Adventures in Gluttony

DB: Tiramisu

2010-02-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

I was excited for this challenge! I love Tiramisu! I recommend making this one piece at a time over a week. I tried making it all in a two day period and I was so frazzled by the end. It was definitely worth it, though.

I put mine in a tifle bowl and quickly realized that my bowl as way too big! I needed another layer to make it look nice, so I decided to make some more whipping cream. However, all I had left was light cream. So, after whipping in "Katie" my standmixer for fifteen minutes I began to panic. It was getting froffy but not thick like when I use heavy cream. So, I took the leftover mascropone cheese and added that. It got a little thick but was more like Cool Whip in texture, which worked fine. It was very decant and creamy. The best whip cream I've ever had!

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and

PREPARATION TIME:
Tiramisu is made up of several components which can be made separately and ahead of time and put together the day before serving.Making tiramisu from scratch requires about 2 to 3 days (including refrigeration) from when you start making the mascarpone to the time the tiramisu is served. So this challenge requires some prior planning. Please read the instructions as you need to begin making the mascarpone at least a day in advance. The zabaglione & pastry cream also need 4 hours to an overnight for chilling, as does the main dessert. The flavours mature after an overnight rest, and the dessert can be kept refrigerated for 2-3 days.Once assembled, the tiramisu can be frozen till you need to serve it, in case you are not serving it immediately.

TIRAMISU
(Recipe source: Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007 )This recipe makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the vanilla pastry cream:
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zes
t1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream:1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.To assemble the tiramisu: Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice.Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

MASCARPONE CHEESE(Source: Vera’s Recipe for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese)This recipe makes 12oz/ 340gm of mascarpone cheese

Ingredients:
2 cups whipping (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

LADYFINGERS/ SAVOIARDI BISCUITS(Source: Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home)This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2" to 3" long) ladyfingers.

3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy. Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips. Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness. Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar. Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft. Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

To assemble the tiramisu:
2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup/110gms sugar
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

Now to start assembling the tiramisu.Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

Puff Pastry

2009-09-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Puff pastry (aka pâte feuilletée) is something most of us usually buy at the grocery store, but in order to be really daring, we should make our own at least once in awhile, right? Puff pastry is in the ‘laminated dough” family, along with Danish dough and croissant dough. (In fact, if you participated in the Danish Braid challenge back in June 2008, then you already know the general procedure for working with laminated dough.) A laminated dough consists of a large block of butter (called the “beurrage”) that is enclosed in dough (called the “détrempe”). This dough/butter packet is called a “paton,” and is rolled and folded repeatedly (a process known as “turning”) to create the crisp, flaky, parallel layers you see when baked. Unlike Danish or croissant however, puff pastry dough contains no yeast in the détrempe, and relies solely aeration to achieve its high rise. The turning process creates hundreds of layers of butter and dough, with air trapped between each one. In the hot oven, water in the dough and the melting butter creates steam, which expands in the trapped air pockets, forcing the pastry to rise.
Once we have our puff pastry dough made and chilled, we are going to roll and form a portion of it into vols-au-vent, which are little puff pastry cases designed to hold a filling.

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent
Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)
On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.
(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)
Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)
Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)
Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.
Fill and serve.
*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.
*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.
*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).
Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie GreenspanYield: 2-1/2 pounds doughSteph’s note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.
There is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). They do seem to give slightly different ingredient measurements verbally than the ones in the book…I listed the recipe as it appears printed in the book. http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry
Ingredients:2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter
plus extra flour for dusting work surface
Mixing the Dough:
Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.
Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)
Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.
Incorporating the Butter:
Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.
Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.
To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.
Making the Turns:
Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).
With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.
Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.
Chilling the Dough:
If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.
The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

DB: Dobos Cake

2009-08-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

I almost fell out of my chair when I saw what the challenge was for this month. I have this Hungian Cookbook and this was one of the recipes I was dying to try. I just couldn't find a reason to make it...until now!

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonfulof Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular DobosTorte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

So, what is the Dobos Torta (or Torte)?
The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. (You may come across recipes which have anywhere between six and 12 layers of cake; there are numerous family variations!) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.

Ingredients:

Sponge cake layers
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
pinch of salt
Chocolate Buttercream
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Caramel topping
1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)

Finishing touches
a 7” cardboard round
12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Directions for the sponge layers:

The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)
3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)
4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Lorraine's note: If you're in Winter just now your butter might not soften enough at room temperature, which leads to lumps forming in the buttercream. Male sure the butter is of a very soft texture I.e. running a knife through it will provide little resistance, before you try to beat it into the chocolate mixture. Also, if you beat the butter in while the chocolate mixture is hot you'll end up with more of a ganache than a buttercream!

Directions for the caramel topping:
1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

Angela's note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.

Assembling the Dobos
1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

Daring Bakers: Milo Cookies

2009-07-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I always wanted to learn how to make Milan cookies, so I was really excited for this challenage. However, I wasn't happy with the results. The problem for me was that batter had lemon extract in it, which was way too strong and I hate orange chocolate. I also pour too large amounts of batter into the baking sheet and ended up with giant milo cookies. If I use this recipe again, I will definitely omit the lemon and the orange and uses smaller batches of batter.

I haven't tried the marshmallow cookies yet, but I'm dying to try it. Hopefully I will have better luck.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda•
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

July's Cheese of the Month

2009-07-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been two months and I have finally started up my Cheese of the Month again. This month I've selected something really challenging....Gorgonzola.

Gorgonzola is one of those stinky strong flavored cheeses, so I'm a litte scared about what to make with it. I look forward to seeing everyone's creations. Good luck!

Remember to e-mail me when you are done. Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

What is Cheese of the Month? Go here to find out:
http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.html

April's Cream Cheese Results

2009-07-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is now July and I am finally putting up a blog about April's results! May and June were crazy busy months for me. May was my birthday month (that's right I get a whole month!), I got a new job (nursing assistant), mom graduated from Nursing School; and in June I went on vacation and had my wisdom teeth extracted and then I got a really sick! So, I've been a little behind on my blogging. But better late than never!

April was an easy month for me, because the Daring Baker's Challenage was the same thing I planned to make anyways...CHEESECAKE! The recipe was AMAZING, too. I modified several times and each time I have gotten rave reviews. I made three types: Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Dark Chocolate Mocha, and Nutella. All I did was tweek the original recipe a little.

Here's the original recipe. I included all of my variations at the bottom.***

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

***Variations:

Nutella Cheesecake: I just added a whole jar of Nutella to the batter and omitted the lemon juice and vanilla. For the crust I omitted the graham crackers and subbed Oreo Cookies. Everyone LOVED it! My sister's friends said it was "Olive Garden Cheesecake Good!"

Dark Chocolate Mocha: I warmed the cream up and added 2 tbsp of instant coffee. I then added a whole bar of melted Dark Chocolate to the batter. I omitted the lemon juice. For the crust I omitted the graham crackers and subbed Oreo Cookies.

I added a decorated touch by added vienna waffer sticks around the the cheesecake. I then covered it in with a dark chocolate ganche.

I made it for a Princess House Party my neighbor was throwing and one (older) lady said that eating my cheesecake was like having a "sexual experience!" How funny is that?!

Peanut Butter Cup: I omitted the lemon juice and added 1 Cup of homemade peanut butter. I then covered it in with a dark chocolate ganche. For the crust I omitted the graham crackers and subbed Oreo Cookies. I made it for my friend's bridal shower. Everyone LOVED it. My mom said it was "sooooooo good!" (She's a Negative Nelly, so that it is the ultimate compliment!)

I'm not the only one who has been busy. Cristine of Cooking with Cristine was a little late too. She made some amazing Lemon Curd and Cream Cheese Muffins. Make sure to check out her blog.

Lemon Curd and Cream Cheese Muffins

Recipezaar

MUFFIN

6 ounces flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 ounces sugar

Zest of 2 lemons

5/8 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

4 TBSP butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons lemon curd

1/4 teaspoon vanilla2 ounces cream cheese

3/4 ounce powdered sugar

GLAZE

2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 ounces powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a muffin pan with paper cases.

Sift flour, baking powder and sugar together.

Add lemon zest.

Mix together the milk, egg, butter, lemon curd and vanilla.

Mix together the cream cheese and icing sugar in a seperate bowl.

Make a well in center of the dry ingredients, quickly stir in the wet ingredients using no more than 12 strokes.

Put 1 tablespoon of the muffin mix into the base of the muffin pans.

Pop a fraction of the cream cheese mixture on top and then cover with the remaining muffin mixture.

The tins should be almost full to the top.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Prepare the glaze by mixing the icing sugar and lemon juice together.

Remove the muffins from their tins, cool for five minutes and then drizzle with the glaze.

DB: Bakewell Tart

2009-07-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

June was a very busy month for me. I just finished up my job training and then I went to florida for a friend's wedding/vacation. So, I've been a little behind in my blogging.

The Daring Baker's Challenage this month was a Bakewell Tart. The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

Bakewell Tart History and Lore

Flan-like desserts that combine either sweet egg custard over candied fruit or feature spiced ground almonds in a pastry shell have Mediaeval roots. The term “Bakewell pudding” was first penned in 1826 by Meg Dods; 20 years later Eliza Acton published a recipe that featured a baked rich egg custard overtop 2cm of jam and noted,
“This pudding is famous not only in Derbyshire, but in several of our northern counties where it is usually served on all holiday occasions.”
By the latter half of the 1800s, the egg custard evolved into a frangipane-like filling; since then the quantity of jam decreased while the almond filling increased.
This tart, like many of the world's great foods has its own mythic beginnings…or several mythic beginnings. Legend has it in 1820 (or was it in the 1860s?) Mrs. Greaves, landlady of The White Horse Inn in Bakewell, Derbyshire (England), asked her cook to produce a pudding for her guests. Either her instructions could have been clearer or he should have paid better attention to what she said because what he made was not what she asked for. The cook spread the jam on top of the frangipane mixture rather than the other way around. Or maybe instead of a sweet rich shortcrust pastry case to hold the jam for a strawberry tart, he made a regular pastry and mixed the eggs and sugar separately and poured that over the jam—it depends upon which legend you follow.
Regardless of what the venerable Mrs. Greaves’ cook did or didn’t do, lore has it that her guests loved it and an ensuing pastry-clad industry was born. The town of Bakewell has since played host to many a sweet tooth in hopes of tasting the tart in its natural setting.
Bakewell tarts are a classic English dessert, abounding in supermarket baking sections and in ready-made, mass-produced forms, some sporting a thick sugary icing and glazed cherry on top for decorative effect.
Enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee or just eat it sneaky slice by sneaky slice until, to your chagrin, you realise the whole tart has somehow disappeared despite you never having pulled out a plate, fork or napkin with which to eat it.

BAKEWELL TART
One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.
The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.
When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It's a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn't have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.Annemarie’s notes:• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.
Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula
(4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
(4.5oz) icing sugar
3 eggs
(½ tsp) almond extract
(4.5oz) ground almonds
(1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Well, there goes my diet....

2009-05-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I got a new job as a nurse's aide taking care of the elderly...so I haven't had a lot of time to bake. I have also been despritely trying to loose a few inches because my bride's maide dress is snug and the wedding is in two weeks. (That and one of the resident at the home keeps calling me fat. Well, at least I'm not crazy!) Oh boy. I hate diets. I don't believe in them. So, after two days with no snacks or desserts I made this strudel and I ate a few pieces with NO GUILT! I figure that as long as I don't bend over, my dress won't rip and everything will be fine. Everyone will be looking at the bride, right?

I didn't have time for The Cheese of the Month or Operation Baking Gals, so I figured I would at least do the Daring Bakers. Since I've been training, I haven't had too many days off and the days I've had off I've been exhaused. Thus, I made my strudel the day it was due!

I absolutely LOVE strudel, especially apple. It reminds me of our honeymoon in Vienna and of course my daughter who was conceived there! ;-)

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

The recipe is fairly simple, it is just the stretching of the dough that was a little hard. I didn't have cider vinger, so I used red wine vinegar and that seemed to work fine. I also don't drink so I didnt' use rum. I used vanilla instead. I always soak my raisins in vanilla before added them to anything. I also didn't have nor do I like walnuts, so I just added extra raisins. For the bread cumbs, I used some homemade multigrain bread that my dad had me us. I just grounded it up in the mini chopper.

My strudel tasted amazing except that it wasn't as flaky as I wanted it to be. So, I'm going to try it again tomorrow. That didn't stop Baby Bell and I from eating it with vanilla ice cream and warm caramel sauce! This was a great challenge and I look forward to trying other fillings in the future...like strawberry rubharb or raspberry.

Apple Strudel

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbsstrudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.
3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.
4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel Dough
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.
2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Cheesecake-Daring Bakers Challenage

2009-04-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

This month's challenage was CHEESECAKE!! I was making a cheesecake for Easter anyways, so I was thrilled to see this was the challenage! I've never made cheesecake before so I was a little nervous. The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

It turned out perfectly! I was a little nervous about the water bath, but another baker suggested wrapping the pan in foil and then with plastic wrap to keep the crust from getting soggy. It worked too!

I modified the recipe and made a Nutella Cheesecake with a Dark Chocolate Glaze and an Oreo Cookie Crust. I just added a whole jar of Nutella to the batter and omitted the lemon juice and vanilla. For the crust I omitted the graham crackers and subbed Oreo Cookies. Everyone LOVED it! My sister's friends said it was "Olive Garden Cheesecake Good!"

Here's the oreo crust.
Here's my delicious creation!

I was amazed that there were no cracks!

My daugher LOVES Nutella!

I love this recipe so much that I made another one for my friend's Princess House party last week. I made a Dark Chocolate Mocha Cheesecake. It turned out AMAZING. An elderly woman at the party said that eating my cheesecake was like having a "sexual experience!" I LOVE old people! She said that she bought a cheesecake from the store and had to throw it away because it didnt' taste good. She was thrilled when I gave her the recipe.

To make the Dark Chocolate Mocha Cheesecake, I omitted the lemon juice and added 1 tbsp instant coffee to 1/4 c of the cream, which I heated in the microwave first. I added the rest of the cream to the batter cold. I then added 5 oz of melted dark chocolate. I used Choceur of course! I love Aldi's!!! For the crust I omitted the graham crackers and subbed Oreo Cookies. I decorated the sides with those straws that are filled with cream. I can't remember the exact name though. (I will post a picture of my creation soon!)

I making a Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake this Sunday for my friend's bridal shower and I'm planning on making at least two more this month for another party!

Here's the original recipe:

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:
crust:

2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs

1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted

2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature

1 cup / 210 g sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)

1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Some variations from the recipe creator:
** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries - heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon - cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel - take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website - just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle - add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of "coins" of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.
Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):

**Key lime - add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, and vanilla with key lime juice.

**Cheesecakelets - put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, and cool as before.

Light 'n' Tender Wheat-Oat Pancake Mix

2009-04-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE pancakes! I found yet another great King Arthur Flour recipe for healthy pancakes. I bought some whole wheat flour, so I wanted to use it, but I didn't want the "wheaty" taste. This recipe was perfect. Because it has oatmeal in it, it is natural sweetly and has no "wheaty" taste. The name speaks for itselves. I made them for my sister and she insisted that I give her some of the mixture to take home. This mix makes a TON, too!

I served the pancakes with a homemade berry sauce. I included that recipe too. The berry sauce can be used for a variety of things, such as a fondue dip* or a sauce for ice cream.

Light 'n' Tender Wheat-Oat Pancake Mix

3 1/2 cups (12 1/4 ounces) old-fashioned or quick rolled oats
4 cups (1 pound) King Arthur whole wheat flour, traditional or white wheat
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) vegetable oil

1. To make the mix: Grind the oats in a food processor until they're chopped fine, but not a powder.
2. Combine the oats, flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, preferably the bowl of an electric mixer.
3. Mix on low speed, and drizzle the oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of the mix in your hand; if it holds together, it's just right. If it won't hold together, stir in 1 tablespoon of oil at a time, until it does. 4. Store indefinitely in an airtight container in the freezer.

To make the pancakes:
1. Whisk together 1 cup (4 3/8 ounces) mix, 1 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup each yogurt and milk), 1 tablespoon orange juice, and 1 large egg. Don't worry if the batter seems thin at first; it'll thicken as it stands.
2. Let the batter stand for 15 minutes before cooking. Heat your griddle or pan till a drop of water sputters when you drop it on the surface.
3.Lightly grease, and pour pancake batter by the 1/4-cupful onto the griddle. A muffin scoop works well here.
4. Cook the pancakes till they're golden brown on the bottom, flip them over, and cook till golden brown on the other side.
5.Serve with butter and syrup; fresh fruit is a plus, of course.

Yield: 10 medium-sized (3 1/2") pancakes.

Mixed Berry Sauce

1 Pkg Frozen Mixed Berries
1/4 C Sugar

1. Thaw berries and place in blender.
2. Strain berries threw a sieve into saucepan.
3. Heat on medium heat and add sugar.
4. When sauce is warm remove from heat.

*For fondue: place in a fondue pot and serve with pound cake, brownies, different variety of cheeses, and/or angel food cake for dipping.

S'Mores Bars

2009-04-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

This recipe is so simple and so yummy!

S'mores Bars (16)

16 Whole Graham Crackers
6 Tbsp Butter, melted
2 Tbsp Sugar
2 C miniature marshmallows
1 Can Sweetend condensed milk
15 Hershey's Hugs
1/4 C M&Ms

1. Preheat to 350 F. Line square baking pan with foil; coat with cooking spray.
2. Break 5 grahma crackers into 1 inch pieces, reserve.
3. Finely crush, remaing crackers and combine with butter and sugar.
4. Press into bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
5. Combine marshmallows and grahma crackers pieces. Place over crust.
6. Pour sweetend condensed milk evely over the marshmallow mixture. Top with hugs and M&Ms.

Chocolate Cake with Oreo Cookies and Cream Filling

2009-03-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Birthday Princess

Baby Bell's 2nd birthday was in March, so I decided that instead of buying a cake and paying lots of money, it would be cheaper and more fun to make my own. Well, I can honestly say it was cheaper to make my own, but it was A LOT of work!

We had a Hello Kitty theme.

I got a book from the Library entitled The Whimsical Bakehouse and it had a great selection of recipes from cakes to frostings to cheesecake to decorating with chocolate! I decided to go with a simple chocolate cake since I was making this cake for a very picky bunch of people: my inlaws! Don't get me wrong, they are WONDERFUL people, they are just really really picky and aren't up for trying new and exciting recipes. I bought some cake flour from the Surplus store for $1.00 and I already had all of the other ingredients in stock, except for the Oreos and Heavy Whipping Cream.

For the filling I went with the Oreo Cookies and Cream Filling. I figured everyone loves Oreos, right? I decided to go with their house recipe for Buttercream, which was the same choice. This was the best buttercream recipe I have ever tasted! Both the filling and frosting make enough to frosting my entire cake plus I had a some leftover for future use. Maybe for cupcakes, perhaps?

I use the Betty Crocker Bake and Fill, but I think next time I'll just use cake pans. The Bake and Fill did do the job, it was just weird for me to work with since it was my first time. The recipe belows calls for doing 3 cups of the batter in one pan and filling the rest in the other, so one will be more full then the other. I think this might be because these cakes where meant to filled so they are lopsided. I didn't do this method because I used the bake and fill, so I'm not sure what the times would be if you wanted to just fill them evenly. I would start with the lesser time and keep checking every 5 minutes or so. The Bake and Fill took about 45 minutes to bake.

The total time it took from start to finish was about 4 hours. I reccomend, though, giving the cake a lot more time to completely cool before frosting it. I was a little hasty and had a hard time with it. The cake must be put in the fridge if not consuming right away. Don't worry, it won't be dry. In fact, as long as you give it a half hour to an hour to sit out in room temperature, it will be very moist! I made my cake the day before and I found that the longer it sat the more flavorful it was. Everyone raved about this cake, so I will definitely be making this one from now on.

Chocolate Butter Cake (9 Cups Batter)

1 C hot coffee

1 C cocoa powder

1 C cold water

3 C cake flour

2 Tsp baking soda

1/2 Tsp baking powder

3/4 Tsp salt

2 Sticks unsalted butter

2 1/2 C sugar

4 Large eggs

1 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

1. Grease and flour two 10x3-inch round pans.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F.

3. In a small bowll, combine and whisk until there are no lumps the coffee and cocoa powder.

4. Add and whisk until smooth the water.

5.On a piece of wax paper, sift together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

6. In a seperate bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

7. Slowly add eggs, one at a time and vanilla.

8. Add the dry ingredients alternately to the butter and egg mixture with the cocoa, mixing until smooth.

9. Pour 3 cups of the batter into one pan and the rest into the other. Bake the less full pan for 20-25 minutes, and bake the fuller pan of 30-35 minutes.

10. Cool each cake a wire rack for 15-20 minutes before turning them out of their pans.

Oreo Cookies and Cream Filling (6 Cups)

2 1/2 C heavy cream

1/4 C confectioner's sugar (I call it "powdered sugar")

1/2 Tsp pure vanilla extract

20 Oreos (I used double stuffed.)

1. In a bowl, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff.

2. Gently fold in Oreos.

House Buttercream

6 C confectioner's sugar

1/2 Tsp salt

1 Tsp vanilla extract

1 C boiling water

2 3/4 C vegetable shortening

1 1/2 Sticks butter, slightly chilled and cut into 1 inch pieces

1. In a bowl, stir together sugar, salt, and vanilla.

2. Add and whip at low speed the boiling water. Let cool.

3. Add and whip unitl smooth the vegetable shortening and butter.

4. Increase teh speed to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy and doubled in volume. This should take 10-20 minutes.

Assembling the cake

I could just tell you but I think it is better if you watch step by step videos from this website: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-layer-cake/

Notes:

1. Make sure cake is completely cool before frosting.

2. Place cake in fridge if you are not eating it right away.

3. Allow 30 minutes to an hour to set out at room temp. before serving.

April's Cheese of the Month is...

2009-03-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to choose a cheese that is often overlooked and underappreciated---kind of like all of us moms! This cheese can be used in any type of dish from appretizers to dinners to dips to desserts. That's right, I'm taking about Cream Cheese or its baby sister---the cheese that begins with an N. Can anyone pronounce it? Well, anyways I love Cream Cheese. It is stable at our house. My daughter loves it on homemade toast or bagels, my husband loves it in dips and mash potatoes, and I love it in desserts! If you want an even bigger challenge try creating a whole meal---appretizers, entree, sides, and desserts---uses cream cheese! Now that's a challenage! But one recipe would do just find too! Good luck!

And remember to e-mail me when you are done. Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

What is Cheese of the Month? Go here to find out: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.html

Fontina Results

2009-03-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

Well, this month sure did go by fast! This was my daughter's birthday month---yes that's right she gets a whole month! Since our family isn't from this area, we had to spend every weekend visiting and having parties, which was a TON of fun but very exhausing! So, I made sure to do my recipe at the beginning of the month.

We had two wonderful bloggers this month, Carey of Cooking with Carey and Samantha of The Second Lunch. Carey made a wonderfully delicious Roast Turkey Panini with Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers, and Fontina. Yummy! I absolutely LOVE paninis! And what a great choice of flavors, too!

Roast Turkey Panini with Pesto, Roasted Red Peppers, and Fontina
Carey of Cooking with Carey

1/4 cup prepared basil pesto
8 slices ciabatta bread or other rustic Italian white bread, thinly sliced
8 ounces very thinly sliced roast turkey breast
1 roasted red bell pepper, stemmed, skin and seeds removed, cut into thin strips
6 ounces fontina cheese, thinly sliced, to cover the bread slices
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Arrange the slices of bread on a flat work surface and, using a small spoon, divide the pesto evenly among 1 side of each of the bread slices.

Divide the turkey, roasted pepper strips, and fontina equally among 4 of the bread slices. Top with the remaining 4 slices of bread, pesto sides down, to form 4 sandwiches.

Brush the outsides of each sandwich lightly with some of the olive oil. Heat a large skillet, griddle, or grill pan over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the sandwiches and cook until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted, pressing occasionally with a large metal spatula or the bottom of a small heavy saucepan, about 4 minutes per side. Remove sandwiches and transfer to a cutting board. Slice in half on the diagonal and serve immediately.

Samantha of The Second Lunch wisely combined her Barefoot Blogging challenge with this month's cheese challenge. She prepared some lovely Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts. The tastly little tarts combined two cheeses; goat cheese and some sort of melty cheese. Of course she used Fontina, which a great melting cheese. What a fantastic pairing! Make sure to check out her blog to see beautiful photos of her creation as well as the scenery on the way to get her cheeses!

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts
adapted from Ina Garten
Serves 2

1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic
- coarse salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
- 4 tablespoons freshly grated Fontina, with some shaved
- 2 ounces goat cheese (I used plain, but Ina recommends herb and garlic Montrachet)
- 2 thick slices of tomato (about 1/4 inch) from a medium tomato
- a few teaspoons of julienned basil (use fresh if at all possible, but it works fine with dried)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Take a sheet of defrosted puff pastry (I used Trader Joe’s Artisanal Puff Pastry, frozen, which comes in big sheets), and draw six inch large circles of pastry, using a bowl or saucer as your guide. Place pastry rounds on a sheet pan lined with parchment, and stick in the fridge to keep them cold until you are ready to use them. (Note: quickly take the leftover scraps, sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar, and put them in the oven for the next ten minutes or so while you cook the onions. They make a fantastic snack.)
3. In a pan on medium heat, add a couple of good glugs of olive oil, and saute the onion and garlic for about 15 minutes until starting to get very soft. Season with salt and pepper, add the white wine and thyme leaves. Turn the heat down just slightly, and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until very soft and lightly browned. Take off the heat.
4. Now for the fun part: take your pastry rounds, and with a sharp knife, score a 1/4 inch wide border around the inside of the edge of the circle. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of the fontina cheese on each round, staying inside the scored border. (This is so when baking, the border will rise and create a little edge.)
5. In each circle, place half of your sauteed onions inside the border, and crumble an ounce of the goat cheese. Take your tomato and plop it on top, brushing it with a little bit of olive oil, giving it a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and the basil, and the rest of the fontina cheese.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden. You might want to watch it in the end, because if your oven is too hot or uneven it might start to burn. You can serve it on its own, or with a little lemony salad with arugula, and any leftover tomato you might have.

I decided to do something simple this month. Flipping through my Pillsbury Cookbook, I found a new twist on an old favorite---Mac N Cheese, grown up style! I had to tweek the recipe a little but it ended up being FABULOUS! My husband loved it and it was so easy to make too. Fontina is one of those cheeses that melts beautifully. The recipe calls for Swiss, but Aldi's was out of it so I decided to use Havarti since it was a milder type of cheese that melts well. I also omitted the alcohol since we don't drink. (I'm sure the alcohol burns off but why take the risk?) I also omitted the tomatoes because I thought that would ruin the flavor. So, I added onions insteads! I love onions and onions and cheese go very well together. This dish was amazing and I will be making it a stable in my house!

Grown-Up Mac "N" Cheese
Pillsbury Complete Cookbook

2 1/2 C Uncooked Penne Pasta
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/8 Tsp White Pepper
Dash Nutmeg
1 1/4 C Half and Half
1/2 C Fontina, shredded
1/2 C Havarti, shredded
1/2 C Fresh Parmesan, shredded
1/4 small onion, minced

1. Heat oven to 350F. Spray a 1 1/2 quart caserole with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Make the pasta as directed and drain.

3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onions and then stir in flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; cook and stir until bubbly. Gradually add half and half, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring fequently. Remove from heat. Stir in all three cheeses until melted.

4. Add pasta to cheese sauce, stir gently to coat. Pour into sprayed dish.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are bubble and mixture is thoroughly heated.

Team Baking with the Baby

2009-03-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

My daugther, Baby Bell, and I have been baking with Operation Baking Gals for a few months now. This month I thought I would host my cousin, Eddie. For those of you who are new to what Baking GALS is all about, let me take a moment to sum it up for you. Baking GALS (GALS stands for Give A Little Support) is a group of volunteer bakers who bake and ship homemade goodies to our heroic troops that are currently deployed. Each soldier is "Hosted" by a blogger, and potential bakers are "recruited" from the bloggers own site as well as the GALS site. Each Host recruits between 20-25 bakers, meaning LOTS of goodies get delivered to our soldier...so many, in fact that he or she has plenty to share with their fellow troops!

I already posted Eddie's information on the site but I thought I would post it here too.

Before being sent to Iraq, he was helping to raise his baby nephew, Josh, while attending high school. He sacrificed a lot to stay home on weekends and weeknights to watch the baby. However, when he had free time, he would spend it riding his four wheeler with his friends. Yes, he is a big red neck! He graduated from Uniontown High School in Pa and is now 19 years old. He is very patriotic and knew when he signed up that he would be sent to Iraq fairly quickly. He is proud to serve his country and to make a better world for his nephew. Sadly, I don’t have a current picture of him right now, but he comes from a long line of good looking people! ;-) He loves all types of cookies, but chocolate chip are his favorite. He also has NO allergies, so anything goes! If you would like to join my group please e-mail me at Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com.

If you have any questions about what to send or how to send to it you can go the site FAQ's: http://www.bakinggals.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=1&Itemid=7 You do not have to register on the site if you don't want too. You can just simply email me and I'll send you his address. My daughter and I just send 7 dozen cookies to him today. We made all kinds too! I love this group because my daughter and I are "baking for a cause!" The soliders all need and appreciate the goodies we make. It is a small way to "do our part."

Thanks for your support and happy baking!

Team Baking with the Baby

March's Cheese Shall Be....

2009-02-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

Well, last year my husband wasn't sure what to get me for my birthday. I was kind of upset because I'm so easy to buy for. Anything and I mean ANYTHING I get I love and appreciate. I ALWAYS find a way to use the presents I recieve. I tried to explain this to him and I was mad because he should know this by now. Flustered I blurted out, "You could go into the grocery store and by me a block of cheese and I would be happy!" Well, On my birthday I reciped $30 worth of cheeses! But true to my word, I was very happy and wanted to use all that cheese, which is why I started the Cheese of the Month Challenge. One of those cheeses was Fontina. I never had it before so I was anxious to try it. It was sooooooo delicious. My husband and I fought over it! I mainly used it on top of pasta or on sandwiches. But this time I want to use it in a dish or maybe a dessert.

So this month's challenge is Fontina or anything had the word Fontina in it. I think I saw a block of Fontinalle somewhere. It is kind of like parm. or romanio. I found some at Aldi and Weis. So good luck!

And remember to e-mail me when you are done. Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

What is Cheese of the Month? Go here to find out: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.html

Good luck fellow cheesians! I look forward to reading about your delicious creations!

Feta Results-UPDATED

2009-02-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

I was excited to finally use one of my favorite cheeses---FETA. I was also excited to see that four people participated in this month challenge. And of course everything that everyone made sounded absolutely delicious!!! Of course, I have never had a dish with feta in it that I didn't like!

Feta is one of those cheeses that can be used to enhance an elegant meal or to add some flavor to something really simple. Cristine of Cooking with Cristine displays this with her simple yet flavorful Chicken Caesar Wraps. Feta and Casear Dressing were just met to be together in this warm juicy wrap. What can be better than a meal that can be eaten with one hand?!

Chicken Caesar Wraps
Cristine of Cooking with Cristine

Tortillas
Grilled Chicken Breast
Black Beans (warmed)
Tomatoes
Romaine
Black Olives
Feta
Newman's Own Creamy Ceasar Dressing

1. Warm chicken with dressing.
2. Pile everything onto a tortilla and wrap up.
3. ENJOY!

Of course if you have more time and what something that is elegant and classy, then Carey's, of Cooking with Carey, Steamed Mussels with Tomato Sauce and Feta is the way to go. This saucy dish was made for Carey's husband birthday. (Wasn't that sweet?) Check out her blog, the picture she took looks like something that should be in a menu!

Steamed Mussels with Tomato Sauce and Feta
Carey of Cooking with Carey

1 tb Olive oil
Tomatoes, undrained
1 c Finely chopped onion
1 c Water
1 md Clove garlic, peeled and
1 lb Mussels, washed, beards
Minced
Removed
3/4 c Dry white wine
2 c Rotelli pasta (8 oz)
1 ts Dried oregano, crushed
1/2 c Finely chopped parsley
1/4 ts Crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 c Crumbled feta cheese
1/4 ts Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 28-oz can peeled and diced

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; saute 5 minutes. Add the wine, oregano, crushed pepper flakes and salt; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the undrained tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
3. Prepare the mussels. Place on steamer rack and place over pot. (The sauce should be cooking at a high simmer.) Cover and steam 20 to 25 minutes, or until mussel shells open (discard any that do not open).
4. Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to package directions; drain. Remove the mussels from the steamer. Put the pasta into the sauce with the parsley, adding pepper to taste. Transfer to plates or large shallow bowls and sprinkle with feta cheese. Put mussels on top and serve.

Samantha of The Second Lunch is new this month and we are all glad to have her...especially after seeing her mouthwatering submission for this month. She made one of my favorite dishes using feta, Baked Shrimp with Feta. I think the best part of this dish is that it looks and taste "fancy" but is simple and quick to make. Plus it only serves one! I hate making HUGE portions of food but it always goes to waste. So it was nice to have recipe that I can just make for myself. My husband hates feta, so this dish is all mine! Sam just started blogging, so check her blog out! Her photo of her food is very professional looking.

Baked Shrimp with Feta

Samantha of The Second Lunch

Ingredients:
4 or 5 shrimp (I used frozen)
A few small canned San Marzano tomatoes, with juice
1/4 cup frozen peas1 ounce fetaa pinch salt,a pinch peppera couple of good pinches oregano

1. Couldn’t be simpler: In a baking dish lined with foil, put all the ingredients, stirring gently to allow the tomato juice to coat everything.
2. Whack it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, until shrimp are pink and cooked.
3. To serve: I served this over a bed of steamed rice, usually I use brown, but I’ve run out and need to pick up some more. I use frozen single servings of rice that I cook and wrap while still warm, which traps the moisture and allows you to easily pop one into the microwave and eat for lunch as if it was freshly made.

Arika of My Yummy Life is also new this month. What a cute name for a blog, too!?! She made a yummy Chicken in Tomato Sauce with Olives and Feta. You can't go wrong with olives and feta, now can you?! This dish is quick and simple and oh so yummy!

Chicken in Tomato Sauce with Olives and Feta(Serves 4)

Arika of My Yummy Life

4 chicken breast halves

1 28oz can Italian diced tomatoes, undrained

Feta Cheese

12-24 olives (personal preference as to amount and type)

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

12 oz pasta (spaghetti or vermicelli is best)

Preheat the oven to 425degrees. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Place two of the seasoned chicken breasts into the heated skillet and allow to brown on one side for 3-4 minutes. When the first side is golden, flip the chicken breasts and allow to brown on the other side. Set aside, and repeat with the remaining two chicken breasts.

In a bowl combine the tomatoes, feta(I use about 1/2c), and olives. Pour half of this mixture into an oven safe dish large enough to accommodate all of the ingredients.Layer the browned chicken breasts on top of the first half of the tomato/olie/feta mixture and then cover them with the remaining half of the tomatoes/olives/feta.Place the dish into the preheated oven and allow to bake until the chicken is done, about 50 minutes.

About 20 minutes before the chicken is done boil water and prepare the pasta as directed, then drain. When the chicken has been removed from the oven, transfer the breasts to a separate plate and toss the pasta in with the tomatoes/olives/feta in the baking dish. Return the chicken breasts to the baking dish and garnish the whole shebang with feta

And finally my recipe for Feburary was Sundried Tomato and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast. I got the orginal recipe from Terrence Maguire at Recipe Zaar. I wanted to combine my Daring Baker's Challenge with The Cheese of the Month Challenge, so I decided to make a Valentine's Day Dinner for my parents were came up for a visit. My parents live a few hours away, so they don't visit as offend as my daughter would like. But when they come we always eat out and I know that my dad is sick of eating out because he travels for a living. Both my parents love feta and chicken together so I thought this recipe would be perfect. It was AMAZING! I would make this again and again and again. It looks like a lot of work but it really isn't. The flavors really came together. I didn't have chicken breast so I use chicken tenders instead. I had to use a ton of toothpicks to hold them together but it worked out nicely. My parents, who are "lovely"critical, really enjoyed this dish. I would recommend it to any Feta lover out there! This dish gets Five Cheese Heads out of Five:

Sundried Tomato and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast
Terrence Maguire

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
5 large sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon thyme
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled finely
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I use Italian style)
olive oil
salt
pepper
toothpicks (or Butcher String)
green onion, chopped (for garnish)

Directions
1Sauté garlic and red bell pepper, in Olive Oil, for about 3 minutes (just enough to"combine" the flavors).
2Put aside to cool.
3In a bowl, combine Feta cheese, breadcrumbs, thyme, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic and red pepper mixture.
4Toss until well mixed (this will be your "stuffing").
5Lay a flattened piece of chicken breast on a cutting board or your counter.
6Put a 1/4 of the above mixture on the flattened chicken breast like you would be making a burrito and roll as tight as you can get it.
7Secure it with a toothpick or butcher string.
8Place chicken breast "roll" on a baking sheet (I spray it with Pam so it doesn't stick), brush with olive oil (this gives it a nice golden brown texture), and season with salt and pepper.
9Preheat oven to 350°F.
10Cook for about 35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 180°F.
11I guess you could try it on a grill, but I never attempted it yet!
12Garnish with chopped green onion and serve hot.

DB: Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino

2009-02-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

This month challenge was a flourless cake. I've tried making a flourless cake in the past but it didn't turn out, so I was excited to try this one. Since Valentine's Day was coming up and so were my parents---don don doooon---I decided to make mini ones with homemake peanutbutter ice cream. I had a whole meal planned, too. However, like most of my plans and dishes only a few things worked out. The menu:

Sundried Tomato Feta Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast
Better-Than-Panera's Broccoli Cheese Soup
Garlic Couscous
French Bread (homemade of course)
Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Mini Milk Chocolate Valentiono Cakes

Sounds good, huh!? Well, the couscous recipe I found turned out to be very bland. The soup was great though. My parents said that my french bread (which was my first attempt ever)was the best bread they ever had. My parents are rude..uhm...I mean blunt and super picky so this was the ultimite complain---(I can now die happy.) The chicken was AMAZING! BUT my cakes didn't turn out! I believe my problem lies in the pan I used. I tried using a muffin pan but they burnt on the outside and were googy on the inside. Next time I'm going to use the pan that is called for and just make one big cake. I definitely want to try this one again. The other DBers had such great luck, that I know that I can do this! I thought my ice cream rocked. I made it with homemade peanut butter, but my dad doesn't like "peanut butter flavor." Mom is never satisfied, so I take her comments with a grain of salt. But she did say it was "okay." Despite that, I considered our Vday dinner a success. We then concluded our day by spending two hours at our local Surplus Store! Well, at least my family is easy and cheap to entertain when they visit!

I got the ice cream recipe from LOVE TO BAKE at Allrecipes. It is by the easiest and most peanutbutterly. I strongly recommand it. I've included the other ice cream recipes provided by the DBers host this month. I'm not a vanilla fan but I'm sure that they are good.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Love to Bake

1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped

1. In a medium bowl, beat the sugar and eggs with an electric mixer until thick, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
2. Pour milk into a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over low heat.
3. Gradually drizzle the hot milk into the eggs while whisking vigorously.
4. Then pour the whole mixture into the saucepan.
5. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil.
6. Remove from heat, and whisk in peanut butter.
7. Allow to cool slightly, then whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half and vanilla.
8. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
9. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
10. Fold in peanut butter cups when mixture is still soft, then transfer to a container, and freeze until solid.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe
Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole, full fat milk)
1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

1. Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).
2. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer
3. Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.

Note: The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

NUTELLA DAY IS HERE!

2009-02-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hooray, Hooray, it's Nutella Day!

Okay, so I'm a little late but I'm a busy gal. Nutella Day was orginally Feb. 5th. For the past couple of years Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso have been hosting World Nutella Day. To participate, on the given date you post anything having to do with Nutella. It can be a recipe, song, art, poem...just about anything to show the world your devote and love to Nutella.

I'll never forget the first time I tried Nutella. My dad always encouraged us children to try new things. So, one day he picked up a jar of Nutella. We got home and all dipped our spoons in and it was instant love! I've always loved hazelnuts and I'm a proud chocoholic, so having the two together was amazing! For years I ate it straight out of the jar. I lived off Nutella while I was in college! But now that I'm older I've started experimenting with cooking with it. I have three recipes that I've tried for this challenage: Nutella Gelato, Nutello Cheesecake Brownies, and Homemade Nutella.

Nutella Gelato is a recipe from Giada of Everyday Italian. Normally I wouldn't try anything she makes because I'm a firm believer in "Never trust a skinny chef," but I couldn't find another recipe like this anywhere. This is amazing and easy recipe. I give it 5 stars! Make sure to melt the Nutella in the microwave for a few minutes.

Nutella Gelato

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish

In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts.

Nutella Cheesecake Brownies is a recipe from Mary of Alpineberry. She is one of my favorite bloggers. She is the reason I started blogging and joined the Daring Bakers. Her recipes are so professional and absolutely delicious! I aspire to be just like her! This recipe she actually used for World Nutella Day in 2007. Everyone in my family LOVES this recipe. She also has a recipe for Nutella Cookies that I'm planning on trying soon.

Nutella Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients for brownie layer:
10 tbsp butter (5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup Nutella
2 large eggs1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup natural cocoa powder

Ingredients for cheesecake layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temp.
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Line a 9x9 inch square pan with parchment.
3. To make the brownie layer...Combine butter, Nutella, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl and mix well.
4. Sift in flour and cocoa powder and mix until well combined.
5. Pour batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly. Set aside while you prepare the cheesecake layer.
6.To make the cheesecake layer...Mix the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and Nutella until well combined.
7.Pour over your brownie batter.
8.Bake at 325F until the cheesecake looks set, about 40-45 minutes. Allow brownies to cool completely in the pan before cutting. (I cut my brownies into 36 since they are quite decadent.)

And finally, I'm on this homemade kick. So, I figured that since I made homemade peanut butter while not try Nutella. Nutella is starting to go up in price anyways. I've found quite a few recipes for Nutella but I like this one the best. I got the recipe from Recipe Zarr. It taste exactly like Nutella! It cost a lot less to make too. I found my hazelnuts for $0.99 at our local Surplus Store (and they weren't expired either!) and got the everything else from Aldi which was supper cheap! I had enough hazelnuts to make two batches!

Homemade Nutella

1/3 cup hazelnuts, with skins on
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place hazelnuts in a single layer on a shallow baking pan.
3. Toast until the skins are almost black, about 15 minutes.
4. Wrap hot hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel, and rub until most of the skins have come off.
5. Discard skins.
6. Process nuts in the bowl of a food processor, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until they have liquefied, about 5 minutes.
7. Set the hazelnuts aside.
8. Combine the condensed milk, chocolate chips, and honey in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler; set over a pan of simmering water.
9. Stirring occasionally, heat until the chocolate chips have melted, about 3 minutes.
10. Add the hot chocolate mixture to the liquefied hazelnuts, and process until the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.
11. Transfer the spread to an airtight container, and store, refrigerated, up to 1 month.

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-02-06T09:57:00.001-08:00

Sounds like a weird combination doesn't it? I thought so too, but I'm open to trying new things.
Once I tried them, I couldn't stop eating them. You can't taste the whole wheat at all. Even my husband couldn't tell I used whole wheat flour. I added a few handfuls of toffee bits in mine and use a mini muffin pan. I recommand always using a mini muffin pan because they turn out like muffin tops, which is the best part.

Once again, this is another fabulous recipe from the King Arthur Flour Company's website.

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
King Arthur Flour Company

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

4 medium mashed bananas

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

4 cups King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

2 cups toasted walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven 325°F.1.

Cream the butter and the sugar together on speed #3.

Add the eggs, banana and milk.

Mix dry ingredients together and add to the creamed butter.

Add chocolate and walnuts on speed #1.

Scoop into 18 greased muffin cups.

Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes.

Cool in pan 10 minutes.

Whole Wheat Waffles

2009-02-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

Oh my golly these are amazingly good and yet so simple to make! I purchase a few bags of whole wheat flour from our local surplus store for about $0.89 each! (And they weren't expired either!) I wanted to start eating healthy but I wasn't sure what to do with all this flour. I made a couple loafs of bread but I wanted something else. So I logged onto the King Arthur Flour website. This site has a lot of great recipes for both whole wheat and all purpose flour. I've used several of their recipes. It is a good place to start if you're looking for something easy and delicious to do with your whole wheat flour.

These waffles were simple to make and had a nice mild flavor. I froze some and have been popping them in the toaster every morning and they taste just as fresh. These are way better than your store bought variety.

Whole Wheat Waffles
King Arthur Flour Company

1 1/2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour, white whole wheat or traditional
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil.
Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just till combined.
Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron.

Homemade Peanutbutter Made Easy

2009-02-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

With all the recalls on peanutbutter and peanut butter related products, I've decided to make my own. I've been planning this for a while, but have just now been motivated. I got the orginial recipe off Alton Brown's Good Eats, which is one of my favorite shows. I change the recipe slightly to make it easier and faster. The orginial calls for roasting and then shelling your own peanuts. I couldn't seem to find unroasted peanuts anywhere nor do I have the time or patience for peeling them. So, I just bought a jar of shelled roasted UNSALTED peanuts and it did the job. This peanutbutter is so pure tasting and it was super cheap to make. I started using it in recipes and my desserts turn out AMAZING. No more store bought peanutbutter for us. Even my husband is in love with it. Just make sure to keep it in the fridge since it doesn't contain perservatives (another bonus!).

Homemade Peanutbutter Made Easy
Alton Brown of Good Eats

15 oz Jar of Unsalted Roasted Peanuts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

1. Place the peanuts, salt and honey into the bowl of a food processor. Process for 1 minute.

2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Place the lid back on and continue to process while slowly drizzling in the oil and process until the mixture is smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

3. Place the peanut butter in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

February's Cheese is...

2009-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

What makes everything taste betta? FETA! Yeah, cheesy I know, but I am totally in love with this cheese. There are a ton of possiblities here, folks. Good luck!

Please don’t forget to e-mail me when you are done. Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

What is Cheese of the Month? Go here to find out: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.htmlGood luck fellow cheesians! I look forward to reading about your delicious creations!

Ricotta Results

2009-01-29T15:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I think we are all back into the swing of things. I was really excited about this challenge because I already a recipe in mind. When I think of ricotta a few things to come to mind. The first is, of course, lasagna. I never get to have lasagna, because my mean husband doesn't like it. However, I am definitely going to try Carey of Cooking with Carey recipe. It is a copycat recipe from Olive Garden and it looks amazing! I like the fact that there are sundried tomatoes in it. I have a few jars left and I am dying to use them. Here is Carey recipe. Make sure to check her blog out too!

Olive Garden's 5 cheese lasagna

CREAM SAUCE:

1/4 C. Butter

1/4 C. Flour

2 C. Milk

CHEESE FILLING :
1/4 C. Sun-dried tomatoes -- oil Packed -- minced

1 tablespoon Fresh garlic -- minced

3 1/2 C. Ricotta cheese

3 Eggs

1 C. Grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 C. Grated Romano cheese

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp.

Black pepper

OTHER:
4 C. Mozzarella cheese -- shredded

1 C. Spinach lasagna noodles or Regular if unavailableMarinara sauce -- as desired

Extra Parmesan cheese

Freshly grated

To make sauce melt butter with medium heat in heavy, 1 quart saucepan. Add flour and stir until well blended; cook until frothy. Add milk, stirring constantly with wire whisk as mixture comes to a simmer. Cook and stir until thickened (3-4 minutes). Chill while mixing other ingredients. Drain and mince tomatoes and garlic. Place other cheese filling ingredients in 3-quart mixing bowl with tomatoes and garlic. Add 1-1/2 cups of cooled cream sauce and mix until well blended. Refrigerate, reserving 1/2-cup for later use.

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Cool under cold water and drain. Place 3 lasagna noodles in a 9x13x2 lightly oiled baking dish, overlapping slightly. Spread 1-1/2 cups cheese filling over noodles; sprinkle with one cup mozzarella and 1/4-cup fontina cheese. Repeat pasta and cheese layering three more times; top with remaining three lasagna noodles. Spread 1/2-cup of reserved cream sauce over top and cover lightly with foil. Preheat oven to 350~ and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and keep warm at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serve topped with hot marinara and Parmesan cheese. (Can be refrigerated a day before baking if desired.)

Cristine of Cooking With Cristine once again joined us with her delightful dish of Farfalle w/Ricotta, Ham, and Corn. Go to her blog to see how wonderful the dish looks! This dish is incredibly simple to make and it looks delicious.

Farfalle with Ricotta, Ham, and Corn

2 ears white or yellow corn, husks and silk removed OR 1 cup thawed frozen corn OR 1 cup canned corn

1 lb dried farfalle

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 oz cooked ham, cut into strips

Salt, to taste

White pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese for the table

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add corn (if using ears). As soon as the water returns to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and set aside until cool enough to handle. Then, using a sharp knife, cut off the kernals. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, place ricotta in a bowl. Add a few tablespoons of hot pasta water and stir until smooth and creamy.

Drain the pasta and transfer to a warmed serving bowl. Immediately add the butter, ham, ricotta, salt, and white pepper. Toss well, scatter the corn on top, and serve immediately.

Last but not least is my recipe. I saw a show on FoodNetwork about an ice cream contest that Haagen Das was having. One of the contestants made Cannoli Ice Cream. Unfortunally, she lost. I desperately wanted to try that flavor but no one else made it, so I went online and found a copycat recipe from Jim Caccom. This recipe called for candy fruit and pistactos, but I omit them. I was amazed at how it turned out. It taste just like a cannoli! I use the Tuiles I made from my DBC as ice cream cones. How cool is that?

Cosmic Cannoli Ice Cream(recipe by Jim Caccamo)
2 cups plus

2 tbsp half-and-half, divided

6 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 pound (about 2 cups) fresh ricotta cheese

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup candied fruit (or dried fruit), in 1/4 -inch dice

1/3 cup pistachio nuts, coarsely choppedCannoli pieces (for garnish)

Bring 2 cups half-and-half just to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. Slowly, pour the hot half-and-half into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat. Stir slowly and continuously with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens, about 5 minutes. (The custard will hold a path on the back of the spoon when a finger is drawn across it when it is thick enough). Do not boil. Pour the custard through a medium-mesh sieve set over a bowl.

Place ricotta and vanilla in bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add up to 2 tablespoons half-and-half, as needed, and pulse until the mixture is smooth. Add ricotta mixture to the custard and whisk together. Cover and refrigerate mixture until cold (at least 1 hour).

Transfer the cold mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Add chocolate chips, fruit and nuts during the last minute. Transfer ice cream to a container; cover and freeze until firm before serving.

DB: Tuiles

2009-01-29T15:26:00.000-08:00

I decided to combine this month's Daring Baker's challenge with the Cheese of the Month Challenge. This month's DBC were Tuiles, which are thin butter cookies that can be made into an endless amount of shapes. I decided to make ice cream cones out of them. Ricotta was this month's cheese, so I decided to fill my cones with Cannoli Ice Cream. It was really simple to make and really delicious.

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

The recipe called for the tuiles to be made into butterflies, but you can really make them into anything. I've seen other bakers make them into cream filled sticks, bowls, animal shapes, and even spoons! The filling possiblities were endless, too. I've seen everything from mousses to salmon pate!

I will definitely make these again, but I think next time I am going to make the cream filled sticks and fill the with Nutella. :-)

Tuiles

Recipe from “The Chocolate Book” by Angélique Schmeinck

1/4 cup softened butter (not melted but soft)

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

Dash of pure vanilla extract

2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)

1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour

1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice (optional)

Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites.

3. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly.

6. Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes.

7. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored.

8. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

9. Bake butterflies for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.

10. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again.

Melt in Your Mouth Oatmeal Bread

2009-01-26T10:57:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorites! I've tried a lot of Oatmeal Bread recipes but this is by far the best. It is great for sandwiches, especially PB & J! It a slightly sweet flavor and is great served warm. I made a couple of loaves at a time and then freeze them by slices. It is stable for our family; even my husband likes it!

Melt In Your Mouth Oatmeal Bread
Bread Machine Magic Book
Linda Rehberg & Lois Conway

1 C Old-Fashion Rolled Oats
1 3/8 C Buttermilk
3 Tbsp Honey
3 C Bread Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tsp Yeast

1. Add ingredients to bread pan in the order that is shown. This is VERY important. Make sure to make a "well" for the yeast to go in.
2. Select Light Crust and press start. Remove and slice one hour after cooling. May be store in a ziplock bag for 3-4 days or frozen for 2 months. To thaw sit out for 1 hour in a ziplock bag on the counter.
--OR--
2. Select Dough
3. After dough has mixed and risen the timer will beep. Remove dough and place into a well greased bread pan and place in warm oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour. (To warm oven set to warm for 2 minutes. Then, turn oven off.)
4. Take pan out of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Wait one hour before slicing. May be store in a ziplock bag for 3-4 days or frozen for 2 months. To thaw sit out for 1 hour in a ziplock bag on the counter

Buttermilk Raisin Bread

2009-01-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

Every bite into something and get that warm "ahhhhh" feeling? This bread is that something! It practically melts in your mouth. I find that soaking the raisins in 2 tablespoons of vanilla for 1 hour makes ALL the difference. I, of course, perfect this bread with Caramelized Brown Butter Frosting but you can use a simple vanilla glaze or nothing at all.

Buttermilk Raisin Bread (1 1/2 lb loaf)
Bread Machine Magic
Linda Rehberg & Lois Conway

7/8 C Buttermilk
1 Egg
3 C Flour
1 Tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/3 C Butter
1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
2/3 C Raisins (soaked in 2 tbsp vanilla for 1 hour---add the leftover vanilla too)
1 1/2 Tsp Yeast

1. Add ingredients to bread pan in the order that is shown. This is VERY important. Make sure to make a "well" for the yeast to go in.
2. Select Light Crust and press start. Remove and slice one hour after cooling.
--OR--
2. Select Dough
3. After dough has mixed and risen the timer will beep. Remove dough and place into a well greased bread pan and place in warm oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour. (To warm oven set to warm for 2 minutes. Then, turn oven off.)
4. Take pan out of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Add icing while still hot.
7. Wait one hour before slicing.

Cinni-Minni Buns

2009-01-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

Who would have guessed that you could make desserts in your bread machine? I made these for get together with some friends of ours. Everyone loved them! These Cinni-Minni Buns are not only adorable but very fluffy and flaky too! I got this recipe out of the Bread Machine Magic Book, but I modified the filling and used my own frosting from one of the previous Daring Baker's Challenge: Carmalized Brown Butter Frosting. This is the best frosting and goes with any type of dessert that requires frosting. But of course you can use a simple vanilla glaze if you like. But I really feel like it "jazzes" desserts up.

This desserts requires a little time to make than just a simple bread, but it is well worth it! Enjoy!

Cinni Minni Buns (1 lb)

1/4 C Milk
1/4 C Water
1 Egg
2 C Flour
1 Tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Butter
1/4 C Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp Yeast

Filling

2 Tbsp Melted Butter
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

1. Place all ingredients into the bread machine, except for filling.
2. Select Dough.
3. After the dough has been mixed and has risen, the machine will beep.
4. Take dough out and place onto a flour surface or cutting board and roll into a log.
5. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
6. Spread some of butter in a 9 inch cake pan.
7. Cut log in half.
8. Roll each log into a 20 x 8 inch rectangle.
9. Brush each rectangle with butter.
10. Sprinkle in filling.
11. Roll up and cut into 12 pieces per log.
12. Put into cake pan and place in a warm oven for 1 hour.
13. Take pan out and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
14. Bake for 15-25 minutes.
15. Frost with Carmalized Brown Butter Frosting or one of your own.

Crockpot Mac and Cheese

2009-01-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

My daughter's nurse is always giving me great recipes to try. Don't worry there is nothing wrong with Baby Bell, she is just enrolled in a free program for first time moms, The Nurse Family Partnership Program. I don't have family near me, so this was a great program for us. My nurse visits every two week from when I was 6 weeks pregnant till Baby Bell is two. (Which will be in March.) I get free books, toys, clothes, and access to a wealth of knowledge! I don't know what I would do without her!

But anyways, here is one of her fabulous recipes. You can't go wrong with a crockpot recipes. Perfect for those busy days or for a pot luck lunch! I can't believe how cheesy and googy this is! My husband LOVED it.

Crockpot Mac & Cheese
Nurse Tioni

2 Tbsp Oil
8 oz Macoroni Noodles
13 oz Evaporated Milk
1 1/2 C Milk
1 Tsp Salt
3 C Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
2 Tbsp Onion, chopped
2-4 Tbsp Butter

1. Put all ingredients in the crockpot and set to high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.

Buckwheat Bread

2009-01-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

This bread is one of my favorites. Baby Bell and I can't get enough of this delighful and flavorful bread. There are three different types of flour in this bread, so the buckwheat isn't overpowering. This bread is great served warm with a big old pat of butter!

Just a side note: If you bake a lot of bread, then it is worth it to buy a bulk bag of yeast. Fill a small empty jar (such a baby food jar) with yeast and place in the fridge until needed. Wrap the rest in tin foil and place in a ziplock bag. Place into the freezer until the small jar needs filled.

Buckwheat Bread (1 1/2 lb Loaf)
Bread Machine Magic Book of Helpful Hints
Linda Rehberg & Lois Conway

1/2 C Instant Potato Flakes
5/8 C Milk
5/8 C Water
2 C Bread Flour
1 C Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 C Buckwheat Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Dark Corn Syrup
2 Tsp Active Dry Yeast

1. Add ingredients to bread pan in the order that is shown. This is VERY important. Make sure to make a "well" for the yeast to go in.
2. Select Light Crust and press start. Remove and slice one hour after cooling. May be store in a ziplock bag for 3-4 days or frozen for 2 months. To thaw sit out for 1 hour in a ziplock bag on the counter.
--OR--
2. Select Dough
3. After dough has mixed and risen the timer will beep. Remove dough and place into a well greased bread pan and place in warm oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour. (To warm oven set to warm for 2 minutes. Then, turn oven off.)
4. Take pan out of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Wait one hour before slicing. May be store in a ziplock bag for 3-4 days or frozen for 2 months. To thaw sit out for 1 hour in a ziplock bag on the counter.

Herb Bread

2009-01-26T09:42:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love the smell of freshly baked bread? Or the satisifation of knowing all of your hard work paid off? There is nothing like sinking your mouth into a warm, soft, and chewy slice of homemade bread! I've been going crazy baking all kinds of breads, desserts, and other "doughy" creations in my bread machine. I've decided to share a few of my favorite recipes.

What can be more mouthwatering than the scent of herb baking in your home? That is why I LOVE this herb bread. The best part is that this bread makes one mean bag of croutons...that is if you have any of the bread left! Fresh herbs are best, but I've had great success with dried ones. This recipe comes from Bread Machine Magic by Linda Rehberb and Lois Conway. If you own a bread machine Bread Machine Magic and The Bread Machine Book of Helpful Hint, both by the same authors, are you best bets for books out there with easy and fabulous recipes. I keep borrowing mine from the library, but I use them so much that I might just go and buy the books!

Bread machines are nice if you don't have a lot of time to mess around in the kitchen or are planning to go somewhere. However, I've discovered that it is better to use the machine to mix the dough and then bake it in my oven in my own pan. It takes a little more time, but I think it is worth it. The bread is lightier and produces more normal size slices. Make sure to invest in an electric knife. I got mine at a thift store (for $2), but you can find them at Walmart for about $15. I've included both instructions and you can decide which is best for you. Also, I included a instructions on how to make your own bread flour. I find that it is cheaper and works just as well as the store made brands.

Herb Bread (1 1/2 lb loaf)
Bread Machine Magic
by Linda Rehberb and Lois Conway

3 Tbsp Butter
1/2 C Chopped Onion
1 C Milk
3 C Bread Flour**
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 Tsp Dried Dill
1/2 Tsp Dried Basil
1/2 Tsp Dried Rosemary
2 Tsp Yeast

1. Saute butter and onion for 8-10 minutes.
2. Allow to cool.
3. Add ingredients to bread pan in the order that is shown. This is VERY important. Make sure to make a "well" for the yeast to go in.
4. Select Light Crust and press start. Remove and slice one hour after cooling. May be store in a ziplock bag for 3-4 days or frozen for 2 months. To thaw sit out for 1 hour in a ziplock bag on the counter.
--OR--
4. Select Dough
5. After dough has mixed and risen the timer will beep. Remove dough and place into a well greased bread pan and place in warm oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour. (To warm oven set to warm for 2 minutes. Then, turn oven off.)
6. Take pan out of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Wait one hour before slicing. May be store in a ziplock bag for 3-4 days or frozen for 2 months. To thaw sit out for 1 hour in a ziplock bag on the counter.

**Bread Flour: To make your own, add 1 1/2 tsp gluten (found at any grocery store) to every cup of flour (all purpose or unbleached). I find that adding gluten to any type of flour, especially whole wheat makes a HUGE difference.

Bruschette

2009-01-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

Every year my Aunt Viv has this wonderful Christmas party. We all are foodies who love to bake and eat. There is always a ton of food that takes a week to prepare in addition to all the food that the rest of us bring. Every year my Aunt chooses a theme. This year she chose an Italian theme. I decided to bring an appretizer. We are really tight on money so I needed something quick and cheap. I decided on Bruschette. It was a huge hit at the party and I ended up making it and eating it for lunch everyday for three weeks straight.

This is such an easy thing to make, but it produces such big flavor. I normally can't stand raw tomatoes but I can't get enough of this delightful dish! I ended up buying a fresh basil plant since it was cheaper than buying the just the fresh leaves. Now I am in the process of growing my own herb garden. I've been getting some good information and recipes from Steve of My Indoor Herb Garden.

Well, anyways here is the recipe. Make sure to use fresh basil and to let it sit for a few hours to allow all the flavors to mix in. If you happen to find marinated olives, you can use the oil from that jar instead. I found some at the surplus store and I used that oil to cook with and it is AMAZING. Make sure that the jar is MARINATED olives and not the regular olives you eat everyday.

Bruschette

4 Fresh Ripe Plum Tomatoes, diced
3 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
4-6 Fresh Basil Leaves
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or oil from marinated olives)
Kosher Salt, to taste
Fresh Black Pepper, to taste
6 Slices, thick crusted bread
Mozzarella Cheese

Wash tomatoes, cut lenghtwise, remove seedes, and dice. Place in a small airtight container.
Wash basil leaves and tear into small pieces. Add to tomatoe mixture.
Add crushed garlic cloves, oil, salt, and pepper and toss. Allow mixture to sit, covered, in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
Place spread on slices of bread and add a handful of cheese.
Set oven to broil and broil until cheese is melted and mixture is hot. (approx. 3-5 minutes)

Authentic Italian Biscotti

2009-01-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

My Grandma Trix bought me "Treasured Italian Recipes" cookbook from the Ascension Church two years ago. Grandma Trix is from an area where there are a lot of Italians, which ironicly she is not. The gals from this church put together this fantastic book with recipes from their own upbringing. My favorite recipe is the one Biscotti recipe by Margaret Gisane. There are several Biscotti recipes in this book but hers is by far the best. I have tried many biscotti recipes in the past and this one is the most authentic I have ever tried. And the best part is that they are super easy to make!

What I particially liked about this recipe is that you don't have to roll it into a log. It is baked in a 9x13 inch pan and is very soft the first time you make it. At first that worried me, but after slicing and baking the cookies for a second time it turned out perfectly. I dipped mine in dark chocolate on the one side and gave them away as Christmas presents. They were a HUGE hit. I will definitly be making these again and again.

Biscotti
by Margaret Gisane

4 eggs
1 C sugar
1 C oil
2 C Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Lemon Extract
1 Tsp Anise Extract
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Cinnamon

Mix ingredients in order given, beating well after each ingredient.
Put into a greased 9x13 inch pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.
Slice into 1/8 inch slices.
Take out of pan and place onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees until cookies are lightly browned on each side.

Perfect for dipping in coffee or tea! Almond extract (2 teaspoons) may be substituted for anise and lemon extracts.

January---A New Month; A New Cheese

2009-01-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year all!!!! Sorry, it took so long. I'm still getting over allegeries or sinus infection or whatever weirdness I have!!! There is still plenty of time to join this month's challenage.

The people have spoken and Ricotta is what we will all be sampling this month. Thanks for voting and make sure to vote for next month's cheese too! Remember that you can always make more than one dish and make anything from desserts to soups to dips to anything your heart desires!

Please don’t forget to e-mail me when you are done. Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

What is Cheese of the Month? Go here to find out: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.html
Good luck fellow cheesians! I look forward to reading about your delicious creations!

Havarti Results

2009-01-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Well, December proved to be a most challenaging month. On top of all the parties, baking and shopping, I was still suffering from allegeries...and am currently still not well. So sorry it took so long to post my results.

Havarti is now one of my favorite cheeses. I always see people purchasing the cheese and now I can see, or shall I saw taste, why. Sliced it tastes like a cross between munster and colby. It is delightful on crackers or sandwiches and to DIE FOR melted.

December must have been a busy month for a lot of people, because there was only one other person who was able to participate. The ever faithful, Cristine from Cooking with Cristine.
Cristine always amazes me with not only her dishes but ablitetly to find time to do them. Since she lives in Germany she decided to make Spaetzle (German egg noodles/dumplings). I, being part German, was thrilled. This recipe looks very simple and very yummy!

Baked Spaetzle Casserole
Recipe from Recipezaar

Spatzle:
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter

Casserole Ingredients:
1 lb bacon
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
8 ounces havarti cheese, shredded
salt and pepper

1. For the spatzle, mix eggs, water, salt and nutmeg well. While mixing slowly add flour until it is mixed and smooth.

2. Using a spatzle press or colander press small batches of dough into boiling water when it floats to top mix it once and continue to boil about 5 minutes (or once it floats,keep in very hot but not simmering water in separate pot, while cooking the rest).

3. Remove it from water with long tongs and put it in casserole. Cook the rest of the dough adding to the casserole or hot water. Use butter to keep them from sticking together.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F.

5. Cut bacon into small strips and saute with onion, add garlic for the last few minutes. Drain off fat.

6. In big mixing bowl add cooled spatzle, bacon mixture, shredded Havarti add salt and pepper to your taste.

7. Spray 9x13 casserole with cooking spray and pour spatzle mixture in it.

8. Cook about 30 minutes; just until it begins to brown.

I decided to go with something simple this time since I was so busy. I'm a big fan of fondue and last year my mother gave me a really nice set for Christmas. It almost a year later to find the heating source needed, though. But anyways, I decided to try melting the Havarti cheese with a half cup chicken broth. The problem was even though it melted, it was more like melted mozzarella in texture. We still had a blast scooping bread slices into it. So, Havarti isn't a fondue cheese but it was amazing melted and I will definitely melt it on some turkey or roast beef sandwich.

December's Cheese of the Month is....

2008-12-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

Havarti!!! Thanks for voting and make sure to vote for next month's cheese too! Remember that you can always make more than one dish and make anything from desserts to soups to dips to anything your heart desires! I'm looking forward to this one. I've seen this cheese in the store and have always wanted to try it. I already have a recipe picked out too!

Please don’t forget to e-mail me when you are done. Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

What is Cheese of the Month? Go here to find out: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.html

Good luck fellow cheesians! I look forward to reading about your delicious creations!

November's Cheese Results

2008-12-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

I was really excited for November's Cheese Challenge: Mascarpone Cheese. I have eaten it in desserts but have never tried to use it myself. This month there was only one other participate, but she made TWO dishes.

Cristine of Cooking with Cristine somehow finds the time to whip up all kinds of delicious dishes all while caring for two little ones. How does she do it?! She made two different recipes using mascarpone, dinner and dessert!

For dinner she made Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and for dessert she made a Brown Sugar Mascarpone Pizza.

Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Recipe from Giada DeLaurentis
1 pound rigatoni pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, mincedSalt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound assorted mushrooms, (such as cremini, shiitake and button), cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. While the pasta is cooking: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes until all the liquid evaporates.
6. Add the stock and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced. Remove the pan from the heat.
7. Add the mascarpone cheese. Stir until creamy.
8. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan.
9. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to coat pasta, adding the reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta.
10. Garnish with the chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Dessert was fairly simple yet simply amazing. All she did was mixed in a little brown sugar with some mascarpone and spread it on the pizza dough. Then she topped it with blueberries and a streusel topping. After the pizza came out of the oven, she drizzled it with homemade dulce de leche.

That was one family table that I wished I could had been out!!!
You can read all about her adventures here:
http://cristinecooks.blogspot.com/2008/11/cheese-of-month-mascarpone.html

And now for my recipe. I only had time for one recipe this one. I had to host Thanksgiving for my family. So, a few days before I had my sisters come down and help me prepare for that fateful day. I had to make dinner for them every night till Thanksgiving. So, the one night I made a wonderful and easy side dish. Twice Baked Potatoes!!! I got the recipe off one of my favorite cheese sites: Wisconsin Cheese and Dairy

My sisters and even my super picky husband LOVED them. They was easy to make and so creamy and flavorful. I even have some mascarpone cheese left!!! These made four HUGE potatoes. This recipe gets a five out of five dancing cheeses.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES WITH BITTER GREENS AND MASCARPONE CHEESE

4 baking potatoes, about
12 ounces each
1 6-ounce package baby spinach or arugula-baby spinach mix
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper, optional
1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese
4 heaping teaspoons Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Prick potatoes with fork or make a short, deep slit in each and bake about 1 hour or until tender when pierced with fork.
3. Meanwhile, wilt the greens. Place 2 1/2 cups water in deep sauce pan. Bring to boil and add pinch of salt. Add greens. Boil until wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove to fine sieve and rinse with cold water to cool. Squeeze out water to dry greens. Snip greens with scissors and resqueeze to remove moisture. Set aside on absorbent paper towel.
4. When potatoes are cooked, cool slightly. Cut off a shallow slice from the top of each potato. With a sharp tipped spoon, scoop potato pulp into a mixing bowl.
5. Add salt, pepper and 1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese.
6. Whip with an electric mixer until smooth, or alternatively, mash by hand. You may have to add more mascarpone, depending on the dryness of the potatoes.
7. Fold reserved greens into the whipped potatoes.
8. Place potatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of Parmesan over each.
9. Bake at 400°F for about 15-20 minutes.
(The potatoes may be stuffed ahead and refrigerated until baking time.)

See you all next month!!!

DB:Caramel Cupcakes w/caramelized butter frosting

2008-12-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm late on posting November's Challenage. I actually made these last week for my husband's teacher friends, but since I was away this weekend I couldn't post till today!

I was really excited about November's Challenage, which was Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting. The Caramel Cake Recipe Courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon. The recipe is published from Bay Area Bites. The Hosts/Co-Hosts for this month's challenge are as follows:
1. Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity
2. Alex of Blondie and Brownie
3. Jenny of Foray into Food
4. Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go

I LOVE caramel!!! The thought of making an entire cake, though, was not appealing to me. So, I decided to make cupcakes instead. After reading what others had posted on the message board, I decided to add a dark chocolate ganche to my cupcakes as well. Despite what most people said, I didn't find these little beauties to overly sweet. I loved the combination of sweet and saltly, too. If you ever had a Dark Chocolate Seasalt Caramel from Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, then you can see this is what I was going for when I added the dark chocolate ganche. Everyone at the school LOVED them. They were moist and flavorful and not that hard to make.

With the leftover batter I took my super mini muffin tin and made 100 calorie size cupcakes.

Has anyone ever tried the Hostess 100 Calorie Cupcake Pack? There I was...on a diet...and desperate for something that actually tasted good. I was thrilled to find a healthy cupcake. Image my horror and my anger when I opened the package to find three bite size cupcakes!!! It was that day that I decided that I would rather be fat and happy than skinny and hungry!!!

I burn the sugar the first time and the butter, too!

I didn't have a seieve, so when I came time to put the browned butter through one, I just used poured the butter through a fork and that seemed to get most of the flecks out. But besides that it went pretty smoothly. The frosting was AMAZING! I used the leftover frosting for my Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

and even my mom (who doesn't like anything) loved them. My husband fell in love with the frosting too and wants me to use it as a staple from now on. It differently has an unique flavor.

And now…THE RECIPE:

CARAMEL CAKE (or cupcakes)
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)
2 each eggs, at room temperaturesplash vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan. (or cupcake pan)
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. (I used a handmixer)
4. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.
5. Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl.
6. Scrape down bowl and increase speed.
7. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.
8. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.
9. Sift flour and baking powder.
10. Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}
11. Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.
12. Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it. Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator. (If making cupcakes, I found that 15-20 mintues was the best time. I only had one cupcake pan, so I didn't rotate it).

CARAMEL SYRUP
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

1. In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush.
2. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.
3. When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.
4. Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.

CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

1. Cook butter until brown.
2. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.
3. Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time.
5. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated.
6. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light.

Dark Chocolate Ganche

7 oz Dark Chocolate, broken up into pieces (Good quality...Hershey is CRAP!!!)
1/4 C Whipping Cream

1. Melt whipping cream and dark chocolate in a double boiler until melted.
2. Let cool slightly.
3. Pour over cupcakes BEFORE added the frosting.

ASSEMBLING:

The assembly follows this simple order:

Cake(cupcake)
Ganche
Frosting

ENJOY!!!!

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2008-11-19T12:12:00.001-08:00

I joined yet another group: The Cookie Carnival. It is basically the same idea as the Daring Bakers only with cookies. Every month we get the same cookie recipe and we all try it out and blog about it. I figured this would be a good group to join because I bake cookies every month for Operation Baking Gals anyways and I'm always looking for new cookie ideas.

The cookie selection for November was The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Regan Daley's book "In The Sweet Kitchen." This made a ton of cookies. I send a few to my brother in college, a few to solider in Iraq, and still had six leftover for my hubby who always complains that I make all these cookies and he never gets any. The verdict: This cookie definitely lives up to its name!!! I'm not normally a Chocolate chip cookie fan (because I'm a weirdo who likes the more unusal cookies out there!), but these were amazing!!! My husband was deeply impressed. I imediately added this cookie to my index card of recipes. This will definitely be a staple cookie that use in Operation Baking Gals every month...and for my hubby...when he's been nice to me. ;-)

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter at room temp

1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsps. pure vanilla extract

3 cups plus

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

3. Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft.

4. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If somehow they don't get inhaled immediately, they may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.

Another Blog Award

2008-11-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

I recieved another blog award from Cristine of Cooking With Cristine. She rocks of course! The The Premio Arte y Pico Award comes with rules but I don't mind. I would love to pay it forward.

They are:

1. Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.

2. Advertise name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award-winner, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. Share these rules.

I would love to pass this award on to the following blogs:

Shao of Friedwontons4U

Lynsday and Pam of Baking For Our Troops

Arlene of The Food of Love

Mary of Alpineberry (This woman is the one who inspired me to start my blog and join the Daring Bakers!)

Susan of Operation Baking Gals (My favorite charity baking group!)

November's Cheese of the Month is....

2008-11-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry this is so late! My daughter had a bad reaction to some meds she was taking, so it has been a crazy week!!!

I decided that this month that I would allow my fellow cheesians the change to vote. It looks like we have tie, though! So, I guess I'm the tie breaker. I decided to go with Mascarpone, because I found some in my local grocery store and it was actually a lot cheaper than I though. I also never made anything with it before, so it will truely be a challenge. Thanks for voting and make sure to vote for next month's cheese too!

Remember that you can always make more than one dish and make anything from desserts to soups to dips to anything your heart desires! Please don’t forget to e-mail me when you are done. Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

Don't forget that I've added some Cheese Sites that you might find helpful or, at the very least, interesting at the bottom right side of my blog. If you find any links you will like to add just e-mail thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com or leave a comment here and I will add it.If you have any other suggestions just let me know!

What is Cheese of the Month? Go here to find out: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.html

Good luck fellow cheesians! I look forward to reading about your delicious creations!

Cheddar Cheese Results for October

2008-11-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry this is a little late! My daughter had a bad reaction to Amoxicin (spelling?) she was taking for an ear infection. So, it has been a rough week. She's fine now, but now we have to be careful about what meds she takes in the future.

Last month, I chose cheddar cheese. I decided that ANY type of cheddar would do. I figured that gave people a lot of options.

This round I had two people participate, which was very exciting! Everyone made something wonderful and delicious.

Fellow Cheesian Number One: Cristie

I was pleased to get an email from Cristie of Edible Antics-Having Fun With Food. Which is a tiny web store that sells gourmet foods made by Wisconsin artisans and small businesses. She's from Wisconsin and couldn't pass up participating because, as she puts it, "cheese is something we Wisconsinites LOVE!!!!" Her entry was Ham, Broccoli, and Cheddar Cheese Quiche. I absolutely adore quiches. I use to eat them once a month when I worked as high school teacher. The teachers would all come together and make all kinds of goodies for breakfast. Someone always made a quiche and I just fell in love! The one Cristie made sounds DIVINE and yet amazely simple.

Ham, Broccoli, and Cheddar Cheese Quiche

Single pie crust
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup broccoli - I use frozen, cut-up broccoli that I thawed in the microwave
1 cup ham, cubed or diced
1 cup 1/2 and 1/2
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated (any favorite cheese will do)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

I buy the prepared pie crust unless I happen to have homemade handy. Spread pie crust in pie plate.
Chop onion and ham.
Thaw and drain broccoli if frozen; wash and chop finely if fresh.
Put onion, then broccoli then ham in pie crust.
You want the ham juice to drip down over the veggies.
Meanwhile, put 1/2 and 1/2 in medium sauce pan and heat over low to medium heat until a thin skin forms over the milk/cream.
Stir in grated cheese. When cheese is melted, remove from heat and stir in the beaten eggs.
Add nutmeg and salt and pepper.
Line the oven grate with tin foil in case the quiche over-flows. Put the pie crusts filled with meat and veggies on the foil. Pour the cheese, egg, and milk/cream mixture into the pie crusts.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes.

You can read all about her adventure on her blog:

http://food-fun.wisconsinfood.com/edible_antics/2008/10/multi--task-or-multi-purpose-recipe-fo-ham-n-cheddar-quiche-serves-many-purposes.html

Fellow Cheesian Number Two: Christine

I was pleasantly pleased to hear from Christine of Cooking with Christine. I've been following her blog for quite some time now and glad that she was able to participate this month. I was also surprised to learn that she made an Apple Cheddar Pie, which was surprising because I was just thinking about when I got her e-mail. You can read all about her adventures here:

http://cristinecooks.blogspot.com/2008/10/cheese-of-month.html

After reading her account, I will definitely gives this one a try sometime!

Apple Cheddar Pie
Recipe from Emeril Lagasse (BAM! HEE HEE!)

2 pie crusts
3 medium Golden Delicious apples (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 medium Granny Smith apples (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/3 cup plus
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pinch salt
1 cup 1/2-inch cubes medium cheddar cheese (4 1/2 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into two portions.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one-half of the crust to a 12-inch circle and transfer to a 9-inch pie pan, pressing gently to fit.
Roll out the second half of the crust to a circle and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and toss to coat the apples.
Add the cheese and spoon the apple mixture into the prepared pie pan.
Arrange the second crust over the fruit.
Trim the edges to a 3/4-inch overhang, fold under the two crusts, and crimp the edges of the crusts together to seal the dough.
With a sharp knife, cut a decorative pattern of slits into the top crust.
With a pastry brush, brush the cream over the top crust and sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over the top.
Bake until the crust is golden and the juices begin to bubble, 45 to 55 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Serve warm.

And finally here is what I came up with: Baby Bell's Smokey Cheddar is Better Soup! My daughter LOVES smoke cheese. A few months ago, I bought Wisconin Cheddar Soup from local deli/restaurant in our area. It way too smokey for me, but she LOVED it. She was licking the bowl clean. So, I figured this was a good change for me to try and make a copy cat version of it. My daughter, being the crazy picky 1 1/2 year old that she is, doesn't eat enough veggies. So, I added some veggies to this soup. She, of course, LOVED it! This soup was slightly spicy but my daughter loves spicy (I ate a lot of hot wings near the end of my pregnancy!).

You can use half to one pound of cheddar if you like. It depends how cheesey you want it. I bought a block of smoked cheddar that was almost a pound. (It's not as much as it sounds) It was like $7, though. So, I won't be making this every week, but definitely as a special treat. It makes a lot, too. So, I froze some of it for later use. I also used deli ham, but I think next time I might try bits of a ham steak. I just happened to have deli ham on hand. The veggies added a nice touch and was a great way to sneak in some veggies. This soup was quick to make too. This soup gets five dancing cheese guys out of five.

Baby Bell's Smokey Cheddar is Better Soup

2 1/2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 C Shredded Carrots
1/2 Celery, finely chopped
1/2 Medium Onion, finely chopped
1/2 C Green peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 C Deli ham, torn into small pieces
1/2 C Flour
2 TbspCornstarch
2 C Chicken broth
2 C Milk
1/2 Tsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp Dry mustard
1/2 Lb. Smoked Cheddar Cheese, grated
Salt/Pepper, to taste

In a large heavy kettle, melt butter or margarine; add carrots, celery, onion, green pepper, and ham.
Cook over medium heat until vegetables are crisp tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not brown.
Add flour and cornstarch; cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes.
Add broth and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened.
Add milk, paprika, cayenne and mustard.
Stir in cheese gradually, stirring until cheese is melted.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

2008-10-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where I found this recipe, but it is the best one that I've found so far. You can either use chocolate chips or raisins. I, being a chocoholic, prefer the chips.

PUMPKIN COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 C unsalted butter, softened

1 C white sugar

1 C light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tsp vanilla extract

1 C canned pumpkin puree

3 C AP flour

2 Tsp Baking soda

1/2 Tsp salt

1 Tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 Tsp ground ginger

1/4 Tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 Tsp ground cloves

2 C (12-oz bag) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray or line with parchement paper. (I find that the paper works the best and keeps the bottoms from burning.)

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth.

Beat in the white and brown sugars.

Beat in the eggs one at a time and then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.

In a larg bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter.

Stir in the chocolate chips or raisins.

Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Book Review: The Bread Machine Magic Book of Helpful Hints

2008-10-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

I love books. I could spend HOURS in the library. I also love to write papers. So, being the nerd that I am, I've decided to write book reviews of various cookbooks and books that relate to food every month.

My first book review came about when I got a bread machine last year for Christmas. I got a few books out, but I didn't start using my bread machine until recently. I finally found an electric knife, which made it easier to cut thin slices. So, I went back to the library and got all of the those bread books out again and decided to try a few recipes. One book stood out among the rest was The Bread Machine Magic Book of Helpful Hints by Linda Rehberg and Lois Conway. I almost didn't get it either, because it wasn't a "recipe book." But boy am I glad that I did! When I got my bread machine, I thought that you just threw some ingredients in and pressed START. But I've learn the hard way there is a lot more to it than that!!!

This book has everything you could want in a bread machine book from common problems to recipes and much much more. The book starts off discussing the various types of bread machines. That chapter also went into detail concerning the features on a typical bread machine. I learn a lot about which buttons do what, which in turn enabled me to make better decisions.

The second chapter is an informative chapter discussing the science behind the baking. My favorite part of that chapter was the Conversion Chart. I now know that 5/8 Cup is really 1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoons. I also learned that you mustn't scoop flour; you have to spoon it into the measuring cup and then scrape off the extra with a knife. (Otherwise, you end up with a few extra tablespoons of flour and a smaller loaf!)

Chapter three goes into the different types of ingredients that you add to your bread recipe; like gluten or oats. This chapter was very helpful in teaching me how to add extras that weren't in the original recipe. It also gives an indept look at all the different types of flours that are out there.

The next chapter discusses adjusting the recipes to fit the reader's dietary needs. It even included some recipes. This is a great chapter if you are an "alternative" baker.

Chapter five is what the reader has been waiting for and the reason the book was purchased (or borrowed). Almost every common problem that the reader has had with their loafs from loafs that didn't rise to loafs that had a doughy center is addressed. My favorite part included a formula for converting a non-bread machine recipe into one.

And last but not least, chapter six include quite a few delicious recipes. I tried several of them and I was really impressed. My favorites were Herb Bread and Buckwheat Bread. AMAZINGLY GOOD!

I would highly recommend this book. It is definitely worth the trip to the library or the extra couple of bucks. I'm adding this book to my Christmas Wish List.

Quick Carmel Popcorn Balls

2008-10-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

I joined a group called Operation Baking Gals and I needed something to make that wouldn't melt. I came across this recipe but I can't remember where I found it. It was super easy and really cheap to make. These were by far the BEST popcorn balls that I have EVER eaten!

Quick Carmel Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:

28 Carmels
2 Tbsp Water
2 Quarts Salted Cooked Popcorn
1 Tsp Corn Syrup (optional)

Directions:

Melt the carmels and water in a double boiler.
Add corn syrup.
Pour over cooked popcorn and toss until well coated.
Shape into balls.

Operation Baking Gals Goodies---Team Baking for Our Troops

2008-10-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered a wonderful site called Operation Baking Gals. http://operationbakinggals.blogspot.com/ I absolutely LOVE to bake but I can only send so many care packages to my siblings in college. So, I was thrill to find that I could send cookies and other baked goods to soliders fighting overseas. I have many relatives either are or were in the military, so this especially hits home for me. (I have a cousin going to Iraq soon---Yikes!!)

Here is how the site works. The owner of the blog gets names, bios, and addresses of soliders fighting overseas. She then has bloggers volunteer to be host for a solider and create a team. Then, then she posts the names of the teams each with a solider and his/her bio on the Operation Baking Gals blog. Anyone can sign up to send a package(s) to a solider of your choosing. You sign up by e-mailing the host of that solider. The host then sends you an e-mail with the address and the date that the packages should be mailed out.

After scrolling the soliders, I chose team Baking For Our Troops (Baking4Troops.blogspot.com) who was hosting Zachary Thomas Sain who is currently stationed in Iraq.

Here is his bio:

This round of home-baked goodies could not come at a better time for him because homesickness is getting pretty rough. It has been tough to hang on to a little piece of home, and his contact with loved ones last month cost him a 4-figure phone bill to prove it!!! Now, let me tell you a little bit about him. He is 19 years old and graduated from high school in Champion, Ohio in 2006. He has three siblings back home (Amanda 17, Jeremy 14, and Bailey 12) and his mother, Jacquetta. He is an animal lover and has a golden retriever named Sampson. Zach loves listening to the "oldies" as well as new music. He is into cars and rebuilt a 1977 Jeep with his dad, Joe, before he passed away. Zach loves to go muddin' in his Jeep and also enjoys target shooting. He is even a member of the American Motorcycle Association. As for the future, he hopes to return home from service and continue serving his community as a police officer.

Now before I was a stay at home mom, I was an English/Public Speaking Teacher at huge high school that had "little bit of everything." My favorite type of students were the "redneck kids." They delighted me with stories of huntin', trappin', and muddin'! What is muddin' you ask? Well, it is where you take your jeep and drive around in big mud puddles. Why? I have no idea! I don't get it, but the kids seem to love it...even the girls! So, as soon as I read that he liked to go muddin' I knew that he was the solider for me! That poor kid was older to have been a student of mine!! 19! I can't image. At 19, I was goofing off at college...thinking about boys and well food---I definitely gained the freshment 15....and then some! ;-) This poor kid is dealing with some awful stuff.

I wanted to make him stuff to remind him of October/Fall/Halloween. So, I made a few goodies and then bought some halloween type candy. It only cost me $8.00 to send the package too! You can get a flat rate box, but it is really really small and was $9.00. Luckily, the post office guy weight my stuff and gave me a bigger box and a cheaper price! Wahoo---I saved a dollar!!! ;-) But I really needed the bigger box too. I had a TON of cookies and candies.

Here is the the list of stuff I made. Some of the recipes can be found on my blog. I hope to add the other recipes as I find more time!

Carmel Popcorn Balls

http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/search/label/Quick%20Carmel%20Popcorn%20Balls

Super Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/search/label/Super%20Easy%20Microwave%20Peanut%20Brittle

Dark Chocolate Dream Cookies

http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/search/label/Dark%20Chocolate%20Dream%20Cookies

Dark Chocolate Mexican Biscotti (Day of the Dead was my thinking on that one)

Buttery Orange Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/search/label/Chocolate%20Chip%20Pumpkin%20Cookies

Super Moist Chocolate Chip Blondies http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/search/label/Super%20Soft%20Chocolate%20Chip%20Blondies

The candy included: Candy Corn, Smarties, Sour Gum, and Cheesy Chex Mix. Plus, I send a Thank You card with a nice message.

I can't wait to see who this month's soliders are. This definitley something I am going to do for now one. I also plan on added my cousin to the list when he goes. So, if you like to bake check out the site!

Super Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle

2008-10-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

I made this for a package that I was sending to a solider overseas. I needed to send something that wouldn't melt and this was the perfect gift! I got the recipe out of the my husband's Pillsbury Complete Cookbook.

I cut the microwave times in half for this recipe. I tried using the times that were in the book but the mixture ended up buring. It was awful! I opened the microwave and the mixture was black and my whole house filled with smoke!!! It was a huge pain to clean too!!! So, make sure you keep an eye on it.

But once I did it again and cut the times in half it went much better. This was amazing good brittle too! And it was fairly cheap to make.

Super Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle

1 C sugar

1/2 C light corn syrup

1 C roasted salted peanuts

1 Tsp butter

1 Tsp vanilla

1 Tsp baking soda

Grease cookie sheet.
In 1 1/2-quart microwave safte casserole, combine sugar and corn syrup; mix well.

Microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. (I only did 2 minutes)

Stir in peanutes. Microwave for 3-5 minutes or until light brown. (I did 3 minutes)

Stir in butter and vanilla; blend well.

Microwave for 1-2 minutes. (I did 1 minute)

Add baking soda; stir gently until light and foamy.

Pour onto buttered cookie sheet.

Cool for 30 minutes.

Break into pieces.

Dark Chocolate Dream Cookies

2008-10-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

I found these recipe in a french cookbook a few years ago. I have since modified it and have included a few variations. This is a super rich dark chocolately indulance! A perfect way to get that chocolate fix!!! ;-)

Dark Chocolate Dream Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 C All Purpose Flour

1/2 C Unsweetened Cocoa

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Salt

5 Oz Dark chocolate

3 Oz Milk Chocolate

4 Oz Unsweetened Baking Chocolate

1 1/2 C Tightly Packed Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 Sticks of Butter

1/2 C White Chocolate Chips

1/2 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1/4 C Pecan Pieces

**Variations**

Grasshopper Dream Cookies

Omit vanilla, white chocolate chips, semisweet chips, and pecan pieces and add:

1 Tsp Mint Extract

1/2 C Mint Chocolate Chips

Dark Strawberry Dream Cookies

Omit vanilla, white chocolate chips and pecan pieces and add:

2 Tsp Strawberry Extract

1 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Melt chocolates in a double boiler. Remove from heat.

Cream brown sugar and butter in a large bowl.

Add eggs, one at a time.

Add vanilla. (or other extracts)

Add the melted chocolate.

Add sifted flour mixture.

Scoop heaving tablespoons full of dough onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Super Soft Chocolate Chip Blondies

2008-10-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

I aquired this recipe from my husband who, as a teenage, use to get recipe cards in the mail from Easy Everyday Cooking. It is by far the best blondie recipe I ever tasted! I have been using this recipe when I make gifts for people.

I put mine into a metal pie pan, which is why they are "pie" shaped.

Ingredients

1/4 C Butter
1 C Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 C All Purpose Flour
1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease bottom of a small pie pan.
Cream together butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat until just blended. Do not overmix.
Add semisweet chocolate chips. Stir until well blended.
Spread batter into prepared pan.
Bake 10-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool before cutting.

Cheesy Updates

2008-10-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

I figured since there a few of you who decided to join me, everyone should get a say in what cheeses we try each month. I would hate to come off as being bossy. So, I've added a What Cheese Should We Try? Poll. The poll will be which cheese we will try for the NEXT month. The poll will appear each month and end at 7 pm of that month. For example: It is now October, so the poll you see now is for which cheese we will try in November. The voting will end at 7 pm the last day of October.

I also have included a list of Cheese Sites that you might find helpful or, at the very least, interesting. If you find any links you will like to add just e-mail thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com or leave a comment here and I will add it.

If you have any other suggestions just let me know!

October's Cheese of the Month is….

2008-10-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

Another month another cheese to sample. This month’s cheese will be pretty simple to find. I decided to go easy on ya! Cheddar. I’m giving you a lot of options and room for creativity here. You can choose any type of cheddar you desire. Mild, Sharp, Extra Sharp, White, Smoked, Pepper Jack…as long as it has Cheddar in the name you can use it.

Remember that you can always make more than one dish and make anything from desserts to soups to dips to anything your heart desires! Please don’t forget to e-mail me when you are done. Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

What is Cheese of the Month? Go here to find out: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.html

Good Luck fellow Cheese Heads!

September's Cheesy Results

2008-10-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

September’s Cheese of the Month Results

Asiago was the cheese of September. I was very excited to find some fellow cheese heads who were interested in joining in my quest of deliciousness. However, I think I chose a cheese that too hard to find, so only one gal was able to participate this month. So without further ado here is the one lovely but lonely gal who joined me with her recipe:

FriedWontons4U: http://www.friedwontons4u.com/
made a delicious Satsumaimo (Japanese) Sweet Potato with Asiago Cheese. Its an unusal twist on the old Potato Gratin. The pairing of sweet and the sharpness of the cheese was an excellent idea. You can get the recipe and read about her discovery here:
http://www.friedwontons4u.com/search/label/Cheese%20of%20the%20Month%20Challenge
I love trying new things, so I think this is one that I will definitely try for Thanksgiving...as long as I can find the Satsumaimo. My family loves unusal foods like that. :-)

And finally, it is my turn…

I had a ton of recipes that I wanted to try but I came across one that required the use of a bread machine. I got a bread machine for Christmas last year and haven’t used it much this month. Mainly because I had no way of making smaller slices, until I came across an electric knife at our local thrift stores. I love thrift stores. I do a lot of shopping there. You never know what you are going to find. So, anyways I found this recipe that use both Asiago cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, which I had a jar of. I stole it from my dad and wasn’t sure what to do with it. My dad’s basement is another one of my favorite shopping places. He is always buying the neatest things. If you have to buy a jar yourself, you can get it CHEAP at surplus stores, Ollies, or Big Lots. If you buy a jar at a “regular” grocery store they are $8!!! My dad only paid 0.50 cents for his jar.

After reading the recipe and the comments that people made, I decided to combine all of their comments and tweak this recipe. This is by far the BEST bread recipe that I have EVER had. It has got a nice kick to it too and my daughter couldn’t get enough of it. My friend Moriah came over and she couldn't stop eating it!!!

(The yeast was old, so the first loaf didn't rise but the second was much better and so yummy)

I give this recipe 5 out of 5 Smiling Cheeses.

And now here is my recipe submission:

Sun-Dried Tomato and Asiago Cheese Bread

INGREDIENTS
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons instant powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
½ Jar Sun-Dried Tomatoes, drained and diced
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
½ cup grated Romano Cheese
1 tablespoon Tuscany Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS
Place all ingredients into bread machine in order given.
Bake according to bread machine directions. Set crust to light.

The original recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sun-Dried-Tomato-and-Asiago-Cheese-Bread/Detail.aspx
…but I think you find that mine is better. J

Lavash Crackers & Toppings (Daring Bakers)

2008-09-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

Another month; another Daring Baker's Challenage. This month I was a little disapointed in what was chosen. Mainly because I was hoping for a dessert of some kind. This month's challenage was vegan and/or gluten free. We had to make Lavash Crackers with some sorth of dip or sauce that was to be both vegan AND gluten free. The crackers had to vegan but didn't have to be gluten free. Surprising, making the dip vegan was harder than making it gluten free...mainly because some many recipes called for cheese or sour cream!

Making the crackers seemed simple enough at first. I chose whole wheat flour. I mixed all the ingredients and kneading the dough for 20 minutes. Then, I let it rise. I ended up letting it rise for a few hours, because with a toddler running around I got pretty distracted.

Then, I put a piece of plastic wrap over it......

And then rolled it really really thin.

I then added my spices. I chose half mixed spice, which was kind of like pumpkin pie spice and half I brushed with lime and sprinkled on some Lime Salt. I got the Lime Salt was a vendor at the farmer's market. I LOVE IT! It taste great on anything.

It didn't bake very well. Half of it got burnt. The unburnt part was very very very good.
For the dip I just made some plain old salsa. Nothing fancy, so I didn't include the recipe. I tried making a sun-dried tomato hummus but that didn't turn out.

I'm glad that I at least tried this recipe, but I differently won't be making this again. I'm not a big cracker fan and I could NEVER be vegan...I'm too much of a cheese girl. But I do have a new found respect for vegans, though! :-)

So, without further ado here is the recipe:

Heads Up :

* You can do so much to make this recipe your own – adding dried herbs or roasted garilic, etc., to the dough, using gourmet spices-salts-seasonings-seeds to sprinkle on top, etc.

* Read carefully ! The following recipe includes directions for both gluten-free crackers (à la Natalie !) and traditional AP flour crackers.

* The key to crispy crackers is rolling out the dough as thinly as possible. We noticed that the crackers turned out better if you divide the dough in half before rolling. You’ll roll out the dough as per the directions, decorate and cook the crackers in two batches.

* We’ve included some links with examples of the finished Lavash at the bottom of the post. JRECIPE - Recipe Reference: The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA. Copyright 2001. ISBN-10: 1-58008-268-8, ISBN-13: 978-158008-268-6.Here's a simple formula for making snappy Armenian-style crackers, perfect for breadbaskets, company and kids...It is similar to the many other Middle Eastern and Northern African flatbreads known by different names, such as mankoush or mannaeesh (Lebanese), barbari (Iranian), khoubiz or khobz (Arabian), aiysh (Egyptian), kesret and mella (Tunisian), pide or pita (Turkish), and pideh (Armenian). The main difference between these breads is either how thick or thin the dough is rolled out, or the type of oven in which they are baked (or on which they are baked, as many of these breads are cooked on stones or red-hot pans with a convex surface)...The key to a crisp lavash,...is to roll out the dough paper-thin. The sheet can be cut into crackers in advance or snapped into shards after baking. The shards make a nice presentation when arranged in baskets.

Lavash Crackers

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)

* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt

* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast

* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar

* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil

* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature

* Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings1.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.
For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (see http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Bre … ong-Enough for a discription of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).
For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.
For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

Funny Music Video about Women and Eating

2008-09-18T09:35:00.003-07:00

I recently went to a Women of Faith conference and saw Anita Renfroe among many other talented speakers and singers. It was so empowering to be surround by 15ooo women from all stages and ages of life all connected by one thing: We all worship the same God. How cool is that?

Anita Renfroe was my favorite. She gave a talk on body image which was both amusing and enlightening. She opened up with a music video with a song that she wrote. It was soooooooo funny. That song is definitely about me and apparently every woman in America! Check it out at the link below. I found it in on YouTube so the quality isn't that great but you'll still get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygWO30gdpK4&feature=related

My First Blog Award--Wahoo!

2008-09-18T09:35:00.002-07:00

Cristine from Cooking with Cristine: http://cristinecooks.blogspot.com/ has awarded me with a I Love You This Much Award. Isn't that sweet!?!

I was so excited when she left a message for me letting me know. I'm proud to be one of the blog that she stalks. Now I have to get my butt in gear and post so more goodies! Thanks Cristine, you rock!

Mexican Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-09-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where I found this recipe, but I was recently "baking through the storm" on a stormy Saturday afternoon with Baby Bell and I found this recipe on one of my cards from years ago. I made a TON of cookies for my many sibling who are all still in college. (Yea for being the oldest and done with it all!) This one was my favorite so I thought I would share it.

These cookies are crunchy (but not too crunchy) on the outside and soft and gooewy on the inside. They are super rich and chocolately. You must use a good-quality dark chocolate bar. I used a candy bar that I got at Aldi's. I love their chocolate; they are made in Austria, which I think the store is orginially from. I think what makes it "Mexican" is that this cookie has cinnamon and black pepper in it. It has a nice warm spiciness to it. I thought it was a nice fall season cookie. I plan on making them again for Operation Baking Gal this month. http://operationbakinggals.blogspot.com/ These gals make cookies for soliders overseas. Check them out!

Mexican Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C All Purpose Flour
1/2 C Unsweetened Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Coarse Salt
1/8 Tsp Finely ground Black Pepper
1/4 Lb Coarsely chopped good-quality DARK chocolate
1/2 C (1 Stick) Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 C Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
3/4 C Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Whish together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

In a small heat proof bowl set over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt the DARK chocolate with butter. Let cool slightly.
Combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl.
Slowly temper the eggs by added a few teaspoons of the butter/chocolate mixure at a time. You don't want to scramble the eggs.
Add the rest of the butter/chocolate mixture to the egg mixture.
Gradually add the flour mixture.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 1 1/2 inch balls of the mixutre onto the cookie sheet and space them 2 inches apart.

10. Bake cookies for about 15 mintures or until they look flat and the surfaces crack.
Yum! Yum! Baby Bell LOVES cookies!!!!
**You should get about 3 dozen cookies!**

Gram's Crockpot Roast & Hunkie Soup

2008-09-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Gram's Crockpot Roast

When I got my first apartment while attending college my lovely parents, fearing that I was too lazy to cook for myself and fearing that I would starve, gave me a small crockpot. My favorite meal in the whole wide world is potroast with carrots and potatoes. I adapted my mom's recipe to be used in the crockpot that she gave me. Over the years I changed and tweeked the recipe (and the name since she is a grandma now!) and I finally feel satisfied with this recipe. I must warn you that I eyeball every ingredigent so it was difficult trying to figure out the measurements. You can change the measurements depending on your taste preferrence.

My husband and I make this all the time. There is always a ton leftover and there is a lot you can do with leftover potroast...such Shepard's Pie, Hunkie Soup, Beef Stew, or BBQ Beef. I've included a recipe for Hunkie Soup after the Potroast recipe...in case your interested.

Gram's Crockpot Roast

1 Beef Roast (The size depends on you)
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Small Onion, sliced (You can use any you like, I use red onions)
1/2 C celery, diced
1 C carrots, cut-up
5-6 Red Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Salt/Pepper, to taste
Water

Place the roast into crockpot and fill with enough water to almost but not quite cover the roast.
Put two slits in the roast and fill with some of the garlic. Throw the rest on top.
Add onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Add onion slices making sure to place a few slices on top of the roast as well as to the water.
If you want soft almost mushy veggies (which is what we do) add the rest of the veggies. Othewise add the veggies at the last 1/2 hour of cooking. They will be soft but not too mushy.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

We use the leftovers to make Hunkie Soup, which yet another Czech recipe from my Grandma Trix. This is super easy and very yummy! This was the first soup that my Baby Bell had when she could start eating solid foods. She LOVES it! It is great on a cold wintery day!! (This can be made with or without the shredded potroast.)

Hunkie Soup

2 Cans Beef Broth (or broth left over from the potroast)
Water
1 Small Onion, sliced
1/2 C Celery
1 Garlic Clove, minced
Salt/Pepper, to taste
1 Can diced tomatoes
1/2 C carrots, cut-up
2 Medium Baking Potatoes--OR--4 Small Red Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Package Egg Noodles
Potroast, cook and shredded, Optional

Cook the Egg Noodles according to the directions. Drain and put aside.
In a dutch oven add broth (either from the can or from leftover roast).
Take the empty broth cans and fill with water and add to broth.
Add the onion, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, tomatoes, carrotes, potatoes, and shredded potroast (optional).
Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until veggies are soft.
Place noodles into each bowl and pour soup over top.**

**If you put the noodles into the soup and store it in the fridge the noodles will absorb all of the broth. It is better to pour the soup over the noodles in each bowl.

Asiago-September's Cheese of the Month

2008-09-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Well, September is here and I've finally chosen my cheese. After careful consideration and many shopping trips to the cheese case at the grocery store, I've chosen Asiago Cheese for this month. It has been a long time favorite of mine and I would love to find some new uses for it. So, far all I do with it is put it on salad or a sandwich and occasionally make a sauce from it. But now I'm on a quest for something a little different and I would love for you to join me....

To recap what the Cheese of the Month Challenge is:

Every month I'm going to select a cheese and make a dish with it. The purpose is to experiment with something that you wouldn’t normally make. Anyone is welcome to join me. Here are the rules:

1. Check my blog, Adventures in Gluttony, on the FIRST of every month to see what cheese I chose. http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/

2. Everyone will use the Cheese of the Month Cheese in either a recipe they make up or one they find. They can be simple or advanced. The dishes can be anything your little heart desires.You have the ENTIRE month to make something. By the LAST day of the end of the month post on YOUR blog the recipe, a picture (if possible), and a summary of how it went and if you liked it. If you chose to use a recipe that isn’t your own make sure to include where the recipe came from.3. Send me an email with the link to your blog by no later than the LAST day of each month and I will post the links on my blog so that everyone can see how everyone else did. My email is: Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

You can make more than one dish if you like. Just make sure to indicate that to me in your email. If you recipe doesn’t turn out post it on your blog anyways. Just make sure to explain why you didn’t like the dish and/or what went wrong. Make sure to share your dish with your friends and family and get their reactions.I’m really excited about this and I hope to get as many people as possible to participate. It will be a neat way to collect some delicious recipes and try new things.

Smoked Gouda Recipe Results

2008-09-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

CHEESE OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST: SMOKED GOUDA RESULTS

This was my first Cheese of the Month Challenge and it looks like I was the only one to participate, which is fine. If you want to participate go here to read how: http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/2008/07/cheese-of-month-challenge.html

Here are my results:

I chose Smoked Gouda because my daughter, Baby Bell, loves smoked cheeses. She may get her looks from her dad, but she gets her good taste in food from me! I chose two recipes to try out. The first was a muffin recipe and the second was a crockpot chicken recipe.

Well, I'm a HUGE fan of muffins, so when I found this random muffin recipe that included smoked gouda and tomatoes (which are Bell's favorite), I knew I had to try them out. The muffins were call Smoked Gouda and Scallion Muffins, and the recipe seemed simple enought.

I followed the directions and everything seemed to be going well...

I put them into the muffin pan. This recipe made 12 servings.
They looked like tasty muffins....
Baby Bell seemed to like them. She ate TWO whole muffins!!! She threw the third one on the ground, so I dusted it off and gave it to my husband to try. Yeah, I know that is mean but that's what he gets for taking a nap while I'm trying to bake with a screaming toddler at my leg!!!

I ended up eating three of them just to make sure that I DIDN'T like them. They ended up being very bland. It tasted like a muffin, but all of the good flavors of the cheese, tomatoe, and onion didn't seem to mix throughout the muffin. I will definitely make these again, but I will change it around to see if I get make it taste like something!

I give this recipe: One Smiling Cheese Guy out of a possible five.

I got the recipe here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,164,151165-242207,00.html

(Just in case you wanted to check it out.)

Next, I found a crockpot recipe. Being a mother of toddler, I am very busy. So, I love crockpot recipes. I think food taste better, too, when it has been slowly simmering all day. Don't you?

The recipe was called Crockpot Chicken Pasta with Smoked Gouda. It was very easy to throw together. My only complaint was you only threw half of the ingredients together and add the other half at the last 20 minutes of cooking. Besides that it was fairly good and everyone ate it. However, I think it was missing something. I thought that maybe it could have used some sort of kick to it. I'm thinking onions...maybe some spinach or peppers would have been nice. This will definitely go on the recipe card to be made in the future, but with some moderifications.I give this recipe Two Smiling Cheese Guys out of a possible five

I found the recipe here http://www.recipezaar.com/287606 in case you're interested.

Chocolate Eclairs-Daring Bakers August Challenge

2008-08-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

I've finally joined the Daring Bakers!!! I'm so excited, too. What, or should I say WHO, are the Daring Bakers? We are a group of on-line foodies who once a month make the same recipe and then blog about our experiences. Same recipe; different experiences. You can go here for more information: http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-05-05T09%3A17%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=28 They are a great group of people. They have their own website where you can post questions and stuff like that. The recipes they choose are challenging too. This month's challenge was to make Chocolate Eclairs. The recipe was from Chocolate Desserts By Pierre Hermé. The recipe is at the bottom of this post---just in case you don't won't to read about my experience. Just make sure to print the whole recipe out before you make it. It makes it easier to follow.

I would have never even dared to try to make something so hard had I not joined this group. But I am glad I did because even though it was challenging, I learned that I could do it!

Here is my super cute apron that my mom got a the thift store for me! I love raccons!

The eclairs consist of 3 elements:

- Pâte à Choux, also known as Choux Pastry or Cream Puff Dough

- Pastry Cream

- Chocolate glaze

The eclairs had a dark chocolate glaze and a dark chocolate pastry cream. We were all allowed to make one modification; either to the glaze or the pastry cream...if we wanted too. I decided to make half of the eclairs with a milk chocolate glaze and a dark chocolate pastry cream, but the other half I made with a dark chocolate glaze and a peanutbutter pastry cream.

I made eclairs in two steps. The whole process took me two days and at 6 hours, but that time includes making a second batch because the first batch was too small. I decided to make them for the teachers for the first day of school. My husband is a teacher, so I figure he could share them with his teacher friends.

I started with the pastry cream first. I was really nervous about this, because I had to pour boiling milk into cold raw egg yolk mixture.

My biggest fear was that I would scamble the eggs. To keep this from happening I had to add a couple of tablespoon of the hot milk to the eggs slowly to bring the temperature of the eggs up.

This taught me to be patience. I did a good job and I didn't scramble any of the eggs and I made a lovely pastry cream. I half the finish product and put melted dark chocolate in one bowl and a teaspoon of vanilla and a 1/3 cup of peanutbutter in the other.

I chose a chocolate bar that I got at Aldi's, which was amazing good! The bar was made in Austria and they have great chocolate there! I melted the bar in a bowl over boiling water.

Next I made the chocolate glaze. I had to make this recipe twice; once with dark and once with milk chocolate. To make the chocolate glaze you have to make a chocolate sauce first. So, I made that first. It was more like sugared-up chocolate milk.

Then, I added the sauce to the chocolate mixture and that made a lovely glaze.

I save the leftover glaze and I'm going to use it as a base for hot chocolate! Yum-Yum!

My daughter loved licking the spoon!

The next day, I started to make the eclair shells. This really really scared me, because I'm such a dofus and there were a ton of tips on the website. A lot of people were posting troubles they were having. Actually mixing the dough was the easy part.

It was shaping them into "chubby fingers" that was the hard part! I didn't have a pastry bag or money to buy one, so someone suggested using a zip-lock bag with a hole cut in it. Well here is what my bag looked like by the end of making the fingers:

Here are my eclair shells. I put them on parchment paper to keep from sticking.

Here they are in my oven. You switch the racks halfway through the baking. I also found that putting a dish of water in there helps them puff up more.

The first batch (on the bottom) was too thin and too long. The second batch (on the top) I made a little shorter and much chubbier. I also made another bag and duck taped it, so that it looked like a pastry bag. Yes, I have reach a new low...but duck does fix everything!

It was very time consuming baking this even though they only took 20 mintues. I had to set the time for 7 mintues to put the wooden spoon in the door. Then for 5 minutes to switch the racks. Then, whatever time was left was for the rest of the baking. This was difficult because my 1 year old daughter wanted to go outside. So, I had to keep running in to check to see if the timer went off.

I cut a slit in each one to keep them from deflating. But I think I should have let them sit in the oven with it turn off for a few mintues first. I'm going to do that next time. Some of mine still deflated anyways. I have to wait several hours before I could fill them.

Finally, I took the pastry creams out of the fridge and reheated the glazes. I heated both the cream and glaze by putting it in a pot of simmering water for a few mintues. It took a few tries for me to get the slicing done right. But I finally was able to fill them. I thankfully only filled ten of them. The glaze ended up being too running and never harden. I tried putting the glaze in the freezer to get it hard again, but I could get it to harden on the eclairs.

The peanut butter pastry cream also seemed too funny. The dark chocolate turned out very well.

I put the ones I made in the fridge and a froze the both the glazes and the pastry cream. I plan on using the glazes for hot chocolate and the pastry cream for a filling for crepes. The next day I ate most of them and gave some to my neighbor. There were AMAZING good. I will definitely make them again. Only next time, I'm going to use a gananche for the topping.

So without further ado, here is the recipe:

Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate ÉclairsRecipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), (fresh and still warm)

1)Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds bypositioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets withwaxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip thehandle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in theoven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continuebaking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total bakingtime should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:

1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling. Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)

• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside thebottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops ofthe éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill thebottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottomswith enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry creamand wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:

1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to createbubbles.

2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff

Dough Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé (makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk

• ½ cup (125g) water

• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

• ¼ teaspoon sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour

• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to theboil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to mediumand start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together veryquickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. Youneed to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the doughwill be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using yourhandmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again donot worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time youhave added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted itshould fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:

1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined bakingsheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer thepiped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé

• 2 cups (500g) whole milk

• 4 large egg yolks

• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted

• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted

• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes:

1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream

• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature

• 7 tbsp (110 g)

• Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:

1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly  in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé (makes 1½ cups or 525 g)

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

• 1 cup (250 g) water• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream

• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:

1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.

2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Smoked Gouda-August Cheese of the Month

2008-08-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

For the first monthly Cheese of the Month Challenge I have chosen Smoked Gouda.

To recap what the Cheese of the Month Challenge is:

Every month I'm going to select a cheese and make a dish with it. The purpose is to experiment with something that you wouldn’t normally make. Anyone is welcome to join me. Here are the rules:

1. Check my blog, Adventures in Gluttony, on the FIRST of every month to see what cheese I chose. http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/

2. Everyone will use the Cheese of the Month Cheese in either a recipe they make up or one they find. They can be simple or advanced. The dishes can be anything your little heart desires.
You have the ENTIRE month to make something. By the LAST day of the end of the month post on YOUR blog the recipe, a picture (if possible), and a summary of how it went and if you liked it. If you chose to use a recipe that isn’t your own make sure to include where the recipe came from.

3. Send me an email with the link to your blog by no later than the LAST day of each month and I will post the links on my blog so that everyone can see how everyone else did. My email is: Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

You can make more than one dish if you like. Just make sure to indicate that to me in your email. If you recipe doesn’t turn out post it on your blog anyways. Just make sure to explain why you didn’t like the dish and/or what went wrong. Make sure to share your dish with your friends and family and get their reactions.

I’m really excited about this and I hope to get as many people as possible to participate. It will be a neat way to collect some delicious recipes and try new things.

If you have any questions or comments please email me at: Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

Cheese of the Month Challenge

2008-07-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

I’ve always been a big fan of cheese and so has my family. My parents (as well as I) have a whole draw in the fridge dedicated to cheeses and not just the “normal” stuff either. I have fond memories of going to this special store and getting to sample all the different kinds of cheeses. My dad always encouraged me to try new foods and experiment with different ingredients. Sometimes you like what you try and sometimes you don’t. It’s all about the experience.

So I’ve decided to start a Cheese of the Month Challenge. On the FIRST day of each month, I’m going to pick a cheese and by the end of the month I’m going to make some sort of dish with it. The purpose is to experiment with something that you wouldn’t normally make. Anyone is welcome to join me. Here are the rules:

1. Check my blog, Adventures in Gluttony, on the FIRST of every month to see what cheese I chose. http://adventuresingluttony.blogspot.com/
2. Everyone will use the Cheese of the Month Cheese in either a recipe they make up or one they find. They can be simple or advanced. The dishes can be anything your little heart desires.
3. You have the ENTIRE month to make something. By the LAST day of the end of the month post on YOUR blog the recipe, a picture (if possible), and a summary of how it went and if you liked it. If you chose to use a recipe that isn’t your own make sure to include where the recipe came from. If you DON'T have a blog send me an e-mail instead.
4. Send me either an e-mail with the recipe you tried and a short summary of your experience OR an email with the link to your blog by no later than the LAST day of each month and I will post the links on my blog so that everyone can see how everyone else did. My email is: Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

You can make more than one dish if you like. Just make sure to indicate that to me in your email. If your recipe doesn’t turn out post it on your blog anyways. Just make sure to explain why you didn’t like the dish and/or what went wrong. Make sure to share your dish with your friends and family and get their reactions.

Don’t feel obligated to participate EVERY month. Don’t get me wrong, that would be ideal and kind of the whole point of the challenge…but I understand that sometimes life keeps you busy. But PLEASE don’t skip a month because you don’t like the cheese chosen. This will be your change to challenge yourself to try and find a recipe that makes that cheese taste great! For instance, I’ve tried Brie cheese TWICE on two different occasions. The first time was plain and on a cracker. The second was flavored and I just popped it in. I hated it both times. It made me gag. However, I am not giving up!!! One of these months I’m going to use Brie and find a recipe that I like. At the very least I’ll make the Brie dish for my friends and family…they might actually LIKE it!

I’m really excited about this and I hope to get as many people as possible to participate. It will be a neat way to collect some delicious recipes and try new things.

If you have any questions or comments please email me at: Thats_so_cheesy@yahoo.com

STUFFED CABBAGE (HOLUBKY)

2008-07-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

I have a very strong Czech background. My grandmother prefers the term Hunkie, which were the immigrants who came to America from what was at the time called Czechoslovakia. My great-parents were among those immigrants. I never knew them, but I have grown up around their daughter, Grandma Trix, my entire life. She is always making something wonderful in the kitchen. It isn’t a party without one of her many scrumptious dishes.

Holuby is a dish that I grew up eating. Over the years I have heard it called many things. The latest name gave me quiet a scare. I was talking with a fellow church member about what they planned to serve at the annual Senior Dinner. She replied that they were serving stuffed pigeons. Naturally having known many people who hunt all sorts of birds including doves, I asked this question: “Are members of the church going to hunt the pigeons or is there a pigeon farm nearby?” To which my friend replied laughing, “They’re not real pigeons that is just what we call stuffed cabbage.” Now you must understand that I was new to the area and have never heard Holuby called this before. So, yes, I did make an idiot out of myself that day…but at least I learned something new.

Whatever you may call it, it is a simple dish and it is amazingly good. You can use beef, pork, lamb, or even ground deer meat. I’ve always used lean ground beef. Though, last year my brother gave a bunch of his deer meat after one of his hunts so I had the chance to use ground venison. I truly believe that those were the best Holuby I have ever eaten. So, if you get a change to use venison I highly recommend it. They even taste better when reheated.

Holuby

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage
½ lb. lean ground beef
1 tsp. uncooked rice
1 egg
Dash of Salt and Pepper
Dash Garlic Powder
2 Cans Tomato Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cabbage by cutting deeply around core to loosen leaves. Place in boiling water about five minutes. Remove. Separate leaves and set aside.
2. Using your hands mix together rice, meat, egg, pepper, salt, and garlic powder.
3. Shape meat mixture into small balls and wrap cabbage leaves around each one.
4. Place each one into a shallow baking dish.
5. Pour tomato sauce over top and sprinkle with a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
6. Cook for 1 ½ hours.

Better Than Panera's Broccoli Cheese Soup

2008-07-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know the name of my soup is pretty daring considering that Panera’s makes some the best food in the restaurant business. However, my husband insists that my version is way better. I personally like both versions. Panera’s soup is a little on the bitter side and you can really taste the broccoli, but sometimes that is what I'm in the mood for. Mine is a little sweeter and more cheesier.

I will never forget my first time at Panera’s. I ordered the “You Pick Two” Turkey Artichoke sandwich and the Broccoli Cheese Soup and it was love at first spoonful. I always order different salads and sandwiches when I go, but I always get the same soup. Unfortunately, I’ve move to an area where the nearest Panera’s is an hour away. Thus, I decided to see if I could find the recipe online. I found this http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/1833/Panera-Bread-Broccoli-Cheese-S79119.shtml

However, I found the sharp cheese two over powering, the soup too thick, and putting a soup through a blend was too messy and utterly ridiculous. After experimenting many times with many different measurements and ingredients I finally found a combination that I liked. My husband and my family LOVE it. I serve it in a sour dough bread bowl just like Panera’s.

I found that using a sweet onion is better. I like onions so I use a little bit more than ½ of the medium. I also cut the onion and the broccoli into really small pieces and I shred the baby carrots so I can avoid putting the hot soup in the blender and making a HUGE mess. Using baby carrots instead of the big carrots also gives this soup its slight sweet flavor. If you're like my husband and really want the sweet flavor to stand out then you can add more than ½ cup of shredded carrots. I prefer just a hint of sweet so I don’t use as much. To make it thinner I used more chicken stock. You can also add more stock to the soup at the end if it is still too thick for your taste. Finally, adding mild instead of sharp cheese made a world of a difference. So without further ado, I give you:

Better Than Panera’s Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp unsalted butter
½ medium onion, minced (preferably a sweet onion like Vidalia)
¼ cup melted unsalted butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups half & half
3 ½ cups chicken stock
½ lb fresh broccoli, cut into really small pieces
½ cup shredded baby carrots
8 oz mild cheddar cheese, grated
Salt/Pepper to taste
¼ tsp. nutmeg

1. Sauté onion in butter and set aside for later use. (If you really like onion you can use more than 1/2 of one.)
2. Pour melted butter into a Dutch Oven and slowly add flour using a whisk over medium heat. 3. Slowly add half & half making sure to stir continuously.
4. Add chicken stock whisking all the time and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Stir in broccoli, carrots, and onions and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until veggies are tender.
6. Add salt and pepper and reduce to low heat.
7. Add grated cheese and stir well to blend. (If soup is took thick add a little more chicken stock.)
8. Stir in nutmeg and remove from heat.

Welcome to Adventures in Gluttony!!!

2008-07-24T17:43:00.001-07:00

Hello all and welcome to Adventures in Gluttony! I will be your guide on your tour of luscious and scrumptious recipes. I am a true believer that it is better to be fat and happier than skinny and hungry!

I must admit that I am an amateur cook, but I figure the only way to learn is try again and again until I get something delicious. Here I will share with you the final results of my experimentation. Enjoy!!!