Hello my fellows food lovers,
Every year when the leaves begin to turn, I get excited about three things: Wearing my favorite boots, the upcoming arrival of Thanksgiving, and the fact that there is pumpkin everywhere!
I first fell in love with pumpkin when I was a kid. My mom and I used to make Pumpkin Pies every year. Since the, I have expanded to so many different recipe. Pumpkin is truly a versatile ingredient and I so enjoy using it in new recipes. Here is the promised new recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate swirl cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. Hope you all enjoy it!
I begin with making the two different cake mixes:
The Chocolate Cake recipe is actually from Hershey's. Click here for the recipe. I have used this cake recipe several times and it never disappoints.
The Pumpkin Cake recipe is actually for a Pumpkin layer cake. Click here for that recipe. This was the first time I have used this recipe for Pumpkin Cake, but I will for sure be using it again.
Sidenote: Both of these cake recipes themselves are dairy free!
1. Prepare both cake recipes in separate bowls.
2. Ready cupcake tins with liners. I prefer Culinary Parchment Paper Cups by PaperChef. You can find them at your local supermarket. They are a little more expensive, but they never stick.
3. Ladle the Pumpkin batter into the bottom of each cup (about 1/3 filled).
4. Ladle the Chocolate batter over the Pumpkin layer (about 1/8 inch).
5. Ladle more Pumpkin batter until it reaches about 1/2 inch from the top.
6. Take a knife and swirl the two batters together in each individual cupcake by making a figure 8 movement. To really mix it in, you can do the figure 8 motion both horizontally and vertically.
9. Place the cupcake tins in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
After you have removed the cupcakes from the oven allow them time to cool before adding any frosting.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
1 8oz block of cream cheese (room temp.)
1 1/2 sticks of butter (room temp.)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1. With a mixer, mix together cream cheese and butter
2. Pour in brown sugar and mix
3. Mix in vanilla
4. Use a knife or spatula to frost the cupcakes.
5. Enjoy!
I chilled these overnight before serving. It helps the icing set, but they can be served immediately as well. I made so many of them I still had some a week later and they still tasted amazing.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Chocolate Pomegranate Drops
Hello my friendly readers!
One of my favorite fruits is the pomegranate. It's like unlocking a treasure every time I cut into one.
Yes, it can be a pain to deal with all the seeds, but the result is oh so good.
If you are a chocolate fan like me, here is a recipe that takes the pomegranate to the next level. It's so simple anyone can make them and they are a fan favorite every time I make them.
Chocolate Pomegranate Drops
Ingredients:
1 large pomegranate
1 bag of chocolate chips or bits
To make:
1. Cut into pomegranate and remove seeds
2. Lay out seeds on a pan and allow to dry (just long enough so the water they were rinsed in evaporates)
3. Pour chocolate into a double boiler on medium heat(place one pot on a burner with a small amount of water in the bottom and place another pot on top.
4. When the chocolate begins to melt, stir until smooth.
5. Pour dry pomegranate seeds into double boiler with chocolate and stir (chocolate will curdle if the seeds are still wet).
6. Drop by the teaspoonful onto wax paper and put in the freezer for roughly ten minutes or until solid.
7. Store in a closed container in the freezer until ready to serve.
I usually buy three pomegranates and put the seeds into each kind of chocolate: milk, white and dark. All three are delicious.
Enjoy!
One of my favorite fruits is the pomegranate. It's like unlocking a treasure every time I cut into one.
Yes, it can be a pain to deal with all the seeds, but the result is oh so good.
If you are a chocolate fan like me, here is a recipe that takes the pomegranate to the next level. It's so simple anyone can make them and they are a fan favorite every time I make them.
Chocolate Pomegranate Drops
Ingredients:
1 large pomegranate
1 bag of chocolate chips or bits
To make:
1. Cut into pomegranate and remove seeds
2. Lay out seeds on a pan and allow to dry (just long enough so the water they were rinsed in evaporates)
3. Pour chocolate into a double boiler on medium heat(place one pot on a burner with a small amount of water in the bottom and place another pot on top.
4. When the chocolate begins to melt, stir until smooth.
5. Pour dry pomegranate seeds into double boiler with chocolate and stir (chocolate will curdle if the seeds are still wet).
6. Drop by the teaspoonful onto wax paper and put in the freezer for roughly ten minutes or until solid.
7. Store in a closed container in the freezer until ready to serve.
I usually buy three pomegranates and put the seeds into each kind of chocolate: milk, white and dark. All three are delicious.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Party Ideas: Pizza Bar
During the summer, my family often gets together for dinners on the weekends. Usually that will involve meeting at a restaurant. However, a few weeks ago I decided to host a family dinner at home.
When cooking for a lot of people with various likes/dislikes and dietary restrictions, deciding what to make can be quite a chore. Similarly, you don't want to end up spending a small fortune just to make dinner.
I thought through a few options and settled on pizza. I have always been a huge fan of pizza. There is just something about making pizza from scratch that makes it taste even better.
My next task was to determine what kind of pizza to make. Not to mention, making multiple pizzas can be a lot of work.
After pondering the idea for a few moments, a light bulb turned on and the brilliant idea of a Pizza Bar came to mind.
I mixed the dough and let it rise ahead of time and then chopped, browned and made all the toppings. The idea is, each person will roll out his/her piece of dough and add the desired toppings from the selection creating their own personalized pizza.
At first, not all of my guests were thrilled about having to cook their own food. But it turned out to be a really fun night and the pizzas were amazing.
A few notes for this party:
1. Make sure that you begin early, as it takes time for each pizza to be made and then bake.
2. To cut down on cost, have each guest bring their favorite pizza topping. That way you can provide the dough, sauce and cheese and it will significantly lower the cost.
3. Have fun with it. Put on some Dean Martin "When the moon hit's your eye like a big pizza pie" and have a dough throwing contest. (One of my guests tried this and his dough ended up falling behind a table. Can you say comic relief?)
Let me know how your pizza bar party goes!
My "Greek" Pizza - Pizza dough brushed with minced garlic and olive oil and topped with spinach, tomatoes, feta cheese, mushroom and mozzarella.
Here is a great dough recipe I use courtesy of The Food Network's Tyler Florence.
Leave me some comments. What's your favorite pizza topping?
When cooking for a lot of people with various likes/dislikes and dietary restrictions, deciding what to make can be quite a chore. Similarly, you don't want to end up spending a small fortune just to make dinner.
I thought through a few options and settled on pizza. I have always been a huge fan of pizza. There is just something about making pizza from scratch that makes it taste even better.
My next task was to determine what kind of pizza to make. Not to mention, making multiple pizzas can be a lot of work.
After pondering the idea for a few moments, a light bulb turned on and the brilliant idea of a Pizza Bar came to mind.
I mixed the dough and let it rise ahead of time and then chopped, browned and made all the toppings. The idea is, each person will roll out his/her piece of dough and add the desired toppings from the selection creating their own personalized pizza.
At first, not all of my guests were thrilled about having to cook their own food. But it turned out to be a really fun night and the pizzas were amazing.
A few notes for this party:
1. Make sure that you begin early, as it takes time for each pizza to be made and then bake.
2. To cut down on cost, have each guest bring their favorite pizza topping. That way you can provide the dough, sauce and cheese and it will significantly lower the cost.
3. Have fun with it. Put on some Dean Martin "When the moon hit's your eye like a big pizza pie" and have a dough throwing contest. (One of my guests tried this and his dough ended up falling behind a table. Can you say comic relief?)
Let me know how your pizza bar party goes!
Here is a great dough recipe I use courtesy of The Food Network's Tyler Florence.
Leave me some comments. What's your favorite pizza topping?
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Lemon Almond Oat Bran Cookies (Dairy-free)
I had a hankering for something sweet the other night. Usually when that happens my go-to cookie recipe is a quick and easy one from a children's cookbook for chocolate chip. However, I wanted a bit healthier option.
I just decided to start throwing ingredients in a bowl and see how it turned out. The results were delicious! Here's the recipe I came up with.
Lemon Almond Oat Bran Cookies
Ingredients:
Canola Oil 3/4 cup
Brown sugar 3/4 cup
1 egg
All purpose flour 1 cup
Toasted oat bran 1 cup
Baking powder 1 1/4 tsp.
Lemon extract 1 cap full
Sliced almonds for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Pour canola oil (can use butter, shortening or coconut oil as well) and sugar into bowl and mix together.
2. Add the egg and mix again until blended together.
3. Sift the flour and the baking powder into the bowl and mix until about half blended together.
4. Add the toasted oat bran and mix well.
5. Add the cap full of lemon extract and mix together until smooth.
6. Drop by teaspoon full onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.
7. Sprinkle a few sliced almonds in the middle of each cookie.
8. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
Makes about 16 cookies
I just decided to start throwing ingredients in a bowl and see how it turned out. The results were delicious! Here's the recipe I came up with.
Lemon Almond Oat Bran Cookies
Ingredients:
Canola Oil 3/4 cup
Brown sugar 3/4 cup
1 egg
All purpose flour 1 cup
Toasted oat bran 1 cup
Baking powder 1 1/4 tsp.
Lemon extract 1 cap full
Sliced almonds for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Pour canola oil (can use butter, shortening or coconut oil as well) and sugar into bowl and mix together.
2. Add the egg and mix again until blended together.
3. Sift the flour and the baking powder into the bowl and mix until about half blended together.
4. Add the toasted oat bran and mix well.
5. Add the cap full of lemon extract and mix together until smooth.
6. Drop by teaspoon full onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.
7. Sprinkle a few sliced almonds in the middle of each cookie.
8. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
Makes about 16 cookies
Friday, July 27, 2012
Don't Crowd the Mushrooms
I recently watched the film Julie and Julia for the first time. When I finally decided to watch the film, I expected a good story and was pleasantly surprised to pick up a few cooking tips as well.
During one of the early scenes in the character Julie's experiment to "cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook", she comments that she had been cooking mushroom incorrectly her entire life. "Don't crowd the mushrooms," she read from Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
The camera shot changes to one above the pan in which she is spreading out sliced mushrooms soon to be browned to perfection.
Like Julie, I am also guilty of crowding mushrooms. I always thought the most important part of cooking mushrooms was making sure to put in the appropriate amount of liquid. Too little they would burn, too much they would become mushy (also keeping in mind the fact that they release water as they cook down).
Yesterday morning, I returned home from my run with a craving for a good breakfast sandwich. Scanning through the contents of my fridge, I decided on scrambled egg whites with mushrooms and a little shredded cheese on a toasted bagel thin. Delicious!
My first task was to brown the mushrooms. I decided to give Julie and Julia's tip a try and spread the sliced pieces out. Wouldn't you know, it worked! They were very possibly the best mushrooms I have ever cooked. Furthermore, it made for a positively mouthwatering breakfast sandwich.
Friends, there are two morals to this story. One, watching films for pleasure can turn out to be educational; and two, don't crowd the mushrooms.
If you have yet to see this foodie dream masterpiece of a film. Watch the trailer here.
During one of the early scenes in the character Julie's experiment to "cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook", she comments that she had been cooking mushroom incorrectly her entire life. "Don't crowd the mushrooms," she read from Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
The camera shot changes to one above the pan in which she is spreading out sliced mushrooms soon to be browned to perfection.
Like Julie, I am also guilty of crowding mushrooms. I always thought the most important part of cooking mushrooms was making sure to put in the appropriate amount of liquid. Too little they would burn, too much they would become mushy (also keeping in mind the fact that they release water as they cook down).
Yesterday morning, I returned home from my run with a craving for a good breakfast sandwich. Scanning through the contents of my fridge, I decided on scrambled egg whites with mushrooms and a little shredded cheese on a toasted bagel thin. Delicious!
My first task was to brown the mushrooms. I decided to give Julie and Julia's tip a try and spread the sliced pieces out. Wouldn't you know, it worked! They were very possibly the best mushrooms I have ever cooked. Furthermore, it made for a positively mouthwatering breakfast sandwich.
Friends, there are two morals to this story. One, watching films for pleasure can turn out to be educational; and two, don't crowd the mushrooms.
If you have yet to see this foodie dream masterpiece of a film. Watch the trailer here.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Just Plum Peachy Nectarine Pie
If all of you are like me, you have trouble resisting the great deals on summer fruits. It always seems like during summer you can never buy just a few; despite the fact that you know they will go bad before you can finish all of them.
So what do you do when a once tempting bowl of summer fruits begins to look like this?
You turn it into this:
Here is how:
There are two parts to making this pie. First, turning the fruit into a filling. Second, creating a great pie crust.
*** For this pie I used the plums, peaches and nectarines I had that were going bad, but you can adapt it for pretty much whatever fruit you want to use.
Fruit filling
1. Wash all of your fruit and cut off all of the good parts. If it is a little juicy or starting to bruise inside it is probably still good. Just make sure it is not rotten.
2. Place all of the good cutting (discard the rest) in a medium sized pot with a small amount of water in the bottom. ***Note this picture does not display the appropriate amount of fruit needed.
3. Add sugar (I used brown, but you can use whatever you wish). I sprinkled probably around 3/4 cup - 1 cup.
4. Let fruit simmer on a low setting (around 3 depending on your stove) for about a half hour or so, then add desired spices. I added some cinnamon, nutmeg and a cinnamon stick.
5. Cover the pot and allow to simmer again on low for 45 minutes - 1 hour.
Pie Crust:
I tried this recipe for the pie crust from Simply Recipes. It was fast and easy and the crust came out perfectly flaky and buttery.
Put it all together:
Okay, so now you have the dough and the filling. All that is left is to create the actual pie.
1. Roll out the dough on the floured surface. I found this dough very easy to roll.
2. Put dough into pre-greased pie tins.
3. Add the fruit filling. Depending on how much water was released from the fruit while cooking, you may need a slotted spoon to spoon the fruit into the pie crust without getting too much of the liquid. You can also add a dash of flour of cornstarch to the liquid to thicken it and add the whole thing to the pic crust. For this one, I simply added the fruit.
4. If you like the lattice effect I created on top, roll out more of the dough and cut long half in strips that you can lay across. In a true lattice pie crust the strips are woven together. On mine I went a little less fancy and simply laid them across in two layers.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
I could not wait to eat these so I pretty much took a bite right after it came out of the oven. You can serve them warm or chill them in the refrigerator for later. Either way, the fruit of your labor will be sweet.
Share your thoughts! Let me know what you think of this recipe.
So what do you do when a once tempting bowl of summer fruits begins to look like this?
You turn it into this:
Here is how:
There are two parts to making this pie. First, turning the fruit into a filling. Second, creating a great pie crust.
*** For this pie I used the plums, peaches and nectarines I had that were going bad, but you can adapt it for pretty much whatever fruit you want to use.
Fruit filling
1. Wash all of your fruit and cut off all of the good parts. If it is a little juicy or starting to bruise inside it is probably still good. Just make sure it is not rotten.
2. Place all of the good cutting (discard the rest) in a medium sized pot with a small amount of water in the bottom. ***Note this picture does not display the appropriate amount of fruit needed.
3. Add sugar (I used brown, but you can use whatever you wish). I sprinkled probably around 3/4 cup - 1 cup.
4. Let fruit simmer on a low setting (around 3 depending on your stove) for about a half hour or so, then add desired spices. I added some cinnamon, nutmeg and a cinnamon stick.
5. Cover the pot and allow to simmer again on low for 45 minutes - 1 hour.
Pie Crust:
I tried this recipe for the pie crust from Simply Recipes. It was fast and easy and the crust came out perfectly flaky and buttery.
Put it all together:
Okay, so now you have the dough and the filling. All that is left is to create the actual pie.
1. Roll out the dough on the floured surface. I found this dough very easy to roll.
2. Put dough into pre-greased pie tins.
3. Add the fruit filling. Depending on how much water was released from the fruit while cooking, you may need a slotted spoon to spoon the fruit into the pie crust without getting too much of the liquid. You can also add a dash of flour of cornstarch to the liquid to thicken it and add the whole thing to the pic crust. For this one, I simply added the fruit.
4. If you like the lattice effect I created on top, roll out more of the dough and cut long half in strips that you can lay across. In a true lattice pie crust the strips are woven together. On mine I went a little less fancy and simply laid them across in two layers.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
I could not wait to eat these so I pretty much took a bite right after it came out of the oven. You can serve them warm or chill them in the refrigerator for later. Either way, the fruit of your labor will be sweet.
Share your thoughts! Let me know what you think of this recipe.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Culinary Adventure
Let the record state: Today, July 19, 2012, the adventure begins.
Some of my earliest memories are of watching my mom in the kitchen. Often to the dismay of my brother and I, she insisted we ate only healthy home-cooked meals. Growing up I was often jealous of my friends' lunches of processed snacks and dinners of McDonald's Happy Meals. I could not explain to my mother enough how unappealing bland brown rice, raw grated beets or cabbage soup is to a child. Sadly, my complaints fell on what I had considered to be deaf ears.
My mother started getting us involved in cooking at a young age. I cooked my first scrambled eggs when I was four... and nearly burned the house down. I was a very ambitious child.
When I got a little older, I took mostly to baking (as I was not the most coordinated with knives and was thoroughly disgusted with the idea of touching raw meat). Even then, I could not quite get into the idea of measuring and mixing all of the ingredients. Therefore, cookie-cakes made of a boxed cookie mix became my specialty. I'll tell you, I was determined to be the best cookie-cake baker the world ever saw. I'll have to post a picture of my particular favorite I made in the shape of the state of California.
It was not until I hit high school age that I finally began to see the many values of cooking. For one, I finally started reading labels with the capacity to understand that chemicals is not real food. Furthermore, that through my mom cooking every night she was expressing her love through food... except perhaps for that cabbage soup.
I began to realize how important cooking is to my family. Some of the only things we have left of our family a few generations back are recipes. The food we cook as a family is a part of who we are. After that light bulb moment, it did not take long for cooking to become a huge part of my life.
Another thing my mother taught me is improvising with what you have. There were times when we did not have a whole lot, but she always knew how to create a meal out of whatever we did have. This skill she has passed on to me. I once had nothing but peanut butter, a chocolate bar, butter and some wafer cookies in my place and had to make a dessert. The result was something I dubbed Tree Bark (because of how it looked, not how it tasted).
Through this blog I seek to pass my love for cooking and the improvision skill on to all of you, my readers. I only have a few rules before spilling my secrets.
1. EVERYONE CAN COOK! You might not become a master chef, but everyone can learn the basics.
2. Don't be afraid to get messy. You won't know if a recipe will work until you try it.
3. Find ideas and make them your own. I find a lot of recipes on blog and usually give them a twist to make them my own; or, combine elements from similar recipes to create a new one.
4. Add some flavor to your life. I love to travel, but don't have lots of money to do so. I comb blogs for authentic recipes from various countries and cultures when I get that itch to try something new.
5. Add some music and dance around your kitchen while you cook. My family always knows they are going to have something good to eat in a few hours whenever they hear some good tunes coming from the kitchen. On the bad days, nothing releases stress better for me than putting on some good music, dancing around the kitchen and cooking a great meal or dessert.
Well, there you have it. Hope you enjoy this blog as much as I do. Feel free to comment and let me know what you add to recipes to change things up. Looking forward to this taking culinary journey with you all.
Preview of recipes to come:
Dark Chocolate Heart Shapes Brownies with Chocolate Cherry Dove Candy Hearts
Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Kiwi Filling and Kiwi Cream Cheese Icing
My own take on Israeli Krembo
Some of my earliest memories are of watching my mom in the kitchen. Often to the dismay of my brother and I, she insisted we ate only healthy home-cooked meals. Growing up I was often jealous of my friends' lunches of processed snacks and dinners of McDonald's Happy Meals. I could not explain to my mother enough how unappealing bland brown rice, raw grated beets or cabbage soup is to a child. Sadly, my complaints fell on what I had considered to be deaf ears.
My mother started getting us involved in cooking at a young age. I cooked my first scrambled eggs when I was four... and nearly burned the house down. I was a very ambitious child.
When I got a little older, I took mostly to baking (as I was not the most coordinated with knives and was thoroughly disgusted with the idea of touching raw meat). Even then, I could not quite get into the idea of measuring and mixing all of the ingredients. Therefore, cookie-cakes made of a boxed cookie mix became my specialty. I'll tell you, I was determined to be the best cookie-cake baker the world ever saw. I'll have to post a picture of my particular favorite I made in the shape of the state of California.
It was not until I hit high school age that I finally began to see the many values of cooking. For one, I finally started reading labels with the capacity to understand that chemicals is not real food. Furthermore, that through my mom cooking every night she was expressing her love through food... except perhaps for that cabbage soup.
I began to realize how important cooking is to my family. Some of the only things we have left of our family a few generations back are recipes. The food we cook as a family is a part of who we are. After that light bulb moment, it did not take long for cooking to become a huge part of my life.
Another thing my mother taught me is improvising with what you have. There were times when we did not have a whole lot, but she always knew how to create a meal out of whatever we did have. This skill she has passed on to me. I once had nothing but peanut butter, a chocolate bar, butter and some wafer cookies in my place and had to make a dessert. The result was something I dubbed Tree Bark (because of how it looked, not how it tasted).
Through this blog I seek to pass my love for cooking and the improvision skill on to all of you, my readers. I only have a few rules before spilling my secrets.
1. EVERYONE CAN COOK! You might not become a master chef, but everyone can learn the basics.
2. Don't be afraid to get messy. You won't know if a recipe will work until you try it.
3. Find ideas and make them your own. I find a lot of recipes on blog and usually give them a twist to make them my own; or, combine elements from similar recipes to create a new one.
4. Add some flavor to your life. I love to travel, but don't have lots of money to do so. I comb blogs for authentic recipes from various countries and cultures when I get that itch to try something new.
5. Add some music and dance around your kitchen while you cook. My family always knows they are going to have something good to eat in a few hours whenever they hear some good tunes coming from the kitchen. On the bad days, nothing releases stress better for me than putting on some good music, dancing around the kitchen and cooking a great meal or dessert.
Well, there you have it. Hope you enjoy this blog as much as I do. Feel free to comment and let me know what you add to recipes to change things up. Looking forward to this taking culinary journey with you all.
Preview of recipes to come:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)