Happy Blogiversary!

Hello readers!  Can you believe it's been one year since this whole crazy thing started?  One year ago I was stuck at home in the snow and decided to finally start this blog - and I am so glad I did!  I've had so much fun sharing favorite recipes from my personal recipe box as well as trying out new recipes and techniques.  Whether the recipes were simple or a little more complicated, what they all had in common is they were OyuMG delicious!

Since this blog started with a St. Patrick's Day recipe, I thought it was only fitting that we celebrate its blogiversary with another holiday recipe: Pretzel Shamrocks!  I found this recipe to be 1) stinkin' adorable and 2) super-duper easy to make.  All you need is a baking sheet and and oven.  No bowls, no spatulas - just a little assembly and you've got yourself some festive treats for office or classroom celebrations!

You may be familiar with the chocolate pretzel concept, where you top a Snaps pretzel with a Hershey's Kiss or Hugs, put it in the oven for just a few minutes to soften the chocolate and top with an M&M in a color that fits your theme.  There are tons of variations out there (like using Rolos and pecans to make a Turtle-inspired treat) - and this treat is just one more variation on the theme.

This time, you take three pretzel twists and arrange them in a shamrock formation and top with a Hershey's kiss in the middle, where all three pretzels come together.  Then carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake at 300 for 3-4 minutes until the chocolate is softened.  Take a pretzel stick and press into the Hershey's Kiss at the base of each shamrock and then place a single M&M on top, pressing down so the melted chocolate spreads a bit and sticks to all the pretzels.  Let the pans cool and then transfer to the fridge to fully set the chocolate.

Then take them to the office or send with your kids to school - and you'll have a treat that will have everyone smiling and feeling the "luck o' the Irish"!

Thanks for a delicious first year - here's to many more!

Chocolate Toffee Grahammies

The Grammy Awards are tonight and I was inspired to make something to snack on while I watch the show.  I thought about some options related to music or some of the songs nominated this year, like maybe "Chocolate Shake-It-Offs" or "Bang Bang Shrimp Cocktail".  But then I thought about graham crackers... or "grahammy" crackers and what could I do with the box of graham crackers in my pantry.  After a little research, I came up with what looked to be a pretty quick and easy recipe featuring caramel sauce, chocolate and pecans.  What could go wrong?

Well, apparently, quite a bit.  That's right...I had an epic food fail - of unfixable proportions.  The recipe called for butter and sugar to be brought to a boil on the stove.  Having just made caramel corn in the microwave, I thought to myself, "I don't need to dirty another pot.  I can just make it in the microwave."  So that's what I did.  The recipe said to boil for about 4 minutes - so I thought 5 minutes in the microwave should do just fine.  Five minutes later, I did have melted butter and dissolved sugar, but as I started to stir with a spatula, the butter would not incorporate into the mixture and the sugar was a little grainy.  So I got a whisk...maybe whisking it in will work better.  Nope.  I thought, "maybe my immersion blender will really bring it together".  Instead, I had hot butter flying over my counter, splattering on my hand and fully saturating my dish towel.  At this point, I literally threw the dish towel in and decided to start over.

Out came the saucepan, the proper measurements of butter and sugar (I may not have been super exact the first time around), and I brought the mixture to a boil. Stirring constantly, I was rewarded with a perfectly colored caramel sauce - golden and delicious.  From there, it was smooth sailing and the rest of the recipe came together in no time.  The hardest part was waiting for it to cool so I could dig in to this highly snackable treat.

Chocolate Toffee Grahammies

• 16-17 graham crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup toasted & chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray.  Lay graham crackers in the pan until completely covered.

In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar.  Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes.  Pour the caramel sauce over the graham crackers.  Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.

Immediately, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the caramel and wait about 2 minutes for the caramel to melt the chocolate chips.  With a knife, spread the melted chocolate over the entire pan.  Sprinkle with the chopped pecans and let cool about 2 hours before breaking into big pieces. (You can also pop it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process, cause you know you wanna dig in as soon as possible.)

Note: If you don't have graham crackers on hand, you can also use saltines or pretzel thins as your base.  Be creative!

Caramel Popcorn: Your Next Addiction

I seem to have this penchant for making things that are truly addictive.  That once-you-pop-you-can't-stop kind of addicting.  Brownies, cookies...basically anything with sugar.  And now I bring you your next addiction: Homemade. Caramel. Corn.  Holy cow, is this stuff so good.  And I dare you to make a batch last longer than the weekend.  Seriously.

So this recipe has been with me for nearly twenty years...I first made it my middle-school home economics class! The fun thing with this recipe, is that start-to-finish, it's made completely in the microwave.  No heating up your oven, no fancy equipment, if you've got a bowl, a microwave and a paper bag, you can make this recipe!

There are three microwave phases for this recipe: the popcorn phase, the caramel phase and the caramel corn phase.

PHASE ONE: Start off by popping 3 standard bags of microwave popcorn. I use the 94% fat-free, low-butter variety, because, believe me, you'll be adding more than enough butter once the caramel sauce is covering each and every kernel.  Then take a standard, grocery-store size paper bag and spray the inside of it about 2/3 of the way up with non-stick spray.  As you pop your popcorn, dump each bag into the paper bag.  

PHASE TWO: In a large, microwave-safe glass bowl, add brown sugar, butter and corn syrup.  Microwave on high for 8 minutes.  Carefully remove from the microwave and stir.  Add baking soda, baking powder and vanilla and stir.  When you add the vanilla, it will start to change the color and consistency (it will get frothy and may rise a bit).  Keep stirring until the mixture is uniform.  It should be a light, golden brown.

PHASE THREE: Carefully pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn in the paper bag.  With a long rubber spatula, mix the caramel and popcorn until all kernels are covered.  Roll up the top of the bag and put the whole thing in the microwave.  You may have to smoosh it in there to make sure that the turntable will still rotate.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes.  Open the bag and mix with the rubber spatula for about 30 seconds, making sure to scrape the bottom.  Roll the bag and return to the microwave for another minute.  Mix for about 30 seconds and microwave for a last burst of 30 seconds.  Either line two jelly roll pans or your countertop with wax paper and carefully pour the caramel corn on top.  Spread out in an even layer and separate the pieces as it cools.  Once the corn is finally cool, break up any large chunks and store in an air-tight container.  It will keep pretty fresh for about a week - that is, if it makes it that long!

Microwave Caramel Corn

• 3 standard bags of microwave popcorn, popped
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 cup butter (or margarine)
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Pop the popcorn and put into a large brown paper bag, sprayed with non-stick spray on all sides.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, place the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup.  Microwave on high for 8 minutes or until the brown sugar is dissolved and the mixture is at a rapid boil. 

Remove from microwave and add baking soda, baking powder, salt and vanilla.  Be aware that mixture may rise.  Carefully pour the caramel over the popcorn in the bag and thoroughly stir until all the popcorn is coated in caramel.  Roll up the bag and microwave on high for 3 minutes.  Stir the popcorn for 30 seconds. Return to microwave for 1 minute.  Stir the popcorn for 30 seconds.  Return to microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir one last time and let the popcorn cool on wax paper covered pans or countertop.  Once cooled, break up any large pieces and store in air-tight container. 

Have a Souper (Bowl) Weekend!

So we're in the middle of winter, it's freezing cold, snow is on the ground and all you want to do is cuddle under the covers, binge on your favorite shows and eat comfort food.  Or maybe that's just me.  But when I think of winter comfort food, I think of homemade mac & cheese or a warm bowl of homemade soup and some crusty bread.  Followed by brownies.  And wine.

And since it's the Super Bowl this weekend, I thought we might make it extra "souper" with three of my favorite homemade soups: Creamy Tomato, Lentil and Broccoli Cheddar!

All three of these soups start with the same base of onions, celery and carrots (otherwise known as mirepoix) sautéed in a little oil.  Add some broth, some more vegetables, let simmer...and you have soup! 

First up, Creamy Tomato.  This is one of my favorites to make - it comes together so quickly and feeds a crowd - or at least gives you plenty of leftovers (trust me, you'll be glad you have them).  To make the large volume so easy to make, I buy large No. 10 cans of crushed tomatoes at Costco, but you can also buy several smaller cans from your regular grocery store.  A little of bit cream adds some flavor and depth the soup and splash of balsamic vinegar (my secret ingredient!) adds just enough tanginess to make it all come together.  

As with wine & cheese, soup does get better with age, or at least the next day.  If you can make the soup in advance and wait to eat it the next day, you'll give all the flavors a chance to meld and you'll be in for a really delicious bowl of soup!

Creamy Tomato Soup

• 1 Tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 No. 10 can crushed tomatoes or 4 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup light cream
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil.  Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté about 5 minutes.  Add ground pepper and 1/2 tsp of the salt.  Mix well and let cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken broth and let simmer for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.  Carefully pour in the tomatoes.  Add dried herbs and stir until fully incorporated.  Let simmer 20 minutes.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup mixture until uniform in consistency. (Note: if you do not have an immersion blender, you can carefully pour the hot mixture into a standard blender and process the soup in batches.) Add the cream and stir until fully incorporated. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir.  Taste and add remaining 1/2 tsp salt, if necessary.  Let simmer another 30 minutes on low heat.  Serve in bowls with grated parmesan cheese on top.  

Yield: 10-12 servings

Next, Berghoff's Lentil Soup.  This recipe was passed along to me by family friends after they made us this soup one day for lunch. They are from the Chicago area and big fans of famed restaurant, The Berghoff.  (I've never been to Chicago, but it's on my list to visit this year and this restaurant will certainly be a must-visit.)  Up until that point, I had never been a big fan of lentils, but since we were guests and this soup was the only thing on the menu, I politely accepted a bowl.  And was I ever glad!  It was such a delicious and hearty soup and I did all but lick my bowl clean.  And I was grateful to get this recipe (and a few others) from the Berghoff cookbook.  The original recipe calls for diced ham, but you can omit for vegetarian or religious reasons.  This soup takes a little bit longer to prepare than the other two, simply because of the lentils - they take time to fully cook - but it's definitely worth it.  And I love the twist of adding fresh baby spinach at the end, right before serving.

Berghoff's Lentil Soup

• 1 Tbsp EVOO
• 1 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 9 cups chicken stock (or broth)
• 2 cups dried lentils
• 2 small bay leaves
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups diced ham
• 2 14oz cans diced tomatoes & juice
• 1 bag (6 or 7 oz) fresh baby spinach
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Fresh grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil.  Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté about 5 minutes.  Add chicken stock, lentils, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until lentils are fully cooked.  Add in ham and tomatoes (don't drain the juice - just add it all in!) and let cook 5 minutes more. Add spinach and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, to taste.  Simmer 5 more minutes.  Serve into bowls and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Adapted from The Berghoff Family Cookbook.

FInally, Broccoli Cheddar.  This is a healthy take on what can be an indulgent soup - as it's primarily broth-based with pureed veggies.  Just as with the creamy tomato, you start with mirepoix and broth, then add fresh broccoli.  Puree and add a bit of sour cream and sharp cheddar.  Make sure to use a sharp cheddar as it has a stronger flavor, and the little bit will go a long way.  As with the tomatoes, I also get my broccoli at Costco.  In the fresh produce section, you can get a big 3 lb bag of fresh broccoli crowns - half of the bag makes one pot of soup.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

• 1 Tbsp EVOO
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 lbs or 12 cups of fresh broccoli crowns
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

In a large, heavy pot, heat olive oil.  Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté about 5 minutes.  Add ground pepper and 1/2 tsp of the salt.  Mix well and let cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken broth and let simmer for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.  Add broccoli and cover.  Let simmer 10 minutes.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup mixture until uniform in consistency. (Note: if you do not have an immersion blender, you can carefully pour the hot mixture into a standard blender and process the soup in batches.) Add the sour cream and cheese and stir until fully incorporated. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir.  Taste and add remaining 1/2 tsp salt, if necessary.  Let simmer another 30 minutes on low heat.  

Yield: 6-8 servings

And for a bonus recipe...you can't have soup without a little bread.  When I made my batch of broccoli cheddar soup, I was craving some cheddar biscuits to go with it and after a little research, decided on this quick and easy recipe from Martha Stewart.

Cheddar Biscuits

• 2 - 2 1/4 cups flour (plus more for dusting)
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 4-6 Tbsp cold butter
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper together.  Cut in butter (using fingers or pastry cutter) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Note: the original recipe called for 6 Tbsp butter, but I reduced to 4 Tbsp and still had great results.)  Stir in shredded cheddar cheese.  Add buttermilk and mix until dough comes together.  If dough is still sticky, add up to 1/4 cup additional flour and mix it in with your hands.  Lightly flour a clean surface and roll or flatten dough to about 1/2 inch thick.  Using biscuit cutter, cut dough and place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake in oven 12-15 minutes, rotating half-way, or until biscuits are a golden brown.  Serve warm (for breakfast, with soup, or just to snack!).

Yield: 12 3-in diameter biscuits

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

The BEST Brownies...EVER

OK.  I realize that's a very bold statement to make: that I have the recipe for the BEST brownies ever. But it's true!  I've made my fair share of homemade and box mix brownies and none hold a candle to this recipe.  These brownies have it all: triple chocolate flavor, super thick fudginess, the flaky crust on top.  Best of all, they only require one bowl, a whisk and a spatula.  No fancy kitchen gadgets required here!  And with a baking time of about 30 minutes, they can be whipped up in no time at all! They taste like the best box mix brownies you've ever had...but better (and let's be honest, box mix brownies are pretty hard to beat)!

I've been wanting to share this recipe with you for a while now, as I've made it at least half a dozen times since discovering it earlier this past summer.  They're a perfect treat for birthdays, road trips, church potlucks, or those days when the only thing that will make life better is chocolate.  So without further ado...I give you the BEST brownies.  EVER.

The BEST Chocolate Fudge Brownies...EVER

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp boiling water
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 glass pan with foil (leave some hanging over the sides so you can use as handles later on) and grease with nonstick spray. Trust me, do not skip this step! 

In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, espresso powder and boiling water.  Add the finely chopped unsweetened chocolate.  (Note: Make sure you buy unsweetened squares (like Baker's brand).  To easily chop the chocolate squares, place them in a Ziploc bag and give it a few whacks with a meat pounder.  So much easier that trying to chop with a knife.)  Whisk until the chocolate is melted.  

Add in the melted butter and oil (the mixture may look curdled, but it's OK).  Add the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla next and mix until the mixture is smooth.  Whisk in the sugar until fully incorporated. Switching to your spatula, gently mix in the flour and salt until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few soft crumbs attached.  Let cool for about an hour on a wire rack before lifting out of the pan (this is where those foil overhang handles come in handy) and return to the wire rack.  Let cool completely (or just nearly completely if you can't wait to have warm fudgy brownies!)

Cut into 2-inch squares, serve and watch them disappear!

Yield: 24 brownies

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

We Ate All The Things (in Iceland & Paris)

I just recently returned from a vacation to Iceland and Paris where my friend and I set out to see all the sights, walk all the places and eat all the things.  I think we accomplished our goals!  

Among the highlights:

• A multi-course Icelandic Christmas meal on our first night (over 9 courses!)
• The BEST fish & chips in downtown Reykjavik
• Hot chocolate at Angelina in Paris - this stuff is so rich, it's a meal in itself
• Beef Bourguignon and Tarte Tatin for Thanksgiving Dinner
• Fresh pastries every morning for breakfast
• And the wine...oh the wine...hot or cold, we drank it all!

See below for the culinary highlights of our trip!

First course: Creamed soup of parmesan with wild mushrooms and foie gras and homemade bread

Second course: Skyr-herring with bananas and homemade dandelion syrup with homemade hot spring cooked rye bread. (Note: skyr is a thick, traditional Icelandic yogurt)

Third Course: Twice smoked lamb with pickled red onions, candied nuts and white chocolate

Fourth Course: Hot smoked goose with brie and fresh raspberries

Fifth Course: Port glazed hot smoked salmon with fennel sesame seed salad

Sixth Course: Onto the main courses...Duck orange, parsnip puree and potato rosti

Seventh Course: Roasted pork belly with braised red cabbage and Icelandic wild herb sauce and new potatoes

Eighth Course: Turkey breast with stuffing, wild mushroom sauce and apple salad

Ninth Course: DESSERT!! First part, homemade Icelandic ice cream with granola and white chocolate accent

Ninth Course: Dessert Part 2 - a platter of assorted treats including creme brulee, chocolate dream cake and ris a la mande (traditional rice pudding with almonds) along with fresh strawberries and accents of white chocolate, caramel and milk chocolate mousse

Traditional home made hot spring rye bread - the bread is cooked right in the hot spring!

Icelandic Viking Beer - very tasty!

cooking our breakfast eggs in a hot spring

soft boiled eggs - fresh from the hot spring!

hot dogs from the famous little hot dog stand in downtown Reykjavic

last meal in Iceland was one of the best - fresh cod fish in the BEST fish and chips I've ever had.  EVER.

first meal in paris...tfromage and jambon tartine (cheese & ham on bread) with frites and salad

the world's best hot chocolate from Angelina

the perfect cup of hot chocolate

St. Honore pastry at Angelina

first dinner in Paris...a simple spread of cheese, fruit, crackers and wine

croissant amande - one of the ways I started my morning every day

the "specialty" of Chartre...a gingerbread-shaped, chocolate-filled croissant

amazing buckwheat galette filled with cheese, white asparagus, creme fraiche and chives

and for dessert...a crepe with homemade caramel sauce, salted butter, bananas and whipped cream...divine!!

excuse me, waiter...there's a happy face in my cider! :o)

french onion soup for lunch...it hit the spot!

unfortunately, this wouldn't fit in any of the luggage i brought...if only

this chocolatier came highly recommended and they didn't disappoint.  i selected a milk chocolate rocher - a crispy hazelnut flavored truffle.  if you think ferrero rocher is delicious, this is 10 times better.  worth every penny!

milk chocolate rocher...holy cow deliciousness!

hot dog fromage - the perfect street sandwich at the Christmas market along the Champs-Elysees 

beef bourguignon for Thanksgiving dinner - and I didn't have to cook or do dishes! 

Tarte Tatin - apple pie on Thanksgiving, Paris-style

macaron tree at Laduree - the creators of the macaron as we know it - and definitely the best ones I've ever had

raclette sandwich at Montmartre - another tasty street sandwich!

vin chaud (mulled hot wine) - we enjoyed many a cup of this!

last dinner in paris...pasta carbonara

Boules de Noel - chocolate-covered marshmallow confections that come in various flavors

we made sure to leave some wine for the rest paris...

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

It's the fall season - my favorite time of  year - and that also means it's pumpkin season, too! From PSL to pumpkin pie, you really can't escape this hallmark flavor of fall.  So what better way to embrace the trend than with some pumpkin spice cupcakes!

This recipe comes from the cupcake sisters at Georgetown Cupcakes and I think it comes pretty close to the ones you'd find in their shops.

I brought these to work and to a church function and to show just how crazy people are for pumpkin, their reactions went a little something like this:

"These are little morsels of happiness. I think these are my favorite thing you've made."

"Oh my goodness...I love you.  Like, I loved you before this, but now I really love you and will follow you anywhere."

"These taste just like these pumpkin squares I have my mom make every year for my birthday...so good!  It brings me right back!"

So what are you waiting for?  Let's get baking!

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PUMPKIN SPICE CUPCAKES

adapted from FoxNews Magazine 

Cake Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree (pure pumpkin not pie filling)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup hot water

Frosting Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 8 cups (roughly 2 pounds) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup apple cider

Preheat oven to 350.  Line two 12-count muffin tins with paper liners.  

Whisk together flour, baking powder, spices and salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

In a large bowl or bowl of your mixer, beat butter and sugar until light yellow and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time until well incorporated.  Beat in pumpkin puree and honey.

On low speed, slowly add a third of the flour mixture followed by a third of the hot water.  Repeat until all the flour and water have been incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Do not overmix.

Use an ice-cream scoop or spoon to fill muffin tins two-thirds of the way full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Note: this recipe makes for a lot of batter - so I was able to get 2 dozen full-size cupcakes plus a dozen or so mini cupcakes (what is pictured above).

For the frosting:

In a large bowl or bowl of your mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until well combined.  Add vanilla.  Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix on low speed.  Add about half of the apple cider (you can also use milk or maple syrup for extra flavor) and mix well.  Add the remaining powdered sugar and enough of the apple cider to reach your desired consistency (should be soft enough to pipe and frost but not too runny that it doesn't hold it's shape).

To assemble, fill a piping bag fitted with a wide tip (or a ziploc bag with a corner snipped off) with frosting.  Starting in the middle of the cupcake, make a swirl motion around the cupcake using constant pressure. As you make your way back to the middle, gently push down with an extra burst of pressure and release.  If you can't visualize, check out this video (the swirling demonstration happens around the 3:00 mark).

Top with sprinkles or a fondant shape or just leave plain - they'll taste delicious either way!

Oh-Yes-HoneyCakes!

This is a special day in O-Yum-G history...we have our first guest blogger!  A friend and colleague of mine brought in these delicious honey cakes this week to the office.  They were so good, I greedily asked for a second one!  And then the recipe!  And then I asked if he wanted to share the recipe with all of you on O-Yum-G!  And so he did.  While these were inspired for the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, these honey cakes are delicious for any occasion, year-round.  So please give a warm, welcome to Alma!

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Dear Readers of O-Yum-G!

Right after her lips touched my honey cakes, it happened.

Libby asked me to guest blog.

This is my first time, I swear, but I am so tickled to be here!

My name is Alma Childrens. It's pronounced ALL-ma...Chill-rinz. The D is silent. In addition to being a man in a dress, I'm also an avid baker who doesn't take him or herself too seriously. As you can see by the shoes & hair, I've got a reputation for being a tad over-the-top but all in very good (and bad) taste.

This adventure begins where most dreams do: in the clearance section of Crate & Barrel. That's where I go to be alone...and save money on discarded home goods nobody wants. 

Every girl has their secrets - that's (one of) mine.  For just $9.97, I bought this:

A Waffle Dipper Pan!

Later that day when I was having my nails done, I found an article in one of my favorite periodicals: "The Jew & The Carrot."

Get your mind out of the gutter, ladies...it's not that kind of magazine!

In it, there was an article about traditional Jewish foods of Rosh Hashanah.  Honey Cake, it said.  Honey.  Cake.

Being the good Christian Drag Queen I am, I prayed...I could find the library...to do some research on Honey Cake.

Sha-na-na-na-naa-na-nah!  Sha- na-nah-nah-na!

As it turns out, Honey Cake is a symbolic Jewish super food & undisputed fixture on the Rosh Hashanah table.

Honey Cake originated in ancient civilization times, like, a bazillion years ago when togas were all the rage - not a good look, ladies.  Not a good look.  Anyway...

The method was usually very simple: flour and honey were mixed together and then mixture would "sit" for approximately a month until naturally-produced yeasts caused it to rise.  This formula took hundreds of years to develop - why? I'm not sure, but bless their hearts.

In addition to its sweet taste, honey has a hidden power: a natural preservative able to keep pastry fresh for a long time.  And in the days of no refrigeration (or mascara) this was, like, totally handy dandy.

Fast forward like a zillion years.  And here we are.

Alma Children's recipe for "OH-YES-HONEYCAKES!"

Do not fret...it works for cupcakes, as well as waffle dippers.  And it's a SNAP! to do.  I'm also including a very easy recipe for a honey glaze that kicks these up a notch and adds a shiny sticky veneer to these!

I hope you enjoy the recipe, honey childs!  Hope to talk to you again soon...I think Libby and I should do a video blog entry.  Tell us what you think about that idea!

Love, 

Alma Childrens

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ALMA'S OH-YES-HONEYCAKES

By, who else? Alma Childrens!

(Adapted from a recipe on Baking Bites)

Here's what you'll need, Ladies:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Finely grated zest of one lemon
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup milk or non-dairy substitute

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Have a glass of wine.  Then...

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter/margarine and brown sugar until smooth.  Add the eggs and vanilla extract and lemon zest and beat until smooth.  Beat in the honey.  With the mixer on a low speed, slowly stir in the flour mixture until combine.  Add the milk and stir until incorporated.

Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes if you're using the pan I used.  15-16 minutes for cupcakes, etc.  WARNING: Do not over-bake, Honey!  You'll just have to take my word for it.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool.  Have another glass of wine...you look thirsty.

ALMA'S SHINY BROWN SUGAR GLAZE

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp water

Combine brown sugar, vanilla, and water.  Whisk together until smooth.  I do this in a saucepan over very low heat.  I like the consistency of the glaze better when it's warm, but you can do this at room temperature.  It takes 1-2 minutes to get just right, then I apply it with a pastry brush to the cakes which have cooled for at least 10 minutes.

Sometimes when I'm feeling sassy, I add a dusting of gold sprinkles or powdered sugar.  Because too much is never enough, ladies.  Never!

My Signature Birthday Cake

I think I've finally done it.  No, I haven't figured out time travel or found mates for all my pairs of socks.  I've done something far, far greater: I've found my signature birthday cake.  The one recipe I will go to each year to be the holder of an ever-increasing amount of candles.

It all started on a trip to New York several years ago where I visited Milk Bar - the dessert outpost from Momofuku.  It was created by Christina Tosi - a young chef in New York - who had been creating desserts for several of the Momofuku restaurants before given the opportunity to open a store based on her dessert recipes.  She's inventive, fearless, and never met a raw cookie dough or cake batter she didn't like (my kind of girl!).  

So on this particular visit to Milk Bar, they had pistachio lime cake truffles on the menu - and I was intrigued.  I purchased a package (along with their claims-to-fame: the compost cookie and crack pie) and was blown away by the unique flavor of these cake truffles.  I nibbled at them, trying to dissect the ingredients and how it was all put together.  Long after my trip, I kept thinking about them - wanting to replicate them somehow - but who had ever really heard of a pistachio cake before? Much less cake truffles.  Little did I know that the next year, Christina Tosi would put out a Milk Bar cookbook, and a friend would get it for me, and that it would have a recipe for...pistachio cake!

Now, to my initial disappointment, there wasn't an exact recipe for how to make the pistachio cake truffles - but I had a recipe for the cake and instructions for how to make cake truffles using another cake flavor.  So I cobbled them together and did my best to recreate those original cake truffles.  And they were delicious - but I was soon to find out that the instructions for the full pistachio layer cake (filling, frosting and all) would quickly transcend the cake truffles and become one of my favorite recipes in the whole book. 

And that now brings us to the current cake at hand.  The basic elements are as follows: a pistachio flavored spongecake, layered with lemon curd, milk crumbs and pistachio frosting.  Put them all together and you've got a little slice of heaven.

This cake isn't difficult in terms of technique or assembly; but it does require some unique (and somewhat expensive) ingredients and a little bit of extra time compared to your traditional cake. But it's totally worth it - time. money and calories! 

First up to make are the milk crumbs.  This is a signature element of many of Milk Bar's desserts.  Many of the recipes in their cookbook utilizes powdered milk - a terrible substitute for drinking actual milk - but a wonderful and surprisingly flavorful addition to your baking. (Seriously, try some in your cookies or cakes next time!).  When mixed with some flour, sugar and butter - you get a crumbly little mixture and spread on a baking sheet. Bake in a low temperature oven (250) for about 20 minutes or as the cookbook says, "your kitchen should smell like buttery heaven." Believe me, you'll know when it's ready.  Once you've let the crumbs cool, you pour melted white chocolate over it all and toss it until the chocolate sets.  Set it aside...if you can (trust me, you're gonna want to shove a spoonful of this stuff in your mouth).

Next, move on to making the pistachio cake.  Bump up your oven temperature to 350.  The cake calls for a few unique ingredients: pistachio paste, pistachio oil and glucose.  I've been able to find pistachio paste online at King Arthur Flour.  The pistachio oil I've found in stores at Williams-Sonoma but you can find it much cheaper on Amazon.  Glucose is an ingredient Christina uses in many of her recipes - she claims it's worth it - but I've yet to purchase a container.  Instead, I've used light corn syrup as a substitute (which she has said is OK, though not ideal), since it's an ingredient I always have on hand in my pantry.

OK, enough talk - let's get to the baking!  In a large bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer), beat the pistachio paste and glucose together. It may be a little crumbly - but that's OK. (Sorry - one more bit of talk regarding the pistachio paste.  I've found that the size of the pistachio paste container I get doesn't have quite enough paste to make the cake and frosting, according to the recipe.  So as to not have to buy a second container, I've slightly reduced the amounts for both the cake and frosting - essentially giving half the can to the cake and the other half to the frosting.  I think the result is pretty much similar to what you would get had you used the full amount. Also, it's likely your paste will have separated a bit - this is normal - just mix it all thoroughly before using.)

Then you add your egg whites, one at a time, until you have a "snotty green soup in your mixing bowl."  Yup - that looks pretty snotty to me!  I think we're right on track!

Next we add the powdered sugar and the almond flour.  Mix for a few minutes until it all thickens.  Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl after each step to ensure everything gets mixed in properly!

Then we stream in the pistachio oil and the heavy cream and mix for about a minute until fully incorporated.

The last additions are the flour - just 1 cup (remember we put in the almond flour earlier) - and the baking powder and salt. The recipe called for 1 1/2 teaspoons - but I would go for just a teaspoon or a teaspoon and a quarter.  Mix the last of the ingredients until the batter is shiny, smooth and "slightly more viscous than your average box cake mix."

Spray a jelly roll or half sheet pan with Pam and line it with parchment paper and spray again. You can also use a Silpat.  Pour the batter into the pan and spread it out evenly.  Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes.  It will be ready when the edges of the cake start to pull away from the sides and the cake bounces back when pressed lightly with your finger (like a sponge!).  If it doesn't do either of these things - cook for an additional minute or so until it does.  Let the cake cool completely before beginning assembly.

The last thing we need to prepare is the pistachio frosting, which comes together quite easily while your cake is baking!

in a medium bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. Then add the last half of the pistachio paste and a bit of salt (use less if you used salted butter - which I pretty much use exclusively). Beat on high for a few minutes until the frosting is a uniform pale, green color.  You can use the frosting right away - or if you're going to wait to assemble your cake, place it in an airtight container in the fridge.

The only thing I haven't covered is the lemon curd.  I've found that the store-bought variety in a jar is just as good (and maybe better) than making it from scratch (I've always had troubles with the right consistency).  But if you're a make-it-from-scratch lemon curd purist - by all means, use your favorite recipe and use it during final assembly.

Yay! We've now made all the elements of our cake - now for the final assembly!  This step is where I differ a bit from the Milk Bar style.  They use cake molds and acetate rings to form their cakes.  The result is a beautiful, rustic looking cake - but I don't have that special equipment (nor I suspect, do you).  So I've modified this just a bit to make it a bit easier - but still have an impressive dessert.

Grab your cooled sheet cake and grab onto an edge of the parchment paper and gently slide the cake out of the pan onto a flat surface.  Be careful in this step as to not break the cake. With a large knife, carefully trim about 1/4-1/2 inch off the sides (this can be your nibbles before serving the cake!).  Then cut your cake into thirds along the long edge of the cake.  

Find your serving platter and carefully transfer one of the thirds to the platter.  Using a pastry brush, apply a generous lather of pistachio oil to the top of the bottom cake later and let it soak in. Next, spread half a jar of lemon curd over the bottom layer. Then pull out those scrumptious milk crumbs and spread 1/3 of them over the lemon curd and lightly press them into the curd.  Then carefully spread pistachio frosting over the milk crumbs (use a little less than a third of the frosting). Repeat these steps again: transfer middle cake layer on top of the first. Layer lemon curd, milk crumb and frosting.  Place the top layer of cake and cover the top with the remaining frosting.  Sprinkle the rest of the milk crumbs generously over the top of the cake and around the base of the cake on the platter.  The sides will not be frosted so as to show off the layers.

Now before we start slicing into the cake - it's recommended that you place it in the freezer for at least a few hours or overnight to let all the layers set.  Pull out a few hours before you're ready to serve...and enjoy!  Hopefully this well help you on your journey to find your signature birthday cake!

Here's the full recipe:

PISTACHIO LAYER CAKE

(Adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi)

Milk Crumbs

• 1/2 cup milk powder
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/4 cup milk powder
• 3 oz white chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Combine 1/2 cup milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Add melted butter and toss until mixture comes together and forms small clusters. Spread clusters on parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet - bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely.  Transfer clusters to a bowl, add 1/4 cup milk powder and mix. Pour melted white chocolate over crumbs and toss until all crumbs are coated and chocolate is set.

Pistachio Cake

• 1/2 cup pistachio paste (about half an 11 oz can)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 6 egg whites
• 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup pistachio oil
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat pistachio paste and corn syrup for 2-3 minutes. On low speed, add egg whites, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl every other egg.  You should have a "snotty green soup in your bowl." Add powdered sugar and almond flour and mix for a few minutes until mixture thickens. Scrape sides of bowl. Stream in oil and cream and mix on low speed for about a minute. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until batter is smooth, shiny and viscous. Pour into a jelly roll or half sheet pan, Pam-sprayed and lined with parchment.  Bake for 20 minutes or until cake comes away from edges of pan and springs back when lightly touched with your finger.  Bake for 1-2 more minutes until it does.  Let cake cool completely before assembly.

Pistachio Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup pistachio paste (the other half of your can)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Beat butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. Add pistachio paste and salt and mix on high until a uniform, pale green color.  Remember to scrape down sides periodically. Set aside.

Assembly

• Milk Crumbs
• Pistachio Cake
• Pistachio Frosting
• 1 jar Lemon Curd 
• 1/3 cup pistachio oil

Cut cake into thirds along the long end.  Place one layer on bottom of platter and brush half of pistachio oil over the top of layer - let it soak in. Spread half of the lemon curd over the cake.  Sprinkle 1/3 of the milk crumbs, pressing down lightly into the lemon curd. Carefully, spread 1/3 of pistachio frosting over the crumbles, as evenly as you can (it'll be a little tricky). Add the middle layer and repeat steps: pistachio oil, lemon curd, milk crumbs, frosting. Top off with the final cake layer and spread the remaining frosting over the top only (leave the sides unfrosted).  Sprinkle the rest of the milk crumbs over the top of the cake and around the base on the platter. Transfer cake to the freezer and freeze overnight to let the cake and filling set.  Pull out of freezer a few hours before serving.  Slice and enjoy!

Watermelon Birthday Cake

This post is going to be short and sweet...sort of like this watermelon cake!  It was a co-worker's birthday today and I wanted to make something that was healthy but still felt special and birthday worthy.  Like me, I'm sure many of you have seen similar cakes on Pinterest - so I just took that as my guide to create this watermelon cake!

From the outside, it looks like a traditional cake that you might get from a French bakery or Whole Foods.  But it's not until you cut it open that you see it's actually a whole watermelon on the inside!

This was actually pretty easy to put together...you just need a big knife and hand mixer (for the whipped cream).

So get yourself a big ol' watermelon, cut off the top and bottom.  Lay it on the counter, cut side down and with your big knife, start cutting around the inside edge of the rind.  You may have to flip the watermelon over and cut around the inside edge again to make sure you cut through all the way.  The outside rind should then slide right up and you're left with a column of watermelon!  Trim the sides and even out the top as necessary - but don't worry about making it too perfect.  You can hide any imperfections with the whipped cream!

Next, you need a bowl (preferably metal and chilled to help keep the cream cold while whipping) and a pint (2 cups) of heavy whipping cream. With a hand-held mixer with the whisk attachment, start whipping the heavy cream until soft peaks form.  Sprinkle 3-4 Tbsp of powdered sugar (or more/less to your taste) and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

Cover your watermelon with the whipped cream.  I recommend doing this just before serving since watermelon is, well, quite watery, and you want the whipped cream to stay on for as long as possible.  I also recommend patting dry the outside surface of the watermelon with a paper towel.  Once covered, decorate the top and sides with fruit, nuts or whatever else you prefer.  I chose blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and kiwi (for a little pop of green).

And that's it!  This makes for a refreshing summer treat that's not only pretty to look at but also pretty good for you!

So You Think You Can't Cook

First of all, I have to apologize for not posting in a while.  But I promise I have a very good reason: my new puppy!  His name is Auggie and he's a 3 1/2 month old wire fox terrier.  Isn't he adorable?  

Auggie on his 3-month birthday!

Now just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been baking!  In the month since Auggie arrived I've made many a scrumptious treat, but it's time to get back into the blogging saddle and share with you some of the recipes I made!  So here we go!

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It's summertime and that means neighborhood potlucks or picnics at concerts.  It seems every weekend there's an event to attend...and with them, the expectation to bring a dish.  An invitation to a party might have you thinking that all you're ever going to be able to contribute are cups or a bag of chips or a bottle of wine (well, bringing wine is always a desired culinary talent).  

Now I know some of you may look at this blog and enjoy the pictures and think "those look good but I could never make that" - well, consider this blog post for you.  If you can use a knife, you can make these two easy and delicious recipes, perfect for a picnic or potluck.

So let's start with dessert first - because, you know, it's the sweetest meal of the day, and who doesn't live for dessert?  Last weekend was my friend's birthday and he was having a little get together at his house for dessert.  I basically don't know how to show up to anyone's house empty-handed, so I wanted to bring something that was easy, summery and a little special for a birthday.  So I came up with these fruit and pound cake skewers.  

It all started with a very ripe pineapple I had sitting on my counter.  I wanted to use that in the dessert - but didn't have the time to bake.  I knew that pineapple and strawberries go well together and strawberries and pound cake go together.  So I did a little math, and thought "if A likes B and B likes C, then they call hang out together on a skewer!"  So I headed to the store and grabbed a loaf of pound cake from the bakery section and then a jar of hot fudge sauce - cause most everything is good with a little chocolate.

Then all that was left was the assembly!  I cut the cake into slices and then into cubes.  I used whole strawberries (but only the smallest ones in the container) and then cut the pineapple into cubes.  Using 4" skewers, I started with the pound cake on the bottom, a strawberry in the middle (figured they were less juicy and wouldn't make the cake too wet) and topped the whole thing off with a chunk of pineapple.  I plate all the skewers on a chip-and-dip platter and filled the dip well with hot fudge sauce.  O-YUM-G!

Now, these skewers can be flexible with whatever fruit you like and you can also swap out the cake for marshmallows or brownies.  The best part of this recipe is that there really is no recipe.  Just use what you have and shove it on a skewer!  Everyone loves food on a stick!

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For something a little more substantial, these easy and tasty sandwiches will have your friends thinking you are a gourmet chef in no time.  Four simple ingredients come together for a fresh and satisfying sandwich.  All you need is a fresh baguette, brie, sliced turkey or jam and the special ingredient: fig preserves.

Slice the baguette into 4 pieces and then slice each piece in half.  Open up the halves and spread the fig preserves onto the cut faces of the bread.  Layer 3-4 slices of turkey or ham onto the bottom side of each sandwich.  Top with 2-3 slices of brie and then the top piece of bread.  And voila! - an easy sandwich that tastes like a million bucks!  Your friends will be highly impressed.  These sandwiches have become my go-to for when my friends and I attend outdoor concerts or make visits to local wineries. 

Notes: Trader Joes is one of my favorite grocery stores.  I love to buy their loaves of Ficelle bread.  They come two in a bag and are partially baked.  So you take them home and finish them off in the oven.  They get a perfect golden brown crust on the outside but stay nice and tender on the inside.  Plus, they're not too chewy and they have great flavor.  They also freeze well straight from the store - so I can always have fresh bread on hand.  Just let them thaw while the oven pre-heats to 425 and then bake for 10-15 minutes.  The other thing I love from TJs is their slicing brie.  It comes in a rectangle and allows for the cutting of perfectly sized slices of brie.  It's genius!  Lastly, if you don't like figs or can't find fig preserves, you can swap for a more savory flavor profile and use whole grain dijon mustard.  The mustard adds a bit of spice and tang and goes great with brie.

Next time you receive an invite for a potluck or go on a picnic, I hope you think you CAN cook and choose to bring one of these dishes - in addition to that bottle of wine.  After all, you've perfected that recipe.

Kit-Kat Krispies

Happy National Chocolate Chip Day!!  A day where we celebrate the tiny little nuggets of chocolatey goodness.  A little history lesson: the chocolate chip was invented back in the early 1930s by Ruth Graves Wakefield at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.  She had been making cookies one day and added a chopped up bar of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate.  Some say it was intentional (she was trying to change up a toffee cookie recipe), others say it was accidental (she ran out of baking chocolate and used a bar of Nestle, expecting it to melt completely).  Either way, they were such a hit that she ended up striking a deal with Nestle to provide her cookie recipe on the package of the Nestle chocolate bars in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate. The Nestle Toll House brand is named after the inn where she cooked up her now world famous recipe!  Quick aside: anytime I hear Nestle Toll House, I think of the Friends episode where Monica tries to recreate Phoebe's grandmother's cookie recipe, only for it to actually be the Nestle Toll House recipe or as Phoebe says it "NESS-lay TOOL-ow-zeh".  You can catch a clip of it here.

So, history lesson out of the way, what better way to honor this most auspicious of days than with a batch of chocolate chip cookies? But let's not just make regular ole' chocolate chip cookies...let's make them with a twist!  And so I give you Kit-Kat Krispies...a crispy-on-the-outside, soft-and-chewy-on-the-inside chocolate chip cookie loaded with Kit-Kat bars, semi-sweet chips, Rice Krispies and potato chips. Yes, potato chips!  Trust me...you'll want to add a lunch sized bag of potato chips to your chocolate chip cookies from now on. 

This recipe was the product of some experimentation and merging of a couple recipes.  A few years ago, I discovered this amazing dessert restaurant in New York City called Milk Bar (if you're ever in NYC you MUST go!). Their claim to fame is the Compost Cookie, an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink cookie that utilizes a little bit of whatever you have on hand: chocolate chips, pretzels, candy bars, coffee grinds, graham crackers, nuts, whatever.  There's a lot of creaming (10 minutes worth!) and some chilling of the dough (at least 2 hours) and making a graham cracker crust to crumble in.  All of which is worth it when you have the time.  But most of the time, when I'm in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, I've got an inner Cookie Monster rumbling inside and she wants her cookies NOW!  So I took the concept of adding in a variety of different ingredients you wouldn't normally throw in a chocolate chip cookie and applied it to my very favorite and easy chocolate chip recipe. This is a highly adaptable recipe; you can make it as simple or complex as you like.  Just try to keep the total volume of your mix-ins to about 1 1/2 cups.  O-YUM-G!  So here we go:

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KIT-KAT KRISPIES

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup shortening, butter-flavored
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 packages Kit-Kat bars (regular size), chopped
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 oz bag potato chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream your butter, shortening, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth and lightened in color.  Add your flour, salt and baking soda. Mix until just combined.  Then stir in the Kit-Kat pieces, chocolate chips, Rice Krispies and potato chips.  Stir until just combined.  Don't overmix.  With a cookie scoop, portion out balls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet about 1-inch apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown.  Don't overbake.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes; then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Yields 32 cookies.

It's All Greek to Me - Part Two

So in the previous post, we covered the baklava, which was just one part of the Greek-inspired meal I had planned for a friend's birthday celebration.

The other menu item I was eager to try was homemade pita bread.  It had always seemed way too complicated and just easier to buy at the grocery store.  Now, I've successfully made other kinds of bread many times before, but this had that whole mysterious air-pocket-in-the-middle thing going on.  But I ventured forth, confident that it would at least be edible (especially once slathered in hummus) even if it didn't make that magical air pocket.

The ingredients for pita bread are about as simple as they come: flour, water, yeast, salt and olive oil.  That's it.  And the techniques for mixing and kneading the dough were all standard and echoed the instructions I learned from the "bread camp" I attended at King Arthur Flour two summers ago.  I kept going through the recipe and the steps waiting to find that special technique or secret step that would transform these little balls of dough into pita bread.

Well, it turns out there's no secret ingredient or technique.  The magic is all in the science and chemistry of baking.  I found this recipe from one of my go-to blogs TheKitchn, and they describe this magic the best:

What makes [pita] puff so impressively is the dual action of water turning to steam and the yeast becoming hyperactive when both are hit with the heat from the oven or stovetop. The pita has been rolled so thin that this action forces the top and the bottom of the dough to separate and balloon outwards.

Reading this description, it totally makes sense and sounds really cool.  But guys, wait until you see this in action. In your own oven.  I mean, turn on that oven light, call the kids (or the kids at heart), pop a squat and watch these discs of dough transform right before your eyes, all in less than three minutes.  When my first batch puffed up perfectly, I was truly giddy with delight. I had done it!  I was a sorceress of the kitchen!  (In reality, I had just followed directions and let chemistry do it's thing, but I still felt triumphant.)  It was at this point that my guests arrived, and they too, were completely enamored with how the pita puffed up in the oven with the subsequent batches.

So excitement of the process aside, these pita breads continued to wow once we took a bite.  By baking them in the oven on a baking stone, they get a nice crispy crust on the bottom, with the rest of the bread soft and pillowy.  The hints of olive oil and salt make these delicious on their own but also serve as the perfect platform to load up on hummus, chicken or whatever else you want.  They really were so easy to make that I may never buy store-bought pita bread again.

To complement the pita bread, I made chicken souvlaki (chicken marinated in olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper) and a Greek salad (lettuce greens with tomato, cucumber, kalamata olives and feta cheese).  O-YUM-G!

HOMEMADE PITA BREAD

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tsp active or instant yeast
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1-2 tsp olive oil

In a large bowl, mix yeast and water.  Let sit 5 minutes or until yeast is dissolved.  Add 2 1/2 cups of flour (reserve the extra 1/2 cup for use when kneading), salt and olive oil.  Mix until a shaggy dough is formed.

Sprinkle some of the reserved flour onto a clean work surface. Scrape out the dough onto the work surface, setting the bowl aside, and knead for 5-7 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.  Use only enough flour to keep your the dough from sticking to your hands and work surface.  Return dough to the bowl and cover with lid or plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 1-2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

Preheat your oven 450 degrees. If you have a baking stone, place in the oven as you pre-heat.  If you don't, place a large baking sheet on the middle rack to heat.  Once the dough has risen, sprinkle some flour onto a clean work surface.  Gently deflate the dough and turn out onto your work area.  Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces.  With your hands, roll each piece of dough into a ball, then flatten. Using a rolling pin, roll out the balls of dough into thin, flat circles, about 5-7 inches in diameter and about 1/4 thick.  You may have to turn and flip your circles periodically to keep from sticking to your work surface and rolling pin.

Once the oven is at temperature, place the rolled out circles of dough directly onto the baking stone (as many as will fit).  Bake for 3-4 minutes.  The pita will start to puff up after a minute or two and will be done when it's fully ballooned.  Remove cooked pitas from oven and cover with a clean towel as you cook the remaining dough.

Pitas are best when eaten immediately after cooking.  Can be kept in an airtight bag for several days or they can also be frozen with wax paper between the layers for up to three months.

Note: Sometimes you'll get pitas that won't puff up.  Usually, that's because your oven wasn't hot enough. Make sure that you let your oven and baking stone get back up to temperature between batches after you've opened the oven.  Even still, I had some pitas that didn't fully puff up.  Don't worry, they're still just as delicious!

Yields 8-10 pita breads.

Recipe from TheKitchn

It's All Greek to Me - Part One

Happy Mother's Day!  It's been a celebration weekend for sure - honoring friends with graduations, friends with birthdays and of course, my mom and those who have been like a mom to me.  I'm now sitting on my sun porch enjoying the beautiful weather and the springtime chatter of the birds chirping, lawn mowers humming and kids laughing on the swingset.

One of the celebrations this weekend was for the birthday of a dear friend of mine.  It has become tradition with us to meet at our favorite Greek restaurant whenever we get together for dinner.  Since I was hosting at my house, I figured I would bring the Greek to us!  On the menu was chicken souvlaki, homemade pita, Greek salad and baklava.  None of which I had ever made before.  The pressure was on!

First up to make was the baklava.  I researched several recipes and settled on one by The Pioneer Woman.  Baklava, if you've never had it, is comprised of layers of flaky phyllo dough and nuts tossed in cinnamon with a sticky honey syrup mixture poured all over top.  Delicious!!

One of the main ingredients in baklava is nuts.  I've seen recipes that use walnuts, pistachios or pecans or some combination.  I chose to use equal amounts of pistachios and pecans, two of my favorite nuts.  A quick note about nuts - I have a steadfast rule that I always toast my nuts before adding to pretty much any recipe (savory or sweet).  Toasting brings out the flavor of the nut and also gives it a crispy texture.  Trust me, it's worth the extra step.

So after the nuts are toasted, pour them into the bowl of a food processor and add in some cinnamon and pulse the nuts a few times until they are evenly chopped into small bits.  Then set that aside.

Phyllo (FEE-loh) dough, which can be found in the frozen desserts section, comes in boxes with two packages of dough.  You'll only need one package for the baklava.  You'll also want to the thaw the dough in advance.  Either place in the refrigerator the night before, or if you forget (like I did), you can let it thaw on the countertop for a couple of hours.  A quick word on phyllo dough - it's a very thin and paper-like dough and dries out very quickly.  It's important to keep any dough you're not working with, covered in plastic and then a damp cloth on top.

Before we start working with the phyllo, we need to melt some butter so we have it at the ready.  Now that everything is in place, take two sheets of the phyllo dough and place on a clean surface. (Remember to cover the remaining dough with plastic and the damp cloth!) Brush the melted butter on top of the top layer of dough and then place in a greased 9x13 pan, buttered side down.  Grab another two sheets of dough, butter the top layer and place in the pan, again, buttered side down.  Repeat this process again; you'll now have six total layers of dough (three of them buttered).

Bring over that bowl of nuts and grab a good handful or two of nuts and sprinkle evenly over the phyllo dough.  Take another two sheets of phyllo dough, butter the top layer, place in pan (buttered side down) and again sprinkle nuts over the top.  Repeat this process until you've used up all the nuts.  Then, just as we did in the beginning, top with six sheets of dough, adding in batches of two, with the top layer buttered.  Brush a final coat of butter over the top.

Before we bake, we need to pre-cut the baklava with a sharp knife.  Traditionally, baklava is cut on the diagonal to make diamond shaped pieces.  If this is too fancy for you, you can always cut into traditional squares.

Bake the baklava in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or until a deep golden brown.

While the baklava is baking, we need to make the honey syrup-y nectar of the gods mixture. This is a crucial part of the baklava - it's the source of a lot of the flavor and all the sticky sweetness.  In a saucepan, combine butter, honey, sugar, water and vanilla until it comes to a boil.  Reduce to low and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside until the baklava is done baking.

Once the baklava is done baking, drizzle the honey syrup all over the top and let it seep into all the nooks and crannies.  Then comes the hardest step...waiting for it to cool!  It's actually very important to let it sit uncovered for several hours so that the honey syrup can set and all the flavors meld together.

I was able to follow these directions and wait to dig into the baklava until my guests had arrived (but man, it was hard).  During the evening, I learned that one of my friends had studied abroad in Greece and she said this baklava reminded her of the ones that her host mother would make.  Wow....such high praise!  

I ended up making a few modifications from the original recipe.  First, I toasted the nuts.  Second, I increased the cinnamon from 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp.  Lastly, I reduced the amount of honey from 2 cups to about 1 1/2 cup (a 12 oz bottle). I think these changes allowed for each of the ingredients to distinctly shine through without overpowering the others.  O-YUM-G!

Here's the full recipe:

BAKLAVA

For the nut/phyllo layers:

• 2 cups pistachios
• 2 cups pecans
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 6 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 package phyllo dough, thawed

For the honey syrup mixture:

• 1 stick of butter
• 12 oz bottle honey (approx. 1 1/3 cup)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp vanilla

Toast nuts and place in bowl of food processor with the cinnamon.  Pulse a few times until evenly chopped into small bits.  Set aside.

Melt the butter.  Take two sheets of phyllo dough and place on a clean surface. (Remember to cover the remaining dough with plastic and the damp cloth!) Brush the melted butter on the top layer of dough and place in a greased 9x13 pan, buttered side down.  Grab another two sheets of dough, butter the top layer and place in the pan, again, buttered side down.  Repeat this process again; you'll now have six total layers of dough (three of them buttered).

Sprinkle a handful or two of nuts evenly over the phyllo dough.  Take another two sheets of phyllo dough, butter the top layer, place in pan (buttered side down) and again sprinkle nuts over the top.  Repeat until all the nuts are used.  Top with six sheets of dough, adding in batches of two, with the top layer buttered.  Brush a final coat of butter over the top.

Pre-cut the baklava with a sharp knife into either diamonds or squares

Bake the baklava in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or until a deep golden brown.

While the baklava is baking, combine butter, honey, sugar, water and vanilla in a saucepan until it comes to a boil.  Reduce to low and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside until the baklava is done baking.

Once the baklava is done baking, drizzle the honey syrup all over the top and let it seep into all the nooks and crannies.  Let sit uncovered for several hours.

Yields 24 pieces.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Peanut Butter Oreo Cheesecakes

So yesterday was my good friend Rebecca's birthday and I was in the mood to bake (shocker, I know).  I asked her if she had any requests, or flavor favorites (or flavorites?) and she mentioned something chocolate or peanut butter or coffee (which she said in jest since she knows I dislike all things coffee).  So I said,  Challenge Accepted!

I began to think of some ideas that included both chocolate and peanut butter...maybe cookies, maybe cupcakes and then I remembered these individual Oreo turtle cheesecakes I had made a few weeks ago, that were incredible.  I only needed to make some modifications and we'd have our something chocolate and something peanut butter!  The other reason I liked this idea is because this recipe is super easy to put together and I already had all the ingredients - so no special trip to the grocery store!

The concept is this: use a whole Oreo cookie as your crust, quickly whip up your filling, add your toppings and bake for 15 minutes.  That's it!

So let's get started.  First, gather all the ingredients. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and place a whole Oreo in the bottom of each liner. 

Then you mix your filling ingredients all up in a bowl.  The batter will be pretty thick.

Scoop the filling on top of each Oreo - once again, I used my trusty #40 scoop to portion out the filling.  You may need to press down the filling a bit to get it to spread completely over the cookie.

For the topping, I chose mini Reese's peanut butter cups (no unwrapping of foils!) and chopped them up into pieces.  And since these were for Rebecca's birthday, I added some chocolate sprinkles to make them extra festive and made a special rainbow sprinkled one for the birthday girl.

Then it was into the oven for these guys for 15 minutes at 325.  Then just let them cool and then refrigerate until chilled.  When I served them at the party, I added a little sea salt caramel sauce drizzle to give them that little somethin' somethin'.  And they were a hit!  The birthday girl loved them and she lived happily ever after (or something like that)!

Here's the full recipe:

PEANUT BUTTER OREO CHEESECAKES

• 12 Oreo cookies
• 1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped Reese's peanut butter cups
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 325. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and place one Oreo in the bottom of each tin.  In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, egg, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla until blended and smooth.  Scoop out cheesecake filling across the cookies evenly.  Sprinkle chopped peanut butter cups over each cheesecake.  Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until cheesecakes are set.  Bring to room temperature.  Unwrap cheesecakes from their paper linings and refrigerate until chilled. When ready to serve, arrange on a plate and drizzle caramel sauce over the top.  

Yields 12 individual cheesecakes.

Note:  To make the original Oreo Turtle Cheesecakes, omit the peanut butter in the batter.  Before baking, sprinkle chopped toasted pecans and mini chocolate chips over each cheesecake.  Before serving, drizzle caramel sauce over top.

Mama Deb's Mac 'N Cheese

So last Friday I went to the grocery store. Hungry.  Which is never a good idea.  I passed aisle after aisle of tempting treats thinking of all the delicious things I could make for dinner, but (mostly) resisted.  (A box of Poptarts may have jumped into my cart without my knowledge.) Somewhere between the condiments aisle and the paper goods, I decided I was in the mood for mac 'n cheese, my go to whenever I can't decide what I want for dinner.  But rather than buy a box of Annie's or Velveeta & Shells, I decided to make mine from scratch using my favorite recipe from one of my church "moms", Mama Deb.

At my church, there are three families who have "adopted" me and one of my "moms," Mama Deb, makes the best mac 'n cheese in town.  At any church potluck, her mac 'n cheese is the first to go.  It's crazy good and takes only a little extra time than your standard blue box.  The genius in this recipe is the use of condensed cheddar cheese soup.  It makes for a great flavorful base and adds to the creaminess of the overall dish.  I now regularly stock my pantry with this soup so that I can make this recipe anytime!  It makes a full pan - but also reheats very nicely in the microwave!

So here we go:

Mama Deb's Mac 'N Cheese

• 1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 pound (16oz) cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 box cooked pasta (macaroni, shells, etc.)
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• OR 1 small, lunch-sized bag plain potato chips

Cook pasta al dente, according to package directions.  Drain pasta and set aside. In the same pot you cooked the pasta, combine the cheddar cheese soup, evaporated milk, cheddar cheese and egg. Heat until the cheese is melted.  Add dried onion, paprika, black pepper and cooked pasta. Transfer mixture into a greased 9x13 dish.  Combine bread crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle over the top of the pasta.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown.

Yields 8-10 servings

Note: To lighten up this recipe, you can use Campbell's Healthy Request Cheddar Cheese Soup, fat-free evaporated milk, use 2% cheese or half the amount of cheddar cheese (8oz) and omit the buttered bread crumbs/potato chip topping.  It's still just as delicious!

My favorite dinner combo: mac 'n cheese, chicken tenders and green beans!

Mustache Cake

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, this past weekend was full of baking.  One of the other projects I worked on was a birthday cake for a colleague of mine.  He sports a mustache as part of his signature look and thought it only fitting that his birthday cake feature a mustache (or two or seven!).

I've decorated many a cakes in my day - mainly using the Wilton method for piping out hundreds of little stars to make the design.  This past fall, I took a Wilton cake decorating course in fondant and gum paste and enjoyed using fondant and creating really cool layered and dimensional designs.  My final project was a fall leaf cake (check out the picture in the gallery!) which I was really pleased with.  I realized that I hadn't decorated with fondant since October, so I was WAY overdue for making another cake!

So here we go.  First, I made two chocolate cakes (I cheated and used a box mix).

Then cut off the tops to level them out for even stacking.

So when I made that peanut butter frosting for the homemade nutter butters, I knew that I wanted to use it for this cake as well.  So I made a double batch and spread a nice thick layer on the bottom cake.  Then topped it off with chopped up Reese's peanut butter cups. Yum.

Then added the top layer of cake and covered the whole thing in a thin "crumb coat" of frosting. Even though I am going to cover the whole cake in fondant, it's important to add a thin layer of frosting to the entire surface area of your cake - it acts like a "glue" to keep your fondant in place.  I've also read that you can add a "normal" amount of frosting as if you weren't covering in fondant.  I would just make sure that you let it set and/or chill the cake so that the fondant goes on smoothly and doesn't slide around.

Now we cover the whole thing in fondant.  Make sure you take into account the height of your cake (times two!) in addition to the diameter and then add on another inch or two to make sure the amount of fondant you're rolling out is big enough to cover the entire cake. 

And now the fun part - cutting out the decorative pieces to add to the cake!  I found an image of a mustache clipart online that I liked and used that as my template.  I just laid the template directly on my rolled out chocolate fondant, and using a small knife, cut out the shape. I then used a scaled down size of the mustache for the smaller ones that decorated the side.  For the letters, I used an alphabet cookie cutter set that I've had for years and finally got to use for the first time.  They worked so beautifully with the fondant - really easy to cut out and affix to the cake.  Speaking of which, all you need to get these decorative pieces to stick is a paint brush and a little bit of water.  Just lightly brush on a bit of water to each piece and it will act like a glue, keeping the decorations on the cake!

I really love working with fondant now - you can make a really impressive looking cake in a short period of time.  This took me a little over an hour to fully decorate (baking & cooling time not included). Now to think of my next excuse for a cake... Any suggestions?

Homemade Nutter Butters!

Greetings, friends! Hope you all had a great weekend.  Mine was very good but quite full of brunches, parties and baking!

So one of the parties I went to this weekend was a homecoming celebration for the fiancee of a family friend who had been away on deployment with the Navy. I wanted to bring something special to the party, and since the bride-to-be is gluten free, I had the perfect party treat in mind: homemade nutter butters (you may begin drooling now).

For years, I've been making my go-to recipe for peanut butter cookies, one that I discovered while watching Sara Moulton on the Food Network (remember Cooking Live?).  It's a simple, flourless peanut butter cookie, which really lets that peanut butter flavor take center stage.  One of my complaints with traditional peanut butter cookie recipes is that once you add the flour, it dilutes the flavor.  But not with these.  These little gems taste like pure peanut butter and just melt in your mouth. So, as I said, I've been making these for years, and was quite content with just eating them as they were. 

But one day, I was browsing the interweb (I make up words from time to time) and came across the idea of making a homemade version of Nutter Butters. I immediately went to my kitchen, whipped up these cookies and then made a peanut butter frosting filling. They say peanut butter and jelly are the best combination but I say peanut butter and peanut butter trumps all.  Just make these nutter butters and I think you'll agree!

Let's get started.  One of the best things about this recipe is that it requires 4 simple ingredients and can be mixed together by hand.  No special equipment required! So grab a large bowl and a rubber spatula and mix together your peanut butter, sugar, egg and baking soda (really! that's all the ingredients!). This recipe is easily doubled, as one jar of peanut butter is equal to two (2) cups - so I often double the recipe because 1) it's peanut butter cookies and 2) I'm too lazy to measure out just one cup of peanut butter.  

It will be very thick and should look like this.  Then use a tablespoon to measure out scoops of dough.  Roll them into balls and place on a cookie sheet about one inch apart.

With a fork, make the traditional criss-cross design as you flatten the balls of dough.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Now as the cookies cool, make that yummy frosting.  Start by blending peanut butter and butter (or margarine). Add powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk to get the desired consistency.  Mix until lighter in color and fluffy. 

Now to get that frosting happily sandwiched between the cookies, you can use a knife to spread a glob of frosting on the cookie or use a scoop to portion out equal amounts.  I used my #40 scoop to make generous dollops of frosting on each cookie. If you've gone this far, you might as well keep going with a big 'ol heap of frosting, right?!

Then top off those open-faced peanut butter sandwiches of goodness with another cookie and voila!  Homemade nutter butters!  Hardest part is not eating them all!

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Here's the full recipe:

Homemade Nutter Butters

Cookies:

• 1 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients until well combined. Using a tablespoon, measure out scoops of dough and roll into balls.  Place them on a cookie sheet about one inch apart.  With a fork, flatten the dough making a crosshatch pattern. Bake cookies until puffed and pale golden, about 10 minutes.  Cool cookies on baking sheet for two (2) minutes then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Frosting:

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup peanut butter 
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3-4 teaspoons milk

In a large bowl, beat together butter and peanut butter and blended and smooth.  Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time.  Add vanilla and mix.  Add enough milk to get the desired consistency then mix until lighter in color and fluffy

Assemble the nutter butters by spreading or scooping a generous amount of frosting onto the bottom of one cookie and topping it off with another.

Yields: 20 nutter butter sandwiches

Chinese Takeout Fakeout

So this weekend I had some friends over for dinner and a movie.  Things didn't turn out quite as expected, at least as far as the movie part.  We just enjoyed the food and conversation so much, we never left the dinner table!  I had initially proposed that we order Chinese to eat while we watched our movie, but became inspired to make my own Chinese take out.  On the menu: veggie fried rice and chicken lo mein.  

The veggie fried rice was the easy part - I kinda cheated and bought a seasoning packet that told me what to do (even the purists take shortcuts every now and then!) The chicken lo mein would require a little research, so off to The Google I went.  I read several recipes and ended up mashing a few of them together for what turned out to be a delicious homemade version of a takeout favorite!  This makes a LOT of food - great for entertaining guests (like I did) with enough for leftovers.

Here's the recipe:

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Chicken Lo Mein

• 1lb box, thin spaghetti
• 4 cups chicken stock + 2 cups water
• 4 chicken breasts
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 bags frozen Asian vegetables
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bag (or 4 cups) Asian slaw
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 4 Tbsp cold water
• 1/2 cup light soy sauce

In a large pot, bring chicken stock and water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving the liquid.

Cut chicken in to small pieces. Sprinkle with salt to taste. In a large skillet or wok, heat olive oil and saute chicken until done.  Remove from pan and set aside

In the same large skillet or wok, heat the sesame oil and add the vegetables, garlic and asian slaw and cook for 5 minutes until tender.  Dissolve cornstarch in cold water.  Add cold water and half of the reserved pasta liquid to the vegetables and stir.

Add cooked pasta and chicken to the vegetables.  Add the remaining reserved liquid and soy sauce.  Cook on low heat until pasta is nice and dark in color.

Yields: 8-10 servings

Adapted from Food.com

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All in all - this recipe was really tasty and I loved how much it made.  In fact, it was almost TOO much, as it barely fit in my largest skillet!  My kitchen was definitely a little messy after all this. :o) When I make this again, I'm going to add more vegetables.  I only bought one bag and I didn't think it was enough in the pasta to veggie ratio.  The recipe above reflects the additional bag.  And in case you're wondering what's all included in that magic bag of Asian vegetables, you get an assortment of broccoli, snap peas, carrots, red pepper, onion and water chestnuts.  Some brands also include baby corn.  Use whatever suits you!  

As for the Asian slaw, I discovered these new salad bags from Dole: Chopped Asian Blend.  It's a great, healthy addition to this lo mein with not only the expected cabbage, but also red cabbage, carrots, broccoli slaw, snap peas and that superfood everyone tells me I should eat...kale!  Once it all gets cooked in with the pasta, chicken and soy sauce...you don't even know it's there!

So with the help of some seasoning packets and this recipe, all you need are some chopsticks and fortune cookies to have a great Chinese Fake Out night!

Oatmealpalooza

Oatmeal.  Most people love it or hate it. I used to be an oatmeal hater - I always found it bland and too much like the stuff you use to hold bricks in place.  

But then I discovered the phenomenon that is the Growing Bowl of Oatmeal.  I first read about it at Hungry Girl several years ago.  I was intrigued that you could get such a big bowl of oatmeal out of a regular serving size.  The concept is simple: use double the amount of liquid and double the cooking time.  But while the original recipe called for some almond milk, cinnamon and Splenda, it still didn't have enough flavor to completely win me over.  

So how do I make a bowl of oatmeal so yummy and flavorful that I'll want to eat it EVERY morning for years to come? Get creative.

First, I started with the oats. I found I liked using quick oats vs rolled oats as they definitely absorb the liquid better and faster and don't overflow the container as much. Then for flavor, I decided to add some fruit and settled on a banana as a healthy, flavorful addition, plus I thought it would be a good thickener.  Then I added a healthy amount of cinnamon, a dash or two of kosher salt and some packets of Splenda. Next, I took a look at my liquid options.  I liked the idea of unsweetened vanilla almond milk - but mixing it with water? No, thanks!  I decided that Chai tea (essentially hot flavored water) would be the key to mixing with the almond milk for a creamy, yet spicy addition to the oatmeal. And so a morning ritual began.

The real beauty of this recipe is that it is so easy to prepare at work!  Most office kitchens have Splenda and one of those fancy coffee machines with umpteen options of coffee and tea (including Chai!) - so right there, two of my ingredients were covered.  Plus, there's a microwave.  All that I needed was a bowl.  And a big one.  I had found in my first trials of this recipe that oatmeal has a pesky tendency of bubbling up and over its bowl.  I settled on a 5 cup Rubbermaid container. 

Now we put it all together.  While the fancy coffee machine is brewing my tea, I'm measuring the oatmeal, cinnamon and Splenda into my bowl.  I measure my almond milk, add the tea when it's ready and pour it into the bowl with the oatmeal.  Lastly, I mash up the banana with my fingers and then pop it in the microwave for five (5) minutes.  While I wait, I usually make another cup of Chai tea for me to sip while I eat my enormous bowl of oatmeal.  And warning: this oatmeal smells soooo good while it's cooking, don't be alarmed if your co-workers come crawling to the kitchen wondering what's going on!

Here's the full recipe:

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Banana Almond Chai Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 packets of Splenda
• Dash of kosher salt
• 1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 cup brewed Chai tea
• 1 ripe banana, mashed

In a large microwave-safe bowl or container, add oats, cinnamon, Splenda and salt.  Add almond milk and Chai tea.  Add the mashed banana.  Microwave on High for five (5) minutes.  

Yields: 1 serving

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A few additional notes and helpful hints:

• I recommend Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.  You can find this at your grocery store, generally in the natural foods section.  However, your best prices will be at Costco or Trader Joes.  Trader Joes also has a good store-brand version in their refrigerated section - comes in a half-gallon size.
• All bowls and microwaves are different - watch your oatmeal as it cooks when you make this for the first time so you can catch it before it overflows. You may also need to adjust the amount of liquid based on how much it overflows and the consistency you prefer your oatmeal (really thick, sort of soupy, or somewhere in between). 
• There have been times when I've forgotten to bring in more almond milk or bananas and still wanted to make this oatmeal.  You can substitute regular milk for almond milk and use other fruit, like apples in place of the banana. 

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So it wouldn't be an Oatmealpalooza without some other yummy oatmeal recipes!  Over the past week, I've come across several recipes for oatmeal that are prepared in a variety of ways: in the oven, in the refrigerator and even in a crockpot!  So here's a round up the oatmeal recipes I've discovered this week, including a savory one - oatmeal doesn't always have to be sweet!

Strawberry Baked Oatmeal

This was actually one of the very first pins I ever posted on Pinterest.  I made it for my small group at church and it was delicious!  I'm making it again this weekend for my group - so will post a picture then. In the meantime, you can find the recipe here.

As promised, here's the picture of the baked oatmeal I made today. It was a hit!​

Slow Cooker Oatmeal

I made this a few years ago at Christmas.  What better way to wake up on Christmas morning than with breakfast already waiting for you!  The fruit bits flavor and sweeten the oatmeal as it cooks.

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 4 cups water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 - 7oz. bag dried fruit bits (raisins, golden raisins, apricots, apples, peaches and cranberries)

In a crockpot, mix all ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Add additional toppings or sweeteners, as desired.

Over Night Oatmeal

I haven't tried this one yet, but here's another take on having oatmeal prepared while you sleep! It's all about using a 1:1 ratio of oatmeal to liquid and then jarring it and letting it set overnight in the fridge.  You can read more about the variations on this concept, here.

Savory Oatmeal

And finally, a look at the savory side of oatmeal.  (This one's for you, Caitlin!) In looking up recipe ideas, I came across this list from, blog favorite, The Kitchn.  Apparently, there's a new-ish restaurant in NYC called Oat Meals.  And, you guessed it, all they serve is oatmeal (must go on my next visit to The City)!  One of their signatures is a Croque Monsieur Oats that is "studded with bits of ham, parmesan cheese, a little cream, black pepper and sea salt."  Doesn't that sound amazing?  I haven't found a recipe for it, so it sounds like something I must experiment with pronto!  Anyways, The Kitchn's list of savory oats also includes what appears to be a very simple, yet very tasty recipe from Mark Bittman, involving scallions and soy sauce.  That's it - sounds easy enough to me!  Find the recipe, here.

Well, friends, that's enough from me on oatmeal today.  Who knew there were so many options!  Feel free to comment below if you have any favorite styles or toppings for oatmeal.