl. Use a pastry cutter or knife to cut the butter into small pieces and incorporate into the flour until the butter/flour/vanilla mixture is the consistency of small peas. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to hold together. Knead a couple of times and then refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut the dough into rectangles that are 2 inches x 3 inches. I was able to get 16 rectangles out of the dough for a total of 8 pop tarts.
Place half of the rectangles single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Put 1 tablespoon of marmalade in the middle of each rectangle. Cover with the remaining dough and crimp the edges using a fork. Using the fork, poke three rows of holes on the top to reduce the amount of marmalade that spills out. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely.
To make the frosting, combine the powdered sugar and milk and stir. Add more powdered sugar or more milk to get to the desired consistency. Frost and sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles. Enjoy!
Makes 8 pop tarts

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This recipe is linked up to Fandom Foodies #Nyanuary, hosted this month by Pretty Cake Machine

January 25, 2017 4 comments

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