Freschly Baked

Sayonara Buffalo

2011-07-10T14:49:00.000-04:00

Well, after a long time of debating Brian and I decided to move back to the city that we love, Pittsburgh. This meant we'd have to leave the place we called home for three years, Buffalo. It was a bitter sweet goodbye. There were so many places we enjoyed in Buffalo, especially the Elmwood Strip. It was one of our favorite places because 1: we could walk there whenever we wanted to, 2: the restaurants were fantastic, and 3: the Bidwell Farmer's Market. We would get up early on a Saturday morning, grab a cup of coffee, and walk with the dog down to the market to get our produce for the week. We'd also grab a homemade cinnamon roll if they were available. They always sold like hot cakes because they were so darn toot'in good!
Some of our favorite restaurants on the Strip were the Blue Monk, Pano's, Cecelia's (for the drinks), and most recently Sole.
The Blue Monk was where we had our last meal in Buffalo. It's this amazing Belgian Beer restaurant/bar that offers over 30 beers and great frites that are fried in duck fat and served with a choice of dipping sauces. Our favorite sauces were the aioli and Thai ketchup, at least I think it's called Thai ketchup but don't quote me on that. I'm sorry to say I didn't have a favorite beer at the Blue Monk, but I can say I never had a bad one. If you have the time you need to go and sample as many beers as you can. They change every day! I did have some amazing food though, besides the duck frites. I can vouch for the Blue Monk Burger and the Roast Beef on Weck. If you don't know what weck is please allow me to explain... It's basically a bun with salt on top. Lots and lots of salt. I'm sure that a true Buffalonian would be able to explain it better, but basically that's what it is. Both sandwiches were awesome and I'd be happy to try them again.

Another favorite of ours was Pano's. You could go there for any meal and have a great experience. You might have to wait 20 minutes but it's well worth it. The last meal we had there was a Sunday Brunch. I had their french toast piled high with fruit and filling. It was so, so good; and to top it all off I had a cranberry mimosa. Yummmmm!! We had nice dinner dates there with great company and if I were to return to Buffalo I would definitely want to stop in. As their commercial says, "How do you do it Pano?" "I do it, I do it well."

Cecelia's is our next stop of Elmwood Strip favorites. I have to say that the very first experience there was awful; and when I say awful I really mean awful. Our waitress was nasty to us, we never got bread because they "ran out" at 6 p.m. on a Saturday (weird right?), and we waited an hour for our food. To top it off, the owner was schmoozing a table right next to us and didn't do a thing. He went around to check everyone elses' table but ours. Needless to say it was the worst restaurant experience we had ever had; which was too bad because the food was good. Our second trip redeemed itself a little bit. The service and waiter were much, much better and the food was still excellent. The drinks though were my absolute favorite overall. Cecelia's has a martini bar inside the restaurant, so both times we went inside and had a drink before dinner. I had a Cable Car Martini and a Berry Snapple Martini. They were awesome! I would have loved to have had another Cable Car but it knocked me on my butt! But I guess 151 will do that to you.
So if you ever visit Cecelia's it will probably be hit or miss, but definitely have a martini!

Sole was the newest restaurant to the Elmwood Strip. I'd like to think of it as a modern day Mexican restaurant. The food was great, I had a chicken burrito wrap, and so were the drinks, AKA Mojitos! My favorite part by far though was the guacamole. It was actually made table side right in front of you. The gentleman walked up to us and introduced himself and told us a little bit about what we were in store for. He explained everything that went into the guacamole and how he was going to prepare it. He even asked us how we liked it so he could make it to our liking. It was served in these huge mortar bowls with a side of chips, and let me tell you we gobbled that up in less than 5 minutes it was so good. Two thumbs up here!

The Elmwood Strip was good to us and we can't wait to visit again. But I have to end this post with an absolute favorite of ours. It's called Towne and it's on the corner of ElmwoodTowne!

Buffalo was very good to Brian and I, and we will miss it very much. So until we meet again Buffalo, sayonara.

Please sir, I want some S'more!

2011-06-18T17:15:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back from vacation and ready to bake! We had such a great time in the OBX. We saw dolphins, hung out on the beach, ate great seafood, and accidentally swam with stingrays. Yes you read that correctly. Hey, I'm sure if you were in the ocean and saw a giant grey mass coming towards you, you would run to! So now we are back in our home packing up for another great adventure together... moving. So I thought why not take my mind off of things and bake something? So I did. S'more cupcakes seem to be all the rage this summer, so I thought I would try my hand at it. I took 1 chocolate cake recipe and added to it to give it that S'more taste.

To make your own S'more cupcakes here is what you will need:

- 3/4 cup of room temperature butter, and 3 tablespoons

- 3 eggs at room temperature

- 2 cups of flour

- 3/4 cup of cocoa powder

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 2 cups of sugar

- 2 teaspoons of good vanilla

- 1 1/2 cups of milk

- 1 bag of large marshmallows

and

- 1 box of vanilla wafers

Gadgets:

- 1 stand or hand mixer

- 1 spatula

- 2 cupcake tins

- 1 package of paper cupcake holders

- 1, 1 quart saucepan

- 1 medium sized bowl

- 1 cooling rack

- 1 cupcake scooper or 2 large spoons

and

- 1 wooden spoon

For the chocolate cake:

- Combine all of your dry ingredients, except the sugar, into a medium sized bowl and set aside. This includes the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Using your mixer beat the 3/4 cup of butter on high speed for 30 seconds, no more no less. Then lower your speed to medium and begin to add your sugar 1/4 cup at a time. After all of the sugar is in, let the butter and sugar mix for 2 minutes. Occasionally scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is mixed well.
- After 2 minutes keep the mixer going and add your eggs one at a time. Once those are incorporated add your vanilla.
- Now, lower your speed to the lowest setting. Grab your dry ingredient mixture and milk and add them to the mixture, alternating. After everything is added allow your mixer to mix for an additional 20 seconds.
- Now you are ready to pour your batter. When you scoop it out it should almost have a mouse like texture and taste delicious!

Here is how to set up your cupcake to become a S'more:

- Place your paper cups in the cupcake tins. Mine holds 12 cupcakes.

- Put 1 vanilla wafer on the bottom of six cups (based on a 12 cup tin).

- Fill your paper cups half way up with batter.
- In the six cups you DID NOT put a wafer, crush up 4-5 wafers and sprinkle a little bit over each batter. Using the end of a spoon mix the wafer into the batter.
- Now bake your cupcakes at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until they spring back from your touch.

Vanilla wafers were crushed and
added to this cupcake's batter.

For the marshmallow topping:

- Place 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a 1 quart saucepan over a low heat.
- Once it is melted add your bag of marshmallows and continuously stir until they have melted.
- Turn off your heat and grab your first cupcake.
- Dip it into the marshmallow top side down. You may have to spin the cupcake a little in order to get the cupcake completely covered.

Let your cupcakes rest for about 30 minutes then devour them!

*The only thing I would have changed about the cupcakes was I would have added a few rice crispies to the batter in order to make it crunch when you bit into it. I thought the wafer would do that, but instead it added a nice vanilla flavor to the cupcake. I was really happy with this cupcake. It is probably one of the better tasting ones I've ever made.

Enjoy!

OBX Vacation

2011-06-02T11:51:00.000-04:00

It's true. We are off on an adventure to the beach for the week. Unfortunately, due to time restrictions, I was unable to make a delicious snack for the road. But when I get back I'll have a bunch of recipes to share with you. Or, even better, you can share with me! What snack do you absolutely have to have with you when you travel? Any restaurants you like to stop at along the way? I love Gardetto's! They are definitely addictive.

Until we eat again!

Lemon Birthday Cake

2011-05-25T20:49:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Chris and Ed!! It was a great weekend seeing our college family and celebrating the birthday of two great guys. As their choice for a birthday cake I went in search of the perfect Lemon cake and cream cheese recipes. With help from a co-worker I found some pretty good ones, courtesy of Martha Stewart. Man that woman knows what she's doing!
So without further adieu, Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cake Ingredients:

2 sticks of room temperature butter (unsalted)

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

1 Tablespoon of lemon zest

2 cups of sugar

2 egg yolks AND 3 eggs

1/4 cup of lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons to save

1 cup of buttermilk

1 lemon, sliced

Frosting Ingredients:

8 oz. of cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick of butter, room temperature

2 cups of sifted confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla (I substituted lemon juice for vanilla)

Tools/Gadgets:

1 hand or stand mixer with attachable whisk and flat paddle

1 medium bowl

1 whisk

3 spatulas (2 large, 1 small)

1 sifter

A knife and cutting board

2, 8 or 9 inch cake pans (circular preferably)

1 cooling rack

1 froster (as I call it) or 1 dull knife

A cake stand (or board)

and

Wax paper (to use while frosting)

Cake Steps:
- Grease your two cake pans. Make sure you grease them well! Then, in a separate bowl from your stand mixer's, combine all of your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Whisk together.
- Using your mixing bowl beat your butter and 1/2 a cup of sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Lowering your mixing speed to as low as it can go, add your eggs and yolks one at a time. Once your eggs are incorporated add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Now add and alternate your flour mixture and buttermilk into the bowl. But make sure your final addition is the flour mixture!
- Once your mixture is well incorporated divide the batter between your two pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 32-35 minutes, or until cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- While your cakes are baking, create a simple lemon syrup by bringing to a boil 1/2 a cup of sugar and 1/2 a cup of water. After water begins to boil, stir and add slices of 1 whole lemon (without the seeds). Simmer liquid for 25 minutes, then with a slotted spoon take out the lemon slices and place on a sheet of wax paper. Now add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to the syrup, stir.

- When cakes are finished baking, let them rest for 10 minutes before you pop them out of the pan. Once cakes are popped out onto a cooling rack, carefully prick them with either a toothpick or fork. Then, brush the simple syrup over top of the cakes. Let the cakes cool completely, then assemble.

Frosting Steps:
- Place cream cheese in the mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Then add butter and beat until mixture becomes creamy.
- On low speed gradually add granulated sugar.
- When just about everything is combined add your vanilla, or as I did lemon juice. Mix.

Cake Assembly:
- Grab your cake stand or board and place 4 short sheets of wax paper on it creating a square shape.
- Take one of your cakes and place it in the center of the wax paper square.
- Place a heap of frosting in the center of the cake and slowly smooth it out towards the edge. Once you have a pretty thick layer of frosting on top place your other cake on top.

- Once your second cake layer is in place, drop another heap of frosting on top. Push the frosting towards the edge of the cake and smooth out the top. Then frost your sides.
- Once you are done frosting pull out your wax paper from underneath the cake carefully. Decorate with the candied lemon slices from the simple syrup.

Enjoy YOUR Birthday!! I know these boys did!

Biscuit Supreme

2011-05-17T22:54:00.001-04:00

Each morning I wake up. I eat some breakfast, make lunch, and take out something from the freezer for dinner. Yesterday I took out chicken and contemplated what to do with it. I wanted to create a dish to bake, but the only one I could come up with at the time included pasta, and we were pasta'd out. Then, it hit me... chicken and biscuits.
When choosing my biscuit recipe I became stumped at what type of biscuit I wanted to make: traditional or flavorful? Cheddar and chives or buttermilk? Well I finally decided on something simple. I wanted to use ingredients that anyone would have in their pantry. So, I went with Biscuit Supreme.
To make your own Biscuit Supreme you will need the following:

Ingredients:

3 cups of all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon of baking powder

1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

3/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar

3/4 cup of butter (cold)

and

1 cup of milk

Tools:

1 stand mixer or 1 bowl and hand mixer

1 fork (if you use a hand mixer)

1 rolling pin

1, 2 1/2 in. biscuit cutter or 1 glass

and

2 greased baking sheets

Steps:

- In your mixing bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. So your flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and

cream of tartar will all be thrown into one bowl and mixed together.

- Next up, add the butter. Cut the butter by tablespoons and add each tablespoon one at a time. When the

butter is in the bowl cut the butter into the flour using your mixer until it forms crumbles.

- When the butter has turned into crumbles, create a well in the middle of the flour mixture so you can see

the bottom of the bowl.

- Pour the milk into the well. It will look like this:

- Now, using either the fork or your stand mixer paddle, mix all of the ingredients together JUST UNTIL the

mixture begins to form into a dough and is moist. You don't want the dough to form completely into a ball.

That is important to remember.

- Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on a floured surface a few times until the dough holds

together by itself.

- Then roll the dough out until it's 3/4 of an inch thick. Using your biscuit cutter or drinking end of a glass,

cut your biscuits and place them onto a greased baking sheet.

- Then roll up your scraps and repeat step 7 until all of your dough has been used.

- Place your biscuits into a 450 degree oven for 10-14 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown.

- When they're finished take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Now you can eat your warm butter biscuits with whatever you want!

Enjoy!

Great Success!

2011-05-11T21:13:00.000-04:00

This is probably the easiest bread recipe I have ever followed. I guarantee that you can do this at home because I can finally say that I didn’t screw this one up! Please allow me to explain. I have only had good luck making homemade bread once out of the dozens of times I have tried. The one successful time doesn’t even really count because it was pizza dough; but I like to call it a success. It tasted pretty good. The other times, well, were not so successful. One recipe didn’t even rise, and it turned out rock hard. It was so hard that when my best friend and I threw it off of our apartment balcony, it hit a tree and broke off a branch. It’s kind of funny if you think about it, but it was an epic failure.

The Naan (traditional Indian bread) however was awesome, and I had so much fun making it. I found the recipe online at allrecipes.com. It’s my go-to site when I can’t find what I’m looking for in my cookbooks. There are a lot of other recipes out there, but I chose this particular one because it didn’t require a lot of time and I could cook it on a grill or Panini press (which is what I used). You can also bake the Naan, but in the recipes I found the dough would need to rest a while longer; and I just didn’t have the time.

So without further adieu, here is what you will need for your own homemade Naan:
Ingredients:
1 cup of warm water
1 package (.25 oz) of active yeast
¼ cup of sugar
3 Tablespoons of milk
1 egg beaten
2 teaspoons of salt
4 ½ cups of bread flour (I used 4 cups)
2 Tablespoons of Butter or Olive Oil
and
2 teaspoons or 1 clove of garlic (optional)

Equipment:
1 medium sized bowl
2 damp kitchen towels
1 greased cookie sheet
1 rolling pin
A grill or indoor griddle
and
A spatula

Steps:
- In a large mixing bowl, add the water and yeast. Mix together until yeast has dissolved. Allow the water
   and yeast to sit for 10 minutes.
- While that sits get the sugar, milk, egg, and salt ready.
- When the 10 minutes are up, add the sugar, milk, egg and salt and mix together.
- Begin to add the flour ½ cups at a time and mix together until dough begins to form. I mixed with my
   hands. The dough came together easier that way.
*You may not need to use all of the flour. I only used 4 cups. I think 4 ½ would have made my dough too
   dry.
- Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes on a floured surface until it becomes smooth and elastic (when you pull
   the dough it will stretch).
- When finished place the dough in a well greased bowl and cover it with a damp cloth. Let it sit for 1 hour.
   The dough will double in size.

- Remove the dough from the bowl and punch down into it with your fist. Drop the minced garlic
into the dough and kneading it in for about 2-3 minutes or until incorporated.
- Once garlic is incorporated pull off golf ball size pieces of dough and roll circles. Use all of the dough.
*I made baseball sized circles. Golf ball sized pieces will give you Naan about the size of your hand.
Baseball size will make bigger pieces of finished Naan.

- Place the rolls on a cookie sheet and cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. The dough will double in
size.
- After your dough has grown, lightly flour a solid surface. Get out your rolling pin and grill (or griddle).

- Lightly coat your grill/griddle with butter or olive oil. Take one of the pieces of dough and roll it out to
desired thickness (about ¾ of an inch). Place it on the grill/griddle until it begins to bubble (about 30
seconds to 1 minute). Flip over.

- Cook on other side for 30 sec.-1 min. There should be distinct grill marks on both sides.
- Place it on a plate and you are good to go! Be careful though, it will be HOT!

*Leftovers would be great to use for sandwiches. Just make sure you omit the garlic!

Enjoy!

Celebrate your Cinco de Mayo with Flank Steak Tacos and Guacamole

2011-05-04T21:59:00.000-04:00

Please allow me to start off this post by saying that I love Mexican food. I'm not talking about "American" Mexican food (although that is good too), I'm talking real, authentic Mexican food. Brian and I love trying new things, and food from all over the globe is one of those things. There is a restaurant that we discovered in college called El Canelo that serves authentic Mexican food, and please pardon my language as I say this but it is freaking delicious! This is no Chi-Chi's people, this is the real thing. We frequent their Buffalo location with our good friends the Kochs and enjoy the homemade chips, salsa and delicious goodness that is Mexican food. So this year, with the fast approaching Cinco de Mayo holiday in mind, Brian created Flank Steak Tacos smothered in sauteed peppers and onions with a spread of homemade Guacamole. It was Mexican food Kurtz style.

*Keep this in mind: Brian and I actually made the steak the day before. Since the steak served 4, we cut the steak into quarters. We saved half for the tacos and ate the other two quarters with a side of risotto and salad. The following will explain what we used to marinate the steak and how we cooked it.

To create your Kurtz Steak Taco you will need the following ingredients:

Marinade: (adapted from Flank Steak Bordelaise)
1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of chopped onion (or 1/2 to a whole small onion)
1/2 teaspoon of fresh parsley
1/4 of Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 of a lime, juiced
and salt and pepper to taste
1 Flank Steak (about 1 pound)

Taco:
1 large green pepper (or a mix of colorful peppers)
1 small or medium onion (if Medium only use half)
1 package of flour tortillas
and
Any other condiments (diced tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, etc.) you like on your tacos.
Guacamole:
1 ripe avocado
1 Tablespoon of fresh lime juice
1/4 cup of diced onion
2 Tablespoons of parsley
1 large tomato diced, OR 1, 14 oz. can of diced tomato with chilies (for heat)
and
salt and pepper to taste
From start to finish:

To marinate your steak, get a gallon plastic bag. Fill it with the ingredients listed above starting from top to bottom. Before you put the steak in the bag, put shallow criss crosses in the steak. You don't want to go too deep through the steak or else you'll find yourself all the way through. Flank steak is a thin piece of meat, so you really don't have to go that deep.
Seal the bag and place it in your fridge for about 6-8 hours or overnight.

Next, make your Guacamole. Start by cutting the avocado in half, taking out the pit, and scooping the avocado into a bowl. Using a fork mash the avocado until it's broken up. Then add all of your ingredients EXCEPT for the tomato. Mash together all of the ingredients in the bowl. *Make sure you taste the Guacamole periodically so it doesn't get to hot (if you add the diced tomato with chili peppers) or salty, etc. When you are about ready to serve, add the tomatoes and mix. Then grab your tortilla chip or taco because you are ready to go!

Finally, the KURTZ TACOS! Grab your steak and take it out of the bag. Place the steak on a pan and discard the bag. Place the steak under a broiler (medium to high heat) for a total of 18 minutes, turning once half way through. Depending on the way you like your meat you may want to cook it a little longer or shorter. 18 minutes is about medium.
Once it is done broiling, let it rest for about 10 minutes before you cut it into quarters. Save 2 quarters to eat later, seal in a container, foil, whatever you store your meat in and refrigerate until ready. The other two quarters, cut into strips about 1 centimeter thick, then cut those strips into bite size pieces.
Take out a skillet and get it hot on your stove.
Get out your pepper(s) and onion and slice into strips. Put a little olive oil into the skillet and add the pepper and onion. Toss them around so they get coated and begin to cook. Cook the vegetables to your likeness. Don't pay attention to a cookbook or, heck, even me, because we don't know how you like your vegetables. So cook them to your likeness. Brian cooked ours until they were soft, not soggy. They still had a crunch to them. At the last minute add the steak so it can warm up and add to the flavor of the vegetables. Now you are ready to plate.

Get your flour tortillas (warm them according to package directions) and spoon some Guacamole into the center. Spread to desired thickness. Add your steak and vegetables and any other condiments you may wish to add. Then roll it up and eat it! You are good to go!

Enjoy!

Royal Red Velvet Cupcakes

2011-05-01T20:49:00.000-04:00

Please allow me to first say that I love English history. I just do. The fascination started when I was in 6th grade. My English teacher was a huge Shakespeare and Royal family fan, and she got me hooked on Henry VIII, specifically, and the Royal Family. She had a family tree in her room for all to see.
So, it would make sense for me to be absolutely ecstatic over the recent nuptials of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge right? You betchya! I was one of those crazy nerds who got up at 4 a.m. to watch the pomp and circumstance; and boy was it worth it. Everything was so beautiful, especially the DRESS! It was reminiscent of Grace Kelly's wedding dress, exquisite. I couldn't be happier for the two of them. Now only if I could borrow that tiara... *Smiles*.
To celebrate the first Royal Wedding in 30 years, I took it upon myself to make some Royal Red Velvet Cupcakes. I wish I could say that they were a complete success, but alas, four did not survive. I never realized the temperature difference between the top and bottom racks of our oven until now. Regardless, the 12 that did make it were delicious and made with love.
For some reason I could not find in any of my cookbooks a recipe for Red Velvet Cake. So I took to the Internet and found a pretty good and simple recipe. It came from TasteofHome.com. The recipe was accompanied by coconut frosting, however I omitted that due to the fact that A) I didn't have any shredded coconut and B) it just didn't sound appetizing at the time.
So here is what you will need for your cupcake batter:

3/4 cup of softened butter
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 Tablespoon red food coloring (by 1 Tablespoon they mean the entire bottle)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of baking cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of buttermilk
and
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Steps:
-Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
-Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, blend together the butter and granulated sugar until "light and fluffy." It took about 30 seconds to 1 minute for me.
-Add food coloring and vanilla. Add as much of the food coloring as you can so the batter looks red, not pink. Otherwise the cocoa powder will overpower the color.
-In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
-Using a liquid measuring cup, measure out the buttermilk and add the vinegar.
-While mixing, alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk until everything is mixed together well.
-In a greased or paper lined muffin tin, pour the batter 1/2 to 2/3 of the way full.
-Bake for 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
-Allow the cupcakes to rest for no less than 10 minutes in the muffin tin before you take them out to cool.
-Now Frost!

For Cream Cheese Frosting you will need the following:

2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 a cup of softened butter
2 cups of confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
and
1 teaspoon of vanilla

(Now, because of the few cupcakes I had, I cut this recipe in half.)
The steps are simple:
Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Then gradually add the vanilla and sugar until all are mixed together. You may have to add a little more sugar because the cream cheese is quite overpowering in flavor. I added about 1/4 of a cup more to my batch.

The end result, with a little creativity, was fit for a Duke and Duchess. To bad they won't have a chance to eat one!

Did you make anything to celebrate the royal wedding? If so, what was it?!

Banana Cream Pie

2011-04-25T21:13:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and Passover this past weekend. I know I did. Instead traveling from one house to another this year, Brian and I decided to stay home, paint our apartment and eat with our good friends/neighbors The Kochs. We enjoyed each others company while we inhaled traditional homemade Easter bread, ham, kielbasi, scalloped potatoes, green beans, pickled beets with horseradish, and Banana Cream Pie.

Ed and Katie cooked and baked everything except for the potatoes and pie. Those were my job. Both of the recipes I found in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It always comes in handy. I HIGHLY recommend the Scalloped Potatoes. They were very easy to put together, and the aroma and taste made you want to eat the entire dish (that serves 10). I would blog about the potatoes, but I've decided to share with you the recipe for Banana Cream Pie.

Now I have to say I have never made a cream pie before, so this was an adventure. Here is what I needed:

A recipe for 1 pie crust (see one here)

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

1/4 cup of corn starch

2 1/2 cups of milk (you can also use cream or half & half)

4 eggs separated (keep both the yolks and whites)

1 Tablespoon of room temperature butter

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

and
2-3 Bananas

For the Merang topping:

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
and
4 egg whites from the separated eggs

-Now, first things first. I made my pie crust. It's the same recipe I used to make the Lemon Tarts. It is really simple and doesn't require any pre-filling baking.

-Once that is complete, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and keep both. When you separate, place the yolks into a heat resistant bowl. It will help in future steps.

-Then start on the filling. Pour the sugar and corn starch into a 2 quart sauce pan and mix together. Turn the stove on to a medium high heat and add the milk slowly while stirring. If you are having difficulty stirring with a spoon switch over to a whisk. I found this much more helpful.

-Stirring occasionally, allow the mixture to come to a boil and thicken. Once it has thickened, let the mixture cook for 2 minutes then take the saucepan off of the heat.

-Take the 4 egg yolks and lightly beat them with a fork. Pour 1 cup of the thickened mixture into the yolks and beat together. Pour the combined egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.

-Put the saucepan back on medium heat until it is slightly boiling. You DON'T want your mixture to come to a rapid boil. Once it is slightly boiling, lower the heat.

-After 2 minutes take the saucepan off of the heat and add the butter and vanilla. Stir and cover with a lid.

-Now, cut the bananas into slices (no more than 1 cm thick). Place the slices on the bottom of the pie dish. My lovely assistant Brian made 2 layers of banana slices, but it's up to you how many layers you would like.

-Once your banana slices are in place, pour the filling into the dish.

-Now comes the merang topping. Using either a stand mixer or hand mixer, whisk the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar together on a high speed until they form soft peaks.

-Once you have your soft peaks turn your mixer back on (it's OK to turn it off once in a while to check on your peaks) and slowly add, 1 Tablespoon at a time, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. The time between the soft peaks and stiff peaks should be about 5 minutes. If you need more time that is fine.

*Check out these videos on how to create soft and stiff peaks!

-Pour the merang on top of the cream filling and carefully spread the merang to the edge of the pie. The merang will shrink in the oven.

-Place the pie on a baking sheet in case of spillage, and bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes.

-When done allow the pie to cool for 1 hour then refrigerate 2-3 hours before eating.

When you're done you should have a Banana Cream masterpiece!

Enjoy! Have you ever created a Banana Cream Pie? If so, how did you do it?

Cajun Tilapia with Mango Chutney

2011-04-20T16:51:00.002-04:00

Lately I have been trying to step out of my comfort zone in the kitchen and actually cook. It's been a slow process, but I'm getting there. Recently, Brian and I were attempting to decide what to eat for dinner for the upcoming week (which happens to be this week). We came up with a few ideas and were about to settle when I thought "Fish! I want to eat fish." So we went to the counter to check out our options. The salmon looked great, but at $12 a pound, I don't think so. The cod was worse! It was something outrageous like $22 a pound. OK, I may be exaggerating a little, but it was expensive. So we settled for the tilapia, which is good because we both like it. We continued to wander through the grocery store when I came up with the idea of doing a Mango Chutney. Had I ever made a chutney before? No. Had I ever worked with mango before? No. So I was in for an adventure. Brian and I didn't even know what was in a chutney. Thank goodness for the Blackberry. We had to look it up.
When we got home we had our dinner for that day (Sunday) planned out: tilapia covered with a mango chutney, with a side of onion risotto. YUM! The first thing I did was work on the chutney. I adapted my recipe from an Alton Brown recipe because it seemed easy enough. To make the chutney I used:

1 ripe Mango
1 small red pepper
1/2 of a medium onion
2 tablespoons of olive oil
A dash of chili flakes
1 teaspoon of ground ginger (if you have fresh ginger use it!)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 cup of orange juice (you can use more to get the consistency you want)

Steps to creating an awesome chutney for 2:
1- Cut up the mango into small cubes. I would say the size of a pencil eraser. Follow suit with the red pepper and onion.

2- Place on low heat a small sauce pan with the olive oil.
3- Add the chili flakes to infuse the olive oil, about 30 seconds to a minute. Don't let the chili flakes burn. It's OK if you do, it just creates a burnt smell.
4- Add the diced mango, pepper and onion. Stir.
5- Sprinkle the ginger on top. Stir. Add the vinegar and juice. Stir.

6- Lower the heat under the sauce pan so that it is as low as it can go without turning off. Allow the chutney to sit without a lid so it can thicken.
7- Stir occasionally for about 10-15 minutes or until chutney has reached a "thick" consistency. Then pour over the fish.

Now, Brian handled the fish (the creative master that he is). In a 13 x 9 greased pan, he placed the fish side-by-side and rubbed Cajun seasoning, paprika and freshly squeezed lime juice on top. He flipped the fish over and repeated. Before the fish went into a 350 degree oven, he sprinkled a little bit of leftover mango on top. He baked the fish for 10 minutes until it began to flake (by use of a fork meaning the fish was light and cooked through). You will have to watch the fish carefully because the thickness of the fish will determine how long to cook it. Ours was thin, so it didn't take very long.

When everything was finished, we plated the fish, spooned the chutney on top and added the side of awesome risotto. It was one of the best dishes we have ever made together. Everything was cooked perfectly and tasted great. For the first time making chutney it turned out pretty well.

Have fun recreating and as always, Enjoy!

Don't be bitter, enjoy a Lemon Tart!

2011-04-18T17:01:00.001-04:00

While living in Buffalo, Brian and I have become very tired of the long winter months. We were excited to welcome Spring with opened arms when low and behold, it snowed. Apparently Spring doesn't exist in Buffalo. It's just a buffer between Winter and Summer that says "let me warm you up.... Wait! Gotchya!" So, in thinking warm thoughts, allow me to introduce to you the Lemon Tart.

It was a request per Brian because he is cup caked out; which is understandable. I just have a hard time staying away from them. I was going to attempt to do more than one flavor, but since this was my first attempt at a tart I figured one is safe. I found the recipe for both the crust and filling in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. There were about 3 pages of tart recipes to choose from, but I chose this specific one (the filling) because it had less than 5 ingredients and was easy to make. So first things first. Here is what you will need for one tart crust OR 5 mini tart crusts:

1 1/4 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of shortening
and 3-6 Tablespoons of water (I only got through 2 1/2 to get the consistency I wanted)

Here is what you do:
Using either a mixer or your own spoon, mix together the flour and salt in a medium sized bowl. It should only take about 5 seconds. Once that is blended together, add the shortening and mix until it resembles crumbs/peas. Then add the water one table spoon at a time until it begins to form a ball. You can test to see if it's finished by touching the dough to see if it is sticky.
Now the fun begins! To make 5 mini tarts, take about a fist full of dough and roll it around with your hands a little bit. Then flatten it out on a lightly floured surface (very lightly floured) and using a rolling pin, spread the dough out into a 5-6 inch circle. Carefully lift the dough over the tart/tort pan and lay it down.

Lightly push down the dough into the pan and up against the edges. If the dough is short on one side don't worry. You'll have extra dough that you can fill in the gaps with, or at least you should. This is what it should look like pre-filling:

Repeat with another fist full of dough until all of it is gone. If you are making one tart, use one large tart pan instead of 5 mini, and roll the tart dough into a 12-13 inch circle. Place it over the pan and press it gently against the bottom and the sides.
That is it for the dough. Easy, right? There is no need to bake the crust before the filling. It will bake all together. Now onto the filling. You will need:

4 egg yolks
1, 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
and 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (don't forget to scoop out the seeds!)
You can also add drops of food coloring if you wish. I added one, but the filling is already a shade of yellow so I didn't want to add to much.

Steps:
Whisk the four egg yolks together. Once they are pretty well blended, add the condensed milk while still whisking. Then add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Whisk everything together until well blended. The mixture may be thick but that's OK. If it's to thin (like water) that is when you worry. Pour the mixture into each tart shell about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Then bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Let them cool then store in the refrigerator until ready to eat!

Enjoy!

Recreating your favorite Mall snack

2011-04-07T22:08:00.000-04:00

Every time Brian and I go to the mall, which isn't very often, we tend to find ourselves a little hungry. Whether it's from the walking, the stress of watching children run around like crazy people, or witnessing a young valley-girl wanna-be freak out on her phone, it's hard to say what makes us become so hungry. But when our stomachs call we know exactly where to go... Auntie Anne's. Home of the world's greatest pretzels. I always get the giant original pretzel, and Brian usually goes for either the pretzel or the pretzel sticks. Both excellent choices. You really can't go wrong with Auntie Anne's.

So the other day I was surfing the web when I came across the Auntie Anne's website and thought, wouldn't it be amazing if I could recreate their pretzels? At first I thought, I have no idea how I would do that. I can barely remember how to make a regular pretzel, let alone immitate one! But I couldn't let myself down like that. I had to give it a try. So I found an immitation recipe on food.com and went for it.

It's a long process, making pretzels. Reading the directions you would think it to be a piece of cake, but my goodness! It took a lot out of me. It took about an hour and a half all together, prep work included, to create the pretzels, which was completely fine. Time wasn't the issue. It was the labor involved. Yes! The rolling of the dough to create huge pretzels was a challenge. I can tell you that my upper arms and back still ache. It is truely "full body contact baking."

But enough with the chitter chatter. Here is what you will need to make your favorite Auntie Anne's pretzels:

3 1/2 cups of warm water

1 1/4 Tsp of active dry yeast

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 1/4 Tsp salt

1 cup of bread flour

3 cups of all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp baking soda

3 Tbsp melted butter

Step 1:

Pour 1 1/2 cups of warm water into a mixing bowl and add yeast. Stir until all of the yeast has dissolved.

Once dissolved, add in the brown sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved.

Step 2:

Add all 4 cups of flour and knead until dough becomes "smooth and elastic."

*I used my stand mixer for both of these steps and it worked out just fine. I just had to keep an eye on the dough until it was finished.

Step 3:

Cover dough and let rise for 30 min. While the dough rises, add the rest of the warm water to another bowl, and pour in the baking soda. Mix about every 5-10 min. until the dough is done rising. You will use this water as a "wash" for your pretzels.

Step 4:

When the dough is finished, take about a palm full of dough and roll it out into a long rope. Twist it into a pretzel shape and dip it into the baking soda wash. Place it on a greased baking sheet and repeat.

Continue to do this until all of the dough has been used.

Step 5:

Spread the melted butter over the pretzels and sprinkle salt on top.

Step 6:

Place the pretzels into a 450 degree oven for 10 min. (make sure to keep an eye on them!)

Now eat!!!

Enjoy!

Enjoying the Nation's Capital

2011-04-04T22:04:00.000-04:00

Well, I survived. I survived my 4 day trip to Washington D.C. The trip was great, but the food was fantastic! I started off my food journey during the lunch hour at Open City - coffee house, diner, bar caddy corner our hotel. I sat at the bar, enjoyed a tall glass of water with a wedge of lemon, and watched old black and white movies while I waited for my sandwich. Inside, the restaurant had plenty of seating with huge windows on almost every wall. When you walked in, you were actually greeted by a small bakery and espresso bar for those on the go. The service was great, but the food was even better.

The homemade chips were also amazing!

My lunch was the Plymouth Rock Sandwich. A giant mound of turkey with a thick slice of white cheddar cheese, cucumbers and cranberry relish mayo layered between 2 slices of thick ciabatta bread. It was one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten, and it is very easy to imitate. My only suggestion to recreate the relish mayo, is to pretend you are making cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving and just add as much mayo to it you'd like. Mix it together and spread. Delicious!

Funny enough I went back to Open City the next day for breakfast and enjoyed their Chorizo Scramble: 2 eggs scrambled with chorizo, scallions, diced tomato, cilantro and aged white cheddar, alongside an English muffin and a cup of fruit. To drink I had a cup of their famous Chaippuccino. I LOVED IT! If I could make it for myself every morning I would. It was the perfect temperature and had just the right amount of umpf to it.

All in all, 4 stars to Open City for two spectacular meals!

Thursday, I had the entire day to myself. I was able to wander around the city aimlessly at my own pleasure. During that time, I was able to visit the Holocaust Museum, grab lunch at Pizzeria Paradiso (which I'll talk about in a little bit) and visit one place I have been dieing to go... Georgetown Cupcake!

I walked out of lunch and was completely confused on where to go to find these cupcakes. I was going to ask my waitress before I left but I thought, I'm not in a time crunch, I'll figure it out. Strangely enough I walk outside, look up and there it was, Georgetown Cupcake. So I walked over and found my place in line. Thirty minutes later, after dissecting the menu, I found myself inside drooling over dozens of cupcakes.

When I got to my family's house, I opened up the bubblegum pink box and salivated over the six cupcakes:

Key Lime Pie, Cherry Blossom, Chocolate Birthday Cake, Pumpkin Spice, Red Velvet, and Mint Cookies and Cream. We split the cupcakes in half so we would each have a chance to taste more than one. I had half of the Key Lime and Red Velvet. Awesome!

The flavors were really, really good. But I think the only complaint I would have would be about the size of the cupcake itself. I think they need to be a tad bigger in order to match the amount of frosting they put on. But other than that, two thumbs up!

Now to my lunch. I have to first start by saying that I have been to Pizzeria Paradiso before. Brian and I went with my family almost two years ago and we highly recommend it. It's a great place for pizza, beer and as I found out, sandwiches. I had the Panino Grosso Caldo, a Buffalo Mozzarella and Prosciutto sandwich with a side of greens with oil and vinegar. It was exactly what I needed for the day. It wasn't to filling and it was lighter than it looked. I would give it a 4-for-4 (the complimentary dish of olives was a nice touch).

Overall, it was a great trip and I can't wait to go back. I recommend all of the places I have visited, and I hope that you have a chance to explore the city yourselves. I guarantee you'll have a good time.

Enjoy!

Nana's Lemon-Honey Chicken

2011-03-24T21:01:00.000-04:00

My Nana has been having family dinners almost every weekend since I was born. She has made everything under the sun. Some recipes she has found, others she has created. This one she created. It's one of my favorite recipes. I think I could eat it every day and be happy. It's Lemon-Honey Chicken.

Now, before I continue I must let you know that this entry was not baked. GASP! I know, I know. But the only reason I didn't bake it (as was called for) was because I only had chicken tenders, not chicken breasts. Read on and I'll explain more...

Lemon-Honey Chicken is probably the easiest meal you can make. There is very little hassle involved, and if you make enough, it would make a great sandwich for lunch the next day. So Rachael Ray, eat your heart out! Here is what you will need for a successful dish:

5 chicken breasts halved, skinned, and bones removed

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of lemon juice

1 Tbsp oregano

1/8 Tsp salt & pepper

1 Tbsp mustard (any kind you would like)

1 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 Tsp honey

1 1/4 Tsp dill

1/4 Tsp paprika

First, marinate the chicken in the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt & pepper over night or during the day. Poke holes in the chicken with a fork so it soaks in the marinate. Once the chicken is finished marinating, combine the rest of the ingredients in a small dish/bowl. Place the chicken in a 9 x 13 inch pan and spread the new mixture over top. Bake the chicken at 350 degrees for 45 min. to an hour, basting the chicken periodically. Then it's ready to eat. Serve it over a bed of rice or along side your favorite side dish. Recipe serves 8. That's it! How simple is that?

Now, here is what I did. I didn't stray to far from the directions, I just modified them. Instead of baking the chicken, I cooked them in a saute pan with a lid.

I placed the chicken in the pan and spread the mixture over top with a brush. After a few minutes I turned the chicken over and finished brushing the other side. After a few minutes I took the chicken out and placed the tenders over a bed of rice. The smell and flavor took me back to when Nana used to make it. I was ready to eat!

Enjoy!

Better Late than Never

2011-03-21T14:59:00.000-04:00

Well, I didn't exactly get to post this on time, but it was definitely worth the wait! For St. Patrick's Day I found a recipe for Guinness Cupcakes with a Bailey's Frosting. It is out of this world! I wish every day were St. Paddy's Day. I sampled the batter, filling and frosting all before they were baked/completed and everything tasted so good, I knew the final outcome would be outstanding. The cupcakes came out so moist, it was like eating a sponge. It is now 3 days later and they are still moist. Now that is an A+ in my book.

I found the recipe on the Good Morning America website. I had looked through all of my cookbooks to see if there was something simple I could make, and I was successful in finding two recipes. Unfortunately I didn't have some of the ingredients, so I'm glad I could count on Good Morning America!

Now, I have to let you know that the directions said it would take me about an hour and a half to create these delicious cakes. But it took me about 3 hours. I'm pretty sure it was because I decided to drink some of the left over Guinness and call my parents, but that's besides the point.

I started out with the Guinness cupcakes. Simple enough to make, I started out on the stove top whisking together butter, Guinness and cocoa powder. You may see the word butter a lot in this post, but that's because I used a lot of it. I used a total of 3 sticks of butter between the cupcakes, filling and frosting. At least it wasn't a whole carton right?
Once I finished on the stove top, I beat more butter and some sour cream in my mixer, followed by a combination of dry ingredients: flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Once the sour cream, butter and dry ingredients were combined, I added the stove top liquid. Now don't over mix the batter. Once it looks combined you're done. I then scooped the batter into 24 regular cupcake tins and 12 mini cupcake tins. The recipe made a lot! They baked for 17 minutes at 350, and taken out to rest for 5-10 minutes.
While the cupcakes were in the oven, I started putting together the chocolate filling.

Into the filling went 8 oz. of chocolate, heavy cream, butter and Bailey's. I heated it until it began to simmer, then let it set and thicken. When the cupcakes came out, my lovely assistant Brian helped me fill the cakes. Since I don't have one of those fancy filler contraptions, Brian came up with the idea of taking one of my old piping tips and pushing it into the center of the cupcake. When he pulled it out, the cake came out. It worked well enough for me, so he continued with the rest of the cupcakes. Then he poured the filling into the center. It took a minute to get the hang of it, but our teamwork prevailed and so did the cupcakes!

The frosting was easy enough to whip together, powdered sugar, butter and Bailey's was all that was required. Once it was ready I piped it on and into our mouths the cupcakes went. We are still eating them to this day, and I highly recommend them to everyone. Just keep this in mind, you can eat these any time of year because you can drink Guinness any time of year. So it works out!

Enjoy!

A Good Morning Casserole

2011-03-20T13:45:00.000-04:00

Good Sunday morning to you all. I hope you had a great weekend full of smiles and laughter.I woke up this Sunday morning with the craving to make a great breakfast. It's been some time since I've made a breakfast casserole, and I think this morning's casserole turned out well.
I made a Famer's Casserole, a "favorite" in the Better Homes and Garden's cookbook. It required simple ingredients and very little prep time. The longest part was the baking. But even with that into consideration, it was a great breakfast dish.
Ingredients required were: hash browns, shredded cheese, green onions, cooked Canadian ham or bacon or sausage, milk, and eggs. We did have hash browns in the freezer, however I decided to use fresh potatoes considering we had a whole bag to use. So I washed them, grated them, and spread them across the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. If I were to make this recipe again I would bake the potatoes for a few minutes in the oven, to make them crispier. That way the casserole would have a salty, crispy, cheesy flavor to it.
Seven slices of bacon went into the oven to cook for about 20 minutes until almost crispy. We (Brian and I) didn't cook the bacon all the way because it was going to cook 40 minutes longer in the casserole. Once it was finished cooking, Brian cut the bacon so it was easy to sprinkle over the potatoes. On top of the bacon went the cheese, onion and milk/egg mixture.
Side note: We did not have any green onions in the fridge as was required. I was going to use a regular onion, however Brian made a good point in that it would most likely over power the other flavors. So instead we sprinkled about a teaspoon of dried onion over top to give it a little onion flavor.
Once everything was in the dish, it went into the oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. I pulled it out of the oven once the buzzer went off and inserted a knife into the center to make sure everything cooked through. It did! And the outcome was great. It was a satisfying breakfast that wasn't to heavy and wasn't to salty. Just as Goldilocks said, it was "just right."

One thing that we added to the casserole that wasn't in the recipe was HOT SAUCE! We added a little bit to our plates to add a kick to our taste buds and it was really good. I think next time I may add a little bit to the recipe so it soaks into the entire dish. It was a great recipe and I enjoyed it with my daily cup of coffee. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Enjoy!

Your guide to food in the Big Easy

2011-03-07T23:13:00.021-05:00

To celebrate this year's Fat Tuesday I thought rather than creating something you would find in New Orleans, why not SHOW you what you can find in New Orleans, and offer some suggestions in case you ever find yourself in the neighborhood! This past year my husband and I spent our honeymoon in New Orleans. What could be better, right? The weather was great and the food was outstanding. We ate so much I'm pretty sure we each gained 5 lbs. But with all of the walking we did we like to think we worked everything off. We started the trip off by eating our fair share of Po-Boys.

Po-Boys are basically, as I like to say, "delicious goodness." It's a thick cut of Italian bread filled with all different things: chicken, shrimp, roast beef & gravy, ham, turkey... you name it they've got it. Every single one we had, all different, were equally delicious. I think it would be difficult to find a bad po-boy in New Orleans. My favorite po-boy was at a place called the Lumpy Dog. It is an absolute must to visit. It's located not terribly far from the French Quarter, but closer to the W.W. II Museum. The first time we were there (yes we went more than once) I had a roast beef & gravy po-boy. The second time I had a dry rub shrimp po-boy that was the best. I would definitely have it again given the choice. Also, if you ever visit the Lumpy Dog you absolutely must get the cole slaw! It is the best thing I have ever eaten. Instead of it being mayonnaise based it's balsamic based with a little kick to it. I would happily stuff my face with it any day.

For dinner almost every night we ate at our hotel restaurant Domenica, one of a few John Besh restaurants. It was an absolute treat. We had the best wait staff, the best atmosphere and the best food. The first night we ate there we shared an appetizer of cheese, meat, olives and peppers that came out on this beautiful wooden block. It was a great presentation. For an entree I had the Risotto with Prosciutto, and Brian had the Lasagna. Both were outstanding! We wanted to keep eating but we were so stuffed we felt as though we were going to explode. But of course we had room for their homemade Limoncello. It made us feel as good as it tasted.

For breakfast it is completely obvious, you have to go to Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter for beignets. The best donut you will ever have, I mean French donut (pardon me). For the amount of food you get the price is completely right. I'm not sure what else to say except you have to try them for yourselves. They are just too good for words.

Finally, if you have the chance, you have to check out the New Orleans School of Cooking. There, you learn about the culture of New Orleans, the history of not just the city but the food, and you learn how to make 4 signature dishes: bread pudding, crab chowder, shrimp creole and pralines (pronounced praw-leens). We had the best time. We even bought some spices to bring home with us we loved it so much. It is an absolute must!

Here we are with our teacher. We called her Paula Deen's sister
because they seriously look alike, and sound alike!

When you go to New Orleans make sure you take the time to stop, look around, and take it all in. I wasn't even able to mention everything there is to eat in this single post. There is just too much to say! It is one of the best cities I have ever been to, and I highly recommend visiting. So until I see you there, enjoy your Mardi Gras and have a drink on me on Bourbon Street.

Cheers!

And a Happy Birthday to ME!

2011-03-06T15:18:00.000-05:00

My greatest apologies for not blogging for a few days. I was a little distracted by MY BIRTHDAY! Yes, I hit the big quarter century mark, but I don't feel a day older. It was a great birthday week topped off by a great birthday weekend and a great birthday gift. My husband got me one of the best gifts ever... a cupcake carrier and a professional cake decorating set! I can now take my goodies with me everywhere I go. YOU may even have a chance to enjoy them yourselves! But enough about me, this is, I'm sure, what you really wanted to know... what did I have for my birthday cake? I made Hot Fudge Pudding Cake. Yes, I made my own cake. But I wanted to!

I found the recipe in my Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook (50th Anniversary Edition). A great cookbook to have if you ask me. Anyways, I wasn't sure how the cake was going to turn out considering there was no fudge or pudding listed in the ingredients, and I was even asked a few times why it was called Hot Fudge Pudding Cake, but was unable to respond. But now I know why, it's all about the water. The key was to mix the main ingredients together first, the flour, sugar, cocoa, etc., then sprinkle the rest of the dry ingredients on top and pour steaming hot water over top (about 1 and a quarter cup). Then I put it in the oven for about 40 minutes at 350 and it came out perfectly. It ended up having a brownie like texture to it, but when you spooned it out of the pan it was so moist, I finally understood the title. There was a fudge like consistency on the bottom that was spooned on top of the cake. It was just awesome. The only thing we decided would make it even better would be to add chocolate chips or something of that nature to the batter, to give it a little crunch. Other than that it was a great birthday cake. One thing I do have to inform you of is in the recipe it says to add baby food, but my book said to add 1/3 cup of melted butter. So that is what I did. But, you could also substitute for a 1/3 cup of Greek yogurt. That would work just as well.

Enjoy!

Chocolate and Scones... Yes Please!

2011-02-24T23:22:00.001-05:00

I am dedicating this post to my mom. The woman who recently told me she burnt grilled cheese and her soup. This one is for you mom. I hope you are successful at your next adventure in the kitchen!

This week half of the office has gone to the sunny state of Florida for work, leaving three of us in the office to fend off the cold weather. So I thought, why not have a "party" and bake something? So I did. My overall plan was to make these awesome cinnamon buns, a recipe my best friend gave me. I was getting myself all psyched up to make them and everything. I was reading over the directions and the ingredients and suddenly realized I was missing 2 essential ingredients. I won't tell you what they are because once I get them, I'm making those buns! So, I had to turn to plan B. After sorting through most of my cook books to find something that contained all of the ingredients I had, I came across something my dad had given me for Christmas. It's a box of recipes entitled Coffee Treats. Inside are all sorts of pastries that pair well with coffee, along with a CD you're supposed to play while making them. I have yet to listen to the CD, but I did find a recipe to make. Chocolate Scones. I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out because I haven't made scones since the 8th grade. But I thought, worst comes to worst, I'll stop at the grocery store on the way into work and pick up some cookies. So I dove into baking.
Here is what you will need to make your own coffee sidekick, chocolate scones:

1 egg
1/2 cup of heavy cream or half-and-half (I used 1% milk and I think it tasted just fine)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 and 2/3 cup of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tsp. of baking powder
1/4 tsp. of salt
and
1/3 cup of cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits (I cut them by tablespoons then cut each one in quarters)

First I whisked the milk, egg, and vanilla in a bowl and set it aside.
Then in my mixer I mixed together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt.
I then added the butter until it began to break apart into crumbs.
Once all of those ingredients were mixed together, I kept the mixer going and added the wet ingredients until it was just combined. DON'T combine the ingredients to much or you probably won't want to eat your scones. I also added chocolate chips, about 1/3 of a cup. I thought it would add a little something extra to the scones. In the end, this is what the dough should look like, semi-loose but held together. It should have a tacky like consistency.

Once mixed, take the dough out of the bowl and place onto a well floured counter. Make sure you really flour up your counter top. I didn't do so well with that and the dough began to stick. So make sure you flour up! Fold the dough together and push out into a circle. The circle should be between 1/2 and inch to an inch thick. Mine was closer to the 1/2 an inch side. Then, cut your circle into 8 pieces (kind of like a pizza pie).

Place each piece onto a greased cookie sheet, and put the sheet in a 400 degree oven for no more than 15 minutes. The edges of each scone should be crisp, but the middle should still be soft. When you push down in the center it should spring back. So make sure you keep an eye on the oven. You don't want the little guys to burn!! Once they are finished take them out to cool, then enjoy with a nice steaming cup of coffee!

Enjoy!

Forget the Hot Pockets, Eat These!

2011-02-20T21:42:00.000-05:00

The other night, Brian had an idea for dinner. He wanted to make pizza pockets. I said, sure, why not. So we were going to make them last night, but when we realized we were eating left over pizza from Brian's office for lunch, pizza for dinner probably wouldn't have been the best thing. So we did one better, we went out for burgers and beer. HA!
So tonight we made the pizza pockets. Well, more along the lines of Brian made the pockets and I watched while listening to SVU in the background. You've got to love those marathons. Anyways, here is what he used to make these delicious, flaky pockets:

-1 Tube of crescent rolls
-Pepperoni
-Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
and
-A jar of your favorite sauce

Basically the makings for a homemade pizza, minus the crescent rolls.

First, Brian spread corn meal on the counter top to keep the dough from sticking. He likes to use that instead of flour. I actually like it to, I find it doesn't dry the dough out as much. Then he rolled out the dough from the can and laid the triangles out. Then he pinched together 2 of the triangles to make one giant rectangle of dough. If you follow with the other triangles you should end up with 4 separate rectangles in the end. Then, he took one of the rectangles and began rolling it out, just to make it a tad bigger.

Once he finished rolling out the dough, he spooned sauce onto half of the pocket, then sprinkled cheese and pepperoni on top. He followed with one more layer of sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on top. Once finished, he folded the dough over to create a pocket. Then he pressed down the sides with a fork, almost to give a ravioli type look to it.

He repeated these steps with the other 3 rectangles, then placed them in the oven at 350 degrees. It seemed as though the pockets were in the oven for about 15 minutes, but I could be wrong. SVU just sucked me in. So I would say place the pockets in the oven for what is called for on the crescent roll package, then go from there.
The final product was actually pretty good. It was really flaky and had just the right crispiness on the outside. Brian thought the center was still a little doughy, but I think mine were done all the way through. I would recommend these as a snack or even a meal as we did. So forget the Totino's Pizza Rolls! Eat a homemade pizza pocket!

Beer

2011-02-17T16:20:00.002-05:00

I know the subject has nothing to do with baking (minus beer bread and beer butt chicken), but I have to share with you what I have learned. I'd like to start off by saying that I probably have one of the best jobs in the world. I have had the opportunity to help create a Beer Club and Wine Club at work; and last night was the first Beer Club. Our meeting was at the Flying Bison Brewing Company, and if you haven't had a chance to visit you are missing out. But anyways, at Beer Club we learned all kinds of things about beer: different regions that brew, the different types and kinds of beer, how you make beer, the best temperature to drink beer... I could go on and on and on. But here are some things that I remember that I'd like to share with you.

-There are two types of beer that all beers fall under: Lager and Ale. Lagers are generally lighter in color whereas Ales are generally darker, this is due to the amount of malt (barley), and flavor of malt that is added to the mix. This also affects the flavor of the beer as well.
-Skunked beer will not kill you, it just tastes bad. The taste of the beer changes because of the amount of light shown on it. The longer the beer is exposed to light, the worst it will taste.
-Temperature will give beer different tastes. For example, Lagers are to be drunk cold while Ales are to be drunk more at room temperature or slightly chilled. If you drink an Ale that is freezing cold, it will have a different taste than it would at a warmer temperature, such as 68 degrees (which is the temperature the Flying Bison brews their beer at). So in the summertime when it's hot drink a Lager, and in the winter, an Ale.
-Glasses affect the way beer tastes. Lagers are to be drunk in a glass that is skinner at the bottom than the top, and Ale glasses should be wide all the way around. Compare it to a wine glass. If you were to drink beer out of a wine glass, you would drink a Lager out of a champagne or white wine glass and an Ale out of a red wine or brandy glass. The correct shape of the glass will give the consumer exactly what the brewer wanted them to experience.
-Beer cured the bubonic plague. No really, it did. Monks brewed it and shared it with the people, diverting them from drinking contaminated water. If you would like the full story, feel free to contact me. It's just to long to type!
-You can make beer and sell it within one week. It's all in how you brew it.
-The foam in your glass is termed 'head' and the carbonated bubbles around the edge are called 'Belgian Lace.' It is a good thing to see in your glass. It means your beer is carbonated.
-Taste test and drink beer as though you would wine. Swirl it around in your glass, smell it, etc. Just don't spit it out. With beer you swallow.

I hope this filled your educational glass for the day. If you ever have a chance to visit a brewery, do it! You will have a great time.

Cheers!

Comfort for your Valentine

2011-02-14T22:57:00.000-05:00

It comes once every year. It's celebrated by couples and loathed by singles. Valentine's Day has a love-hate relationship with many of us, depending on our situations. For many years I wanted so much to enjoy Valentine's Day. I always wanted it to be like the movies, go out to dinner and receive a dozen red roses. Looking back, I think I did it one better. During college my dad would surprise me with 4 chocolate covered strawberries, and I would share them with my best friend and college roommate, who's now husband was 2 hours away. We would make our favorite meal and share the strawberries as a dessert while we watched a good movie (usually The American President).
This year, for the third year in a row, I have had the opportunity to spend Valentine's Day with my now husband, Brian. Our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. We shared Asian inspired cuisine, which has seemed to become routine each year, and washed it down with a nice bottle of red wine... while kicking each other's butts in Wii. As a gift for each other we decided to only give each other cards. None of the Hallmark hulabaloo for this couple. Brian made me a homemade card with one of the best quotes I have ever read. I loved it. I, decided to make mine edible. Brian said the only thing he wanted were chocolate chip cookies. So this is what I did...

I created my card, only mine was edible. I figured, the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach. So I made Brian's chocolate chip cookies, but I added my own twist to it. He had requested that I make them similar to his mom's cookies, so I did my best. I even added extra chocolate chips to make them chunkier and, well, chocolatier (if that is a word). They turned out tasting pretty good. He and I both agreed that there was something missing, but I followed the directions and am sure I didn't miss anything. Before I start baking, I ALWAYS set all of the ingredients out so I don't miss anything. Ever since I made pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving without sugar, I always double check myself. So I'm not sure what exactly the cookies were missing, but they were still melt-in-your-mouth Good. We now have 3 dozen cookies, 6 shaped like hearts, to eat all on our own! (P.S. To help shape the hearts, use a heart shaped cookie cutter. Just make sure you spray it with cooking spray to keep from sticking)

Give it the one, two punch!

2011-02-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

Well, we can't say they didn't try. The Steeler's, although intimidating in their black and gold jerseys, weren't able to pull through in Super Bowl XLV against the Green Bay Packers. I have to honestly say, I didn't follow my usual football preparation routine that day. So that may have had something to do with their loss. But never the less, there is always next year.
To prepare our stomachs, however, for the big game, I made cut out sugar cookies. But not just any cut out sugar cookie... football cut out sugar cookies. They were awesome! Minus the color issue. I couldn't get the frosting to become completely black! It just wouldn't happen. Brian says they looked like "Raven purple." A disgrace if I do say so myself. But it's not about the look right? It's all about the taste? Regardless, they were a great way to end the our stuffing of faces.
You should have seen the spread we had. It was unreal. For four people you would have thought we were feeding 10! We had a HUGE bowl of buffalo chicken dip compliments of Katie, pepperoni rolls compliments of Ed, a veggie tray with 2 different types of humus along with a dip mix, pretzels, crackers and tortilla chips compliments of Brian, and homemade meatballs for meatball subs compliments of B squared (I'm going to include myself on the meatballs because it was my idea, but Brian executed it because I wasn't feeling well.). You should have seen the table. It was ridiculously full; and everything tasted really, really good.
I would have to say that the spread would have been all that much sweeter had the Steeler's pulled through, but our stomachs were happy, so I guess that is really all that counts. The endless stand-up sit-down to grab yet another spoonful of buffalo chicken dip was tiring but well worth it. All-in-all a great meal was had with friends, enjoying a semi-good game of football.
(Watch your back Packers. There's always next year!)

Comfort Food

2011-02-05T17:41:00.000-05:00

www.bhg.com

Thursday night I made baked potato soup in preparation for my office Super Bowl Party, or Souper Bowl as I was calling it. It was something that I had made before, twice actually, using two different recipes. The first recipe was based with chicken stock, which turned out to taste pretty good. The only thing that didn't taste good were the potatoes. The directions said to cook the potatoes in the soup for a certain amount of time, so once everything was in the pot I put in the potatoes. The broth was good, but the potatoes were just a little crunchy.
The other recipe was the one I ended up using on Thursday. It was milk based with LOTS of cheese. The first time I made it, it was a huge hit. So why not make it again, right? I began to get all of the ingredients out and put them on the counter so that everything was easy for me to grab. I went through to make sure I had enough of everything and realized I was short by 2 cups of milk. I was thinking of going to our friends for an extra 2 cups, but if I used the 2 cups we already had, we wouldn't have enough for breakfast. So I went out into the bitter cold, down the street to Wilson Farms to get a gallon of milk.
When I got home the cooking began. First, I washed off the potatoes and baked them in the oven at 475 degrees for 40-50 minutes. The recipe called for 2 large baking potatoes, however, I used 9 smaller potatoes (I like a lot of potato in my soup!). While they were baking, I chopped up half of a medium sized onion and shredded 8 oz. of cheddar cheese. When the potatoes were finished, I allowed them to cool, cut them in half, and scooped out the potato. You can leave the skin on if you wish, and just cut the potato into bite size pieces. It's all personal preference. I replaced the potatoes in the oven with 6 slices of BACON! Everything is better with bacon right? Seriously.
Put 3 Tbs. of butter into a pot and cooked the onions until they were translucent. Once they were cooked, I put in the milk, flour, salt, pepper and... dill. Yes, I said dill. You don't really taste it but it brings out a little something. Mix it all together and allow it to cook for 12-15 minutes until bubbling and thick. You may have to add a little more flour to make it thicken ( I added an extra 2 Tbs.). Once it bubbles, add the potatoes and cheese. Stir together and voila, you've got Baked Potato Soup!
It was a big hit at the office and tasted great. It was a little heavy with the 9 potatoes, so I think next time I may do 7. The entire process took about 2 hours, and I highly recommend it if it's cold outside and you need something hearty in your stomach.

Enjoy!

Oops... I did it again

2011-02-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

I wanted to send an apology to all of my hungry readers. This weekend I didn't bake anything. I was a complete lazy bum. So for that I apologize. And, I probably will not be baking again until Thursday and the coming weekend. So you will just have to wait with anticipation to see what concoctions I come up with.
But, in the mean time, allow me to take this time to explain Freschly Baked, because I don't believe I have.

Welcome, this is Freschly Baked... on a budget. A food blog I have created that is strictly about foods you can bake while pinching your pennies. Well, not strictly baked goods, but as close as possible. Baking is a big hobby of mine, so I thought, why not share it with the world. My husband and I are on a budget, so I've had to be creative with what I can bake.
Thus far I have created muffins, mac'n cheese, bark, cupcakes and numerous other delicious numbers. You can see some of their pictures in a slide show on your right. My hope is that the recipes I find/create and share with you will entice you to try them out on your own and tell me about them. And any advice you may have, please feel free to share it! My blog is always open.

P.S. Feel free to check out the 'Really?!' section of my blog. It's a nice break from the baking world.