Mrs. Regueiro's Plate

Soft Pretzel Bites

2012-01-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been craving salty foods more than normal. I guess my pregnancy cravings are starting to really pick up and I'm trying my absolute best to stick to eating healthy, exercising and providing nutritious foods for my growing belly. Can you believe that I'm 25 weeks today? For those that are curious, Eric and I aren't finding out the gender of the baby aka cookie. We want our little blessing a surprise come May. My pregnancy cravings haven't been pickles and ice cream or anything weird, but more salty and sour.

I had recently met up with Jessica from Sunny Side Up In San Diego and she had given me some ideas on my birthday cake that I plan on baking next month. I wanted to highlight something from her blog and I fell in love with from her recipe post on soft pretzel bites and a couple other recipes, too.

It's like my pregnancy cravings were instantly honed on her soft pretzel bites. These soft pretzel bites are easy enough for the immediate cook because I have conquered my fear with yeast a couple times in the kitchen. Yeast may have won more battles (failed recipes), but this might pose a little challenge if this is your first attempt with yeast. (Make sure to give yourself some ample time to let the dough rise). Be careful because these little pretzel bites might be addicting, and you can easily make sweet ones by substituting cinnamon sugar instead of coarse salt for the topping. It's a carb lovers dream come true!

Paired beautifully with my buffalo chicken soup, or make Jessica's beer cheese dip.

Soft Pretzel Bites
Adapted from Sunny Side Up in San Diego
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
Pretzel Dough:
4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
Topping:1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
2 egg whites
2 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
Coarse kosher salt, for topping
Parchment paper and cooking spray

Preparation:

In a measuring cup, dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Set aside. (Mixture should become foamy - or you have bad yeast or too hot water).

In the bowl of a standing mixture fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, sugars, and salt on low speed. Turn off the mixer and pour the water/yeast mixture and melted butter into the bowl. Turn the mixer on and knead for 6 to 8 minutes until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too dry you can add extra water, a tablespoon at a time.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Remove the dough from the mixer and shape into a ball. Place the dough ball in the bowl, cover with a clean towel, and allow to rise for one hour (or until double in size).
Note:*I turn on my oven at the lowest temp at 200 while I am doing my food prep. Then I place the bowl in the oven, and turn off the oven with the door slightly open for 30 minutes, then remove it and place on top of the oven for the remainder of the rising time.*

Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven to 450 degrees and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper and cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the hot water and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites and melted butter.

After the dough has risen, punch down the dough and then knead with hands for one minute. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and divide dough into 12 even portions. Now you can pick your shape. For pretzel bites roll each portion into a snake then cut the snake into bite size pieces, about 1 1/2 inches in width.

Dip the pieces in the baking soda water and place on the baking sheet. Dab with a paper towel if there is an excess of water. Brush each pretzel bite with egg whites/melted butter mixture then sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 3 dozen+

Review: Mmmmm, I loved these little pretzel bites. The good thing about these, they don't need to be perfectly shaped. I love the oddness of the shapes and added just enough salt to my pregnancy liking! My little cookie loves salty foods! These did make a huge batch and I shared a batch or two with my friends.

Foodie Fun Bonus: A couple weekends ago I met up with Jessica while I was in San Diego. It was really great to hang out again since the last time we saw each other was the FoodBuzz conference in SF. We ate some yummy tacos, split a peanut butter sundae at Ghiraradelli and talked endless foodie gossip. It was really great to see her one last time before she departs to China. I really love the foodie support that our food blogging community has, and I wish her nothing but the best for her exciting journey ahead. Mostly, I'll be living vicariously through her exciting travels! Pin It

DailyBuzz Moms 9x9: Buffalo Chicken Soup

2012-01-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

The weather in SoCal is like a rollercoaster. This past weekend was filled with grey clouds, ugly rain and cold weather storms. We had a nice downfall of constant rain for the past couple of days, and then for the rest of the week - it's up back to typical awesome sunny 80 degree SoCal days. Rain boots one day, and then flip flops the next day. That's sooooo "OMG" SoCal for ya.

However, there is nothing like a hearty bowl of soup to warm you up on those dreadful rainy days or perhaps bring a little extra warmth on those gorgeous bright days. This recipe is no stranger to my blog and an oldie recipe post that desperately needed to be updated. The big foodie rage right now are these tasty buffalo chicken tacos, but this buffalo chicken soup will make you think twice.

This comforting soup is simple to prepare and can be easily made in one large sauce pot or in a crock pot. It's filled with a variety of gooey cheeses, vegetables, and shredded chicken. This creamy and cheesy soup is almost like having buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing all mixed into one yummy bowl of delicious-ness without the sticky mess. It's definitely a soup favorite in our house and for many days to come. One bowl of this indulgent soup will cure any rainy day blues because it's hearty and nom-a-licious!

Buffalo Chicken Soup
Inspired from TJs
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, about 6 to 8 ounces, cooked and shredded, about 1 1/2 cups
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 celery stalks, about 1 cup, diced
1 large white onion, about 1 cup, diced
2 to 3 medium carrots, about 1 cup, diced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon hot sauce, Buffalo sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons of Italian parsley, chopped finely

Preparation:

Prepare chicken as you like. I bake my chicken with a little bit of salt and pepper and seasoning, and bake for 20 minutes, until no longer pink. **You can opt to use store-bought rotisserie chicken, too.

In a large sauce pot or dutch pan, saute the carrots, celery and onions until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic, and cook for one more minute. Stir until combined.

Stir in broth, heavy cream, hot sauce and shredded chicken.

In a large bowl, toss all the cheeses and flour together. Mix well. Gradually stir into the soup.

Warm soup until thick and hot, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with additional hot sauce, crumbled blue cheese and garnish with freshly chopped Italian parsley.

You can serve this in a bread bowl, or pair it with soft pretzel bites.

Yield: about 8 to 10 servings

Review: Mmmmm, I absolutely love making this soup and I don't make it often enough. I had a small bowl last night because cookie was happily doing some baby zumba...so demanding with food. Afterwards, no more kicks or punches to the stomach, happy stomach = happy baby.

Behind the scenes: Here's a sneak peak of my photo set-up for my buffalo chicken soup. I really try to take most of my pictures with natural light (mainly in the mid-afternoons) which is right around 3 to 4pm. Normally the natural light comes from my front patio that hits perfectly onto my kitchen table (which is to the far left of this set-up) but since it was raining, it was quite darker than normal. My back-up plan - I had to set-up a small table right next to my front patio door to get the best natural light. I laid out a round cheese board as a secondary tabletop with a burlap fabric (used to be a rice bag that I turned inside out), a couple ingredients used in the dish, and a white foam board (with brackets superglued on) at the end of my table. White foam boards are inexpensive and one of the best ways to get more natural light reflected on your food.

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Cheese Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

2012-01-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

The wonderful and awesome weekend has come and go....so very fast. Hurry up Friday and come back, I miss you already.

Eric and I are loving our new Iphones, and we are still figuring out the apps/perks to the phone. Funny story, we were out shopping for our nursery furniture and we were taking a picture of the crib to send to my in-laws when a stranger approached us. He said "oh cool, you are price shopping, too?" We didn't know what he was talking about and he showed us a fun app that lets you scan the bar code and it will find the lowest price for you. (Shop Savvy!) How cool is that?

This dish is perfect for Meatless Mondays and easy enough to prepare at a moment's notice. We had a last minute get together for the football playoffs and I needed something simple for game food. I decided on hard-shell tacos with a beef filling for a group of 8. Tacos are always easy enough to make, but I wanted another tasty option available as well to fill our hungry stomachs. Luckily, I had a container of salsa verde in my freezer from the last time we had carnitas, and I had an abundance of cheeses to use, too. These came together fast and paired nicely with our last minute taco meal.

Fantastic dish to eat by itself or to serve as a side.

Cheese Enchiladas with Salsa Verde
Original Krystal recipe
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup pepper-jack cheese, shredded
1 cup queso seco, crumbled
1/2 cup green onions, diced
1 6 ounce can of green chile peppers, diced
8 to 9 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped finely
Salsa Verde, about 2 1/2 cups

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a large 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or Misto.

In a large bowl, combine all the cheeses and mix together. Set aside 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture.

In a medium saucepan, warm the salsa verde over medium-low heat. Spread an even layer of the salsa verde on the bottom of the baking dish.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the cheese mixture onto each tortilla and roll up. Place seam-side down. Repeat until you have used all the cheese and have no more room in your baking dish.

Top with remaining salsa verde, the reserved cheese mixture, diced chile peppers, cilantro and green onions.

Cover with aluminum foil, make sure coat the foil with cooking spray or misto so it doesn't stick to the enchiladas. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Review: Simple and delicious. I had paired this along with the main entree: beef tacos and it was a great addition to the meal. You can taste a little bit of the heat from the salsa verde and diced chile peppers, but the real treat is the mixture of cheeses. Melting and oozing out of the tortilla....sooooo yummy!
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Apple Pecan Cake

2012-01-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday!!

I'm so excited that the weekend is here. Today Eric and I have are finally jumping ship from our current cellular phone plan and we both plan on getting new fancy smartphones. We have been fighting the long battle of not needing a smartphone for awhile now, and we have finally seen that the perks outweigh the need for the phone. These fancy new phones do it all now: email, internet, facetime, GPS, camera, and have all those cool fun apps, too. Oh my, I can't wait. (Instagram and Angry Birds are two apps that I have been coveting for a long time.) Even my own mother-in-law wants to have facetime so she can see her future grandchild at any moment, and I have to admit... that's pretty cool.

To start the weekend right, I love baking something to satisfy those sweet (pregnancy) needs of mine. Currently, apples are a fruit that I have been enjoying alot lately. They last longer than bananas in our house, and I have been eating an apple a day. (It keeps the doctor away right?) For awhile, I was into clementines and I would eat 4 of those in a sitting. They haven't been on sale lately, so I have apples stocked up and I knew this dessert would be an easy fix. This simple dessert combines apples with a little bit of citrus and pecans all into one sweet treat. It would be perfect for breakfast and a cup of coffee to start your day right, or perfect for dessert and a large glass of milk to celebrate stepping into current century of smartphones!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

Apple Pecan Cake
Adapted from Everyday Food
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

1 medium apple, such as Gala or Fuji, peeled and diced small

3/4 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped, plus extra if desired

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon packed finely grated orange zest

3 large eggs

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter parchment.

In a medium bowl, toss apple and pecans with 2 tablespoons flour to coat. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, combine applesauce and yogurt.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and orange zest until light and fluffy, make sure to scrape down bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions applesauce mixture, and beat to combine. Fold in apple mixture. Transfer batter to pan and smooth top.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. Using parchment, lift cake from pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar and extra toasted pecans if desired before serving.

Yield: 12 servings

Review: Simply scrumptious. I loved it best served a little warm for dessert/breakfast, and all of my friends loved the sweet treat. My girlfriend wanted dessert for dinner only! The simple dusting of powdered sugar is all you need, and you can easily use other citrus's if you don't have any oranges. The zest of clementines or lemons would be a great substitute, too.

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Balsamic-Braised Chicken with Swiss Chard

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

There are some days where I come home and I want dinner instantly made. I really want a personal chef to make whatever I am craving right there and then. Pregnancy cravings are something that I have not had much of aside from my weekly visits to Rubio's for their shrimp burritos. (I'm totally cool at my local Rubio's - they already know my name and order.) Then I smack myself out of my fantasy-like world, and realize that I don't have that luxury like those from the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." I am my own personal chef, and all I need to do is plan ahead and dinner can be instantly made. With the little help of a slow cooker or crock pot, dinner can be ready by the time I come home from a full day's work.

Once I saw this dish on Kelsey's blog, I knew that this was an instant winner. Braised chicken with yummy fixings over creamy polenta. YUM! Plus, I am totally random with foodie items that I have in my pantry, and happened to have anchovy paste in my spice drawer. No, I was not using anchovy paste on pizza, ice cream or anything pregnant-crazy like that. I had another recipe that called for it, and I never made the dish. I'm so thankful that I didn't because this dish was comfort food at it's best. You can barely taste the anchovy, and I think it adds a great depth to the dish, too. The only prep work that I had to do to complete the meal was a side of creamy polenta which took less than 25 minutes.

Best served with this creamy polenta and I substituted Parmesan cheese.

Balsamic-Braised Chicken with Swiss Chard
Adapted from Apple A Day
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped, about 1 cup

5 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste or (1 anchovy fillet, rinsed and minced)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 bay leaves
8 to 12 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed, trimmed
6 to 8 ounces Swiss chard, stems removed and leaves sliced 1/2 inch thick

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until lightly shimmering. Add onions, thyme, tomato paste, garlic, anchovy paste, and red pepper flakes. Cook until onion is translucent and has softened about 8-10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute more.

Slowly whisk in vinegar, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps. Cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Transfer to crock pot/slow cooker.

Stir in the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, red wine, and bay leaves into crock pot/slow cooker.

Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours, on low.

Gently stir in chard, cover, and cook on high until tender, 20-30 minutes.

**This step I totally ignored since there was not much fat to skim off. You can opt to do this step, or forgo it and skip it.** Transfer chicken to a serving platter and tent loosely with foil. Let braising liquid settle 5 minutes, then skim fat from surface using large spoon. Discard bay leaves.

Taste for seasonings, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with sauce spooned over each chicken piece.

Yield: Serves 6 servings (2 or 3 chicken thighs per person depending on quantity)

Review: Absolutely heavenly. I loved every last bite of this braised chicken including the swiss chard. Plus, I forgot how easy and tasty polenta is since the last time I made it was when I made my anniversary dinner. SoCal weather has finally hit some low temps, and I'm all about one pot comfort food dinners. This is the perfect cure for winter blues.

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Blueberry Orange Muffins

2012-01-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

Breakfast would be my kryptonite if I didn't have it everyday - I might go hangry-pregnant-lady-crazy!!! Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day. I look forward to my big bowl of cereal followed by my one cup of coffee. It starts my day off perfectly. Then I wait a bit to enjoy my second breakfast or snack of the day since I get up so darn early. My second breakfast tends to vary between yogurt and breakfast granola and whatever carb goodie that I bake.

These muffins have been on my list to bake forever and I figured with the abundant amount of Valencia oranges that I have on my tree - these would be perfect. I could probably have a side job selling orange juice or lemonade with all of my citruses that I have right now. But I'll settle for baking these wonderful breakfast treats. These are very quick to make and smell amazing once you pull them out of the oven. Be careful not to eat them right away and make sure to add the muffin glaze on top. It gives an extra pop of citrus-y and sweetness that you will be oohing and ahhing all over for.

Start your day right with these muffins!

Blueberry Orange Muffins
Adapted from The Pastry Queen
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
Muffins:
1 cup milk
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1½ tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Zest of 1 orange (organic if possible)

Muffin Glaze:
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tsp. orange zest (organic if possible)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with desired paper liners.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs and melted butter. Whisk together to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the orange zest with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack placed over a baking sheet.

To make the glaze, combine the orange juice, confectioners’ sugar, and orange zest in a small bowl.
Whisk together until smooth, adding more juice if necessary to achieve your preferred consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins while they are still warm. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 2 dozen muffins

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Review: Absolutely tasty and the perfect way to start your day. You can bake these muffins without the blueberries, too. I love how beautiful the orange zest and the fresh blueberries wonderfully play up on each other, it makes it so easy to photograph. Sorry for the lack of posting, but the weather hasn't been ideal for photographing food, OR most likely I have been too busy eating the food to photograph it, too!

Pasta & White Beans with Broccoli Pesto

2012-01-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

Meatless Mondays are back in full swing because I'm trying to stay on track for eating healthy and doing my best to save some extra money. It's the after-Christmas cutback that you practice when you bought yourself that really nice pair of Ugg boots and all those extra little gifts for your nephews, nieces, your extended Cuban-Filipino family, your friends and possibly that wow-factor gift for your special someone. It's budget costing and small sacrifices that you make. I may have bought myself a couple extra outfits every now and then while shopping at the stores, too. Oh well, pregnancy clothes that fit are a RARE find sometimes!

More importantly, most of you are adding more vegetables into your diet because that's what your new years resolution is. Eat healthy, and eat something green. Or you can be sneaking extra veggies into your menu planning when your husband isn't looking either. That's what I did with this meal. Eric and I have a love affair with all things Italian, and my husband instantly recognized that I had made pesto for dinner and happily scurried away to prepare the dinner table. Little did he know that he was in for an extra veggie treat. Although, Eric made a little sour face that this wasn't "Pesto" the typical one made with basil, but he happily ate it anyway.

Simple and delicious!

Pasta & White Beans with Broccoli Pesto
Adapted from Everyday Food: January/February 2012
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 bunch broccoli, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
10 ounces short pasta, like penne or fusilli
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra for serving
1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated and the juice from the lemon (1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
2 to 3 garlic cloves
1 can (15.5 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, boil water and add salt at the boiling point. Blanch the broccoli pieces until tender and bright green (about 4 minutes) and remove instantly with a slotted spoon and place in the food processor. Bring water back to boil and prepare pasta according to package directions. Reserve 2 cups pasta water, drain and return to saucepan.

In the food processor, add extra-virgin olive oil, cheese, lemon zest and juice, parsley and garlic cloves with the broccoli and pulse until smooth. Make sure to scrape down as needed, and transfer the pesto into the saucepan. Stirring to combine and adding some of the reserved pasta water as needed until it reaches your preferred creamy consistency. I like mine slightly chunky and added 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of water. Fold in the cannellini beans and cook the pasta until warmed through. Taste for seasonings, add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings
Nutritional Info: Per Serving: 484 calores, 9 g fat; 22 g protein, 82 g carb; 10 g fiber

Review: Light and refreshing inexpensive meal for Eric and I. The only ingredient I didn't have off-hand was broccoli - having a lemon tree and an abundance of parsley is smart meal planning as well. You can easily add some grilled proteins like chicken, shrimp or Italian sausages to the pasta if you're wanting to add more to the dish.
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Breakfast Granola

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

2012. I am already in love with this new wonderful blessed year. I have lots of things to be happy and thankful for this upcoming year because our precious little cookie will be here before we know it. I can't believe I'm already past my halfway point in my pregnancy and in a short couple of months - our lives will forever be changed.

Most people right around now are making resolutions for the new year, entering fitness challenges, swearing off sweets, swearing off alcohol (if possible), or exercising more. I tried that last year and managed to accomplish of a few of my goals: Italy, exercise and eat healthy. This year is a little different since I have a cookie (bun) in the oven, but I am still managing to stay on my exercise and healthy kick. I'm still riding in my crazy and fun cycle class and cooking homemade meals for Eric and I.

For the most part, I love making everything from scratch. Everything really does taste better when it's homemade and we try to stay away from processed foods and take-out meals. I'll occasionally cook up some frozen ravioli or Kraft mac & cheese, but everything in moderation. Eric and I have managed to cut out all the ridiculous sweeteners, fancy creamers, and the extra stuff from our daily intake. It makes the world of a difference. One of my favorite breakfasts or 2nd breakfasts and sometimes snack of the day is a bowl of Greek yogurt loaded with this breakfast granola. Recently, I had made a batch to share as Christmas goodies and kept a small container for myself. It's easy to prepare, and you can easily substitute the dried fruits with your favorites but apricots and cherries are so ridiculously tasty together.

Start the new year healthy and fabulous!

Breakfast Granola
Adapted from The Pastry Queen
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup vegetable oil (or can use safflower or canola oil)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup dried apriots, chopped finely
1 cup dried cherries or cranberries

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two jelly roll baking sheets or cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the vegetable oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Stirring constantly until the brown sugar has dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix the rolled oats, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes and sliced almonds. Pour the hot sugar mixture into the bowl and stir until combined.

Spread the oatmeal mixture evenly on the two baking sheets.

Bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the granola is a rich golden brown.

Cool completely before stirring in the dried fruit. Store in an airtight container up to 3 weeks, or divide evenly into cellophane/ziplock bags for sharing.

Yield: 5 cups
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Review: Yummy for your tummy and a great addition to your breakfast/2nd breakfast or snack of the day. You can eat it by itself or on top of your favorite yogurt. Maybe I might do all three meals, you can't overdo eating healthy right? I have to feed this growing cookie of mine.

Here's an updated belly picture from our New Year's Eve festivities. We attended a theme party "Havana Nights" and dressed up to the nines like they did back in the 1950s. I love how black is so slimming on my almost 22 week belly!! What did you do for New Year's Eve? Sleep? Party? ;-)

2011: Year in Review

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

2011 has been a rollercoaster of a year for myself. Lots of good and a little bit of the bad had happened, but I have learned alot from my life and cooking experiences that made 2011 unique and special. This was the year of growth: I had upgraded from my point and shoot camera to a fancy DSLR, I took an awesome food styling and photography class with Matt & Adam, I made my first cooking tutorial video, my husband and I traveled to Italy, I attended my first Foodbuzz conference and my husband and I are expecting our first baby (aka cookie) next year. 2011 has been pretty fantastic I must say and 2012 is already looking very promising as well.

I thought the ideal way to finish the year was to highlight my favorite 11 recipe posts from the year. I can't thank my fellow readers enough for following along on my culinary journey on this blog. I love sharing recipes, taking pictures of food and the challenge that I give to myself to make some of these dishes. Thanks again for making 2011 a fantastic and wonderful year because I can't wait to share more recipes and posts with you in 2012!

Hot Wings with Blue Cheese Yogurt Sauce - My fave appetizer to serve during football season. I must make these more often regardless of football season. The crispy chicken wings had a honey chile glaze paired well with the chunky blue cheese yogurt sauce...finger licking delicious!

Carnitas Tacos con Salsa Verde - This was served at Superbowl at our house and perfect for entertaining a large crowd. There is nothing like these street-style tacos and a great way to use an inexpensive cut of pork shoulder to serve plenty!

Meyer Lemon Macarons - My first attempt at making macarons were a success with this recipe, and I have made a couple other batches. Yet, nothing has tasted as sweet and perfect as these macarons. I loved the sweet and tartness from the lemon curd in these beautiful cookies. Plus, these macarons were the first recipe that I photographed using my new DSLR.

Carrot Cake with Marshmallow Fluff Cream Cheese Frosting - Eric's birthday cake was one of the prettiest cakes that I had baked this year, and despite the loss of his grandfather right before his birthday. We still managed to celebrate his birthday in a small gathering with our friends. It was a memorable celebration and one of the tastiest cakes from the year.

Fish Tacos - Tacos are a favorite dinner option at our house, but fish tacos were more apparent this past year as this was one of Eric's favorite ways to enjoy fish. These are simple to prepare and we even enjoyed this meal for Good Friday with the family. The pickled red onions are a must when eating these fish tacos, too!

Hummingbird Cupcakes with Pineapple Flowers - These cupcakes were absolutely gorgeous and scrumptious to each bite. These cupcakes were not too sweet and I loved the edible pineapple flower on top.

Thin-Crust Pizza - One of the most sought out recipes that I scoured after returning from our travels to Italy was how to make Neapolitan pizzas at home. Italian pizza has ruined me for all the other pizzas that I will ever come across. This thin crust pizza has the perfect crispy crust and a couple simple toppings (tomato sauce, garden tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil). Whenever I'm missing Italia, I make this recipe. It hits the spot everytime.

Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhini) - One of my favorite ethic cuisines has been Indian food, and this is one of my favorite dishes to order. The tandoori spiced chicken is coated with this addicting butter, yogurt and tomato gravy on the chicken that makes you moan in glee. The garlic naan and basmati rice are a must when enjoying this dish.

Tomato, Mozzarella and Asparagus Salad - One of my favorite salads to enjoy whenever I had a foodie hangover weekend. I loved enjoying my summer bounty of tomatoes and the garlic-herb dressing over the mixed greens. Plus, it was a wonderful addition to my Meatless Mondays meals that I started doing on a regular basis. You can always add some grilled chicken/shrimp/beef if you are looking for some protein.

Buffalo Chicken Tacos - The highest click-worthy recipe on my blog and everyone has loved this recipe. What's not to love about this meal, it's a favorite finger-licking appetizer made into a meal. Buffalo chicken all rolled up in a taco. It's smack-tastic and madly addicting.

Salted Caramel Apple Bites - I participated in my first virtual baby shower and made these for the lovely mama-to-be Amy from Sing for Your Supper. I understood her need for some things sweet and salty and made this beautiful bites in honor of her baby shower. I need to make these again because I'm finding that my sweet little cookie loves everything sweet and salty, too. Pregnancy cravings are hard to fight off and these are a delicious cure.

What were some of your favorite posts from my blog? I would love to hear from you! Have a safe and wonderful New Year!!!

Lechon Asado (Roasted Pig)

2011-12-28T12:41:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Merry Christmas and on their merry way to celebrating a fantastic New Year. Our "Big Fat Cuban Filipino Nochebuena" was a tremendous success because both of our combined families had happily ate everything in sight, danced a little bit to some Michael Jackson, and we even had a little game of poker. Finally, I had some time to write a post about the awesome process of roasting our first pig.

It was perfect having both sides of our family together under one house and we hope it's a tradition that we will continue to celebrate as the years pass. Eric is passing on the traditions given to him by his grandfathers'. Lechon asado is a traditional meal served for Nochebuena that started back in Cuba with Eric's great-grandfathers. Eric's grandfathers' have continued the tradition with the use of "La Caja China" when they immigrated to the US. Since Eric's grandfather passed away earlier this year, we wanted to honor and continue the tradition for Nochebuena.

Roasting a pig is not an easy task and typically is a three day process. The day prior to roasting the pig is when you season the pork with salt. Sometimes other methods include adding a mojo marinade (follow the link for my recipe) to the pig, but we find that using salt only for the seasoning is the preferred method. It's important to use table salt versus kosher salt because the finer salt blends well with the pork. It helps cure and preserve the meat and enhances the flavor. Table salt is more efficient than kosher salt because it creates a better crust as a dry rub.

It is important to evenly coat the entire pig with salt and cut small slits into the large pieces of meat and add extra salt as needed. You will need to use approximately half a container of table salt, make sure to use just enough to coat the pig. Allow the pig to sit overnight or a minimum of twelve hours, cover and keep in a cool place. We were able to keep our pig in our garage overnight without refrigeration because the temperatures were in the lows 40s at night. If temperature is higher, you will need to use ice bags or refrigerator to keep the pig cool.

On the day of cooking the pig, you will need to use a "Caja China" translating to a Chinese box or something similar. We have a family "Caja China" handmade from Eric's grandfather and have been using it for the past 20 years. When calculating the roasting time for a pig, we estimated that to cook a 75 pound pig would take anywhere from 5 to 7 hours depending on the temperature from the Caja China. You will need to use about 4 pounds of charcoal for a 75 pound pig - the amount of charcoal can vary depending on the size of the roast. The way the Caja China roasts the pig is similar to a pressurized broiler - the heat is all on top of the box. It traps the heat and juices while keeping the pig moist. Eric and his cooking crew (uncles, cousins, dad and grandfather) had started the roasting process around 11:30 in the morning and finished around 6:30pm in the evening.

Throughout the roasting process, you will need to check on the pig every hour for the first 4 hours. Eric needed an assistant to lift the top of the box because it was heavy and hot, it's not something to do on your own. Make sure to check on the pig once an hour to make sure the distribution of heat is correct. You will know instantly if one area from the charcoal is overheating one location more than another. At least halfway through roasting time, if you notice that there are large pockets of juice - you will need to drain it by poking a hole in the meat until the juice has drained through the hole. Eric recommends that during the entire roasting process, make sure to have a cold six-pack and a game of dominoes handy.

Once the pig has reached about 180 degrees, you will need to carefully flip the pig. Again, you will need two people to flip the second grate onto the other side. This method can vary by box type for the flipping of the pig because every Caja China is made differently. Now the skin side is on top, and return the pig back into the Caja China. You will need to add more charcoal and bring up the heat to high so the skin can crisp. It will take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes to attain the high temperature. This step is not necessary, but crispy pork skin is like butter to bread. Totally worth it and smack-tastic. You might have to fight off hands from everyone wanting a fresh piece of crispy pork skin.

Finally, after what seems like a full day's work, the roasting process is complete when the skin has bubbled and crisped to a golden brown - this little piggy is ready to carved and be eaten.

At this point, no special knives or tools are needed because the pork practically falls off the bone. This is the point, where Eric took a step back and let an old family friend (master carver) handle the pig. Mr. Master Carver, Enriquito, did not waste any of the pig portions and carefully separated the bones, the skin and the scrumptious pork into their designated platters. While the pork is being placed into the platters, you can drizzle tablespoons of mojo (garlic-lime-Cuban wonderful-ness in a sauce) on top.

Serve the lechon asado immediately. It is best served with white rice, frijoles negros, and yucca. Make sure to have plenty of family members waiting on the side to enjoy the wonderful meal. Our 75 pound pig had served at least 50 people on Christmas Eve, and we had some leftovers for the next day. This is definitely a Cuban tradition that we plan on celebrating each Nochebuena with the entire family. Eric's grandfather would be very proud to know that we continued the tradition with his 20+ year old Caja China. The third day consists of clean-up and enjoying the fruits of your labor. The rite of passage of roasting a pig is an experience that our families had enjoyed.

"My Big Fat Cuban Filipino Nochebuena" = a foodie successful event with the family.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

May your Christmas sparkle with moments of
love, laughter and goodwill.
And may the year ahread be full of
contentment and joy!!!

Have a Merry Christmas!
XXOO,
Krystal

DIY Christmas Tree

2011-12-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

These past couple of days have been non-stop nesting madness for my husband and myself. I have been super busy: baking some Christmas goodies, cleaning and de-cluttering all the closets/drawers and I even painted something for a last minute project. I love this spurt of energy and nesting phase that the 2nd trimester has brought on! Eric finally found the office desk that he had been wanting and on a whim - we bought it.

We have lived in our house for three years, and for the most part - two out of the three bedrooms have been untouched. Owning a home means there are always home projects that will occur and they might not happen all at once. Everything is finally coming together, and I love how our home is shaping out. We have renovated the kitchen (a couple times), opened up the sunroom, added a garden (we're planning on adding raised garden planters next season), organized Eric's man-cave garage and we finally finished furnishing our master bedroom. Cookie's bedroom has been empty for the past couple of years and I can't wait to start decorating that sweet little nursery!

I didn't even tackle the entire list of goodies that I wanted to bake for Christmas but I was reminded that the holidays are supposed to be fun and relaxing...and not stressful. So my little creative mind wanted something to work on that didn't require working in the kitchen (it was a little break from the baking madness). I had a couple of ornaments that I didn't put on my Christmas tree, and wanted something on my foyer table to display them. I had seen various ideas on Pinterest on how to use your leftover ornaments. I loved the idea of a Christmas Ornament display case and searched the stores for something simple and cute but nothing like that existed for my limited budget.

I have been making most of my Christmas goodies so making Christmas decorations seemed like the logical step. I'm lucky enough that I work with coworkers that use a buzz saw on a daily basis (my husband has one at home as well), but there were lots of scrap wood at my work to use.

I wanted something simple and small that looked like a tree that would fit on my my foyer table, similar to this tree stand but not as gigantic. We figured to cut the corners to make it very tree-like, and my coworker easily put it all together for me. I picked up some inexpensive Martha Stewart paint at Home Depot (only 50 cents) and added a couple coats.

I used some small bungee cords to hang around the tops and small clothespins to hang the ornaments. This project cost me 50 cents, but can easily cost you a couple bucks if you need to buy the wood and miscellaneous items. It's very Charlie Brown-esque and absolutely perfect for my foyer table. I loved the quirkiness of this homemade tree because I can highlight these special ornaments. This might be perfect project to have for your little ones to work on, and might be something that cookie will enjoy, too.

Make sure to take the time and enjoy the holiday season and indulge in something for yourself. Three more days until Christmas and I'm almost ready for the big day. Pin It

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Christmas countdown is down to 5 days! YIKES!!

Are you ready for the big day yet? I have been scrambling these past couple of days to get my house and kitchen ready for Nochebuena. Nochebuena is a spanish word translating to "Good Christmas" and it's a custom celebrated in Latin America, Spain, and the Phillipines. My family and Eric's family are getting together on the 24th to roast a baby pig (only 75 pounds or so). Picture our holiday celebration as "My Big Fat Cuban/Filipino Nochebuena," it's always fun to get both sides of the family together...crazy fun!

Nochebuena is a holiday tradition that Eric's grandfather has been celebrating every Christmas Eve that Eric can remember and he loved getting all of the family and friends together. Since Eric's grandfather had passed away earlier this year, Eric and I are happy to continue the Nochebuena traditions and celebrate a big feast in Elio's honor. Elio will greatly be missed, but most likely he will be watching from above and be very happy that the family is together. Be on the lookout next week on my blog post for how to roast a pig in a caja china (Chinese box) if you're wondering how everything turned out.

I still have a couple of homemade gifts, sweets and goodies that I have been making despite my crazy Christmas schedule. We had a Secret Santa exchange at my work and I wanted to bring something sweet highlighting the Christmas flavors, chocolate and peppermint. I knew that this chocolate cupcake would be ideal and a sweet treat, it's almost like an Andes mint but one thousand times better in cupcake form. Make a batch for the holidays and keep celebrating those family traditions that are absolutely precious.

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
Adapted from What's Cookin' Chicago
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks)
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Frosting:
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
6 candy canes, crushed to garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with desired paper liners.

In a Pyrex glass 2 cup, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and sugar, stirring constantly until combined. Remove from heat and pour into the bowl of the stand mixer.

With the stand mixer on medium-low speed, beat the mixture until combined. Add the eggs one at a time mixing until incorporated. Scrape down the sides if needed. Add the peppermint extract, then cocoa mixture, and mix until combined. Reduce speed to low.

Add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream and mixing until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scooper (about 3 tablespoons), divide batter into the muffin pans. Fill the batter about 2/3 full.

Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Let cupcakes cool completely before icing.

Prepare the frosting. In the bowl of the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream the sugar and butter together. Mix on low speed until fully combined and increase speed to medium and mix for at least 3 to 4 minutes. Add peppermint extract and heavy cream, and mix until combined.

Frost cupcakes as desired (I used the standard Wilton tip in a pastry bag method) and garnished the top with crushed peppermint candy canes.

Yield: 26 to 28 cupcakes

Pin It

Review: Rich chocolate with a light peppermint tangy frosting and are simply gorgeous. I love the bits of candy canes to give the holiday effect and I found Christmas cupcake liners (Reynolds) at the grocery store. Everyone was surprised by how much they liked these cupcakes. Not everyone is a fan of mint and chocolate mixed together but this combination was pretty tasty and mildly addicting!!

Caramel Appledoodles

2011-12-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! Can you believe that we are 9 days away from Christmas?!?!

I am almost finished with my holiday baking craziness and finished some cute little Christmas buckets for some special ladies. I know they will get their surprises later tonight, and they might be reading my blog right now. But I just wanted to give something special to you...just because I love the holiday baking spirit, and because you are awesome. That's all. ;-)

After my baking craziness, I wanted to start wrapping presents. What a concept, instead of placing gifts into cute Christmas themed gift bags but to my avail I had run out of tape. Christmas fail on my part. I forgot to take inventory on wrapping supplies, but I had plenty of Christmas wrapping paper yet no tape. Luckily I had a plate of these Caramel Appledoodles to enjoy instead of my Christmas wrapping duties.

These are sweet caramel-y apple goodness on a plate. Thank Nicole and Jey for teasing me with their cookie posts for finally baking these up. I truly love the simplicity of old-fashioned snickerdoodles because what's not to love about sugar and cinnamon..it's always nice. Hehe. Yet, with the addition of the apple and caramel bits, this irresistable cookie is taken to a higher sugar-y blissful heaven. You might want to make a double batch because they might be hard to share with others. I'll wrap gifts tonight, and probably enjoy another plate of cookies, too.

Caramel Appledoodles
Adapted from Prevention RD & The Jey of Cooking
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1 medium apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
1 cup soft caramels, finely chopped (i.e. Kraft Caramel Bits or Werther's Soft & Chewy Caramels)

For Rolling:
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Preparation:

In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until on low speed until combined. Fold in the chopped apple and caramel bits. Let cookie dough mixture chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.

When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mat.

In a small bowl, mix the 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined. Using a tablespoon or small cookie scooper, roll the balls of cookie dough in the sugar mixture. Place on prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, turning the pan midway baking time (only if you don't have a convection oven).

Let cookies rest on baking sheets for at least 5 minutes before placing on cooling racks. Enjoy immediately and try not to eat them all.

Yield: 40 cookies

Review: Purely addicting and sooo scrumptious. Plus, I had a chance to meet up with Alicia, an anniversary nestie, and her adorable daughter while they were in town. Natalie just turned one year old this past month and I foresee her as a future baker in the making because she absolutely loved my cookies and my DIY flower headband. (Thank you Pinterest!) She totally made my day complete and my heart melt like butter. If my baby is a girl, can you imagine how much fun we will have together in the kitchen? Eeks!

Other Christmas Homemade Ideas:
Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Truffles by The Nifty Foodie
White Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Cookies by The Granola Chronicles
Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows with Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix from me

Cookie Update: Guess who is 19 weeks already!! We finally got our Christmas tree up and decorated. I love it! Next week, we get our 2nd trimester ultrasound and Eric and I are so excited to see how big our little cookie is baking. We won't be finding out the gender of the baby because we chose to be surprised at birth. Am I having a girl or boy? I'll let you keep guessing. ;-)

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

2011-12-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hot chocolate is one of those childhood drinks that my husband and I absolutely love and adore. In fact, one of my husband's favorite breakfasts while growing up is a large cup of hot chocolate with plenty of Cuban bread and butter. Eric would dip his bread into his hot chocolate, and let the bread soak with the hot chocolate and munch happily away. It's almost like a dessert-ish kind of breakfast and he swears up and down that chocolate is not his favorite flavor either, but in hot chocolate form...he's all over it. Between you and me, I think he has a super sweet chocolate spot and refuses to admit it.

Eric's go-to hot chocolate mix is Nesquik, and his super sweet tooth adds a couple extra spoonfuls of sugar to the mix. I always laugh at the amount of sugar that he adds to his cup of hot chocolate, and secretly hoped he would not add more sugar to my homemade batch of hot cocoa. Homemade hot cocoa is easy to prepare and pairs perfectly with homemade peppermint marshmallows.

Luckily I still had some bars of Ghirardelli chocolate that I received from the FB Tastemaker program. I wanted to make a salted caramel hot chocolate mix using the Sea Salt Soiree but I didn't have enough bars of chocolate to make that batch. I'll have to make that on my next round of homemade hot chocolate, but you might be able to enjoy that sweet tip.

Make a batch for your homemade Christmas baskets and share with everyone you know. Or indulge in your secret chocolate addiction like my husband.

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
Adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
24 ounces high-quality semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
9 ounces dark chocolate, like 65% or higher grade, coarsely chopped
2 cups Dutch process cocoa
2 vanilla beans
4 cups granulated sugar

Preparation:

On a cutting board, carefully split and scrape the vanilla beans from the pods. Place in a large container with the sugar. Using your fingers work the seeds into the sugar, it's like massaging the vanilla beans into the sugar. Place the pods at the very bottom of the container. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature.

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process semi-sweet and dark chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. The noise may scare you, but process in batches if necessary. (I kept my hand on the top of the processor because it shook so much.)

Remove vanilla pods from sugar. Add the ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend, making sure to combine well.

Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to six months. Or divide up in small 4 ounce jars or small cellophane bags.

To serve, heat 2 tablespoons of mix with 8 ounces of warmed milk. (Make sure milk is really hot so the chocolate can melt).

Yield: About 4.75 cups of hot chocolate mix

Review: Chocolate heaven in a cup. It's rich and decadent and a great homemade gift to share with your family and friends. Make sure to make the homemade peppermint marshmallows, too.

Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows

2011-12-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

Time is surely quickly ticking away to the big C-day because there are only 12 more days left. Eeek!!!

Are you finished with your Christmas shopping yet? Halfway...or barely beginning like me? I'll have to say that online shopping has never been so easy, and is one of the most efficient ways to get things done when you have a loads of work to do, and have very little time to do any shopping. My husband and I finally upgraded to a comfortable King bed versus our lovely Queen bed, and we were missing the headboard to finish our bedroom set. We looked everywhere at a couple stores, and couldn't find exactly what we were looking for. We did a quick search on the Internet and quickly found our beloved headboard on Costco.com!! Plus, it got delivered within a week of ordering.

I have been enjoying the best nights sleep lately because I have been busy in the kitchen prepping away Christmas goodies and treats. One of my pregnancy cravings lately has been milk, like I'm thirsty for that darn cow juice. (I'm lactose intolerant, but it hasn't affected me during my pregnancy!) I'm happiest in the morning when I have my big bowl of Cheerios with milk, and sometimes I enjoy a nice glass of cold milk with freshly baked cookies. With the cold and wet weather that we have been having lately, I have been enjoying hot cocoa. Milk in all forms has been good for me and I think cookie is happily baking away enjoying all the benefits.

Homemade peppermint marshmallows has been on my list of things to make because they look gorgeous in cute Christmas goodie bags. It has been one of my favorite homemade Christmas goodie to pass out. I really love the combination of peppermint with hot cocoa because it's almost like the Peppermint Mochas at Starbucks without the caffeine. The little hint of peppermint goes a long way in these marshmallows and you only need to add two or three marshmallows to add to your steamy hot cup of cocoa. Homemade marshmallows are easier to prepare than you think, and only takes a couple of ingredients but you will need some patience to make these beautiful clouds. I'll have the best hot cocoa recipe that will pair beautifully with these homemade peppermint marshmallows tomorrow on the blog.

Sinfully delicious!

Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows
Adapted from Beantown Baker
Printable Link
Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (12 ounces)
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar, plus extra
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick cooking spray
Red food gel or food coloring (a couple drops for desired color)

Preparation:

In the bowl of the stand mixer with the whisk attachment on, add the gelatin and 1/2 cup of water. Let sit until ready to use.

In a small dutch oven or saucepan, add the the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high head with a candy thermometer attached to the side and bring to a boil until the temperature reaches 240 degrees. Once the sugar mixture reaches this temperature, remove immediately from heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly drizzle the sugar syrup into the side of the bowl. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. (Be careful, the bowl will get hot from adding the sugar mixture). Continue to whisk until the mixture becomes very thick and cloudy, about 12 to 15 minutes. Add the peppermint extract during the last minute of whisking.

While the sugar and gelatin whisk away, coat a 9x13 baking pan with a good coat of cooking spray. Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl and mix until combined. Coat the pan with a couple spoonfuls of the mixture and make sure the bottom and sides are coated. Save the remaining mixture of sugar for later use.

When sugar mixture is thick and fluffy like a cloud, immediately pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Spray a spatula with nonstick cooking spray and use it to spread out the mixture on the pan and out of the bowl. Add a couple drops of red food gel or food coloring into the mixture. Use a toothpick to swirl the coloring mixture into the marshmallows.

Using a small sifter, add a couple spoonfuls of the cornstarch/confectioners' sugar into it and carefully dust the top of the marshmallows. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to cut the marshmallows, flip the baking pan onto a large cutting board. Using a pizza wheel dusted with a light coat of the cornstarch/confectioners' sugar, cut into small 1-inch squares. Once cut, use the small sifter to add the remaining cornstarch/confectioners' sugar mixture to coat the cut up marshmallows - add more if needed.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks. Best served with hot cocoa or eaten by themselves.

Yield: 9 dozen marshmallow

Review: Sweet peppermint fluffy heaven, and these marshmallows taste so much better than store bought ones. Depending on the size that you cut the marshmallows, you can go big or small - you will have plenty to share. I used small clear cellophane bags to pair up with my hot cocoa mix to give away to some friends and family in my life.

Other Christmas Ideas:
Homemade Vanilla Extract from Pennies on a Platter
DIY Flavored Syrups "The Holiday Edition" from Annie's Eats
Homemade Christmas Cookies & Treats from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2011-12-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

Are you in full Holiday Christmas spirit yet? There are only 15 days left until the big C-day!!! My husband and I are running a little behind at our house because we had to finish some house projects these past couple of weekends that were top priority. (My in-laws are coming in 2 weeks, so we have been cleaning and prepping away like crazy!!) I'm still waiting to buy our Christmas tree and finish the rest of our Christmas decorating. Hopefully, this weekend we will have our beautiful tree and the outside Christmas lights finished.

Last year I did a whole Christmas Cookie series called the Twelve days of Christmas cookies and treats. Everyone loved all of my delicious treats and I was on a permanent sugar high until the new year! This holiday season, I'm taking a little more practical and sensible approach for Christmas and doing everything homemade aside from just cookies and treats. I'll list some homemade Christmas gift ideas that will be perfect for your friends, family, neighbors and even those lovable yet quirky co-workers. I saved the idea from Shawnda's Christmas posts from last year and used a couple of her suggestions.

To start of the series, I wanted to use up some of my hidden stash of Halloween candies. (Hanging my head in shame.) For some odd reason, I had a handful of Reese's peanut butter cups still in my stash. I promise that I gave out handfuls of candy to the kiddos, but this was just the one candy that never left my house. The best way to use up these Reese's peanut butter cups were in either baked up or eaten. Plus, I had some of the mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's that were perfect on top of these sinful treats.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Printable Link
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
6 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon peanut butter (I used a mix of creamy & crunchy)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped and divided
*Note: Freeze the peanut butter cups for at least 30 minutes before chopping. It makes them easier to chop and helps them stay intact when you fold them into the cookie dough.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt until combined.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until blended. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, vanilla extract and milk. Blend until combined, and scrape down the sides if needed. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until incorporated. Fold in 1 1/2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups and fold gently with a spatula.

Using a medium or large cookie scoop (about 2 to 3 tablespoons) drop spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared sheets. Gently press a couple of the reserved peanut butter cups into the top of the cookies.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking (if you don't have a convection oven). Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes and transfer to the cooling rack to cool immediately.

**Cookies may seem extra soft after coming out of the oven but they will set when they are cooled.**

Yield: 24 medium sized cookies or if you go bigger (about 16 to 18)

Review: Who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate? It's the one of the best sweet peanut-ty combinations that I love and adore, next to peanut butter and jelly. I made this batch specifically for my cute nephews and niece that I don't see too often. I prepped them in cute little Christmas cookie bags so they could have something sweet when my sisters' deemed they were doing extra good that day.

From what my sisters told me, the kiddos loved it and were totally excited for their bags. Who wouldn't love a preview of sweet Christmas treats before the big C-day right? The funny thing, the big kids like my brother-in-law loved the cookies as well (I packed a couple extra bags) and called to thank me for the best cookie ever and to tell his wife (my sister) the recipe. He wants another batch!!! Thanks Duaine! And ahem, Karen - make these cookies!!!

Shrimp Korma with Basmati Rice

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have been a bad blogger lately and can't seem to get out of my holiday lazy slump. Don't get me wrong but I have been cooking and making simple meals ever since I entered the 2nd trimester of my pregnancy. Yet, I still can't get the energy to take a photograph because I'm too busy trying to enjoy the meal. But don't let this pregnant woman get "hangry" - that's a term that a friend of the family taught me over Thanksgiving. It's when you are so hungry that you are angry: hungry + angry = "hangry."

Hangry. It's a perfect foodie phrase that perfectly describes me when you don't feed the pregnant woman. I don't get violent or kick down walls, it's that point where my stomach is growling for food. It tells me to "feed me." Yes, my stomach or my sweet baby tells me to feed it. I really try and listen to it most of the time and this was one meal that I was definitely in the mood for. Shrimp Korma is an easy Indian inspired meal to prepare. It can be made with any protein of your choice cooked with Indian spices and the luscious coconut milk and chicken broth. Serve it with basmati rice and extra vegetables on the side, and you will not get "hangry" after enjoying this meal.

Enjoy!

Shrimp Korma with Basmati Rice
Adapted from Prevention R.D.
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 cup light coconut milk
1 small tomato, diced
1 cup frozen green peas
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup basmati rice

Preparation:

Cook rice as desired or package directions. I melt 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter with 1 cup of basmati rice and add 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt is my go-to recipe. Cook for about 15 minutes.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the flour, ginger and garlic until slightly fragrant. Add curry powder, garam masala and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook for 30 seconds while stirring.

Add in the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in coconut milk and diced tomatoes, and reduce heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Add peas, shrimp and remaining salt. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the shrimp is slightly pink.

Spoon 2/3 cup rice into serving bowls. Top with 1 1/3 cup shrimp mixture.

Yield: 5 servings

Review: Simple and tasty shrimp curry at home! One of my favorite cuisines has been Indian food, and my pregnancy cravings love those curry and fragrant flavors. Cookie loves an array of flavors and this hit the "Indian" spot!

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-12-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's December?

Where did the last couple of weeks of November go? Oh I remember now, I was enjoying all that wonderful bacon-wrapped turkey (my aunt's recipe), yummy sides and truly enjoying those couple days off. I also took a couple days off in the kitchen from all the leftovers piled up in the fridge. I made some shephard's pie using leftover turkey and made a big batch of turkey stock. This week's menu was pretty inexpensive and I had planned meals that focused on pantry items and whatever was in the freezer. Easy menu items like pizza using my new Artisan Pizza & Flatbread cookbook and pasta.

There wasn't anything that I wanted to highlight and take photographs from this week except for these tasty breakfast treats that I baked up. Whenever I get a down week in cleaning the fridge and freezer, I'm usually baking up something with bananas. It's because I have an influx of bananas stored in the freezer and ready to use whenever I'm feeling the need to bake something sweet and simple. These banana espresso chocolate chip muffins are perfect for breakfast or a snack. For some odd reason due to my pregnancy food aversions, I'm not really into anything with chocolate but these are super tasty and moist. I forgot that there was chocolate in there, so it has to be good if it disappeared from my plate.

Simple and sweet.

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from Cate's World Kitchen
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the bananas, sugars, butter, milk and egg. Mix until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, baking soda and salt.

Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet, until slightly lumpy. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin pans.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pans for about 10 minutes, then let cool completely on a wire rack.

Yield: 14 to 16 muffins

Review: Fantastic way to use up ripe bananas, and a sweet way to start your day. Update to my little cookie in the oven, we hit the milestone 17 weeks! I can't believe I'm almost at my halfway mark of my pregnancy. 2nd trimester has given me back my energy and love for cooking. I still have food aversions and I'm on a cereal kick in the mornings. Here's a recent picture of my husband and I (can you see a bump yet?) from a surprise birthday party that ended up being a surprise wedding party for the guests! (Congrats Lynn & Martika!)

Cranberry Sauce with Port & Dried Figs

2011-11-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

Cranberry sauce. It's that red fruity stuff usually found in can served with most typical Thanksgiving spreads. For as long as I can remember, my family never served this dish with the rest of our plentiful dishes. I don't think we knew what we were missing out or maybe we were in fear of eating stuff from the can. The main ingredients are cranberries, sugar and gelatin - what's not to love? (Shaking head!) I wanted to test out the waters of this easy cranberry recipe for my Friends-giving spread.

Cranberries are kind to impossible to eat fresh, but very appealing because they are gorgeous in color but very tart to the taste. Your lips might pucker and your teeth might hurt if you bite into one. That's why it's probably necessary to cook the cranberries down a bit to soften them up. The main reason why I so intrigued to prepare this recipe - it had a couple pantry ingredients that I love. I loved the addition of port wine, it's that sweet dessert wine that you only need less than a shot to enjoy at the end of any fancy meal. Plus, the chopped dried mission figs add an extra layer of texture and flavor that really heighten the cranberry sauce.

This recipe is simple to prepare and a little bit goes a long way on your Thanksgiving plate. Making a homemade cranberry sauce is the way to go versus opening a can. Wishing you and your families all the very best on during your Thanksgiving holiday.

Cranberry Sauce with Port & Dried Figs
Adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1½ cups ruby Port
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) packed brown sugar
8 dried black Mission figs, stemmed, chopped
1 6-inch-long sprig fresh rosemary
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
¾ cup (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar

Preparation:

In a small dutch oven/saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the port, vinegar, brown sugar, figs, rosemary, cinnamon, and pepper.

Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Discard the rosemary and cinnamon. Mix in the cranberries and granulated sugar.

Cook over medium heat until the liquid is slightly reduced and the berries burst, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Slightly smash the cranberries with the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl; chill until cold.

(Cranberry sauce can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

Yield: 2 cups

Review: Simply sweet and tart. I loved adding just a touch of cranberry sauce when I paired it with my honey baked ham or turkey.

Corn with Roasted Chiles, Creme Fraiche & Cotija Cheese

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

My Friends-giving this past weekend was a success! Seriously, all of my awesome friends pulled out their fanciest dishes ever and I'm still stuffed from the wonderful feast. We had a wide spread of side dishes including macaroni and cheese with truffle oil, tater tot casserole, kabocha squash soup, chorizo cornbread stuffing, garlic roasted asparagus, and mashed potatoes. Aside from the Good Eats Turkey that I had made, I had made gravy from the roast drippings, cranberry sauce with port and dried figs (on the blog tomorrow), and this fabulous corn dish. The dessert spread was pretty fantastic, pumpkin and sweet potato pie, lemon cheesecake, lemon cookie cake and rum cake. Oh my word...there was plenty of food to boot!

One of the requested side dishes from my husband and the guys was this corn with roasted chiles, creme fraiche and cotija cheese. (A little fancy request, huh?) The back story is two months ago the guys had dined at Mesa Grill in Las Vegas during a bachelor's fest, and it was the one dish that the guys were claiming better than creamed corn and they were raving about it to me. This was the dish if any, that I had to recreate for them for our Friends-giving. My guy friends know me too well, and that I'll take food requests if need be. I couldn't resist and I absolutely love any of the dishes from Mesa Grill.

This side dish was easy enough to prepare and I tripled the original recipe to make sure that I had an ample serving of corn for the guys. It has a little bit of heat from the serrano and poblano chile and was quite refreshing from the citrus with a touchy of creaminess from the crème fraiche. If you can't find crème fraiche, you can easily substitute sour cream but I found it at Trader Joe's. It definitely adds that extra wow factor. This was definitely a crowd-pleaser and I already have requests to make it again.

I'm forever grateful and thankful for my friends that made our Friends-giving possible.

Corn with Roasted Chiles, Creme Fraiche & Cotija Cheese

Adapted from Mesa Grill
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 roasted serrano chile, finely diced
1 small roasted poblano chile, finely diced
1 roasted red pepper, finely diced
2 cups fresh corn, kernels removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 tablespoons crème fraiche
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup grated cotija cheese

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Add the serrano chile, red bell pepper and poblano chile on the baking sheet. Lightly coat with canola oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on all sides. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes in the oven, make sure the skins are slightly charred. Midway cooking time, make sure to flip and rotate the chiles so all sides get roasted. Remove from oven, and place in a large bowl. Cover with saran wrap, and let sit for 15 minutes. The skins should be soft to remove from the slightest touch, and peel away. Chop into 1-inch pieces, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft. Add garlic and serrano chile and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the poblano, red pepper and corn and cook until the corn is tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in butter, crème fraiche, lime juice and cilantro. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with cotija cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

Review: Absolutely delicious! The guys only complaint that it wasn't nearly as creamy as Mesa Grill's, and that can be easily fixed by adding an extra tablespoon or two of butter to the recipe. They wanted "melt in your mouth butter-tastic roasted corn." It was definitely a nice change-up from the traditional creamed corn, and a wonderful modern dish to our Friends-giving spread.

Hearty Tomato Soup

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Meatless Monday!

One of my pregnancy cravings lately has been soup. There has been nothing as comforting as a hot bowl of soup to me, plus a couple slices of bread. Or half the loaf because carbs are my friend, my best friend really. (I plan on hitting the gym hardcore after cookie makes his or her debut.) I got my clam chowder fix when I was at Boudin in San Francisco...and oh that was delicious. I made the biggest pot of tri-tip chili, and ate that for a week straight. I'm easy to please for dinner with a big bowl of soup. Currently, my latest craving has been tomato soup with grilled cheese or toasted sourdough slices. Mmm, it's heaven in a bowl.

If your garden was anywhere bountiful like mine, use fresh garden tomatoes for this batch of soup. If not, pick some up at the grocery store, it's okay - not everyone has a garden. Luckily, I had my last batch of tomatoes to use up and prepare this soup or use it for tomato sauce. I'm so happy that I picked tomato soup. This soup is easy to prepare and an inexpensive meal, you only need a couple of vegetables to make this tasty soup. This soup is very hearty as the title suggests, and is more like a chunky tomato vegetable soup. It was a perfect weekday lunch or dinner that kept me full until my snack time.

Simple and delicious!

Hearty Tomato Soup
Adapted from Pennies on a Platter
Ingredients:
For the soup:
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can beans, drained and rinsed - white cannellini preferred but I used kidney beans
4 cups fresh tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 to 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Garnishment: slices of monterey cheese

Preparation:

In a medium Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions, carrots and garlic until tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the rosemary, and the red pepper flakes. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce to low heat. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Using a blender or an immersion hand blender, purée the soup. It will look slightly chunky.

Return soup to the pot and keep warm over low heat. Taste for seasonings, add salt and pepper.

Scoop a hefty serving of tomato soup in a oven safe bowl and add a couple thin slices of monterey cheese. Place under the broiler for a couple minutes until the cheese is slightly charred and completely melted.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Review: Hearty and delicious. I left out the whipped cream finish that Nikki used on her soup - stop by her blog if you want to see her original version. Thank you to my plentiful crop of tomatoes this season. My San Marzano tomatoes were perfect to eat by themselves, as well as the cherry tomatoes. Yet, my roma tomatoes were the little stubborn ones that were late bloomers. I didn't mind because I was able to make this wonderful batch of tomato soup with them.

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

2011-11-18T13:30:00.000-08:00

Happy sweets day Friday!!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away! Have you finalized your Thanksgiving plans yet? I'm working on my Friends-giving dinner that is happening tomorrow! I have a fresh turkey to brine tonight, prep work for my roasted corn with chiles, cranberry sauce and all that last minute clean-up of the house. Luckily, it's a potluck style dinner, and my awesome friends are bringing plenty of side dishes, desserts and drinks to boot. It's going to be one awesome feast, it's like the warm-up to the actual big turkey day.

I wanted to quickly share this recipe that I have been in love with and neglected to post about. These pumpkin cookies are easy to prepare and perfect for all you pumpkin lovers. I don't think I have had filled my pumpkin quota of recipes just yet, and this another wonderful one to enjoy. These pumpkin cookies are more cake-like than a typical crunchy cookie. Make sure to make the browned butter frosting, it gives that extra light and smooth touch to the sweet treat.

Sweet and simple.

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
Adapted from Prevention RD
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
⅔ cup sugar
⅔ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
Browned Butter Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoon milk
⅓ cup unsalted butter

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line your baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.

In bowl of the stand mixer, cream together the sugar, brown sugar, ¾ cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape down the butter on the sides and very bottom of the bowl until well blended. Add in the pumpkin and eggs and mix until combined.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture in three small intervals until completely combined.

Using a small cookie scooper or 1 tablespoon, drop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center.

Remove quickly and place on cooling rack and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.

In medium bowl, add the powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3 tablespoons milk. In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/3 cup butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until light brown.

Pour browned butter over powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Gradually add just enough of the remaining 1 tablespoon milk to make frosting creamy and spreadable. Generously frost cooled cookies.

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Review: Heavenly pumpkin cookies. Just make them, and you will thank me later. It's a wonderful Thanksgiving treat to bring and share with your friends and family. Yum.

Salted Caramel Apple Bites

2011-11-15T02:30:00.000-08:00

Amy and her husband Joel from Sing for Your Supper are expecting a sweet baby girl in January 2012! EEK! I already predict lots of pink, cupcakes and everything sweet for this little blessing. So a group of their friends put together a virtual all-sweets baby shower hosted by Kelsey at Apple a Day to help them celebrate the upcoming arrival of the newest singer to their supper.

I have followed Amy's blog as long as I can remember and I absolutely love her and her cooking blog to pieces. Amy is always cooking something scrumptious and tasty on her blog besides working her awesome opera singer and voice teacher job. Amazing right?

Pregnancy cravings make you kinda batty for weird things. So when Amy, is loving all things with sweet and salty...I completely understand and I can totally sympathize. There were a couple weeks when all I wanted to eat were a basket of french fries with a large cold glass of lemonade. Actually I still crave this salty and sour combo, and I still get weak in the knees for my go-to comfort food of the moment.

I had seen a recurring theme in the past couple months from Amy's blog of caramel-related posts. Her take on Southern Caramel cake (inspired from the book/movie "The Help:), caramel popcorn, and salted caramel pumpkin blondies (which are totally perfect for Thanksgiving dessert). I knew that I wanted to make something with caramel and apples because they go together like peanut butter and jelly. I used the pie dough from my go-to pecan tart recipe, the apple filling from my go-to apple pie mixed with salted caramel sauce. It was a blissful bite-sized treat that I'm pretty Amy will love and a great dessert to share for this all-sweets themed baby shower.

Don’t miss any of the celebration and be sure to check out all of the other wonderful sweet treats at Sing for Your Supper and Apple a Day. Lots of well wishes for Amy and Joel on their upcoming precious little singer!

Salted Caramel Apple Bites

Original Krystal recipe
Printable Recipe
Sweet Pie Dough:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature (1 stick)
1 bar of cream cheese, room temperature
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Salted Caramel Sauce (store bought or use this recipe)
Apple Filling:
2 1/2 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced, and diced into 1/2 inch bits (recommend Granny Smith, about 3 apples)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon tapioca pearls
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped finely
Garnishment: Sea Salt (if desired)

Preparation:

Prepare salted caramel sauce or use store bought (recommend Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel Caramel). Warm the salted caramel sauce in the microwave, and set aside.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, and butter. Mix until light and fluffy. Add the flour and mix until combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides with a spatula to mix it together or you may have to use your hands to incorporate all the dough together. Almost kneading the dough if necessary, the dough feels like sticky play dough. Set aside.

Peel, halve and core the apples. Cut each half into thin slices and small bits. Place apples in a large bowl and stir in the warmed salted caramel sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sprinkle the tapioca pearls in and mix to combine.

Prepare little balls of dough, about a quarter size to fill mini muffin pans. I use a mixture of mini muffin tins. (24 Cup Minis but I prefer these denser 12 cup ones). Place the balls into the muffin tins. Repeat with the rest of the sweet dough.

Using your fingers, shape the balls into the mini muffin tin and carefully press into the pan forming a mini tart crust. Make sure the bottoms are not too thin or the filling will seep through. Add about 1 tablespoon of apple filling into each tart. Top with 1 teaspoon of chopped pecans and if desired a pinch of sea salt on top of each bite.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let rest in the pans for at least 5 minutes, and place on cooling rack.

Yield: 2 dozen

Review: Sweet apple pie perfection. As I was sitting in the kitchen prepping away the batch, the lingering smell of sweet apples and caramel waved around our house like a tease. My husband and I were in love with them, and they were the perfect bite size treat. I also brought a platter to a family dinner and they were equally loved and devoured. It's a toss-up between these apple bites or my pecan tarts that everyone wants for Thanksgiving.

Creamed Corn Skillet Cornbread

2011-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

11.11.11

That's a pretty cool date. Someone might be getting married today. Or someone might be celebrating a birthday. It might even be someone's lucky day, or better yet our lucky day. I'm totally calling it. We should play some lotto, or jump on the next plane to Las Vegas. I have a girlfriend headed their this weekend, and she'll probably have lady luck on her side. Win some big money Elisa!!

If by chance you are like me, you are busting out all your Thanksgiving magazines and combing over recipes to prepare for the big turkey day. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. I'm already on the turkey day countdown! I'm very thankful to celebrate the big feast twice. PALS-giving with my group of college friends and Thanksgiving with the family. Oh how I love Thanksgiving, and anytime that I get to sneak in more turkey and pumpkin pie - I'm all about it. It's the absolutely the best holiday (eating day) of the year.

One of my many favorite side dishes to enjoy is cornbread stuffing. I like making my own batch of cornbread a couple days before and adding it to the mix. Typically, I have cheated and used a box corn mix with a couple add-ins. However, I just discovered this recipe when I had a cooked a batch of my California tri-tip chili and it was absolutely heavenly. Eric and I fell head over heels over this skillet yumminess and it will be the only recipe I plan on using whenever we want cornbread and I do plan on using it when I prepare cornbread stuffing. It's super easy to prepare and tastes oh-so delicious. It's not your typical dense cornbread but it's almost cake-like. Bonus points, no extra butter or honey is needed. Nom.

Happy lucky Friday to you all!!

Creamed Corn Skillet Cornbread
Adapted from da man - Alton Brown
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix or 2 1/2 cups of yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1+ tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 can of creamed corn
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the jiffy cornbread, salt, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.

In another medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and creamed corn and whisk to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until combined.

Place a large 10 inch cast iron skillet on the stove top over medium high heat. Add the unsalted butter and melt. Pour the batter into the skillet and swirl in the honey over the batter. Place skillet in the oven.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cornbread is golden brown and springs back upon touch.

Serve immediately. No extra butter or honey needed, only if you want it.

Yield: 8 large servings

Review: A tasty sweet cornbread that you will absolutely love. Make a double batch just in case because my husband would have eaten the entire skillet if I had let him. It's that good!!