2011 New Recipe #9

Ok, the last post didn't take as long as I thought so I think I'll do the next one! Let's see where I left off...after we finished the macaroons, we went and got Thai massages. Intense! Those are the kind that they walk on your back. It was pretty cool. And a big thanks to Arch for treating Naco and me! Then we ate sushi at Wafu of Japan. I wanted to take Arch to Stricklands but they were closed so we hit up Yogurtland instead. Then we went home and made cookies that Naco had requested! These cookies were delightful. How can you go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate? I sent some of these to the church dinner and got rave reviews. I will definitely make them again. Easy and delicious.

Pre-frosting

With frosting - ready to eat!

The yummy middle

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Cookie:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

36 Reese's peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Glaze:

2 cups chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

Combine butter, sugars and peanut butter. Add egg and vanilla. Mix, then add flour, baking soda and salt. Makes a soft dough. Divide dough into 36 balls, push a peanut butter cup into each ball and wrap the dough up around to cover the pb cup. Place on cookie sheet and allow room for cookie to spread while baking. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Melt glaze ingredients and drizzle or frost center top of each cookie. Enjoy!

 

Sunday morning I realized we hadn't taken any pictures of Arch and me so Naco did the honors. It was super bright outside so we had a little trouble getting a good shot...some people might say it had something to do with the fact that we were using my phone instead of a real camera but I beg to differ. :)

We ate lunch at the delicious El Torito Grill and then headed back to LAX. It was so fun to have Arch here. Hopefully I can visit her in Dallas soon!

PS Naco sent Arch home with a few succulents. Arch sent me proof that she made it home with them:

2011 New Recipe #8

I've been slacking off and have 3 recipes to post! My friend, Archana, came to visit a few weeks ago. We went to Oklahoma State together and have kept in touch pretty well, taken a few trips together, etc. It was a quick weekend but we had so much fun! I picked her up on Friday after work at LAX and we headed to Santa Monica. We ate dinner at Father's Office. We had the best burgers ever! So yummy. And sweet potatoes and Coca Cola Light in the glass bottle just like Mexico and Costa Rica! It was a cool little joint and we stuffed ourselves so decided to walk down to the Promenade. Turned out that it wasn't as close as I thought so we walked 1 1/2 miles each way! It was good for us. We got to walk along the beautiful coast and then hit a few shops. Afterward, we had ice cream cookie sandwiches from Diddy Riese. Love that place. I highly recommend Father's Office and Diddy Riese if you are visiting LA.

Delicioso!

Saturday we ate brunch at the White House in Laguna Beach. The scenery was beautiful though the food and service was a little lacking. We walked around and stopped at a few shops, ate some yummy gelato, then headed home. Of course we drove up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, which is just beautiful.

Next up, baking! Arch and I both love to bake so I thought it would be fun...and I needed to make some type of dessert for a church dinner the next day. :) We decided to try macaroons since they are the "it" cookie this year and neither of us had ever made them. What a learning experience! We learned how to blanch almonds (basically boil water, toss the almonds in for 30 seconds, drain, and peel the skins off). Then we used Naco's Magic Bullet to grind the almonds. I still don't have a pastry bag (probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get one) so we used a ziploc bag with the corner cut off, which works fine. These cookies turned out really well. You can add food color so they are a little prettier (we did half yellow, half green). They are delicate little things so you have to handle them with care. It was quite a process but well worth it and lots of fun! Oh yeah, the filling! We filled some of them with a standard buttercream recipe, some with ganache, and some with a buttercream ganache. My favorite were the buttercream ganache filled ones. This was my first time making ganache and it was delicious! I thought I took more pictures of the process and the finished product but guess not. Here are a few, though.

Boiled almonds

Blanched almonds (skin removed)

Parisian Macaroons

Not my photo but wanted to show the finished product!

http://www.marthastewart.com/319525/parisian-macaroons

• Yield Makes about 16 filled macaroons 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups plus 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup (4 ounces) finely ground sliced, blanched almonds
• 6 tablespoons fresh egg whites (from about 3 extra-large eggs)
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Macaroon Filling (your choice)

 Directions

1. To make the macaroons: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and ground almonds. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated.
   
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little. Let stand at room temperature until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macaroons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 15 minutes.
   
3. Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macaroons is completely dry, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macaroons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macaroons from the parchment. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
   
4. To fill the macaroons: Fill a pastry bag with the filling. Turn macaroons so their flat bottoms face up. On half of them, pipe about 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich these with the remaining macaroons, flat-side down, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
   

Arch carefully smearing the buttercream on

Macaroons in various stages - that filling is ganache

Ganache

http://www.marthastewart.com/333986/ganache

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate

Directions

1. Pour gently simmered cream over chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let stand until mixture is spoonable, about 15 minutes.
   
   
   
   

These directions weren't quite what I used, I must have borrowed from a different recipe. You simmer the cream until you start to see tiny bubbles. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate making sure it's covered. After 5 minutes, stir it and you've got ganache!

 

2011 New Recipe #7

Happy Easter! I had such a great Easter weekend full of fun, friends, and feelings of gratitude for my Savior.

I'm one of those lucky people who doesn't have to work on Good Friday (first job in my life that considered it a holiday thanks to my good Catholic employers!) so I slept in, ran at the Back Bay, went to the beach, and had dinner with friends at BJ's Restaurant on Balboa Peninsula (and caught the second half of the Lakers game during dinner).

Saturday morning I went to the temple and then rode bikes to the beach. The water is still pretty cold (60 degrees!) but I got in waist-deep and Naco & Wendy went all the way in (and Ali put her feet in)! Saturday evening was Adrienne & Colton's wedding reception at The Cannery. It was a beautiful, relaxed dinner and so fun to see Adrienne glowing with happiness and love. At the end of the reception, we all held sparklers as Adrienne & Colton boated away.

Sunday morning I went to church. Sometimes I feel like we don't focus on Easter enough in our meetings but this Sunday was definitely not that way! As a choir, we sang several songs and there were two fantastic speakers who talked about our Savior's love for us and about the week leading to His crucifixion. The Spirit was so strong throughout the whole day. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such powerful influences of righteousness!

After church a small group of us headed to the beach to play bocce ball. This was my first attempt at bocce ball and it was lots of fun. I could use a little more practice, though... :) Then it was back home to get ready for Easter dinner. I was in charge of the salad so I found a recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad, which I've eaten many times but don't remember making (hurray for another new recipe!). Dinner was at Wendy, Ali, & Jeanette's house. I think there were about 20 people there, wow! We had a great time and dinner was delicious! We had roasted pork, rosemary potatoes, salad, asparagus, rolls, coconut cake and cupcakes!

While I miss my family and would love to watch my nieces and nephews hunt Easter eggs, I had a great time celebrating Easter with my awesome friends. I am grateful for this time in my life!

Ok, onto the recipe. I didn't change anything when I made this recipe. BUT I only used half of the dressing for the amount of spinach, strawberries, and almonds they called for. It was a hit! We ate all of it and part of another batch.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Milo

When I was a junior in high school, Abbey and I went to Atwoods in Bartlesville to buy baling wire for prom (the junior class is in charge of decorating and I was the president). Prom was right before Easter and, being a farm store, Atwoods had a whole bunch of darling little ducklings. They had all sorts of colors to choose from and I kind of fell in love with the little guys. I don’t recall debating very long before I decided to buy a little duckie. I named him Milo. If I remember correctly, Abbey had to hold him in her lap all the way home. I loved him for about a week and then he got big, messy, and loud. He pooped everywhere and tore up Mom & Dad’s pretty fish pond with the lily pads. And he stunk. I don’t remember how long I had him but luckily I had a coworker at Caney Valley Electric that had a bunch of ducks so he was happy to take him off my hands. I’m sure Milo made a great Easter dinner at some point.

I wish I would have taken a picture of that little guy. He sure was cute for a minute.

2011 New Recipe #6

My dear former roommate, Betsy, got married and had darling twin boys, Judah and Asher. On Sunday, Betsy and Nick invited me to Oceanside for the baby blessings. Sunday was a beautiful day and I loved my drive down the coast to visit them. I attended their ward and was thrilled to be there for the blessings. I love baby blessings and these were no exception. The Spirit was strong as Nick blessed each of his boys. I was happy to be a part of their special day.

After church, we all went to Betsy & Nick's apartment, which is just a block from the PCH with a beautiful ocean view. Family and friends from near and far visited and laughed while we ate a yummy lunch that Betsy prepared. I was in charge of dessert and wanted to try a new recipe (of course). Not too long ago I heard about hummingbird cake and wanted to try it so when I came across a recipe for hummingbird cupcakes, my decision was easy. I have to admit that I've always been a little afraid of hummingbirds. They are like overgrown bees! Alas, this recipe doesn't actually use hummingbirds so I'll just have to continue avoiding the unnatural little pests. To quote the recipe, "Though it's not known exactly how the hummingbird cake got its name, some say the traditional Southern treat is so labeled because it's as sweet as the sugared water used to attract the quick-moving birds."


The cupcakes were good. Very moist and flavorful. I think I might like the recipe as a cake better, though. The cupcakes were very dense and they stuck to the cute little paper liners (if you make them, either spray the liners with cooking spray or don't use liners). Next time I will make a pretty 3 layer cake. The recipe only yields one dozen cupcakes so I doubled it. And I didn't like the frosting recipe they used so I used Melissa's, which I love. And I used a pastry bag and tip to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes...my first time doing that! It was fun and mostly successful. I'm sure I'll get better with time. The picture below was provided with the recipe. I didn't care to buy fondant and make hummingbirds and didn't put nuts on top. Another fun baking night!



Hummingbird Cupcakes
www.marthastewart.com

Though it's not known exactly how the hummingbird cake got its name, some say the traditional Southern treat is so labeled because it's as sweet as the sugared water used to attract the quick-moving birds. In this miniature version from Georgetown Cupcake founders Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne, cupcakes baked with fresh banana, pineapple, and pecan are topped with a classic vanilla cream cheese frosting.

Yield Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (from about 3 large bananas)
• 1 tablespoon clover honey
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/4 cup hot water
• Vanilla cream cheese frosting
  
• 1 (24-ounce) package white fondant
• Blue gel paste food coloring
• Edible luster dust (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.

3. Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium speed until fluffy. Add sugar, and cream together until well combined, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating slowly after each addition. Add banana and honey and mix on low until well combined. Add pineapple; mix on low until combined. Add 1/2 cup pecans; mix on low until well combined.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the hot water. Repeat process twice, alternating flour mixture and hot water, and ending with hot water. Mix until just combined.

6. Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter. Transfer to oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 24 to 26 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cupcakes cool completely.

7. Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large 5/8-inch round tip (such as Ateco #808). Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and set aside.

8. Meanwhile, press your thumb into the center of the fondant to make a well. Place a small amount of food coloring in the well and knead fondant until color is well blended. Continue to add more food coloring to fondant until desired color is achieved. Roll out into a 1/16-inch-thick sheet. Cut out 12 hummingbirds using a small bird-shaped cutter; sprinkle with luster dust, if using.

9. Sprinkle cupcakes with remaining 1/2 cup pecans and top each with a fondant bird shape; serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

The Sunshine State – Day One

Yikes, I’m behind. As I prepare for and get excited about my road trip to Arizona this weekend, Annie reminded me that I haven’t told anyone about my Florida trip! I’ve told a few people on the phone and lots of my California friends and I wrote a detailed account of the trip in my journal. But now it’s time to blog.

Sometime last year, my cousin, Jeremy, announced his upcoming wedding in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on March 12, 2011. I decided at that moment that I was going. Not only because I love Jeremy and Lauren and want to support them but because I’ve never been to Florida! (Let’s be serious, if they got married somewhere lame like Nebraska, I probably wouldn’t have gone. I love him but not that much!) My California aunt, Tami, planned to go with me (without husband and kids).

We took the red-eye from Los Angeles (thanks, Wendy, for taking us to the airport!) to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday night. I usually pride myself on being able to sleep anywhere, anytime, but this time I unpleasantly surprised myself. After a 4 1/2 hour flight, we landed in Fort Lauderdale at 5:55am local time (we lost 3 hours with the time difference). We walked outside where it was warm and kind of humid. We were shuttled to Sunshine Car Rental where we picked up our tiny little Toyota Yaris. We headed straight to the beach! I navigated the whole trip while Tami drove (scary for those of you who know my tendency to get lost even with a map and my iPhone!). At that time of day, the beach was pretty quiet and quite beautiful. There were tons of walkers on the boardwalk but the beach was empty. I took a few pictures and couldn’t resist stepping in the water. The huge difference between the beach in Southern California and the beach in Florida is the water temperature and waves. The water wasn’t exactly warm in Florida but much warmer than California! And they have very few waves, which was a big difference that I wasn’t expecting.

As a result of our nearly sleepless night, we were exhausted and knew we had a long day ahead of us. We couldn’t check into our hotel until 3:00pm so we found a parking lot and took a nap! We didn’t sleep long before we got hot and uncomfortable but every little bit helps. We ate breakfast at The Deck, which is a cool beachfront restaurant. After breakfast, we headed to Coral Springs for our manis and pedis with the girls. On our way to the salon, we ran into a big storm with lots of wind and buckets of rain. The sky was crazy! We made it safely and then got to enjoy a few relaxing hours getting pampered with Lauren (bride), Elizabeth (her sister), Linda (her mom), Megan (Jeremy’s sister), Lynda (Jeremy’s mom), and Amy (Brandon’s fiance).

Tami and I checked into our hotel, Holiday Inn Express, and did a quick shower and get ready, then headed out again. We did a little shopping (Tami didn’t bring a swimsuit but I insisted that she needed one!). Next up was the rehearsal dinner at Bimini Bar & Grill. Beautiful place with a nautical theme. Family, friends, & fun.

We went to bed early that night after a long, fun-filled day!

2011 New Recipe #5

Green Velvet Cupcakes

We had a St. Patty's Day party at my house last weekend. I made green velvet cupcakes. They were delicious. Once again, I got my recipe from Melissa's blog, Designer Bakery. (Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe with green food coloring instead of red. Genius, I know.)




Green Velvet Cupcakes
Yields 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. cake flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 TBSP cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk
2 TBSP (1 oz.) green food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Source: Cake Man Raven, adapted from Annies Eats, and The Way the Cookie Crumbles


Naco made a blarney stone. Steph is a real trooper and kissed it the way everyone should have. Steph also won the best dressed contest. Don't worry that there wasn't actually a contest and she was the only one who really dressed up. She's cool like that. (Bad picture but you get the idea.)