skip to main |
skip to sidebar
this is the second time i made this cake. it's a delicious but ugly cake that i tried to make pretty this time around. last time the frosting i made consisted of guiness truffles i attempted to make that went all wrong, so i reused the chocolate. sooo yummy. so of course this cake was a slight let down because i used chocolate chips to make the frosting. i'm not going to post the recipe only because it's soooo long to type out right now. maybe i'll post it another time.
i stole this recipe from russell. it looks ugly but it's da bomb. beef, it's what's for dinner.
i've been wanting to make caramel popcorn for a while. it's really simple but i didn't want to make it for nothing. ryan's not really into caramel popcorn and i didn't want it to go stale. also sometimes caramel popcorn is nasty. so i was hoping this recipe would work. * 1/2 cup butter * 2 cups brown sugar * 1/2 cup corn syrup * 1 teaspoon salt * 1/2 teaspoon baking soda * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract * 5 quarts popped popcorn (about 3 bags) Directions 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a very large bowl. 2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. 3. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.it's a very easy recipe and better than other caramel popcorn recipes out there. i'm giving bags of this and the double chocolate biscotti to my neighbors for christmas. oh yea in the above photo, i usually use my camera phone so this picture is all discolored.
i've never made biscotti before. i never even thought about making them. especially double chocolate biscotti. turns out they're pretty easy to make. * 1 cup white sugar * 1/4 cup olive oil * 1/4 cup margarine * 3 eggs * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract * 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour * 1 1/8 cups unsweetened cocoa powder * 2 teaspoons baking powder * 1 (5 ounce) milk chocolate candy bar, chopped Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, olive oil and margarine until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder, gradually stir into the wet ingredients. Mix in the chopped candy bar. Chill dough for 10 minutes. 3. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 9 inch long log. Place the logs onto the prepared cookie sheet 4 inches apart and flatten to 1 1/2 inch thickness. If there is not enough room, put each one onto a separate sheet. 4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven until somewhat firm. Cool on the baking sheets until cool enough to handle. 5. Remove baked loaves to a cutting board and cut each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices with a sharp knife. Place the slices cut side down back onto the baking sheets, and toast on each side for an additional 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container.i used 1/2 cup of chocolate chips instead of a 5 oz chocolate bar because i had chocolate chips at home. i can see why it suggest a chopped chocolate bar because it would mix well into the dough, whereas the chocolate chips were falling out of the dough when i was rolling it out. otherwise, it doesn't make much of a difference. next time i think i'd try white chocolate or butterscotch chips. be very careful when placing the loaves from the baking sheet to the cutting board. mine broke in half on the way there.
someone brought pita bread to my house. the best thing to eat with pita bread, beside gyros, is falafels. i knew they'd be easy to make. they were even easier ro make than i thought! i missed falafels. i missed that flavor so much.
* 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained * 1 medium onion, finely chopped * 1 tablespoon minced garlic * 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped * 1 teaspoon coriander * 3/4 teaspoon cumin * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 2 tablespoons flour * oil for frying (canola or vegetable) Preparation: Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour and combine well. Mash chickpeas, ensuring to mix ingredients together. You can also combine ingredients in a food processor. You want the result to be a thick paste. Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball. Slightly flatten. Fry in 2 inches of oil at 350 degrees until golden brown (2-5 minutes).
i didn't have any fresh coriander (cilantro) or parsley so i added half of what the recipe called for in dry cilantro and parsley. i added a little more cumin to get the flavor just right. they came out perfect. i didn't have any tahini or cucumber yogurt sauce so i just topped it with a little honey mustard dressing. it was actually pretty good with the falafel.
i was looking for pasta salad recipes because i was trying to find out if a good pasta salad exists. if they do, how come the restauratns in town seem to not make them. when i stumbled upon this recipe i figured i'd try to make it because my roommate had just given me a recipe for cilantro pesto and i would finally be able to cook something to share with her since she's vegan and most of my cooking isn't. Ingredients * 4 cups uncooked spiral pasta (use rice pasta for wheat-free version) * 1 cup fresh basil pesto * 2 Tbsp chopped green olives, or olive tapenade * 1/4 cup pine nuts * 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted (or fresh if you can get them) * 12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved * Several fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped * 1 Tbsp olive oil * Salt and pepper Method 1 Cook pasta according to instructions on the package. Make sure the water is salted (at least a half teaspoon per quart). Remove pasta from heat and strain when pasta is cooked, but still firm (al dente). 2 Put pasta in a big bowl. Mix in fresh basil pesto, green olives, and pine nuts. Gently mix in cherry tomatoes, peas, fresh basil leaves and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill or serve at room temperature. Serves 6-8.i made a looooooot of changes to the recipe. cooking is so different from baking. baking u have to follow the recipe or it won't come out right. with cooking u can change it to your taste. for the pesto i used cilantro, cashews instead of the normal pine nuts, walnuts or almonds, it came out too salty so i added 1/4 of an avocado to the pesto mixture. i used penne instead of spiral pasta, fresh spinach instead of basil leaves, black olives instead of green, no pine nuts, roma tomato instead of cherry and i didn't add any extra olive oil. i know it's pretty much a completely different recipe, but it was a good outline.
i found this recipe when i was looking for waffle recipes. it caught my eye because it sounds like making pancake cupcakes. i'm not sure why they're called canadian cupcakes.
(makes 12) 1/4 tsp. salt 1 cup flour 4 eggs 1 cup milk Mix together in blender. Spray muffin pan with Pam. Melt about 1/2 (or less) teaspoon margarine or butter in each cup. Pour mixture, evenly divided, into muffin pan. Bake in preheated 425 oven for about 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden*. Serve immediately with honey or syrup. Mixture can be made night before and refrigerated until breakfast. *Don't open oven door to check. Put on oven light.
they weren't as puffy as i'd expected them to be and i didn't open the oven door. they deflated a bit as soon as i took them out of the oven. i left them in for 20 minutes instead of 15 because they hadn't turned a golden color yet. i thought they were ugly lil tasty pancake donuts. next time i would make them with 3 eggs instead of 4 because i thought the flavor was a tad bit too eggy. but i did eat 4 of them and i thought they were pretty good and i'm full. they have a pocket full of butter in the middle that drips when u bite into it. mmm i love butter. i taste it with both syrup and honey (well sopapilla syrup which is honey, sugar and corn syrup) and i liked it better with the sopapilla syrup.
i hadn't eaten oatmeal in a loooong time. i made a bowl of oatmeal for myself and in a seperate pan i sauteed apples and bananas in butter and cinnamon. you have to sautee the apples first and when they're almost completely soft, you add the bananas. after my oatmeal was in the bowl i topped it with the fruit mixture and some maple syrup. really fuckin delicious. probably the healthiest breakfast i've had in a while, even though i used a ton of butter when sauteeing.
gillian and i made a large feast of food today. there is not much to do where we live and we both love to cook so we collarborated. she made swedish meatballs and collard greens and i made potato au gratin and blueberry delight. also her man's cousin brought bread he baked. it was a great meal!
Au Gratin Potatoes
* 2 cups milk
* 4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 2 tablespoons flour
Measure milk into a 2-quart saucepan. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until almost tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, add cheese, and stir carefully until just melted. Sprinkle flour over the surface, stir gently then pour into a greased 2-quart casserole. Bake at 4
00° for 20 minutes, until browned.
Au gratin potato recipe serves 6.
we doubled the recipe when we realized more people were coming over. the first batch i used a chedder/jalapeno jack cheese mix, whole milk and unbleached flour. the second batch i used chedder cheese, fresh milk and whole wheat flour and just dumped that right on top of the first batch.
the blueberry delight recipe is from ryan's grandma. it's his favorite dessert from her. it's simple and it's a very 1950's kitchen recipe. she actually calls it peach delight because she uses peaches, but i had some leftover blueberries so i used them instead.
*1 package yellow cake mix
*3/4 cup butter, melted
*1 lb peaches (or substitute fruit)
*2 cups sour cream
*1/4 cup sugar
*3 egg yolks
*cinnamon
Combine cake mix & butter. Spread on botton of lightly greased 9 X 12 inch pan. Layer peaches or fruit on top, blenc sour cream, sugar & yolks. spoon over peaches. sprinkle with cinnamon. bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. cool and enjoy!
i've been baking a lot of pies lately. i love that pies can be sweet an savory. i tried this custard pie recipe because i've never made custard before, and i feel like this will bring me one step closer to try and make flan or creme brulee.4 cups milk 6 large eggs 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vanilla Directions 1. Heat the milk until hot, two or three minutes in the microwave. 2. Whisk the eggs until smooth. Combine the eggs and the milk. 3. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla and stir until dissolved. 4. For a smoother custard, pour the mixture through a strainer. Stir again. 5. Pour the custard into custard dishes, a casserole dish, or a pie shell. 6. Bake at 325 until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. In individual servings, that should be about 30 minutes. In a single dish, about 60 minutes. 7. Cool before serving. Traditionally, custards are served with caramel sauce. Sliced strawberries or fresh blueberries also work well with custard.i took this recipe and cut it in half because i knew it would only fit in a deep dish pie and all i had was a premade graham cracker pie crust. next time i would add a little bit more sugar. i only baked it for 40 minutes. this pie does taste good with caramel sauce mmm
i had an extra premade pie crust leftover from the apple crumble pie so i made a quiche. i love quiche because it uses 4 eggs and a couple of slices of bacon but lasts at least 8 servings (about 4 days of breakfast for ryan and i). usually we use 4 eggs and 8 slices of bacon for breakfast everyday. plus quiche is delicious. i used this recipe before and it's really good. last time i made the pie crust from scratch. this time i wanted to add green chiles to the quiche, but i checked my fridge and it had become rotten.
Bacon and chedder quiche (filling only)
*8 strips lean bacon, cooked and crumbled
*4 large eggs
*1 1/2 cups milk
*1/4 tsp thyme
*1/8 tsp pepper
*1 cup shredded chedder
Mix together eggs, milk, thyme and pepper. Pour into pie crust. Crumble bacon over mixture, then top with shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until top is lightly browned.
the only changes i made to the recipe was that i replaced the thyme with italian seasoning. i also used a chedder/jalapeno jack cheese mix instead of just chedder. soo yummy!
i love apple pie. i also love apple crumble. this is the best of both worlds:
Apple Crumble Pie
*1 pie crust
*5 cups apple (peeled, cored and thinly slice)
*1/2 cup sugar
*3/4 tsp cinnamon
++++++++++++++
*1/3 cup sugar
*3/4 cup flour
*6 tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. arrange sliced applies in pie shell. Mix 1/2 cup sugar & cinnamon. sprinkle over apples. Mix 1/3 cup sugar with flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Spoon over apples. Bake for 40 minutes.
This is such a great recipe. i used a premade pie crust because i was too lazy to make it myself. i used both granny smith and red delicious apples. instead of sprinkling the apples with the cinnamon sugar mix, i tossed the apples in it and then placed it in the pie shell. i figured all the apples would be nicely coated in the mix. i also let the butter sit out for too long so it melted a bit and the topping was more like a dough than crumbly. after baking, it didn't really make a difference except that it was more chunky.
these cupcakes are the cupcakes that started it all. a couple of years ago i stumbled upon a recipe for a cupcake that was based on the elvis sandwich. it was a banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting. what the fuck? how can you call it something based on the elvis sandwich when there is no bacon on it. so i used the recipe, tweaked it just a bit and added bacon on top. the first time i made them was for alison's birthday because she works at a vegas themed bar. it was quite a hit. i've made it a bunch of times since then and i've experimented in all different way on how to mash the bananas (puree, chunky, etc.) and garnish the bacon (sliced, chopped, crumble). today i settled on the pureed banana/ crumble the bacon combination.
i made the cupcakes for a craft fair in town. my friend has a big table for hats & pot holders she crochet. we quickly realized that not much was going on. i had a sign up that listed what the cupcakes are and i even made some without bacon (blasphemy!) but i only sold about 5 of them. oh yea, and the people that bought them happened to be my friends. for the most part people would walk up to the stand, read the sign, laugh and then walk away. some people even told me they didn't like bacon (what the fuck?) and even didn't like cupcakes (jump off a bridge!). gillain didn't have much luck with her sales either. the best part is that we have to do it all over again tomorrow. happy happy joy joy!
ryan had a craving for buffalo wings last night. i made buffalo wings a few months ago that were really good. we haven't been able to find anywhere out here with good buffalo wings so i made them for him. supposedly this recipe is the original anchor bar recipe but i'm not sure. all i know is that this sauce is delicious:
*1 stick butter or margarine
*10 tablespoons hot sauce
*2 tablespoons vinegar
*2 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
melt and simmer together in a kettle. shake salt and pepper on chicken before frying . when chicken is done toss in buffalo sauce. serve with blue cheese.
two of my favorite things to bake with: blueberries and cornmeal. i found this recipe and i had to make it. i had all the ingredients in my house except for the yogurt, so i ran out, bought it and baked this.*3/4 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen, not thawed)
*1 1/2 cup flour
*1/3 cup cornmeal
*1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vanilla or plain yogurt
*1 tablespoon lemon juice
*3/4 cup sugar
*1/4 cup oil
*1 egg
*1 egg white
*1/4 tsp cinnamon
*2 teaspoon sugar
Toss blueberries in 1 tablespoon flour and set aside. Stir remaining flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. whisk together yogurt and lemon juice in seperate bowl. whisk in 3/4 cup sugar and oil then beat in whole egg followed by egg white. add dry ingredients and yogurt mixture slowly. mix until just combined. gently fold in blueberries. spoon into lightly greased loaf pan. combine remaining sugar & cinnamon then sprinkle over batter. bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. then loosely cover with foil and bake an additional 25-35 minutes. i had to bake my loaf an additional 45 minutes because it wasn't ready yet. then i let it sit for a few hours to cool down. when i finally tasted it, it was magical. i know i'll definitely bake another one as soon as this loaf is finished. probably tomorrow because i'm gonna eat it all today.
