Pimm's Lemonade

One of the most refreshing and delicious drinks for summer is Pimm's Lemonade. This is a favorite of mine and was introduced to me by a friend. It truly tastes just like lemonade, perhaps a bit more complex. The Pimm's stays in the background and the mint gives it a cool, fresh finish.

Pimm's is a liqueur made in Britain and is available at most liquor stores that offer a moderate selection. It is gin based with hints of citrus and spices. It is served in cocktails, as well as on the rocks, often with sliced fruit. It's most commonly served in sparkling Lemonade and with ginger ale.

For the Lemonade:

• Citrus such as oranges and lemons, sliced (I used minneolas in this recipe with have a deep citrus flavor and are perfect for such an application.)
• Strawberries, sliced
• Fresh Mint
• 1-1 1/2 cups Pimm's Liqueur
• 2 quarts Lemonade

It's really important to muddle your mint to make it release it's oils. This can be done with a mortar and pestle, or even with a kitchen mallet. You can place the leaves between layers of plastic wrap and tap with a hammer.

Mix Pimm's with lemonade. Add mint and stir heartily. Add fruit and stir to mix. Serve chilled or over ice. Garnish with citrus, strawberry, or mint.

I can't wait to try Pimm's in champagne next! I'd also like to see if you can make a glaze for chicken with it. I'll keep you posted if I experiment further!

Pinterest Inspired Nectarine and Goat Cheese Grilled Pizza

I was lovingly looking at my food board on Pinterest trying to decide what to try this weekend, when this caught my eye. Nectarine and Goat Cheese Pizza with Basil and Reduced Balsamic. I was craving summer, and this recipe looked like it hit the nail on the head. I decided to really make it summery by grilling the pizza. Grilling pizza is easy, quick, and great for those hot summer months when you do not want to bake with the AC running. It adds a bit of smoky flavor to the crust and give it a consistency you cannot achieve with a conventional oven.

For the Pizza Dough (adapted from KitchenAid):

• 1 (¼ oz.) Package Active Dry Yeast
• 1 cup warm water (between 110°-115°) Seriously, use a thermometer! You want to wake the yeast up, but not kill it.
•  ½ tsp. salt
•  2 tsp. olive oil
•  2½ - 3½ cups flour
• Garlic Salt (optional)

1. Pour warm water into bowl of stand mixer. (You can do this without a stand mixer, it's just easier with one.) Sprinkle yeast packet over warm water and stir to dissolve. Let sit for a few minutes until bubbles start to form on water surface.
2. Add salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Use dough hook attachment and mixer speed 2 to knead for two-minutes, or until dough comes together. (If you are not using a stand mixer, just mix the dough until it holds together, then move to floured surface to knead.)
3. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until dough gathers on dough hook and cleans sides of bowl. (Dough should still be tacky to the touch.) Knead until smooth.
4. Place dough in oiled bowl and roll so it is lightly coated with oil. Cover with a towel and leave to rise in warm place for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
5. Once dough has doubled, punch it down. (This recipe is enough for two personal pizzas, or one large pizza.)
6. Using your hands, shape the dough into a disc by pulling around the edges. You do not want to intentionally form an edge. You can use a rolling pin, but it's not necessary. If the dough is jumping back into position and not stretching anymore, let it rest a few minutes and try some more. This is just the gluten toughening up. It'll relax if you let it sit.
7. Sprinkle corn meal on a cookie sheet (without edges) or a pizza peel. Place dough on top and make sure it slides around easily. Brush top with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt (if desired).

Slide dough onto preheated grill. You might need to rub the grates with a towel dipped in oil to make the grates non-stick. Our grille is well loved and well seasoned. Close lid and cook about 5 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown. Check often. The top will bubble like this:






When it looks like this, it's ready to come off.






Place browned side up on your pizza peel or cookie sheet. Brush edges with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. For this pizza I brushed the whole thing since I was omitting sauce.





For the Apricot and Goat Cheese Pizza:

• 1-2 Apricots, thinly sliced (I aimed for ¼ inch)
• Fresh Basil
• Soft herbed goat cheese
• Parmesan
• Reduced Balsamic (optional)

1. Brush crust with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt, if desired.
2. Place apricots in a single layer around the middle, leaving about ½ inch of crust on the edges.
3. Tear basil leaves and layer on.
4. Slice goat cheese and arrange slices around pizza.
5. Grate Parmesan on top (you can use the sprinkle kind).

One of the best things about pizza, is that you can customize them to be what you wish. The sous chef thought my combination was crazy and went for a pizza sauce, mushroom, pepperoni, and mozzarella approach.

After your pizza is built, place back on the grill and close the lid. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.







At  this point, you can add the reduced balsamic. It adds a tangy bite that is countered in a lovely way by the goat cheese. It was at this point that I learned a valuable lesson. I could not find reduced balsamic at the store, so I decided to try to make my own by reducing balsamic vinegar on the stove top. I will never do that again. Have you ever inhaled vinegar vapors through your nose? It was not a pleasant experience and I wouldn't recommend doing it without proper ventilation precautions.

I actually think I prefer this pizza without the balsamic. I can't wait to try this combo with peaches. I prefer peaches to nectarines. Also, the fresh basil on here was a must. It was so delicious with the fruit.

So what about you? What's your flavor of pizza? Anything new and exciting I should try?

Foodie Blog, Grilled Nectarine and Goat Cheese Pizza

I'm coming back!

I know. I've been gone for a long time. I've been thinking of this blog a lot. I need to come back to it. Even though food blogs are overdone, it is a source of therapy for me. So I'm coming back. I've got some great things in store.

Introducing the Pinterest Recipe Reviews Series!

In this series, I will take some of the most frequently pinned and delicious looking recipes from Pinterest and put them to the test! I've already done a few on my own and have found that some are just plain awful, while others are fantastic.

Is there anything that you've pinned that you've been dying to try?

Follow me on Pinterest to see all of my personal food-worshiping pins. Stay tuned for the results!

Chocolate Crepes with Raspberries

I decided to try something different this Valentine's Day and made a chocolate crepe breakfast for the Sous Chef. I had seen the recipe featured on BrightIdeas.com. I used the recipe posted on there as a jumping off point.

For the Crepes:

• 1½ cups flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2¼ cups lowfat milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Vegetable oil as needed

1. Combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt.
2. In another bowl, 2 cups of milk, butter, eggs and vanilla until blended.
3. Combine butter and flour mixtures, whisking until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Cook crepes: Before cooking, whisk remaining ¼ cup of milk into crepe batter. Lightly brush skillet with oil and heat over medium high heat. Once pan is hot, remove from heat, pour in ¼ -cup of batter and swirl pan around allowing batter to evenly coat bottom. Return pan to heat and cook for 40 seconds. Flip crepe over and continue to cook an additional 20 seconds. Repeat process with remaining batter, stacking crepes. Set aside.

NOTE: This recipe makes A LOT of crepes! Probably enough for four or more people, so cut accordingly. Also, stacking your crepes in a 150ºF oven will keep them nice and fresh until you're ready to garnish and serve.

So I was getting excited as I assembled the crepe batter into bowls, loving the person who wrote the recipe for separating their wet and dry ingredients. I put it in the refrigerator to chill out for an hour and then started getting everything else ready.

When I was finally ready to actually start cooking the crepes, it was then I had a "what did I get myself into?" moment. I'm NOT experienced with crepes. I know the theory, but don't have the practice. My girlfriends and I had a crepe party last summer and I learned quickly that I am not good with crepes. Those devilishly sticky disks of goodness are hard to flip. But then I took a deep breath and decided there's no hurt in trying.

The key to crepe making is getting your pan heated through. Then you drop the batter in and take the pan off the heat and swirl the batter around the edges, coating the bottom of the pan. (As demonstrated by my friend Nicole below.)

Crepes are supposed to be thin, so a little bit of batter is the way to go. By the time you evenly coat the bottom of the pan with the batter, it should already be mostly cooked. Set it back on the burner for a few seconds until the top is almost a matte finish. Then the hard part...the flip. These thin little guys are amazingly sticky. I had the best luck propping the edges up with a rubber scraper, and then tilting the pan while getting my spatula under the crepe. This is the part that will take the most practice. After a few clumps of crepe disasters, I finally got the hang of it down.

For the filling:

• 2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
• 1½ cups raspberries
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup toasted almonds
• Zest on orange

1. Combine ricotta cheese with raspberries, sugar and orange zest.
2. Spread crepes with filling to within ½-inch of the edge. Fold crepes into quarters and place two on each serving plate.

Here is where I got off the recipe train. I should have gotten off the track all together. I did not use almonds or orange zest. I did use the ricotta. Right out of the refrigerator. These little crepes are no where near thick enough to heat up that ricotta, so if you don't like eating cold crepes, use room-temperature ricotta. It was not very appetizing. (You can also use frozen raspberries, just make sure they're thawed.)
I personally feel like ricotta is not the right filling choice here. A cream cheese- or yogurt-based filling would be much better served with the raspberries and orange zest. I don't really care for ricotta, but even the Sous Chef agreed that it wasn't quite the right combo. Bleh!

Chocolate sauce:

• ½ cup chopped Dove Dark Chocolate
• ¼ cup lowfat milk
• ½ cup raspberries
• 1/3 cup Raspberry Almond M&M’S® Brand Premium Chocolate Candies

1. Before serving, melt chocolate and milk together.
2. Drizzle sauce over crepes, garnish with raspberries and Raspberry Almond M&M’S Premiums.

I departed from this recipe a bit too. I used chocolate chips instead of Dove, because they are just as good for this application in my opinion, and I didn't want richness overkill. I also did not us any M&Ms. The idea of hard shell candy on smooth melty chocolate crepes did not appeal to me, although I'm sure they taste yummy by themselves.

All in all I have to say this recipe is definitely good for the crepes. They are chocolaty, and maybe a bit rich. Definitely filling. As for the filling, make your own! Come up with new creative applications for these. They would probably be fantastic with bananas in the middle. I think they were good for a special V-Day breakfast, and with a few slight modifications, they are something I'll make again.

Black Squid Ink Pasta with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

First off, I must apologize for my absence. Things have gotten quite crazy lately. I tried to blog a few times, but either the dish wasn't worthy, or the photos didn't turn out well. So here I am, a few months late.

One tool in the kitchen that I absolutely love, without a doubt, is the KitchenAid Stand Mixer. My boyfriend and personal sous chef has had one for a while, and I've spoiled him with a plethora of attachments. However, I was recently blessed with a mixer of my own! I can't tell you how ecstatic I am. Stay tuned for more posts on why I think these things truly are a necessity.
One of my all time favorite attachment genres for the stand mixer are the various pasta attachments. I never knew how good fresh pasta tasted in comparison to dried pasta until I bought the sous chef an assortment of cutters and the roller. Our favorite is home made semolina spaghetti and a meat sauce, but I wanted to kick it up a notch and experiment.
The sous chef has an awesome book called The Pasta Bible. It's an amazing book that has everything you've ever wanted to know about pasta. It has gorgeous photos, and wonderful illustrations and some really great recipes.

It truly is an inspiration when dealing with pasta. There is one spread in particular that is one of my favorites. It shows all sorts of different pastas; flavors and colors both. I was quite intrigued the first time I saw the black pasta dough. It said it was colored by squid ink, which the book claims is purely for color and is virtually tasteless. I've seen the idea incorporated many time into dishes created by Food Network's Iron Chefs. I had to get my hands on some. You can find squid ink at many fish markets, and in the foreign foods aisle of most supermarkets. A jar of it was donated to my cause quite generously by a friend.

Upon first opening of the jar I was quite surprised at the smell. It smelled like fish... and not fresh fish. I thought to myself that there was no way that this stuff could be virtually tasteless. No way, not smelling like that. I dipped my finger in and decided to taste it. It was surprisingly good, but NOT tasteless. It tasted similar to black caviar. I thought the saltiness would actually work well in pasta, but everything I read said the same thing... tasteless. We'll have to see about that.
You can make fresh pasta without any special tools, but using the stand mixer makes it SO much easier. It does all the kneading, flattening, and cutting in no time flat. I would recommend trying fresh pasta to anyone who loves to eat it. One downside to the squid ink pasta is that it is messy. Good news is that it doesn't stain most surfaces. Watch for fabric though!

The stand mixer allows you roll out thin sheets...

and cut into a variety of noodles...

Fresh pasta boils to fluffy al dente in about seven minutes. It floats to the surface, so you have to agitate it often to ensure even cooking. After I boiled the squid ink fettuccine, I tossed it with roasted red bell peppers.

You can roast your own red bell peppers by putting them on a burner, grill, or under a broiler until the skin is black and blistered. Remove the skins by placing the roasted bells into a paper bag and shaking vigorously. Rinse the remaining residue and then remove the seeds and cut into strips. OR you could buy them jarred like I do. Red bell peppers where I live are usually pretty pricey, so it's not much more to buy them roasted in the jar. I like this option because then I always have some on hand to pop into my favorite dishes. We roast our own occasionally in the summer on the grill, but I do enjoy the convenience of jarred once in a while.
After tossing the red bells and pasta together, I plated and topped with the Gorgonzola cream sauce. Here's where I made a small mistake. The Gorgonzola cream sauce recipe I chose was not the type you would normally put on pasta, but more a finishing sauce that you would drizzle over beef tenderloin. What did that mean? This sauce was absolutely delicious, but really rich. We liberally spooned on the sauce and coated all the noodles and dug right in. However halfway through the dish, it became too heavy, and too much. It still would have been a good pairing if we had used less sauce. You need the break of plain pasta in there to mix it up.

The sauce was great, and I'll use it again, but next time I make it for pasta, I'll use a recipe that has chicken stock in it and that starts by making a roux (a balance of fat and flour that acts as a thickening agent). And the noodles? Virtually the same taste as regular pasta. The texture seemed a little different, but the squid ink pasta is an egg noodle base, and we usually do a semolina pasta.
Next time you're feeling a little adventurous, try making your own pasta! It's fun and the results are amazing.

Squid Ink Pasta
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 1/2 cup*
4 extra large eggs
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 ounce squid ink, available in speciality food shops

Make a mound of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs, oil and squid ink. Using a fork, beat together the eggs, oil and squid ink and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape. Do not worry that this initial phase looks messy. The dough will come together when 1/2 of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands primarily.

Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any left over crusty bits. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes, the dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Note: do not skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, they are essential for a light pasta.

*I used the stand mixer to do my mixing and kneading with it's specialized dough hook. To do this in a stand mixer, add only half the flour to start, then add more as appropriate to get the right texture.

Gorgonzola Cream Sauce (Remember, this is more of a finishing version)
4 cups heavy cream
3 to 4 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola (not creamy or "dolce")
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Bring the heavy cream to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 45 to 50 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.

Off the heat, add the Gorgonzola, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm. If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.

I also added sauteed mushrooms for mine and they were heavenly.

Bon Appetit!

Strawberries! (and Kahlua dip)

It's one of my favorite times of the season here in Michigan; strawberry time. When I was growing up, we would always go picking in our worst jeans. Kneeling down between the long rows of bushes, picking for hours and hours, and eating so many we thought we would burst. They were always sweet and full of flavor. I haven't been picking in quite some time. I always seem to miss them. They come and go so quickly, by the time I hear they are ready, they've already gone. Over the years I've gotten lazy, and have been buying the on sale boxes at the supermarket that have been shipped from California and Florida. I became accustomed to their too-green texture, dull flavor, and lackluster juiciness. Mash them up with sugar to bring out the flavor; let them sit in the refrigerator so the juices can mingle. I've taken them for granted and forgotten what a real strawberry tastes like. Until yesterday.

I was being entertained by some friends and grabbed a few strawberries from the spread of delicious goodies set out. I took one bite, and that was all it took for me to fall in love with fresh strawberries all over again. They were very dark red, very plump, and so juicy I feared they would drip after I bit into them. I had to get my hands on more of these. They came from a small roadside stand that is actually owned by the parents of one of my coworkers. I stopped there after work today to grab some of those gorgeous berries before they were gone. One thing I love about living in Michigan's southwestern coast is the variety of small farms we have in the area. There's roadside stands for every season. On the drive home I kept slipping my hand into the bag and stealing berries. I contemplated what to do with them. These berries were just too perfect to mash up like we normally do and eat on shortcake, pancakes, or right out of the bowl. They were simply perfect by themselves. I think the generous rainfall we have gotten must have aided in their amazingly juicy sweetness. A cool summer treat would be a bowl of these next to some chilled Kahlua Dip. Heaven.

Kahlua Dip

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, soft
1 c. non-dairy whipped cream
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. sour cream
1/3 c. kahlua

Directions:

In a medium size bowl mix cream cheese and whipped cream until smooth. Add brown sugar and Kahlua. Blend until brown sugar is melted. Add sour cream, beat until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate before serving. The longer it sets the better it gets. Serves 35 people.

And they aren't kidding. It does serve 35 people. I usually cut this recipe in half (at least) for small gatherings. I also use fat free cream cheese and cool whip to lighten it up. This dip is truly heaven on fruit. (It's also good on a spoon.)
These strawberries are so juicy, they would be good muddled in a drink. Perhaps some lemon vodka, lemonade, and a splash of sprite? What ways do you like to use strawberries?

Salmon in a Pouch

I received some gorgeous fresh-caught Coho Salmon from my friend Christina. Caught right here in Lake Michigan and filleted by the best fish monger, Lou. :) I've been wanting to try a pouch dinner for some time, so what a perfect opportunity.
Cooking in a pouch or packet allows food to retain it's moisture, as you are essentially steaming it in the oven. You can use aluminum foil, but I didn't want it to transfer too much heat in this dish. Wax paper would transfer wax to your food, so I used parchment paper for this application. I completely made up what would go in this dish, but that's the beauty of this method of cooking. Just about anything goes. I recommend watching Alton Brown's Good Eats episode on cooking in pouches. He gives a lot of good guidelines on what flavors work together.
I had bought some asparagus to go with our meal, so this is what I used for my base, but you can use any vegetables you like such as carrots, snow peas, zucchini, squash, etc. You could also use noodles or rice as a base, but must add enough liquid to efficiently cook them. I also decided to use mushrooms since they would absorb a lot of the flavors being released in the bag. For aromatics I used garlic and onion, and salt and pepper for seasonings. I also used lemon and orange slices to flavor the fish. I could have used one more herb for depth. Maybe corriander next time.

After gathering my ingredients, it was time to prepare the parchment paper. Tear off a large enough piece that could hold your dish when folded in half. Then fold it in half lengthwise and cut a large paper heart shape. (This will aid in your folding later).

After I had my parchment ready, I started building. I prepped the asparagus by breaking off the bottoms. I just snap them at their natural weak point and this will ensure none of the flossy tough stuff will get stuck in your teeth later. Some say this is a waste of asparagus. The bottoms don't really hold that much flavor, but you could always peel them to save the entire stalk. I layed down the asparagus on the bottom of the parchment (enough for one serving; I'm making single serving packs, but you can also do a whole side/fish, but the method varies slightly). I placed pats of butter on top of that, topped with mushrooms, then seasoned with salt and pepper.

After that, I layed my salmon fillet on top. (Mine were 6-8 oz fillets). I liberally seasoned with salt and pepper, then added the garlic and the onions. A few slices of citrus on top of everything, and my pouch was ready to close.

To close the pouch, fold the other edge over the food, and begin at the center of the heart. Fold over the parchment and crease. Then start halfway through that crease and make your next fold. Continue folding around the heart shaped edge, always going halfway up the previous crease to ensure sealing. If you have problems getting your edges to cooperate, you can always use a stapler to help. When you get to the bottom, just fold it up to seal. (I stapled).

Place your pouch(es) on baking sheet and bake in a 425º Oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove and open a corner of your biggest fillet to check for doneness. My 6-8 oz. fillets needed about 20 minutes total. The wonders of this process? The juices stay locked in, so no fear of dry flaky fish.

Viola! Quick easy dinner, in easy-t0-customize single servings. As you can see, mine turned out really juicy. I think my citrus was sliced a bit too thick. Next time I'm doing only a few thin slices of lemon and more seasoning.

The next pouch dinner I'll make will be with ramen and shrimp. Can't wait!
Do you make pouch dinners? What would you put in yours?

Quick and Easy! Parmesan Cous-Cous with Garlic-Lime Shrimp

I discovered cous-cous not too long ago while trying to eat healthier. (For a foodie, you can imagine how hard it is not to stick everything in my mouth.)
Cous-Cous (pronounced koose-koose) consists of small grains of pasta that is cooked and served like rice. It is a staple in many cuisines throughout the world. It is light and fluffy in texture, and easy to combine with many spices. It has become more and more popular in the US. I found Near East Cous Cous and fell in love. Sure, you could take plain cous cous and mix in your own brand of spices, but these are so quick and easy, it's a perfect meal for someone like me. (As much as I love working with food, I don't enjoy cooking elaborately for myself, so quick and simple is good.) These little guys plump up and are ready to eat in 5 minutes. The whole box has 6 grams of fat when prepared, and it's enough for two adult entree-sized portions. I prepare it without the added butter or oil, and it's just as delicious.
My favorite two flavors are Parmesan and Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil. For this "recipe" I used Parmesan. It's got a nice cheesiness to it that pairs nicely with the shrimp.

Parmesan Cous-Cous with Garlic-Lime Shrimp
1 Box of Near East Parmesan Cous-Cous
Frozen Cooked Shrimp (salad size is nice, but I've gone up to cocktail 26-30 count)

Prepare cous-cous according to packaging. While you're waiting for those delicious yummy kernels of pasta to puff up to perfection, thaw your shrimp under luke-warm water. (Since this isn't a cocktail, we don't need to use cold water. However, using scalding hot water could cook your shrimp further) Once the shrimp is thawed, remove the tails (if any) and place in a prep bowl. Drizzle with lime juice (you could also do a marinade before hand) and sprinkle with garlic salt. Toss to coat.
Fluff your cous-cous with a fork and incorporate shrimp. Enjoy!

Shrimp are a good source of protein and low in fat, so this is a wonderful, quick, low fat meal to enjoy. You could also make it as a kicked-up side dish.

How about you? Do you like cous-cous and how do you prepare them?

Beef Up Your Saturday Morning Pancakes

I was instantly puzzled in the store when my boyfriend stopped and raved about Aunt Jemima's Buckwheat Pancake mix. He droned on and on in excitement about how he used to eat them as a kid and he thought they stopped making the mix. I humored his excitement while he put the box in his cart. "I'll have to make you some real pancakes," he said. I wrinkled my nose. I didn't want to try them... they looked all dark and heavy in the picture. I voiced my concerns. "You don't eat them straight up". I still didn't want to try them, but I was a bit curious.

The morning came when he decided to make them. Fine, I'll try them. I took a bite. They weren't heavy, they had substance, but they were still light and not chewy. There was a bit of sweet nuttiness to them, and the color was alluring. Wow, these were actually really good. And healthy. I can't wait to try them with blueberries in them. It seems like it would be a match made in Heaven.

Doug's Buckwheat Pancake Mix:
1 Box Aunt Jemima's Buckwheat Pancake Mix
1 Box Aunt Jemima's Original Pancake Mix

Follow the directions on the box for the amount of pancakes you desire. Mix half Buckwheat and half Original to equal your desired amount. Add milk to desired consistency.

I'm not a big syrup fan, so I chose to smother mine in fresh strawberries mashed with sugar and chilled in the refrigerator for at least a half an hour. The sugar mingles with the strawberries and enhances their flavor. Yum! Try these on your next pancake morning.

A Tale of Two Frostings

It was the best of times... it was the worst of times...

Kidding! (I've never actually read that book either). Well, I intended for this post to be about cocoa powder, but I'll save that for another time. For in attempting to make chocolate cake from scratch, I stumbled upon a childhood favorite of mine. The idea was planted in my head from my friend, Malissa. In her latest blog, she mentioned Fluffy White Frosting. Oooh, Fluffy White! How you've slipped off my food radar these past years. In vain I searched for the recipe for one of my childhood favorites. You see, it was my dad's favorite frosting, so just about every year on his birthday, we would have a cake loaded with billowing mounds of fluffy white frosting. When I couldn't find the recipe, I panicked. So many online to choose from...all with conflicting ingredients, and all with conflicting results. Mo was kind enough to send me her recipe. There are two ways to accomplish the end result of fluffy pillows of sugary sweetness. The following recipes show both ways, but they can be interchanged with each other.

Fluffy White Frosting (courtesy of Malissa)
1 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Water
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

In a saucepan combine sugar, water, and cream of tartar. Cook and stir till bubbly and sugar dissolves. In a small mixer bowl combine egg whites and vanilla. Add sugar mixture very slowly (and I do mean slowly; we need to temper the eggs, not scramble them) to egg whites, beating constantly with an electric mixer on high speed for about 7 minutes or till stiff peaks form. Pick a bowl that will be big enough to handle the frosting when the eggs fluff up. It will quadruple in size. If you are running out of room, no worries, just transfer into a bigger bown and keep beating.

Stiff peaks is the key word here. VERY STIFF peaks mind you. When I was about 10 or 11, I wanted to make the annual fluffy white for my dad's birthday cake. I was proud of myself for being able to use my mom's double boiler (used in the upcoming recipe). I beat the mixture and didn't really understand what stiff peaks meant. I spread it on the cake and put the cake on the counter in the corner to await dessert time. In a few hours, when dinner was over, we pulled the cake out to eat it. In my dismay, all of the frosting had melted off the cake and settled on the edges. I didn't beat the eggs enough for the proteins to break and reform new bonds. It simply just fell apart.

After topping my made-from-scratch chocolate cupcakes with the mixture, I dug in. The frosting was very, very good. And yet, it tasted like marshmallow....exactly like marshmallow. It wasn't the fluffy white from my childhood. It was stickier and a bit sweeter, but still very delicious. A little put out I put the remainder in container and took it to my mom's house and made them all taste it. "It's not the same!" I declared. We all agreed, it was different, but not as good. And that's when I pulled out the 1969 Betty Crocker's Cookbook to look for the frosting of my younger days. This recipe is no longer published in Betty Crocker's books, and probably for good food-police reasons. Somehow tempering eggs gets everyone scared in this day and age. But trust me, that bowl got HOT. Betty Crocker does make "Fluffy White" in a can, but I'm not even going to try it, for it's probably not the same.
I sifted through the yellowing pages until I found what I was looking for:

Double Boiler (7-Minute) Frosting
(so Betty didn't even call it fluffy white...hmmmm)
2 Egg Whites
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/2 Cup Water
1 tsp Vanilla (some cooks say to use clear, but regular doesn't tint the frosting too much)
(so far, the only difference is the water and sugar content)

Combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and water in top of double boiler. (If you don't have a double boiler, no worries. A stainless steel bowl on top of a saucepan of boiling water will do the same thing. Just make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water, and that it's big enough to handle the volume. This will quadruple in size when beating.) Beat on high speed for 1 minute with electric mixer. Place over boiling water (water should not touch bottom of pan); beat on high speed 7 minutes. Remove pan from boiling water and add vanilla. Continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. (It took me a lot longer than 2 minutes, but my hand mixer isn't that powerful)

Viola! Fluffy white (or 7-minute) frosting from my childhood. Even though it has the basic same ingredients, it doesn't have as sticky of a texture, and doesn't taste like marshmallow as much. It seems lighter some how. The best part about this frosting: it forms a delicious crust on it when left out for a while. Yum!

Not only are these frostings good on cake, they would be excellent in graham cracker sandwiches, or maybe even a fruit dip for your favorite melons and strawberries. Also a dollop in some hot chocolate or an Irish coffee would be heaven. :)

Fulfill that craving for spring with this Parsley Pesto

First off, I apologize for my absence. I had some medical issues in the last few weeks that took up most of my energy. I'll make it up with an exceptionally tasty recipe.
A magazine that I absolutely love is Everyday Food. Not only is it filled with loads of inspirational ingredients and mouth-watering recipes, they really have an upper hand with food photography and layout. Their March 2009 Issue focused on one my favorite foods: Pasta. One recipe in particular caught my eye:

Fettuccine with Parsley Pesto

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 pound fettuccine
• 2 cups packed fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup walnuts, plus more chopped for serving
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 ounces baby spinach

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta, and return to pot.

2. In a food processor, puree parsley, walnuts, Parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons water until a paste forms. With machine running, add oil in a thin stream; process until very smooth, about 1 minute. Season pesto with salt and pepper.

3. To pasta in pot, add pesto, 1/4 cup pasta water, and spinach; toss to combine. Thin with pasta water as needed. Serve sprinkled with walnuts and Parmesan.


Notes:
The walnuts in the pesto add body and depth to the flavor, but you could also use cashews, peanuts, or any other nut favorite. Stay away from pre-salted nuts as this may lead to undesired results. Sprinkling the walnuts on top of the pasta when done added a pop of texture and crunch to keep your mouth happy.

I cut the baby spinach into ribbons by rolling several leaves together and then slicing. This made them more manageable to eat rather than leaving them whole, and added pretty streaks of greenery in the dish.

A food processor is almost a must for this recipe. The parsley leaves are so lightweight that they don't like to go near the blades of my magic bullet. (I have yet to get myself a KitchenAid Food Processor.) I bought one for my boyfriend, Doug last year and they are absolutely amazing. But that's another blog entry ;)

The parsley had a little bite to it, but a fresh finish which made the range of flavors expansive for so few ingredients.

I added more garlic than the recipe called for. Looking back I would've gone with 3-4 cloves total. But I LOVE garlic.

My final pesto turned out a bit bland, so I underestimated my salt and pepper a bit. Be sure to taste your pesto and remember that it will be cut with water when tossed with the pasta, so over seasoning a bit wouldn't be so bad.

When I heated up some leftovers, the parsley had lost it's bite and smelling it cook in the microwave again made me think that a quarter of a sweet onion added to the pesto would be a nice addition.

All in all I really enjoyed this recipe. It was such a nice twist on a classic pesto and really does taste like spring. This dish would be a nice compliment to a sun-warmed deck and a large pitcher of iced lemonade.

Ultimate Recipe Showdown

One of the Food Network shows that has caught my eye recently is The Ultimate Recipe Showdown. In this show, three average schmoes compete in a given category with their own recipes from home. The first show I caught was the comfort foods challenge. The winner of the challenge, Rick Massa, made a cheese lover's 5 cheese mac and cheese that had me wanting to lick my tv screen. The plus to this show: the winners of each challenge had their recipe adapted and put on the T.G.I. Friday's menu. Since there isn't a Fridays in the town I live in, I had to wait until I made a trip to Grand Rapids for the weekend to try the melty, cheesy goodness. And that's just what I ordered. It came at a bargain price of $5.99. They altered his recipe by using penne pasta instead of cellantini, and topping the dish with a sliced, grilled chicken breast.

I must say that the cheese sauce was delightful, and the chicken breast was juicy and tender and seasoned to perfection. I could definitely taste the potential of the ingredients in this dish. However, it was a busy friday night at the restaurant, and the penne definitely tasted like it had been sitting around for a while. It had a nice gluey texture. (Err not-so-nice.) I almost ordered it without bacon, trying to be healthy, but I wanted to see what it brought to the dish. It gave a certain depth and smokiness that couldn't be completed by the cheeses. I certainly have hope for making the actual recipe at home.

Cheese Lover's 5 Cheese Mac and Cheese (Cheesy, isn't it?) :

• Kosher salt
• 1 (16-ounce) package macaroni (cellentani or other curly noodle)
• 1/4 pound bacon, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to butter baking dish
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups grated fontina
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
  
• 3/4 cup grated Gruyere
• 3/4 cup grated white Cheddar (Australian)
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, saute the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Saute the onion in the bacon drippings until soft. Add the 5 tablespoons butter to the onion mixture and melt the butter stirring with a wooden spoon.

Using a whisk, add the flour, and stir constantly until well mixed with the fat making a roux. Whisk in the mustard. Gradually add the milk and cream whisking constantly.

Add the thyme, bay leaf, and salt. Let come to a simmer and stir frequently for 15 minutes.

Strain the hot milk mixture into a metal bowl and discard the solids. Working quickly, mix in 1 cup fontina, blue cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere, 1/2 cup white Cheddar, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the reserved bacon, and parsley. Continue to stir until all cheese is melted.

Add the cooked noodles to the cheese mixture to coat. Add the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish. Mix the remaining cheese and bread crumbs together and sprinkle on top of the noodles. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown. Remove from oven when done and rest for 5 minutes.

I can't wait to try this recipe. If you make it, be sure to comment here on how you liked it, and any other suggestions that may be helpful.