Friday, January 28, 2011

Valentine Peppermint and White Chocolate Heart Lollipops


Sweets for your sweeties!


Aren't these just too cute?!!

Well, it is almost February, that time of year when cupid visits.

So, let's get ready with some great, simple, festive, red, white, and pink treats...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Real Deal Cheesecake


The Golden Deliciousness!
 


Ok, I hear that this is supposed to be like New York style Cheesecake, I am reluctant to say that because sadly enough I have never been to New York to have "real" Cheesecake. (and I am not going to go on what others say, if it isn't local then I am not claiming that it is!)

Having said that this is "the real deal".

What is "the real deal" you ask? (So, glad you asked!)

It is baked cheesecake, and not too creamy, but thick, dense cheesecake!!! That gets better after day two!

I sadly enough know way too many people that only eat no bake, out of the box or store bought, frozen cheesecake and never had "the real deal", baked cheesecake.

It is a travesty to me!

So, let's get started so everyone can have "the real deal"...

Monday, January 24, 2011

Orange Yum-Yum Rolls

Yum Yum!
Smell the citrus? the sugar?
That is about all I can say about this beautiful concotion of homemade bread, fresh grated orange rind with freshly squeezed orange juice and sugar!
So, I will say it again, "Yum-Yum!"

No, I really have much more to say, plus the recipe, so you can enjoy your own...

Friday, January 21, 2011

Classic Sausage Balls

Need a quick but filling breakfast?

Perhaps an appetizer?

An only 3 ingredient breakfast meal?

Well, let's revisit the forgotten sausage ball...


 

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Cheddar Cheese Corn Muffins

It is that time of year,

time for chili, stews and soups.

So, here is my great little "corny" muffin to go with those warming, stick to your rib meals...



Tuesday, January 18, 2011

1943 Joy of Cooking: Potato Volcano with Welsh Rarebit

Ok, so I am sticking to one of my 2011 food goals and cooking from my vintage 1943 edition Joy of Cooking cookbook.

I found this recipe while looking through the Vegetables section (another one of my 2011 food goals, cook/eat more veggies) and it just had FUN written all over it (it included the word volcano, plus it includes beer as one of the ingredients).

So let's get to exploring Potato Volcanos with Welsh Rarebit (otherwise known as cheesy potatoes with beer!)...




Monday, January 17, 2011

Chicken Phyllo

Need an idea for a nice sit down dinner?

Need an idea for a family meal?

Need an idea for a prepare ahead meal?

Need an idea for a meal that will feed a lot of people?

Need an idea for a meal on the go/wrap?

You get the picture...

You are in luck!!! I have the answer to all those questions in this recipe! Truly, no joke!

 This is my new "go to" recipe.

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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Sprinkles of Suggestions Saturday

These are just a few of my suggestions:



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Ok, I have never posted on a Saturday before (but I have also never missed a weekday either until this week).

But then there was this recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Bars over at the Brown Eyed Baker. I must say most everything she posts I save for my to do list at some point. So then I started thinking, what if someone else has not had the pleasure of being introduced to this lovely site (hard to believe) or this lovely recipe.

My mind is already spinning with ideas of lining the pan with chocolate then adding the layers or actually taking the time to do this in mini muffin pan for inidividual cups! But this recipe is great just the way it is and really simple, so a double plus!!!

So, this is more about sharing than suggestions, because who am I to suggest you do anything, but share, suggest, whatever you want to call it, I am HIGHLY suggesting you make this recipe, like now, or at least sometime this weekend.

So, lets get to it...

Friday, January 14, 2011

White Chocolate Cake with Rich White Chocolate Frosting

So with the world outside of me being blanketed with snow what better way to celebrate mother nature than with a white on white cake, with a twist ( I couldn't stand to not try something different and my mind has already been thinking about Valentine's Day!).

Not much else to say, except this cake is darn good!

I was surprised at how rich it was, especially since I had just finished up a Triple Chocolate Cake with Fudge filling and Chocolate Buttercream icing!!

So without further rambling, let's get started...

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Blackeye Pea Salsa Soup

 Well I am from the south and I had good intentions of having blackeye peas and hog jowl for New Year's.

Why? I don't know. I have never done that before in my life although I come from a family that does. I seriously don't think I have ever had blackeye peas before.

Needless to say I didn't do the whole blackeye peas and hog jowl thing on New Year's. (I got this great invite from friends to have dinner at their house on New Year's so that got me off of my kick real quick!)

So, I had this can of blackeye peas sitting in my cupboard, along with some hog jowl in the fridge. (My husband kept opening the fridge and gravitating towards it, always asking "and what is this? It's like bacon?" It was the meat eater coming out in him, he could smell the salty pork a mile away, I swear! I think he was almost in withdrawals from Country Ham at Christmas time)

Anyways, so then I continue to think about my blackeye peas and hog jowl, and then I keep thinking about soup because it is so cold outside. And all this keeps swirling in my head like the tornado scene from Wizard of Oz. (scary being inside my head isn't it?!)

So, finally I just get out my blackeye peas and hog jowl and start cooking and end up with this wonderful soup!


Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Amish Friendship Bread-Phase Two


In order to make Amish Friendship Bread you need a starter.

If you missed the post on Amish Friendship Bread- Making a Starter then check it out so you can follow through and make this amazing cake-like bread and be a great friend and pass along some starters to your baking friends!

So, let's start where we left off and let the 10 days of fermenting begin...

Monday, January 10, 2011

Amish Friendship Bread~ Getting started on your starter!



Ok, my first attempt with bread was this Amish Friendship Bread!

A wonderful cake like bread, you know like in Banana Nut Bread, not really earthy sourdough bread, but a sweet bread.

A colleague of mine, from my previous life as a Speech-Language Pathologist, was getting ready to move halfway across the country so she shows up at work with all these ziploc baggies full of yellowish mush with instructions for 10 days worth of mushing!!!

So of course I jump on it! I am always up for cooking and delighted to have my very own bag of homegrown yeast mush!

Well, that bag of yellowish mush was the result of her starter. So, unless I decided to make bread every 10 days for the rest of my life or hold on to the one special bag of yellow mush in my fridge forever I needed a different game plan. Luckily, another colleague came up with the entire recipe from starter (ha! ha!) to finish. (sorry, I couldn't help myself!)

So, let's begin with making our starter for our Amish Friendship Bread (trust me this is well worth it!).

Friday, January 7, 2011

Fan Tans ~ Buttermilk Rolls

Ok, well I have attempted two of my 2011 Food Goals in Fan Tans,

1) baking bread from scratch and
2) Baking from my vintage "Joy of Cooking~ 1943 edition" cookbook

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I have made bread from scratch before, but I am very much the novice on this and want to try more breads and recipes.

I had some buttermilk in my fridge and kept contemplating on what to do with it because I rarely have buttermilk. So, I started perusing through my vintage cookbook and in the index there are 3 recipes under buttermilk, potato rolls, rolls and sherbet (yes, I said sherbet!).

I went with the rolls, didn't want to go for the potato rolls, they are listed as a coffee cake as well, definitely not in the mood for some buttermilk sherbet, so rolls it is!

Plus with an alternate name such as fan tans, I thought Fan-Tan-tastic!!!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Favorite Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Muffins

Got Ripe Bananas?
This sometimes becomes the state of my bananas.
To be honest I like my bananas overly ripe, no one else in the house does though, they would prefer to eat them green!

I think they "hate" this state of bananas so that they can "become" muffins!

So, let's get ready to make some delicious banana nut chocolate chip muffins! (I have to add chocolate to almost everything I make!)








Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Oriental Cashew Asparagus

Ok, after yesterday's Triple Chocolate Cake with Fudge Filling and Chocolate Buttercream, 5x the chocolate, even I was feeling guilty and had to make something somewhat healthier.

Another one of my 2011 Food Goals is to cook/eat more vegetables. For me personally this isn't that hard to do, there have been times in my life that I might as well have been a vegetarian (although I am not one), like when I was pregnant with my first child, I rarely, rarely, ever ate meat! But being the cook and trying to make everyone happy (the hubby who sticks to lettuce and cucumbers for his green veggies, and two children 3 and under! ) I don't always cook that many vegetables.

And this is the response I got from my husband when I said I needed to go to the grocery store for vegetables: "You need vegetables for what?!"  Ummm.. what else do you primarily do with vegetables.. EAT THEM! (or if you are like our household the animals aka horses get them!) 

So, I have started off the first week of 2011 with Oriental Cashew Asparagus

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Triple Chocolate Cake with Fudge Filling and Chocolate Buttercream Icing

What a way to start the New Year!

A cake with 5x the chocolate!!!

Who could ask for anything more?!

Well, My father-in-law asked for this cake for his Birthday, which is Jan. 2nd!

Ask and you shall receive...

Monday, January 3, 2011

My 2011 Food To Do List~ Cooking from my vintage 1943 edition of The Joy of Cooking!

Happy New Year!

Well, with 2011 here I have been thinking, what are some food things that are on my to do list...
"Joy of Cooking in 1943", Bread Pudding, Nikon D3100 d-slr...