Okay, so maybe ya don't like bacon. Try making these pretty Valentine treats instead, recipe and photo compliments of Little Window Shoppe. They seem awfully easy to make, and the results look quite pink and fancy. I think I'll have to try this.
(Image from Little Window Shoppe)
I'm always looking for easy treats to whip up for guests and just saw these chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownie squares. It's a recipe from Betty Crocker, tried out and photographed by Bakerella right here. I love brownies. I love chocolate chip cookies. I love easy recipes. Fantastic.
(Image from Bakerella)
Since the last post got me in the mood for chocolate, I had to try this crazy-sounding recipe for microwaved cake in a mug. Verdict: not bad. I don't know what wattage my microwave is, but 2 min. 30 sec. was plenty of time. I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa because that's all I have at the moment. And I didn't have cake flour so I used regular. It came out with an interesting, slightly rubbery texture that's pleasant in a fascinating, springy kind of way. I think I will make this again. Maybe.
(Update: A link to a forum with hilarious reviews of a recipe like this is right here. If you don't make the cake, at least read a few of the comments about it. Actually, after you do that, you won't want to make the cake.)
(2/6/2011 Update to the update: I now consistently use Squirrel Momma's version of this recipe. I've tried three different recipes for chocolate cake in a mug, and so far hers wins.)
Here's a project I want to do for the holidays: make little paper gift boxes filled with Oreo truffles. It sounds ambitious, but I suspect it's pretty easy. Better be, because I'm feeling lazy lately. I was inspired by eating these yummy truffles at my friend Megan's place last week. So delish and super simple to make. And good for you, too! Ha. Here's Bakerella's recipe (and the slightly simpler Kraft Foods version she adapted). For origami gift box instructions, click here to make a small box, and here to make a larger one. I think I'll need to invite some pals over to the Jones truffle factory and make an evening of it.
(Images from Bakerella, left, and K. Werner Design, right.)
I'm not a huge frosting fan, but I do love powdered sugar, cocoa, and graphic shapes. I think I need to make some cake stencils like these from Martha. Get instructions for making your own with downloadable templates right here. More downloads are here. I like this homemade cupcake stencil, too. You could also download a font that would work well, like this one.
(Image from pointclickhome.com. I wish it was me in that picture.)
Ms. Bakerella emailed me about an opportunity to help kids living in poverty get ready for school. Nickelodeon is taking back-to-school suggestions for parents on their website at giveback.parentsconnect.com. For every back-to-school tip or recipe you give, they'll make a donation to Feed the Children’s Kid's School Basics Program. You can leave tips on their site through September 25th. And if you leave a tip, be sure to say so in the comments on this post at Bakerella, because you could win a Nickelodeon prize pack.
The tip that Bakerella left was a recipe for chocolate cake balls. And she also made some cupcake pops in Nickelodeon's brand color: orange. Aren't they nifty? To see all of her cupcake pop creations and get the recipes, click here and scroll through the yumminess.
Here's another iced coffee recipe for ya. If you're a coffee drinker and you like chai, you'll probably like this. If you don't like chai, you probably won't.
2/3 cup ground dark roast coffee
4 cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into small pieces
6 cups water
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (a tiny bit too much, in my opinion)
2/3 cup honey
ice cubes
half-and-half or milk
Mix together the coffee and cinnamon sticks. Using the coffee-cinnamon mixture and the water, brew coffee by your customary brewing method. Add the cardamom and honey to the hot coffee and stir until the honey dissolves. Cover and chill. To serve, fill tall glasses with ice cubes. Pour about 2/3 cup chilled coffee into each glass. Pass the milk. Serves 8.
Recipe from coffeefair.com
On my desk today, and more attractive and tasty than the fly in the last post, is a yummy glass of iced coffee made with this recipe. My usual method for making iced coffee is to brew some super strong stuff in the drip coffee maker, dump in some sugar, let it cool, and keep it in the fridge. When I want to drink some, I pour half a glass and fill the rest with milk. But the recipe for this one doesn't involve any appliances whatsoever. My verdict: straining the grounds through a coffee filter takes a long time. (In the future I'm making it in a French press.) The resulting coffee has a slightly less acidic, smoother taste. It's really good. (Oh, and I didn't add more water to the concentrated mixture like the recipe instructs. I just added milk. Creamier! And supports the dairy industry!)
By the way, if you want to know how much coffee you can get away with before it's fatal, see here.
Happy Valentine's Day! Make something for your sweetie or drown your sorrows...
Unbelievably cute cupcake pops from Bakerella.
Nifty pink drinks from the Hostess Blog (scroll down in the post for the recipe links).
(Images from the respective blogs.)
I'm not usually a big Jello fan, but I got inspired this week after looking at crazy pictures of Jello molds from the '50s. (Thanks, Diane.) And I do like orange, as well as anything that's kind of kooky. So I have to make these Jello oranges sometime. Not Martha's recipe with play-by-play is here, and Food Network's version with vodka is here.
(Image from Food Network)
I give it two thumbs up.
What you need:
2 eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp. butter
3 medium granny smith apples peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
What to do:
Put oven rack in the middle position and preheat to 500º. Combine eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, salt, and granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and process until well mixed, about 15 seconds. Add the flour and process until lump free, about 30 seconds; set the batter aside.
Add the butter to a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the butter foams. Add the apples and sprinkle them with the brown sugar. Cook for 9 or 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are golden brown.
Remove pan from heat. Quickly pour the batter around the edge of the pan, then over apples; place pan in the oven. Reduce heat to 425º and bake until browned and puffed, 16 to 17 minutes. With a heatproof spatula, loosen the edge of the pancake. Invert the pancake onto a serving platter, dust with powdered sugar, and serve immediately.
(Recipe from Swiss Ms. back when she was American Ms.)
From Sunset Magazine, four different types of cocoa in a jar. From All Recipes, many varieties of cookie mix in a jar. At Angry Chicken, already-baked cake in a jar, which could revolutionize holiday food gift-giving.
(Image from Sunset Magazine.)
This is so yummy. The perfect warm, gooey, wintry comfort food.
Ingredients:
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups chocolate milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbs. melted butter
1 Tbs. cocoa
6 cups cubed French bread
1 cup (6 oz.) chocolate chips
What to do:
Combine eggs, milk, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well. Add bread cubes; let sit 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chocolate chips. Put mixture into greased 9-inch square baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350º for 50 min. to 1 hour or until set. Serve warm or at room temp. Add some whipped cream if you like.
At TasteBook.com you can create a personalized cookbook of your favorite recipes. Choose your cover design, add recipes from the web or from your own stash, insert photos, and organize any way you want with colored tabs. This could be a really cool Christmas present or wedding gift.
I made this recipe recently and thought I'd share. I'm not a huge frosting fan, and I do love easy recipes, so this is the perfect rich and decadent cupcake to make, in my mind.
Filling:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1/8 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter chips (or just use more chocolate if you want)
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
In a bowl, beat cream cheese. Add sugar, egg, salt. Mix well. Fold in chips. Set aside. For cupcakes, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Mix well. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full with batter. Top each with 2 Tbs. of cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan. Makes 18.
(Recipe copied from some cookbook at my mom's house a long time ago.)
This recipe is yummy. Make some. (I have not made the marshmallow footballs, however, since I don't care a bit about football. Maybe I will make marshmallow Eames chairs.)
A couple weekends ago we visited a friend at Yale and spent a day in New York City. After exhausting ourselves in Manhattan, we stopped at a Japanese tea house to rest, and I had an excellent glass of iced chai. Ever since then, I'd been dying to make some. So I tried this recipe: Verdict: loved it. (I doubled it but due to a shortage of ingredients, I didn't double the honey or cardamom. And I thought it was perfect.) I want to experiment with some others, too. Browse this site for more recipes.
Here are some pix from the shower at my house on Saturday. My buddy Jill and I put it together for our friend Li. 
We bought a set of notecards and divided them up into packets, complete with Love stamps, for guests to take home as party favors. Jill had the brilliant idea of asking the guests to write notes to the bride on the extra cards. Each guest sealed her note in an envelope and marked it with the date the message should be read (like "after your first fight" or "on your second anniversary.")
We also played a game where guests had to complete obscure proverbs from around the world. Every proverb had something to do with wives, husbands, marriage or love. We gave guests the first half of the saying, and then each person had to write an ending to it. All the endings were read, along with the correct answer, and players got a point for guessing the correct answer and for every vote their entry received. This turned out to be QUITE humorous. (I fished the proverbs out of the game Wise and Otherwise, which we love.)
The food and drink was mostly pink and orange-themed: punch, shrimp cocktail, mini quiches, Jill's work-of-art salmon tea sandwiches, and panna cotta topped with apricots, nectarines, peaches, and golden kiwi. I borrowed my neighbor's chocolate fountain and put out goodies for dipping, too. Yum. Thanks, Jenny.
Li, we hope you feel very loved and celebrated. Blessings and best wishes for a wonderful marriage!
For those on the edge of your seats following the progress of our mushrooms, here's the final installment. Last weekend they turned into four of these pizzas, with brie, tomatoes, green onion, and garlic butter drizzled over them. Yum. I used this recipe (scroll down to Shiitake and Brie Pizzas), which is from another mushroom log retailer. I think it took about 7-10 days from start to finish to grow these. Now our log is resting before its next crop.
(Side note: I found this set of dinner plates and little matching salad plates under an inch of dust in a second-hand store down the street. They were stacked on the floor. I'm so glad I bothered to bend over and swipe a finger along the edge. I like this pattern.)
