Finding Inspiration In Food

Lucky DOG Rescue and the 2nd Annual Christmas Tail hosted by VOICE and Hotel ICON

2009-12-02T10:20:00.001-06:00

So my confession is the first time I've ever done a gingerbread house was last year at Angela's house using a kit. Click HERE to see my house from last year. This year I got an email to participate in a charity event hosted by the lady whom we adopted Mocha from. I said yes of course because I'm a lover of pet adoptions and in the back of my mind there's a contest involved so I had to give it a shot. Well little did I realize at the time I had never made gingerbread nor known all the little tricks to putting a house together other then slapping a bunch of candy on a house. So I spent a day trying out a couple recipes then found one I liked, which I posted below. Next came coming up with a design. I cut out and taped together a house I was happy. Once it was all baked I started to assemble it and it turned out HUGE. I had a little panic going in me figuring out how I was gonna decorate it then settled on pretzels. My house took 4 full days to put together! Luckily Angela came over for 2 of them and worked on her Snoopy dog house. Overall hers weighed in at 6.8 pounds and mine at 12.8 pounds.

Here's my bundle of joy and the reason we did the houses:

The event was held last night and was a success and a lot of fun. A special thank you to Angela for creating a lovely dog house and congrats for placing 3rd in the contest!! I'm happy to report that both of our houses went for $120 each in the silent auction! Not to shabby for being the only amateur houses there. I'm sad mine didn't place, since the Mystery Machine Van wasn't a doghouse even though it looked really cool, but overall I'm pleased with just being able to give back during this busy time of year.

1st place went to the Mystery Machine Van
2nd place went to the really tall stone house

First I'll give you the recipe I used then I'll show you some pictures.

Gingerbread House
(Adapted from Foodnetwork from a recipe courtesy of Beatrice Ojakangas)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup light molasses or dark corn syrup (I used dark corn syrup)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger (I left this out)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves (I left this out)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth.

Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough.

Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut paper patterns for the gingerbread house. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes until dough feels firm.

Fondant was also something both Angela and I had never worked with, but we gave it a shot and it was really fun.

I shaped some of my larger items such as the snow dog, dog bed and swimming pool with rice crispy treats then covered them in fondant.

The inside had the dog bed, a tv on the wall, a food and water bowl, gingerbread dog and Christmas tree. Here's each of the sides of my house:

I think the car ride downtown was the most stressful thing 29 miles is a long way when you have a fragile house in the back of the car!

Here's the pictures of our houses and the others that where entered:

Let me know if there's anything you need more details on with how we made our houses.

Caramelized Onion Flatbread

2009-11-29T08:45:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone survived their Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping. The extent of my shopping was going to the grocery store to buy everything I needed for a dinner party I hosted Saturday night and stock up on meat to smoke today for one last practice run. I wanted to squeeze in a post while my gingerbread is in the oven. This past week has been a blur and why I think I can do 10,000 at once is beyond me. Tuesday my gingerbread "dog" house is due so I hope on Wednesday to do a huge recap of that and all my Thanksgiving fixings. Then Friday we're off to Sealy for a BBQ contest. So my post will be light this next week.

I'm one of those people that have to have bread with every meal. Drives my hubby nuts but I take after my grandmother and breathe a big sigh when we're out of bread. Today's recipe is a wonderful change to the everyday slice of white bread with dinner. As I ate the bread with my meal my mind started to fill with inspiration for some other ideas of what to top bread with.

Caramelized Onion Flatbread

(Adapted from Southern Living October 2009 magazine)

1 large sweet onion, sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound balery pizza dough

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Saute onion in 1 tablespoon hot oil over medium-high heat 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Press dough into a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan, pressing to about 1/4 inch thickeness. Press handle of a wooden spoon into dough to make indentations at 1 inch interval; drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and sprinkle with salt, rosemary, and caramelized onions.

Bake at 425 degrees F on lowest oven rack 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Pumpkin Souffle with Cinnamon Anglaise

2009-11-23T06:00:00.002-06:00

I wanted to try out a new dessert for Thanksgiving and at my husband's wise words I should probably try it out before hand in case it doesn't work out. Since it's been a long time since I've done a souffle I agreed it was a good idea. I think secretly he wanted to try it ahead of time, but I'll never know. Well, good news is it worked out the bad news is it's a lot of work. It can pretty much be done the day or two ahead of time, but I would rather just make a simple pumpkin pie. This tasted really good and we really loved the Cinnamon Anglaise, I'll be using that instead of whipped cream on my pies for sure. I do encourage you to try it if you're looking for a new type of dessert to share.

Pumpkin Souffle with Cinnamon Anglaise
(Adapted from Todd English's book "The Olives Dessert Table)

8 tablespoons (1 stick)unsalted butter, plus more for pan and souffle dishes
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for souffle dishes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
9 large eggs, separated
confectioners sugar for dusting

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a small baking sheet. Spread pumpkin puree evenly over prepared baking sheet.

Bake until puree loses most of its moisture, but is not quite dry and has not formed a crust, about 25 minutes. Stir halfway through cooking time. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Cool at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to 3 days).

In a small saucepan, combine milk and fresh ginger. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let steep for at least 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve; discard solids.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter six 10-ounce souffle dishes. Dust with granulated sugar, tapping out excess.

Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth.

Gradually add in steeped milk, whisking constantly, and continue to cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the pumpkin mixture and the brown sugar to milk mixture; stir to combine.

Stir in egg yolks.

Transfer to a large bowl, and and place in ice-water bath to cool mixture completely.

Combine egg whites and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until stiff glossy peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into chilled pumpkin mixture in two stages.

Pour into prepared souffle dishes, mounding mixture slightly over the rim. Smooth surfaces of souffles with your fingertip.

Bake until tops are colored and dry to the touch, 20-25 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately with cinnamon anglaise.

Cinnamon Anglaise

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup milk
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
1/3 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, combine cream, milk and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let steep for 1 hour. Remove cinnamon sticks and discard. Add half of the sugar, and stir to combine.
Prepare an ice-water bath. In a large bowl, combine the remaining sugar, egg yolks and salt. Stir to combine.

Return cream to a boil and quickly, very quickly, pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. (Yes I know I did this backwards.)

Set aside for 3 minutes. Add vanilla and strain through a fine sieve. Discard solids.

Place bowl in the ice-water bath to cool mixture completely, stirring occasionally, 20-30 minutes. Will keep, refrigerated, in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Pumpkin Lune with Butter and Sage

2009-11-20T06:00:00.002-06:00

I love seasonal dishes. I got one to many small pumpkins that I thought I wanted to use as decor, but I hate to waste it so I decided to cook it. I've had this recipe from Martha Stewart's show back in 2007 that I printed and have yet to try so now is good as any. I used a basic pasta dough recipe which can be found anywhere online.

Overall we really liked this. It seems fancy like something you would only get in a restaurant. So if you're looking for something different to serve at your next dinner party give this a try. It's time consuming, but it can be made in advance. I just separated layers in a tupperware with cling wrap to keep the pasta from sticking together then just boil them when you're ready. I would love to try using squash and other vegetables in this as well one day.

We leave Colorado tomorrow and I'm sad that means it's back to housework and getting ready for Thanksgiving. I have a sweet treat ready for Monday's post keeping with the pumpkin theme then I'll be back in the saddle on Wednesday's post.

Pumpkin Lune with Butter and Sage

(Adapted from chef Mario Batali's cookbook The Babbo Cookbook)

1 small sugar pumpkin, or butternut or acorn squash (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 recipe Basic Pasta Dough
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
8 fresh sage leaves
1 large Amaretti Cookie (I left this out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut pumpkin or squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds; place on a baking sheet cut side up and drizzle with olive oil. Transfer to oven and roast until very soft, 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool; scoop out flesh from skin.

In a large bowl, combine cooled squash, cheese, nutmeg, and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper; stir well to combine filling.

Set the rollers of a hand-cranked or electric pasta machine at their widest opening. Cut off a piece of dough about the size of a large egg, and flatten it with the palms of your hands. Keep the rest of the dough wrapped in plastic. Dust the small piece of dough lightly with flour, and run it once through the machine. Fold the dough in half, pressing it down with your fingertips, and run through the machine again. Repeat this step four or five times, dusting lightly with flour if needed, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Now change the rollers of the pasta machine to a decreasing setting, and roll out the dough once without folding. Keep rolling the sheet through the machine on decreasing settings until you have rolled it through the last (thinnest) setting. Using a 2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out circles of dough. Pipe or carefully spoon a rounded teaspoon filling into the center of half of the dough rounds.

Cover filling with remaining dough rounds and press edges firmly together to seal.

Bring 6 quarts water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Add pasta and cook for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter stops foaming, add 2 tablespoons pasta cooking water; whisk until emulsified.

Drain pasta and add to skillet. Add sage leaves and toss gently until pasta is coated with sauce, about 1 minute.

Divide pasta evenly between 4 plates. Serve immediately garnished with freshly grated cheese and amaretti.

Field Greens, Crumbled Blue Cheese and Spicy Pecans

2009-11-18T06:00:00.005-06:00

We are enjoying our time so far in Colorado. We made it up here Saturday night after a 3 hour detour due to the snow storm moving in and the roads covered in ice and accidents, then we were snowed in on Sunday so I have some pictures at the end of my post from then. Monday the snow started to melt, but we took advantage of the snow by sledding down the driveway. I forgot what it's like to sit back and not do anything, but read a book and relax.

I like to encourage people who read my blog if there's something you would like to see or have a request of a recipe you would like me to try and review let me know I'm always up for trying new things as long as it's not too wild. So today's recipe goes out to a friend who asked me to post a good salad recipe. I got this from my cousin which I'm not sure where she got it from, but it's one of my families favorites. I plan on making it as part of my Thanksgiving meal this year instead of the usual bottled dressing line I put out. You'll notice I didn't use field greens in the pictures, I kept it simple and did a wedge of lettuce.

Field Greens, Crumbled Blue Cheese and Spicy Pecans

Vinaigrette

(makes 12 ounces)

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup distilled white vinegar

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4 1/2 teaspoon onion juice

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup vegetable oil

Combine sugar, dry mustard, salt and vinegars. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Whisk in onion juice and Worcestershire.

Add oil slowly, whisky continuously until blended.

Spicy Pecans
(Yields 4 1/2 cups)

2 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups pecan halves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eff whites with salt until foamy.

Add sugar, Worcestershire, paprika and cayenne.

Fold in pecans and melted butter.

Spread pecans evenly on a baking sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool. Store pecans in an airtight container.

Salad

4 cups mixed field greens
2 green onions, chopped
4 ounces (1 cup) blue cheese, crumbled
1 Granny Smith apple, cored, seeded and chopped
spicy pecans

Here's what it looked like from the back porch as the snow was coming down all day Sunday.

Here's my baby playing in the snow:

Here I am trying to build a snowman:

Here's the finished snowman, Mocha wasn't too sure what it was, but realized he wasn't a threat.

Back to sunny skies on Monday:

Creamy Parmesan Pasta Sauce with Tortelloni

2009-11-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

Do you miss me yet? I thought so, that's why I decided to do a comfort food to get your week started. Don't worry I saved some fancy food for you this week while I'm away! I'll even try to put together an extra post with shots of what we're up to.

I liked this recipe because of how creamy it was, but I wasn't over the moon about it. It lacked a lot of flavor so next time I'll be tossing in some herbs and seasoning. Otherwise it was a really nice thick sauce that's super filling.

Creamy Parmesan Pasta Sauce with Tortelloni

(Adapted from local HEB ad)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour

2 cups half and half

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (I used regular)

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 box (14 oz) tortelloni

Melt butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and stir in flour to paste.

Gradually add half and half stirring constantly until sauce starts to thicken.

Add seasonings and cheese. Reduce heat to low and simmer.

Cook tortelloni according to package instructions. Drain and toss with sauce.

Almond Joy Martini

2009-11-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday the 13th! I hope nothing spooky happens today, we'll be on the road traveling so I'll have my eyes wide open the whole day. The cold fronts aren't staying around here long so we're heading to Colorado where there's cooler weather.

Thinking of spooky Halloween and Friday the 13th, I'm sure you're still eating all the leftover Halloween candy, but in case you don't have any left or you would rather drink it then I have the thing for you! I could drink these all night they taste just like the Almond Joy bars, but they'll knock your socks off. After searching the internet for recipes that use chocolate vodka since I had it leftover from my Halloween shots I came across this recipe from Fine Living Channel. I hope you give it a try it's really tasty!

Almond Joy Martini

(Adapted from Fine Living Channel)

1 ounce chocolate vodka

1 ounce hazelnut liquor

1 ounce coconut rum

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until well blended, then strain into a chilled martini glass.

Jalapeno Cilantro Dipping Sauce

2009-11-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

Calamari is one of our favorite appetizers to get when we go out to dinner. I also like making them at home for half the cost! I wanted to try something a little different with fresher ingredients instead of the usual maranara sauce. The thing I liked about this sauce is that you could use it for other things. I would like to try it on fish, fried shrimp or chicken fingers, it really did inspire me to find other uses for it.

Jalapeno Cilantro Sauce

(Adapted from Tampa Maid's Breded Calamari Rings box)

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup tomato puree

1 garlic clove, minced

2 jalapenos, seeded and diced

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix thoroughly, chill and serve.

Crab Stuffed Shrimp and Peppers

2009-11-09T09:35:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Not much on our agenda, hubby went 4 wheeling with some friends while I shopped on Saturday then Sunday we smoked some meat all day. We're getting ready for a BBQ cook off coming up in a couple of weeks so practice makes perfect. Smoking meat isn't the most glamorous job, but the wait all day is worth it in the end. To tie us over I made some crab stuffed shrimp and instead of the usual cream cheese peppers I put some stuffing in them as well. I was inspired by a couple different recipes I've done in the past and come up with my own. While I admit I usually like anything on the BBQ pit, I think the crab stuffing flavor is better when it's done in the oven because the smoke flavor over took the crab flavor. Adjust the seasoning in the mixture to your taste and feel free to use the stuffing as you wish it's really good just as it is too since there's no egg.

Crab Stuffed Shrimp

2 sticks butter

1 sweet onion, chopped

1/4 pound celery (I left this out this time)

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 cup bread crumbs

8 ounces crab meat

In a saucepan over medium heat, place butter in and allow to melt. Add next 9 ingredients and cook 6-8 minutes.

Place mixture into a blender and blend. Be careful as mixture is hot. Transfer to a mixing bowl adding bread crumbs and drained crab meat. Stir until combined.

There's a couple of different ways you can stuff and serve the shrimp. You could coat them with flour and deep fry them at 350 degrees F for 1-2 minutes then place a tablespoon of stuffing onto each shrimp.

You can stuff the raw shrimp with a tablespoon of stuffing, then wrap with bacon and bake them in a 350 degree oven. Or you can grill them which is how we did ours today.

For the peppers I just hollowed them out and filled them with stuffing then grilled till the pepper was soft.

Old-Fashioned Lemon Pudding

2009-11-06T06:00:00.002-06:00

I love reading other bloggers recipes as I hope many of you enjoy some of the things I have to share. I don't know how she does it, but Mary makes the most wonderful things and she post all the time. One of her recipes caught my eye that sounds so refreshing I knew I had to try it. I didn't take pictures of the process, but it's really easy. Check out her blog to see how beautiful the pudding looks, since I couldn't get a really good shot of how wonderful it looks. This makes the perfect amount and my hubby has already requested I make it again!

Old Fashioned Lemon Pudding
(Adapted from Mary at One Perfect Bite)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2-1/2 cups milk
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:
1) Place sugar and cornstarch in a 2-quart saucepan. Whisk to combine. Gradually add milk, whisking until smooth. Add egg yolks, lemon zest and salt. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until sauce thickens and coats a spoon.

2) Remove pan from heat. Stir in lemon juice and butter. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl or individual serving dishes. Let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap. Transfer to refrigerator for 2 hours, or until set. Serve chilled. Yield: 4 -6 servings.

Crawfish Fettuccine

2009-11-04T06:00:00.006-06:00

Today's recipe is an oldie, it comes from a grandmother of a high school friend I had. I haven't had it for 10 years now and forgot that I had the recipe until I was flipping through and came across it. It also didn't dawn on me this recipe makes a BUNCH of food so hubby will be eating it for the rest of the week for lunch and probably next week. I suggest you cut it in half unless you are feeding a crowd in which case make the full batch. It's a great make ahead dish just make it till the baking part, cover and refrigerate then bake it when you're ready to eat. It may seem watery when you put it in the baking dish, but don't worry it'll soak up when you bake it. The only thing I changed is adding more spice as usually. I added Old Bay, red pepper flakes and cayenne right before you add the noodles in. You can also use egg noodles if you want to skip using a knife at dinner. Overall this is a hardy recipe that you can easily swap the crawfish for shrimp, chicken or whatever you like.

Crawfish Fettuccine

3 onions, chopped

3 bell peppers, chopped

3 celery sticks, chopped

2 sticks margarine or butter

1 pound noodles

3 pounds crawfish

4 pods garlic, minced

4 tablespoons parsley

1 (26 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

1 pint half and half

1 pound Velveeta cheese

jalapeno peppers (optional)

Saute onions, bell peppers, celery in butter. (I cheated to cut down on time and used pre-chopped bell pepper and celery.)

Boil noodles, drain and set aside. Add to onion mixture.

Cook crawfish, garlic, parsley and soup for 15 minutes.

Add half & half and Velveeta cheese. (Add jalapeno as well if desired.) Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add noodles and pour in casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

2009-11-02T06:00:00.001-06:00

Hope you aren't having an upset tummy from all the candy over the weekend! We had a great time seeing all the kids dressed up.

As Fall creeps in and we had two nice cold fronts last week, I wanted to make one last sweet summer treat to use up some strawberries left over from my Tiramisu dip. These where very tasty right out of the oven and later in the day, but after that they're not so great. I see now why they recipe says their only good for one day.

Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies
(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl.

Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart.

Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Finishing touches for Halloween decor

2009-10-30T06:00:00.012-05:00

I'm soooo excited it's almost time for Halloween! If you're looking for some last minute decorating ideas you've come to the right place. I've got some super easy and inexpensive things that will do the trick! First up is my cookbook stand. I really hate to just decorate the table and that's it, so why not extend the area a little? I took a black sheet of scrapbook paper and some shiny silver letters as well as some 99 cent star/magic stickers. I just slip the sheet of paper over the cookbooks and poof you have a simple quick and easy cover for your stand.

Next thing I did was rummage through my flower vases. By adding some water and a few drops of food coloring you get a vase of blood and green science jars. I added some dry ice so they would bubble away then later added some floating candles when the dry ice was done. Don't fill them full with water if you plan on adding dry ice, because you'll end up with a lot of water on your table from the bubbles.

Toss around some extra spider rings and arrange all your food.

I've been busy trying out recipes for a chili contest coming up so can't post the recipe yet as I'm still tweaking it. I will show you my "moldy cornbread" though. :) For this I just added some green food coloring to the Jiffy box mix recipe and baked them in mini muffin cups. It's the little details that count! Not sure why they look neon with the flash on and super pale in the natural light but they looked really good in person. I used about 6 drops of food coloring with 2 box mixes.

And last but not least don't forget to use the pumpkins as a vase! These work great as a hostess gift or a center piece.

Hope you have a super safe spook-tacular Halloween!!

Punch and fun ice cubes

2009-10-28T06:00:00.005-05:00

I really enjoy the punch that's served at every shower, but when you use colored sorbet it turns it into a nasty looking punch. I decided it would be great to use as a Halloween cocktail and name it Bug and Spider ice served in Swamp Water Punch. I also played with dry ice for the first time this year and added some to the punch to keep it nice and cool with a neat effect.

Swamp Water Punch

46 ounces pineapple juice

1 (2 liter) Sprite

3 cups coconut rum

1 1/2 cups vodka

1 pint rainbow sorbet

Combine all ingredients and serve.

Once again go for the details in your party! I can't tell you how important it is and people will notice the little things. I stocked up on a bunch of the glow sticks and picked a lot of different colors so you could crack them and place them in your drink, this helps keep track of who's drink is who's while doubling as a stirrer.

Another fun touch was gummy worms. I like to garnish the glass with something edible instead of some fruit everyone is gonna pick off. I also found some cheap plastic cups I filled with the gummy worms.

Now on to some more creepy additions for your drinks.

For my spider ice I used the little plastic spider rings and washed them. Once you fill your ice cube tray with water place the rings in the center of each cube and press down slightly. I used a neon color spider so people could see them in their drinks and not eat them.

The bug ice is done the same way except you replace the spiders with raisins.

Tiramisu Dip

2009-10-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Today's recipe is more of a treat then a trick. If I had to pick one of my favorite desserts I would have to say tiramisu. I hate to order it when we go out to dinner, because it's really hard to find a good one. If you make it at home there's a lot of waiting and it takes a while to make a good one. Then there's the mess factor as my hubby would call it with cocoa all over the place. Well, I've found something even better! This is really good made in advance since it takes 4 hours in the fridge to chill. I don't know while because it tasted the same and looked the same as when I made it, but whatever it's in the directions for a reason! This is one of those dishes that inspires me to change up a classic dish to something totally different like a dip. I do hope you try this it's really really good!!

Tiramisu Dip

(Adapted from Fiesta monthly mailer)

4 ounces mascarpone cheese

4 ounces sour cream

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons Marsala cooking wine

2 tablespoons cooled espresso

2+ tablespoons heavy cream

seasonal fruit

lady fingers

Combine cheese, sour cream, brown sugar, wine and espresso in small bowl. Mix with electric mixer until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons cream and blend, adding additional cream until dip reaches desired consistency. Chill 4 hours. Serve with fruit and ladyfingers.

Brain Hemorrhage and Tootsie Roll shots

2009-10-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

You always hear on the shows where they're throwing a party and they want their own "signature cocktail". Well I thought it would be fun for a cocktail to welcome guest that goes along with the theme of the party. I did a search online for some creepy cocktails and found two that sounded pretty good and didn't have some random liquor I'll never use again. The Tootsie Roll shot tasted just like a tootsie roll, except would have been better if I read the instructions a little better (see my note below). It's supposed to look more like chocolate milk then layered like my picture. The brain hemorrhage is pretty nasty looking, but taste like peaches and cream. The cool thing is you can make them a little ahead of time and it holds it's shape so it's not one you have to make to order.

Brain Hemorrhage

1 1/2 ounce peach schnapps
float 1/4 ounce Baileys Irish Cream on top
drop 1 teaspoon grenadine through the Baileys

Tootsie Roll Shot

2/3 ounce chocolate vodka

1/3 ounce amaretto

drizzle of chocolate syrup

Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a shot glass. (I messed up and just put the syrup in the bottom of the glass instead of shaking it with the vodka and amaretto. Shake it with it so you won't have the issue I had where it seems like no point in the syrup because it sticks to the bottom.)

I arranged all the shots on a platter and decorated with plastic bugs and eyeballs.

Yummy Intestines

2009-10-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

So glad to see ya'll like the candy apples! They are a huge hit in my house so I love passing along great ideas that work well for us. Today's spooky recipe is one I saw online last year and ran out of time to make so I put it in my file to try this year. She stuffed hers with guacamole, but I decided to use my favorite spinach artichoke dip which can be found HERE. Use your imagination and whatever you like as the filling. She had a great idea of using something sweet like nutella or vanilla pastry cream which I think is a great idea.

The only suggestion I have is to make the red a little darker at first because when it bakes it turned more pink then the blood red I was looking for. I think I should have cut the 3 rectangles into halves long ways, but wasn't sure until it baked they turned out really fat.

Check back on Friday, because I have a really cool frightful cocktail.

Icky Intestines

(Adapted from Canary Girl)

1 package packaged Puff Pastry

choice of filling

1 egg, beaten

food coloring and brush

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Now, you’ll need to cut your pastry into long rectangular strips and paste them together (brush a little beaten egg and press down–it doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, after baking, the seams don’t show anyway) to form a loooooong strip of dough.

Spread your filling down the entire center of the dough, leaving a bit of space on each side to pinch closed. Bush the edges with a little egg and pinch the whole thing closed.

Carefully lift the intestine onto the baking sheet and form an intestine looking thing, rolling it over so the pinched edge is on the bottom. Brush the pastry with beaten egg.

Dip your small brush into some red food coloring (I added a little blue, too, to get a darker color) and paint on the “blood.” (I just added the food coloring to the egg that was left and then brushed the whole roll instead of the little details. I think I'll do it the way the directions are next time.)

Bake for about 20 minutes, just until golden, but not overly brown.

Tribute to Halloween

2009-10-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but Halloween is my favorite holiday. I'm scared to death of the haunted houses and I don't go nor do I watch super scary movies, but I still love the dressing up part, the decorations and of course hosting fabulous parties.

So in tribute to Halloween whether your hosting a party of looking for something fun to bring I'm going to share my ideas with you. So get ready for some spooktacular fun!

First up are my super cute Candy Apples. I really like candy apples but I can never eat a whole apple in one sitting. Maybe that means I'm not a kid anymore :( with a super sweet tooth or I also don't want to eat a huge apple when the costumes now a days are short and super tight. So for a lighter side I decided to do little mini apples.

Candy Apples

Yields about 15 mini apples from 1 apple

1 apple

15 tooth picks

caramel

toppings of choice

Start by peeling the apple. Then using a melon baller scoop out the "mini apples" making sure to be close to the last spot you scooped out therefore you get more out of the apple.

Insert the toothpicks.

Dip each "mini apple" in the caramel.

Dip in pecans, sprinkles, coconut, whatever topping you like or leave plain.

Liquid Chocolate Goodness

2009-10-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

First off WELCOME FALL!!! Woohoo cold front rolled in dropping the temps down to low 70's for the weekend. I've been dieing to try this recipe for a spiked hot chocolate while I'm curled up with my hubby by the fire and it's about time I get to enjoy it. The liquor was a little strong overall, but tasted really good with the whipping cream on top. I decided to mix it in before I poured it in the cups so I didn't have to mess with stirring it and messing up how pretty they look. So cut back a little and then try it worse case you'll be warmed up in no time with making it the way the recipe says.

Chocolate Nudge

(Adapted from Spec's Liquor magazine mailer)

16 ounces whole milk

7 tablespoons sweet ground Ghirardelli (I used Nestle milk Chocolate Chips)

2 ounces Kahlua

2 ounces Amaretto

Freshly whipped cream

In a saucepan, gradually heat milk.

While heating, add chocolate and stir until steaming.

Pour into two over-sized coffee mugs. Add equal parts Kahlua and Amaretto to each. Top with whipped cream sprinkled with a little ground chocolate.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

2009-10-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

I've held off posting this recipe because I never got a final shot of the dish. I made it for my hubby to take to work for lunches and then thought darn it how am I gonna get a final beauty shot when I don't have it here. Oh well, I do plan on making it again so when I do I'll update this post with a final shot of the dish. My hubby raves of this and said it's the best he's ever had. I know most of the time he probably just says that but he kept going on and on and on about it so I think he really did like it.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

(Adapted from Southern Living 40 Years of Our Best Recipes)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups crushed tortilla chips

2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

Garnish: fresh cilantro

Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and bell peppers; saute 8 minutes or until tender.

Stir in chicken and next 5 ingredients; cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.

Place 1 cup crushed tortilla chips in a 13x9 inch baking dish.

Layer with half of chicken mixture and 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese.

Repeat layers, ending with cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired.

Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.

Lamb Lollipops

2009-10-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

Another Sunday Steak Night twist. We tried cooking lamb for the first time. I'm always interested in trying to cook new things and branch out, it's part of the inspiration I get when walking in the grocery store and watching cooking shows. As usual I print recipes when I see stuff on tv and this one comes from Martha Stewart's show. I cut the recipe down because the cost of lamb is not as cheap as I thought and I didn't want to make a ton of it when I didn't know how it taste. I opted for the rack and cut them apart myself then Frenched them. Cost difference was $9.99 a pound doing it myself or $12.99 a pound already done. The smallest pack I could find was 2.61 pounds so $26.07 this better work out. I didn't tell my husband the cost until after he ate and said how good it was we should make it again and wished I made more instead of a small amount, which he then said we'll just do it for a special occasion.

All I kept thinking when I was cutting them was the show Hell's Kitchen where chef Gordon Ramsay yells at the chefs for how they aren't even pieces and they are falling apart. Thankfully mine didn't and they looked nice. My pictures are a little sloppy looking, but I was in a hurry and hubby was starving. Wasn't too crazy about the potatoes they where a little bland, but the meat was really good.

Lamb Lollipops with Green Goddess Mint Dipping Sauce and Roasted Potatoes
(Adapted from Dan Aykroyd via Martha Stewart )

1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh peeled ginger
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for pan
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
24 lamb chops, frenched and completely trimmed
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Green Goddess Mint Dipping Pots

In a medium bowl, whisk together garlic, ginger, soy sauce, 1/4 cup oil, and pepper. Place lamb chops in a large shallow baking dish and pour over garlic mixture. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add potatoes and cook until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to prepared baking dish. Add rosemary and drizzle with remaining olive oil.

Transfer to oven and roast 15 to 20 minutes. Turn potatoes by shaking sheet and continue roasting, 15 to 20 minutes more, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, preheat grill or a grill pan over medium high heat. Remove lamb chops from marinade, wiping off any excess and place on grill. Season with salt and pepper, and grill, rotating lamb chops 1/2 turn after 1 minute, and continue grilling until cross-hatch marks form, about 1 minute more. Turn lamb chops and repeat process on opposite side. Transfer chops to a warm plate and let stand 3 to 5 minutes before serving with dipping sauce.

Nutty Java Mudslides

2009-10-09T07:25:00.001-05:00

I thought that today I would make a cocktail that's icy cold since that's the only coldness in the area. It's Fall and supposed to be starting to cool off. In Texas NO, we're getting warm fronts! What's that all about? Looks like I'll have to sit on the patio watching it rain today since we're supposed to get lots of it. There's a cold front moving in that will drop it down to the 60's then tomorrow we're back in the 80's. Crazy weather I tell you!! So maybe if I have a cool cocktail while I sit on my patio and wish that it was colder out it'll feel sorry for me and stick around.

Nutty Java Mudslides
(Adapted from Southern Living August 2009)
Makes 4-6 servings

2 cups ice
2 cups softened chocolate ice cream
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons coffee liqueur
2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
2 tablespoons milk

Garnish: dark chocolate shavings

Process ice cubes and next 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor 30 to 45 seconds or until blended and smooth. Serve immediately. Garnish as desired.

I had some of these little guys left over from the Dreyer's Ice Cream Block Party which worked out perfect not having to measure. I only had one chocolate left so I had to sub some vanilla. It didn't effect the flavor of the drink to me I think it was just a little less chocolate flavor, but you couldn't tell.

I used some chocolate mix such as Quick to rim my glass with. If I had guest joining I would have made it fancy and done chocolate curls but this worked just fine and wasn't too rich.

Just for fun I'll share some of the concert pictures I took.

Here's some from the Britney Spears concert 9-16-09, that girl sure does know how to put on a good concert and entertain a crowd! She doesn't stand still very long so it's hard to get a picture of her. I thought Jordan Sparks did an amazing job opening the show she's got a wonderful voice.

These are from 10-4-09 at the Rob Thomas concert. Carolina Liar opened and played for 30 minutes then One Republic came on for 30 minutes. I'm in love with them I can't wait till they come to town again he's so full of energy and plays every instrument. Rob Thomas came on and did a great job playing for 2 hours. We didn't stay the whole time because it was standing room floor tickets so you basically don't move or else someone steals your spot. We got a lot of rain on Sunday so we didn't make it down there for the meet and greet at 12:30pm and couldn't find a last minute sitter for Mocha since the show didn't start till 8pm. Oh well still grateful I won the tickets and was able to see the show.

Back in the groove of things

2009-10-07T06:00:00.007-05:00

It's nice to be back home and back on a regular schedule. I've been busting my hind end last week getting all my recipes tested and made for last Saturday to travel to Winnie, Texas for the State Rice Festival cook-off. A special thank you to my husband who took amazing pictures of our day there's 314 of them on my photo site if you care to see the details of how we get our dishes ready. Let me know and I'll give you the password.

Saturday started out by waking up at 4am so I could take a quick shower and start packing up the truck and finishing some last minute details. We pulled out of the drive way at 6am for an hour and 1/2 drive to Winnie. Once we got there we unloaded the truck fired up the generator so we could plug in the food processor and microwave and start plating our dishes. My dad and I each had 8 dishes so we needed all the time we had. Overall we both finished well. I got a trophy for Most Creative, 1 fist place, 1 second place and 2 third place ribbons. My dad got a trophy for Most Original, Reserve Grand Champion platter, 2 first place, 1 second place and 1 third place ribbons.

First I'll share how my photos did:

3rd Place winning $10 with "Waiting For The Snow To Stop"

Honorable Mention with "Parking With A View"

Honorable Mention with "I Promise I Didn't Make Him Cry"

2nd Place winning $15 with "Nothings Stronger Then A Family's Love"

Now on to the food!! If you would like to see any of the recipes let me know and I'll post them.

This dish won the trophy for most creative and also got 1st place. "Tropical Rice Shooters"

"Roasted and Toasted Salad" won 2nd place

"Broccoli Rice Salad" won 3rd place

"Black Bean Rice Tasters" won 3rd place

Here's some of the other dishes I entered but didn't place:

"Brown Rice Blini"

"Jackpot Rice"

"Chocolate Coconut Rice Covered Cherries"

"Caramel Rum Rice S'Mores"

Hope you enjoyed the look into the contest world. I'll be back on Friday with another tasty recipe.

No-Bake Grasshopper Pie

2009-10-05T06:00:00.006-05:00

I had some guest over for dinner early last week and made a heavy meal so I wanted something light for dessert. I've been wanting to try this pie I saw in Family Circle, but I changed it up a little. Instead of making a pie crust I just stood up a cookie in the dessert cups and filled it with the filling. I also cheated and used whipped cream from a tub instead of making it.

Here's what the original is supposed to look like:

Here's how mine turned out:

No-Bake Grasshopper Pie

(Adapted from Family Circle)

Crust:

1 bag (7 oz) oval chocolate and mint filled sandwich cookies

1/2 cup slivered almonds

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Filling:
8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup creme de menthe syrup

2 tbsp confectioners' sugar

1 1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup heavy cream

Garnish:

mint and chocolate curls

Slice 1 inch off one end of each sandwich cookie. Pulse these trimmed pieces in food processor with almonds until crumbs are formed and almonds ground. Add softened butter, pulse until evenly combined. Press crumbs onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate, covering your hands with plastic wrap to avoid sticking. Prop remaining cookies, cut side down, around rim of plate. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Filling: Beat mascarpone slightly with hand mixer until smooth.

Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup water in 1 cup glass measuring cup. Let soften 2 minutes, microwave 15 seconds until gelatin is dissolved. Cool slightly.

Gradually beat creme de menthe syrup and sugar into mascarpone until blended; mixture will look curdled.

While mixer is running, add 1 1/4 cup heavy cream. Beat until soft peaks form.

Gradually beat in gelatin; beat until medium-stiff peaks form.

Pour into prepared crust, swirling top decoratively. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.

Once pie is set, beat remaining 1/3 cup cream to soft peaks. Dollop on top of pie. Sprinkle with chocolate curls and mint springs.

I found the creme de menthe syrup near the ice cream toppings, but if you don't want to buy it you can make your own following this recipe:

Creme de Menthe

2/3 cup water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon pepperment extract
6 drops green food coloring

Stir to combine. Store at room tempreture.

Yields 1 cup.

Italian Fondue

2009-10-02T06:00:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy week and it's only gonna get busier! I leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Winnie, Texas to attend the Texas Rice Festival. Then this week I won concert tickets to Rob Thomas which is on Sunday sooooo I'm gonna do an advanced post to pop up on Monday and then by Wednesday I'll have an update on how the cook off went. I hope you don't mind!

This post is a little overdo. I had some girlfriends over a couple weekends ago and I made this fondue. It's one of my favorites and taste really good. I've tried it before with the potatoes recommended by Sandra Lee, but didn't' like it so much so stick with some yummy french bread.

Italian Fondue

(Adapted from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
1 (16-ounce) jar Alfredo sauce
1 (8-ounce) package shredded four-cheese Italian blend (provolone, Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheeses)
Bread slices, for dipping
Red potatoes, cooked and diced, for dipping

Melt butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add sage and cook until butter is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Whisk in Alfredo sauce. Gradually add cheese, whisking until cheese melts and mixture is smooth. Transfer mixture to a fondue pot, chafing dish or ceramic bowl. Serve with bread and potatoes.