Foodness Gracious

Mini Chamomile Cakes with Honey Frosting, Joy The Baker Cook Book Spotlight...

2012-02-24T23:37:00.001-08:00

It's eleven o'clock at night and I'm in a tiny cabin in the mountains of The San Bernardino Forest, Lake Arrowhead to be exact. A beautiful place to be writing my latest post for Joy The Baker's cook book soiree. Her orgy of amazing recipes include these chamomile cakes which I knew were going to be good. Call it extrasensory perception, clairvoyance or even just a gut feeling, oh and the fact they're topped with honey frosting and taste like how I imagine fruit from The Garden of Eden to taste like!

My first actual clue was how amazing my kitchen smelled when these little cakes were being born in my oven. The floral aroma was new to me, chamomile hasn't been big on my grocery lists. I'm more of a coffee drinker than any kind of tea but I wasn't making tea, It was cake and I like cake. The flavor was incredible and the frosting was "the icing on the cake" I struggled to eat just one and if I make these again I might try it in a loaf form like banana bread. That way I wouldn't feel so bad having two slices instead of two cakes.

Have you ever nodded off with your finger on the keyboard and woke up to see a huge line of the same letter typed? I just done that so I think that's my message to go to bed. Make these incredibly fast and simple cakes, you wont be disappointed, just lots of ooohs and ahhhs and lip licking.

Here's the recipe from Joy The Baker:

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp dried chamomile (from tea bags)
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper or foil liners and set aside. You can also grease and flour the cupcake pans and not use any liners.

Cream together butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chamomile leaves. The mixture will be slightly coarse and sandy when mixed for several minutes. Whisk together milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour half of the milk mixture into the flour mixture with the mixer on medium-low speed. Beat until just incorporated. Pour in the remaining milk mixture, and turn mixer up to medium. Beat for 1 minute, until well blended.
Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake cups. There isn't a lot of batter, so you'll only fill the liners up about halfway. You'll also need a spatula to scrape the bowl for remaining batter.
Bake cupcakes for 17 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and allow cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

For the frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp honey
6 Tbsp heavy cream
pinch of salt
Whisk together sifted powdered sugar, honey, cream, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth. Use a butter knife to generously spread the frosting atop the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with just a bit of chamomile leaves. Cakes will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef

Whole Wheat Honey and Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits, Cook Book Spotlight with Joy The Baker....

2012-02-21T22:50:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to decide if I have a lawsuit against Joy or with Heather who's responsible for setting up this cook book spotlight for Joy's new book. You see, It seems that I'm gaining some weight and I can only assume it's because of the fantastic recipes from Joy's book. I'm just kidding ladies, I wont be calling our iconic Californian attorney, Larry. H. Parker just yet but I will continue to make as much as I can from the book. As I browse through it I can see numerous recipes which would be winners at pot lucks and dinner parties.

These drop biscuits are ideal for brunch. Tangy with goat cheese and buttermilk but sweet with honey they could be eaten as they are, with jam or you could do what I did and make your very own breakfast biscuit sandwich. When it comes to breakfasts I'm a straight up bacon and eggs kinda guy and when it reaches my table I'll stuff it all in the toast or an English muffin and be done with it. These biscuits deserve the goat cheese but you could even add some jalapenos or chopped bacon to the mix. They were easy to make and a little different from a Southern style biscuit, you can taste the difference by using the whole wheat flour earning them a seat on the healthy bus.

Here's the recipe from Joy The Baker:

2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp slat
1/2 stick unsalted butter plus extra for the pan
4 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp honey plus more for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a 10 inch cast iron skillet into the oven as it preheats.
In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With your fingers quickly incorporate the goat cheese and butter until it looks like coarse oatmeal.
Make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Whisk together buttermilk and honey, don't worry if it dosen't all blend. Pour into the center of the flour mixture and stir gently with a fork until no dry ingredients are left. Set aside.
Remove the skillet from the oven and swirl 1 Tbsp of butter around coating all of the pan. Spoon batter into the hot pan by about 1/4 cup amounts leaving about an inch between each biscuit.
Bake for about 14-16 minutes until golden on top and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Repeat until all of the batter has been used. For a glossy finish brush the biscuits with warm honey. They are best served immediately but will last for up to 3 days well wrapped at room temperature.

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef

Chocolate Honey Caramels With A Variety Of Salt...

2012-02-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

As I was foraging through my pantry the other day I kept finding salt. Why do I have so much, Isn't salt bad for you? Well I suppose it is if you take an exuberant amount of the stuff or if you count all of the crappy iodised table salt which gets loaded into so much food these days. On the other hand if you tease your food with a high quality salt it can go from meh to mwahh in a second.

I gained some of my salt collection from gifts and some from my recent caramel making endeavour. Salted caramels and the sweet/salty combo have been around forever just like chocolate with bacon, I remember when I started selling Vosges Chocolatier's Bacon Bar at work. It was met with lots of curiosity and some customers balked at the thought of having a meat product in their chocolate bar. Truth was when you unwrapped the bar, it looked plain and friendly allowing people to get over that initial fear and letting them experience the taste which is what the bar was all about. We had customers returning for that bar numerous times over.

I didn't make this recipe to set any new trends or to reinvent the already amazing chocolate and salt marriage. I merely had some left over honey caramels which had been in the "caramel jar" for a while. They were still good but I've been making so many caramels lately that I think my wife is just over them. I dipped them in some melted Guittard and sprinkled each one with a different salt. Sure enough as soon as she saw them her interest peaked again and they'll be gone by tonight.

The salts I used were:

Black Lava Sea Salt. Made from Hawaiian sea salt and mixed with charcoal, it has a smoky flavor to it. Recommended for meats and barbecue. Hawaiian salt has a huge amount of essential minerals in it from the local rocks and can be great for the digestive system.

Maldon Smoked Sea Salt. An English made salt which I have used for a while and like due to it being less of a crystal and more flaky. It comes in regular or smoked. Can be used as an all round salt but especially good on shellfish or meat.

Spanish Sea Salt. Made from the evaporation of sea water from the Mediterranean. This salt is widely used and is crunchy and mild.

Red Gold Sea Salt. Another gem from Hawaii. Made from Hawaiian sea salt mixed with alaea. This salt is produced when the water around Hawaii comes in contact with the rich, red volcanic rock and then evaporates.

Passion Fruit and Chile Pepper Salt. Made on the island of Kauai, Hawaiian sea salt is mixed with Chile peppers, local vinegar flavoring and is great as a rub on steaks or seafood.

So if you have a sea salt in your cupboard get it out and use it. Don't worry too much about over salting, all it takes is a tiny sprinkle to get the food oooing and ahhing and I guarantee you'll taste the difference.

Flaxseed and Cracked Pepper Crackers, Cook Book Spotlight with Joy The Baker....

2012-02-16T22:18:00.000-08:00

Joy The Bakers new cook book has a plethora of recipes in it which I am jonesing to try! Although there's some dangerously good looking pages of sweet Utopia, I was happy to try the second recipe choice given to us by Heather of Girlichef fame. It was the Flaxseed and Cracked Pepper cracker. I like crackers but growing up I was really only exposed to the Cream Cracker. This was a square water cracker sold in Scotland and it's so dry there's actually an eating challenge made for the cream cracker. One unlucky individual has to eat three in under one minute without any water. It sounds easy but is virtually impossible due to the harsh dryness of the cracker.

Don't worry Joy I'm not going to compare your flax crackers to the above and I apologise to all of the Cream Cracker fans I know, I'm just not one of them. These flax and pepper crackers were very good and really easy to make not to mention pretty good for your body. I did make two adjustments. The recipe calls for flax seed and also flax meal which was almost $10 a bag. I only needed a 1/4 cup so being the tight wad that I am, chose to grind some extra flax seeds in my coffee grinder to make my own flax meal. I also baked them for longer than the suggested time of 15-18 minutes. My reason was, once they came out and cooled they were a little on the soft side. They tasted great but I missed my crunch n' snap. I put them back in the oven and baked them for about another 10 minutes and once cool they were crunchy with that perfect snap. I wouldn't worry about burning them either, the oven temp is 325 degrees and if anything they'll just dry out even more which is how I like them.

They taste earthy and wholesome and I love trying to squish the flax seeds with my teeth after the cracker is on it's way to my stomach. I'm strange that way but I bet I'm not the only person, right? The consistency of my dough was great for rolling and also having buttermilk in them made me smile. I think buttermilk does wonders for recipes adding moisture and more flavor than regular milk or cream. I would definitely make these again and maybe add some pumpkin seeds or grated cheese but I'd double the recipe as they're almost all gone. My two year old was having his lunch as I was preparing my photo set and he saw them and started shouting "dookie" which is his word for cookie. I gave him one and he promptly had two more!

Serve these with some cheese, honey and blackberry jam, superb....

Heres the recipe for Flaxseed and Cracked Pepper Crackers, courtesy of Joy The Baker:

1/4 cup gloden flaxseed
1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk
Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flaxseed. flaxseed meal, flours, baking soda and salt.
Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse oatmeal. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the buttermilk.
Use a fork to bring the dough together and shaggy. Turn out the dough onto a floured board and knead until a ball forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 10 minutes.
When chilled, cut the dough in half and rollout thinnerthan 1/8 thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the crackers or use a pizza cutter to trim the edges and cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch squares. Prick each cracker with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Top with fresh ground black pepper.
Bake crackers for about 15-18 minutes (see my note above about baking times) Remove from the oven and let cool before placing in an airtight container to store.
The crackers will last at room temp for up to 4 days.

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef

Would you like to have a chance to win Joy's awesome book? Just head over to Girlichef's blog and enter her giveaway to win a copy of Joy The Baker!

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Buttercream Frosting, Cook Book Spotlight with Joy The Baker....

2012-02-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

I don't do many reviews but when one like this rolls around I don't need to be asked twice. I was lucky enough to be chosen to take part in a new cook book spot light for Joy Wilson, owner, operator and CEO of Joy The Baker. Some of you may remember the review I participated in for Lisa Fains recent book launch called "The Homesick Texan" I had loads of fun doing that one so when Heather from Girlichef asked if I'd be up for another one, I jumped right in. Over the course of four weeks myself and twenty one other bloggers will bake specifically chosen recipes from Joy's book, on the third week we are set free to choose our own and the fourth week is a review of the book and the delicious treats we have all made.

Joy Wilson is a self taught baker who learned mostly from her father. It seems like he gave her the foundation and she kept building on it to get to where she is today. I've never met Joy in person but from reading her blog and following her Facebook posts she seems kinda cool and unpretentious. I've seen her post about kitchen fails and things that just don't work. Wait, she sounds just like us! I'm not here to review Joy but I want to give you an idea of her style and the accolades she's collected since picking up the camera and hitting the keyboard in 2008.

Best Baking and Dessert Blog 2011 - Saveur
Named one of the top fifty best food blogs in the world by The London Times
Nominated by The Bloggies Best Food Blog for 2010
Named Best Baking Blog by Foodbuzz

Yup....Not too shabby for being self taught. In real estate it's all about location but for Joy, baking was all about foundation.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies, was the first recipe in our mission to immerse ourselves in Joy's Los Angeles kitchen. I like brownies, I do, maybe even love them a little bit, but there's so many varieties around that if your going to put brownies in a cook book, they better be above any others you've tried before. I loved these and I'm actually eating a square as I write this post! I like to browse ingredients before I make something and that gives me a better idea of how the product will end up. Reading through the list of butter, cocoa powder, fine chocolate, brown sugar, chocolate chips and vanilla gave me a pretty good vision of my ideal brownie. Simple and fast to make I'd keep this as my go to brownie recipe.

Oh wait!! I almost forgot to mention that the brownies have another little chocolate friend to keep them company when they're lounging in the Tupperware. The craziest, chocolatiest butter cream frosting you have ever tasted. Again, reading swiftly through some of the ingredients of butter, cocoa powder, cream and Ovaltine...yes Ovaltine! Giving it that malty chocolate flavor really works well with the brownies. If I was a brownie I'd like to be wearing this chocolate butter cream toupee! I made the quantity below but half the butter cream recipe would be enough. Oh gosh darn it, what am I going to do with all of that leftover frosting?

Here's the recipe from Joy The Baker:

3/4 cup of AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter
3 ozs of unsweetened good chocolate
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 inch square brownie pan.
In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. set aside. Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a small pot. In a heatproof bowl melt the butter and 3ozs of chocolate mixing to incorporate. When melted add the sugars and stir. Whisk in eggs, yolk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture mixing well, finally fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into the pan and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1 1/2 sticks of butter at room temp
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 to 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup ovaltine powder

Cream together the butter, cocoa powder and salt for about 3 minutes and then scrape down.
Add the powdered sugar on low speed and then add the milk and vanilla. Scrape down again.
Gradually mix faster until well smooth. In a separate cup mix the cream and Ovaltine together.
Slowly add this to the mixer on low speed scraping down again. Beat until smooth and creamy.
Spread or pipe frosting onto brownie or cakes.
Frosting will last for up to five days in the fridge. Ha ha, theres no way it'll last five days once you taste it!

Enjoy......

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef

Chuao Chocolatier Giveaway and awesome competition...

2012-02-08T20:18:00.000-08:00

Consumers lick, melt and indulge in over 3 billion pounds of chocolate worldwide each year. Over 58 million pounds will be sold in America next week alone, and with projected sales of over $17 billion on next weeks holiday makes the chocolate business one to be reckoned with.

Maybe that's why two brothers from Venezuela opted to start producing their own line of artisan chocolates. Michael Antonorsi and his brother Richard are the founders of Chuao Chocolatier (pronounced chew-wow) The brothers who now reside in San Diego, California started their business in 2002. The name for the company comes from the Chuao region in Venezuela which produces some of the worlds finest cacao beans. I admire how Michael and Richard kept their Venezuelan roots and heritage intact when opening Chuao. The choice of chocolate is staggering with flavors such as the Chevre, a truffle with goats cheese, Pear Williams and crushed black pepper butter cream. Maybe you would prefer the Modena, a rich strawberry caramel with balsamic vinegar from Modena.
Chuao can supply you with many chocolate gift options ranging from dark and milk chocolate bonbons, hot chocolate mix or brownie baking kits which will propel you to hero status in the kitchen with minimal fuss. There is even a non dairy selection of chocolate products, truly something for every taste.

I was lucky enough to be given a sample of Chuao's new Potato Chip milk chocolate bar, a marriage of sweet and salty which is a combo we all know works very well. I also received the Firecracker bonbon and the Love Child bonbon. The firecracker is an explosion of caramel fudge, chipotle, salt and popping candy and the Love Child is a port drenched strawberry enrobed in dark chocolate (these are now sold out so you'll be tasting something very special). As much as I wanted to tear right into these products I held back so I could let one of my lucky readers experience Chuao Chocolatier for themselves, just follow the giveaway instructions below.

Win A Trip For Two To San Diego!

Chuao Chocolatier also has some amazing giveaways too. Up for grabs is a trip for two to San Diego spending two nights at the amazing La Jolla Shores Hotel, dinner at The Beachfront Restaurant and the experience of attending a private wine and chocolate pairing event with Master Chef Michael Antonorsi of Chuao Chocolatier. There will also be a chance to win one of 14 limited edition Sweetheart Boxes featuring 22 signature flavors of bonbons. To enter this awesome once in a lifetime Chuao competition just click on the banner below which will direct you to the sweep stake. (Offer ends February 14th)

Log on to www.chuaochocolatier.com and enter the code word "BLOGGER" to receive 20% of your entire purchase up until February 14th!!

To enter the giveaway for the potato chip bar, firecracker bonbon and Love Child bonbon, leave a comment below telling me what your favorite chocolate of all time is.

For an extra 3 entries: Leave a separate comment for each,

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The giveaway will close at 10pm PST on February 12 and the winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Open to U.S. residents only.

Lemon and Rosemary Butter Cookies...

2012-02-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Nine days until Valentines day, the day of love, romance and food, but mainly sweet food like cookies and chocolate kinda food! Don't get me wrong there's still room for an awesome steak or some Chilean sea bass but it's the dessert that we remember and after all I don't think theres any aphrodisiac qualities in a sea bass anyway. These crunchy little shortbread cookies could have been any shape but what other time can I pull out the heart shaped cookie cutter, seriously?

The original recipe did not call for rosemary but why the heck not is the road I was taking. I like this oily fragrant herb with sweet things ever since I threw a bunch of it into some caramels I was making. I'm also thinking it might be awesome in some ice-cream, maybe with some bacon? If I had an ice-cream maker I'd let you know, or more specifically if I had an ice-cream maker paddle then I'd be in business.

Maybe I should have called these lemon brown butter cookies, because that's exactly what I did. I browned the butter to a nice deep golden color and then let it solidify. When I coaxed it out of the bowl to start the recipe it had an awesome caramelised nutty smell to it. It creamed up nicely and gave the dough a dark tinge to it.

I liked these cookies which weren't too sweet and had a good crunch to them. They'd be a great alternative if you needed a sugar cookie without the extra sweetness. You could also try using sage or lavender instead of rosemary. Give these cookies to the teacher, maybe the mail man or the cop who pulls you over for speeding. They say "Hey, I love you have an awesome day"

Here's the recipe from the book, Citrus by Ethel and Georgeanne Brennan.

2/3 cup of room temperature butter- If you want to brown the butter, swirl it in a small pan until it becomes a deep golden color. Pour into a container and stick it in the fridge until hard again. This is totally optional.
2 Tbsp of lemon zest
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp of vanilla
2 cups of AP flour
1 tsp of fresh chopped rosemary (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter until fluffy. Add the zest and mix for one minute.
Add the sugar and mix until smooth. Add the egg and mix on high until a smooth batter forms.
Add the vanilla and mix. Slowly add the flour and rosemary if using, mix until the dough forms a ball and just releases from the sides of the mixer.
Dump the dough out onto the worktop and form a ball, cover in shrink wrap and chill for about 15 minutes.
Flour a dry flat surface and take the dough from the fridge. Roll it out gently flouring well until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out the cookies with your favorite cutter and place on a baking sheet or Silpat mat.
Gather up the scraps and roll again until all of the dough has been turned into cookies.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden around the edges.
Let cool and drizzle chocolate on top (optional) or dust with some powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Chocolate and Meyer Lemon Truffles for Valentines Day.....

2012-01-30T22:24:00.000-08:00

I love watching food blog recipes change as the months go by. Factors such as the seasons, holidays, sporting events and trends make reading my list of blogs the coolest unpublished cook book I own. Just now there's so many great ideas for the Superbowl and then straight after that Valentines day will be taking center stage on many blogs. I'll be smoking some pork butt for my Superbowl party and adding some delicious home made barbecue sauce, making some of the tastiest pulled pork sliders around.

This post is all about chocolate though and I had been lucky enough to find a Williams Sonoma gift card in my Christmas stocking which was screaming to be used. I ended up buying some 72% bittersweet chocolate with the intention of using it for some kind of Valentines day recipe. I've also been trying to work my way through a boatload of Meyer lemons (and a promise of more coming) hence my previous posts, but wasn't sure if chocolate and lemon would work together, especially such bittersweet cacao. I grew up with a mantra of, if you don't try you don't get so I melted down my not so inexpensive chocolate with the plan of making some truffles. A quick search also made me feel better that this combo had been tried before and seemed successful. I made my ganache and added the zest of a whole lemon to the cream beforehand. That was it and I stuck it in the fridge to firm up.

One item I really like to keep in the kitchen now is vinyl medical gloves, not to be kinky I use them mainly for handling my caramels! You can get them at the grocery store for a couple of bucks, buy some! Rolling these truffles into balls is a really messy affair but with the gloves-easy! Seriously can you imagine a surgeon poking around inside you without any gloves on, ooft nasty!
I let the ganache set overnight and then rolled it into bite sized balls putting them back into the fridge to harden for about fifteen minutes. Another quick roll in my gloved paws followed by a roll around in some cocoa powder and they were done.

The chocolate and the lemon were good together although the chocolate being quite bitter, which suits my taste, kinda overshadowed the lemon flavor. A luxurious treat for Valentines day eaten alongside a deep Cabernet may send you into a euphoric state...just don't blame me.

Recipe for the ganache:

1 cup of heavy cream
10 ozs of fine bittersweet chocolate chopped finely
1 Tbsp of lemon zest

Heat the cream and the zest on a very low heat until the edges start to bubble. Add the chocolate and stir gently until the ganache becomes smooth and uniformed. Transfer to a container and let cool. Keep in the fridge overnight. Leave at room temp for an hour or so before rolling into balls.

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties....

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's a strange blog title which I'll explain in a minute but today, January 25th is the birthday of a very famous man who shares the same birth country as myself. Robert Burns was a Scottish poet, some of you may know who he was and others will probably be saying "who's that" with the scrunched up face, (you know the look) For anyone who doesn't know who Burns was I can tell you about one of his poems he penned and your scrunched up face of will become one of eyes wide open. It was a poem called "Auld Lang Syne" which is sung at the stroke of midnight on January 1st all over the world. The poems title translates to "Old Long Ago" Burns had many other great pieces of work including "My Love is Like A Red Red Rose" which would be an awesome poem to recite for a loved one this coming valentines day, down on one knee mumbling broken Scottish words could shoot you to hero status!

I know your thinking what does this have to do with the strange title so listen up. Haggis is a meat product, it's about as Scottish as it gets apart from Scotch whisky. Haggis is made from the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep...wait don't hit the back button, I didn't say it was an everyday food item, though when I lived back in Scotland it almost was for me. It's readily available and is typically deep fried and served with chips. Traditionally it's cooked in the lining of the sheep's stomach and boiled or steamed and served on Robert Burns birthday alongside the neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes). It has the consistency of moist ground beef and tastes quite gamey along with it's added ingredients of oats and spices. Burns wrote a poem about the haggis which is recited at thousands of Burns supper birthday meetings all across the globe. Unfortunately due to American USDA regulations true haggis cant be made here, sadly the heart, liver and lungs are probably secretly stuffed into something else but I am able to buy haggis in a can form a local British store close to where I live. Haggis in a can does sound a little weird but it actually tastes pretty darn close to what I can get back home, at $10 a can though it's definitely a special ingredient.

I hope you've enjoyed a little piece of my background and I urge, nay demand that if your ever in Scotland you must try haggis. I like to add a dollop of tomato sauce beside mine just for dipping purposes. In case any readers are whisky fans, that's a bottle of fourteen year old Oban single malt Scotch in the background. A glass of the "water of life" is a traditional accompaniment to the haggis.

Happy Birthday Burns.....

I'm linking this post up to http://jennifercooks.com/

Meyer Lemon Pucker Pie..

2012-01-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

And so the lemon marathon goes on. If your new to this story, I was given a bag of Meyer lemons from a friend and they've lasted me longer than I thought they would. So far I've made lemon and blackberry scones, lemon panna cotta and this lemon pucker pie and I still have four left! I was all ready to make lemon bars this morning but after seeing a tweet about today being National Pie Day the decision was made for me, lemon meringue pie. Well the decision was made for about two minutes because after searching through "The Pie And Pastry Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum (an awesome pie cook book) I saw the recipe for this pucker pie. It was the word pucker that caught my eye, I like my citrus desserts to be really tart and give me a good pucker and who doesn't like that word, pucker..pucker..pucker.

The difference between this pie and an original lemon meringue pie is that the meringue is folded into the lemon curd and then baked as opposed to the meringue sitting on top of the curd like the more traditional pie. I must admit to giving this recipe a raised eyebrow after reading through it and even more so when it cam out of the oven. I wasn't sure how well it would cut or if it would just sink and be a runny mess. It just didn't seem like it was going to have any foundation like a regular pie. Sometimes I over think recipes but I needn't have worried about this puckered up pie. Once it had cooled for just over an hour I cut a slice for the photographs and it was awesome inside. Easy to cut, no sinking and no running and the taste was indeed nice and puckery, I was well happy.

The ingredients are simple and I even used a store bought pie shell, heck the author even states that a good brand of commercial lemon curd can be used (11oz jar will be perfect) I chose to make my own curd though, come on, with all of those amazing Meyer's it would be criminal not too but making the curd is definitely the most tedious part.
As I said before, I have four lemons left and lemon bars are one of my favorite treats so I think those will be next although I just had a craving for a lemon martini, any good ideas?

Here's the recipe courtesy of The Pie And Pastry Bible:

1 egg white
1 recipe of lemon curd, or one 11oz jar of good lemon curd (recipe below)
4 large egg whites
1/2 tsp of Cream of tartar
1/4 cup of sugar
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and pre-bake the pie shell for about 8 minutes. When it comes out of the oven gently brush some of the first egg white all over the base of the shell. Turn down the oven to 375!
Put the egg whites into a mixing bowl and beat until foamy, add the cream of tartar and mix until soft peaks appear. Gradually pour in the reg sugar and beat on high until all of the sugar is gone and stiff peaks are formed.
Add the meringue to the curd and fold in gently until it's all incorporated. Pour into the pie shell and spread around until even. Bake for about 20 minutes and the top is all golden. Let the pie cool for at least 1 hour and then slice carefully with a wet knife. Dust with powdered sugar and prepare to be puckered.

Lemon curd recipe:

2 tsp lemon zest
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
4 Tbsp butter cut into cubes
pinch of salt

In a saucepan beat the yolks and the sugar until well blended. Add the lemon juice, butter and salt and cook over a medium heat stirring constantly. Don't let it boil or it will curdle and the zest will hit the fan! Keep stirring until a thermometer reads 196 degrees. You'll see it become opaque and it will thicken quite a bit, keep stirring!! When it reaches 196, push it through a strainer and then add the zest. Let cool and then use as above. Use all of it which should be almost a full cup, mines was a smidgen from a cup but it didn't affect the pie.

Meyer Lemon and Blackberry Scones...

2012-01-19T22:49:00.000-08:00

When I received a message from a friend asking me if I wanted a bag of Meyer lemons picked fresh from his tree, I didn't have to think twice, I was in my car faster than George Dubbyah, avoiding a size ten shoe! If you haven't tried these citric balls of flavor you really should. Next time you buy lemons put the regular lemon down and pick up the more expensive and probably smaller Meyer lemon. Please don't be put off by my less than inspiring Meyer lemon marketing because when you taste the difference you'll be happy you shelled out the extra dollar (or whatever they cost, I get mine free remember) The Meyer is sweeter than Mr regular lemon and with a softer, smoother jacket he'll be the Danny Zuko of your fruit bowl!

I had no clue what I wanted to make with my lemon booty. Curd, lemon bars and cookies all flashed through my head but I ended up making scones. After scoring a great deal on blackberries the other day I through in a handful at the end just as the dough was mixed giving the scones some extra moisture and great color. I started by using a recipe from Farmgirl Fare but it wasn't long before I adapted a few things to suit myself, including the milk, yogurt and blackberries. I was well impressed with these scones after they cooled, soft and moist with the berries swirled through I generously slathered one with clotted cream and blackberry jam. I'm actually excited for breakfast tomorrow even though I finished all of the clotted cream. I ended up using only two of my lemons, leaving me with seven left. I feel like a lemon bar weekend is in my future unless anyone else has some fantastic lemon recipes?

Here's the recipe adapted from Farmgirl Fare:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees,

3½ to 3¾ cups organic all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons (or more) finely chopped or grated Meyer lemon

1/2 cup (1 stick/4 ounces) organic butter, chilled & cut into small pieces

1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice (from about 2 Meyer lemons) or regular lemon juice

1/2 cup organic milk, preferably whole, (I used 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup of heavy cream)

2 Tablespoons yogurt (I used vanilla bean yogurt as it was all I had in the fridge)

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (more vanilla, YEAHH!)

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest and salt. Cut the butter into cubes and rub through the flour with your fingers until coarse.

In a separate bowl mix the lemon juice, milk, yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Pour into the flour mixture and gently stir with a wooden spoon or if your like me, you can use your hands! As soon as the dough comes together throw in 1 cup of blackberries and mix through breaking them up gently to release the juice. The dough will be sticky. Dump it out onto a floured table or chopping board, sprinkle with more flour on top and gently work the dough into some sort of ball shape. Pat the dough down to about 1 inch thick and cut into strips, then cut into triangles. Don't overwork the dough, I didn't even use a rolling pin.

Place on a baking sheet and glaze with a mixture of 2 eggs and 2 Tbsp of milk. Sprinkle some sugar on top if you like a crunchy top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden in color

Goat Cheese Salad and Guest Post...

2012-01-16T07:09:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fan of resolutions after Christmas but I would like to try and make some lighter recipes to kick off the new year. If you want to see how this salad turned out, make the trip over to Bouffe e Bambini and check out Hanna's awesome blog where she graciously invited me to guest post for her!

Brown Butter Caramels...

2012-01-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

I make caramels regularly, so much so I could probably do it with my eyes shut but I don't want the sugar burns. That pain is like a kazillion tiny needles piercing your skin or just one giant jackhammer thumping down on your finger. Can you tell I've experienced my fair share of boiling sugar burns but I'm not bitter. For these caramels I use my basic recipe but I keep hearing about this ingredient called brown butter. What is it you ask? Well it's really just what it says, butter which has been melted until it becomes a deep golden color with tiny black flecks swirling around the pan. Watch it carefully or you may end up with black, smoking butter like I did the first time I tried to make it, not cool!

I had heard of brown butter sauce before but used only being used in main courses or savory dishes, never desserts. The butter takes on a slightly nutty flavor to it, perhaps this is why the French call it Beurre Noisette (hazelnut butter) I wanted to try it after hearing Jessica from The Novice Chef, constantly rave about using it in her recipes, check out her amazing blog and brown butter experiments! I thought using it in the caramels would be a no brainer as the butter has to be melted anyway so why not take it that little bit farther and get that golden nuttiness. I would love to try another recipe where it asks for the butter to be creamed, I'm assuming you would brown the butter and then cool it to solidify and then cream it, any advice or experience on this part anyone?

Butter- melt it, brown it, use it to make sweet things happen on your tongue!

Caramel Recipe:

8 Tbsp of butter, melted until deep golden
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 cup of corn syrup
2 tsp of vanilla

Prepare an 8x8 brownie pan lined with parchment paper making sure it hangs over the sides a good way.
Melt the butter and when golden add the rest of the ingredients except the vanilla. Mix gently until incorporated and bring to a gentle boil. Insert your sugar thermometer and boil until 250 degrees. Take the pot off the heat and add the vanilla, stir swiftly until well mixed and pour caramel into the prepared pan, sprinkle with sea salt if you like. 250 degrees will give you a harder caramel, chewable but a workout for your jaw which is how I like them. If you prefer a softer candy try taking it off at 240. Wait until cool and lift the caramel out of the pan using the edges of the parchment. I cut them into strips using a small sharp pairing knife and then take each strip and cut that with a large cooks knife. Wrap in wax paper and store in an airtight container or bag.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches...

2012-01-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

It feels like an eternity since my last post, two weeks to be exact but I'm not counting. It's just been a naturally busy time of year which I enjoy but it does feel good to be able to write a post. In that two week hiatus we enjoyed all of the excitement of Christmas and an awesome snow trip to the mountains (and a visit to the e.r. after losing a fight with a bungee cord) with some great friends. On New Years Eve we attended a kids size party which ended when the ball dropped on the east coast but I'm happy to say I did manage to stay awake for our real west coast midnight time only to roll into bed five minutes later. If this was a Tweet it would be followed by #feelingold.

Inspiration for new posts always come in various forms and this was no different. I have been meaning to make a cookie sandwich for a while and after watching this Jacques Torres video clip on a friends blog, Fudge Ripple I knew I had to use his recipe. Jacques Torres is the French pastry chef whom I'm convinced has chocolate for blood. I could watch and listen to him all day long in awe of his mad pastry skills. I used his chocolate chip cookie recipe which should be called chunks instead of chips because of the abundance of blocks and shards of chocolate which are swirled all through the brown sugary dough of freaking awesomeness! I sandwiched them together with a dark chocolate ganache, yeah you could use butter cream but I prefer ganache with it's silky soft truffle like feeling on my tongue but I wont shoot you if you choose a good chocolate butter cream. Ganache is way easier and faster to make than butter cream, whip it up in a mixer after its cooled and you have a deep, decadent topping for anything from cupcakes to your fingers!

I hope 2012 is a great year for everyone. I plan to give Foodness Gracious a makeover very soon and continue blogging for my fantastic followers. I really appreciate the comments and advice you leave me post after post. I have met some other amazing bloggers since beginning this journey and love the camaraderie among the blogging community. I wish all of you a fantastic and healthy New Year!

Here's the recipe from Jacques Torres: I halved the recipe and still have leftover dough in the fridge, darn it I'll fix that problem soon enough :) so beware unless you want to be eating cookies 24/7 which is not really a bad thing with these cookies!

1 pound unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour

3 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2lbs of good quality semi sweet or bitter sweet chocolate roughly chopped

Ganache:

1 cup of heavy cream

12 ozs of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350 and get your cookie sheet ready with parchment paper or a cookie mat.

Cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy and add the eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low and add the flours. I didn't have bread flour so I just used AP flour and couldn't really see a difference. Add all of the other ingredients and mix gently until incorporated.

The dough will be soft so I put mine in the fridge for 10 minutes just to make hand roilling easier. Roll into small (or big,youre the boss) balls and place on the tray. Bake for about 15 minutes or 20 if larger until crisp on the outside but still soft and gooey in the middle. Sprinkle with sea salt as soon as they come out of the oven.

For the ganache, heat the cream until it bubbles around the sides of the pot, add the chocolate and gently stir until it becomes well mixed and shiny. Dont worry it will come together. Keep it in the fridge or wait until completely cool and beat for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and ready for piping.

Chocolate Peppermint Brownie, Secret Recipe Club...

2011-12-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

My designated partner blog for this months Secret Recipe Club was Plain Chicken. Steph, the owner of this blog is passionate about her food and scrolling through her recipes trying to choose one to make was a tough job. I did notice she is almost as passionate about football as she is about food with many tailgating dishes in the recipe index and I'm sure if you met her in the parking lot outside the stadium she would have enough to feed an army and be hollering for you to join her!

I ended up choosing her Hershey's chocolate brownie. A plain and simple brownie but it sounded just how I like them, a little chewy and not too cakey. As I was making them I added some peppermint oil to the mix just because it's Christmas. Unfortunately my adaptations didn't stop there, I also had some white ganache in the fridge which I wanted to use up so that was spread on top after the brownie had cooled. Steph, please don't think I was trying to overshadow your awesome brownie but it just kept inspiring me to do a little bit more and the chocolate peppermint brownie was born. I would use this brownie mix again and really like the fact that there was so much cocoa powder used in it and not the dutch processed sweetened stuff. It tasted like real chocolate and was on the chewy side. Teamed up with a half pound of butter this was a brownie recipe to keep!

Here's the recipe from Plain Chicken:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa or Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 13x9x2 baking pan. Microwave the butter until melted and stir in the sugar and vanilla.
Add eggs one at a time beating well after each one. Add cocoa powder and mix until well blended.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt and nuts if your using them and mix well until blended. This is where I added about 1 tsp of peppermint oil.
Bake for about 20 minutes and then start checking the middle, mine baked pretty fast so they took about 25 minutes total. Cool completely and then slice into bars.

I covered them with a thin layer of white chocolate ganache and a light dusting of powdered sugar. I also stole two candy canes from my daughters gingerbread house, which I chopped up and then sprinkled on top. She hasn't noticed yet but if she does I'll probably blame her little brother who has already been caught reaching up to pick stuff from the house. You just can't mess with evidence like that!

Ganache:

10 Oz's Good white chocolate
2/3 Cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbsp of butter

Heat the cream until it just boils, take it of the heat and add the chocolate and let melt stirring gently. When the chocolate is all incorporated and smooth add the butter until smooth and shiny. Let cool to room temp and fluff it up by hand really fast until it becomes like a frosting. Spread generously over the cooled brownie sheet before cutting. When set cut with a sharp knife.

Caramels For The Neighbours....

2011-12-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

We are so lucky to live in such a quiet street. It's a cul-de-sac so the only traffic is from the residents themselves except the odd UPS truck or visitor. Having a six year old and an almost two year old makes this an ideal spot for them and the other kids to play in a somewhat safe environment but I don't think I'll ever let my guard down when the kids are playing or crossing the street. When you become a parent you immediately become the protector, almost like a Secret Service agent for the little ones but with no intense training or microphones stuck to your jacket. The only weapons you carry are the words "No" and "Time Out"

So every year we make a gift for the awesome neighbours we have, the people who are always there if you need help with something. Sometimes it's cookies or bars but this year I decided to make some caramels, adding some black Hawaiian sea salt to this batch. The kids will deliver them later today thanking them for being such great neighbours and I'll start thinking about next year...

Merry Christmas!

I'm linking this up to Jane Deeres Fusion Friday.

Molasses Cookies, The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap...

2011-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! It sounds like a huge event where all of us food bloggers meet up and pass cookies of to each other. Actually that's not far from the truth only we don't meet which is a huge bummer because that would be a whole lot of fun. The cookie swap was the idea of Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil, and Julie from The Little Kitchen. For every blogger who signed up to participate their mission was to make three dozen cookies and mail a dozen to three other designated bloggers. Nobody knew where they would come from or exactly when their cookies would arrive and we all know how cool it is to get boxes on your doorstep at Christmas time, right?

My three bloggers who would be receiving these cookies were, Milisa from Miss in The Kitchen, Beth Anne from Cats In The Kitchen and Stephanie from Live Cook Love. All three should have been snacking on some chewy molasses cookies hopefully still in one piece form shipping! In the meantime I was watching for my cookies to be delivered from my secret cookie makers. It didn't actually take long for the boxes to start arriving and a huge thanks to Kelly from Just a Taste, Molly from Hungry Hungry Runner and Terra from Cafe Terra. Thanks ladies they were all excellent!

The cookie swap was a lot fun and I met some new bloggers which is always great. If anyone is interested in taking part next year click on this link to sign up. It might seem like a long time away but you and I know just how fast time goes by! Thanks again to Lindsay and Julie for coming up with such a great idea and using their own time to coordinate it all.

I also would like to mention Meagan form Scarletta Bakes. I ended up making her some really good pecan snowball cookies. Check out her site for some amazing pictures and funny stories! I would have taken pictures of the snowballs but as soon as they cooled I was in the UPS store with them.
Here's the recipe courtesy of Simply Recipes:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsulphered molasses

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the first seven ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter until soft and add the sugars, mix until fluffy and well mixed. Add the egg, vanilla and molasses and blend well. Add the dry ingredients to this and mix on low for one minute.

Place the last 1/3 cup of sugar on a plate. Roll about 2 tbsp of dough into a ball and then roll in the sugar covering completely. Place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 11 minutes but this cookie should be soft and chewy so don't over bake! Let cool on a wire rack.

Sticky Gingerbread...

2011-12-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread was always a favorite snack of mine when I was growing up. I would have it with a hot cup of tea slathered with butter and it was perfect for killing that hunger pang in the middle of the day. Things are a little different now with pressure to feed our kids more vegetables and fruit for snacks and I do agree with that but see no harm in slipping in a treat once in a while. I just finished reading an article in The Boston Magazine about how parenting has changed so much since the sixties, seventies and even the eighties. It really got me thinking if I need to reevaluate the way my kids should be brought up. Okay so those of you reading this with no kids are probably yearning for me to shut the heck up and get back to this delicious sticky, spicy loaf. My mom always seemed to have a gingerbread loaf in the kitchen and I wish I had her recipe but I don't think this one is hugely different with all of the right spices and a great sticky crust. I pulled it from an old Scottish cook book I have and can't remember where this book came from, probably a garage sale or used bookstore. In a time now where I will frequently use my laptop to look at recipes whilst cooking it's nice to actually open a book and get some grease marks on the pages. I'm tired of wiping splodges of dough from the keyboard!

As I said before, gingerbread was always in our house but since moving to the U.S. I noticed that it definitely makes a grander appearance at Christmas time. When I worked at Whole Foods we would sell mountains of the stuff all the way through December. It can also be turned into a nice dessert by adding some whipped cream but I still like it covered in butter!

Here's the recipe courtesy of A Feast Of Scotland:

1 1/2c ups AP flour

2 tsps ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

4oz butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

4 Tbsp molasses

2/3 cup milk

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line with parchment. Melt the butter, sugar, and molasses in a pan. Sift the flour, ginger and cinnamon then stir in the melted butter mixture with the beaten egg and mix well.

Warm the milk to room temp and add the baking soda to it, mix well and add to the main mixture.

Dump the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for about an hour or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Best served the day after covered in good butter!

I'm linking this recipe to Jane Deere's Fusion Friday

Chocolate Candy Cane Macarons...

2011-11-29T22:20:00.000-08:00

I was looking at some other food blogs tonight and I came upon one who described making macarons to be a bitch, I agree. See here for more tips and pictures of what a fantastic macaron should look like courtesy of the Novice Chef. For such a tiny, plain and humble meringue it sure can be a giant pain in the ass! There are numerous factors to take into account before deciding to put these down on their parchment bed, ranging from using egg whites which are left at room temperature for up to three days, to not even attempting them when rain is forecast. The more I research the macaron the more I see the same tips coming from seasoned bakers and pastry chefs so I don't dispute them. I have tried making them a handful of times now, see my last try here, but I suspect even if I'm able to get the process locked in I'll still experience the odd hiccup along the way.
The problem for me is that it's become a challenge and I wont give up until I get perfect results at least a dozen times in a row. This means many trial and error attempts including this chocolate candy cane version. I did not age my egg whites which may be the reason for the small feet and the cracks or sprinkling candy cane on the tops is not my best idea. These macarons are not my worst though, I once made a batch and took them from the oven and threw them straight in the trash. Those I tried to flavor with apple using powdered apple and adding it to the mix. That's the beauty of making these, the ingredients aren't all that expensive although the Bobs Red Mill almond flour is kinda pricey, so if they take a dive then I really only get frustrated with the time I lost mixing them. Even though these candy cane macarons aren't Laduree worthy they still tasted really good and didn't meet the trash can this time.

Here's the recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit:

2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1 1/4cups slivered almonds
3 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3cup plus 3 tablespoons egg whites (from about 3 large eggs), room temperature, whisked to loosen
1/4cupsugar

Ganache:

3 1/2ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), finely chopped
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 table spoonfinely grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoonground cloves
1/8 teaspoonground allspice
1/8 teaspoonkosher salt

Arrange racks in lower and upper thirds of oven; preheat to 325°. Line 3 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper. Pulse1 cup powdered sugar and almonds in a food processor until nuts are very finely ground (but not to a paste), 60–90 seconds. Add cocoa powder and remaining 1 cup powdered sugar; process to blend well. Sift mixture through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl.
Using an electric mixer, beat 1/3 cup egg whites in a medium bowl on medium speed until white and frothy, about 1 minute. With mixer on medium-low speed, gradually add sugar by teaspoonfuls. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until firm peaks form.Stir in remaining 3 Tbsp. egg whites. Fold meringue into dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing well between additions.

Spoon meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" tip. Twist top of bag and pipe quarter-size rounds onto 2 of the 3 prepared baking sheets, spacing 1" apart. Let stand until tops appear dry, about 10 minutes or up to one hour!

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through baking, until puffed and dry, about 16 minutes. Slide cookies on parchment onto a wire rack. Let cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter on third baking sheet.

Place chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; stir in orange zest, cloves, allspice, and salt. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate and butter; whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

Spoon ganache into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" tip. Twist top of bag and pipe about 1 tsp. ganache onto flat side of 1 cookie, leaving 1/4"–1/8" plain border. Top with a second cookie, flat side down.

Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled

I'm linking this recipe up to Jane Deer's Fusion Friday!!

Turkey Dinner Leftover Shots...

2011-11-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

I'm sure we all have a bunch of leftovers from yesterdays dinner marathon and no doubt the blogs will be hot today with fantastic recipes on what to do with those leftovers. You can take this post as a bit of tongue in cheek humor against the day after, but feel free to actually make these turkey dinner shots. I think my target audience will be my kids who seem to like anything miniaturised or strange looking especially if they can actually eat it!

I was inspired to post this recipe, if you want to call it that after reading a blog post last night. It was written by a Los Angeles food blogger, Andrew Wilder. He writes for his healthful eating blog, Eating Rules and has also started writing for Blog Tutor. Andrew's first Blog Tutor post was a great story about how the foodie blog world seems to be getting over saturated with recipes and how this can affect the direction of your own personal blog. When I first started Foodness Gracious I must admit to being hung up on the number of followers I had and being disappointed if I only received a few comments to a post which maybe took me a lot of time to generate, I didn't understand that building a blog takes time and lots of dedication. Now I'm not so driven by those two elements, I still get excited to welcome a new follower on board but now I see it as an opportunity to gain another friend who shares the same passion towards food as I do. I can honestly say that I enjoy communicating through my blog with some great people from all over the world and hope to meet some of them someday. I try to switch up my posts as much as I can but I think to survive in the food blogging market a true uniqueness has to be shown and I'm constantly thinking about how I can do that.

I don't want to keep taking Andrew's points from Blog Tutor, just make sure to pay it a visit and read the whole post for yourself. It certainly made me think and hence the turkey dinner shot was discovered. Is it the first one? Maybe I'll Google it and see what comes up.

Here's the recipe:

Take some leftovers and layer them in a shot glass. The process is completely up to you, think about how you would eat the food from a regular plate. Are you a person who likes to try everything separately or like me who puts a little bit of everything on the fork at the same time?

I'm linking this post up to Friday Potluck @ EKat's Kitchen

Macarons with White Chocolate Peppermint Ganache...

2011-11-18T22:32:00.000-08:00

French macarons, what can I say? I haven't really jumped on the bandwagon for these little circles of enchantment. After failing once before trying to make them I'm a little embarrassed to say I kind of gave up which is not like me. They came out all wrinkly on top and just looked more like a meringue than a macaron. I like to try and post as frequently as I can to my blog and now I'm understanding I feel like that because I actually really enjoy it, so this morning I was racking my brain to come up with a post for today. The macaron came into my thoughts and after doing some reading about them I found a recipe and got started. I must admit to rushing the recipe and again they came out of the oven peaked and as they cooled cracks appeared. Failed again....

It was still fairly early and this time I felt like trying again! I looked for another recipe and found a great tutorial about making macarons from AmberLee. Her blog, Giverslog is packed with great recipes and her own macarons looked awesome. After reading her list of tips and troubleshooting I set out once again to try to conquer my macaron misgiving. I'm happy to say that third time lucky worked for me. The biggest change I made was to leave the macarons out to dry far longer than I had been doing previously. This is the stage where after piping them onto your cookie sheet they will become dull looking and develop a skin on top. This skin prevents the insides pushing up when baking and helps keep the bubbly part called the foot around the bottom of the macaron. Previously I had been leaving them out to dry for about 15 minutes but this time I waited almost a full hour before putting them into the oven.

I feel now that I can go on and experiment with some more flavors and unique fillings without the cracked meringue cloud following me. I used a white chocolate ganache flavored with peppermint as a filling for these and they were pretty darn good!

Here's the recipe adapted from Giverslog: Yield about 20 shells,

1 Cup of confectioners sugar
3/4 Cup of almond flour
2 Large egg whites at room temp
A pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 Cup of superfine sugar (I used granulated)

Sift the confectioners sugar and the almond flour. Whisk the whites on medium until they get foamy, add the cream of tartar and mix a little more.
Add the sugar gradually and when all added crank up the mixer to high and whisk until you get stiff peaks. If you want to color your macaron's this is where you would add the coloring, a couple of drops.
Take your bowl from the mixer and sift the flour/sugar mixture again into the egg whites. Start folding the mixture with a large flat spatula gently turning about fifty times.
Transfer the mix to a piping bag with a half inch plain tip and start piping onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. I piped to about the size of a quarter and then drag the tip to the edge quickly to avoid leaving a peak on the macaron.
Once they are all piped, leave them sitting at room temp for at least 45 minutes until you see them become dull on top. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and when your ready to put them in drop the temp to 325 degrees. Put them in the oven making sure the door is cracked open with a wooden spoon handle. Bake for 10 minutes turning once after 5 minutes. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes when they come out of the oven and then gently lift the whole paper sheet form the tray to your counter.
Have your filling ready and fill once they are cool.

Recipe for white chocolate ganache adapted from The LA Times:

10 oz of white chocolate chips
2/3 Cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tbs of butter divide into 3 pieces
Peppermint to flavor

Heat the cream in a pot until just boiling, add it to the chocolate chips in another bowl and let sit for 2 minutes. Stir with a spatula until smooth. Add the butter and stir again until smooth and shiny. I added 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract at this point. Keep stirring periodically to avoid lumps until cool and ready for piping.
Grab two shells and pipe the ganache on one shell, you wont need a lot as these are really sweet. join the two sides together and eat!

Gateau De Sirop and Guest Post...

2011-11-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I was lucky enough to be asked to guest post for one of my friends today! If you would like to find out more about this great Cajun syrup cake head on over to Cajunlicious and meet Jessica and her amazing Cajun food blog.

Pistachio and Rosemary Caramels...

2011-11-08T21:51:00.000-08:00

I have no idea where the idea for this recipe came from, seriously. If anyone has ever made it before let me know because lately I have been on a candy kick but not really in an eating sort of way, more like an experimental, scientific endeavour trying to iron out some kinks especially with chocolate. That's a story for another day though and after finding an awesome recipe for plain caramel here it was time to add some life to it. I know adding nuts to caramels is nothing new in the candy world so when I decided to use pistachios I didn't just want to leave it at that. After staring at my spice rack for what seemed like a whole day but was really only about thirty seconds I saw the rosemary but I always like to use fresh herbs when possible so off to my semi-giant rosemary bush to pick some spears.
I had no idea how this would taste or if it would even work. I thought the caramel would give me some issues if a fresh herb was used but after the latest round of chocolate mishaps I just decided to try it and see what the result would be. This is where I need to pause so I can think of a good enough word to describe these caramels....they were really bloody good (a more polite version of what I really said).

Creamy and crunchy, salty and sweet with a great fresh rosemary taste. I was really pleased with how they turned out and now my mind is racing with a whole bunch of different varieties of caramel for me to make. I just finished another batch and can't wait until it's cool enough to try, I'll let you know the flavor tomorrow but I was inspired from the land of the laua. I think I know what people are getting this year as a gift for the holidays.

Here's the recipe:

Prepare an 8 inch cake pan by lining it with some parchment paper.

2 cups of heavy cream

2 Cups of sugar

1/2 Cup of light corn syrup

1 Stick of butter

2 tsp of vanilla

12 oz's of chopped roasted/salted pistachios, shelled

1 Tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

In a large pot melt the butter and then add the cream, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and wait until the temp reaches 255 degrees on a candy thermometer. Be patient as it takes a little time and these caramels end up being a little more on the harder side which is just my preference.

When it reaches temp, take the pot off the heat and add the vanilla, chopped nuts and rosemary. Stir gently and pour into a prepared lined 8 inch baking pan. Sprinkle lightly with the sea salt and leave to cool for about 4 hours.

To cut the caramel slab once cool, use a very sharp small pairing knife and make 1 incision where you want to cut and then keep going along that line and you'll very quickly cut right through without cracking the bar. Although this seems like a difficult recipe it's actually very easy if you have a lot of patience and a good candy thermometer! I cut them into squares and wrap in some wax paper.

Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar Cheese..

2011-11-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

This post will be my third for Tina Hudgen's Crazy Cooking Challenge and certainly not my last. My mission was to find a tasty looking mashed potato recipe worthy of a place on any thanks giving table. I usually always stick to the basics with mash and add some butter (loads!!) cream and some type of herb but I've never really tried adding cheese. Truffle oil is another great addition but this recipe is not about the oil, it's about the mashed potato and the glorious smoked cheddar cheese that went in at the end and started to melt and become all stretchy and gooey.
I found the recipe on Behind The Bites. A great blog with a really neat instructional layout which makes following the recipes really easy. The recipe was very simple and would be a great side dish for thanks giving or really any day of the week. It has minimal ingredients but all of the right ones making this a winner for me.

Here's the recipe from Behind The Bites:

2.5 lbs of red potatoes, chopped and skins left on

1/4 Cup of butter

1 Cup of shredded cheddar cheese, use some good stuff and maximise the flavor

1 tsp of fresh minced rosemary

In a large pot boil the potatoes in water which goes about an inch over the potatoes. Add some salt and bring to a boil, simmering for about 20 minutes.

Once the potatoes are felling soft when pricked with a sharp knife, drain them and then keep them covered with a lid. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mash with a masher until soft and fluffy.

Season with salt and pepper

Serve on the side with more butter

Pumpkin Panna Cotta...

2011-11-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Panna Cotta must be one of the most easy and versatile desserts you could make. It yearns to be made ahead of time and makes life easier if you have some fancy dinner plans, just pull it from the fridge and it's ready to be eaten. On top of that it only takes about ten minutes to prepare with minimal ingredients and leaves room for many additions. I've made a few different flavors in the past but this time I wanted to try for a pumpkin flavor. I always use the same basic recipe from David Lebovitz, simply adding some canned pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and pumpkin pie spice. I also put a small layer of chocolate cookie crust on the bottom of the glass which is in fact a candle holder. It's a great size for an individual dessert and you can pick them up at a craft store for around a dollar each. One thing to watch is, they aren't as strong as regular dinner glasses so be careful when your handling them.

Your probably looking at it and thinking that it doesn't look like the Panna Cotta which you've had before and you'd be right. I chose to not have to un-mold mine just because without proper Panna Cotta molds I think it gets tricky and I didn't want to have to deal with that today. They still taste the same and these benefit from the cookie crust. If I could have changed one thing it would be to have been more liberal with the pumpkin and the spices. This had a very delicate flavor but didn't quite make it to the taste of a pumpkin pie which was what I was going for. I also made some real chocolate leaves for the side, pretty for a garnish but to thin to dip. You should really give these a go and experiment with flavors. Lemon, mint, basil and chai are just a few I could think off. They're good to eat as is or with some fresh berries on the side.

Here's the recipe adapted from David Lebovitz: I halved the original recipe and still managed to yield six minis.

2 Cups of heavy cream
1/4 Cup of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 packet of powdered gelatin
3 Tbsp of cold water
3/4 Cup of canned pumpkin
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
A pinch of dried ginger

Heat the cream and the sugar gently and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the vanilla, pumpkin and spices.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a bowl and leave for 10 minutes. If using real molds, grease lightly with a neutral tasting oil.
Pour the cream mixture over the gelatin and stir well. Divide the completed mixture between the molds and leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. If overnight make sure to cover with wrap to keep out other odors in the fridge.
To unmold run a sharp knife around the mold and turn upside down onto a serving plate.

Chili with Beer, Bacon and Buttermilk Cornbread....

2011-10-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does anyone else think it's stressful being a food blogger? I'll use this recipe post as an example, after cooking this chili for almost four hours and liking how it looks, the time comes to pull the trigger on the meal. After all, this is whats for dinner and I have other hungry mouths to feed, but wait I have to get some pictures before the sun starts to set or everything will just look yellow and blah under the kitchen lights. I chose a small window of time to make a set for some pictures while my wife went to pick up my daughter from an after school class. Perfect I thought, I'll take the pictures and by the time they return I can just serve the food and all will be good. tummies will be full and I'll be a kitchen hero.

WRONG! I didn't take into account the screaming almost two year old who wants to eat right at that second and who followed me out to where I had set up my stage area and who didn't want to play with any of his toys in the yard. No, he just wanted to stick his finger in the middle of my cornbread just as I'm trying to focus in on some nice close up shots! Since I had only taken about three pictures I decided to put the little cornbread vandal back indoors. This was not in his plan but I'm bigger than him so I won. I went back outside to try and salvage the hole, all the while it's getting darker and I can see my pictures disappearing in a haze of dullness which no exposure setting can ever fix and then lo and behold the gardener turns up and I'm sure is looking at me like I'm either setting a place for him and he's having some nice chili before he starts on my yard or I'm just another crazy customer of his. Either way I didn't look up and kept clicking.

I scooped up the food and dived back inside much to the dismay of the gardener probably, and after explaining to the little guy that daddy is not crazy and lots of people take pictures of food I proceeded to start to serve dinner. Everyone was happy and nobody got hurt (except the cornbread).

Mission accomplished.....

The cornbread was very good and I was drawn to the recipe because it had buttermilk in it. Buttermilk just cries out moist to me and it has that tangy taste to it. I will definitely use this recipe again. I also added some grated Fontina cheese to it. You can add just about any kind of hard cheese but Fontina was what was lurking in my fridge and had to be used up. Other add-ins could be chopped chillies, bacon or whole corn kernels.

The chili was excellent. Slow cooking it for that amount of time really made a difference. It became a rich thick stew consistency with great flavor. I did alter the original recipe a bit by adding bacon and substituting the water with beer. Anything with bacon and beer is going to taste amazing in my opinion and I topped it with some grated smoked cheddar. I probably wouldn't change anything about this recipe next time I make it, which will be in two days when It will accompany me to a Halloween pot luck party, It was that good! I would love to try it poured over some french fries with cheddar or even mixed in with some Frito's corn chips though!

Cornbread recipe courtesy of Michelle's Story:

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and add the sugar. Mix until blended and take off the heat. Add the eggs and mix well.

Add the baking soda to the buttermilk, mix and then add to the pan mixing well. Add the cornmeal, flour and salt to the pan and gently stir to combine. Pour into a greased 8inch square pan or I used a cast iron skillet and bake for about 25 minutes or until springy in the center. If you are adding any other ingredients just add them after the cornmeal and flour step.

Chili recipe adapted from Food.Com:

1lb Ground beef

6 Slices of bacon roughly chopped

1 14oz Can of tomato sauce

1 14oz Can of pinto beans (with liquid)

1 14oz Can of kidney beans (with liquid)

1/2 Cup diced onion

2 Green chillies diced, I used Serrano's and only put in one. I chopped the other one and added it to my own bowl as I'm the only daredevil in the house

1 1/2 Medium tomatoes, chopped

1 1/2 tsp of cumin powder

1 1/2 Tbsp of chili powder

3/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 Cup of water, I substituted the water for beer. A dark one would be preferable but any could be used.

Brown the bacon until almost crispy. Add the beef and brown. Drain off the fat and add the meats to a large enough pot.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and simmer over a very low heat for about at least 3 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so. I used a lid but found that taking it of after about 2 1/2 hours and cooking with no lid for the last 30-40 minutes helped the chili become more thick and rich.

Top with sour cream, onions and grated smoked cheddar and cornbread on the side.

Please take a moment to read about my friends fundraising activity below!

I would like to mention a good friend of mine and her quest to raise money for two very deserving causes - Charity Water and JDRF. These are two awesome foundations which are around solely to help others less fortunate. Some of you may know already about JDRF and my whole bake sale fundraiser and as Andrea is a walker on our team she has kindly chosen JDRF as one of her causes. Andrea is selling Advertisement spots on her lifestyle blog, Four Flights of Fancy, which receives a high number of traffic and visitors so getting a spot on there could be really beneficial to your online business. Every dollar she receives from the advertisement spots will go back to Charity Water and JDRF! Go visit her blog and check out the requirements, it's a cool place and I bet you'll keep going back.

Chocolate truffles...

2011-10-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

I'm on a chocolate making quest right now, call me Willy Wonka if you like but there's a science behind it and an art. Chocolate is a temperamental ingredient and a batch can be ruined in a second if it's not handled properly. Have you ever melted chocolate chips from the store and tried to dip stuff in it? It's really goopy and thick making it difficult to dip or coat and the reason is because of the oil content in it. This will turn out different from real chocolate which is cocoa butter based. Using real chocolate requires tempering to give it a glossy shine and a snap when broken. Tempering can be tricky and requires the chocolate to be melted to no more than 110 degrees and then dropped to 88-89 degrees and held at that temp. There are tempering machines for use in the home but they can be expensive for the baking hobbyist.

I have been using two types of chocolate for my truffles. The first one I tried was a compound chocolate which has no cocoa butter and instead has vegetable oil. The pros for using this is that it requires no tempering and wont let you down. It melts well and requires very little maintenance. Compound cons may be a less superior taste but this can be alleviated with an awesome tasting center. The other type I used was a couverture chocolate which does have cocoa butter thus requiring tempering. If it isn't tempered correctly then the cocoa butter will separate from the cocoa and the end result will be a dull, lacklustre truffle with a soft feel to it. You may also see a white bloom on it which is the butter separating. These all sound really negative but the chocolate will still taste good but wont look it's best.

The compound chocolate looked good, it had a nice shine with a nice hard shell and I was surprised how well it turned out. I made two fillings, one was a caramel which was very good and the other was a commercial bought cream filling which was terrible. I would love to post some pictures of these two types but I ate them (sorry). When I used the couverture chocolate I tried my best to adhere to the melting temps but the end result was a slightly dull looking truffle and after a day on the counter it started to bloom.

Before I poured the first chocolate into the mold to make the shell I dropped in a variety of small toppings. I used smoked salt, chili flakes and crushed pecans.

After the shell had hardened I dropped in the ganache ball which would be my truffle center. I split the mix into two flavors, whisky and orange. After the ganache had been dropped into the shell I simply back filled it with more melted chocolate and left to harden.

I'm learning a lot about this amazing bean. Chocolate is truly an indulgent ingredient even if it is just a store bought candy bar, but next time try and grab a higher quality bar if you can. The difference is like night and day. The higher the cocoa percent, the more chocolate liquor it has and a deeper intense flavor is what your tongue will experience. Trying to make the perfect truffle is not only fun but nothing really gets spoiled, somebody has to eat them....

Blueberry Milk and Fresh Donuts, Secret Recipe Club...

2011-10-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

My assigned blog this month for The Secret Recipe Club was Pass The Sushi. What a great name for a food blog and I'm sure there's a story behind the choosing of this unique title. Blog boss Kita is a website/graphic designer and this can be easily verified by taking a look at her blog. The whole design is very cool and I must say I'm a little jealous being in the midst of trying to find another blog host or designer for my own blog. Hmmm, maybe Kita could help me out? After spending a lot of time browsing through her perfect recipe indexes I was drawn to the breakfast section and it couldn't have come at a better time. I had to take brunch to a friend and amongst other things on the menu I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and make something from Pass The Sushi and make it my blog post, smart move!

The first item I saw was blueberry milk. I already had enough blueberries in the fridge and the other ingredients were just milk, water and sugar. Wow, this was getting easier by the minute, but I felt like I might be short changing Kita by just making the super easy milk so I scrolled through the section again and spotted the donuts. I'm not an everyday fryer guy but sometimes you just need a donut! I've recently tried to make some decent baked donuts and haven't been very successful, basically resolving myself to the fact that a donut has to be fried to taste good. I remember how the donuts tasted when I was a kid growing up, they were chewy and yeasty and not cakey leaving you with a sugary mustache. I was dubious as to how Kita's would taste after I saw what was used to make them, are you ready....Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits in a tube. After drooling at the pictures of her glazed donuts I knew I had to try these. I proceeded to follow the recipe and after they came out of the hot oil I dusted them with cinnamon sugar instead of the glaze and they tasted really amazing. I had eventually found the best donut recipe I have tasted in eleven years since moving to the U.S. and it came from a tube of biscuits. Even the centers produced perfectly round donut holes and when eaten warm brought a tear to my eye, well maybe not but this will be my go-to donut recipe and finding a go-to recipe of anything is like finding a little piece of treasure which you'll always keep, Homer Simpson would be so happy to try these. The milk tasted good but I used low fat and I think it would taste yummier if whole milk was used. The donuts have to be made because right now your loving the wrong donut, it's not a good match for you and you'll never be happy until you meet the biscuit donut. Try them for breakfast at the weekend, they're so easy you'll be making them while wearing one of those tennis head bands over your eyes without peeking!

Here's the recipes from Pass The Sushi:

Blueberry Milk- I doubled up on the quantity of syrup added to the milk and that's why my milk is a very deep shade of purple.
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
3-4 teas sugar, depending on how sweet you like
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk (per glass
In a small saucepan, bring water, sugar, and blueberries to a boil over medium heat. Boil continuously for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
Strain mixture into a bowl or measuring cup through a fine-mesh sieve, pushing the berries to release all liquid.
Refrigerate syrup until cold. Set out glasses on counter, and place 2 teaspoons syrup in the bottom of each glass. Add 1/2 cup cold milk to each glass, stir and watch your milk become a pale shade of violet deliciousness.

Donuts, I rolled them in some cinnamon sugar instead of glaze
1 Roll biscuits, I used Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits
8 cups vegetable oil
Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet with high sides over medium-high heat until temperature registers 350°F. (Oil should be 1- to 1 1/2 inches deep). Pop open biscuit container. If any of the biscuits look irregular, gently pat them down to even rounds and even thickness. Cut out doughnut holes.
Add half of the doughnuts and half of the doughnut holes and fry until the bottoms turn golden brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes for small doughnuts and 2 to 2 1/2 minutes for large doughnuts. Using chopsticks, turn the doughnuts and holes and fry for until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Transfer doughnuts to a paper towel-lined plate and allow to cool slightly, 1 to 2 minutes before dipping in glaze. Serve warm.

Glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place confectioners’ sugar and salt in medium bowl. Add melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Dip doughnuts and serve immediately.

Chocolate Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
Place confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in medium bowl. Add milk and whisk until smooth. Dip doughnuts and serve immediately.

Thyme Gougeres...

2011-10-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

When I started to make these amazing puffs of pleasure I had some flash backs to when I was just a boy starting out on my apprenticeship at a small local bakery. The reason is the choux pastry, and back in the day making choux was a tedious job which required stamina and muscles like Arnold. Needless to say I had neither, well maybe some stamina but definitely short changed in the muscle department. The flour and the butter had to be continually mixed over the heat or it would burn and we used a giant wooden spoon to do this, probably weighing more than me ( okay enough jokes about my physique). It's a little embarrassing because the baker who showed me how it had to be done must have been in his 60's or even older and as he mixed the great ball of dough he hardly broke a sweat.

So fast forward many years to today and here I am vigorously stirring the dough again, and sweating but hey it's warm in the kitchen! I have way more stamina but sadly still no muscles (cue violins)

These gougeres which come from the Burgundy region of France are made from the basic choux pastry with some kind of hard cheese added. I used Gruyere and Asiago but you could get away with using any kind of hard cheese, the stinkier the better in my opinion. They are really easy to make and don't let my story of muscles and stamina scare you from trying. after all this is a tiny mix compared to the twenty pounds I would have to mix. They are seriously addicting when warm and can be frozen and reheated in 5 minutes, great for some appetizers and your house will smell like an old French cheese cave which I think is a great smell.

Here's the recipe from Bon Appetit:

1/2 Stick butter
1 Cup water
1 Cup of AP flour
Large pinch of cayenne
Large pinch of kosher salt
1 Cup plus some extra grated Gruyere
1/2 Cup grated Asiago
2 tsp of fresh thyme plus extra for garnishing, chopped
5 Large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with some parchment paper. Bring the butter and water to a boil and add the flour, cayenne and salt.
Stir vigorously until it forms a ball and cook for about 1 more minute.
Transfer to a mixer and add the two cheeses, thyme and beat to incorporate. Add 4 eggs one at a time, scarping down each time you add.
Spoon the dough into a pastry bag with a plain tip and pipe small 1 inch blobs onto the parchment paper about 1 inch apart from each other.
Whisk remaining egg and glaze the tops of the piped puffs gently. Sprinkle some more cheese on top along with some thyme and put them in the oven.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until they are just golden, if you take them out earlier they might collapse but don't worry they still taste awesome and just give the next batch a little longer.

These can be stored in the freezer and reheated in an oven at 325 for about 10 minutes.

Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Brownies...

2011-10-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'm loving this season with all of the pumpkin love being spread around and I know it's just going to get better when thanksgiving gets closer, thirty nine days if you really want to know. This brownie recipe came from Smitten Kitchen who has an awesome blog which I wish I had discovered earlier. The recipe seems like it's hard work due to the various bowls you have to use when separating the chocolate batter and the pumpkin batter but don't let that put you off from making these, In my opinion pumpkin and chocolate were destined to be together and should never split up. I had these squares of seasonal scrumptiousness in the online bake sale I hosted last week and after a few great back and forth bids on them, they ended up at a very good home.

Here's the recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Nuts or pumpkin seeds optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Cut a length of parchment that will cover the bottom and two sides (makes it much easier to remove), and line the pan with it. Butter the lining as well.

Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.

Pour half of batter (about two cups) into a separate bowl and stir chocolate mixture into it.

In other bowl, stir in the pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula.

Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer.

With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Be sure to get your knife all the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake until set and slightly springy in the middle. 35-40 minutes.

I'd love to give Foodness Gracious a make over. The options I'm looking at are switching to Wordpress and hopefully progressing to my own domain or having a third party do the new blog for me. If anyone has any advice on switching to Wordpress I'd love to pick your brains about the process.

Online Bake Sale Results...

2011-10-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well everyone, the online bake sale which was my first ever sale of any kind, not counting Craigslist or EBay, was a huge success. The final tally of money raised was exactly $600!! My expectations were blown away numerous times, from hoping for ten bloggers to participate and ending up with nineteen and trying to raise at least $250 and ending up with $600. Many thanks go to the bloggers who contributed some fantastic treats to bid upon. I never thought there could be such a great community feel not only from bloggers all over the United States but from other parts of the world also. I would also like to thank the bidders who took the time to play and get excited (some a little too excited) you guys were the final piece of the jigsaw which made this fundraiser end the way it did. Great job everyone and a huge THANK YOU from Team Miranda Sarah.

If anyone would still like to donate click here to go to my team page. I have also included the link to our team video which is fantastic to watch and will surely brighten your day.

Every Right To A Beautiful Life

http://video214.com/play/NX3kwcEb0j92M5SEiGM4Ig/s/dark

Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Waffles, from Bon Appetit...

2011-10-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

I love fried food. I mean, who doesn't even just a little bit now and again? Growing up back in Scotland I ate a lot of fried foods but it was food which was meant to be deep fried. From the famous fish suppers consisting of a whole fish sitting on top of a mountain of homemade chips to the misunderstood haggis these are some of the things at the very top of my to do list whenever I pay a visit back home. Lately though people have started to get a little wild on the fried items and every summer at the local faires you can taste fried Kool Aid, Ice cream or practically any type of candy bar which will fit on a stick. To me that's a novelty idea for frying but not really for taste.

This blog post is about fried chicken, something I'm really particular about as I don't like the skin on a chicken and find that most fried chicken I've ever eaten has been fried with skin still intact resulting in a thick greasy mass of fat. Hey I didn't say this was a healthy post but I still like to skip the skin and get a good crunch before biting into the juicy white meat. Yeah that's another thing I'm not keen on is dark meat. Wow, I can hear some of you say lighten up Gerry, quit your whining and just eat the damn chicken. I saw the recipe in this months Bon Appetit magazine and along with about five hundered other dishes in the magazine I knew I had to make it.

This recipe was a lot of work and half way through making it I thought this better be good or I'll be grumpy daddy at the dinner table, especially as I had to make it with a two year old clinging to my leg (literally) every where I went in the kitchen. I'm glad to say after all of the effort that went into it the result was a really tasty and interesting blend of flavors liked by everyone at the table. The chicken was partnered with sweet potato waffles which were awesome and could stand on their own at any breakfast time but the chef who thought about these flavor profiles was really smart and adding hot sauce and maple syrup just pushed the dish to the max, It was sweet and salty with a good kick of heat and completely messed around with my taste buds leaving them yearning for more. The chicken batter was crunchy and held tons of flavor and actually tasted great being mixed with the maple syrup. This was a dish I will definitely make again and remember, don't forget those fantastic waffles for another breakfast day.

For the recipe click here

If you ever make something from Bon Appetit you have the option to submit your blog post on their web site and if your lucky they might feature it along with a few others. This happened recently with a previous post of mine, my Caramel Budino. Check it out...

http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2011/09/caramel-budino-with-salted-car.html#entry-more

Tommorow is the last day of my bake sale which is a fundraiser for my daughters diabetes walk team. The sale will end at 10pm PST. At that time I will be emailing the winners for their address so I can pass that information on to the baker. Theres still time to check out the post and bid on the amazing display of treats from my awesome fellow bloggers!

Online Bake Sale is OPEN!

2011-10-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Thats right bloggers, the sale is ON! Please take a look at the fantastic treats below all of which have been kindly donated by a group of generous people willing to help me raise as much money for my daughter and her walk team. Please try your best to visit there sites and leave them a comment telling them how awesome they are.

All of the proceeds from the sale will go directly to Team Miranda, my daughters JDRF walk team. She has had type 1 for the past three years and every November we do a 5K walk around Dodgers Stadium here in Los Angeles. Our goal is to raise as much money as we can for The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in the hopes of finding a cure for Miranda and everyone else who has diabetes.

Check out our team video which was put together by Memories In Motion, they done an awesome job!

http://video214.com/play/NX3kwcEb0j92M5SEiGM4Ig/s/dark

The Rules Of The Sale-

All proceeds will go directly to Team Miranda.

All bids will start at $10 and go up in $5 increments.

I will update the bidding at the end of each night and as much as I can through out the day so you can see if you have to bid again.

Bids must be emailed to me at gerryspeirs@hotmail.com, comments will not be counted as bids.

Bidding will start at 12a.m PST on October 8th and end at 10p.m PST on October 11th. The winners will pay their winning bid directly to my fundraising walk page within 24 hours of the end of the sale. If the bid is not paid by the said time frame then the last highest bidder will be the winner.

After the bid has been paid I will email the baker the winners address and the baker must have the item shipped within 5 days of receiving the address.

Have fun and lets get some people to open the bidding. Do I hear $10?

Pumpkin Spice of Life Cheesecake from Earth Cafe. Gluten free, raw and vegan this is an amazing cheesecake and I can speak from experience. Whole cheesecake shipped inside the U.S. Current bid $30 (Mary) Place Bid

Sarabeth's Ruby Cake, from Create Amazing Meals.Can be made as 1 large bundt cake or 12 mini, will ship to U.S or Canada. Current Bid= $25 (Deb) Place Bid

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Brownies from Foodness Gracious. 1 Dozen, can be with or without nuts and seeds. Will ship to U.S. or Canada. Current Bid= $35 (Mary D) Place Bid

Reece's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies from All Day I Dream About Food. 1 Dozen.Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $15 (Olivia) Place Bid

A Fantastic Cake Book form Brandy's Baking. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $25 (Jill) Place Bid

Meals Made Easy from Brandy's Baking. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $15 (Nicole) Place Bid

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies, 1 dozen from Girlichef. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $25(Anne) Place Bid

Crooked Moon Vegan Chocolate Pops, made with organic fair trade chocolate. 3 with a lively hint of orange and 3 with a Mexican mocha twist. From Crooked Moon Mama. Will ship inside the U.S. Current bid= $30(Cindy) Place Bid

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge from Per L'Amore Di Cibo. Will ship to continental U.S. Current bid $20 (Maura) Place Bid

Chocolate Cookies with White Chips from Cupcakes With Sprinkles. 1 Dozen Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $10 (Miranda) Place Bid

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cupcakes With Sprinkles. 1 dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $10 (Branden) Place Bid

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Foodness Gracious. 2 Dozen. Will ship to U.S or Canada. Current Bid= $25 (Gloria) Place Bid

Three fantastic cookbooks along with a Wilton cake decorating set from SteaknPotatoesKindaGirl. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $20 (Amy) Place Bid

Tri Color Cookies from Buttercream Blondie. Will ship inside the U.S. and will be shipped for the winner to slice. Current bid= $20 (Olivia) Place Bid

Maple Syrup Cookies from Smart Snacks. 2 Dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $20(Judy) Place Bid

Death By Chocolate Loaf Cake from Krysta's Life In Food. Will ship inside the U.S. Current bid= $30 (Melissa) Place Bid

A fun pack of valentine cookie cutters, measuring spoon, tea infuser, lemon squeezer, and an ice mold which makes diamond ring shaped ice cubes! from Foodiva's Kitchen. Will ship to the U.S. Current Bid= $30 (Gina) Place Bid

Kahlua Brownies from That Skinny Chick Can Bake. 1 Dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $50 (Lizzy) Place Bid

Roasted Banana Bread with Bourbon Soaked Almonds and Currants from The Weekend Gourmet. Will ship inside the U.S. Can have it in the mail no later than 10/22. Current bid= $15 (Jan) Place Bid

Honey Cream Caramels from The Ginger Snap Girl. 5 Dozen. Will ship anywhere in the U.S. Current bid= $30 (Laura) Place Bid

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookie Bars from Foodness Gracious. 1 Dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $25 (Anne) Place Bid

Almond Bars from Barefeet In The Kitchen. 1 Dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current bid= $20(Jenny) Place Bid

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze from The Slow Roasted Italian. 2 Dozen. Will ship inside the U.S.and Canada. Current Bid $30 (Nicola) Place Bid

Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge....

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

These cookies are part of the crazy cooking challenge hosted by Tina from Moms Crazy Cooking. Last month it was mac n' cheese and I think we ended up with a blog hop of sixty different kinds of mac n' cheese, It was quite the sight. This month we had to find the ultimate chocolate cookie which couldn't be that difficult, I mean who doesn't like cookies? I ended up borrowing a recipe from Dinners Dishes and Desserts, a fantastic blog written by Erin. The cookies look plain and simple but wait I haven't mentioned the taste yet! They remind me of an electric scooter which putts along at 10 miles per hour until you hit the taste button and BAM!, the scooter morphs into a fuel thirsty, engine revvin', rubber burnin' Nascar doing 200 miles per hour on your tongue!
I apologise for the long winded last sentence but I want to make sure that when you see these little sweet cookies don't be fooled into thinking you have to always have a cookie with nuts and fruit and chunks and chips and ketchup in it, maybe not ketchup but has anyone tried that? Bake these cookies, you will eat all of them.
Here's the recipe from Dinners, Dishes and Desserts:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Shortening, I couldn't get shortening so I doubled up on the butter and it was fine
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 package chocolate chips
Cream butter, shortening and both sugars together. Add in vanilla and eggs. Mix until well combined. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Stir until just combined. Mix in chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Makes approx 3 doz cookies.

Don't forget to come and visit my bake sale starting October 8th. It's for a fantastic cause and the selection of treats you can bid on are outstanding, check them out here. See you at the sale!

Online Bake Sale...PREVIEW

2011-10-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

My first online bake sale will go live very soon and I'm a little nervous for some odd reason. I would like to thank all of the bloggers below who have generously donated a baked good or baking equipment, without them there would be no sale, so please try and find some time to visit their blogs. It's actually quite humbling to have people you have only had correspondence with online give up a chunk of their time and money to make and ship these items. I truly am grateful.

All of the proceeds from the sale will go directly to Team Miranda, my daughters JDRF walk team. She has had type 1 for the past three years and every November we do a 5K walk around Dodgers Stadium here in Los Angeles. Our goal is to raise as much money as we can for The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in the hopes of finding a cure for Miranda and everyone else who has diabetes.

Please take a moment to take a look at our team video below. It was created as a donation from Memories In Motion and they done a fantastic job!

http://video214.com/play/NX3kwcEb0j92M5SEiGM4Ig/s/dark

The Rules Of The Sale

All proceeds will go directly to Team Miranda.

All bids will start at $10 and go up in $5 increments.

I will update the bidding at the end of each night and as much as I can through out the day so you can see if you have to bid again.

Bids must be emailed to me at gerryspeirs@hotmail.com, comments will not be counted as bids.

After the bid has been paid I will email the baker the winners address and the baker must have the item shipped within 5 days of receiving the address.

There's still time to enter a recipe, just email me your choice with a picture and I'll add it to the list. Theres no such thing as too many treats, right?

Sarabeth's Ruby Cake, from Create Amazing Meals.Can be made as 1 large bundt cake or 12 mini, will ship to U.S or Canada. Current Bid= $

Reece's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies from All Day I Dream About Food. 1 Dozen.Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies, 1 dozen from Girlichef. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Three fantastic cookbooks along with a Wilton cake decorating set from SteaknPotatoesKindaGirl. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Maple Syrup Cookies from Smart Snacks. 2 Dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Chocolate Cookies with White Chips from Cupcakes With Sprinkles. 1 Dozen Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cupcakes With Sprinkles. 1 dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookie Bars from Foodness Gracious. 1 Dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Another Fantastic Cake Book form Brandy's Baking. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Meals Made Easy from Brandy's Baking. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Brownies from Foodness Gracious. 1 Dozen, can be with or without nuts and seeds. Will ship to U.S. or Canada. Current Bid= $

Kahlua Brownies from That Skinny Chick Can Bake. 1 Dozen. Will ship inside the U.S. Current Bid= $

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Foodness Gracious. 2 Dozen. Will ship to U.S or Canada. Current Bid= $

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge from Per L'Amore Di Cibo. Will ship to continental U.S. Current bid $

Tri Color Cookies from Buttercream Blondie. Will ship inside the U.S. Current bid= $

Death By Chocolate Loaf Cake from Krysta's Life In Food. Will ship inside the U.S. Current bid= $

Roasted Banana Bread with Bourbon Soaked Almonds and Currants from The Weekend Gourmet. Will ship inside the U.S. Can have it in the mail no later than 10/22. Current bid= $

Honey Cream Caramels from The Ginger Snap Girl. 5 Dozen. Will ship anywhere in the U.S. Current bid= $

Pumpkin Muffins And An Online Bake Sale Update....

2011-09-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

Fall is truly coming and although it's still in the high 70's here, the mornings are crisper and the nights are darker. Another accurate fall marker is the amount of pumpkin blog posts starting to appear. I love the fall tastes and smells, readying my senses for the colossal meal which will appear before me at the end of November. I couldn't wait any longer so today I chose to make these really simple pumpkin muffins, which the recipe said were very alike to those sold at Starbucks. I mention them because of the cream cheese hidden in the bowels of the spicy batter, a great invention from whoever thought of that creation.
Sometimes I see a perfectly good recipe but feel the need to try and change it just a bit, having this blog has definitely helped me to experiment more and I can assure you some recipes haven't made it to the posting page just because they were a flop. These muffins almost went the same route, I ended up switching the cream cheese for mascarpone cheese mixed with maple syrup and this in itself is worthy of just eating on it's own. The problem with the mascarpone? It melted and where it had been delicately piped into the middle of the batter was just a dark void once they came out of the oven.

So why did the muffins not end up on the cutting room floor? What they lacked in visually they made up for in taste with the mascarpone and maple melting into the muffin and keeping them moist and a little gooey. I'll make these again but will keep to using the cream cheese. Some you win and some you lose...

Here's the recipe courtesy of Food.Com: Yield 6 Muffins

3/4 Cup AP flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Egg
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup pumpkin
1/3 Cup veg oil
2 oz cream cheese
Pumpkin seeds to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all ingredients together (except cream cheese and nuts).

Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) half full.

Put cream cheese cube in the middle, pressing down.

Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped seeds.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (do not touch the cream cheese!).
Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely.

Online Bake Sale Update

Bloggers who have kindly volunteered to be part of this fundraising cause so far.

If you would like to be a part of this sale, send me an email gerryspeirs@hotmail.com

Foodiva's Kitchen

Cupcakes With Sprinkles

That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Sugar and Spice in the Land of Balls and Sticks

Wendy Weekend Gourmet

Foodness Gracious

All Day I Dream About Food

Online Bake Sale....

2011-09-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

I've been going back and forth on this blog post for a little while now. I don't really like asking for help and would much rather tackle something myself first, but this is a very special occasion where I need some help. My six-year-old daughter has had Type 1 Diabetes since she was three. Now at the age of six she continues to grow and thrive faster than I want her to, living every day with the 24-hour maintenance Type 1 demands. Every year in November my family and I and a bunch of other fantastic friends take part in a 5K fundraising walk at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles. Our main goal is to raise as much money as we can for Team Miranda and The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, with the expectation of finding a cure for Miranda and all of the other people with T1D.

I would like to host an on-line bake sale and am asking my blogger friends, foodies and non foodies to volunteer to put up one of your special recipes for auction. I realize life for everyone is very busy nowadays, myself included, but it could be a simple baked good or even a piece of baking equipment, if baking is not your best talent. If you are interested in taking part in this event I would need you to do the following:

Send me a recipe with a picture (we eat with our eyes) and a link to your blog - after all, you deserve the extra traffic I hope to generate. I will display all of the goodies in a new post just before the auction goes live.
Commit to baking the product within 3-5 days of the winning bid being paid into our team's fundraising page, I will notify you when that happens.
Ship the goodies to the winning bidder - you can choose to ship only in the U.S or Canada or even internationally.

After the auction is over, I will do a follow-up blog post highlighting all of the blogs which took part and making sure everyone gets the credit they deserve. I look at blogs everyday and the recipes I see look fantastic and I know how much of a community blogging has turned into and how proud we all are of our posts. Foodness Gracious is only eight months old, but in that short space of time I feel a great connection to many of you out there. Yesterday I attended my first blog conference at Blog Sugar - one of the organizers, Andrea of Four Flights of Fancy, is a good friend of mine and even though it wasn't a food bloggers event, I still managed to see the happiness in many of the bloggers faces and feel the excitement in the room just because these people had came from all over the virtual world and were actually talking to each other without a keyboard in front of them. Bloggers are tight and I wish I could have a food-based blog conference so I could meet all of you in person...that would be awesome.

If you would like to help myself and Team Miranda please email me at gerryspeirs@hotmail.com, by October 3, preferably with your recipe choice. The auction will take place on October 6th and end on October 10th. I would also like to mention Steph at Stephsbitebybite.com. She has done a few of these sales and I scoured her blog for advice and inspiration.

Thanks everyone....

Sweet and Spicy Chili Nuts, Secret Recipe Club....

2011-09-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

And another Secret Recipe Club post goes into my records. These posts are really adding up which means the months are going past far too quickly, and I'm getting older by the second. This month really tested me, the blog I was assigned to visit and make a recipe from was Heidi's Verden, a Danish blog which translated means Heidi's World. The blog has a Google translate button to use but it doesn't work with Internet Explorer so I had to do a lot of copying and pasting. Heidi's blog has many great looking recipes and I wish I didn't have the translate button issues but her pictures are what kept me scanning through each post to decide what I would like to make. I ended up choosing her sweet and spicy chili nuts. They looked like those snacks where you eat one and then another, and another and you just cant stop, you know the ones right? The recipe was easy to follow and if I was to change one thing it would be to make them spicier. This is no reflection of Heidi's cooking as everyone has different heat tolerance levels and mines just seems to be a little nuts if you pardon the pun. The addition of apple cider vinegar and lime juice was very interesting and even with her disclaimer about smelling the pan after adding these two ingredients I still went ahead and tried it. I should have trusted her as the fumes do tend to be very good at clearing any sinus congestion you might have!

Here's the recipe from Heidi's World:

25 g butter
3.25 cups mixed nuts (I used equal parts almonds, cashews and pecans)
0.5 cups light cane sugar
1 tsp mild smoked paprika
2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
0.25 cups apple cider vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon salt coarse

Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed wide pan - preferably nonstick.
Pour in the nuts and toast them in approx. 3-5 minutes to cashew nuts are beginning to take color. Add sugar and let caramelise, while stirring gently - it can take about 15-20 minutes so be patient. Once the sugar has melted, add paprika, chili and cumin - stir thoroughly around so the spices are distributed.

Add the vinegar and lime juice and stir the liquid is well distributed, and the vinegar has evaporated Finally add the salt, stirring constantly. Turn oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts out on baking paper in a roasting pan and dry them in the oven for approx. 5 minutes - watch out that they do not get too dark.
Take the pan off and let the nuts cool completely - when they are cold they should break apart and store them in a tightly closed container.

Cookbook Review, The Homesick Texan by Lisa Fain...

2011-09-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

I could have written this post some time ago but for some reason I kept pushing it off telling myself I would get to it tomorrow. That's not like me when it comes to blogging. Usually I'm all gung-ho about getting that next post published and keeping the momentum going, I like to blog and would even go as far as to say it was a hobby or maybe an obsessive pastime. Then it struck me, this review is the last part of my affair with The Homesick Texan. After cooking alongside the other bloggers for the past four weeks and eating many awesome meals from this book I'm on my own with no instruction from Heather who set this whole experiment up and chose me to be a part of it.

Truth is this book will always be one of my main go to sources for tasty and straight up good food. The recipes are easy to follow with spectacular photographs and you'd be surprised as to how many ingredients you probably have in your cupboard right now. Sure you might need to go and find some dried chile de arbol but it's there on the end cap that nobody ever looks at next to the dried prunes and goji berries. This book makes you experiment and explore with Tex-Mex cooking and the results are gratifying. The author, Lisa Fain makes the book very personal and this show in her description at the beginning of every recipe, It's all about the memories for her growing up in Texas and now having had to move to New York she's pining for some good Tex-Mex food. I can relate to that as I moved from Scotland to the U.S missing lots of my favorite foods which made me the man I am today, maybe I should write about a homesick Scotsman.

I have a lot of cookbooks and some have a lot of dust and that's okay but The Homesick Texan will gather more food stains than dust. It's a working cookbook and the dust may settle when I have tried all 150 recipes Lisa graciously gave us. Many thanks to Hyperion for offering up this cookbook and to Heather for letting me be a part of this great cook off.

Author- Lisa Fain

Title- The Homesick Texan

Publisher- Hyperion

First Edition

358 Pages

$29.99 List Price

ISBN 978-1401324261

This post is part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef.

The Seven Link Game and a Favor....

2011-09-19T00:14:00.000-07:00

I was tagged in this game which is sweeping blog land. The invitation came from Susan over at Create Amazing Meals and my apologies to her for taking so long to get this blog post up, check out her blog as it's full of tasty looking recipes both sweet and savory. It's been very busy lately and this week shows no signs of letting up with work being done on the house and my daughter breaking her elbow yesterday whilst trying to conquer an inflatable slide with the slide sadly winning this ominous duel.
I think the tag game is more beneficial to the blogger rather than the reader as it seems to be a great chance to reminisce about past posts which either you were happy to post or some which when looked back upon have you thinking what the heck was I doing posting that? I have looked at previous posts and have noticed many changes in the style of my blog and especially the photography. With lots still to learn my goal is to keep blogging, growing Foodness Gracious and at the same time checking out all of your great blogs!

I mentioned the need for a personal favor in my title. Miranda, the bounce house stunt woman has type 1 diabetes. She is an amazingly strong, smart six year old girl who deals with this condition everyday and rarely complains about the strict blood sugar testing routine or food choices she has to face. Every year on November sixth my family and a troop of amazing friends take part in a fundraising walk for The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This year instead of just asking people to donate, I would like to raise money by doing some kind of food oriented challenge and that's where my blogger friends can help by coming up with ideas. It could be wacky, serious or crazy but I would like it to be connected to food and it has to be fun. If I use your idea I will promise to give credit to you and your blog.

Thanks for reading this far and wondering when my seven link post was going to start, well here it is....

My Most Popular Post- Tiramisu

I have been using this recipe for many years and it never fails to impress people. Creamy and light with a strong but not overpowering coffee taste.

My Most Beautiful Post- Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars

Who can resist chocolate and peanut butter. I made these for The Secret Recipe Club and they were awesome.

My Most Controversial Post- Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

Another Secret Recipe Club contender. I had to make it because I love rhubarb but thought how can that be good in BBQ, but it was.

My Most Helpful Post- Kale Burger

Thanks to Gretchen at Veggie Grettie for helping me understand about this green, chewy almost tasteless vegetable until you make it into a burger.

My Most Surprisingly Successful Post- Friday Night Drinks Blog Hop

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of posts I received on my first blog hop. Unfortunately I have been very lazy in this hop and need to get back on track with the alcohol, watch this space!

My Post Which Didn't Get The Love It Deserved- Fajitas

These turned out really tender and full of flavor, I think the pictures were the down fall of this post

The Post I Am Most Proud Of- Panna Cotta S'mores

S'mores everywhere but I really wanted to do a unique version and It took me some time to come up with this but it was worth it. I haven't seen another one out there.

I'm passing this tag on to five other blogs which I enjoy reading and think you would too. If you have already played or don't want to, don't worry I wont be offended.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas, The Homesick Texan Cook Off....

2011-09-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

"And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain". In the words of the great Frank Sinatra I liken them to my Homesick Texan Cookbook cook off. This will be my third post in the four post adventure, the last being a review of Lisa Fain's amazing book. It sounds like you already have an idea what my thoughts will be. Without further ado the third week was given to the bloggers to make our own choice of what to make. Heather from Girlichef had assigned the first two weeks so we all knew what each other would be blogging about but now the reveal is much more exciting. I chose the sour cream chicken enchiladas and just like the other dishes I have made it didn't disappoint. I've made plenty of red sauce enchiladas before but this has a white sauce and with two Serrano chile's I thought it might have a bite to it but it turned out to be flavorful but mild. I've noticed this with a lot of Lisa's Tex-Mex recipes which call for some fiery looking chile's and I'm not complaining because in no way is any other flavors compromised. I'll usually chop up some extra chile's just for me to have on the side.

Tomatillos were new for me to use and eat. The flavor really came through with these and you could use a can but I think the fresh is just more pungent and easily available for me to get at the store. I look forward to making these again and they taste even better the next day.

Here's the recipe courtesy of The Homesick Texan:

2 Lbs boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Serrano chile's, seeds and stems removed and diced
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp AP flour
2 Cups of chicken broth
2 Cups of sour cream
1 tsp ground cumin
Dash of cayenne
1/4 Cup chopped cilantro
1lb Fresh tomatillos, husks removed and cut in half, or 1 11oz can drained
Salt and pepper

To make the enchiladas:
1 Tbsp veg oil
12 Corn tortillas
1/2 med onion, chopped
2 Cups grated Monterey Jack, (8ozs)
1/2 Cup chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 350. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the salt and pepper. In a large oven proof skillet heat the oil on medium. Add the chicken and cook on each side for 3 minutes. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. I just grilled them on the BBQ and it gave them a great charred flavor.
When the chicken is done, let it cool and then shred with two forks, keep the oven on for later use.
As the chicken is baking,in a pot melt the butter on med low. Add the diced Serrano chile's and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour the chicken broth into the pot and whisk until it starts to thicken. Stir in the sour cream, cumin, cayenne and cilantro. Remove from the heat.
If using fresh toamatillos, place them under the broiler to roast them, cook on each side until slightly blackened. Place in a blender along with the sour cream sauce and puree until smooth. If using canned tomatillos just place them straight into the blender and proceed.
Grease a large baking dish. To assemble heat the veg oil in a skillet and cook the corn tortillas on each side for a couple of minutes until soft. Wrap in a cloth to keep warm while you cook all 12.
Pour 1 cup of the sour cream sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish. Take each tortilla and place 1/4 cup of the chicken in the middle of it. Top with 1 tsp of onion and 1 Tbsp of cheese. Roll up into a cigar shape.
Roll the tortilla around the filling and then place the rolled tortilla seam side down in the dish, repeat until all tortillas are rolled and the baking dish is full.
Cover the enchiladas with he remaining sauce and cheese and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbling. Serve topped with fresh cilantro.

This post is part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef.

Caramel Budino with Salted Caramel Sauce....

2011-09-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned it before but I'll say it again caramel is my all time favorite dessert. Whether it's in a sauce or in a bar, hard or soft, the buttery creamy lava is a winner for me. When I saw this recipe in Septembers Bon Appetit I knew I had to make it. The word "budino" is Italian for pudding and this would be the second layer in this four layer tower of delectation. The others being a chocolate cookie crust on the bottom followed by the budino which is topped by a rich golden salted caramel sauce and finally a dollop of whipped cream sits on top like the crema on a perfectly poured espresso.

The recipe takes a little bit of nurturing and careful stirring but the results are well worth it. I knew this would be a rich finish to an already amazing dinner we had so I made mini servings using glass candle jars which turned out to be the perfect size and also gave me the chance to still be eating this dessert three days later as there was so much leftover, no complaints there! This is also another dessert which screams to be made a day early to let the pudding set so if you have other courses to attend to you can feel safe knowing that you already have the dessert in the bag.

Here's the recipe from Bon Appetit:

Cookie crust-
1 Cup of finely chopped chocolate cookie crumbs
2 Tbsp melted butter
A tiny pinch of kosher salt

Budino-
3 Cups whole milk divided
1/4 Cup cornstarch
3/4 Cup packed dark brown sugar
5 Large egg yolks
3 Tbsp melted butter
2 tsp dark rum
1 tsp kosher salt

Salted Caramel Sauce-
3/4 Cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean split
1/2 Cup sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
4 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Some lightly sweetened whipping cream

Mix cookie crumbs, butter and salt in a bowl. Set aside 2 tbsp for garnishing at the end. Press some of the cookie mix into the base of your chosen dishes, remember small is good as it's very rich.

Whisk 1/2 cup of milk and the cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside. Heat remaining 2 1/2 cups of milk just to a slight simmer and set aside. To make caramel, stir the brown sugar and 3/4 cup of water in a heavy pan over a medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and cook without stirring until a thermometer reads 210-220.
Whisk egg yolks in a bowl . Gradually whisk in hot milk very slowly and then cornstarch mixture followed by the caramel. Return mixture to the heat and whisk constantly over a medium heat until mixture thickens and the thermometer reads 175, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, rum and salt. Pour enough pudding mix over the cookie crust in each dish leaving about 2 inches from the top. Chill until set, can be made ahead.

For the salted caramel sauce- Place cream in a small jug and scrape in seeds from the vanilla bean, add the bean and set aside. Stir sugar, corn syrup and 2 Tbsp of water in a heavy pan over med heat and boil occasionally swirling the pan until a deep amber color appears, 5-6 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla cream (take out the bean if it's still in there) . Whisk over a medium heat until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Remove and whisk in butter and salt. Let cool slightly.
when ready to serve spoon some of the sauce onto the pudding which should be jiggly and set, top with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with some cookie crumbs saved from the beginning

Sopapillas, The Homesick Texan Cook Off....

2011-09-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

I had never heard of these little golden puffs of enchantment until they were listed as one of the recipes in my Homesick Texan cook book cook off. I really didn't know what to expect when I started to read the recipe. The ingredients are really simple and probably in most peoples kitchen right now but the books author, Lisa Fain tells us how after a giant Tex-Mex meal she still could not say no to some sopapillas. I can understand now why she makes that statement. These gems are light and puffy with a fairy dusting of cinnamon and sugar and if that's not enough to get you ransacking your cupboards for the dried yeast and flour then drizzling honey over them while still hot will!

As I mentioned the ingredients are simple along with the mixing. The tedious part is the frying but the treasure at the end of the sopapilla rainbow is totally worth it. The recipe calls for honey to drizzle on top but I used agave and I also halved the recipe giving me about twelve puffs instead of the listed twenty four. These would be great to eat anytime of the day but I'm thinking breakfast time for some reason and maybe slice of the top and fill them with some whipped cream, I can hear the gasps from the sopapilla union cringing at the thought of violating the pastry with cream. Just a thought...

Here's the recipe courtesy of The Homesick Texan:

For the dough- makes about 24
1 Tbsp or 1 packet of dried yeast
1 1/2 Cups of warm water
4 Cups of AP flour
1 Tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of kosher salt
1 Tbsp of unsalted butter, melted
vegetable oil for frying, I used canola

Mix the yeast and the water and let sit for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the melted butter to the yeast mixture and then slowly stir that into the flour mixture.
Mix well until combined. Knead the dough for 2 minutes until smooth. Put it into a greased bowl and cover. Let sit for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

After the dough has risen, punch it down on a well floured surface; then roll out into a 1/4 inch-thick rectangle. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut out 3-inch squares and then cut the squares into triangles.

Heat 3 inches of oil in a large pot to 350 degrees. Fry 2 triangles at a time in the oil for 1 minute each side. The dough should puff when it hits the oil. Drain the sopapillas on some kitchen towel, then sprinkle with a mixture of 2 Tbsp of cinnamon and 2 Tbsp of sugar. Serve hot with honey.

This post is part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef

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I'm also linking this post to EKats Kitchen for her Friday Potluck.

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Onion, The Ultimate Challenge...

2011-09-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

The experts preach that macaroni and cheese has been around for over five hundred years. If this is true, I think there is a different recipe for each one of those years. Mac and cheese is one of those dishes which has a great taste base but will take practically any variation of cheeses and we all know how many kinds of fromage there are, you don't? I tried Googling it but there's too many to count! The hardest part of making the dish is probably the bechamel sauce. This is a French style white sauce used as a base for many other dishes and is made by mixing equal parts of butter and flour creating a roux. This will thicken the sauce after the milk has been added.
This is my second mac and cheese recipe in a week and your probably wondering why. This post is being hooked up to the Crazy Cooking Challenge being hosted by Tina from Moms Crazy Cooking. This months challenge is for seventy three different bloggers to find, make and post the ultimate mac and cheese dish. The recipe must come from another blog and after some searching I decided to make Pioneer Woman's bacon and onion dish. This lady has some great recipes and lately has been doing some Food Network shows but her blog posts are funny and down to earth. She's been blogging for a long time but doesn't seem to have forgotten her blogging roots. The dish was amazing and I did make two changes to the recipe by using mini penne and switching up the Parmesan to Pecorino just because I had a huge chunk of it in the fridge from another day. Creamy and cheesy but the kick in the pants taste comes from the caramelized onions and crispy bacon which are mixed through and on top just in case your fork didn't score any pieces on the way up.
Fall is coming and if you just need a big dish of cheesy love to have on your dinner table one night then make this, you wont regret it. Try voting for your favorite mac dish below if you can make it through all of the deliciousness.
Here's the recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman:

4 cups Macaroni, I used penne.
8 Tablespoons Butter (Salted Butter)
2 whole Medium Onions, Cut In Half And Sliced Thin
10 slices Regular Bacon
1 Tablespoon Bacon Grease (reserved From Bacon Slices)
1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
2 cups Whole Or 2% Milk
1/2 cup Half-and-half
2 whole Egg Yolks, Beaten
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Grated Gruyere Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Fontina Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, I used Pecorino
4 ounces, weight Chevre

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook macaroni for half the time of the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Fry bacon until slightly, but not overly, crispy. Drain on a paper towel. Reserve grease.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a skillet and then saute onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown and soft. Set aside.
In a pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter (and add 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon grease for good measure!). Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat for 1 minute. Pour in milk and half & half, then cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until thick. Reduce heat to low. Add salt & pepper to taste. (Do not under salt!)
Beat egg yolks and drizzle 1/4 cup hot mixture into the yolks, stirring constantly. Stir to combine. Pour egg mixture into sauce and cook for another minute.
Add cheeses and stir until melted. Add onions and bacon and stir. Taste for seasonings and add more salt if needed. Add cooked macaroni and stir to coat.
Pour into a baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until sizzling and hot.

Poblano Macaroni and Cheese, The Homesick Texan Cook Off and 100th Post...

2011-09-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

If you read this last post about myself being one of the privileged few chosen to play with Lisa Fain's new cook book, The Homesick Texan then you'll know that this macaroni and cheese dish (and my 100th blog post!) is the second challenge recipe in our quest to be adopted by Lisa in the hopes of eating food like this everyday cooked lovingly by Lisa's own huge hands. I don't really know if Lisa has large hands but isn't everything big in Texas? This poblano macaroni is certainly big in spirit and belly-fillingness, It's rich and cheesy with a tiny ever so slight chile bite to it. This was my first time using poblano's so I didn't quite know what the heat level was going to be like. There's a great section in the book which explains all of the different chile's available and Lisa describes the poblano as "mild and slightly earthy" and I couldn't agree more especially with the earthy reference. After roasting and chopping the two chile's which equated to one cup, I threw them into the creamy bechamel sauce and thought that's a lot of chile. When I tasted the finished dish I need not have worried. It was very mild but full of flavor coming from mostly the poblano and the cilantro I thought.
As soon as it came out of the oven I showered it with freshly grated Cotija cheese which is a really great cheese, a little salty and very like a Feta this cheese is also a must have with any tacos or enchiladas.

Here's the recipe courtesy of The Homesick Texan:

2 Poblano chiles
8 oz's elbow pasta ( I used mini penne as It was all I could find)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Cloves of minced garlic
2 Tbsp AP flour
1 1/2 Cups of whole milk
1 tsp of mustard powder
1/4 tsp of cayenne powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp lime zest
1/2 Cup of chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Cups of grated white cheddar (12 ozs)
1/2 Cup of Cotija cheese

Roast the poblano's until black and store them in an airthight bag for 20 minutes. When they're done take them out and peel off the charred surface. Take out the seeds and slice them into inch long strips.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook it for about five minutes only.

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet and pour the drained pasta into it. In a pot melt the butter on low and then add the garlic. After one minute add the flour and stir constantly until the roux is a light brown color. Whisk in the milk and stir until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the mustard, cayenne, cumin, lime zest, cilantro and chopped poblano's. Add salt and pepper if necessary.
Slowly add half of the cheddar cheese and stir until melted, if the sauce seems a little thick return it to the stove until soft again. If it's still too thick then you can also add some milk to thin it out a little bit. Pour the sauce over the pasta and lightly mix. Top with the rest of the cheddar and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and slightly brown. When it comes out of the oven sprinkle with the Cotija cheese and serve at once.

This post is part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef

Food Trucks...

2011-08-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

I finally got the chance to chow on some of the food which seems to be taking over the world right now. From gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches to donut flavored ice cream, the food trucks have all of the above and then some. After missing out on some of the trucks recently which resulted in this post, Food Trucks Or Not, I was happy to find out that they were going to be at a park close to our in-laws. Our plan was to go and eat lunch and then take the kids to visit Grandma and Grandpa which worked out perfectly as they have a pool and it was 104 degrees that day!

The trucks on site that day were,

The Hungry Nomad, an Armenian food truck.
The Grilled Cheese Patrol, serving everyday favorite cheese sandwiches with a twist.
Los Angeles Shaved Ice, One of the longest lines with the longest menu choice of flavors.
Go Country 105 Chuck Wagon, BBQ and Tex Mex specialties.
The Peanut Butter Truck, enough said.
Lake St Creamery, amazing ice cream and cool shirts.
The Krazy BBQ truck, Korean bbq with some neat local and Mexican influence.
Mamas Malaysian Cuisine.
Sloppy Gourmet, featuring America's original Sloppy Joe.

Grilled cheese with mac and more cheese and another one with pulled pork

This was a bread bowl filled with sloppy Joe, cheese, sour cream and onions. I opted to have "The Ripper" which meant stuffing a hot dog in below the sloppy Joe. Served alongside some sweet potato fries with Parmesan.

My dessert was a waffle bowl of Aztec Chocolate ice cream from the Lake Street truck. This was really good, creamy with chipotle and cayenne leaving a spicy kick on my tongue after a few licks.

The shaved ice truck had one of the longest lines probably due to the soaring temperatures and the oodles of flavor combinations which could be had. Miranda chose cherry, grape and raspberry and I asked her to give me a camera pose which said I'm melting and need to eat my ice NOW.

I think she pulled it off quite well even a little scary looking with no eyeballs.

Pork Tacos, Dallas Gas Station Style and a side of Austin-Style Black Beans...

2011-08-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

When I was contacted by Heather, the blogger presently known as Girlichef to take part in a cookbook cook off experiment I almost bought a plane ticket to head on over and mess up her kitchen. Back up she explained as this was a virtual cook off and proceeded to tell me how I would receive Lisa Fain's shiny new cookbook, The Homesick Texan courtesy of those generous people from Hyperion, in the mail and to wait for further instruction on what recipes myself and eighteen other lucky blogger's would have to make over a three week period and blog about. Well the book was delivered and I grabbed it from the nice lady who drives the white and purple truck and started to salivate at all of the great pictures and recipes that I wanted to make but I had to wait for instructions from my sensei! Finally we were given the go ahead to make the first dish, It was pork tacos in the style of those sold at the gas stations in Dallas and Austin-style black beans.
Just in case anybody doesn't know I live in Southern California and I could eat tacos from many different restaurants every day of the week if I wanted to. I have some favorites and was a little skeptical of how tacos from Texas might taste. They look great in the book and after reading through the recipe list my skepticism started to fade. These tacos have crept into my top three favorites list, wait they didn't creep they strode right on up past all of the other tacos. The recipe requires the pork to be marinaded in a chile puree for 8 hours but I ended up being a little side tracked and instead of cutting that time and rushing to make them I decided to postpone and have them for dinner the next night so my pork marinaded for almost twenty four hours. In no way did this detract from the olympic gold winning taste and I was very happy when I sat down and devoured them alongside my side of black beans.

I must admit I rarely, nay never make beans from scratch so I was excited at being prodded into making these Austin-style black beans. It was very easy with time being one of the most important ingredients when cooking the beans and a little help from my wife. Cooked very slowly with some great additional ingredients thrown in made me realise that it doesn't always have to be re-fried and I have a great respect to all of the bean makers out there stirring quietly over the stove. A few hours later I stole a spoonful and loved the taste of the smoky and spicy flavors.

This is an awesome book and like many of the other blogger's taking part in this extravaganza I have bookmarked many other recipes which I am yearning to make. I can't wait until our next cook off post so stay tuned.

Here's the recipes courtesy of The Homesick Texan:

Pork Tacos-
4 dried pasilla chile's with stems and seeds removed
2 lbs of pork shoulder
1 Canned chipotle chile in adobo
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Small pinch of ground clove
1/4 Cup of orange juice
1/4 Cup of pineapple juice
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp veg oil

For the tacos-
6 jalapenos
Tortillas, corn or flour
1/2 Cup chopped cilantro
1/4 medium yellow onion diced
1 Lime in wedges
Salsa

In a a dry skillet heated on high, toast the pasilla chile's on each side for about 10 seconds until they puff. Fill the pan with enough water to cover them. Leave the heat on until it starts to boil and then turn off the heat and let them soak for about 30 minutes. While the chile's are soaking rinse the pork and trim the fat. Cut into half-inch size pieces. Once the pasilla's are hydrated drain and rinse them. Place them in a blender with the chipotle chili, garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, orange juice, pineapple juice, vinegar and olive oil. Blend until smooth and add salt to taste.
Toss the diced pork with the chile puree and place in a non-reactive container, and store in the fridge for 8 hours. Before cooking let the pork sit at room temp for 30 minutes. To cook the pork, heat the veg oil in a large skillet on medium. Fry the pork in the skillet for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
While the pork is cooking place the jalapenos under the broiler until blackened turning once. Serve pork in warm tortillas, topped with cilantro and onions, along with the roasted jalapeno,lime wedges and salsa on the side.

Austin-Style Black Beans-
1 lb dried black beans
1Tbsp veg oil
1 Medium diced yellow onion
1 Carrot, diced
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 canned chipotle chile's in adobo, chopped
1/2 Cup chopped cilantro divided
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 Cup of lime juice
Salt to taste

Rinse and sort through the beans removing any stones or shrivelled ones. Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.
Drain and rinse the beans in a colander.
Return the empty pot to the stove and on med-low heat, warm the veg oil. Add the onions and carrots and occasionally stir. Cook until the onions are translucent and the carrots are lighter, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 more seconds. Return the beans to the pot along with the chipotle chile and 1/4 cup of cilantro. Cover with 2 inches of water, bring to a boil and then turn down the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes add the remaining cilantro, cumin, tomato paste, and lime juice. Taste and add salt. Cook uncovered for another 30 minutes or until beans are tender.The ultimate cooking time will depend on the freshness of the beans. When done smash a few beans against the side of the pot with a spoon to thicken the broth. Stir and serve.

This post is part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef.

Kale Burger. The Secret Recipe Club....

2011-08-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Time goes by fast, I must be having too much fun because it's time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal. My assigned blog this month is Veggie Grettie. Gretchen is a certified nutrition specialist and keeps a nice blog with a vast array of great recipes and loads of great information regarding plant based diets. While I'm not a vegetarian I do enjoy a good veggie burger sometimes and that's why when I spotted her kale burger I knew what dinner was going to be. The burger is a meal in itself and packs a huge nutritious punch with bucket loads of antioxidants. I remember when I used to work for Whole Foods Market and customers would order fresh kale juice which was hard to do as kale has a very low liquid content. The burger was very easy to make and the only alterations to the recipe was to double up on the garlic just because I love the holy clove. I toasted a french bun and grilled some onion to adorn the kale burger finally topping it with some crumbled goats cheese. This recipe is a keeper and after eating it I was thoroughly satisfied.
If you have a minute to spare hop on over to Gretchen's blog and digest some of her valuable tips and recipes, you wont regret it!

Here's the recipe courtesy of Veggie Grettie:

1 large bunch kale, well-washed and mostly dried
sea salt
1 large tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon almond butter or tahini
1/2 teaspoon garlic or 1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon coriander
cayenne to taste (if you like)
heaping 1/4 cup almond meal
heaping 1/4 cup flour
olive oil
1 onion
Goat Cheese if preferred

Remove stems and chop kale into very thin ribbons; sprinkle with sea salt and gently massage; let rest 15 minutes. The kale will turn a bright green and soften. Meanwhile in a food processor or blender combine the tomato, tahini or almond butter, garlic and coriander. If your tomato is not super juicy, add a tablespoon or two of water.
[2] In a large saucepan heat a little oil. Add the kale and saute for a minute; then add 1/2 cup or so of water and cover loosely. Let cook 5 to 8 minutes (the fresher the kale the shorter the cook time) until it’s just wilting but not totally limp. Transfer kale (leave behind any remaining water in the pan) to large bowl. Meanwhile mix the almond meal and flour in a small bowl. If desired, you could add a little cayenne to this mix too.
[3] After it cools enough to handle, add 2/3 of the kale to the blender with the tomato mixture and blend. You don’t want it to get too smooth; maybe pulse on and off for a minute or two. Transfer this blended mix back into the large bowl with the reserved kale and mix it all together, adding a couple of tablespoons of the flour/almond meal mix too. You should be able to make patties from this mix that hold together fairly well. If too wet, add more flour/almond meal; if too dry, drizzle in some olive oil or water. Form six burgers and coat each burger in the remaining flour/almond meal.
[4] Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick frying pan. Cook each burger for 4 minutes on each side, adding more oil if need be.

Food Trucks....Or Not.

2011-08-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

My plan for dinner tonight was to pack up the family and visit some food trucks to see if all the hype and hysteria really matched the food. Five trucks were scheduled to appear at a local spot not far from our house so we threw the kids in the car and off we went. This is where our plans took a slight twist because when we arrived the trucks were stationed in a really tight spot where parking is already a nightmare, no seating and long lines blah blah. It just wasn't going to work for us and two kids. Plan B was commissioned and we ended up visiting The Belmont Brewing Co. This is a restaurant which my wife and I used to frequent more before we moved farther from the beach many years ago. It's a microbrewery with a casual menu but the food has always been good with a great family atmosphere. I ordered fish and chips, a dish I miss incalculably since moving from Scotland and mom ordered the lobster pasta. Unfortunately there's no pictures of any food since it was inhaled along with some fine beers but I did manage to snap some pictures while we were waiting on our table. I hope you enjoy them.

Belmont Pier with Catalina Island in the distance. You can also see the huge container ships waiting in line to enter the Port of Los Angeles which is the sixth busiest port in the world when combined with the neighbouring Port of Long Beach

Looking towards downtown Long Beach and yes that is my daughter wearing a Flamenco dress to dinner. Don't worry I left my Flamenco pants and castanets at home

Two monkeys playing in the sand. You can see some of the huge cranes used to unload the millions of containers from the ships in the background

Lifeguard training

Nutella Bread Pudding...

2011-08-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

Nutella here, Nutella there, Nutella every ______ where. Feel free to fill in the gap with whatever comes to mind. Truth is, this Italian chocolate spread seems to be taking over the food blogosphere. Every where I turn I seem to see a recipe which has used it in some form. It's amazing to watch food trends come and go especially with something as simple and established as Nutella. I remember growing up alongside it and seeing it in tiny single serving packs with a foil top rather than the jar it's sold in now. It was definitely a treat item in the pantry rather than a staple snack item.
I always wonder about who is responsible for food trends like salt being used in chocolate and caramel, and taking the kitchen out from under a fine working roof and putting it into a tiny food truck to name but a few. The concepts seem to work and good luck to those who use them. I will continue to rack my brain everyday in the hope of coming up with something unique. In the meantime I challenged my inner Nutellaness and this recipe was the result.

I was happy how the bread pudding turned out especially as the last two days was spent fruitlessly trying to figure out a way to make baked donuts filled with Nutella. I'm sorry I know baked is healthier than fried but a donut has to be dipped in bubbling hot oil to give it that unique taste and texture. No disrespect to the baked donut blog posts out there, it's just my opinion.

Here's the recipe adapted from Joy of Baking:

10 cups of cubed bread such as challah, Hawaiian or cinnamon bread. You could use regular but these give a little more flavor and richness.

Custard-
4 Eggs
1 Cup of sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp melted butter
4 Cups of half and half

1 Cup of chopped roasted hazelnuts, don't forget to roast them in a dry pan for about 5-7 minutes as the taste and texture completely changes and adds to the recipe.
1 Jar of Nutella

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and either butter a 13x9 pan or I used individual ramekins for a more personal serving, they cooked a little quicker so be mindful of that. Make sure whatever dish you use will fit into a larger roasting pan as this will be the water bath. Also put a kettle or pot of water on to boil.
Beat the eggs and sugar until thick and bright yellow and add the vanilla and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and the half and half. See below for assembly.

Ladle the liquid mix carefully over the bread and let sit for 5-10 minutes until the bread soaks up the mix. Top off with more liquid if necessary.
Put the dish or dishes into the roasting pan and carefully add the boiled water into the roasting pan until about halfway up the sides of the puddings.
Bake for about an hour or until quite firm in the middle when pressed with your finger. Let cool and serve warm or cold.

I used Hawaiian sweet bread. Slice it into small pieces and spread liberally with the Nutella. Sprinkle some of the chopped nuts over. Spread more of the bread with the Nutella and lay chocolate side down on top of the nuts almost like a sandwich. Ladle the custard mix on top of the bread and once settled top with the rest of the nuts. I also halved the whole recipe to fill these four ramekins and I still had some leftover. It will be okay in the fridge and can still be used up to a week later.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars, The Secret Recipe Club...

2011-08-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Psst...These bars are a secret from none other than The Secret Recipe Club, but today I must share them with you. Each month I make a dish from a blog assigned to me and someone else will make a dish from my blog but no one knows who has their blog until the reveal day when all bloggers post at exactly the same time. This month has turned out to be a little different. There are now so many participants in the club that Amanda, the brains behind this outfit and also the host of Amanda's Cookin' has split the reveal days into three categories. I will be revealing my assigned dish in the near future but sometimes if a blogger does not get there recipe posted in the given time frame that means their partner blog will be left out. This is called an orphaned blog which sounds very sad. This happened in the first set of reveal recipes so Amanda called upon the participants of The Secret Recipe Club to help out this orphaned blog by making something from their blog and have no one left out.

The blog was Connor's Cooking and it took me some time to choose from the long list of recipes. Just when I thought I had one I would end up seeing something else which sounded just as delicious. I finally made up my mind to make the peanut butter chocolate bars and I'm glad I did. These were made just like a bar but it was really a cookie dough which was then smooshed into a pan and baked. They were really easy to make and came out of the oven looking perfect! It took all of my will power to not start eating it right then and I finally gave up and sliced a corner a little while later. They tasted really good and had that sticky peanut butter texture and taste which was followed by the globs of melted chocolate, make sure to have a large ice cold glass of milk along with these and you will not be disappointed. I really like the idea of baking cookies in a pan and being able to determine the size after cutting them.

Here's the recipe from Connor's Cooking:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces chopped semi sweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 375. Line a 13x9" pan with foil or cooking spray. Whisk together flour baking soda and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugars and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. Turn mixer down to low and slowly add in dry ingredients. Turn off mixer and fold in chocolate. Press cookie dough into prepared pan and bake 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack in pan. When cooled completely, lift out by foil and cut into bars.
Tip - I just rubbed the 13x9 very liberally with butter and they can be lifted out easily with a small spatula when cooled

Maple Cranberry Scones....

2011-08-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when you find a recipe and you have all of the ingredients already at hand. That's what happened to me when I was browsing through a random cook book recently and the reason I especially liked this recipe was because it required buttermilk which I had leftover from another project. That recipe only called for one cup and I can only ever find buttermilk in quart size, most recipes call for very little and then the rest ends up sitting at the back of the fridge beside the jar of sauerkraut which you bought for your fourth of July party and only one person used. Tell me I'm not the only one this happens too? If anyone has some good buttermilk recipes please send them my way so I can use up any leftovers and if they also contain sauerkraut I'll send you a bonus prize.

I did tweak this recipe a tiny bit by using maple syrup instead of sugar and added cranberries. I also topped the scones with some vanilla almond granola which became toasty in the oven and the results were encouraging enough to make them again, I'm actually looking forward to breakfast tomorrow and having one of these warmed up with some butter and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Here's the recipe adapted from The Tassajara Bread Book:

1 Cup of buttermilk
6 Tbsp of sugar or maple syrup
1 Egg
3 1/2 Cups of all purpose flour
3/4 Cup of dried cranberries
2 heaped tsp of cream of tartar
1 Heaped tsp of baking soda
1/2 Cup melted butter or oil, I used olive oil but would have used butter if I had enough

Preheat the oven to 370
Mix together buttermilk, syrup or sugar, and the egg until blended. Sift in the flour with the cream of tartar and baking soda and cranberries.
Mix well by hand and add the melted butter or oil, gently mix and add a little more flour if it seems too wet. Form into a ball and gently pat it out to a disc shape about an inch thick. Cut out triangular shapes (I used a pizza cutter and it was really easy) and lay on a cookie sheet to rest for 5 minutes.
Glaze the tops with an egg wash and sprinkle with granola or even brown sugar.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, serve warm with a giant dollop of butter and drizzled with maple syrup.

Seafood Paella...

2011-08-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

I have made this recipe before but only a few items in a paella seem to be strictly measured. It seems like it's a dish which can be tweaked and prodded to each cooks style and taste. I'll usually measure the stock and some other ingredients which will be the base for the sofrito but when it comes to the seafood I like to see what looks good at the market. For this dish I used about a half pound each of shrimp, clams and scallops. I also used arborio rice as I was out of paella rice and it was definitely more on the creamier side than the last time when I used traditional paella rice which I'll go back to using the next time I make this.
This was the first time I was able to use my traditional paella pan, it's seventeen inches wide and holds a lot of paella. I could probably have fed 6-8 adults but instead it was just myself and my wife with our 6 year old. Oops slightly over estimated every ones appetite on that one...

I would like to add that I am very grateful for my followers and the comments everyone leaves. I love reading them and usually they are either really funny or have some great advice and ideas so keep them coming. I am also trying to utilise Stumble Upon, Foodbuzz and Bloglovin' to further my experience with the blogging world and make more great friends in addition to the ones I already have, so if any of you use these communities please feel free to contact me or hit the relevant buttons on the side of my page. Thanks also to All Day I Dream About Food and Cajunlicious for some great tips on using these blog communities.

Here's the recipe if you would like some paella:

Heat 8 cups of fish stock with 1 tsp of saffron in a pot.
In a large paella pan or saucepan heat 1/2 cup of olive oil with 2 medium diced onions until translucent. Add 1 chopped bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes and 6 cloves of diced garlic and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour in 4 cups of the rice and stir until it's all been covered by the tomato mixture.
Slowly add the stock gently moving the pan so that the rice gets coated and sits in the stock. Once all of the stock has been put into the pan don't stir after this point.
After about 10 minutes start to add the seafood starting with the larger pieces and just stuff them into the rice making sure they are mostly covered by the paella.
After about another 25-20 minutes all of the stock should be absorbed. Take the pan off the heat and cover with some foil for 7 minutes.
Serve with garlic bread and lemon wedges.

I'm linking this post up to La Bella Vita and Fresh Food Fridays and Jane Deere with Fusion Fridays

Panna Cotta S'more's...

2011-08-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

When you check your blog roll as often as I do which is probably too often, you sometimes start to see trends in other blogger's posts. For example cupcakes are always a favorite as are salads and refreshing cool summer time drinks. I'll be interested to see how things take a turn with fall around the corner and then Christmas. Wow where did this year go to? Another item I see a lot of right now is the s'more. Yes that sticky, gooey, cookie cracker thingy which is always in the camping list of everyone who hits the great outdoors. I suspect that's why I'm seeing it now as nobody really goes camping in the winter time.

I have seen everything from s'more cupcakes to s'more brownies and even s'more cookies and let me say they all look and sound amazing. I wanted to come up with a s'more to join the revolution already out there but I just couldn't think of anything which hadn't already been tackled. I thought I'd run it past my wife just to see if she might have any ideas not really expecting much feedback but I was wrong. She suggested s'more creme brulee, and I liked the idea but wasn't sure how I could get the layers to show as creme brulee is always in a mold or a dish and never freestanding. The suggestion made me think of the panna cotta which is a pretty strong dessert after a day in the fridge and hence the panna cotta s'more was born. The base is a cinnamon graham cracker crust with the chocolate panna cotta in the middle topped with a marshmallow frosting and toasted for that camping smell and flavor we all know. They were really tasty and the frosting was a new one for me, It was almost like an Italian meringue and it stood up well. Even after a day in the fridge I was still able to pipe it without it collapsing or becoming runny and it was just like a melted marshmallow!

I will be gone camping next weekend in Big Bear and as much as I loved these panna cotta's, there's nothing like the original s'more toasted around the camp fire!

For the crust:
1 1/2 Cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
1/3 Cup melted butter
1/3 Cup sugar
Mix all together and press into the bottom of the molds. Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 oven and then let cool.

Here's the recipe for the Panna Cotta courtesy of The Food Channel:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/4 teaspoons plain gelatin

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese or additional heavy cream, I didn't use the cheese but added the cream

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Coat four 5-ounce ramekins or 6-ounce custard cups lightly with flavorless oil.

Pour 1/4 cup of the cream into a small heatproof bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over it and let stand until softened, about 10 minutes. Place the bowl in a larger bowl of hot water and stir until the gelatin has dissolved.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, bring the remaining 1 1/4 cups cream, the mascarpone, sugar and salt just to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Add the gelatin mixture to the chocolate mixture and stir until well blended. Pour through a fine strainer into a 4-cup glass measuring cup or a bowl with a pour spout. Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins and let cool to room temperature.

Cover the panna cotta loosely and refrigerate until set and thoroughly chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 1 day.

To serve, dip the ramekins one at a time into a bowl of hot water for about 5 seconds, then run a table knife around the edges of the custard and invert onto a chilled serving plate.

Here's the recipe for the amazing frosting courtesy of Martha Stewart, the yield for this size is enough for two dozen cupcakes so I just halved it and had plenty with some left.

8 large egg whites

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately. Toast the frosting with a creme brulee torch or super carefully under the broiler but be careful as it burns fast!

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Tarte Tatin....

2011-08-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is a really easy dessert to make with very little ingredients, butter, apples and sugar. The intricate part comes when cooking the apples down with the butter and sugar trying to achieve that golden caramel flavor. If you don't caramelize it enough all the sauce is going to pour out when you invert it onto a plate at the end and if you cook it too long, the caramel will become burnt and the apples will probably stick to the pan. But don't let me scare you away from making this amazing tart because even if you did achieve any of the latter it's still going to taste good. You could even chop up the whole tart and mix it through some vanilla ice cream as a last resort. I made the base with a french style dough, pate brisee which ends up like a very flaky shortbread but you could also use store bought puff pastry. The end result will just provide a slightly chewy texture when devouring your slice or slices.

Here's the recipe courtesy of Thomas Keller's Bouchon:

Pate Brisee,
1 Cup AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 Ounces cold unsalted butter chopped up
2 Tbsp cold water

Put 1/2 cup of the flour and the salt into a mixer and mix with the butter until coarse. Add the other 1/2 cup and combine. Add the water until all is mixed and comes together. Pat out to a flat disc and chill for about 30 minutes.

Tarte Tatin,
9-10 Golden delicious apples
3/4 Cup sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Use a heavy ovenproof skillet 9 inches across and at least 2 inches deep. Preheat the oven to 375. Peel the apples and core them. Cut the apples in half. Spread the sugar in an even layer in the skillet. dot the butter on top of the sugar and then lay the apples round side down on top of the butter/sugar mix. Shingle the apple slices to make sure its packed tight, as they cook down they will shrink slightly.
Place the pan over a medium heat to melt the butter and sugar. The liquid will come out of the apples and mix with the butter and sugar. This will increase the content to the top of the pan but after a while it will reduce.
This step may take up to 1 hour to caramelize the sugar and brown the tops of the apples so be patient. Watch it carefully as the bubbles seem to move slower and watch for a golden caramel color, Once you have reached this point set the pan away from the heat and roll out your dough to a little larger than the pie dish. Top the apples with the dough and tuck in any excess at the edges. Put the pie into the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.
After the pie is done leave it to rest for another 30 minutes. Have a dish or plate with a lip and lay it on top of the pie. Quickly invert the tart onto the dish and gently lift off the pan leaving behind the tart and those golden caramelised apples. If any stick to the tart pan don't worry, scrape them off with a knife and set them back into the spot where they came from on the tart. Serve warm with creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Souffle with Prosciutto Flakes...

2011-07-31T22:38:00.000-07:00

Sweet and salty combinations have been around for a long time. Whether it's trail mix, granola bars, chocolate or pretzels the taste incurred when we eat this addicting duo sets off some major food endorphins. Okay maybe that's just on the tip of my own tongue which is where sweet and salty are picked up by our taste buds, sour on the sides and bitter at the back just in case you were interested. A huge amount of chocolate is being sold now with sea salt and don't get me started on the whole bacon mania which I think has almost run it's course. I think these quirky twists are good for the food world and people will always try to push the boundaries of ingredients. My own philosophy on pairng some strange sounding ingredients is, really how bad can it taste, enough to have you double up and spit it out? Probably not but maybe you wouldn't try it again.

The inspiration for this dessert came from a visit to one of my all time favorite restaurants here in Long Beach, Michael's on Naples. This place has amazing food but also great service and a very relaxing ambiance. We went there last night to celebrate my sister in law's birthday and to make a long story short my wife noticed on another menu there was a chocolate flourless cake with crispy prosciutto. She wanted it for dessert but it turned out to be part of a special upcoming dinner and not available. The dessert got me thinking and I have no idea how it looked or was baked but I decided to try the sweet and salty combination in a souffle. I was happy with the result and the height I got from it but you can see from the last picture that it's starting to deflate. This proved difficult to photograph. I set up an area in my yard and after dusting the souffle I immediately ran out only to find the sprinklers starting to come on and soak my stage, time to change plans and come up with a new spot before my souffle became a pancake. Everything worked out in the end. I used Newman's 70% organic chocolate but I would have like a stronger and darker chocolate taste. Maybe I'll use another chocolate next time or add some cocoa powder.
I think this recipe has only fuelled my curiosity for other out of the box combinations. Watch this space.....

Here's the recipe slightly adapted from Mark Bittman:

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus some extra for rubbing the souffle dishes
1/3 Cup sugar, plus some for the interior of the souffle dishes
1 Cup whole milk
3 Tbsp flour
2 Ounces of good quality chocolate
4 Eggs separated
2 slices of prosciutto baked in the oven until crispy. Chop into little pieces.
Grease the dishes with some butter and dust with sugar. Pre heat the oven to 350.
Warm the milk with the sugar. In another pan melt the butter and add the flour, mix until slightly darker for about 3 minutes.
Stir in the milk little at a time using a whisk until thick and smooth. Add the chocolate and mix until melted. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Beat the egg yolks and stir into the chocolate mixture. Whip the egg whites until soft peak and then gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Ladle the mixture into each of the dishes about an inch from the top and place in the oven. Bake until risen and slightly jiggly in the middle, about 30 minutes but may take a little longer depending on the size of the ramekin. After they come out of the oven dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Sprinkle the chopped prosciutto liberally on top.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Bread Pudding...

2011-07-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading my recent posts you may have heard that I found a great deal on some strawberries recently. Between my kids eating them like candy, making strawberry cocktails and now this bread pudding, I'm almost at the end my strawberry marathon. I was inspired to make a bread pudding while reading through some of Foodiva's blog posts and noticed that she mentioned a bread pudding of the month club hosted by Mission Food, check it out for some seriously out of the box bread pudding recipes.

I used a basic recipe from The Joy of Baking and added strawberries and white chocolate chunks because...well just because. Bread pudding is so forgiving and there are numerous ingredients which could be added and it's a great way to get rid of that stale loaf on your countertop, sorry my feathered fowl friends.

Heres the recipe adapted from Joy of Baking:

8 - 10 cups of bread cubes, cut into bite sized pieces, I like to use brioche or a sliced cinammon raisin loaf.

4 large eggs

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

1 1 /2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 Cups of whipping cream

2 Cups of whole milk

2 Cups of halved strawberries

1 Cup of white chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and after cutting up the bread, put it into a 13x9 baking dish. Make sure the dish fits inside another pan as this will be cooked in a water bath.

Beat the egg and sugar until thick and pale. Add the melted butter, vanilla, cinammon and mix well. Add the cream and milk and mix until well incorporated.

lay the bread cubes into the baking dish and roughly mix with the strawberries and chocolate chips. Pour or ladle the wet mix on to the bread making sure all the bread has been covered. Once all the wet mix has been poured into the dish gently press down letting the bread soak up all of the milk.

Place the bread pudding inside of the larger roasting pan and fill with HOT water until halfway up the side of the pudding dish.

Bake for about 1 hour and check if firm but jiggly in the center. I had to give it another 15 minutes.

Serve warm or cold with ice cream or white chocolate ganache.

I'm linking this up to Mission Food's Bread Pudding of The Month Club.

Strawberry Daiquiri with Mint....

2011-07-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

After seeing strawberries at a ridiculously cheap price the other day I couldn't pass them by. My son, Quinn loves any kind of berry so he has been working his way through them but I wanted to use some for myself. I'm posting this Strawberry Daiquiri martini to go along with my Friday Night Drinks blog hop.

I hope you can link up one of your own favorite drinks...

Strawberry Daiquiri with mint:

3 Fresh strawberries
1 Dash strawberry syrup
6 Mint leaves
Ice cubes
2 Measures of rum
2 Measures of lime juice

Muddle the strawberries, syrup and mint in a shaker. Add ice cubes, rum and lime juice and shake well.

Friday Night Drinks Blog Hop....

2011-07-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

It's almost time to hop on over to the bar for this Friday's get together, (I wish these drinks were real). Last week was a success and I loved reading the comments about other people. This weeks question is a little more simple and can easily be left in the comment box.

If you had to choose anywhere in the world to go on a food tour, where would it be?

I appreciate everyone taking the time to take part in this hop and remember the submissions can be from previous posts.

Papaya and Lime Sorbet with Lemon Basil....

2011-07-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

Recently I picked up a few papaya's at the store. They were ridiculously cheap and I figured I could use them for something. It had to be today though, I think if they were left any longer they would start to go soft on me and I didn't want to take the smoothie route to use up these fleshy orange kings of the sun. There's only so much you can do with a papaya and why do anything at all. If it's ripe then simply eat it as is and enjoy the unique flavor it has. But that wouldn't make a very good blog post would it? I have seen lots of unusual ice cream posts lately but my ice cream maker is on a permanent hiatus, I cant find the paddle and I'm trying to justify buying another machine. If I can't make ice cream then the next best thing would be a simple sorbet. Inspiration came from Raw Epicurean and I adapted the recipe by adding some lemon basil which came through on the flavor without being overly strong.

Today I was at the store again but this time it was strawberries at an insane price so watch this space....
Here's the recipe slightly adapted from Raw Epicurean:

2 Ripe papayas, peeled and seeds removed
1 Lime
2 Tbsp agave
1 tsp chopped lemon basil

Chop the papaya and place in the freezer until hard, put it into a food processor and break down into small pieces. I wanted it super fine so after this I transferred the papaya to a blender and added the juice and zest of the lime and the agave. Blend until pureed and store in a container in the freezer until frozen again. Scoop and serve.

Lime Tart...

2011-07-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

I love citrus desserts and this one from David Lebovitz's website was a winner. I have already made his lemon tart which was excellent and I knew this one would be in the same league. It sounds a little intimidating but is actually pretty easy and because it screams to be made a day ahead is a great choice for a dinner party or summer barbecue. The tart like it's lemon counterpart will make you pucker your lips but in my opinion that's just how it should be. David finishes his off with some meringue topping but it's optional and honestly I don't think this tart needs anything to make it stand out. David has another great recipe for the tart crust which doesn't involve any rolling or resting of the dough which can sometimes be tricky. It's a simple French method where you put the butter, oil, sugar and salt into an oven proof bowl and put it in the oven for 15 minutes. After that throw in the flour and roughly mix until it comes together and throw it into the tart pan pushing it out to the side and filling the pan. Bake until golden and that's it, easy and zero mess.

Look for some limes on sale and buy a bunch, any extra can be moved in the direction of the cocktail shaker!

Sapphire Martini....

2011-07-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

I'm linking this post to my Friday Night Drinks party. A place where I'll ask a different question each week and you can leave your answer in the comments box. If you do it that way then previous posts can be taken from your library and re posted over at my place. My aim is for us all to get to know each other better just like we would if we all met at the pub. My contribution for this week is a Sapphire Martini which has an amazing color. I'm not a big cocktail drinker but if the moment is extra special then I'll splurge.

Enjoy,

4 Ice cubes
2 Measures of gin
1/2 Measure of blue Curacao
1 Red maraschino cherry

Shake well, pour.....

Toblerone Brownies for Taste and Create...

2011-07-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

It's that time again and that means my blog post for Taste and Create. For those who are not familiar with this gourmet swap meet, Min over at Bad Girls Kitchen will pair you off with another food blogger. Each of you will choose a recipe from the other persons blog, make it and post it. It's simple, fun and another way to exchange the blog baton. This month I was paired up with No Reason Needed, a cool family style blog with a huge recipe index. I had a hard job choosing something as it all sounded so good. I eventually picked the Toblerone brownies because when I was growing up in Scotland as a kid Toblerone bars were a staple. I see them here in the U.S. but not as widely for sale. The recipe was really easy and full of stuff which is nearly always in my cupboard so that was a huge plus. I just had to go buy my first Toblerone in goodness knows how many years. I should have bought two bars because when I was chopping it up to add to the mix I kept snacking on little pieces!

I would make these brownies again. They came out moist and chewy but crunchy from the added nuts. There should be every reason to go visit No Reason Needed and make these Toblerone Brownies.

I'm linking this post up to Friday Pot Luck at Girlichef's place

Mac and Cheese and Food Lovers Website interview......

2011-07-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

I remember when my mom used to make mac and cheese as a kid. It wasn't half bad considering she was more of a baker than a cook. It's not a dish which I'll order from the menu unless it's been highly recommended by someone, I've just had too many bland versions of this staple dish in the past. For me the end result is only going to be determined by the cheese that you use so when I'm looking at a recipe I'll see what's in it before deciding to give it a try. This dish called for Gruyere, sharp cheddar and brie and it was the mention of brie which swung it for me as I'd never seen it before in mac and cheese. I am going to put this recipe in my very short list of good mac and cheese's but I don't think I'll ever stop looking for the creamiest, cheesiest and crunchiest holy grail of mac's. Let me know if you've been luckier than me!

I'm also linking this to my interview on The Food Lovers Website. Webmaster, Correen was generous enough to let me be part of this amazing project and if you haven't been to her site go over there and read some truly inspirational stories from fellow food bloggers. Also don't forget my Friday Night Drinks linky from the previous post. Come on over and post a link to your favorite drink.

Here's the link to the mac recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit.

Friday Night Drinks....

2011-07-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

That's right people I am hosting my first ever linky party. Since I started blogging I have realised networking is key to building your blog and is also a huge amount of fun. I enjoy corresponding with the people who leave comments, whether it is new or existing followers. I think if we were all to meet in a giant warehouse in the middle of Texas we could talk about food all day long and probably eat all day if we made it a pot luck, I know for sure we would all hold a drink in one hand. Unfortunately the logistics of having everyone meet in a Texas warehouse is beyond my natural powers so I propose to all of us whether following Foodness Gracious or not to submit a drink recipe to my linky. Imagine if you could be at a networking party, what beverage would you order. It could be a simple glass of wine or a wild cocktail. Also in the post please include 4 things about yourself which nobody else would know about, after all this is a networking party and we need to get to know each other. Lets not forget to click on the other blogs and leave some comments.

Cheers!!

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce....Secret Recipe Club.

2011-07-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

I know what your thinking, barbecue sauce made from rhubarb? It can be done and is actually very tasty. I found this recipe from my assigned blog mate Island Vittles whom I have the honor of blogging about for this months Secret Recipe Club, which is hosted by Amanda over at Amandas Cookin. Theresa from Island Vittles has many great sounding and equally visual recipes on her blog and I enjoyed browsing my way through it and not only looking at her recipes but also her lifestyle which seems very enjoyable. When I saw the recipe for this barbecue sauce I knew I must try to recreate it and for me there was no better time than this weekend. I had some very good friends coming over and with pulled pork, ribs and chicken being smoked lovingly all day long barbecue sauce was just what I needed. This recipe was very easy to make and I was very surprised at the result. It was sweet but not sickly and tangy but not tart and received top marks from the rest of the table.

I have made barbecue sauces before using fresh fruit but never anything like rhubarb which requires some amount of stewing and is fairly tart to begin with. We used it as a dipping sauce but it would also be happy being used as a baster when those ribs are almost ready and just need some sticky glaze to finish them off.

I did change a few things from the original recipe. I didn't use honey as we prefer agave due to it's lower glycemic level and I was low on tomato paste so ended up using tomato ketchup. I don't think these simple changes done anything to hinder the already great flavor from the rhubarb. I would use this recipe again and maybe double up on the dried chili just because I am spice freak and love all things hot.

Thanks Amanda for giving me the opportunity to participate in The Secret Recipe Club and Thanks Theresa for being the brains behind Island Vittles and rhubarb barbecue sauce!

Vanilla Bean Pots De Creme....

2011-07-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

I have to confess to never buying actual vanilla beans. I usually have some really good vanilla paste on hand and always seem to go with that but this recipe specifically asked for the bean. This meant a trip to the store and after I read the price tag for the vanilla three times I took a deep breath and threw it in the basket. Don't think I'm cheap, frugal would be a better word and I don't mind buying expensive things which will either last a while or are really worth it and this was for a special dinner. After making these Pots De Creme which should be called Pots De Smooth Silky Lusciousness, I immediately realised the difference between a vanilla bean and paste is night and day!

The recipe calls for 6oz ramekins but I thought that would be a little on the large side especially if you had seen the amount of food we ate beforehand, so I chose to half the original recipe and use 3.5oz ramekins which was just the right size for us. I served them with some chocolate twists on the side and another great thing about this dessert or any other custard base is the necessity to make it the day before and let it set in the fridge overnight.

Here's the recipe taken from Bouchon by Thomas Keller: (This has already been halved and will serve about six 3.5-4oz ramekins)

1 1/4 Cups heavy cream
1/3 Cup whole milk
2.5 Tbsp sugar plus another 2.5 Tbsp for mixing with the eggs later
1/2 Vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 Large egg yolks

Combine the cream, milk and the first 2.5 tbsp of sugar in a pot along with the vanilla scrapings and the pod.
Simmer until warm and then turn off the heat and cover. Let sit for 1 hour.
Meanwhile add the other 2.5 tbsp of sugar to the egg yolks and whip until well combined.
Add a little of the cream mix into the egg and whisk, this is tempering the egg and if you add too much at once the hot cream will scramble the egg. Keep adding little amounts of the cream until all is incorporated.
Strain through a sieve and keep in the fridge until ready for the oven.
Preheat the oven to 300. Place the molds in a metal tray suitable to hold enough water to reach halfway up the side of the molds.
Stir the custard and pour into the molds about 2/3 of the way up. Fill the tray with HOT water so that it reaches about halfway up the mold. I usually boil a kettle full of water as I switch the oven on.
Bake for about 30 minutes and test for some slight jiggle on the top of the dessert, they should be jiggly but not runny and they may take another 5-10 minutes. They will firm up in the fridge and can be made 2-3 days ahead.

Croque Monsieur and Escargot....

2011-07-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Bastille day! I must admit I wouldn't have known if my wife hadn't mentioned it at breakfast this morning, but as soon as she did I immediately remembered the can of french snails I have had for some time just waiting for a chance to use them up. What better way than in honor of Bastille day when the French stormed the Bastille prison in 1789 and proclaimed freedom for the rest of the country.

I hope nobody's wincing at the mention of canned snails and not fresh. You try sourcing fresh or frozen and let me know how it goes. These snails were actually pretty good once cooked in their garlic butter bath and served with some toasted garlic bread. I tried to buy some snail shells to bake them in but the young man at Cost Plus informed me they were a seasonal item. What season might that be?

The snails weren't going to go very far so it was time to start thinking about something else to make. Remember all of this thinking is being done just as I got out of bed and at one of the busiest times in the house, with a little help from the dark stimulant in my French press of course. My brain finally gave me an answer. Croque Monsieur, the famous ham and cheese toasted sandwich literally meaning mister crunchy. It was a lot of fun making this meal but the key is having as much prepared as possible. I made the bechamel sauce for the sandwich hours ahead of time and grated the cheese so that the sandwich was just ready to build and flash under the grill for a crusty melted topping. If I could change one thing to Mister Crunchy it would be to make him thinner. I cut the bread a little on the thick side and in this dish less is more.

Happy Bastille Day!

Here's the recipes:

1 Can of French snails
1 Stick of butter
4 Cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 Shallot, minced
2 Tbsp minced parsley
Salt and pepper

Mix butter, garlic, shallot, salt and pepper together and bring to a boil in a small saute pan. Throw in the snails and parsley and cook for about 5 minutes. Serve with garlic bread.

Croque Monsieur:

For the bechamel sauce,
2 Tbsp AP flour
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Cups milk
Salt and pepper
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan
1/4 Cup grated Gruyere

French bread, sliced
Sliced ham
1/2 lb Gruyere cheese
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Melt the butter until bubbling, add the flour and mix until smooth. Add the milk slowly whisking each time until all the milk has been added and the sauce is now thicker. Add the two cheeses and mix until there are no lumps. Season and set aside.

To build the sandwich,

Spread the Dijon on both sides of the bread. Add 2 slices of ham and some more grated Gruyere cheese. Top with the other slice of bread. Put the sandwich in the oven at 400 for about 5 minutes just to get the inside soft and melted. Pour some of the bechamel over the top of the sandwich and then add some more Gruyere on top. Put the sandwich under the broiler and toast until bubbly and brown.

I'm linking this post up to Girlichef's Friday Pot Luck Party. Go on over and check it out!