Monday, December 27, 2010

Peppermint Bark

I made this to give out to work for the holidays. The vice president's wife told me that it was the best homemade peppermint bark she ever had! So funny since it's only 3 ingredients. Super simple to make, I plan to do it every holiday to give out.

Ingredients
  • 2 lbs high quality white chocolate, like Lindt’s (do not use chocolate chips)
  • 1 cup of crushed candy canes
  • 2 tablespoons peppermint extract

Directions
  1. Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into ¼-inch chunks or smaller.
  2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
  3. Combine candy cane chunks with white chocolate (add peppermint extract at this point).
  4. Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and let it set.

NOTE: Instead of white chocolate, you can use vanilla CandiQuik or Almond Bark (found only at Wal-mart in CA). Then you can skip the double boiler and follow the package instructions to melt it all in the oven. So much easier and just as delicious!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Royal Icing

This is just the recipe that comes with my Wilton meringue powder. It works and I added a little almond extract to give it that taste I'm familiar with growing up and eating these. Tina and Bao approves of the almond extract. Mike doesn't like it. I do, so it's staying in! The royal icing dried pretty quickly as is...maybe 30 minutes. The thinned out version I made for color flowing took a couple of hours to set.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon meringue powder
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
1/8 tsp almond extract

Mix with a stand mixer on low until stiff peaks (high on a handheld mixer).
Stir on low and mix almond extract and mix in almond extract at this point.
Pipe or spread onto cookies.

Makes 1 cup. Enough to cover 20 cookies.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

I made these for Mike and Tina last night and they said they were the best they ever had from me (I've been making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies since high school). These are chewy with the right amount of saltiness.

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, soften
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 325
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter, brown and white sugar until smooth.
  3. Beat egg then stir in vanilla extract.
  4. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add this flour mixture to creamed mixture and stir until just blended.
  5. Mix in oats and chocolate chips by hand.
  6. Use small disher to drop batter onto increased baking sheet.
  7. Chill for at least 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
  8. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
Tip: I scooped the extra dough onto parchment and freezed them for 30 minutes before putting them all in a bag for the freezer.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Yes, this sounds funny, but it produces one of the most moist and rich chocolate cakes.


Ingredients
  • 1-18 oz box Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil's food cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup of real mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)

Follow directions on the box to bake, but use mayonnaise in place of oil.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Pumpkin Apple Bread

A yummy and easy recipe from a friend.

Great recipes are meant to passed around & this one is the best I've ever tasted - moist, etc. Will make your whole house smell like autumn!!!

I add about a cup of chopped walnuts to the batter cause I love walnuts w/ apples & pumpkin & also sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of "topping".

I double the topping. I pour 1/2 batter into the loaf pan -sprinkle one serving of topping & pour rest of batter & then put second serving of topping on top of that - killer!

For topping:
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
5 Tbs sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbs unsalted butter, softened (I use "salted" just cause I don't have "unsalted" in my house usually)

For bread:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 (15-oz) can solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I use 3/4 cup butter instead - wonderful!!!)
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups)

MAKE THE TOPPING: Blend together flour, sugar, cinnamon. Melt the butter in the microwave and pour into the dry mixutre. Mix with a fork.

MAKE THE BREAD: Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 9 X 5 inch loaf pans. (I just spray "PAM" into pans.)
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice into a medium bowl. Then add oil(or butter), sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin. Add flour mixture, stirring until well combined. Fold in apples (and walnuts if using nuts).

Divide batter between buttered loaf pans. Sprinkle half of topping evenly over each loaf. *Remember, if you double the topping, do batter, topping, batter, topping. So yummy to have that topping the middle, too.



Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack for 45 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.

This bread is meant to be SHARED!!! Make for your neighbors, your coworkers, your family. The only downside to this is it will be requested every year!



You can bake and freeze, too. It freezes well. Just thaw in room temperature the day before.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting

Been looking for a pipable cream cheese frosting forever and not only is this recipe pipable but it's beautifully silky and not too sweet! Adapted from Allrecipes.com


Ingredients
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions
  1. In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

Moist Carrot Cake (from Scratch)

For mah-mah's birthday, Tina and I made her an awesome, super moist, not-too-sweet carrot cake from Allrecipes.com.
I topped it with a whipped cream cream cheese frosting I also found on Allrecipes. This will be my go-to carrot cake recipe now!

Yield
1 - 8x12 inch pan (I made a two layer 6-inch cake with 11 cupcakes)

Ingredients
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 cups shredded carrots (about 2 large carrots)
  • 1 cup flaked coconut
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
  • 1 cup golden raisins, soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x12 inch pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
  5. Using a large wooden spoon or a very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.
  6. Pour into prepared 8x12 inch pan, and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Check with toothpick.
  7. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Rolled Sugar Cookies

[Updated 2010-12-05]

This is just a recipe for the cookie. I will post the royal icing frosting in a separate blog entry. I wanted to make cookies for Christmas so I found this awesome recipe on Allrecipes.com. The original makes 60 so I cut it in half to make less since I was trying it out. It was a perfect soft and tender cookie. I highly recommend this recipe!

The picture is of the naked cookies...pre-frosting!

Yields approx. 24 cookies

Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
  1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight). Tip: Chilling dough is extremely important. If dough is not adequately, the cookies will not keep their shapes and will flatten.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
  3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven until cookies are slightly golden at the edges. Cool completely.

Haupia Cake

I made a cupcake version for Throwdown against Mike (and won) but for Mom & Dad's birthday, I decided to do it in a cake. They loved it! So did Ba Noi. We discovered that this cake is best eaten cold.

Cake:
  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 2/3 cup coconut milk
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 eggs
Haupia Filling:
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tsp vanilla (I didn't have vanilla when I made this cake so I used one whole vanilla bean)
Frosting:
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • shredded coconut, to top
DIRECTIONS

Cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cake mix, coconut milk, water and eggs into a large mixing bowl. Mix well and fill 2 cake pans. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely.
Haupia Filling:
  1. In a sauce pan heat coconut milk (do not boil).
  2. Mix sugar, salt, and cornstarch with water; stir into hot coconut milk.
  3. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (cook over low heat to avoid curdling). Stir in vanilla and cool.
Frosting
  1. Soften gelatin in 1/3 cup coconut milk; dissolve over hot water.
  2. Cool.
  3. Whip cream; fold in gelatin mixture and sugar.
Assembly
  1. Slice each layer in half.
  2. Pipe a border of frosting to keep the filling in.
  3. Spread filling on top.
  4. Top with a cake layer.
  5. Repeat until all layers are done.
  6. Frost, pipe and put a layer of the filling on top! Chill & serve.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Chocolate Health trifle

I made this for a bbq with the OCEB. It was the best one yet since I didn't use any Cool Whip. Mike says next time to make more chocolate mousse so I modified the recipe below with this change:

1 prepared brownie cut in cubes
1 quart whipping cream
3.9 oz box chocolate pudding
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup health bits

Measure out 2 cup of whipping cream and whip to soft peaks.
Meanwhile mix pudding with hot water.
Stir 1/3 of whipped cream into pudding mixture. Fold this mixture into
the remaining whipped cream until no streaks of white remains. Set
aside.
Whip the other 2 cups of whipping cream and sugar to soft peaks.
Assemble trifle: chocolate mousse, brownie, whipped cream, 1/4 cup
Heath bits repeat 2 more times ending with the last 1/4 cup of health
bits as garnish. Chill overnight.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Haupia Cupcake

For a cupcake throw down challenged by my very own husband, I knew I had to up my game because he's not only good at everything, the kitchen is his turf...usually. I ate a haupia cake at Zippy's when we were in Maui a month ago and I remember telling Jackie, "I HAVE to learn how to make this filling! I could drink it!" So when I had to come up with a kicked up classic flavor, I decided on coconut and to kick it up with the haupia filling. It was sooo good it actually won the throw down for me. The whipped cream frosting kept this delicate cake super light and refreshing...especially for a cupcake.

Makes 20-24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

Cake:
  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 2/3 cup coconut milk
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 eggs
Haupia Filling:
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Frosting:
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • shredded coconut, to top
DIRECTIONS

Cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cake mix, coconut milk, water and eggs into a large mixing bowl. Mix well and fill cupcake pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes.
Haupia Filling:
  1. In a sauce pan heat coconut milk (do not boil).
  2. Mix sugar, salt, and cornstarch with water; stir into hot coconut milk.
  3. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (cook over low heat to avoid curdling). Stir in vanilla and cool.
Frosting
  1. Soften gelatin in 1/3 cup coconut milk; dissolve over hot water.
  2. Cool.
  3. Whip cream; fold in gelatin mixture and sugar.
Assembly
  1. Use cone method to create cavity for filling in cakes.
  2. Fill cavity with about a tablespoon of filling.
  3. Put cake cap back on.
  4. Chill for 30 minutes to set filling.
  5. Top with generous dollop of whipped cream frosting.
  6. Top with shredded coconut.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Pistachio Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Makes about 4 cups

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, cut into tablespoons
Sweetened pistachio paste, to taste
Green food coloring (optional)

Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add 1/4 cup pistachio paste and mix until incorporated. Add more if a stronger flavor is desired (I used about 1/2 cup).

Sweetened Pistachio Paste
Makes about 1 cup

1 cup pistachios, skins removed (if pistachios are salted, rinse them well)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup hot water

In a food processor, grind pistachios and sugar until it becomes a fine meal. With the processor still running, Slowly add hot water, one tablespoon at a time scraping the bowl often, until a thick but spreadable paste forms. Transfer to a bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface. Cool to room temperature.

Credits: How to Eat a Cupcake blog

Spumoni Cupcake

Slight adapted by a recipe I got off of "How to Eat a Cupcake" blog. Only difference is I didn't use cherry extract and opted to do a mix of maraschino cherries and canned cherry because I thought the canned cherries tasted too much like prunes plus when I eat the maraschino cherry, that tastes more like the cherry ice cream in spumoni to me. I also halved the recipe to make only twelve cupcakes.

This cupcake is half cherry batter and half chocolate batter topped with pistachio buttercream to finish off the three classic flavors in spumoni ice cream.

Cherry Batter
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 6 tbsp. flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cherry extract (I didn't have any)
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/8 cup chopped cherries (canned or frozen, thawed)
Chocolate Batter
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cherry extract (I didn't have any)
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/8 cup chopped cherries (canned or frozen, thawed)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a standard 12-cup muffin pan, or use paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add cherry flavoring and mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk; end with remaining flour mixture and chopped cherries. Mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).
Fill muffin cups with 3 tablespoons of each batter, side by side. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Banana Cupcakes

Banana CupcakeSuper delicious and moist I made these cupcakes for Jackie's 26th birthday. I originally was going to do a tres leche cupcake but had 3 overly ripen bananas that I had to do something with. I topped it with my new Swiss meringue buttercream recipe and added around 4 tablespoons of mashed bananas to it at the end to make Banana Swiss Merginue Buttercream. The results were delicious!

(Cupcake recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella.)
Makes 18-22

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (About 2 bananas)
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
  2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs to the creamed mixture and beat well. Add the bananas and mix well.
  3. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Add all the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until completely integrated.
  5. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
  6. Fill cupcake liners one-half to three-quarters full (take this seriously, I underfilled and they didn't rise enough) with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Swiss Meringue Buttercream II (Less Butter)

[Updated 2011-03-30]

Makes about 4 cups (enough to frost 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup (2 sticks + 1/2 a stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into 1 tablespoon portions
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
  1. Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly. Tip: Remove the upper vessel of the double boiler from the steam source periodically while continually whisking when it gets too hot to touch. When the upper vessel is cool enough to touch, but still very warm, return upper vessel to steam.
  2. Cook egg white and sugar mixture until sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch (about 160 degrees). Tip: Using your fingers, pinch a portion of the mixture. The mixture should fill smooth and not grainy.
  3. Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until fluffy and cooled, from 5-7 minutes. Tip: The egg white mixture should form stiff peaks.
  4. Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Tip: While adding the butter, the mixture may begin to break. This is OK. Continue adding in the remaining butter.
  5. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add vanilla extract and continue beating 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles. Tip: At this point, the mixture should appear thick and continue to become more frosting like. If this does not happen after a few minutes of mixing, you may need to add additional butter. If additional butter is needed, add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time (in 1 tablespoon portions) and mix well before adding each 2 tablespoon portion. Check after each 2 tablespoon portion addition if the mixture is beginning to thicken. If so, there is no need to add additional butter.

Note:
When doubling the recipe, use the following ingredient list:
  • 8 large egg whites
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 cup (5 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into 1 tablespoon portions
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Credits:
How to Eat a Cupcake blog

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

I tried it...I baked from scratch. Besides breads and cookies, I like the semi-homemade approach to things but for some reason, I felt like trying it so I started slow with this easy recipe from Martha Stewart. It was easy to do and yielded a pretty moist cake!

Makes 18 to 24

Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons safflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
  2. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Basic Waffles (Heart-shape recommended but optional)

Alton Brown's recipe from Foodtv.com:

Ingredients
  • 4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup
  • 4 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1 cup
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 whole eggs, beaten
  • 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
  • 16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
  • Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

Directions
  1. Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.
  2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl beat together eggs and melted butter, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  3. Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Baked French Toast Casserole

Photo courtesy of Food Network.
We ate too fast for me to take a picture. LOL

I wanted to make breakfast during our Mammoth trip without having to stand and flip pancakes or French toast the entire time. I decided on this Paula Deen recipe due to the high commenting and ratings on FoodTV.com. I changed it a big (substitute white sugar for corn syrup because I didn't have any). In an effect to streamline packing for our trip, I did the egg mixture and praline mixture (san butter of course) before hand. When we got to the cabin, I just sliced the bread, pour the egg mixture on top, then melted the butter, mixed it with the praline mixture and spread on top! (I didn't do it overnight in fear that it would be too soggy...maybe I'll try it next time, that would make it even easier!) So easy and so delicious. Very fluffy, almost like a bread pudding:

Ingredients
  • 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash salt
  • Praline Topping, recipe follows
  • Maple syrup

Directions
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Nana's Brownies

I got this recipe from a friend.  It's her nana's signature.  It's super easy and it freezes well, too.

In a saucepan (large enough to fit all the ingredients) on the stove, melt together:
  • 2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
  • 4 oz. (4 squares) unsweetened baking chocolate squares (the packet I usually get comes with 8 squares)
Once melted together, remove from heat (wait approximately 5 minutes or so).

Add 2 cups white sugar
Add 4 beaten eggs
Add 1.5 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. vanilla

I add chocolate bits and walnuts (but I don't measure them).  This is a preference.

Bake in a 13x9 baking pan at 300 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

(This is SUPER SIMPLE compared to all the other stuff you guys have on here.  Hehe...my 1st post :))

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

We had left over rotisserie chicken from Costco so Anh 2 Mike wanted me to cook something that would clear up some space in our fridge. I found two recipes on Allrecipe and took pieces of to make the ingredients I have word. Then I cooked it low and slow to get the flavors to meld together (a trick I got from brother Steve). It was good. Next time I will double the sauce. It came out a litte dry.

Ingredients
  • 2 cups diced chicken breast meat (about half a Costco chicken)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained
  • 1 (15 ounce) can corn, rinsed and drained (I used frozen I had in the freezer and defrosted it)
  • 1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste (2 cans next time)
  • 2/3 cup water (1 1/3 cup next time)
  • 2 tablespoon hot sauce (4 tablespoon next time)
  • 1/4 bag of taco seasoning mix (1/2 next time)
  • 1 package (6 inch) corn tortillas
  • 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 320 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together chicken and sour cream.
  3. In another bowl, mix cilantro, beans, green chile peppers, and corn. Set aside.
  4. In another bowl, mix the tomato paste, water, hot sauce, taco seasoning.
  5. Spoon a layer of the tomato mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.
  6. Layer tortillas on top of the tomato mixture.
  7. Spread more sauce, then chicken mixture the bean/corn mixture then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers until desired amount (I usually do 3).
  8. For the top, spread the tomato sauce then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
  9. Cover with foil and put it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until melded together and bubbly.
  10. Serve with more cilantro and a side of fresh avocado. Yum...
Footnotes
Make the meat layer thin to cut the richness.

Verdict

Served it to Bao and Anh 2 Mike. Anh 2 Mike had seconds. Both says it was good but could use more sauce.

Monday, March 15, 2010

3-Cheese Roasted Garlic Mac n Cheese

We had all this fancy leftover cheese from a wine and cheese party so Bao suggested I made mac n cheese with it. So I did! It was delicious!

Ingredients:
  • Any short grain pasta
  • Milk
  • Roux (butter and flour)
  • Cheeses, grated
  • Roasted garlic, mashed
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Panko bread crust
  • Olive oil
  • Parmesan cheese

Directions:
  1. Cook pasta as package directed.
  2. Bring milk to a boil over medium heat.
  3. Add roux and cook to desire consistency.
  4. Add cheese a handful at a time.
  5. Salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Add cooked pasta to cheese sauce.
  7. Transfer mac n cheese to a baking dish.
  8. In a small bowl, mix panko, parmesan cheese and olive oil.
  9. Spread breadcrumb mixture over mac n cheese.
  10. Bake at 375 until top is golden brown.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Baked Brie

This baked brie has roasted garlic and toasted pine nuts all wrapped in puff pastry. It was delicious! The only baked brie we ever made that was completely devoured!

Ingredients:
  • Small Brie wheel
  • Garlic, oven roasted
  • Pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • Store-bought puff pastry, defrosted to room temperature
  • Egg, beaten
Directions:
  1. Roll out the puff pastry so it doesn't puff too much when you bake it.
  2. Cut around the puff pastry so you have enough to cover the entire Brie wheel but not too much excess that it will be lumpy on the bottom.
  3. Put the pine nuts, and mushrooms on the puff pastry circle you just cut, now put the Brie back on top of it.
  4. Wrap until all the ends meet and it's seal.
  5. Put the seam side down.
  6. Brush with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or when puff pastry is golden brown.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Classic Lasagna

Well, kind of classic because it's a red sausage with cheese and sausage...not so classic since I put sriracha, sugar and soy sauce in it. But that's the secret, family! Sounds weird but oh so delicious!

Ingredients:
  • 1 box lasagna noodles, cooked
  • 1 lb Italian sausage
  • 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
  • sriracha, to taste (optional)
  • sugar, to taste
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • soy sauce, to taste (optional)
  • 1 8oz tub of ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoon fresh parsley (or basil), chopped
  • 1 (2 cup) bag of shredded mozzarella
  • Parmesan cheese
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Cook sausage in pan until brown. Add spaghetti sauce and season with sugar, sriracha, soy sauce, salt and pepper.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix ricotta, parsley and egg until combined.
  4. In a 9 x 13 casserole dish, put a layer of sauce on the bottom so the noodles won't stick and you will get clean cuts.
  5. Next layer noodle, then ricotta, mozzarella and meat sauce. Repeat 3x or until you only have 4 noodles left.
  6. Top with mozzarella & Parmesan and bake for 20 minutes or golden brown.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Banh Chuoi Nuong

(Vietnamese Baked Banana Bread/Pudding)

Growing up Mom always made this with left over bread and overly ripe bananas. I love it. I remember eating it for breakfast the big morning of the Whittier earthquake and how everybody was upset the food tank almost fell on mom but I was upset I lost my banh chuoi during the quake. LOL. (Selfish, fat kid...)

I have a lot of ripe bananas and we bought a bag of day-old bread at Lee's Sandwich for 50 cents. I called Mom and she told me how to do it over the phone. So of course, there are no measurements.

Ingredients:
  • Day old French bread
  • Milk
  • Sugar
  • Bananas, sliced length wise
  • Butter
Directions:
  1. Break the bread into small pieces (1/2 inch cubes or pieces)
  2. Mix milk and very little sugar (since bananas are sweet) into the bread in a large bowl. Bread should be soaked with milk mixture.
  3. Butter a pan and put a layer of the bread mixture in.
  4. Layer bananas next. Sprinkle with sugar to caramelize.
  5. Put a thin layer of bread on top of the banana later.
  6. Lastly, pour melted butter over the top. Sprinkle with a little more sugar.
  7. Bake at 350 degree for an hour.
Notes:
  • Don't use too much milk and the cooking time should decrease. Just enough to soften the bread.
  • Use salted butter

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

BEWARE: This is NOT diet food. I am not responsible for what this trifle could do to your waistline!

Using the brownies I posted earlier, I made this peanut butter cup trifle. Very similar to the pistachio one I made in the past, it came out delicious. Love the different texture the peanut butter cup added.

Ingredients:
1 batch of peanut butter cup brownies, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 (3.9 ounce) box of instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup warm water
1 pint (8 oz) whipping cream
1 16 oz cool whip, unfrozen
caramel sauce
9 mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Directions:
Mix chocolate pudding with water until combined and set aside.
Whip up whipping cream until firm peaks.
Take 1/3 of the whipped cream and mix it into the chocolate pudding mixture.
Fold the rest of the whipped cream into the choclate mixture until combined.
To assemble the trifle, put a layer of brownie, then spoon over some caramel sauce, then pudding, then cool whip and repeat.
Garnish the top with 9 miniature Reese's peanut butter cupcakes and drizzle with caramel

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

The husband brought home a delicious peanut butter cup brownie on Tuesday and I've been thinking about it ever since. I'm making a trifle for dinner with friends tomorrow night so I decided to try it. Of course since I'm making a trifle, I'm not going to bake it from scratch. I go the good ol' Ghirardelli brownie mix, cut up some mini Reese's peanut butter cups and the rest is DELICIOUS! So easy. You have to try it if you like chocolate and peanut butter.

Ingredients:
  • 1 box of Ghirardelli brownie mix
  • 12 mini Reese's peanut butter cup, cut into quarters.
Directions:
  1. Prepare brownies according to box instructions.
  2. Pour batter into a greased pan.
  3. Dot with peanut butter cup quarters, pressing it into the batter a little.
  4. Cook for as long as the box says (until a toothpick come out clean)
  5. Enjoy with a big glass of milk!

Ga Kho Gung (Carmelized chicken with ginger)

I thought that since I'm a mom now, I should seriously start trying to cook like mine. Trust me, I've tried before and fail miserable every time, some how, I think I got it. I made this last night. (Now I know why Mom cooks in the garage...my house STILL smells like nuoc mam today!)

Ingredients:
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup mam
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 tbsp ginger, shredded
  • Sprachia hot sauce

Directions:
Put oil in to a skillet on medium high. Brown the chicken in two batches and set aside.
Put the sugar in the skillet and cook until brown. Add mam and water until boiling.
Add chicken back in and cook covered for 30 minutes.
Remove cover and cook until the sauce reduces and is thicken. Add some Sprachia hot sauce to taste.
Serve with rice.

*Don't forget to use the pot to make Com Bac 7, sisters! That's the best part!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I got this recipe off of Allrecipes.com for chocolate cake and modified it slightly for cupcakes! It's so moist and chocolatey! I'm definitely using it again.

Ingredients
  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
  • 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way.
  3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (rotating the pans half way through, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes thoroughly in pan at least 10 minutes. Take out of pan and completely cool on a cooling rack before frosting.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Baked Egg Muffins

I came across this recipe while browsing the web. It's really fast and really rather tasty and all you really need is your basic breakfast items to assemble. Cook the bacon the night before to save time, and simply assemble and bake in the morning. I added a bit of truffle oil before serving and it was delish!

Ingredients
-bread
-butter
-bacon
-eggs
-cheese
-chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Butter your muffin tin. Cut edges off the crusts of the bread and butter the bread slices. Press each slice gently into the bottom of the muffin cup. Bake for 3 to 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bread, until it is starting to crisp.
Remove tin from the oven, place the bacon on the bottom of each cup. Save some bacon for garnishing. Crack an egg into each cup. Season with salt and pepper, and cover with cheese.
Place the muffin tin back into the oven and bake for 10 to 14 minutes until the whites are just set, or to the desired consistency. Remove the bread cups with a spoon, garnish with chives and bacon bits.
note: I baked mine for 15 minutes because I didn't want the yolk to be too runny.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Deviled Chicken

Please siblings, if you should try any of the recipes I post, please make it be this one! I made this on a whim tonight based on things I had on hand, and it was quite a pleasant surprise! Used a recipe off of allrecipes.com but made some modifications with things I like to cook with and recommendations made by commentors. Served it on a bed of mac and cheese, and will definitely keep this recipe in my usual rotation of recipes!


Ingredients

  • 1/8 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup miracle whip
  • 2 tablespoons spicy honey mustard
  • 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 (16 ounce) package Stovetop corn bread stuffing mix

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Empty stuffing mix ontp a baking sheet or cutting board and crush the bread crumbs to minimize large pieces
  3. Melt butter/margarine and mix in a small bowl with mayonnaise and mustard. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl or plate.
  4. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Roll seasoned chicken breasts in mayonnaise mixture, then dredge in stuffing mix and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Triple Strawberry Cupcake

I made a cupcake bouquet for Angie for V-day for a friend. Her friend likes strawberry cupcakes with vanilla frosting. So I made this cupcake from my Cupcake Doctor book called Pretty in Pink. I'm going to call it a Triple Strawberry Cupcake so it makes sense. Hahaha. I topped it with my favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream and it was delicious. Very moist from the real strawberries.

Triple Strawberry Cupcakes (AKA Pretty in Pink)

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients
  • 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix (I used strawberry cake mix...that made it triple)
  • 1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries with juice from 1 1/2 cups whole berries (see “The Cupcake Doctor Says” below)
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs

Directions:
  1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
  2. Place the cake mix, gelatin, strawber­ries and juice, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat 2 minutes more on low speed, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.
  3. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden around the edges and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cup­cakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your finger­tips. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

The Cupcake Doctor Says…
“Although these cupcakes put the season's best berries to good use, they are also perfect for those berries that arrive at your market from far away and have little juice and less flavor than good local berries. If you are using juicy berries, drain them well and use only the juice that clings to them when the berries have been chopped for the cake and the frosting. A pinch of cinnamon picks up the strawberry flavor in the cup­cake batter.”

Source: The Cupcake Doctor, by Anne Byrn

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Dutch Baby Pancake

Baked in a large, hot skillet, the thin, eggy batter puffs up like a popover. To serve, slide the pancake from the skillet onto a plate and dust with powder sugar.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
lemon wedges

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add butter to melt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except confectioners’ sugar, until smooth. Pour over melted butter in skillet. Bake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Slide pancake onto a serving platter. Serve immediately, cut into wedges, with confectioners’ sugar sifted over the top. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

This was adapted from Ina Garten's stuffed mushrooms. We did not use sherry since we didn't have any and just marinated the mushrooms in red wine (Merlot) and olive oil. We also did not have any mascarpone cheese, so we used a combination of cream cheese and goat cheese that we had in the fridge. Goat cheese can be very strong so the ratio was 3 to 1, cream cheese to goat cheese. The filling is so good and rich and it was really easy to make.

I included Ina's original recipe and marked our adaptations in italics:

Ingredients
  • 16 extra-large white mushrooms
  • 5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry (Merlot or any red wine you have)
  • 3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
  • 6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced (I used 3 cloves)
  • 2/3 cup panko crumbs
  • 5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy (1 ounce goat cheese & 4 ounces cream cheese, mixed together)
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.
  3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.
  4. Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing for 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

Pigs in a Blanket

We spent Super Bowl XLIV at Steve and Jenny's with the babies and watched the Saints beat the Colts (31-17) in a very exciting game.

Here is the simple pigs in the blanket we always make.

Ingredients:
  • 1 Pilsburry Crescent rolls (Each triangle cut into 3, the long way)
  • 1 packages of Aidell's chicken apple sausages, mini (Or Lil Smokies)
  • 1 egg, beaten

Directions:
  1. Prepare a baking sheet but wrapping with foil.
  2. Roll a sausage into the cut Crescent roll.
  3. Brush with egg wash.
  4. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until golden and puffed.
  5. Serve with ketchup!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Zucchini Bread

I started with a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com and substitute the white flour for wheat flour. It came out perfectly. It does have a hint of a wheat taste for those of you who don't like wheat but we're use to it in my family. Top with some honey whip and it's perfect. (I omitted the nuts to keep it kid-friendly.)

Ingredients
  • 3 cups wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil (OR ½ cup veg oil & ½ cup apple sauce)
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
  1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
  2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
  3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  4. Bake for 40 to 55 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.