TWD #62: Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder

I have no idea what the quote means but I just thought it was a cool play on words and had “tart” in the line. HA!

Have you ever had absinthe? It’s illegal in USA but you can order it online. (FYI Previous sentence will self-destruct in 5…4…3…) Best description. Green-ish alcohol, tastes like black licorice in 150 proof (75% alcohol) form and slightly hallucinogenic (although I personally didn’t see any green fairies when I drank it).

UPDATE: Ok I got schooled about the availability of absinthe in the USA. Read comments for more info! I have a sudden urge to go to BevMo now…

Oops! Tangent.

This week the Tuesday with Dorie-nators are baking up some chocolate cream tart hosted by Kim of Scrumptious Photography. (You can find the full recipe on her blog.) It would be an understatement to say “I love Kim’s blog”. It’s more like: I LOVE KIM’S BLOG! This girl knows scrumptious photography. My food photography inner child wants to be like her when I grow up. Her photography skills are crazy, yo!

What did I learn this week:
Baking is a process that needs undivided attention for perfection. You have to follow the process or you will get burned (literally and figuratively). Next time I will not try to squeeze in making the chocolate cream filling after dinner and before Last Cake Standing finale. FYI 1hour39minutes is not enough time.

Chocolate Cream Tart
Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan

To make tart crust: Look at all that butter! You know it’s gotta be good.

I decided to make the Sweet Tart Dough instead of the Chocolate version b/c I am not a huge chocolate-on-chocolate person. Gasp! I know.

I made the full dough recipe but only used 1/2 to make 3 mini tarts. Froze the other half to use some other day when the tart craving kicks in! (Full recipe yielded about 14oz of dough so I used about 7 oz for 3 mini tarts.) I popped the mini tart crusts in the freezer for about 3 hours before baking (but I think Dorie says only need 30 minutes).

Dorie says you don’t need pie weights but I decided “just in case”. I baked my mini tart crusts for about 20 minutes for nice golden brown color.

To make chocolate cream: egg yolks, starch, sugar and salt. Tip- Sift the cornstarch like Dorie says. My cream filling was a little lumpy and I blame the lazy baker non-sifted cornstarch.

I used 1-1/2 cups 2% milk+1/2 cup half-and-half instead of 2 cups whole milk.

Mmm… melted chocolate. I used 1/2 bittersweet and 1/2 semi-sweet.

I forgot to 1/2 the chocolate cream filling. Oh well. More for me!

Isn’t my mini tart slice so cute? Fits on the end of a fork. *giggle*

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A/A+
He’s a chocolate person but even said that he was glad I decided to forego the chocolate crust so that he could taste the chocolate cream filling more. He ate 1 whole tart and 1/2 of another tart. I think he mumbled, between bites, “Tish izsum goo shtart”. (Translation: This is some good tart.)

Wifey rating: A
Wow. That chocolate cream is SO good. Love it with the sweet tart dough. I got lazy at the end and skipped the whipped cream but I bet it would have been amazing with. Definitely will make again!

Bunday Monday

Sunday morning is my favorite time of the week. We try to take things kinda slow since the other days of the week are very hectic. Sunday mornings my husband watches tv, drinks his coffee and enjoys the Sunday newspaper with me.

Usually when my husband is done reading whatever section of the newspaper he had at the time, he haphazardly throws it to the floor so he knows that he finished reading that particular section. But I remember one morning he just started laughing, almost to the point of choking, and told me to “Come look and bring the camera!” (Does my husband know me or what?)

I guess Cinnabun (RIP) had been laying on the floor next to the couch and Hubs had thrown the newspaper, without looking, on top of Cinnabun. Crazy thing is, Cinnabun didn’t even move!

Doesn’t he look comfy under his newspaper tent? lol

Happy Monday readers. xoxo

Foodie Question of the Day

(image source: Ninecooks)

How do you defrost beef, chicken and/or seafood?

(1) If I plan ahead far enough I will defrost in my frig overnight. (Rarely happens b/c I am Miss Dinner Procrastinator.)

(2) If I have a few hours I’ll defrost in a bowl with some cold water. (Usually if I remember at work I’ll call my husband to do it for me.)

(3) If I am in a big hurry I’ll microwave-defrost. (I prefer this method only as a last resort b/c meat always ends up with a weird taste. Maybe it’s just my microwave? *shrugs)

PS. Funny story. I accidentally got tongue-tied and told my coworker “Happy Hump The Earth Day”. Obviously my brain couldn’t decide between “Happy Hump Day” and “Happy Earth Day”. Doh! *smacks head*

Bunday Monday

I remember, about 6 years ago, when Hubs and I were in the process of packing and moving into a new apt, we tried to keep everything organized in labeled boxes – kitchen, bedroom, livingroom, bathroom and Ebay.

Don’t ask me why but Cinnabun (RIP) loved the Ebay box.

So we ended up not selling anything on Ebay. lol

(See husband? It’s Cinnabun’s fault. Definitely NOT my pack rat mentality. Yup, I am totally blameless in the situation.)

English Muffin Margherita Pizzas

Who doesn’t remember English Muffin Pizzas? english muffins, canned spaghetti sauce, LOTS of mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices. Ah yeah…

I think it’s like a rule or something that if you’re a mom you learn to make these before you give birth, right? Probably between the *heeheewhoo* and push parts in lamaze class. Maybe it’s in Dr. Spock’s book too. I wouldn’t be surprised.

Last week my coworker mentioned eating English Muffin Pizzas with her kidlets and ever since then I’ve been craving them. (No, I am not pregnant.) I think it’s like eating at MickeyDs for me. It’s nostalgic of my childhood. Happy meals and English Muffin Pizzas. I was a happy child.

As luck would have it, Matt from Daregal Herbs, contacted me a couple weeks ago about trying some fresh frozen herbs. I did a double take and re-read the email again. Fresh AND frozen? Isn’t that an oxymoron? But I think we all know that I like free stuff (What? he said the magic word: Free) so I said “Sure, I’ll try your fresh frozen herbs.”

*cuckoo cuckoo*

(image source: Daregal Fresh Frozen Herbs)

I was expecting a little box of whatever but Matt hooked me up! He sent me a sample of 8 different herb and herb combinations: basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, dill flavors and herbal blends (original blend, Italian blend and grilling blend).

So I took it as a sign. A sign to give into my craving for english muffin pizza with a little more sophistication of classic margherita pizza flavors: tomatoes, basil, mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

What did I think of the herbs? SO.FREAKING.AWESOME. Finally a way to have herbs all year around. They are a little pricey but I’d pay it and more for the ease of having herbs in your freezer anytime you need it. Honestly. It almost pains me to say that the herbs proved me wrong. I hate being wrong. But those herbs make everything so right. I am officially in love.

Warning: Looking at picture may produce side affects that include instant salivation and licking lips.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, Dec 2002

INGREDIENTS

6 english muffins (12 halves)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, halved
5 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (I used 10 cherry tomatoes, chopped)
shredded fresh mozzarella cheese, to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (I used Daregal frozen basil, sprinkle to taste)
salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Combine oil and balsamic vinegar in small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Set aside.

Toast english muffin halves in toaster on lowest setting. Remove from toaster and brush with olive oil. Rub english muffin halves with cut sides of garlic.

[NOTES: Recipe didn't say what to do with the leftover garlic so I minced it up and added it to the oil-balsamic vinegar mixture. Cant waste any garlic!]

Sprinkle evenly with cheese, tomatoes and basil. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and edges are golden. Brush the vinegar mixture evenly over the pizza. Sprinkle mini pizzas evenly with salt and pepper.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A/A+
He loved the pizzas but mentioned that a little protein wouldn’t hurt. What’s up with men and protein?

Wifey rating: A+
So easy and what’s not to love about mini pizzas? You could probably skip toasting the english muffin before brushing with olive oil but I like my pizzas a little crunchy.

Other rating: A+
My little brother came over for dinner and helped me make them. (He’s going away to college next year *sniff* so he wanted to learn how to make something easy to cook.) He absolutely loved this recipe and mentioned that I saved him from the next 4 years of ramen. HAHA

TWD #60: Do you believe in magic?

♪Do you believe in magic?♪♫

I have no idea why that song is stuck in my head! It’s driving me nuts. I don’t even know who sings it and where it’s from. I think it’s a show? or movie? Argh! I am gonna go crazy trying to figure it out… Don’t you hate when that happens?

[Insert transition sentence here]

I was iffy about making last week’s Banana Cream Pie b/c well… I am a banana hater. By the time I decided on an Unbanana Cream Pie Tuesday turned into Thursday. Where does the time go? (Sorry Amy!)

I was already feeling guilty about skipping the last 2 weeks so I knew I couldn’t skip this week especially since our hostess is Holly of Phemomenon. Isn’t her blog name so stinkin’ cute? Seriously pink puffy heart this girl! You can find the complete recipe on her blog. Honestly don’t stop at just this recipe either. She’s a super blogger. She’s even been on TV!

*bowing down, mumbling… I’m not worthy*

Sorry I’ve been such a Tuesdays With Dorie slacker. Haven’t been that motivated to get in the kitchen lately. I guess I am in a little baking funk. It happens.

What I learned this week:
I’ve never had an amaretti cookie before and I’m kinda iffy about whether I like it or not. I might need another cookie (or 10) before I can make up my mind. But lucky for me I am willing to take that challenge all in the name of science.

Fifteen Minute Magic: Chocolate Amaretti Torte
Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan

I halved the recipe and used 2-4inch springform pans. I was kinda lazy and omitted the parchment paper hint. Bad idea! The torte stuck to the bottom of the pan. It wasn’t terrible but I did lose some of the torte to pan stickage. You should do as Dorie says and not what I do mkay?

I bought my amaretti cookies from Starbucks (Go figure!) and used the whole 1.75oz box (minus one cookie that I ate to make sure they weren’t poisonous. Obviously) processed with whole unblanched almonds.

Since I halved the recipe it was a little tricky halving 3 eggs so I kinda just estimated 1 egg and 1/2 of another. I wonder if there’s an easier technique to halve eggs? maybe by weight?

Look at all the sugar, egg, butter, chocolate, amaretti and almond goodness…

Mmmm… ganache

I divided the batter between 2-4inch springforms and I baked my mini tortes for about 25 minutes.

Pouring the ganache over the torte was my favorite part!

The innards remind me of a brownie texture. Call me weird but I love innard pictures of desserts.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A-
He ate his little mini torte in one sitting but said it wasn’t his favorite.

Wifey rating: A-
I liked the torte (it reminds me of a brownie texture) but I guess I am not a BIG chocolate on chocolate person so it was a little rich for me. Also wasn’t too keen on the little almond bits. They kept getting caught between my teeth!

Next week: Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding pages 410-411

Bunday Monday

Beware of Identity Theft… It could happen to anybunny!

Hoppy (belated) Easter everyone!

(Thanks to Nina for this edition of Bunday Monday!)

Bunday Monday

I used to have this couch that had huge cushions. I miss that couch.

I remember when Snickerdoodle use to think the big poofy cushions were a good little spot to take a snooze. Doesn’t she look comfortable? I think she misses the couch too.

*Snap* *Crackle* *POPS*

Remember I said I wasn’t one to give up easily?

I’m backkkkkkkkk…

Obviously I am far from a professional cake pop-er like Bakerella so I thought you all would appreciate seeing my dipping… ahem… mishap… from first time.

I am happy to report that take two was better than the first run. *whew* Second generation survived the dipping process. I think they had better health insurance? LOL. Or maybe it was because I actually read the instructions more closely and realized I had forgotten a crucial step (dip the lollipop stick into chocolate before inserting into cake pop). Doh! *smacks head*

After making the cupcake pops, I decided to be a little more adventurous and attempt the Hello Kitty pops too. Don’t get me wrong. Hello Kitty is cute (who could resist that little red bow?) but I was more of a frog fan when I was younger. *wink*

Oh who am I kidding? I still heart Sanrio.

Hello Kitty and Kerokerokerropi POPS!
Recipe adapted from Bakerella

Makes about 40 cupcake pops

INGREDIENTS
1-13X9 baked cake (I used Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake mix)
1 can cream cheese frosting
1 package green candy melts
1 package white candy melts (set aside some disks for eyes)
black food safe marker
lollipop sticks
garnish (round sprinkles, M&M, jumbo heart sprinkles, white chocolate chips)

[NOTES: I used Mercken brand candy melts. Even though you might have extra candy melts left over, I like to melt more than less. Makes dipping easier.]

INSTRUCTIONS

Bake a 9×13 cake from a mix or from scratch and cool completely.

Crumble cake into a fine consistency into a large bowl. To make it easy, you can run it through a food processor. Add a can of cream cheese frosting. Blend thoroughly.

Prepare a wax paper lined baking sheet. Roll cake mixture into 1.25-1.5″ size balls and lay on baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for several hours. (You can also freeze for about 15 minutes if you are short on time.)

[NOTES: I used my digital scale and weighed each cake ball at about 1.0 oz]

Remove cake balls from refrigerator and begin to mold into oval shape. (I use my thumb and index has a guide.) Set on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining balls. Cover and return to refrigerator overnight. (You can also freeze for 5-10 minutes.)

Melt white and green candy melts per package instructions in large bowls. (Melt as needed b/c it hardens the longer it sits.) Remove the oval cake balls from freezer and prepare another wax paper covered cookie sheet. Dip end of lollipop stick into the melted chocolate before inserting into chocolate bottoms. Insert the lollipop sticks. Continue with rest of the pops.

[NOTES: Don't skip dipping your lollipop stick into chocolate before inserting into cake ball. You don't want my "mishap" to happen to you!]

I used a long cup to dip. Made it much easier than a bowl for me. Make sure it’s a microwave safe cup though. You might have to nuke the candy melt again mid-dipping.

Let chocolate set completely, about 15-20 minutes.

To make Hello Kitty:
Attach 2 white chocolate chips to the top of cake pop for “ears”. Let set upright in a styrofoam block. Dip the cake pop into melted white candy melt. Rotate and let excess chocolate drip off. Let set. Attach 2 jumbo hearts and red M&M for bow and yellow circle sprinkle for nose with a little melted candy melt. Let set. To create the eyes and whiskers, draw freehand with food safe marker.

To make Kerokerokeroppi:
Make eyes out of reserved white candy melt disks and food safe marker. Dip the cake pop into melted green candy melt. Rotate and let excess chocolate drip off. Let set upright in a styrofoam block. Attach eyes and pink circle sprinkle (for cheeks) with a little melted candy melt. Let set. Draw mouth with food safe marker.

[NOTES: My food safe marker wasn't working so I used a (food dedicated) paintbrush and Ateco black food gel.]

To complete the presentation, cover the cupcake pops in a little plastic bag and tie with a ribbon.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A
He was impressed with how much they looked like the characters but insisted that I should have used red velvet instead of chocolate cake. Sheesh.

Wifey rating: A+
I think my Hello Kitty and Keroppi pops turned out pretty darn cute. Next time I’ll probably splurge on the mini red M&Ms for the bow but the regular was a good substitution too.

Other rating: A+
My CW told me that her daughters ADORED the Hello Kitty pops and didn’t want to eat them. Eventually they did and loved the cake+frosting+chocolate combination. And I *think* I heard myself say I’d make 80 pops for her daughter’s birthday next month… eek!!

Taste & Create: Let Them Eat (Cup)Cake

I am sorry Tuesdays With Dorie. I kinda cheated on you this week. But it’s not you. It’s me. I needed something a little new and out of my comfort zone. You know how it goes, right? Aawww don’t look at me like that. You know I can’t stand the puppy dog eyes…

Taste and Create is a blog event that brings bloggers together randomly and the gist is that you kinda “get to know each other” by baking or cooking something from your partner’s blog. Personally I think it’s such a cool concept. I think you can learn so much about a person baking in their shoes. Isn’t that what makes food blogging so fun?

For my first T&C, I got paired up with Debbie from Let Them Eat Cake… And All Things Baked! and I knew we’d get along swell when I saw the cheesecake link on her sidebar. And it pretty much sealed the deal when I saw that it was a red velvet cheesecake. Of course I didn’t see the cheesecake recipe link on her blog until after I had baked my go-to cheesecake. Oops! But I baked her red velvet recipe so it’s all good right? Oh yeah and I made them into cupcakes. What can I say? Me and rules aren’t always on the same page.

Now I know you never see cupcakes on my little ol food blog. It’s not that I don’t like cupcakes. People that know me well know that it’s actually the contrary! I am a cupcake addict so I have a whole other blog dedicated to cupcakes but I figured as a little change of pace, I’d post my cupcake concoction here.

Thanks for inspiring me this month, Debbie!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Let Them Eat Cake & BFMHTY, Dorie Greenspan

Makes about 18 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For red velvet cupcakes
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces of red food coloring
2 (heaping) tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

For cheesecake
Four 8-ounce boxes cream cheese, at room temperature (I used Neufatchel Cheese instead)
1-1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream (or combo of both) (I used all heavy cream)

cream cheese frosting (canned or favorite recipe)

INSTRUCTIONS

To make red velvet cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.

In a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, cream shortening, sugar and eggs until well combined. Add red food coloring to cocoa to create a paste. Add to shortening mixture. Add cake flour alternatively with buttermilk, starting and ending with dry cake flour. Then add salt and vanilla. Mix together the vinegar and baking soda and fold into your batter mixture.

Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for about 18-22 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely, then wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to assemble. (Chilling is easier for the assembly process.)

To make cheesecake—
In a stand mixer (or hand mixer), fitted with a paddle attachment beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft, about 4 minutes. While mixer is till running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition to produce a well aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.

Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.

Use a rubber spatula to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Put the roasting pan with springform in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.

After 1 hour, carefully pull the cheesecake out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster. (Warning: Be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil.) Remove the foil and let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.

When the cake is cool, chill the cake in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better. Remove the sides of the springform.

To assemble cupcakes—
Remove cupcakes from freezer and discard plastic wrap and liner. Using a clean, sharp knife cut each cupcake in half. Set aside. Using a 2-1/2″ diameter cookie cutter, cut circles out of the cheesecake. (Depending on how thick you want the cheesecake section you might want to cut the circles in half horizontally.)

Frost each cupcake half with your favorite cream cheese frosting. (Think of this as the glue that holds everything together.) Place the cheesecake circle between the 2 cupcake halves and pipe more cream cheese frosting on top!

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A+
He loves red velvet and Dorie’s cheesecake recipe so combining the 2 recipes was beyond phenomenal for him. He already requested I make them again for his birthday or any other holiday that I have to bake cupcakes. I think that means he liked it?

Wifey rating: A/A+
I liked this red velvet recipe but it’s not my favorite. I’ll probably stick with my go-to recipe next time. The combination of red velvet and cheesecake are AH-MAZING. Definitely will make again.