Frozen Hot Chocolate, Serendipity Style! A few weeks ago I was in NYC for literally less than 24 hours and one of the only things I was able to squeeze in other than what I was there for was a visit to Serendipity for one of my favorite treats…..the Frozen Hot Chocolate. It is massive, chocolaty and perfectly ice-y. When I got back home I told the boys all about the treat I had and said I would re-create our own version! So…..I got to work Here is your line up. I had my little guy hop on the counter and help whip the cream and sugar. Like so Let’s start with the milk. Cocoa time! Give it a good blend! Add the ice and crush it up! I found the perfect consistency and was in love See those little ice crystals?! Time for the sweet cream and chocolate! I used mini chocolate chips, but you can used shaved chocolate that looks more authentic to the original Ahhhh, wait until you try this! A few boys I know enjoyed the treat It was so fun bringing a little bit of NYC to my stinkers Frozen Hot Chocolate, Serendipity Style 2 cups whole milk 1. 2.
Lemon-filled Strawberry Muffins & I love my mom I love the month of May (and not just because it ends with my birthday). It’s the month that I start truly believing that summer does exist and winter did not in fact kill it. It’s the month that flowers and foliage decorate the great outdoors. It’s the month that strawberries tiptoe into market and surprise us all over again with their sweet, juicy goodness. And of course, it’s the month where we devote a day to honoring mothers – those remarkable women who had the strength to bring us into the world, the patience to raise us and the love to carry us forward. I am very blessed to have amazing women in my life to guide and support me. In celebration of Mother’s Day, I’ve whipped up a tasty little muffin recipe to make use of those fresh strawberries, with a for-your-own-good oomph of tangy lemon. Mom: while I won’t be able to share these muffins with you this Sunday, I will be thinking of just how very much I love you and how much God has blessed so many through your words and actions. 1.
Frangipane mini-cakes (Almond baby cakes) ~ Cook, Snap, Repeat I woke up today much the same as I have the past 11 mornings: thinking that today is the day that I would tell you about these little almond cakes. Then I crawled out of bed and did the usual, with a special twist this month: my mom is here! For the past week and half, she has been hearing our morning footsteps and whispers, and our little noises lead her downstairs. Soon after that, we wave the boys off to school and work, and then we sit down for breakfast. Mom has had breakfast ritual for decades: fresh brewed coffee, yogurt with fruit, buttered bread with cream cheese and jam, sitting at table, taking her time. Then we start our day, and before I know it, it is already time to pick up the schoolboy, and again before I know it, it is time for dinner, and then again before I know it, it is bedtime. My conscience can no longer stand it, and neither can these cakes. I chanced upon these on Dorie Greenspan's blog two Mondays ago, and that very evening I had a batch in the oven.
Homemade Dinner Rolls I love dinner rolls as much as the next person, but the thing is, there’s only so much I can eat at Thanksgiving, and choices must be made. So I usually forego the bread so I can load up on turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc., etc., etc. Having said that, I’ve been trying out different dinner roll recipes and this one is, without a doubt, the best. This is how you want a dinner roll to be… just a little crusty on the outside, and very soft and yeasty on the inside. These rolls have a little heft to them, but are still light enough to eat several at one sitting. I know this from personal experience. The good people at Cook’s Illustrated are to be commended for this recipe. I’ve already made a batch of these for our Thanksgiving dinner, and they’re waiting patiently in the freezer for their big day. Homemade Dinner Rolls Click here for a printable recipeMakes 16 rolls Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Mini Maple-Glazed Doughnut Hole Muffins The world seems to be divided into 2 kinds of people… those who like to celebrate their birthday and those who don’t. I definitely fall into the former category and The Husband falls into the latter, which works out pretty well for me as he also falls into a third category of husbands who would rather celebrate their wife’s birthday. Rock on. As I mentioned here, my birthday was last week, and it being a rather significant one, some planning was in order. This year I was in the mood for a road trip and decided on Chicago. If one must turn 60, (gulp) I can think of worse ways to soothe the pain. But the birthday has come and gone, and reality has sort of grabbed me by the throat and is threatening to choke that vacation euphoria right outta me. It is actually impossible to feel bad about anything when you have a doughnut hole muffin in front of you. And they couldn’t honestly be any easier to make. Mini Maple-Glazed Doughnut Hole Muffins Click here for a printable recipe Ingredients:
Stylish Cuisine « Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp We went to Shelter Island last weekend. It was a long weekend; Monday was Columbus Day. On the way out, we stopped at an apple orchard to pick apples. We arrived late in the afternoon, and unfortunately except for some very small apples, the trees had been picked bare. We typically go apple picking north of NYC, but the North fork of Long Island boasts some nice orchards, so we decided to give one a try. Although the apples were small, we did bring a big bag of them home. I found this recipe this morning. Our apartment smelled phenomenal when this was cooking today. Print This Recipe blueberry lemon breakfast pizza One of my very favorite characteristics of breakfast is it’s complete abandon of the typical savory-to-sweet meal rules and regulations. Breakfast is revolutionary. Breakfast is where a stack of sweet cakes dripping with maple syrup is considered a meal, and a cupcake, without the frosting, is called a “muffin”. Breakfast is where we allow ourselves to eat dessert, without calling it dessert. And really, who doesn’t want to start their day off with dessert? Despite its whole wheat crust and fresh fruit, this breakfast pizza doesn’t just straddle the line between breakfast and dessert, it jumps over the line and runs so far into dessert territory that the border isn’t even in sight anymore. That’s alright though. Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Pizza (or Dessert Pizza) CRUST 1/2 c. warm water 1 pinch salt 2 tbsp. honey 1 1/2 tbsp. butter, melted 1 c. whole wheat flour 1/4 c. oats 1 tbsp. chia seeds (optional) 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. yeast (half a packet) Cooking spray Now, assembly time!
Corn Cake Breakfast Stack with Bacon & Eggs (or whatever you like!) In a previous post, I shared my recipe for Corn Cake Toppers and showed how to serve them on top of chili and soup. Turns out that these pancake-style cornbread cakes also make a great base for layering breakfast foods. Think of eggs benedict with canadian bacon and egg on top of an english muffin, and all of the variations on that theme. I'm going to show the most basic corn cake breakfast stack in this post and then share some ideas of ways to expand on this theme. These breakfast stacks have 3 layers of ingredients: a fried egg, crispy bacon, and a corn cake. Step-by-step photos for makingBacon & Egg Corn Cake Breakfast Stacks. Step 1. Click to view Cheesy Corn Cakes recipe tutorial Step 2. Click to view print Oven-Baked Bacon recipe Step 3. view on Amazon: Step 4. Step 5. Step 6. I like some freshly ground black pepper on mine. That's it. VARIATIONS TO TRY. MAKE IT CHEESY. FEEDING A CROWD? This is stacking up to be a delicious breakfast. Make it a Yummy day! MAKE IT CHEESY.
Fresh pineapple cake ~ Cook, Snap, Repeat Every weekday morning almost always starts the same: my husband wakes me up, I ask him what time it is, and I fall back asleep, knowing that 5 minutes later my little snooze alarm will tiptoe up to my side of the bed and say, "Hi Mommy. I'm going to brush my teeth and then I'll see you downstairs, okay?" It wasn't always like this. I've always thrived on routine, and being a parent has presented me with the constant challenge of finding routine in a life that is changing all the time. I should have said, then, that every weekday morning almost always starts the same, for now. Then it begins. Some nights ago, before going to bed, he told me that they had reached a milestone in school: 100 days of school, done! Fresh Pineapple Cake The original recipe is actually "Fresh Pineapple Crumble Cake" - basically the cake pictured above, but with bigger chunks of pineapple, and topped with streusel. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cut into chunks, and then set on paper towels to absorb some of the juice:
Zucchini Apple Breakfast Cake with Cashew Glaze Do you ever just wake up on a Sunday morning and want to bake to your little hearts content? As a kid, my mom would bake something absolutely delicious every Sunday morning breakfast. She’d make things like cinnamon buns, breakfast cakes [like this one], croissants and ham, or a wife saver [which I didn't like much, but you can't win em all, right?] I woke up yesterday with a strong urge to whip up a warm breakfast that the two of us could enjoy. I’d started experimenting with making my own cream cheese icing to replace the tofutti cream cheese I used for these, so I had extra sauce leftover for our breakfast. With a huge bag of zucchini just sitting in the fridge [I cannot pass up a sale on zucchini] and a produce drawer dedicated to 4-5 different types of apples, yesterdays’ breakfast was an easy choice. After baking Kevin and I played around with the camera a bit. Our biggest challenge: we couldn’t decide where to put the fork. His favorite was the bridge fork in the middle below. Directions
roasted potatoes with apples, sausage and maple mustard glaze Sometimes I feel as if the busyness of our lives is directly proportional to the minutes of daylight. I’m not complaining at all though. I am actually having a blast, and I sure do love the extra daylight. Right now, we’re digging up and moving three of my perennial beds, and I am currently working on two food features for two different magazines. How cool is that?!! I’m also squeezing in training for a half marathon, helping my 3 year old with her Suzuki violin practice [you should see the size of her violin, it really is the smallest violin in the world] and my 5 year old’s dance performance preparations… You get the picture. Here is a one-pan recipe I am loving right now. roasted potatoes with apples, sausage and maple mustard glaze Ingredients Instructions Preheat oven to 450°F.
Tide and Thyme » Beatty’s Chocolate Cake I’m not stretching the truth when I say that this is the best chocolate cake you’ve probably ever had in your life. Sure, it may not be enrobed in a layer of fancy ganache, or umpteen pencil-thin layers. This is a cake your grandmother would have made. The cake is dark and super moist – yet, very light and airy. Beatty’s Chocolate Cake Butter, for greasing the pans1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans2 cups sugar3/4 cups good cocoa powder2 teaspoons baking soda1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon kosher salt1 cup buttermilk, shaken1/2 cup vegetable oil2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. Chocolate Frosting: