baked brie
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
snap, crackle, WOW your friends
are you looking for a fun way to shake up the standard cupcake? how about turning the crowd pleasing rice krispie treats into a cupcake? think about it, it is the perfect and most satifying few bites and they are absolutley adorable! i am a busy girl and i love making cupcakes and my frosting from scratch but sometimes i just dont have the time or engery and that is why the rice krispie treats are so perfect! they take just minutes to make and in 15-20 minutes the marshmallow has set and you can eat and enjoy. here is the recipe: look on the side of the rice krispie box! i added colorful sprinkles into the melted marshmallow just for funsies. i added my own homemade frosting for an extra special touch but store bought is totally okay too, look below for my homemade buttercream recipe.
frosting: 2/3 cup of crisco vegetable shortening, 2 capfuls of vanilla, 3 capfuls of milk, and start with 1 cup of powdered sugar. add more a little at a time until the consistency is thick but creamy. you want a thicker frosting to hold the shape of a piping tip, but add more milk to get a thinner consistency if so desired. (this recipe will perfectly frost 12 cupcakes) until next time eat laugh love and enjoy!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
warm up on a cold day
winter time means soup time...but let's be honest, sometimes we and by we i mean *I* dont always feel like leaving the warmth of my couch and the entertainment of my DVR to spend time cooking away, so i am going to share with you a easy and tasty tomato basil bisque recipe that you can pretty much assemble in between commercial breaks, let simmer for the length of a lifetime movie and you can have it to eat by the time you are ready to start the 8 pm line up on Sunday night.
the inspiration for this soup was the amazing black olive breadsticks my boyfriend and i bought when we were in NYC. we stopped at Dean and Deluca, which is an amazing gourmet grocery store. my eyes immediately locked onto these breadsticks and he and i knew that i would be making something tasty to accompany them for our Sunday football meal. i have always been a huge fan of tomato soup, to be honest the campbell's condensed tomato soup was my favorite growing up, but with no recipe and no desire to really grocery shop i was able to come up with my own tomato soup recipe that warmed us up and tasted like it had been cooking all day.
what you need: 4-5 slices of bacon chopped. 1 large onion diced. 2 cans of tomato's - crushed or peeled and whole. basil (i did go out to buy this i used fresh but dried will also work). half and half. salt, pepper, garlic powder.
what do do: render your chopped bacon in a hot large round soup pot. as the bacon renders you will start to see the fat accumulate at the bottom. THIS IS GOOD. cook the bacon until all fat has rendered out, and until the bacon is extremely well done. when the bacon is well done, remove and let it drain. snack on it if you like, or keep to add a crunchy topping onto of your soup. that bacon fat is like chef's gold it will add so much extra flavor to your meal it is crazy. sautee the diced onion in the bacon fat and cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. add in the tomato and the liquid from the can. cook for an additional 10 minutes. using an immersion blender, magic bullet, or food processor puree the tomato and onion mix. transfer back to your soup pot. add in a generous handful of fresh basil and allow this to come to a boil with the addition of 2 cups of chicken stock. the longer this simmers the more the flavor will intensify. just before serving stir in one cup of half and half (you can also use milk or cream, just happened to have half and half that day) this will give your bisque a creamy texture. ladle into a large bowl, add a topping, and enjoy!
toppers: chopped bacon, sprinkled with cheese, fresh basil, crumbled crackers, my boyfriend put popcorn in it which he loved, goldfish .. and dont forget some bread for dunking! keep warm in this cold weather, and until next time .. eat laugh love & enjoy!
the inspiration for this soup was the amazing black olive breadsticks my boyfriend and i bought when we were in NYC. we stopped at Dean and Deluca, which is an amazing gourmet grocery store. my eyes immediately locked onto these breadsticks and he and i knew that i would be making something tasty to accompany them for our Sunday football meal. i have always been a huge fan of tomato soup, to be honest the campbell's condensed tomato soup was my favorite growing up, but with no recipe and no desire to really grocery shop i was able to come up with my own tomato soup recipe that warmed us up and tasted like it had been cooking all day.
what you need: 4-5 slices of bacon chopped. 1 large onion diced. 2 cans of tomato's - crushed or peeled and whole. basil (i did go out to buy this i used fresh but dried will also work). half and half. salt, pepper, garlic powder.
what do do: render your chopped bacon in a hot large round soup pot. as the bacon renders you will start to see the fat accumulate at the bottom. THIS IS GOOD. cook the bacon until all fat has rendered out, and until the bacon is extremely well done. when the bacon is well done, remove and let it drain. snack on it if you like, or keep to add a crunchy topping onto of your soup. that bacon fat is like chef's gold it will add so much extra flavor to your meal it is crazy. sautee the diced onion in the bacon fat and cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. add in the tomato and the liquid from the can. cook for an additional 10 minutes. using an immersion blender, magic bullet, or food processor puree the tomato and onion mix. transfer back to your soup pot. add in a generous handful of fresh basil and allow this to come to a boil with the addition of 2 cups of chicken stock. the longer this simmers the more the flavor will intensify. just before serving stir in one cup of half and half (you can also use milk or cream, just happened to have half and half that day) this will give your bisque a creamy texture. ladle into a large bowl, add a topping, and enjoy!
toppers: chopped bacon, sprinkled with cheese, fresh basil, crumbled crackers, my boyfriend put popcorn in it which he loved, goldfish .. and dont forget some bread for dunking! keep warm in this cold weather, and until next time .. eat laugh love & enjoy!
anniversary dinner *the entree*
like i have mentioned before i like to research as many recipes as i can and then combine the best parts into my own creation. i made the most light and airy fried shrimp that retained no grease and were the perfect vessel for the chili garlic sauce i made. it was super simple and something i would suggest making if you were in a rush but wanted to really wow your dinner guest.
Batter - i did a dry, wet, dry dredge before frying my shrimp. i was able to get beautiful shrimp at my grocery store that were already de-vained for me. i kept the tails on so that my babe and i could have a little something to hold on to -- isn't it nice when you can cross that line in a relationship where eating with your hands is sexy?! anyway keeping the tail on also helps keep your hands clean when you are dredging the shrimp. i used a white flour and corn starch combo for the dry mix. i added a little salt and pepper for additional flavor. for once cup of flour i used 1/8 cup of corn starch. coat the shrimp in the dry mix and then dip into an egg wash - 2 eggs beaten and thinned with a little water. and then back into the dry mix. we want to shallow fry this, which means that you will want to really fill your fry pan with about an inch-inch and a half of oil. if you happen to have a fry daddy this would clearly work also. fry your shrimp until golden brown and until the tail turns a pinky color, it is about 3 minutes in total. allow your shrimp to drain on paper towel or a brown paper bag. season a tad with salt and pepper and serve with the chili garlic sauce.
ya know what else would be great?! if you did not have shrimp, or if they were expensive that day, try battering some green beans, or asparagus?! boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces cook up in about 5-6 minutes and are a great vessel for this sauce also! i hope you try it and love it as much as my hunny! until next time eat laugh love and enjoy.
Batter - i did a dry, wet, dry dredge before frying my shrimp. i was able to get beautiful shrimp at my grocery store that were already de-vained for me. i kept the tails on so that my babe and i could have a little something to hold on to -- isn't it nice when you can cross that line in a relationship where eating with your hands is sexy?! anyway keeping the tail on also helps keep your hands clean when you are dredging the shrimp. i used a white flour and corn starch combo for the dry mix. i added a little salt and pepper for additional flavor. for once cup of flour i used 1/8 cup of corn starch. coat the shrimp in the dry mix and then dip into an egg wash - 2 eggs beaten and thinned with a little water. and then back into the dry mix. we want to shallow fry this, which means that you will want to really fill your fry pan with about an inch-inch and a half of oil. if you happen to have a fry daddy this would clearly work also. fry your shrimp until golden brown and until the tail turns a pinky color, it is about 3 minutes in total. allow your shrimp to drain on paper towel or a brown paper bag. season a tad with salt and pepper and serve with the chili garlic sauce.
ya know what else would be great?! if you did not have shrimp, or if they were expensive that day, try battering some green beans, or asparagus?! boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces cook up in about 5-6 minutes and are a great vessel for this sauce also! i hope you try it and love it as much as my hunny! until next time eat laugh love and enjoy.
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