Hello Everyone
This week, thanks to my friend Erin, I found out about the Jelly Belly Cupcake Challenge. To win you have to decorate the best cupcake with Jelly Belly Jelly Beans.
Please check out the website: www.jbcupcakechallenge.com to see some really great cupcakes. Two of my favorites are the Sushi Cupcakes and the Marie Beantoinette cupcake.
I'm thinking of entering and I'm trying to decide on what to make my cupcakes look like. Maybe something easter themed, like rabbits or carrots? We will see... but in the meantime please take a look at the cupcakes that have already been entered.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Girls Night Desserts
Most Thursdays I join a group of girls who hang out, chat, gossip and watch Greys Anatomy. Of course this is the perfect setting for desserts!
This past week the local Harris Teeter Supermarket was the place to be when it came to choosing desserts. One of our group brought an amazingly delicious German Chocolate Cake. It was huge! I opted for buying the ingredients to strawberry shortcake. Some Strawberries, Whipped Cream and Harris Teeter pound cake and we were good to go. Someone else brought Chocolate Fudge Brownies.
I ate my cakes separately, but one of the ladies added her brownie to the Shortcake. Brilliant I tell you. It was a chocolate strawberry shortcake.
The overall message of this post is that Supermarket desserts can be just as good as anywhere else. Normally I am always for making something myself but semi-homemade can be just as good.
This past week the local Harris Teeter Supermarket was the place to be when it came to choosing desserts. One of our group brought an amazingly delicious German Chocolate Cake. It was huge! I opted for buying the ingredients to strawberry shortcake. Some Strawberries, Whipped Cream and Harris Teeter pound cake and we were good to go. Someone else brought Chocolate Fudge Brownies.
I ate my cakes separately, but one of the ladies added her brownie to the Shortcake. Brilliant I tell you. It was a chocolate strawberry shortcake.
The overall message of this post is that Supermarket desserts can be just as good as anywhere else. Normally I am always for making something myself but semi-homemade can be just as good.
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Skinny Dip
This past weekend I was able to make my five year old niece very excited when I told her about a place in Norfolk called, Skinny Dip. I love this place. First, it serves only frozen yogurt so it is somewhat healthier than your normal ice cream parlor. Second, you can taste test every flavor, serve yourself as much as you want and choose from a very wide assortment of toppings. Let's just say that I was acting very much like my niece, trying to choose between all the flavors and toppings.
Most of our group ended up choosing the strawberry frozen yogurt or the dark chocolate flavor. Where we all differed was in the toppings. You can choose anything from brownies, to granola to fruity pebbles cereal. I chose a cup with brownies on the bottom, followed by strawberry yogurt and topped with hot fudge. Delicious.
Another great thing about Skinny Dip is that they charge you by ounce so you can choose how much or how little you pay by the weight of your cup.
So if you every find yourself in Hampton Roads look for a Skinny Dip and treat yourself to some great frozen yogurt!
Most of our group ended up choosing the strawberry frozen yogurt or the dark chocolate flavor. Where we all differed was in the toppings. You can choose anything from brownies, to granola to fruity pebbles cereal. I chose a cup with brownies on the bottom, followed by strawberry yogurt and topped with hot fudge. Delicious.
Another great thing about Skinny Dip is that they charge you by ounce so you can choose how much or how little you pay by the weight of your cup.
So if you every find yourself in Hampton Roads look for a Skinny Dip and treat yourself to some great frozen yogurt!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Food on TV
Over the last few years there have been a sudden influx of cooking shows. There are reality competitions as well as many shows featuring local restaurants and chefs across the country. I for one love most of the shows that are popular. My favorites are Top Chef, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Man vs. Food and recently Jamie Olivers Food Revolution. At the end of each show I just want to cook and eat. I'm always starving mid way through an episode of Top Chef.
I think these shows have taken good food to the masses and I think that it's wonderful. Jamie Oliver brings healthy food to the world and many of the other shows give people a better understanding of the world of cooking. I also like that these shows introduce us to up and coming chefs and restaurants that we may never have heard of. I know that every time I plan a vacation I look up some of the restaurants and chefs I've seen on Bravo or Food Network and use them as my guideline for vacation eating. There are so many fantastic places out there and I think that everyone should try everything. I apologize if some of you out there are picky eaters but all I have to say is- STOP! You are missing out on so many delicious tastes and experiences.
My question is- what is your favorite TV cooking show?
I think these shows have taken good food to the masses and I think that it's wonderful. Jamie Oliver brings healthy food to the world and many of the other shows give people a better understanding of the world of cooking. I also like that these shows introduce us to up and coming chefs and restaurants that we may never have heard of. I know that every time I plan a vacation I look up some of the restaurants and chefs I've seen on Bravo or Food Network and use them as my guideline for vacation eating. There are so many fantastic places out there and I think that everyone should try everything. I apologize if some of you out there are picky eaters but all I have to say is- STOP! You are missing out on so many delicious tastes and experiences.
My question is- what is your favorite TV cooking show?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Winter to Spring Sickness
Well the last two weeks have been crazy! I have not been able to post because not only did my entire family, including myself, catch the stomach bug, but we also took a trip home to New Jersey.
I felt very bad about my lack of posts but I promise there will be a few new ones coming up all weekend.
Thanks for understanding and I hope the stomach bug has not hit any of you too!
I felt very bad about my lack of posts but I promise there will be a few new ones coming up all weekend.
Thanks for understanding and I hope the stomach bug has not hit any of you too!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Healthy Baking
Lately I have been reading a lot about healthy baking. Just this weekend I bought the current issue of Food & Wine Magazine that devoted it's entire issue to healthy eating. There was a very interesting section on Healthy Baking. It seems, and not too surprising, that most pastry chefs and bakers are overweight. It's hard to stay away from sweets when you are making them all day.
The magazine gave us the "bad" version of a dish and then a healthy version. Sometimes if you just change the smallest thing, your dessert can be better for you. Try using whole wheat flour instead of white or instead of granulated sugar, use brown sugar or agave nectar or honey.
Baking for people with allergies is a totally different story. I am looking forward to taking classes this summer on not only healthy baking but also baking for people with allergies. This means no nuts and everything gluten free and sometimes no dairy either. I will of course let you know how it goes. I think it's important to learn these things and have them available. Just because you are allergic to milk or gluten doesn't mean you can't enjoy a great dessert.
The magazine gave us the "bad" version of a dish and then a healthy version. Sometimes if you just change the smallest thing, your dessert can be better for you. Try using whole wheat flour instead of white or instead of granulated sugar, use brown sugar or agave nectar or honey.
Baking for people with allergies is a totally different story. I am looking forward to taking classes this summer on not only healthy baking but also baking for people with allergies. This means no nuts and everything gluten free and sometimes no dairy either. I will of course let you know how it goes. I think it's important to learn these things and have them available. Just because you are allergic to milk or gluten doesn't mean you can't enjoy a great dessert.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Chocolate Spice Cookies
Yesterday I made some cookies for my weekly girls night. I thought they came out pretty well, but slightly dry. I still need to work on the cooking time and maybe add a little butter. They started as chocolate drop cookies but then I decided to add some spice. In the end I think I could have added some more of the spices. Overall though, nice chocolate cookies that would go well with coffee, tea or a tall glass of milk!
Chocolate Spice Cookies
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix flour, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cream the sugar and butter in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, beating well. Add vanilla. Finally add the dry ingredients. Use ice cream scooper to scoop dough onto baking sheet.
If you would like you can roll the dough balls into a mixture of sugar and cinnamon before baking.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
Hint #1: You don't need to sift dry ingredients. After putting them in the bowl just use a whisk to stir and shake the flour mixture. You get the same effect as sifting.
Hint #2: Using an ice cream scooper gives you uniform sized cookies
Chocolate Spice Cookies
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix flour, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cream the sugar and butter in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, beating well. Add vanilla. Finally add the dry ingredients. Use ice cream scooper to scoop dough onto baking sheet.
If you would like you can roll the dough balls into a mixture of sugar and cinnamon before baking.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
Hint #1: You don't need to sift dry ingredients. After putting them in the bowl just use a whisk to stir and shake the flour mixture. You get the same effect as sifting.
Hint #2: Using an ice cream scooper gives you uniform sized cookies
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Brownies
This past Sunday, for the Academy Awards, I decided to make some fudge brownies. They were going to be an experiment as I was going to try and make something resembling the Pillsbury Sweet Moments Brownie Bites. If you have never tried the Sweet Moments Brownie Bites run to the store right now and buy them. We are obsessed. They are tiny chocolate bites that are perfect for right after dinner. The hardest part is not eating the whole bag in one sitting.
Anyway, the idea was to make a homemade version but I ended up just making straight up fudge brownies, with chocolate chunks and dark chocolate sauce. I think these would have worked as bites as well, but I would have had to make them in a larger, longer pan so they would be thinner.
Here is my Fudge Brownie recipe:
1 stick butter
8 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Chocolate chunk chips
Dark Chocolate chips
If you want you can give them a little spice by adding 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate together in a double boiler. Mix flour and salt together. When butter and chocolate are melted fold in sugar. whisk in eggs and vanilla. Fold in Flour mixture. Pour into pan. Add chocolate chunks on top.
Bake for 35 minutes for softer brownies and 40-45 minutes for cake like brownies.
Take brownies out of oven and let cool.
Melt dark chocolate chips in a double boiler.
Pour over cooled brownies. Cut and enjoy!
Next up on Thursday: Chocolate Spice Cookies and next week, Chocolate Biscotti
Anyway, the idea was to make a homemade version but I ended up just making straight up fudge brownies, with chocolate chunks and dark chocolate sauce. I think these would have worked as bites as well, but I would have had to make them in a larger, longer pan so they would be thinner.
Here is my Fudge Brownie recipe:
1 stick butter
8 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Chocolate chunk chips
Dark Chocolate chips
If you want you can give them a little spice by adding 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate together in a double boiler. Mix flour and salt together. When butter and chocolate are melted fold in sugar. whisk in eggs and vanilla. Fold in Flour mixture. Pour into pan. Add chocolate chunks on top.
Bake for 35 minutes for softer brownies and 40-45 minutes for cake like brownies.
Take brownies out of oven and let cool.
Melt dark chocolate chips in a double boiler.
Pour over cooled brownies. Cut and enjoy!
Next up on Thursday: Chocolate Spice Cookies and next week, Chocolate Biscotti
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