elephantine: the baked mac and cheese My favorite thing to eat, hands down, is noodles. Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai... whatever way you make it, I like it. But mac and cheese is high up there on the list, especially baked mac and cheese. First things first: cook the pasta. Next up: the béchamel sauce. ...and milk. So, back to the butter. Whisk. Gradually pour in the milk and continue to whisk. Reduce the heat, add the cheese, and keep mixing that melty-yummy-goodness. Did someone say garlic? Your macaroni is probably growing impatient. I've been playing this trick on myself recently: substitute a portion of the pasta with veggies. I like using individual ramekins instead of one larger casserole dish, because it allows you to add in whatever veggies and spices you like without offending anyone else. The last (and most important) step: breadcrumbs. Pop the ramekins in the oven. The first bite. (Nothing more to say. Baked Mac and Cheese (serves 2)adapted from Fannie Farmer's Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese 1.
Crazy Domestic: Melted Snowman Cookies I saw a picture of these the other day on Allrecipes.com and thought it was such a cute idea, I had to try it. After googleing it, I found a good tutorial on Stacy's Sweet Shop. I modified a few things to make it more simple for me (less homemade more store bought). To see the original Melted Snowman Cookie, and meet the inventor herself, go check out Meaghan (great name) @ The Decorated Cookie! Here's what I used: •1 package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix•10 large marshmallows•Betty Crocker Cookie Icing (white and orange)•Wilton Decorating Icing Tubes in Black, Red, Green, Blue and Pink***it would have been a lot cheaper if I had just made the icing myself, see Stacy's tutorial for a good recipe)*** Here's what I did: •Mix cookie mix according to directions, or prepare your favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe, then just grab a golf ball sized chunk and squish it down until it's about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. To have your ideas featured on Crazy Domestic, click HERE
The Infamous Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies - StumbleUpon Now, I have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I swear by. I love it, I think it is incredible, and I haven’t changed my mind about that. However, as much as it pains me to say it, these chocolate chip cookies by Jacques Torres are absolutely, without a doubt, the best chocolate chip cookies that I have ever made or tasted in my entire life. I guess that’s why they call him Mr. Chocolate! Either way, I made these and everyone that tried them went nuts. Edit: For more Jacques Torres deliciousness, check out my Jacques Torres Chocolate Mudslide Cookies! Your ingredients. Whisk together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat together the butter and sugars, until light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add in the flour mixture, very gradually, until just moistened. Fold in your chocolate. Milk is, in fact, an essential component to enjoying these amazing cookies. Author: The Crepes of Wrath Prep time:
Vertical Layer Cake Tutorial I really need to preface this tutorial with... I am sorry. I am SURE there are easier ways to do a Vertical Layer Cake. But I was being a brat for my birthday. I wanted real cake, and not sponge cake. I wanted two different flavors. I wanted massive amounts of frosting. Hence, I bucked every traditional mold I had seen for a vertical layer cake and made my own. Sorry. The second time making the cake I was surprised by how quickly everything went. Huh. Anywho... Here is an important step... I then placed the cut parts together. The reason I do this is: 1. 2. 3. If you have a 5in deep cake pan and can successfully bake a 5in cake then just do that! Now! We will begin to cut out our layers! I simply used a cardboard cake round as my guide. I am now going to cut off the outside circle. Place the template back on the cake. Follow the template as close as you can. You are going to do this with BOTH cakes. Now I cut off another circle and started the process again. Do this to both cakes. 1. 2. 3.
san francisco garlic fries | The Red Spoon Well folks, not much going on this week. I’m still 800 million degrees, which I guess is normal if you’re a human incubator. I’ve become a stretchy, elastic waisted pants spokesperson, because ohmygah maternity jeans are the most incredible thing I have ever worn, excepting for the sweat pants I model almost daily. (Seriously, they need to make jeans this comfortable for non-knocked up folks.) The weather has suddenly de-humidified itself and is now safe for this 800 million degree gal to go outside and actually enjoy it. Ummm, uhhhhh. Thankfully the flour explosion that played out in my mind was not needed as a few huffs and puffs calmed the fire and eventually put it out. The bad: I am now squeamish around my oven. Glad that is over. One Year Ago: Thyme and Gruyere Crackers San Francisco Garlic Fries Adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2011 Serves 4 So, I really like this version more than the previous baked fry I auditioned. Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
sweet saturday: one minute peanut butter cake & Food & back to her roots Picture this scene: it’s 8:30 in the evening. The sky is just starting to get dark outside your living room window. You ate a delicious, healthy and veggie-filled dinner a few hours ago and now you are ready to sit down to the most recent episode of So You Think You Can Dance and dive into a decadent plate of dessert. Oh wait, you have no dessert. No chocolate, no cookies, no ice cream, no cake, no pie, not even a Jordan almond. Well she’s to go to her microwave. You can make a delicious, fluffy, moist peanut butter cake in your microwave in about one minute (30 seconds mixing, 30 seconds zapping). The options are also pretty endless. One Minute Peanut Butter Cake Print This Recipe Serves One Like my peanut butter microwave cake? Ingredients: 1 egg, beaten1 tablespoon brown sugar1/2 teaspoon baking powder1 heaping tablespoon flour2 tablespoons peanut butter1 teaspoon milk1 tablespoon powdered sugar (give or take) Directions:
Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars | RecipeGirl.com - StumbleUpon Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars… Cookies for Kids’ Cancer Cookbook September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness month, and today I’m sharing some Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars. What do these goodies have to do with cancer? The Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars come from the “Cookies For Kids Cancer: Best Bake Sale Cookbook.” The Cookies for Kids’ Cancer cookbook provides directions on how to hold a bake sale, signage, and lots of recipes and photos. These are slab cookies. They’re a little chocolatey. So let’s talk about the makeup of these bars. I love the sort of natural, rustic crackle look on the tops of the bars. And there they are… my “neatly” cut Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars. I’m giving away three copies of the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer cookbook, courtesy of Wiley Publishing and three OXO Good Grips Good Cookie Spatulas, courtesy of OXO.
From the Editor: Psychedelic Cupcakes | Carbon Magazine In addition to being fashion-obsessed, I happen to have a love for baking too and one of the items that I receive great feedback from are my tie-dye cupcakes. I adapted my version from Omnomicon.com who does a lovely job at showing pictures throughout the process. However here is my take on this popular treat with a modified recipe for ultimate deliciousness! Items needed: 1 box white cake mixBetty Crocker Gel food coloringVegetable oilSoy milkWaterMultiple bowlsCupcake tinCupcake liners How To: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. *To kick these (or any) cupcakes up a notch- try adding a graham cracker crust! Ladies and Gentlemen, the result:
How to Make Crêpes Without a Crêperie A brief tutorial on how to make crêpes at home, no crêperie required. Just you, your stove and a bit of batter and you’ll have a plate full of thin pancakes in no time at all. I’ve always wanted to live abroad, even if just for a short time. While the dream of leaving and exploring was there, the reality was and is that I remain fully rooted in the Midwest.In college I was a single parent. In order to declare my Spanish major, I had to get the mandatory study abroad waived. To the eggs and milk, add in flour, melted butter and a bit of salt. When it’s time to cook, heat a pan with rounded edges over medium-high heat. Cook the crêpe for 30 seconds or so. Slide the crêpes into a flat pile and let them cool a bit while you repeat the process and make more crêpes. And that’s it. If you’re wondering, no, I still have not been to France, nor have I ventured to Australia. Copyright © Food for My Family.
Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread | Zoom Yummy Looks yummy, right? And let me tell you, this cinnamon bread really is yummy! Immensely! I am actually so impressed by it that I would call it a gift from heaven. Okay, maybe not exactly from heaven since the original recipe was born in Joy the Baker’s kitchen. Dear friends, please prepare this delicious, finger-licking, soft, yeasty, cinnamony bread over the weekend for your family. If you wonder how, I’ll show you… Here’s the list of ingredients. 1. 2. 3. You can also melt the butter in milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. 4. 5. I kneaded the dough by hand for about 10 minutes. You can, of course, use an electric mixer and have the job done in about half the time. 6. O-oh, we have a serious case of yeastafalitis here. Or, in other words, this is what happened after I let the dough rest for one hour. 7. 8. 9. 10. Melt the butter (in the microwave oven or in a saucepan). 11. 12. 13. I went horizontally, it’s the rebel in me. Joy said she drooled at this phase. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.
My FAVORITE Chocolate Chip Cookie I have experimented with countless recipes searching for that perfect chocolate chip cookie. The characteristics of the perfect cookie are a very personal matter, and here are my preferences: texture: chewy w. medium thickness --- everyone has their preference, and this is mine! chocolate to cookie ratio: 50/50 --- I really enjoy having a lot of chocolate in every bite chips vs. chunks: chunks --- I like sizeable pieces of chocolate in my cookie. type of chocolate: bittersweet --- I like using Valrhona 61% extra bitter nuts or other add-ins: NONE!! With the above criteria in mind, this recipe is the closest I've come to experiencing CCC perfection. - Don't substitute the pastry and bread flours w. - Hand chopped chocolate chunks, NOT premade chips - I will purchase a hunk of the best bittersweet chocolate that I can afford and hand cut them into chunks. - Chill the cookie dough at least 24 hours (I let my dough sit anywhere from 2-3 days) before baking.
Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting I couldn't believe my eyes this week when I saw the ad for Pumpkin Spice Lattes in my local Starbucks. Pumpkin Spice already? But there's still a little more summer to be had, isn't there? Of course, it was impossible to stay upset for too long; after all, this is lovely pumpkin -- one of my favorite flavors of all time -- that we're talking about! So, I ransacked my pumpkin-flavored recipes to find this one for Pumpkin Cupcakes. You'll recognize that it's a classic, but the cinnamon in the Cream Cheese Frosting gives it a little something extra. Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting from AllRecipes Ingredients For cupcakes 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/2 teaspoon ground cloves1/2 teaspoon ground allspice1/2 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 cup butter, softened1 cup white sugar1/3 cup brown sugar2 eggs3/4 cup milk1 cup pumpkin puree For frosting Instructions 1. 2. 3.
Coca-Cola Cupcakes I don’t drink coca-cola. But I do eat it. Weird. Yeah, I dunno. It’s way better eaten. Let’s take a look, shall we? There’s some dark and white sugar cooked with dark dutch processed cocoa powder…and a can of coke! There’s some the ol’ that pouring into this and this pouring into that. There’s some mixing. Take a little PAM and spray the liners–this is a sticky cupcake batter. UPDATED TIP ALERT: A few of you tried this recipe and sprayed them and the cupcake still stuck. These cupcakes are chocolately, decadent, rich and kind of amaze. This frosting isn’t frosting–it’s just whipped cream. And guess what? Next, cherries on top! P.S. Coca-Cola Cupcakes Recipe adapted from Baked: The New Frontier Yields 15 cupcakes Print this recipe! Cupcakes: 2 cups Coca-cola (do not use diet!) Whipped Cream Frosting: 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract Maraschino cherries (for topping) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.