#17: Christmasy Cookies, Cupcakes, and Cardboard Boxes

for our annual christmas gifts to the relatives, my sister and i will usually bake something sweet. this year we decided to make an assortment of cookies. i was inspired by some pages i saw in a martha stewart cookie magazine in how to use plain old boxes to present the cookies. the article said to use corrugated paper to line the edges of the boxes and to split the box into different compartments. i went on a search for corrugated paper in at least 3 stores, and still couldn't find any. i ended up using martha as just inspiration and made my own boxes with colored card stock and tissue paper. i was pretty happy with the results.

i made 4 different baked treats for the boxes. (1) louisiana pecan balls (2) praline squares, (3) brown buttercrunch cookies (a variation on the last ones i did because they turned out differently for some reason), and (4) double vanilla cupcakes.

plenty of leftovers for now. let me know if you're interested. i probably won't deliver to you personally...but you can always stop by and pick some up! :)

#16: Sweet and Sticky Brown Buttercrunch Cookies

For the annual Christmas Cookie Exchange this year, I decided to try out a brand spanking new recipe. I seem to have this habit recently of precariously trying out new recipes for outside consumption. I found this recipe from an old Mrs. Fields cookie cookbook. After a couple fairly disastrous batches (the cookies wouldn't come off of the wax paper, and one batch got burnt), I had barely enough cookies to bring to the exchange - 2 per person. Out of the oven, these cookies came out super thin and flat. To effectively make these cookies, you have to work quickly and be willing to burn your finger tips a bit because you roll them around a wooden spoon to get the cylindrical shape. After the cookies completely cool and harden, you can dip them in a chocolate ganache and let the chocolate harden. Although it was nearly a nightmare to make, I was pretty happy with the result. I'm going to make these cookies again for Christmas - but this time i will be armed and ready.

Stay tuned...more holiday baking to come...

#15: Tis the Season to be Yule-y

(photo credit to s. lock)

Christmas time is here, and what does that mean? Baking! My family had a Christmas party and I was asked to make a dessert. I've been wanting to make a Buche de Noel (a.k.a. Yule Log) for a few years now - and I finally had the confidence to try it out. There were some skeptics about my ambitions (trying out a brand new recipe on guests), but I think i proved them wrong. I have to admit, this dessert was semi-homemade. My full intentions were to make the entire cake from scratch, but i hit a road block when I discovered my local Safeway did not carry pasteurized shelled eggs.

The spongey cake is rolled up with raspberry flavored chocolate mousse (from a powder). I was nervous to use un-pasteurized eggs to make the mousse so i resorted to a store-bought powder blended with milk. I used a ganache icing on the outside and added sprinkles to the outside of the log as embellishment. I also tried making meringue for the first time ever. The mushrooms are made out of a candied sugar/water mixture, egg white, and cocoa powder. I didn't have a candy thermometer (supposed to get up to 248 degrees), but I experimented with a meat thermometer and it actually worked! I attached the mushroom tops and stems with melted semi-sweet chocolate. They turned out quite well - i thought they were very tasty and looked really good. If I make another Buche de Noel (which to venture a guess, i will), i might try out another recipe. I used a combination of recipes, including an Allrecipes flourless cake and Martha Stuart's buche de noel recipe. Although I enjoyed eating the cake, I think the textures were different from a standard Buche de Noel. i'll probably keep experimenting with some other recipes to find the perfect Buche de Noel.

#14: Fries, Sweet!

Potato fries, heavy on the sweet. with garlic lemon mayo on the side. I made this for a Sunday-after-Thanksgiving potluck. I figured I would do a little twist on the traditional Thanksgiving sweet potato, plus I was pretty tired of Thanksgiving food. I peeled 5 sweet potatoes and cut them into thin strips. I then tossed the fries in olive oil and put them in the oven for almost an hour. The dip was non-fat mayo with finely cut garlic and some fresh lemon juice (from a lemon from my backyard tree!). The mayo recipe came from Giada De Laurentis and the sweet potato recipe was a combo of recipes I found on AllRecipes.com . A nice tasty non-fried snack and not too hard on the waste line.

#13: Sweet (Sweet Potato) Cupcakes

(photo credit to fred chang)

if the sweet potato intimidates you, or turns you off...think of these as pumpkin cupcakes! i made these for a thanksgiving potluck at work and they were an absolute hit! i found this recipe in my Martha Stewart cupcake book. Really, the only modification I made to the recipe was adding a dollop of cream cheese frosting. These mini cupcakes contain freshly roasted, caramelized sweet potatoes, with nutmeg and all your other standard cupcake ingredients. They were topped with cream cheese frosting, mini marshmallows, and candied pecans (also home made). My helper (Fred) also had some fun with a butane torch, lightly toasting the tops of the cupcakes (Karen, Madi, and Sarah - I finally used the torch from the creme brulee set!). I think the cream cheese was a good call to act as more of a binder - without it, I think there would have been something missing from the cupcake. What a tasty treat for Thanksgiving!

#12: Breakfast Crostini

i was getting hungry in the AM and started to cook an egg. my creative juices started flowing and i went a little crazy. i cut a few slices of a french roll, brushed some olive oil on it, and put them in the toaster oven. i then finished my egg omelet seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked some white button mushrooms, and crisped up some green onion strips. one little crostini for each person in my family. what a way to start out a day, with a tiny bite of breakfast!

#11: Mac 'n Cheese Made Over with Brussel Sprouts

the weather has been a little more dreary, so it seemed fitting to break out the cold weather, comfort food recipes. i had some brussel sprouts to cook and needed to come up with something to eat with them. i knew i wanted to make some type of pasta, so when i looked in the fridge and the pantry, i decided on macaroni and cheese. i remembered a recipe i saw in the October edition of the Food Network Magazine for a "lightened up" version of Mac 'n Cheese. The unique part of this recipe was the pureed cauliflower used to thicken up the creamy cheesy sauce. I also added small pieces of Hickoy Farms turkey lil' smokies. Instead of broiling the mac 'n cheese in the oven, I decided to pan fry it on the stove. The noodles came out crispy, browned, and delicious!

As for the brussel sprouts: I browned them in a pan and cooked them down in chicken broth...a great accompaniment to the mac 'n cheese!

#10: Cupcake Mania

This week was filled with cupcakes upon cupcakes. For my birthday, my sister gave me a Martha Stewart cupcake book. i tested out the red velvet and cream cheese recipes a couple weeks ago as a practice round - and then made the cupcakes for real this week.


after sharing my baked goods and cupcake camp news with my manager at work, he asked me to make cupcakes for our colleague's baby shower. he requested they be pink and blue (because she is having twins - a boy and girl). i decided to take the colors to the extreme. i made pink and blue - mini red velvet cupcakes with pink and blue cream cheese frosting. i then topped the cupcakes with some white sprinkles and a plastic toy pacifier (probably should've written out a warning that the pacifiers were not edible). i made 40 cupcakes for the shower and they were a hit! i also got to practice with my new pastry bags/tips.


The friday before halloween, my office had a Halloween dessert contest. I figured I would try out my Pumpkin Spice cupcakes that I entered at Cupcake Camp. However, this time I used a mini bundt cake tin rather than a regular cupcake tin. The cakes turned out a little different. i think the cupcakes were better than these bundt cakes (the cupcakes had a higher frosting/sprinkles to cake ratio). As it turns out - my bundt cakes did not win the competition this time around....so maybe next time i should stick with the cupcake tin.



i made these monster cupcakes for a halloween/birthday party for a friend. these were also red velvet cupcakes with green cream cheese frosting. i used my martha stewart cupcake book again as inspiration for the decorations: marshmallows (with milk chocolate pupils), twizzlers, gum drops, and airheads.

#9: The Cupcakes that made it to camp!

If you've been following my blog, you were well aware from my last post, that i missed the deadline to submit cupcakes for cupcake camp. Well...it's pretty amazing how the internet works, because the organizer of Cupcake Camp saw my blog post, commented, and said that she could squeeze me into cupcake camp!

Later in the week, they sent out a schedule of all the cupcakes, and i was so intimidated. i was still thinking through ideas of what kind of cupcakes to make/how to decorate them, so i realized i needed to step up my game. fred got pretty into it too, and really helped with the conceptual piece and execution.

For the competition, I went with a Pumpkin Spice cupcake (modified from Martha Stewart) and a Cookies 'n Cream cupcake (modified from AllRecipes.com). I entered the Pumpkin Spice into 2 categories: Best Halloween and Best Decorated, and I entered the Cookies 'n Cream into Best Decorated. When they announced the winners of the competition, I was announced as the winner for Best Halloween (Pumpkin Spice), and the runner-up for Best Decorated (Cookies 'n Cream). I was so surprised, and very appreciative. It was nice to be acknowledged for all the hard work.

I was really happy with how they turned out. All the time spent thinking about cupcakes, and actually making and decorating the cupcakes really paid off. This is one of the first times in awhile that I've really done something for myself...just because I wanted to. It really feels good.

Visit cupcakecamp.org to see the announcement of the winners for the competition!

#8: The Cupcake that Didn't Make it to Camp

so maybe you've heard of cupcake camp. it's an annual cupcake festival, if you will, in san francisco. http://www.sfstation.com/cupcake-camp-e336721 my colleague mentioned it to me and i was really excited to check it out! i figured i'd experiment and come up with something to make for the event. i'd been wanting to try out some chai cupcake recipes (http://dessertfirst.typepad.com/dessert_first/). i finally found one from pastry girl and tested it out last night. it's a chai vanilla cupcake with a cinnamon/sugar topping. i modified it slightly from her recipe. i tried out a buttercream frosting that didn't quite turn out, so i opted for the cinnamon/sugar mixture instead. i think it worked out pretty well. it's more like a breakfast cupcake now.

anyways, i wasn't completely satisfied with submitting this cupcake so all day today i was trying to brainstorm cupcakes that i could make for cupcake camp. after a long day of thinking about cupcake flavors - i thought of one that i thought would be pretty interesting. Oreo cupcake. Chocolate cake with vanilla, buttercream frosting mixed with oreo cookie crumbs, and an oreo half sticking out on top. i was very eager to go home and register, as today (sunday) was the last day. when i got home around 9:00pm, i was very disappointed to find out that registration closed at 12pm today! bah. after all of my investment in cupcakes these last couple weeks...now i cannot be a part of cupcake camp. sigh...maybe next year...

#7: Pizza My Heart

no, no, not the pizza chain...semi-homemade pizza. the pizza dough was courtesy of trader joe's. i've had the whole wheat and garlic herb doughs, but this was the first time i used the "regular" dough. i was pretty impressed with it - but i probably could have made the crust a little thinner because it bubbled up a lot. i started out roasting some garlic in the oven and caramelizing red onion in a pan while i waited for my pizza dough to rest (20 minutes). The finished pizza had marinara sauce, mozzarella sprinkled cheese, white button mushrooms, sliced turkey sausage, caramelized red onion, and oven roasted garlic. also, before sliding it in the oven, i brushed some olive oil on the crust and sprinkled some dry oregano along the edge. the pizza baked for about 10 minutes and then wah-la! freshly made pizza out of the oven. try it out...it's super easy and delicious. my favorite part was the caramelized onions - enough char to really bring out the onion flavor.

#6: A Granola Lover's Treat

i was trying to think of "healthier option" recipes so i decided to try out a homemade granola bar recipe. as it turns out, the highest rated and most appealing was not the healthiest - but i went with it anyways. these homemade granola bars remind me of dessert bars. it's also pretty versatile because you can sub in - sub out anything you're craving, or anything you dislike. i followed the recipe pretty closely so mine were chocolate chip, dried cranberry, almond, and coconut. i brought them to share at work and they were definitely a crowd pleaser. however, if you're trying to "sell them" to a sweet tooth, make sure you mention that they have chocolate =)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Granola-Bars/Detail.aspx

note: like some of the comments say, i baked the bars a little longer than the recipe calls for. also, let them sit out for awhile before cutting them so they can harden.

#5: Whoopty Doo: Whoopie Pies!

while browsing through tastespotting one day, i came across a whole assortment of whoopie pie pictures. i had never heard of them before, but they sure looked yummy so i thought i'd try it out.

i found a recipe on allrecipes.com. you make the "buns" out of devils food cake mix (yes, from the box...easy!). i also added chocolate chips to the mix at the end. i used a muffin top pan so it was a lot easier to have consistent sized tops and bottoms. while you're letting the cakes cool down, go ahead and make the creamy filling. i didn't follow the original instructions for the cream, but i tried out another user's recommendation. 2 egg whites, 1C butter, 1 lb box of confectioners sugar, 1 tsp Vanilla, 4 tbs flour and 4 tbs whole milk.

the end product reminds me of oreo cakesters. they are much better after being refrigerated and eaten the next day. i wonder how it would taste frozen...ice cream sandwich anyone?

#4: Sliders with all the Fixins

Lunch on a sunday afternoon. I love eating mini so I jumped at the opportunity to make a mini lunch..and now I feel like having an hors d'oeuvres party! Today I made 2 kinds of sliders cooked on a panini grill.

1. Beef Sliders. Mini buns and mini beef patties with pepper jack cheese slices.
2. Chicken Sliders. Hawaiian style buns with chicken patties and pepper jack cheese slices.

Fixins': sauteed onions/mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, and guacamole.




The panini grill really makes a huge difference. It's easy to use, and it makes the bread nice and crispy. 3 of these little burgers is probably enough for a meal. Otherwise, try them out as snacks.

#3: Magic French Toast 3 Ways

I think the magic of this french toast really comes from the light coating of cinnamon/sugar on top of the crisp bread. i've made several variations of this french toast both with whole pieces of bread, and chopped up french toast sticks. this time, it's essentially the same recipe, but with 3 different types of bread.

it all starts out with a mixture of egg beaters, milk, and vanilla. coat the bread, and then drop on a warm oiled pan. flip the bread over once one side is crispy and then try this...flattening the bread - take a piece of foil and a heavy pot, then set the pot on top of the foil on top of the bread. i've seen great results with this cooking method, so i definitely recommend trying it out. after the french toast is off the pan, coat with a cinnamon/sugar mixture.

1st way:
Bread: 2 slices of whole wheat
Topped with cinnamon/sugar coated blueberries, and stuffed with banana custard pudding



2nd way:
Bread: Peasant bread (i.e. ciabatta bread)
Topped with blueberry compote, stuffed with banana custard pudding


(camera photo credit: fred chang)

3rd way:
Bread: leftover rolls from Sunrise Bistro (Walnut Creek)
Topped with blueberry compote

#2: Croissant Embellished with Banana Custard and Chocolate

this one should probably be on a show like 'semi home-made'. my friend scavenged a free croissant from work and brought it home, so we thought to ourselves, how can we jazz this up into something more exciting? while i'm sure the croissant by itself it tasty enough, there's nothing better than a stuffed croissant (either sweet or savory). we thought we'd fill it with some fruit, and the most promising we could find in my house was a banana. how about banana custard? with....chocolate!! banana and chocolate tend to make an excellent pair, so why not stuff it into a croissant.



we found a recipe on allrecipes.com for a banana custard pudding (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Custard-Pudding/Detail.aspx).

step 1. make custard. for the most part we followed the directions of the recipe, but then mashed up some banana and added it to the mixture (which in the end was a good call). we had with 3 full dishes of banana custard pudding, and then put the remaining inside our croissant. we then microwaved some semi-sweet chocolate and added a bit of milk to loosen the mixture. we probably overheated the chocolate because it was not smooth enough to drizzle. we ended up with clumpy chocolate on the top. but alas, chocolate is still chocolate, and chocolate is delicious.




we stuck the croissant into the fridge to cool and eat the next morning. baked in a toaster oven at 350˚ for about 5 minutes. the custard was warm and gooey, oozing out of the croissant. it was pure deliciousness, but pretty rich for the morning. warning: you may get food coma after eating this for breakfast.

i think next time we should try stuffing some ham and cheese inside for a more savory version. yum!

#1 Homemade Pop Tarts

it's about time. slight delay on the posting. but alas, here's the moment we've all been waiting for...the unveiling of homemade Pop Tarts!

In case you're unfamiliar with the 'real thing' (i suppose referring to Pop Tarts as 'real' can certainly be up for debate), here's what we're talking about (please see left).

so as a reminder, it all started off with a challenge to make my own pop tarts. after looking at a few recipes, and shying away from the one that called for 13 oz butter (i.e. more than 3 sticks...nearly 1 lb), i decided to go with this recipe: http://bakememore.com/2009/02/15/sorry-kelloggs-these-pop-tarts-will-make-you-crumble/ the picture looked good enough to me, and it seemed easy to do on a sunday night.

i got a chance to bring out the food processor to make the dough. after rolling out the dough, i decided to be a little more creative and make mostly circular pop tarts (i also made 1 normal shaped pop tart for good measure, and 1 triangle with the remaining dough). While I would have preferred a raspberry jam inside, I went with the Strawberry and Boysenberry in the fridge. After I sealed those suckers up with the fancy fork crimping, I put them into the oven to bake. The Pop Tarts came out nice and toasty. My advice: if you do let them cool completely, you should pop them back into the microwave for 10-15 seconds. They also seem to do okay after freezing them. it's also an option to put a glaze/frosting and sprinkles on top. However, if you happen to not be younger than 10 years old, i think the unfrosted Pop Tart will suffice, and maybe even impress.






Final Product:

interesting

After watching Julie and Julia yesterday...and reflecting on a conversation from Friday, I have been inspired to cook and bake. Let me give you the reader's digest version of my conversation. it went something like this.

me: i'm jealous of you. i have no hobbies. no interesting hobbies. i want to be more interesting. i'm boring.

we started brainstorming of how i could be more interesting.

what do you like to do?

me: i like looking at food. looking at pictures of food. walking around the grocery store and looking at food. taking pictures of food.

we decided that cooking and taking pictures of the food, would be my new hobby. it was quite timely that we watched julie and julia 2 days later. it made me want to copy julie and pick out a cookbook from the shelf, and set a deadline to make every recipe. i wondered, how many people were going to go start a blog and cook from a cookbook. i don't want to be a follower. but, i guess i kind of am. in any case, i'm taking my own twist on it. maybe.

here's what i'm envisioning. let me start with a story. yesterday i was at safeway, and i saw a box of Pop Tarts. oh boy, i haven't had pop tarts in ages. Instead of succumbing to my sweet craving, I was challenged to make my own homemade pop tarts. So how about making homemade versions of all these commercialized products? Oreos? Gummy fruit snacks?

i expect this venture won't last long. but in any case, i'm hoping to cook more...and share it with whomever is reading this. do you think i'll ever get enough readers to attract enough attention to inspire a movie? i guess probably not. it's already been done...

to officially kick off my new hobby, i made Pop Tarts tonight. I will share with you soon...

(food in the news)

Brown Rice in a Bottle

Welcome Odwalla's Wholly Grain! made from whole grain brown rice. Arriving to stores (like Whole Foods) across the nation this month. Each bottle includes 32g of whole grains. Haven't tried it, so I can't endorse it yet. But, I wonder if it'll be similar to wheat beers (with a bread-like after taste). Does this appeal to you?

Drink up!

(real food)

Lazy, so I'll just be posting pictures this week...

(food in the news)

Bacon Tempura.
I think Steph will truly appreciate this if she sees it. Last night I was watching an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" - a new show on Food Network. The theme of this episode was: Totally Fried. One segment especially caught my attention, featuring the Red Cat in NYC. Bacon Tempura. Ted Allen introduces his fried favorite, stressing what a treat it is, but only to be eaten on special occasions so the cholesterol doesn't kill you. Can you imagine? Bacon tempura. Frankly, the thought of it makes me want to cough up oil and fat...though I'm sure one innocent little bite would be pretty satisfying, and hopefully not filled with too much guilt and regret.
(notice the dish in the bottom left corner of the picture...those two long brown things are the bacon tempura)

In case you're interested in making your very own bacon tempura, here's the recipe featured in this article:

4 egg whites

3 cups all purpose flour

2 1/3 cups cold club soda

½ gallon canola oil

12 pieces thick-sliced apple wood bacon

Salt to taste

In a large bowl whip egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold into egg whites the flour and the club soda. In a 4-qt. Pot heat oil to 425 degrees. Batter the bacon slices and carefully drop into hot oil a few slices at a time. Do not overcrowd oil as it will overflow and bacon will cook unevenly. Once the bacon is golden brown, remove from oil using a slotted spoon, lightly salt.

Serve 2 slices fried bacon onto of about 2 oz of grilled corn or other seasonal salad garnished with chipotle aioli and 2 lime wedges.

http://www.redcatrestaurants.com/reviews.php?pub=79&t=article&rest=redcat

(food in the news)

This post is inspired by a recent Spam commercial I saw on tv. We see a macaroni noodle and a block of cheese dining together, acknowledging what a boring duo they make. Enter Spam. What a combination: Spam and Mac 'n Cheese! I get a sense that we have traveled back to the World War II era, when spam was especially popular. As we wade through these harsh economic times, there seems to be a renewed focus on the 'eating on a budget' concept. And although spam prices are up (avg. $2.62 for a 12oz can, 17 cents higher than last year), sales are up too!

As I watched the ad on tv, I found myself lost in a time warp filled with processed meat and fake cheese...(though not to say that spam & mac 'n cheese isn't delicious...)

On another note, who knew there were so many different Spam products?

Spam with Cheese, anyone?


















http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/28/business/main4133539.shtml

(food in the news)

Bear Naked. for Breakfast.

When you think Bear Naked, you probably think granola, trail mix. Well...now Bear Naked has come out with cold cereal. (P.S. Did you know they also produce Hot Cereal (Oatmeal)?)

Just so you know, SRP @ $4.49

(food in the news)

Pasta in a Bread Bowl

If you're like me, you probably like to pair your pasta with a slice of good bread. Looks like Domino's has taken this idea to the extreme with their new offer: Breadbowl Pasta.

At $5.99 you can ingest a total of almost 1500 calories. Yum...

http://www.thatsfit.com

(simple food)

Sprinkles Cupcakes

Let me do a little bit of free advertising here, featuring Sprinkles.

The first time I saw a Sprinkles cupcake, I knew I was in for a great surprise. This indulgent treat sends sparks to my taste buds and satisfies my sweet tooth. About 6 months ago, Sprinkles shared its secrets with the world and launched canned cupcake mixes of 3 flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate, and Red Velvet.


While Sprinkles cupcakes are normally $3.25 each. You can make your very own homemade cupcakes for around $1.50 per cupcake (including the mix, butter, milk, eggs, powdered sugar, vanilla). With these savings, the quality of the cupcake is comparable and much more affordable.






I tried it myself this weekend and I was pretty satisfied with the results. I especially love refrigerating the cupcakes because the frosting hardens and the texture is more pleasing when you bite into the cupcake.

Just be careful you don't eat too many. Between you and me, the recipe (for 12 cupcakes) calls for 3 sticks of butter total. So take it easy.

(fancy food)

Food
(Las Vegas style)