Your Everyday Mama

Traveling Art Pouch - Dining out with Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:46:00 -0500

I'm pretty sure we've all been there right? The restaurant's packed, your server seems to be the only one who showed up to work that night, the kids are hungry, bored, and ready to revolt. If you're lucky, you've at least ended up at a place that uses huge sheets of block paper and dispenses out a few broken crayons that you can attempt to entertain the kids with, but let's be real, how long can you really keep Tic-Tack-Toe interesting. Or maybe that's just my life...

Read more and get the tut after the jump...

We'll, I've been caught in that situation one too many times and decided something must be done. So I searched the net for a (good) free tutorial and was so lucking to find one that I really like: the Traveling Art Show, by Bread and Buttons.

I liked it so much I made a few extras for friends and family. I managed to find all of the fabric in the remnants bin at Joann's, what a deal! The tut was easy to follow, even for a newbie sewer like me. The boys love the pirate pattern on their pouch, and I love having quick artsy entertainment in my purse.

Have a great kids artsy tut? I'd love to check it out, leave a comment!

Caramel Crunch Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:48:00 -0400

Is anyone else already thinking about Christmas? Or Christmas goodies to be exact. Every year I make an assortment of desserts to hand out as gifts to neighbors, teachers, family, etc, and I've been on the lookout for a few new things. For me, not only do they need to taste amazing, but they need to be simple and quick to prepare, cause really, who has the time for complicated around the holidays!

I immediately turned to Baking from My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, she manages to come up with recipes that aren't so simple that they're boring, but not fussy and overly complicated.

Not exactly sure why Caramel is in the name of these bars, as there isn't a lick of caramel in them, but who cares, they were yummy! The base layer of the bars is buttery with a little chew factor. It's melt in your mouth goodness from the first bite of toffee to the crumbly base...mmmmmmm, definitely making it to my Christmas baking list.

Caramel Crunch Bars, by Dorie Greenspan

For the base:
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. instant espresso powder or finely ground instant coffee
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 oz. bittersweet or premium milk chocolate, finely chopped

For the topping:
6 oz. bittersweet or premium milk chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup Heath toffee bits

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line the pan with foil and butter the foil. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To make the base: Whisk together the flour, coffee, salt and cinnamon.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another three minutes or until the mixture is light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla and turn off the mixer. Add all the dry ingredients, cover the stand mixer with a kitchen towel (so you and your kitchen don’t get showered in flour) and pulse the mixer on and off at low speed about 5 times- at which point a peek at the bowl should reveal that it’s safe to turn the mixer to low and mix, uncovered, just until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Add the chopped chocolate and mix only until the dry ingredients disappear. If the chocolate isn’t evenly mixed, finish the job by hand with a spatula. You’ll have a very heavy, very sticky dough. Scrape the dough into the buttered pan and, with the spatula and your fingertips, cajole it into a thin, even layer.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the base is bubbly – so bubbly that you can almost hear it percolating – and puckery. It will look as though it is struggling to pull away from the side of the pan. Transfer the pan to a rack and turn off the oven.

To make the topping: Scatter the chocolate evenly over the top of the hot base and pop the pan back into the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate is soft.. Remove from oven and immediately spread chocolate over bars, using offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the toffee bits over the chocolate and press them down lightly with your fingertips. Place the baking pan on a rack to cool to room temperature.

If, by the time the bars are cool, the chocolate has not set, refrigerate them briefly to firm the chocolate.
Carefully lift out of the pan, using foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. Trim the edges if they seem a bit thick. Cut about 54 bars, each about 2 inches by 1 inch, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Chili | I think I Found a Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:56:00 -0400

The leaves are changing and fall is in the air (or is it Autumn??). No matter what you call it, I bet for most of you it's your favorite time of year, I know it is for me anyway. I love to look out my kitchen windows and see the bright colors, and I really love getting to wear more clothes...I'm just not a summer girl. But if all that wasn't reason enough to love fall, then the food would surely do it. It's time for soups and stews, chili and chowder, and if you haven't already, dust off that crock pot, cause slow cooking season has arrived!

I've been making chili since high school, although back then I was in the kitchen just stirring the pot while dad did the actual cooking, it's still one of my all time favorites. Over the years I've been trying a little this and a little that to perfect the recipe, and this year is no different. Today I think I've found my new favorite! Since chili is better the second day, it's not actually on the menu until tomorrow night, but if today's taste test is any indication of what tomorrow will bring, in heaven we will be.

I've tried a few sweet chili's and while they were interesting and I liked the sweetness, I really missed the smokey flavor. And then I had a moment, an aha moment...Chipotle! You get the sweetness from the brown sugar and the smoke from the Chipotle...they are perfect companions.

Beef and Bean Chili

2 Tbs olive oil
2 large Vadalia or other sweet onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb beef sirloin, cubed
1 lb ground beef
1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
4-6 oz double concentrated tomato paste (tube)
1 can dark lager beer
1 cup strong black coffee
1 can low sodium beef broth
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs cocoa
1 Tbs cumin
2 tsp coriander, ground
2 tsp oregano
1-2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
3 (15oz) cans kidney beans, mix of regular and dark red
2-3 large Chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, finely chopped

1. Sweat onions and garlic in oil in a large dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot. Add meats, salt and pepper and brown. Add all other ingredients bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.

2. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate over night before serving.

I love my chili over white rice, topped with shredded jack cheese with either butter crackers or tortilla chips.

TWD | Flaky Apple Turnovers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:03:00 -0400

What a great week to bake apple turnovers since we still had a bunch left from the orchards. Julie with Someone's in the Kitchen picked this weeks Tuesday's with Dorie recipe. Please go check out her blog, not only to get her thoughts on the turnovers, but to get the recipe!

I had major issues with this dough, which is probably more about me than the dough. One day I'm going to be able to afford a big food processor, but for now it's just me and my pastry blender. Most times that is enough, but I think it may have been my downfall here. The dough was seriously dry, even after adding in a little more sour cream. It just would not come together! And chilling did not help matters, it just became a huge heavy brick that was nearly impossible to roll out. I was forced to let it come to room temp just to roll, which we all know ruins a good pastry dough!

These little guys puffed up like you would not believe, I used the best for the photo here, but I should have taken at least one picture of a flop, they were pretty comical looking. The turnovers were actually quite tasty though so it all worked out in the end. I did however find out that 4 apples is way more than you'll need for this recipe, I bet I only used 2 little suckers, so if you're using store bought apples, I think you'd get away with just 1.

For a few of these, I mixed in some Red Currant Jam with the apples, they were awesome, wish I'd done this with more of them. I didn't have good course sugar for the tops, so I used some homemade vanilla sugar, yum-e! I definitely recommend giving these a try!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 9 Sep 2009 11:39:00 -0400

Well, it looks like summer is officially over, at least in my house. The pool is closed, the days and especially the nights are already a bit cooler, I've got one that's started back to school, with another going next Monday, and I can't say I'm really going to miss it. Living in Virginia, we get four full seasons, which I love and can't imagine living without, but what I could live without is the nasty, oppressive humidity (although you never lack an excuse to eat Rita's Ice!).

So bring on fall in all it's colorful glory and the filling, fantastic food that comes with it! To kick off my Welcome to Fall party, I came up with a hearty, spicy chowder. I was watching a Bobby Flay Showdown where they made some sort of Shellfish Sweet Potato Corn Chowder, but since they decided to submit their version of Clam Chowder for judging instead, the recipe didn't end up on FoodNetwork... I ended up spending about two hours on the net trying to find something similar and came up empty, so I was forced to wing it. I am SO happy with the outcome, this chowder is sweet and hearty, with just the right amount of kick, enough to just give you the sniffles without burning you up.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

2-4 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, finely chopped

2-3 cups Corn (fresh off the cob or frozen)

1 cup Leeks, sliced

1 large Vidalia or other Sweet Onion, chopped

5 Sweet Potatoes, roasted and cubed

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 Tbs Thyme

2 Tbs Margoram

2 boxes Chicken Stock (32oz each)

8-10 slices of Bacon

1. Wrap sweet potatoes in tin foil, do not pierce and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour at 375 degrees. Once soft, peel and cube. * Some of these will get smashed and some will not, so cube to your desired size.

2. If using fresh corn on the cob, your cobs can be used to produce a broth. Place in a bowl with the heavy cream to infuse the corn flavor while you're cooking the chowder, discard cobs before adding the cream to the pot.

3. Fry bacon in a dutch oven or other large heavy bottomed pot, once crispy, remove and set aside leaving the bacon fat in your pot.

4. Cook leeks, onion, corn, thyme and marjoram in the bacon fat, stirring constantly until tender.

5. Add cubed sweet potatoes, 1-1 1/2 boxes of chicken stock, and Chipotle peppers, simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Using an immersion blender, blend 1/2-1/3 of the soup, you want to leave some of the corn and potato cubes whole. At this point, you can add more chicken stock if needed, keeping in mind that you will still be adding in 1 1/2 cups heavy cream.

6. Simmer chowder for another 10 minutes, add heavy cream (minus corn cobs) and combine well. If your chowder seems too thick, add more chicken stock and/or water to thin until you reach the desired consistency. Top with crumbled bacon.

Tips: Serve with corn chips or a nice crusty french loaf.

Vanilla Spiced White Peach Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 8 Sep 2009 09:41:00 -0400

I've been wanting to try my hand at canning for a very long time, but was always so intimidated. Now that I've gotten my feet wet in the kitchen, I was thinking it might be time to just go for it. I decided to start out with water bath canning, I pretty much want to stick with jams, jellies and salsas, so this method is fine for that, plus it's less expensive to get started. My water bath pot was less than half the cost of what I would have paid for a good sized pressure cooker, plus the cost of the basic canning kit.

I bought the jars themselves at Kroger, so at least I saved on some shipping there, plus I was able to 'see' it first hand, which gave me a better feel for sizing, which is extremely important. If the jars were too small, they would fall through the wire wrack in the canning pot. Turns out though that a pint sized jar of jam is huge! I couldn't go with the standard half pint because they are too thin and wouldn't fit well on the wrack, so I ordered some wide mouth half-pint jars for next time. I plan to make some hot pepper jelly and apple butter, feel free to send your favorite recipes of either along, I haven't decided exactly how I want to go about them yet.

We picked up a bag of beautiful white peaches at the orchard this past Saturday, so peach jam was an obvious choice. I searched and searched and finally came across a jam recipe that sounded solid, then jazzed it up.

Vanilla Spiced Peach Jam

1 Vanilla bean, split
6 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2.5-3 cups sugar
5 lbs peaches, peeled and chopped (about 13 peaches)

1. Place all ingredients in a heavy large pot; stir to combine. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain boil.

2. While the mixture boils, mash fruit with a potato masher to desired consistency *. Boil an additional 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, or until slightly thickened**. (Temperature should be about 221 F.) Remove from heat; remove vanilla bean.

3. Pour hot jam into 8 sterilized 8-oz. jars. Carefully wipe jar rims; cover. (Jam can be made up to 1 month ahead and refigerated or up to 6 months ahead and frozen.) To store at room temperature, immediately process in a boiling water bath for 5 five minutes.

4. Immediately process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

* Tip - I would recommend cutting the peaches into cubes versus the slices you see in the picture. I had a hard time smashing them and actually had to pull out the immersion blender to help!

** Tip - To test jam, place a small plate into the freezer to chill. When jam begins to thicken slightly, place a small amount of jam on chilled plate; return to freezer for 1 to 2 minutes. When set, jam will be slightly set and will not run on plate. If jam is too thin and runny, cook an addition 1 to 2 minutes before testing again.

I doubled the original recipe so that I would have enough jam to make it worth doing. The flavor is really amazing, but it was WAY too sweet! Doubled, it was 6 cups of sugar, I've adjusted it to 4 in the recipe above. The flavor of the caradamon really comes through, and there's no mistaking the little black vanilla beans! Like Megan, I too think this is going to be unbelievable on vanilla ice cream..mmmmm.

You start with this...

And get this...look at the vanilla bean in there!

Sneak Peek

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 6 Sep 2009 14:42:00 -0400

Just a little sneak peek of what's to come, we found some wonderful white peaches at the orchard, so I'm trying something new this weekend, wish me luck that it comes out well!

Arancini | Cheese Filled Risotto Croquettes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 2 Sep 2009 16:37:00 -0400

We discovered these little bites of rice heaven at the Boathouse, a local water side restaurant here in Richmond. (They catered my wedding, yum! Too bad these weren't on the menu then) From the first bite, you just fall in love. They have an unbelievably crispy exterior that breaks a bit when you bite into them, then you get the soft, creamy risotto, and the surprising stringy bite of mozzarella... OMG, these things are the best appetizer ever! Seriously, can you go wrong when you combine fried crunchy, salty creamy and cheesy gooey? Heck no! They serve their Arancini with roasted red peppers and artichoke, but for my first time, I decided to stick to just the Arancini itself.

I looked up a billion recipes for these and have to say that if you give them a try yourself, keep it simple. There was one suggestion that called for you to add an egg and heavy cream to the day old risotta, all I have to say to that is: DISASTER! It took my perfectly old sticky rice and turned it back into a soft gooey mess. Needless to say I had to start all over and was forced to wait another 24 hours. I also suggest that you refrain from adding either pancetta or prosciutto inside with your mozzarella, not only does it add to the cost of this pretty inexpensive dish, the prosciutto becomes an unappetizing hard ball inside the Arancini...it was as yucky as it sounds.

I'm sad to say it was harder to make these than I was hoping, I think it's all in the texture of your rice. I had to wash and thoroughly dry my hands in between every two balls! Let me tell you, there was a lot of cussing and huffing and even a little rice throwing during this part. The rice just did not want to stick together! Once they were all formed though, the rest was a breeze, and they fry up in seconds. You must make these, they were worth every bit of frustration and the unexpected extra day wait.

Arancini

Risotto, refrigerated over night

3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups Panko
1 cup flour
fresh mozzarella ball (cubed)
olive oil or vegetable oil
day old risotto, prepared
tomato sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pot to 350 degrees. You want enough oil to almost, but not completely cover your Arancini.

2. Set up your dipping stations using three medium sized mixing bowls. Fill bowl one with just flour, bowl two with eggs and milk (beaten), and in bowl three, fill with the bread crumbs and Panko. Have a baking sheet (with sides) lined with parchment paper ready.

3. Take about 2-3 tablespoons risotto, form into a ball then smoosh into your hand. Place 1-3 pieces of your cubed mozzarella cheese (depending on size) in the middle of your smooshed ball, cover and reform into a tight ball, drop into the flour. I recommend doing these in groups of 3-4 at a time, once you have 3-4 balls in the flour, shake off excess then put them into the egg mixture, making sure they get well coated, then drop them into the Panko mixture. Again, make sure they are covered well, shake off excess and place on the parchment lined baking sheet.

4. Once all of your balls are formed you're ready to fry them. The oil should be good and hot, they'll brown in less than a minute (probably about 20-30 seconds). Don't stop moving them, turn them over regularly, once they're a nice rich brown, get them out and back onto the baking sheet.

5. Heat the Arancini in the oven for 8-10 minutes, this will finish their cooking and melt the mozzarella inside. Serve immediately with your favorite tomato sauce!

* When making your risotto, I recommend adding 1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese. Cool completely before covering and putting in the refrigerator, you do not want to trap any liquid in there.

Interesting tidbit: Cheese Arancini are known as Telefono or Telephone Fritters for the string or 'telephone line' of cheese that stretches between the two halves when broken open!

If anyone out there has suggestions on the frustrating ball forming portion of this, I'd love to hear it, as I will be making these again and again!

TWD | Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 1 Sep 2009 17:32:00 -0400

I'm running so late tonight, I'm supposed to be meeting the hubby for dinner in an hour and a half and I haven't even showered, yikes, so I'll keep this post short and sweet!

Melissa, of Life in a Peanut Shell chose this weeks Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, Espresso Cheesecake Brownies...I knew I should have skipped this one, I don't even like brownies. They ended up over cooked and not really good at all, but I think it's because of the changes I made. It was supposed to be cooked in a sheet pan, but I wanted individual sized portions. You have to check out Melissa's blog though, her pictures make me almost want to try this one again some day... almost! If you haven't checked out, Baking: From my Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan, you must do so immediately, it's now my favorite, the recipes rock and the pictures are almost as good, worth every penny :)

Spanakopita

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:32:00 -0400

Is anyone else as intimidated by Phyllo dough as I am? Just the thought of having to work like a mad woman to avoid Phyllo disaster terrified me...and now I know why. While this wasn't the hardest thing I've ever done, it wasn't totally easy either.

I absolutely LOVE Spanakopita...it's buttery and flaky and salty and cheesy, and seriously, what else do you need in life. I used to pick up a box of the frozen stuff regularly and eat just that for dinner. I've tried fresh, and to be honest, this box frozen stuff was actually better, sad but true. (I'm sure there's some great fresh stuff out there, I just haven't been lucky enough to get any yet) Then the worst thing ever happened...Kroger stopped carrying it! WTF, what in the world would cause them to do that?

Maybe it's a good thing after all, the stuff can't possibly be good for you, and if I'm forced to make it myself I'll dang sure be eating a lot less of it. That being said, it was awesome and totally worth my effort! I made the first batch over the weekend and took it to a moms group meeting, there wasn't any left to take home, so I guess they liked it. I personally thought it was missing something, so I changed it up a bit for the second round, and I (and the hubby), both think it came out much better.

Every recipe I read said to just use melted butter (or olive oil), but I just so happened to catch a Good Eats episode where Alton was making Baklava, he recommended using clarified butter when working with Phyllo dough so that you would eliminate the water in plain melted butter...so that's the way I went here as well. If you've never made Spanakopita yourself, I highly recommend giving it a try!

Spanakopita

aka Greek Spinach Pie | Spanakopitakia

1 1/2-2 Sticks unsalted butter, clarified and cooled
1 lb fresh baby spinach
1/2 lb feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg, beaten
4 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Pkg Phyllo dough, thawed (1 8oz pk)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
olive oil

1. Wilt your spinach with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, you'll most likely need to work in batches. Allow the spinach to cool, squeeze out as much liquid as possible, rough chop and put into a medium sized bowl.

2. Sauté chopped onion and parsley in olive oil until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add to spinach, along with egg, lemon juice, feta and nutmeg, combine until all ingredients are well mixed.

3. Lay out 1 piece of Phyllo dough, brush with butter, overlap with one more piece of Phyllo, brush again with butter. Using a sharp knife (or a pizza cutter), cut your Phyllo into 3 strips, (picture below to help give you a visual).

4. Place about 1 1/2 Tbs of spinach mixture at the end of each strip of Phyllo. Roll into triangles, like you would the American Flag :)

5. Continue until you've used all of your spinach mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until they're nice and golden. Sprinkle with a little salt while they're still hot.

Tips:
1. Keep your Phyllo under plastic wrap and a damp towel while you're working with it.
2. You can make these ahead (about 3-4 days), freeze before cooking, then when you need them, just pop them in the oven frozen!
3. If you aren't interested in all this work, make a pie in a baking dish instead. Bake for about 40 minutes, cutting into slices about half way through.

When a PB&J Just Won't Cut It

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:43:00 -0400

9 times out of 10, if you ask Aidan what he wants for lunch, he'll pick a PB&J...anyone else sick to death of them besides me? Well, after my 68th PB&J of the summer, I thought it was time to kick that sandwich to the curb, and make me a real lunch, just for mom! Just last week I made my Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Sage-Butter Sauce, and hinted that there were many variations...here's my favorite for lunch. It's not as complicated as it sounds, I promise...and it's so very worth the effort to have real food once in a while for lunch. The kids actually ate the chicken, not on a wrap, but dipped in honey mustard dressing, even asking for seconds if you can believe it!

Pecan Crusted Chicken

Crust
2 eggs whites
2 tsp cornstarch
juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup crushed Pecans
1/2 cup Panko
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
zest of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Blend egg whites, cornstarch, and lemon juice with a fork in a wide, shallow dish; set aside.

2. Combine bread crumbs, Panko, pecans, parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon zest in a second wide, shallow dish. Crust chicken breast by dredging first through egg mixture, then pecan mixture.

3. Sauté chicken in olive oil in a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Carefully turn with a spatula, and transfer the skillet to the oven to finish cooking. Roast chicken just until done, about 8 more minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, cut into strips.

Mustard Vinaigrette, Melissa d'Arabian

Put the mustard in the bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (a French secret!) vigorously for about 10 seconds to get a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle in the olive oil as slowly as possible with 1 hand while whisking as quickly as possible with the other hand to emulsify. Lay the salad greens on top of the dressing and toss just before serving.

Wrap
Use any wrap you like, today I chose a Sundried Tomato. Layer in spring salad mix, chicken strips, feta (or any other cheese), grape halves and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Tip: If like me, you're cooking for a large group, cook your chicken in batches. Transfer your chicken to a foil covered baking pan, then cook in the oven.

TWD | Creamiest Lemon Cream Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:58:00 -0400

Yay, my first week as part of the Tuesday's with Dorie baking group. I had to wait 2 weeks after officially joining while I waited for my cookbook to come in...it was worth the wait, this pie is awesome! It's supposed to be the Creamiest Lime Cream Pie, but I had a fridge full of lemons, so I decided to make the switch.

I know it looks pretty ugly, the egg whites were whipping away when Aidan decided to wake up from nap, cranky and needing some Mommy love...the dangers of motherhood baking...in my absence, the egg whites were way over whipped, but no matter, they still tasting great, just less than pretty.

This pie is sooooo super tart, which I absolutely LOVE. I've never made a cream pie, and after reading the comments on the TWD blog, I was a bit worried, but thankfully I had no problems at all getting my cream to reach 180 degrees (and it only took about 3-4 minutes). The meringue had just the right sweetness to compliment the tart lemons, it was perfect. The only thing I would change about this is the pie plate, it really needed a deep dish, the meringue is heavy, so once I plopped it on, it caused a lot of the lemon filling to ooze out and over the edge.

Thanks Linda of Tender Crumb, it was an excellent pick! Check out Tuesday's with Dorie, or buy the book yourself, you won't be disappointed.

Big Boy Number 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0400

Really, isn't he just the sweetest thing? That would be my 2nd oldest baby, and my oldest boy, Aidan. He is the love of my life (for today at least), and I'm sure you can see why. Have you ever seen a smile more innocent, a look more angelic... oh really, who is this mama kidding? We can say this about all of our kids right!

In this picture, Aidan was helping make pancakes, his all time favorite food to help with. There was a time when Sagwa was his favorite cartoon show, so in honor of that minute long love affair, he dubbed the pancakes, Sagwa Pancakes!

We no longer make that particular pancake variety, but the memories are still dear to my heart. I have high hopes for this little boy... he is beyond his little years bright, loves with all his big heart, and melts mine at least a billion times a day. With his fathers culturally rich background, and my ever emerging love of all things foodie, I do believe he will one day be a great cook! If nothing else, he'll look super duper cool in an apron right (super duper being his favorite new phrase).

Nothing much else to report today, we've got an over packed weekend as usual. I plan on making a Creamiest Lime (lemon) Cream Pie for Tuesdays with Dorie, and Spanik
opita...a little scared of both of these, we'll see how it goes. I'll be taking whatever is worth sharing to a board meeting/get-together for my mother's of multiples club Sunday...wish me luck!

And let me just leave you with this little piece of heavenly mommy pride...gotta love it...

Peach Pie Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:29:00 -0400

Fresh summer peaches, another awesome Farmer's Market find...not what to do with them? I've made peach pie a million times so that was out. Then I happened to see peach cupcakes on Smitten Kitchen and knew a cupcake it must be! I wanted something a little different though, so the Peach Pie Cupcake was created.

I couldn't decide though which frosting I wanted, so I made three, I know I'm a compete dork. I preferred the brown sugar, T liked the brown butter better. The mascarpone was pretty great, just not really the right thing for this cupcake though, it needed something with a little more depth and heaviness. Amazingly, the kids actually ate these...cool...and they're not half bad for breakfast either. Inspired by Willow Bird Baking.

Peach Pie Cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter
3/8 cup light brown sugar
3/8 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup applesauce (or any fruit flavor baby food you like)
3 Tbs Tuaca liquor, divided
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
2 cups fresh peaches chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 12 wells in a cupcake pan. In a small bowl, make streusel. Add all the ingredients and cut the mixture into crumbles using a pastry blender. In a separate bowl, combine chopped peaches with 1 tablespoon Tuaca liquor, set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add the eggs one at a time and mix. Mix in the buttermilk, applesauce, vanilla, and the Tuaca/peach juice and extra 2 tablespoons Tuaca.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add a little of the flour mixture at a time to the wet ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Beat the batter well until air is incorporated, about 2 more minutes.

4. Pour batter until each cupcake well is just under half full. Spoon a thin layer of streusel over this batter, then drop in one tablespoon of peaches (making sure not get extra juice from the peaches). Fill in with the rest of the cupcake batter. If you love a lot of peach in your “cobbler,” you can add a few more hunks on top. Spoon a sprinkle of streusel over the top of the batter in each well. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan for a couple of minutes, and then on a cooling rack. Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost them.

Streusel

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting, Smitten Kitchen

1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup powdered sugar
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens back up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop on cooled cupcakes.

Mascarpone Frosting, Martha Stewart

1 cup heavy cream
8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temp
½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy). In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.

Brown Butter Icing, Martha Stewart

4 Tbs un-salted butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbs milk

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and pour butter into a bowl, leaving any burned sediment behind.

2. Add sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk; stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon milk, a little at a time, until consistency is spreadable. Let cool 5 minutes. Use immediately

* These cupcakes would have looked amazing if I'd had chocolate brown cupcake liners, I really need to buy some!

Blackberry Pie Bars with Lemon Sugar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:57:00 -0400

Another Farmers Market find was blackberries. They are not my favorite, but I knew T liked them so I grabbed them up...didn't hurt that they were huge and gorgeous! You can see my smallest rug rat above scoping them out, with good reason, they were delicious! I had a bit of a hard time getting my bottom crust to set right and get crunchy, but it still tasted great.

Blackberry Pie Bars with Lemon Sugar, Joy the Baker

Crust and Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
zest of two lemons
Blackberry Filling
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 (16-ounce) packages frozen blackberries, defrosted and drained

(You can also use 6 cups of fresh blackberries, or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen blackberries and 3 cups of fresh blackberries)

To make the crust and topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch backing pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside. Zest two lemons. Measure out the sugar onto a clean work surface. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon. Rubbing the zest into the sugar will release oils from the zest and create a lemon-scented sugar.

2. Combine lemon sugar, flour, salt and butter in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.

3. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes until it is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

To make the filling

1. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt. Gently fold in the blackberries. Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust. You may have to distribute the blackberries evenly around.

2. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

Tip: If you’re using frozen berries, be sure to defrost and drain the excess liquid. Place the frozen berries on a plate in the refrigerator overnight. They’re defrosted and ready for bar baking!

Mismatched Meals and the Farmers Market

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:11:00 -0400

Sometimes, you just have to go with a craving, even if it means you end up with a mismatched meal. This past Saturday the hubby and I, along with the three boys headed out early to the South of the James @ Forest Hill Farmers Market. I didn't even know we had a South of the James market...we Southsiders tend to be left out of the loop so to speak. My neighbor had found the place and told me all about it, I was so excited.

I'm happy to report we weren't disappointed. There was a little music, a bunch of craft exhibits, great smelling food and lots and lots of fresh produce. (It's small of course, nothing like the big fancy ones, but I'll take what they have to offer and run with it!)

I was really wanting to make up a bunch of fresh foods so hence, my mismatched hodgepodge of a meal.

T and I were seriously craving some bruschetta, so I decided to take full advantage of our market finds and make a pesto based, Mozzarella Tomato and Basil Bruschetta, and it was pure heaven!

Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Makes 1 cup

Sliced Tomato Topping

1 large tomato
¼ cup olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1. Make a small slit in the skin of your tomato and drop into a pot of boiling water. Boil for 45 seconds - 1 minute. Remove tomato and place immediately into an ice bath.

2. Peel the tomato, remove all seeds and dice.

3. Mix tomato with olive oil and minced garlic.

Balsamic Reduction

Bring 1 cup balsamic vinegar to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until reduced by half. You know it's done when it sticks to the back of a wooden spoon. If you like yours a little sweeter, add in a ¼ cup light brown sugar before starting the boiling process.

Garlic Infused Butter

1 stick of butter, clarified
3 garlic cloves, peeled/whole

Clarify 1 stick of butter, add in your garlic cloves and marinate for about 20 minutes. Remove garlic and that's it!

Pesto based Mozzarella, Basil and Tomato Bruschetta

Slice up a crusty french loaf on the bias, place slices on a sheet pan. Brush each slice with Garlic Infused Butter and bake at 375° for about 3 minutes. Remove the pan, on each slice, spread pesto, layer with a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese and basil. Place the pan back in the oven and bake until the cheese in melted. Top each with fresh tomatoes and drizzle with balsamic reduction.

We also found potatoes and onion and garlic at the market so I decided to throw it all together and roast a chicken. Ina has an amazing roast chicken recipe, I just unfortunately forget to pick up leeks. Watch her video on this one, it's worth the 5 minutes. I don't have a picture of the finished product, my family inhaled it...must have been good!

Two on Tuesdays | Cookbooks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:05:00 -0400

The anticipation was killing me. Patience is not my greatest virtue...to be honest it isn't even in my repertoire of virtues! As soon as I joined the group Tuesday with Dorie I ran right out to Barnes and Noble to buy the book, O-M-G was it ever expensive. I didn't care, I was set to buy it anyway, except they only had one really beat up copy, and since I plan to beat up my own copy, I decided to I better go new. With all the money I saved by buying at Amazon, I went ahead and threw in Hello, Cupcake too!

I can not wait to get started on my first recipe as a Tuesdays with Dorie baker, this week is Applesauce Spice Bars...yummy! I really hope they taste as awesome as their picture looks, I need to collect a ton of apple recipes to have on hand for the fall. Every year we visit Carter's Mountain Orchard in Charlottesville, VA and bring home a billion apples, so many that I end up giving tons away to friends and family.

And these next two are cookbooks that I'd like to purchase. Thank God for FoodNetwork online, it's afforded me the opportunity to pretend I'm Ina on a regular basis, but I think I'm ready to own one of her cookbooks. I'd plan to start collecting cookbooks, and no collection would be complete without Ina's Barefoot Contessa.

If you're not already familiar with Jaden Hair of the Steamy Kitchen, then you're really missing out. She produces some super amazing food, is an awesome blogger, and has a new cookbook for sale on Amazon.

* All pictures are clickable, so check them out :)

Apple Tartlets, Melissa d'Arabian

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:50:00 -0400

Ever since the first episode of The Next FoodNetwork Star, I have been dying to try Melissa d'Arabian's Apple Tartlets...but FoodNetwork was not giving up the recipe! Well, after doing a quick Google search, I found Melissa on Facebook, yay. I posted a link to my review of her 5-Minute Individual Potato Gratins, and begged her to post her recipes not only for the Tartlets, but the Orange Chocolate Pastries as well. And can you believe she responded back!?! I was floored, how cool is that. She gave me the link to the Tartlets and a promise to soon post her Orange Chocolate Pochette recipe!

Still waiting on that Pochette recipe Melissa, but I can be patient, I know you're busy ;) In the meantime, here's the Tartlets:

Apple Tartlets, adapted from Melissa d’Arabian

3 Medium Granny Smith Apples, thinly sliced
2 Tbs Sugar for Sprinkling
2 tsp Cinnamon for Sprinkling
2-3 Tbs Butter for Dotting
2 T Water
1 Egg Yolk
Dough for Crust (recipe to follow)
Caramel Sauce (recipe to follow)

Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Once the dough is done resting, roll out in between 2 sheets of wax paper until the dough is between 1/8 and ¼ inch thick. Using a large (3 - 4 inch) biscuit cutter, cut out 8 - 10 mini tartlet crusts and place on buttered baking sheets.

Place the apples on the crust decoratively, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and dot each tartlet with a small cube of butter. Mix egg yolk with water in a small bowl and brush the sides of the crust using pastry brush.

Bake at 375° for 35 - 40 minutes until golden brown. Drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with salt.

Dough for Crust

1 stick of Unsalted Butter
1 c All Purpose Flour
¼ c Whole Wheat Flour
1 T Sugar
1 tsp Salt
8 T Ice Water

Cut butter into half inch cubes and chill in freezer for 10 - 15 minutes. Once cold, place butter in a food processor, add flour, sugar and salt. Pulse quickly on and off until mixture resembles coarse sand. Then add water and pulse quickly until the mixture starts to clump and the texture is like peas, but not yet sticky. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time, being very careful not to put too much in or to make the dough sticky.

Once the dough as pea-sized clumps immediately pour the mixture into a large, plastic, zip-top bag (or a large piece of plastic wrap). Very gently use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to one day. * I don't have a processor this large, so I used a pastry blender.

Caramel Sauce

¾ c of Sugar
¼ c of Water
½ c of Half and Half
½ Vanilla Bean, Scraped

Place sugar, water, vanilla bean in medium sauce pan and stir to mix over high heat. Let the mixture melt without stirring, once the mixture bubbles and starts turning golden brown begin whisking quickly.

Add half and half in a very thin stream, whisking constantly. As sauce becomes caramel colored and starts to thicken remove from heat and let it cool.
- -

I couldn't get the caramel sauce to work out, so I reverted back to my standby caramel recipe. These were really awesome, and came out a lot like a cookie, which is so cool. Definitely will make these again. Next time I'll cut the circles a little larger so that I have more flaky crust around the edges.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Sage-Butter Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:50:00 -0400

Another tried and true family favorite that is not only delicious, but flexible as well, can’t beat that. Don't like Parmesan cheese all that much? Just leave it out, the original recipe doesn't call for mushrooms, but I like to add them in my recipes whenever possible because it makes the hubby happy, I just leave them large enough so that it's easy for the rest of us to pick them out. I love the flavor of mushrooms, just don't love the texture. You can also leave out the Parmesan and add in crushed pecans, yum!

This recipe has a few steps, but is completely and utterly well worth it. Once you’ve tried it, you will forever finish cooking your food in the oven, versus stove top, especially chicken, it is the number 1 way to keep in nice and juicy.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Sage-Butter Sauce, adapted from Cuisine at Home

Crust
2 eggs whites
2 tsp cornstarch
juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup regular bread crumbs
1/2 Italian bread crumbs
1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
zest of one lemon

Sage-Butter Sauce
3 Tbs shallots, minced
3/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 Tbs minced fresh sage
salt, white pepper, and cayenne to taste

4 Chicken breast, pounded thin

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Blend egg whites, cornstarch, and lemon juice with a fork in a wide, shallow dish; set aside.

2. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon zest in a second wide, shallow dish. Crust chicken breast by dredging first through egg mixture, then bread crumb mixture.

3. Sauté chicken in olive oil in a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Carefully turn with a spatula, and transfer the skillet to the oven to finish cooking. Roast chicken just until done, about 8 more minutes.

4. Sauté shallots in 1 Tbs butter in a small saucepan over medium heat just until soft, 2-3 minutes.

5. Add wine, cream broth, and lemon juice. Simmer until reduced by half, 8-20 minutes.

6. Whisk in butter, 1 Tbs at a time, stirring constantly. Do not add more butter until previous addition has melted completely.

7. Add mushrooms and heat through. Finish sauce with sage, add seasonings. Keep warm in a water bath until ready to serve.

Tips:
1. Serve over spaghetti noodles or with roasted potatoes.
2. Exchange the Parmesan for crushed pecans, serve in a roasted tomato wrap with fresh greens and homemade honey-mustard dressing!

Two on Tuesdays | A Little Music

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:40:00 -0400

I can't believe another week has come and gone. New this week, Aidan is now completely addicted to PlayStation... just great... I have no idea what my husband was thinking when he introduced this item to my children. This is now yet another thing they fight over, and they are fighting ugly I tell ya. I had to take them all to the pool yesterday just to get a break from the game playing, screaming, hitting insanity!

This is however, how I came up with the first item on my Two on Tuesday's list... if you have never seen/heard this video, well prepare to be amazed and absolutely amused!

Anita Renfro | Momsense. Now wasn't that HIL-AR-I-OUS!

And here is my new favorite kids song... our kids are so spoiled, their music is just so much cooler than ours was.

Cathy and Marcy along with Christylez, how awesome are they.

Cherry Turnovers | Cherry Pie Lollipops

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 9 Aug 2009 17:13:00 -0400

Cherry season seems to be in full swing, at least they're up to 60% regular price at my local grocery store, so we've been buying them left and right. Everywhere I turn is some cherry dessert or another...in the bakery display, on every other blog I read...it's had me just craving them! I decided to try a cream cheese pastry dough for these and a simple cherry pie filling. I seriously s-u-c-k at pastry dough so I have no idea why I decided to bother with these.

Half of the recipes I read require you to have a full size food processor, and for the 3 of you that regularly read this blog, you know it's on my Two on Tuesday wishlist! The other recipes say you just have to have a dough blender, and I think the latter would be correct...too bad I didn't wait to try the recipe until I'd bought one! I could not keep my dough cold enough while mixing and rolling, but it still tasted great. There is absolutely no discernible cream cheese flavor, just really good flaky dough.

Basic Cream Cheese Dough

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbs granulated sugar
¼ tsp table salt
8 Tbs unsalted butter (1 stick), cold, cut into ½ inch pieces
4 ounces cream cheese (cold), cut into ½ inch pieces
2 tsp lemon juice from 1 lemon
1-3 Tbs water (ice cold)

Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and cream cheese cubes, blending with a hand dough blender until the butter and cream cheese clumps are about the size of peas. Add lemon juice and 1 Tbs, with a wooden spoon, mix until just combined, adding 1-2 Tbs cold water if needed.

Tips:
1. Use ice water so that your water is super cold.
2. Refrigerate dough at any/all stages as needed to keep it cold

Cherry Turnovers

4 cups pitted fresh cherries
½ cup sugar
4 Tbs cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp almond extract
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits

Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Assembly & Cooking Instructions

1. Liberally flour a clean, dry surface. Roll out your cream cheese dough to desired thickness (I went for pretty thin). Using anything circular in the size you'd like your turnovers to be, cut out circles. For the large turnovers, I used an upside down small plate, for the smaller turnovers, use a regular drinking glass. Cut out your circles and place on a cookie sheet. If the dough is too warm, refrigerate for 10 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400° F. Using the tip of your finger, spread an egg wash around the edge of half of the circles. Spoon in cherry filling, don't over fill!

3. Fold over, clean side to egg wash side. Crimp around the edge of your turnovers, and cut 2-3 slits in the top to allow steam to release.

4. Brush the top with butter, sprinkle with sugar and bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

Egg Wash: Whisk together 1 egg and Tbs water.

Not many cherries fit in here, you can cut them in half so that it fits a little better.

For the little guys, I cut the cherries into small pieces, that's maybe one cherry there!

Sprinkle with powdered sugar..yum...

Aren't these little ones cute, and bite sized!

When making the lollipops, wrap your sticks in tin foil so they don't burn. These are two circles of dough, one on top of the other. Thanks for the idea Bakerella.

They were not at all sure about these, didn't take them long to dig in...

Make Your Own Pizza | Dough & Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 9 Aug 2009 13:08:00 -0400

If the people in your house are as picky as mine, then making your own pizza is the way to go! It's simpler than you think, saves you a bunch of money and best of all, it's fun!

I'm simple and just want a good Margarita Pizza, the kids would DIE if they saw green stuff on their pizza though, so fresh basil is out of the question on theirs. T is a meat eater, so if I'm crazy enough to offer up a meat free meal he might just boycott my kitchen...maybe that's not a bad thing now that I think about it..ha!

Homemade Pizza Dough

7 cups all-purpose flour
1 level tablespoon fine sea salt
2 (¼ ounce) packets active dried yeast
1 Tbs sugar
4 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 ½ cups lukewarm water

1. Sift the flour and salt onto a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a large measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.

2. Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.

3. Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands - this is called punching down the dough. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. If using right away, divide the dough up into as many little balls as you want to make pizzas - this amount of dough is enough to make about six to eight medium pizzas.

4. Timing wise, it's a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them. Don't roll them out and leave them hanging around for a few hours, though - if you are working in advance like this it's better to leave your dough, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. However, if you want to get them rolled out so there's 1 less thing to do when your guests are round, simply roll the dough out into rough circles, about ¼ inch thick, and place them on slightly larger pieces of olive-oil-rubbed and flour-dusted aluminum foil. You can then stack the pizzas, cover them with plastic wrap, and pop them into the refrigerator.

Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce, adapted from Cat Cora

1 (4-ounce) can tomato paste
1 cup water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ Tbs chopped fresh oregano leaves
½ Tbs chopped fresh basil leaves
½ Tbs chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Mix together the tomato paste, water, and olive oil. Mix well. Add garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, oregano, basil, and rosemary. Mix well and let stand several hours to let flavors blend. No cooking necessary, just spread on dough.

Make sure the sides of your 'well' are higher than mine...

Mmmm....pizza love...

Look how thin this crust is....perfection!

Again...look at the thinness of this pizza, love it!

Read Your Histogram and Nail Your Exposure | Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 7 Aug 2009 10:20:00 -0400

Head on over to MCP for for the full article and video...

John Mireles likes to say that there’s not a lot in the photography business that he hasn’t done in his 20 years in the business. He’s shot everything from fashion editorial to big budget advertising shoots to high-end weddings to family portraits as well as a wide range of personal work that runs from nudes to landscapes. His passion is telling a story through the subjects that he photographs.

You can check out his advertising website here
His wedding photography is online here
His website for photographers is Photographers Toolkit (Be sure to sign up for his free Photographer’s Business Coach.)

MCP readers are very lucky - over the next 3 days John will be teaching you how to read and understand your histogram. This in turn leads to better exposures and less post processing! And knowing your histogram also is very important when using curves and levels. He really explains the histogram in an easy to understand way. I hope you really enjoy and learn from this videos.

Make sure to check out MCP's entire website and Blog!

Mommy Mayhem, Manic Mommy... whatever, Melissa d'Arabian wins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 5 Aug 2009 14:04:00 -0400

Anyone watch The Next FoodNetwork Star: Season 5? This was my first season watching the show, so have no idea how it rates to the previous ones, but Manic Mommy, Melissa d'Arabian wins the day. Initially I wasn't quite sure about her, she's not a chef, just a home cook (like most of us) so I didn't really hold out much hope. But from the very first episode she had me, her apple tart/cookie thing was the only recipe I was craving after the show, not that FoodNetwork is giving it out! :/

I've been reading a lot on FoodNetwork's web site, not much of it so nice to Melissa...guess she'll have a lot of that coming, so I felt the need to try a recipe and give a shout out to a fellow mom, mom to 4, mom to twins - you get the idea!

FoodNetwork has decided the new show will be Ten Dollar Dinners... not so sure yet what I think of this, I'll be reserving judgement. I do know however that I'll be recording it, as the day/time slot they've chosen really stinks! (Sunday's 12:30pm, premieres Aug. 9)

5-Minute Individual Potato Gratins

2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly slices
½ cup grated Swiss cheese
2 green onions, finely chopped
¾ cup heavy cream
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream.

3. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.

OK, I changed it up a little, cause that's what I do! Plus I was working with what I had. I really just made this to try it out, so reduced all the amounts down to make just 3 individual servings.

I used Swiss Gruyere and blue cheeses and chives instead of green onion, again cause it's what I had. I used a mandolin to slice my potatoes extra thin and save some time, then cut the slices in half to fit in the tin better, (too bad I about sliced off my finger...please people, madonlins come with a guard for a reason, use it!). I layered potatoes about half way up, poured in some cheese sauce, finished filling with sliced potatoes, then finished with the rest of the cheese sauce. There were about a gazillion complaints in the reviews of this recipe about their gratins sticking... I used standard tins, standard cooking spray and I had no problems at all, they came right out, so not sure what's up with everyone else's issue.

I gotta say, great recipe Melissa! This is the perfect size for me, I can make just what I want, saving me time and money...bonus: For some reason the cheese/potatoes got way crispy on the top/edges, maybe since it was cooked in a metal tin, instead of the ceramic dish I usually do gratins in, whatever the reason, those crunchy parts were like icing on my cake... or crunchy bits on my potato, er whatever, it was awe-some!

The Ultimate Sundae with Homemade Sauces and Cherry Compote

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 4 Aug 2009 17:46:00 -0400

Boy, I wish I'd thought to make these for dessert after Sunday's burger dinner, what a way to end a meal that would have been! Honestly, I had everything in the fridge to make these without much effort, all store bought stuff of course. But... I watched a Throwdown with Bobby Flay episode and just couldn't resist recreating his winning sundae.

A couple suggestions...
1. Only make all this stuff if you have a bunch of people to feed
2. If you don't feel like going all out like this, skip everything except for the Marshmallow Fluff and the Cherry Compote. The cherries cause they are scary spectacular, and the Fluff cause it's just cool to say you've made Fluff!

Most everything was made exactly as Bobby said to make it, some of them I halved because it was just too much. Do not halve the Cherry Compote recipe and make 1/4 of the Fluff recipe, cause I did halve it, and holy moly that was a lot of Fluff!

Marshmallow Fluff

6 Tbs water
1 ¼ cups light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean seeds
4 large egg whites
pinch salt
pinch cream of tartar

1. In a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, bring the water, corn syrup, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla bean to 246° F.

2. In the meantime, in a completely clean, dry mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until creamy and foamy, about 2 minutes. Still whisking, sprinkle in the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and continue to whisk until the whites hold very soft peaks, about 2 minutes.

3. While mixing on slow speed, carefully drizzle in the hot syrup. Turn the mixer to high and whisk until thick, fluffy and just warm, about 7 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and whisk in the vanilla seeds.

Butterscotch Sauce

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
½ vanilla bean seeds
2-4 Tbs good quality Scotch
2 tsp salt
½ cup heavy cream

1. Bring sugar, butter and vanilla bean to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, whisking until combined.

2. Remove pan from the heat. Add the Scotch, return the pan to the heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the salt and warm cream until smooth.

Hot Fudge Sauce

2/3 cup heavy cream
½ cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
6 oz quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

1. Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of chocolate to a boil in a 1 to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted.

2. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Serve warm.

Cherry Compote

¾ cup sugar
2 cups cherries, pitted
½ cup water
2 Tbs Kirsch (Cognac)

1. In a saucepan combine sugar, cherries, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to s a simmer and cook until cherries start to breakdown, about 6 minutes.

2. Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon; reserve. Simmer the cooking liquid until reduced and syrupy. Remove from the heat, add the Kirsch and ignite with a long kitchen match until flames subside. Return the cherries to the pan and heat briefly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I don’t have Kirsch and there was no way I was lighting up anything! I just added some Cognac in the first step with everything else.

Top your Ultimate Sundae with chopped nuts of choice for it to be perfect!