Baking Foodie

Daring Baker's September Challege: Sugar Rush..

2010-09-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

I love me some sugar cookies. I love the concept of a cookie on a stick. :)

I do live near the city of Berkeley so I had try a bit of tye dye.

From the awesome band The Beetles. All you need is.....

Yes, all you do need is love. As I found out the dog ate the cookies while I was away at work. They were sitting on the counter far from the edge. I guess the smell of a sugar cookie was too hard to resist. He had to swipe the off the counter. I had a weird suspicion something was up when I walked through the door and he was running around the sofa like a speed demon. After further investigation, I find some crumbs and the lollipop sticks upstairs. Silly Dog. I guess it was punishment for making him wear this the night before.

He's a banana split for Halloween. Look! Doesn't he look excited?? Ha ha ha.

Daring Cooks: Food Preservation

2010-09-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Question: What do you do with a garden full of tomatoes? Give up?? You preserve them! I decided to take a stab of freezing roasted tomatoes.

Here is my lovely photo of the tomatoes fresh out of the oven.

Bagged and ready for another day. Also here are a few of the tomatoes from the garden. With the wonky weather here in California. The tomatoes are late coming in.

Of course, I gotta leave you with a photo of the yummy food in action. Toasted bread with cheese, topped with a roasted tomato and homemade pesto. I made an abundance of pesto sauce. I threw them in an ice cube tray and froze them for later. Another food preservation win!

Daring Cooks: Pierogies

2010-08-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

This month's challenge, I decided to put a bit of my own twist on this challenge. Instead of the traditional perogi filled with cheese, potatoes, and bacon. I used ingredients from my garden.

Photo on the left: Zucchini and with ground turkey. Photo on the right: Chinese green chives with baked tofu.

I guess you can called these Chinese pierogies. These were quite tasty. Husband was quite thrilled with them too. I made so many, I have a freezer full of them now. Perfect for days when I don't feel like cooking.

Daring Baker's Challege: Swiss swirl ice cream cake

2010-07-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

2 years ago I married to love of my life. We've been together for a total of 10 years, but finally decided to make it official. We did everything backwards. We bought the house, got two furry babies then decided to get married. Hey..it works for us.

To celebrate, I made us a special dinner. We did a round 2 on the daring cooks nut butter challenge (see previous post). And for dessert, I wowed my husband with this.

Chocolate swirl cake, homemade rocky road ice cream, chocolate fudge finished off with some vanilla ice cream. If you didn't just gain 10 pounds from reading this, you are just lucky. Once this was put together and finishing in the freezer, I was excited to dream up the different flavors that I could come up with. I'm thinking mango next.

My husband said the funniest thing, "With a meal like this, can everyday be our anniversary?" Aww..I love this guy. He's happy to eat whatever I make most of the time and I get free tech support. I am the luckiest girl alive. :)

Daring Cooks Nut Butter Challenge

2010-07-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

I know it has been so long since I have blogged. May was a super busy month with my friend's wedding. June has been crazy with family functions and work. However, I did get a bit of a breather to partake in this month's challenge.

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

One word describes this challenge...YUM! I heart nut butters and have made my own nut butters before. I decided to make a cashew nut butter and make a asian noodle dish.

I have never seen my husband so excited about the result of this challenge. I think he ate 3 servings. He even asked if we could have it the follow day. This is definately a recipe that will be in our rotation. It was so simple to make and put together. :)

Wedding Cupcakes: Itta + Javier = LOVE

2010-05-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I had the honor of making my co-workers' wedding cupcakes. It has been a dream of mine to make wedding cupcakes. When I was planning my own wedding, I was very adamant about making my own. It was not until my wonderful bridal party and my photographer who brought me down to reality. With all the craziness the week of the wedding, there would not have been any time.

Alas, the dream of making my own wedding cupcakes were put away for another time. Until Itta got engaged. The first thing she said to me was, "So you're making my cake right?" My reply, "Sure. Uh huh." Thinking that we were just having a chat. Nope. She ment it. So began the process of designing, creating, planning, delivery, and setup of these wonderful cupcakes.

I have to put this photo in. This is the VP of Operations of the company. All night I sat by this man who was anxiously waiting for the cupcakes. We kept telling him, that if he was a good boy, his patience would be rewarded. As you can see, he got his cupcakes.

I surprised Itta's husband Javier with a groom's cake. As a wedding gift, Javier restored a Volkswagen bug. I thought it would be cute to make a car cake that looked similar to his restored car. :)

To Itta and Javier! Congrats on your nuptials. You two are are the most generous and sweetest couple that I have ever met.

Daring Baker's Challenge : PIECE MONTÉE

2010-05-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.

I've made cream puffs before, but was never able to achieve the crispy outside. The egg wash definitely made the difference. The photo is actually my second attempt at creating the tower. I was able to successfully make a tower without a cone reinforcement. Please with the result, I quickly ran to get the camera for the money shot.

Husband says, "Hey honey. What happened here?" When I heard that, I knew the tower had collapsed. So if you squint, you can tell I used a small tin cup to hold my croquembouche together.

Enjoy!

Daring Bakers: Traditonal British Pudding

2010-04-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

What is suet? Well my friends, suet is essentially animal fat/lard used to make flaky crusts. The idea of suet for a baking challenge turned me off. Thankfully, Esther did offer us a vegetarian and vegan option. Lucky for me, the vegan option required no special ingredients. Plus I had two ripe bananas that needed some loving.

I think I should have steamed the cake longer. According to instructions, I needed to steam the cake for 40-60 mins. I did 60, but I think it could have been longer. While the outside was nice and firm, the inside was still gooey. Like a molten lava cake. My husband though it was strange, but quite yummy. Me? It was chocolaty, definitely hit the spot. I am definitely going to try this again. I really want it to come out more cake like.

Daring Cooks: Brunswick Stew

2010-04-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

Blog Checking Lines- The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

Dear Mother Nature,

I am not too sure if you are aware, but according to the calendar we are in the spring season. I was hoping you were going to grace us with some birds chirping, warm sunshine a maybe a light breeze. I am very upset with you mother nature.

Apparently, you did not get the memo that it is spring because we are still getting random downpours and weather temperatures in the 40s. Those two items alone are is California girl's worse nightmare. How do you expect us to look cute?

That's okay Mother Nature, I forgive you. You know why? Because the cooking challenge was a yummy brunswick stew. Loaded with deliciousness.

So if you get this message, please please please help a sista out and enough with this weather. Bring on the warm weather!

Thanks,

LH

Thank goodness for this stew! With the cold temperatures, this stew was great dish to have to keep me warm and happy. It was so simple to make too. I threw everything in a crock pot. I think I am in love with my crock pot. Throw things in the pot, set it and come back to it later. Viola! Dinner is on the table. I was excited to use up leftover corn and ham from Easter dinner for this dish.

I think the hubby enjoyed the dish since he went for two bowls of it. For me, it was so hearty, that one satisfying bowl did the trick.

Mushroom Risotto....

2010-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

My first out of body experience with risotto was at Gary Danko for my birthday. Lobster risotto. It was so cream and rich. I felt like I was in heaven. For this challenge, there is two required componets.

One to make homemade chicken stock. I used chick legs, carrots, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and onions to make the stock.

Two to use the base risotto. Base risotto consist of olive oil, onions, stock, and rice. Instead of using arborio rice, I used brown medium grain rice instead. In regards to flavor, we could use anything we like. I decided to make a mushroom risotto with portobello and white mushrooms.

Don't you wish you and smello and tasto vision?

This cooking challenge was great! It was great to pair this with the daring cooks challenge of tiramisu. I think the italian mommas out there would be proud of my concoction.

Tiramisu has layers...

2010-02-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession. Has anyone see Shrek? I love donkey. Who doesn't right? Does anyone remember this dialog? For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think. "Example?" (donkey) "Example. OK, er, ogres are like... onions! " (Shrek) "They stink?" (donkey) "Yes. No! [...] Onions have layers! Ogres have layers. D'you get it? We both have layers!" (Shrek) "Oh, you both have layers. You know not everybody like onions! Eh, cakes! Everybody loves cakes! Cakes have layers!" (donkey) "I don't care what everyone likes! Ogres are not like cakes." (Shrek) Every time I begin to make a cake or a layered dessert, I think of that dialog.

So this month's challenge was to build a tiramisu. Not just build it, but to make each of the components that go into this dessert. There are three main componets:

First you need your ladyfingers/Savoiardi biscuits. Super easy to make. Very tasty. A little too tasty that I had to make a second batch. I ate one too many with the first batch that I didn't have enough to make the tiramisu. :)

Second, you need your tiramisu filling (zabaglione,vanilla pastry cream, mascarpone cheese )
I was all on top of photo taking and I took a picture of the zabaglione cream, but totally forgot the vanilla pastry cream and mascarpone cheese. It was about 10pm when I finished this and I was pooped. Both the zabaglione and vanilla pastry cream were a cinch to make. The mascarpone cheese I was a bit worried. My cheese seemed a bit watery. Luckily, I read online that it would firm up once it is chilled. I also added mini chocolate chips to my filling to give it bit of a party in the mouth when you bite into it.

Third, you need a espresso for dipping your ladyfingers and cocoa powder to finish the cake off.

First layer down.
And presto! Wait a second...a piece is missing??

Oh there it is!

I was too anxious to wait a few hours to eat. That is why the tiramisu is a bit floppy. What a fun and tasty challenge. I hope my co-workers will enjoy this treat. :)

Don't mess with Mezze

2010-02-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

The 2010 February Daring COOKs challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

My husband and I loves anything carbs. So when this month's DB challenge called for pita bread. I was delighted to take on this challenge.

Here is the dough waiting to be flattened. Instead of regular salt, I used garlic salt instead. Yum!

Instead of the oven, to cook these babies in. I used my trusty pan. They puffed up just right.

Accompany the pita bread with some homemade hummas and olives. What a tasty bite before the big meal. :)

Going Gluten Free On Ya!

2010-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

I was excited to see that Lauren was the host of the January challenge as I have been researching on gluten/wheat free recipes. Lauren has celiac's disease. Celiac disease is when the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats.

Doing research about celiac disease and cooking gluten/wheat free has definitely opened my mind and I sympathize with anyone who has a food allergy.Being conscience about what you eat, reading labels, and asking the restaurant on how the food is made to make sure you can consume it. I was excited to see that this month's challenge was gluten free graham crackers and nanaimo bars. Nanaimo bars. What's a nanaimo bar? The Nanaimo bar is a dessert of Canadian origin popular across North America. A type of chocolate no-bake square, it is named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Here is my attempt at gluten free graham crackers. One thing I learned is that baking gluten free is a science. Trying to get a bunch of different flours mixed together to produce what you what is a challenge. I was expecting my dough to be denser, but my dough was really sticky. I was so worried that it wouldn't bake. In the end, it did come out. It was pretty delicious!

Take a look at those fudgy bars! I didn't get an opportunity to taste them, but my whole office was very excited to have a sugary treat for the Monday blues. People were asking for them again.

Thanks Lauren for the wonderful baking challenge!

Did the chicken cross the road?

2010-01-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

Yes, I know the cooking challenge is suppose to be pork satay, but I didn't have any pork available. So I opted for chicken and beef. I made this dish about three weeks ago and let me tell you, the weather was yucky. 30 degrees and taking the dog out for a walk required the dog to wear a sweater. I know I know, I am a wussy Californian who whines when its 50 degrees. Where in other parts of the world there's many inches of snow. I can't help it, I am familar with constant 60 degree weather. In California, there are no 4 seasons.

So with 30 degree weather, there was no way I was taking these satay buddies to the outdoor bbq grill. So I found the next best thing. Don't laugh. I pulled this out...

Isn't she a beaut? This Foreman grill goes back to my college days. My trusty friend whose never met a burger patty she couldn't handle.

I wish my blog was a scratch and sniff. At least in this photo, you can see the meat cooking. Yum!

Chicken on the left and beef to your right. Wipe that drool off your face now.
A little something for you no carb folks. Satay chicken lettuce wrap with cucumbers and onions.

Of course, I can't leave you without a picture of satay accompanied with brown rice.

Happy Birthday Billy!

2010-01-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

My old ball and chain had a birthday this month. He turned the big 3-0. We celebrated the big day with a evening with friends, bowling, food, beer, and of course birthday cake. Not just any birthday cake.

Can you guess what it is? Give up? It's a piece of steak. Tee hee...a beefcake. LOL. Wait! Doesn't it remind you of something else?

It's the Duplo (lego) character. Minus the ears. :)

Happy birthday husband! I hope you enjoyed your special day!

Hansel and Gretel got nothing on this....

2009-12-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes. I chose to use the Good Housekeeping recipe. Let me tell you, this recipe was more than enough to make my gingerbread house. I so much dough left over, I made some gingerbread vertically challenged people.

There are many things that go into building a house. First you need the basic foundation...

Next you need to build your sides...

Then you "nail" your house together with royal icing. Don't forget your shingles!

Once its complete, inspect and make sure the new homeowner is happy about it.

I think Fido is quite happy about his home. Did you know this was my first gingerbread dog house ever? I remember in preschool someone's mom brought in a gingerbread house for us to devour. I recall the kids surrounding the house oohing and ahhing. I was crying because I kept getting pushed to the back as everyone was trying to get a good view of the house. I don't even remember if I even got to taste it? Well guess what?? I don't have to share this house. I get to have front row view of this home and I get to eat this house all by myself.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holidays!

Where's the beef?

2009-12-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

The beef ain't here. So if you are looking for some, you will have to go looking for it elsewhere. Wait...don't leave! I was just kidding. At least take a moment to read my post. :)

Doesn't the salmon look yummy? For those of you who are not aware of a Salmon en Croute, its salmon wrapped in puff pastry baked until golden delicious. I think I might have gain a few too many pounds this month with all the holiday baking and this delcious Daring Kitchen challenge. You want to know what the biggest challege was for me? Finding watercress. I live in CA and to not find any watercress that just seems silly. I searched high and low, but no watercress. Instead, I made a homemade pesto sauce to go on top of my salmon. I hope I still get credit for the challenge.

Thank you Simone for this awesome challenge!

Every dog has its day....birthday day that is!

2009-11-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a sneak peek on a project that I am working on for a client of mine. It's a birthday theme. Stay tuned....

Holy Cannoli!

2009-11-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

If you follow my blog, you know that as much as I love fried foods. I am scared to actually fry foods in my house. The thought of the hot oil splattering all over the place. Don't get me started on trying to figure out what to do with the oil afterward.

Did you know that you can bake a cannoli? Yes, you read that right bake! My ears perked when I read the posting that cannoli. I actually complete the challenge two weeks ago, but my lazy butt only got around to posting the blog today.

I had to get all Macgyver for this challenge. This challenged required cannoli tubes. I decided to forgo purchasing cannoli tubes and used my mixing spoon and fondant roller as the tubes.

I filled the cannoli with mascarpone cheese flavored with pumpkin puree. Delicious. I love mascarpone cheese. I do not think I would ever go back to regular cream cheese again. The baked cannoli tasted like a cookie filled sandwich. When I get the guts to deep fry, I wouldn't mind giving this recipe a whirl.

Can you roll with me??

2009-11-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.

I had a feeling that Audax would do a sushi challenge because there were some previous challenges that Audax created that looked very sushi like. :)

This was a very fun challenge. I have been craving sushi and this fit the bill perfectly.

Preping the ahi tuna....

I heart my rice cooker....

Sushi rolled and ready to be sliced. Now take a look at the finished product.

I made some california rolls to accompany the dragon rolls.
The husband was quite pleased with dinner that night. I finished the sushi making with a twist of my own. Fried chicken sushi roll. Sushi and some Japanese beer=a great dinner.

MacaronsTake Two...

2009-10-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Ahh...memories! If you follow my blog, you might remember my first go around with with macarons.

This time, no such luck. I think it might be the almond flour that I am using. Perhaps, its not fine enough? I wondering if its the egg whites. Maybe they weren't stiff enough?

My fellow daring bakers, have no fear. Linda will put her big girl pants on and try again. Keep your eyes glue for Macarons take three!

What the pho?

2009-10-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

The October Daring Cooks' challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the Steamy Kitchen. The challenge was Vietnamese pho and fried dessert wantons. All these recipes you can find in her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

This was a perfect challenge as the last few weeks the weather is Northern California has been cold.If you live in Berekely, CA you can understand what I mean. Hot soup on a cold night. Perfection!

The husband was surprised when he got home to see a nice hot bowl of beef pho waiting for him. He claims that he can eat pho 365 days a year and still not be sick of it. Wow!

I heart any kind of noodle soups. I love adding slices of fish cakes or thinly sliced beef.

The second part of this challenge was to make dessert wantons. I love to eat fried foods, but I don't like cooking them at home. I get paranoid about all the leftover cooking oil and seeing the food cooked in the oil turns me off to actually eating the completed product.

I decided to bake my dessert wantons instead of frying them. I was on a apple/pear phase when I made these. I sauteed chopped apples/pears with a little butter and cinnamon. Filled them up in the wantons and baked them 10 mins on each side at 350 degrees.

These came out sooo yummy. Add some ice cream and it makes a great dessert. Hot soup for dinner and a cool dessert to cool you down.

My indian experience

2009-09-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Did I ever tell you that I never really liked indian food until I started interning in college. My internship was working at a software company owned and run by Indians. I learned a lot during my internship. Not only did I gain a lot of work experience, but I learned a lot about another culture especially their food.

My favorite indian dish? It has to be aloo gobi hands down. What's aloo gobi? Its curried potatoes and cauliflower. I think of it as comfort food. This month the daring kitchen presented us cooks with a special indian treat, Dosa!

Dosa are a Southern Indian pancake that you would eat with either chickpea or lentil curry. I decided to pair mine with aloo gobi. Yowza! This was tasty!!! What an awesome cooking challenge!!

I can be your hero baby.....

2009-09-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

I can try, but I don't think I would be good at it. Unless being a hero consist of baking. :) Clara from Iheartcuppycakes is bringing CupcakeHero back. TOot Toot!

What? You do not familiar with CupcakeHero? Think of Iron Chef meets the wonderful world of cupcakes. Each month a new ingredient is thrown down and participants submit their recipes along with photos incorporating that secret ingredient.

This month its BANANAS. Now if you follow iheartcuppycakes, she has made it pretty clear that she does not particularly fond of bananas. When this was first announced, I had to double take to make sure that I was seeing things right. Ha ha!

Without further waiting...I present to you Banana Royale Sundae Cupcake!

Banana cupcake layered with strawberry and chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and sprinkles.

3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup mashed banana, about 1 large ripe banana
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup strawberry preserves warmed in microwave
red food coloring
1/2 cup instant cocoa
8 ounces of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of powder sugar

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Line cupcake pan with liners.

In large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed until light, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In medium bowl, mash banana. Add sour cream, milk and vanilla; stir to combine. Add dry ingredients alternately with banana mixture to creamed mixture; beat well after each addition.

Reserve 2 cups batter in 2 bowls -- 1 cup of batter in each bowl. Stir strawberry preserves and food coloring into 1 cup of the reserved batter. Stir instant cocoa mix into the other cup of reserved batter. Spoon half of the plain banana batter into pan. Top with strawberry batter. Spoon more plain batter over this. Top with cocoa batter. Bake at 350° for approx 15-18 mins or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool cupcakes on a wire rack. Whip heavy whipping cream and powder sugar together until stiff. Pipe whipped cream on cooled cupcakes. Add sprinkles if desired.

I sent these cupcakes off to doggy day care along with the dog. I think my dog gets better treatment when the dog handlers are well fed. Wink wink. I saved a cupcake for my best friend. She loved it and was disappointed that there was only that one for her.

Rice, Mushrooms, Cuttlefish, and Artichoke Oh My!

2009-08-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

Olga from Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes was the host of the August Daring Cooks Challenge. She chose a delicious Spanish recipe, Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes by José Andrés, one of the most important Spanish Chefs at the moment.

All right blogger followers, I have a huge confession. The due date for this challenge was on August 14th. This challenge was not started until the 15th. I apologize my fellow Daring Cooks as all of you are so great and you get your challenges done. For me it has been a crazy month filled with numerous work project as well as various family visits.

So I present to you, my completed challenge

Wow! Can I tell you how delicious this dish was? I used arborio rice as that was what I had on hand. The rice was creamy and the cuttle fish was perfect. I even added some shrimp to the mix. A friend of mine is staying with me for a bit, so it was a great opportunity to share this dish among friends and family. Everyone had seconds and even thirds. Delicious!

Lemony goodness

2009-07-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

July's Cookie Carnival challenge was Lemon Ricotta Cookies by Giada De Laurentiis. Wow! these cookies were sooo light and cakey with a tinge of lemon! Sooooo tasty.

My mom brought over some lemons to exchange for some asian pears a few weeks ago. What great timing my mom has.

These cookies went pretty fast at the office. My boss was having a bad day and was looking for some mid afternoon, but came up empty. Any baked goods that are left in the communal kitchen never sits long. Unless its like a bran muffin. You can never diet at my company, it is not possible.

Nabisco got nothing on these!

2009-07-26T22:24:00.001-07:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

When I saw two choices of cookies I was too excited! When I first saw the post I was soo gun ho about making both of these cookies. Where did the month go folks? Does anyone feel the same as me? Does the months seem to breeze by? How did I end up making only one type of cookie? Sigh!

I decided to make the "Mallowmar" cookies. It looked like a very interesting challenge. Plus I have never made marshmallows before. I stumbled upon a recipe for agave nectar marshmallows. Don't know what agave nectar is?

Agave is a natural sweetener with a low glycemic index that is made from the wild agave plant; an excellent substitute for honey.

Instead of using refined sugar, I used agave instead to make my marshmallows. It was so easy and super tasty. The best part? Its natural.

I dipped the marshmallows/cookies in melted grain sweetened chocolate chips. The result? Heaven in a cookie format. Nabisco makes these, but they definitely cannot top these!

Molecular gastronomy?

2009-07-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Bill Nye the Science guy would be proud of this month's daring cooks challenge. This month's challenge takes us to the world of Molecular Cuisine. What is that you ask? From what I can gather from Wikipedia the definition is as follows:

"Molecular gastronomy is a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking.^[3] It pertains to the mechanisms behind the transformation of ingredients in cooking and the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general (from a scientific point of view)."

Still lost? Basically you take foods that you love, but you change the cooking methods that produce different texture than normal.

Our challenge was to take a traditional dish of skate and put a molecular cuisine twist to it.
Skate is a type of fish. I was unable to find it, but I substituted orange roughy instead.

Cilantro and parsley was blanched it hot then ice cold water. The herbs were then placed in a oven along with some red chili peppers to dry. Once they were dry, the herbs went into a coffee grinder and blended till it was a powdery.

It was an interesting dish to make. My slight issue was working on the herb powders. I kept sneezing when I was blending these herbs. Don't worry! I did not sneeze into the herbs nor was the fish contaminated in anyway. :)

Gardeney cupcakes...

2009-07-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I got a phone call on my cellphone from someone who had some of my cupcakes at a friends birthday party. She called to see if I would be interested in creating some special cupcakes for her friend Hilary. I was definitely excited as this would be my first non family/friend related project. I asked what kind of theme/color did she want. Norvella (the woman who order the cupcakes) indicated pink/green colors and a gardeney type feel. Butterflies, flowers, and green grass. Those words were music to my ears.

Norvella: Thank you so much for letting me make these cupcakes. The butterflies were on my to do list for awhile.

Hilary: We've never met, but I do hope you enjoy your birthday and the cupcakes.

Without further ado, I present to you gardeney theme cupcakes!

Butterflies are made with chocolate! The birthday greeting was written out on a fondant chip by the hubs. :)

Welcome to the jungle...

2009-06-30T23:45:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money honey
We got your disease

You know I had to put that in there for ya. Yes, its GNR. The whole time while I was creating these special cupcakes, this song kept looping in my head. The sound of Axl Rose belting out the chorus reminds me of a person taking their fingernails to a chalkboard.

I digress! A co-worker is having a baby in soon. Our company threw him a party. I pimped myself out and asked if I could bring cupcakes. Can you guess what their response was? This idea has been on my to do list since I first laid eyes on the cover of the magazine that showed this cupcake idea.

Bears, zebras, and lions oh my!

This was a really time consuming project from start to finish, but the end result is so darn cute. I woke Papa Bear to ask what he thought of my little creations. His response was, "uh..okay...I tired..blah..talk to you later." I think that translates to "Honey, these are some damn hot cupcakes." I hope my co-workers think so too.

Happy Birthday Shen!!

2009-06-28T23:52:00.001-07:00

Okay...so this posting is soo late, but it better than never blogging right? About a week ago, my BFF Shenny had a very special birthday. It was a rock theme birthday party and everyone was to dress up. Anyone who knows me knows that I do not dress up. However, I decided why the heck not.
Yes, I know the photo is blurry. I think the birthday girl had one too many drinks before taking this photo.Check out my rainbow socks? Did you notice that my tshirt say "rebel?" I am soo the opposite.

As party favors, I decided to make something that was different. I saw some sheep pops on Bakerella's website. However, I put my own little twist to it. Yes, those are black sheep. There is always one in the group Get it?

Here the cake pops are wrapped and ready to go.

Happy birthday my sweet Shen. You are my rock. We were both DDs that night. She was the designated drunk while I was the designated driver. :)

Attention! Polar ice caps are melting....

2009-06-28T23:32:00.001-07:00

We interrupt your normal blogging to bring you this very important message. It appears that the ice caps have been melting and our friends from the north have stop by my house. To delivery a very special message.

Wait? No luggage? I guess if you are in a hurry, luggage is the last thing on your mind. Oh that's right, you came to deliver a message.
Oh Happy 12th Birthday Claudia! Now that is service. Will you guys come back for my birthday?

Redemption....

2009-06-28T22:50:00.000-07:00

If you follow my blog, you might have witnessed a catastrophe with french macrons in May. I was about to throw in the towel for baking all together. Just kidding. Kate from The Clean Plate Club picked me up from off the floor by presenting us with Strawberry Short-Cake Cookies by my homegirl Martha Stewart. I aspire to be Martha minus the insider trading/jail time bit.

I made these for my BFF Shen @Girly spazms, and other randomness... I brought these over for her birthday. What great timing! Plenty of people to test my cookies. It was unanimous that these cookies were tasty. I do not believe that there were any left.

The Verdict

Papa Bear: He's a fan of the strawberry. He ate a ton of the cookies

The other bears: I think birthday girl ate some. I was too buzzed from my beer to notice if she ate any. I did hear from some other party goers that those were some tasty cookies.

Myself: Soo yummy. I would definitely like to see this in the rotation again.

You are such a tart...

2009-06-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Let me first say that I had a senior moment and totally forgot the day to post my completed challenge. It seems like this has been happening alot to me lately as work has taken over my life. So to all the Daring Baker participants, I apologize and hope that you forgive me for my late posting.

This month's challenge was a tasty one. I love shortbread and lately I am loving all things flavored with a hint of almond. I was afraid of this month's challenge as the May challenge I feel did not come out as I wanted it to. June's challenge was my redemption!

Straight out of the oven

A peek of what it looks like when its cut.

Tart a la mode. Drool

The Verdict

Papa Bear: When Papa Bear tweets about eating dessert, you know it good.

The other bears: NA

Myself: Knowing how much butter went into this, I had to go run after I ate a piece of this tart. Heaven on the lips forever on the hips. :)

Pot Stoickers?

2009-06-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

When I was a wee little one, my family and I would pile up in the Ford LTD and head out on our weekly SF trip to see Grandma. One of the fondest memories is this chinese resturant that we would always pass by. It was the most dingy place every and I bet they city would have shut it down, but it has the most tasty food ever. One of their menu they have tasty pot stoickers. Pot stoickers? Yes, someone missed spelled pot stoickers on the menu. I chuckle to myself when I come across pot stickers, I even mumble pot stoickers for the memories.

For the May Daring Cooks challenge, I bring you home made pot stickers. Tada!
These are Chinese yellow chive with baked tofu bits. These were tasty, but of course not as good as Mom's home cooking.
The Verdict

Papa Bear: All I heard from Papa Bear was "nom nom nom nom." I think that might be a good thing.

The other bears: These two brats were passed out from a long hike from earlier that morning.

Myself: Good, but not quite like my mommy's pot stickers. One of these days I need to lure the recipe out of her.

You are the apple of my eye....

2009-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

My work has been keeping me busy and I kept putting this challenge off till the 11th hour. This baking challenge was fun, but for some reason I was not excited or as motivated as I usually am to do it. I had to attempt this challenge twice as the dough was giving me a bit of problem. I kept rolling, and stretching the dough, but it did not stretch as far as I hoped nor was as flaky as I wanted it to.

It was a tasty challenge as usual. Even though if it did not come out as well, Papa Bear ate half the strudel.

The Verdict

Papa Bear: Papa bear ate half the strudel. He suggested making it with strawberries and cream cheese. Ooh..that does sound mighty tasty.

The other bears: I let my two little bears have a taste. The boy dog could careless about the apple and left it on the ground. My little princess was very eager to eat the apples so she took it upon herself to clean the floor for me.

Myself: It was very nice. Very tasty with coffee. With coffee, I had two pieces.

Can you hear that????

2009-05-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

That is the sounds of all French bakers cursing at me or shaking their finger at me. Welcome to May's cookie carnival challenge! I present to you hazelnut macaroon sandwich cookie.

Kate at The Clean Plate Club really threw down the challenge this month. This has been on my "to bake" list for ages. A friend told me, these are the very difficult since the ingredients consist of egg whites and beating them until stiff. She also indicated that they are very expensive about $3 bucks a piece. Yowza! I didn't believe her. Come on how hard can making a cookie be. I was sooo wrong. This cookie challenge kicked tush really hard. Here is a picture of the anatomy of a perfect macaroon.

Picture from: sushtopia.com

See how its suppose to have the foot. Notice how its flat and smooth. That is a perfect macaroon. Are you ready to see mine? I am so embarrassed. I am even getting all red as I write this post.

None of the cookie had that foot at the bottom, nor did they have that egg shell like crust. I decided to tweak the recipe a bit. I added cocoa powder to give it a chocolaty taste. I was unable to locate hazelnuts, so I used the traditional almond flour. Instead of regular ganache that the recipe asked for, I used nutella. If you have not had nutella, you must have been living under a rock. Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread. It is great on just about anything.

Practice does make perfect. I think the French pastry chefs out there would pick me up and dust the poweder sugar off me. They would tell me to get my tush back into that kitchen and try again. I might just do that.

The Verdict

Papa Bear: He ate a couple cookies. He had nothing much to say as this was his first time eating a macaroon. I might have to splurge and buy him a real one to taste.

The other bears: Sorry babies. Chocolate and nutella do not mix in your diet.

Myself: It was very nice. I was on the same boat as Papa Bear. I never had one. I think I need to make a trip to the local bakery for the real deal.

Holy gnocchi!

2009-05-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

The crew at the daring bakers decided to roll out a new adventure called the "Daring Cooks Challenge." I immediately signed up since I love to explore new foods. The first ever challenge was gnocchi.

When I first the challenge, I thought oh cool its gnocchi made with potatoes. Oh no my friend, this gnocchi is made with ricotta cheese. I am going to share some of my wisdom with everyone. Before starting a challenge, read through the whole posting. I mean read everything. The ricotta cheese was suppose to be dry so that it easily forms into a dumpling. My ricotta cheese was still a bit moist. So the first batch was cheese bit soup. I finally read through the posting and found a remedy to fix soggy dumplings. Add egg whites. The light bulb turned on.

Once the gnocchi hit the boiling pot of water and began to float to the top. I starting doing my happy dance. Even the two hungry bears joined in on my dance. Sorry I didn't take any pictures of us dancing.

I decided to do a little twist to this gnocchi. Normally, gnocchi is suppose to be boiled like pasta. I decided to pan fry my a little bit so that its crispy. What person does not love some fried cheese?
The gnocchi was pared with a chicken, mushroom, onions, and tomato sauce.

The Verdict

Papa Bear: Papa bear had two servings. I guess I got the green light from him.

The other bears: Sorry babies. It has onions in it. Onions and doggies do not mix.

Myself: It was very nice. I kept sampling the pan fried ones to make sure they were in quality condition.

Thank You Tom!

2009-05-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Ada is part of a wonderful not for profit organization called The Forgotten International (TFL). TFL focus is to develop programs that alleviate poverty and suffering both in the US and through out the world. TFL held a fundraiser about a week ago. Their special guest was the Dalai Lama.

As a "Thank you" for helping pull off a fabulous event, all the volunteers were treated to a special dinner. My contribution, cupcakes of course! Ada threw in a surprise challenge for me. She wanted a cake for the founder of TFL, Tom to cut. If you know me, I am not the greatest when it comes to decorating cake. I didn't let fear stop me. I decide to put my big girl pants on and take the challenge.

Lucky me, I just recently purchased a printer that allows me to print on edible paper. I thought to myself since TFL is an international organization, why not say "Thank you" in many languages. I present to you my creation.

I was jumping up and down when I saw the finished. I was all smiles.

You can't forget the cupcakes!

I am happy to report that the cake and cuppies were a hit. Tom was very surprised and pleased with everything. Thank you Tom!

Who let the dogs out??

2009-05-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Can you tell that I love dogs? Did my two furry ones give it away? Maybe a majority of the pictures that I have on the page include a dog in it?

My co-worker bday was today. Someone suggested that I bake cupcakes for her. I was jumping up and down because I knew that this co-worker loves loves loves dogs. So I present to you my creation!

One large cupcake for the birthday girl

It looks like the Pt. Isabel dog park. Look at all the dogs running around.

Everyone loved the cupcakes. Birthday girl was very happy too. I took back my fondant dogs as some people were only interested in eating the cupcake. Does this mean they are considered "rescue" dogs? Ha ha! I crack myself up.

On an island in the sun....

2009-04-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hi...is this mic on? Oh it is... um.. let me first get this first part off my plate.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Now that we got that checked off our list. Let me give you a bit of background information. This month's challenge required us to put our thinking caps on. We are to take a basic cheesecake recipe and be creative. So I ponder what I could make.

My dear friend Shenny gave me the idea of doing something tropical islandy. At first I was not too keen on the idea and was leaning towards something chocolately, but decided tropical was the way to go.

Are you ready? You sure? Here it goes... I present to you guava/coconut cheese cake with a shredded coconut/macadamia nut shortbread crust. It is topped with a guava puree gelee.

Holy cheesecakes batman! ( I got that from Cassie at HTEAC) This recipe was soooo delicious. Creamy, fluffy, and very rich. I heart shortbread cookies so having it as a crust made me a happy woman. I took the rest of the cheesecake to work. I received mixed reviews as my office has a high ratio of chocolate lovers. They would have preferred if I made a cheesecake with chocolate. Don't mess with people and their chocolate.

The Verdict

Papa Bear: His tummy was growling for more. He loved it. He is a cheesecake man.

The other bears: They were busy running up and down the stairs chasing each other to be bothered. Oh well..it is there loss.

And now I present to you...the recipe.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake. Items in red are my edits to this recipe

crust:2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
(I used a shortbread recipe found here I just doubled the recipe.)

cheesecake:3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature

1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs1 cup /
8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice

At this point I split my batter in half so I can make it half guava and half coconut.1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean) I used 1 tbsp of coconut extract and 1/3 cup of guava nectar.

Guava Gelee

2 C Guava juice

1/2 C Sugar

1/4 C Cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into a springform pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

I baked my shortbread for 15 mins so I would not get a soggy yucky crust.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Cover the bottom of the pan with foil. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter.

While the cheesecake is cooling, make your gel.

In a medium sauce pan, bring the 2 cups guava juice and sugar to a boil. Make a paste out of the cornstarch and a small amount of water. Remove guava juice from heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Return to heat and bring back to a boil and boil for one minute. Cool in refrigerator.

Pour the gel on top of cheesecake. Use a spatula to spread if needed. Place is the refrigerator overnight.

Once cheesecake is cool, cut and serve.

Mellow Yellow....

2009-04-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine brought me some lemons from her tree about a week ago. I was racking my brain on what to do with them. Its like the gmail gods were listening. I get an email from Kate from The Clean Plate Club announcing April's challenge. April's challenge is brought to you by Holly of Phemomenon.

Without further ado, I present to you Toasted Almond Lemon Bar (tarts in my case)

Yes, I know..the carnival challenge was to be bars, but I found these cute mini quiche tarts at Bed Bath & Beyond on sale with a 20% coupon. Toot Toot. I hope my fellow Cookie Carnival buddies aren't upset that they are not bars, but tarts. :)

The only concern I had about the lemon bars was the lemony filling is white on top.When you cut into the lemony fillings, its yellow delish. Did anyone else who participated in this challenge have the same issue? Did I miss something?

So last month's challenge, I pimped out my little girl Mei Mei. This month, I give you Ozzy! Mei Mei's brother. Ozzy really wanted to eat this lemon tart, but I think the hubs (Papa Bear) got to it before he did.

The Verdict:

Papa Bear: Refreshing. Tasted better the next day out from the fridge. Yep, he ate two tarts.

Me: Very yummy. I love citrus baked goods. Shortbread crust was kick ass to die for. I bet it would be super yummy alone with a nice cup of tea. Yum!

Other Bears: As you can see Ozzy really wanted a taste of it. Sorry Ozzy, not this time. He did get a milkbone biscuit.

Feeling a bit creative...

2009-04-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

I was approached by my coworker to make some cuppycakes for her twin nieces' 6th bday party. I asked if there was a theme. No theme, but she told me to use colors: purple, yellow, and pink. So I thought about it. What does a 6 year old girl like? Come one Linda, you can were 6 once. I drew a blank.

Then it came to me..bumble bees, butterflies, purple hippos, and doggies. If you can't tell by now, I heart doggies.

I hope the 6 year old twins like the cupcakes. I test tasted one and it was super delicious. They really were tasty. I am not being biased at all.

So what flavor cupcakes did I make you ask? Martha's one bowl chocolate cupcakes

filled with strawberry filling and topped off with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream.
The buttercream recipe was created by the lovely Cassie from How To Eat A Cupcake.

We also have a lovely vanilla cupcake courtesy of Billy's Vanilla Cupcake. Since it was for a birthday, I added rainbow jimmies for a confetti effect. Papa bear shoved his cupcake down his throat so fast that I was not able to take a picture. I topped it off with some vanilla bean buttercream. This was something that I just thew together.

Happy Birthday Bella and Sophia! I hope you like your cupcakes.

Oh..Happy Birthday to my other 4 legged friends Ginger and Sir Davis. Ages 4 and 2 respectively.

What's up doc?

2009-03-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

One night I stumbled upon The Clean Plate Club. Kate the owner of the site started up the Cookie Carnival. I was so excited that I immediately joined. I got an email back from Kate and began doing my happy dance. March's challenge: Inside-out carrot cake cookie

Since the kids dawned their finest bunny ears last week and the weather has been so great. I was really excited to try this recipe out.

The Verdict:

Papa Bear: Doesn't like carrot cake. He was more interested in the pizza he bought for himself.

Me: Very yummy. I have a thing for cake plus this is a healthy cake right? Carrots? Raisins? Dairy? :)

Other Bears: Ozzy ran off to hang out with his ball. Mei Mei is usually my sous chef in the kitchen. She knows if I am cooking dinner, I might sneak her some cooked chicken.

Mei Mei: Oooh..what's that I smell??

Mei Mei: Momma, why do you torture me so?

Mama Mia!

2009-03-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

The challenge, should I choose to accept it was to make a spinach lasagna, a béchamel sauce, and an optional ragu sauce. I rolled up my sleeves and took accepted the challenge.

Can I make a confession? When I first worked on the challenge, I totally overlooked the béchamel sauce. I used ricotta cheese instead. Not only did I forget the sauce, but I didn't have enough spinach either. So what do you think? Looks tasty doesn't it?
Round 1:

Round 2: This time I wanted to switch things up. I decided to make it a bit healthier by us AP whole wheat flour. I made a turkey ragu sauce cooked with some bacon. Bacon makes every thing sooo yummy. I did remember the béchamel sauce this time. Yea for me!

The Verdict:

Papa Bear: He loved both rounds. I think he ate half the lasagna from both rounds. On the second day of lunch leftovers, Papa Bear was very sad to find his piece of lasagna was quite small.

Me: Very yummy. I ate a small slice and it was very filling. Very tasty. This is definitely a dish I could see myself making on very special occasions.

Other Bears: While I had two very eager sous chef. Unfortunately, there is onions in my ragu. Sorry buddies!

Now for the recipe:
Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)

(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Country Style Ragu (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method
Working Ahead:
The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:
Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:
Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:

Equipment

A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.
Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:
Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:
With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:
If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Country Style Ragu’ (Ragu alla Contadina)

Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours

Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)
2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced
4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round
4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)
1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine
1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)
2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk
3 canned plum tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Working Ahead:
The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.

Browning the Ragu Base:
Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.

Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.

Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.

Non Food Related: Do you have a feeling Spring is here?

2009-03-18T22:50:00.001-07:00

Yeah! I had the day off today. The weather was perfect for a nice hike with Papa Bear and one of the dogs. The second one had a great time at doggy day care. It's strange how we went from one week of grey sky and rain to a warm sunny day. Gotta love California weather.

I wonder if the kids were trying to tell me something? Maybe that Spring is almost here?

I do not have any 2 legged children yet, but I do have two very spoiled 4 legged kids. They feed my baby fix. Ozzy is the one on the left. Mei Mei is on the right. As you can tell, Ozzy will do anything for a treat. Ozzy is comfortable with his masculinity to rock the bunny ears. Mei Mei on the other hand can care less and if you try to put anything on her she gives you the face. Notice the angry eyes and turned up face. I heart my babies.

Momma! Momma! Do you like our ears? Do you think we can catch any rabbits or squirrels with these disguises?

I finally did it...

2009-03-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

After months of deliberating and drawing up pros/cons list, I finally did it..

I signed up for a blog account.

What did you think I was talking about?:)

This blog will be about food, my three hungry bears (husband and two dogs), and other non food related topics. So sit back and enjoy the show!