Pass the Paella!

Hello, my friends! At last, we have moved into our new house in Kodiak, AK, and my new kitchen is divine!! Thank goodness our new house came with a gas stove, I cook so much better using a gas range than an electric one. It's taking us a while to unpack all of our stuff, but I made sure to unpack the kitchen first!

I remember, on one of our hotel stops on the way from Haines, AK to Homer, AK, I was staying up late one night and caught an episode of "Throwdown With Bobby Flay" on the Food Network, and his challenge was paella. I didn't stay awake long enough to see how Mr. Flay did with his, but I did end up dreaming about blissful platefuls of warm, spicy paella. And I've never had any until I made some tonight!!!

I know for certain, I will be making this again. I know there's some speculation going around the 'net about whether or not you need a paella pan to make a good paella. Well, I don't have one, I made mine in the largest skillet I had on hand, and it turned out just fine. I even had that yummy scorched bottom that everyone raves about.

I got the recipe from trusty ol' Allrecipes.com, I just searched for "paella" and about 1,000 recipes came up! I searched around for the one that best suited the ingredients I already have on hand (like we all do, lol), but I still had to go and get more seafood. I love that with this sort of recipe, you can tweak it a little here and there to suit your needs. My needs being that I had to include a whole grain (I used Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley with barley and radish seeds, too), ginger (I added about 1/2 tsp of ground ginger) and citrus (the lemon slices, which when cooked are super easy to squeeze all the yummy juices out of) for this month's Royal Foodie Joust. I haven't been able to participate in Jenn the Leftover Queen's Royal Foodie Joust in months, simply because this move really threw me for a loop cooking-wise.

I'm very happy with how this turned out, and like I said, I will definitely be making this again!! Here's the recipe (with my little tweaks added in):

Seafood Paella (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
-4 tablespoons olive oil
-1 onion, chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 red bell pepper, chopped
-2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
-1 (5 oz) package uncooked Mahatma saffron rice

-7 oz Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley
-5 cups chicken broth
-1/2 cup white wine
-1 pinch saffron
-salt to taste
-ground black pepper to taste
-1/2 bag of frozen baby octupus, thawed and cut into 1 inch pieces
-2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
-1/2 cup frozen green peas
-15-20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
-1 lemon, sliced

Instructions:
Heat olive oil in paella pan over medium heat. Add in onion, garlic and bell pepper; cook and stir for a few minutes. Add diced chicken and rice; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 3 1/2 cups stock, wine, and saffron. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 15 minutes; stir occasionally.
Taste the rice, and check to see if it is cooked. If the rice is uncooked, stir in 1/2 cup more stock. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally. Stir in additional stock if necessary, up to 2 cups additional stock, 5 cups total. Cook until rice is done.
Stir in octopus, tomatoes, and peas. Cook for 2 minutes. Arrange shrimp and lemons on top. Cover with foil, and leave for 3 to 5 minutes. Once the lemons become slightly tender and the shrimp are nice and pink, it's ready to serve!

Next time, I'll definitely add chorizo sausage, some mussels and perhaps a little bit of cilantro. I think I'll also substitute regular brown rice for the Trader Joe's Medley, it seemed a bit off in texture due to the radish seeds. Otherwise, it was a pretty wonderful meal!! I can't wait to have some more with some homemade sangria!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

Still In Transit

Greetings everyone! Just popping in to let you know that no, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, the husband and I are still in the process of moving into our new place in Kodiak, AK. Our new house won't be ready for the next few weeks, so we're staying in a hotel till then, which means (sadly) no cooking for me. And I'll tell ya, I'm so sick of eating out!!

I will give you some recommendations for yummy places to eat in Alaska, if you're interested:

1. Crabbie's in Homer: Fantastic smoked salmon chowder. Their Crow's Nest chicken is super yummy, it comes with garlic mashed potatoes on top of their gorgeous sea glass plates. Their halibut & chips is to-die-for. They also have a great dish where they batter some crab and lobster pieces and fry them up. Very yummy.

2. The Sourdough Express in Homer: FABULOUS breakfast! Tons of organic choices. Their business started a couple decades ago when they rolled into town in a Sourdough delivery van with $48 in their pocket and a dream in their hearts. And here we are in 2008, and their Plain Jane breakfast had me wanting more and more. I also ordered a side of their French Toast, which was divine. If you go there, definitely have some of their jam on your sourdough toast, you'll thank me. Oh, and don't forget to grab a piece of their carrot cake on your way out!

I'll have more recommendations once we eat out a bit more at places I like (there have definitely been some lackluster dining-out experiences on this trip, I'll tell you what!!). Thanks for being so patient everybody. Oh, and I'm sorry I missed this month's Daring Bakers Challenge, but, fingers-crossed, we'll be moved into our new house in time for me to complete August's Challenge.

Cheers!
~Mehgan~

I'll Have The Haggis!

Greetings, ladies and gents! My husband and I just recently returned from a week-long holiday in Scotland, and I have to say, I completely fell in love with every bit of it. From the city to the country, it didn't matter, I loved the whole thing!

Before we left, everyone we know asked us if we were going to eat some haggis while we were there. I always replied with, "Of course!" How can you go to Scotland and NOT eat it? That's like going to Mexico and not eating a burrito, come on people!

The first place we ate haggis at was The Royal McGregor on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. We saw a sign out front that claimed that it was "The best haggis on the Royal Mile", so naturally, we had to try it.

We were not disappointed. I loved all the different elements, the neeps (turnips), tatties (potatoes) and haggis combined so well together, and while the haggis itself was pretty spicy, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. We found ourselves wrestling for the last bite.

A few days later, we had another opportunity to try some more haggis. This time it was at a lovely place in St Andrews (can't recall the name, I should have written it down), so if anyone from Scotland recognizes the plating of this dish and knows where we got it, feel free to let me know. It was in the hotel bar/restaurant across the street from Drouthy Neebers.

Again, we were not disappointed. I don't see why so many people shy away from haggis, it's really delicious! I'll admit that I was a bit nervous at first, but once I had it, I knew that I was nuts for having been so apprehensive. I've heard of people eating haggis for breakfast, too, and can totally imagine doing that myself, with some toast, eggs and coffee. Oh yeah, that sounds yummy.

So, take it from me, if you've ever wanted to try haggis, but have been turned off by all the rumours, have no fear. Just go for it! You'll thank me later.

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

Daring Bakers Go Danish!

Well hello, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to another Daring Bakers challenge! I was actually frightened when Kelly from the blog Sass & Veracity announced this month's challenge: Danish Braid. See, I joined the Daring Bakers after they did the croissant challenge, and I was actually glad, because I fear the flaky, crusty pastries. I don't know why, but they just make me really nervous. You know how some people feel really freaked out about using recipes with yeast, well I get scared with recipes that have anything to do with flaky layers. I don't know why, but maybe it's an internal fear of failing and having my dough come out flat or unflaky.

As you can see, mine came out just fine. More than fine, actually, it turned out FABULOUS! I was so proud of it, a little solitary tear came out of my eye. I just couldn't believe I did it! I thought that I would screw it up for sure, but it came out of the oven perfect. I was shocked!

You can find the recipe on Kelly's blog either in the Daring Bakers blogroll or in my own personal blogroll to the side. I suggest that if you do decide to make this Danish Braid, that you read the recipe thoroughly before starting out, set aside a day/day and a half for it, and follow the recipe exactly. The results are well worth the effort.

I made two different kinds: the standard apple, and then what I like to call a Red, White & Blue Braid (Raspberry, Cream Cheese and Blueberry). I made the apple one for my sister's birthday party, which was a murder mystery dinner called Murder at the Deadwood Saloon (SOOOO much fun!). I saved the other one for us to eat for breakfast as a little treat over the weekend.

We're right in the middle of our move up to Kodiak, Alaska, so if it seems like I'm scarce this next month or so, that's why. I'm really going to strive to not miss next month's Daring Bakers challenge, but forgive me if I do!! As of June 16th, all of our stuff is en route to Alaska, including our kitchen stuff. I might just have to commandeer my sister's kitchen for a weekend in order to complete July's challenge, so here's hoping!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Hello Cupcake!

I am so excited to tell you all (those of you that do read this blog, I have no idea how many/few of you do) that I have finally made it down to Hello Cupcake in Tacoma, WA. This being our last few weeks in the continental US, I figured I had better get my rear in gear and finally experience all those things as a foodie I've been meaning to.
Hello Cupcake is one of those quaint little cupcakeries that you can smell its deliciousness from down the road. I had my window down in my car on the way there, and as I was parking on the street out front (I was so lucky to have found a spot so close!) and the vanilla-cakey-smell wafted into my car like a tantalizing-treat-wave. I had been hiding where we were going from my mom, niece and nephew, but there was no hiding it from them by the time we parked.
The inside of the shop is so welcoming, like your favorite cafe that you can bring a book to and just curl up with a latte and a cupcake and enjoy your afternoon. From their adorable cupcake mosaic tiled entryway, to their pastel colored plates, they are everything you would expect from your favorite cupcake shop.

I got a dozen cupcakes, so I could experience some variety. I got six red velvet (my fave), one vanilla & vanilla, one double chocolate, one vanilla on chocolate, one chocolate on vanilla, one coconut, and one carrot cake. The coconut was yummy, I liked the frosting better than the cake itself though. The carrot cake wasn't spicey enough for me or my family, but the cream cheese frosting was yummy. I really liked the vanilla on vanilla one, the cake was nice and soft and the buttercream was super delicious. But, like I said, the red velvet was my personal fave.

I even managed to snag one on my way out the door from my sister's house this morning, and it got to ride in its own personal cupcake holder (I have changed the cupholder in my Audi to a cupcake holder now, lol). It looked so cute riding there, I was half-tempted to just leave it, but I knew it would go bad and I would be sad about that.

If you're in the Seattle area, I highly suggest stopping by Hello Cupcake, even if it's just to smell the cupcake aroma outside the cafe. Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Congrats To A Favorite!!

I have admired Rachel's blog, Coconut & Lime, ever since I can remember. And, her Four-Year blogiversary is coming up. In honor of that, she's hosting a Blogiversary Contest! (details: http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2008/05/blogiversary-contest.html) Of course, as an admirer, I couldn't NOT participate, she has come up with 700 original recipes!

I thought long and hard about this one. What makes me think of Rachel's blog. Well, the first thing I made from her list of recipes were her Rum & Coke cupcakes. I've actually made them several times, so I thought I might make cupcakes. But, I'm pretty much known to bake cupcakes quite frequently, and lately I've been in sort of a cookie rut. My last few batches of cookies have been botched so horribly, I couldn't believe they came out of my kitchen.

Well, these babies pulled me out of my rut! Just in time for our bake sale at work, too! So, here's my recipe for my Welcome To Paradise Cookies:

Ingredients:

-6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp

-1/3 cup shortening

-1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

-1/3 cup granulated sugar

-1 egg

-1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 cup shredded coconut

-juice of one lime

-1 1/3 cups (8 oz pkg) Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts & Premier White Chips (new from Hershey's)

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350F. Beat butter and shortening in a large bowl until well blended. Add the sugars; beat thoroughly. Add egg and vanilla; beating until well blended. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt; then gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in the coconut, lime juice and baking pieces. Using a small ice cream scoop, drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool slightly, then remove from cookie sheet onto a wire cooling rack. This makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

These cookies went over really well at my work bake sale, especially with my co-workers whose favorite cookies are white choc & macadamia nut. The coconut & lime were a wonderful addition. I feel like I should add them to everything now!

~Mehgan~

And I'm Late Again!

Well, folks, due to techinical difficulties over the weekend, I was unable to post one of my most-looked-forward-to posts all month! My wireless router was being difficult (read: acting like a petulant little child) so when I went to post, my internet went caput.

That being said, I am SO HAPPY that I'm able to post about this, because this was sort of my idea (with the help of a few other newbie Daring Bakers). See, I suggested on the Daring Bakers forum that we start way back at the beginning of Daring Bakers and do what we affectionately call Double Daring Bakers, or DDB for short.

See, in the beginning, there existed our dear Daring Bakers co-founders Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, and they decided to make the same recipe at/around the same time, and then post their results on their respective blogs on the same day. And the rest, as they say, is history. Ever since I became a Daring Baker, I've wanted to try my hand at previous challenges, so what better place to start than at the very beginning with the First Daring Bakers Pretzels?

Here's the recipe:

Hot Buttered Pretzels
Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.

For the dough:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 package (2-1/4 tsp.) instant yeast
1 cup warm water (you may need a little more)
For the pretzel topping:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
kosher salt
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Instructions: Combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl with your hands. Work the ingredients together until you can form a ball. If the dough is very dry, add a bit more warm water until it comes together. The dough will look messy, but don’t worry about it.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading by pushing the dough away with the heel of your hand, and then folding it back in onto itself. Push the dough away again and then fold back in. Continue this motion, working the dough until it’s smooth. This should take anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead the dough in a mixer with your dough hook for 5 to 6 minutes).
Once the dough is done, sprinkle some flour on the dough and put it in a large, oiled bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour. It will rise considerably.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and set aside.
Divide your dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a long rope that’s roughly 24 inches in length. (Don’t make it too long or your pretzels will be too thin.)
Taking hold of the ends of the rope, cross the rope over itself to form a circle with about 4 to 5 inches on each end that are sticking out. Twist the ends over themselves and secure each end on either side of the pretzel.
Carefully dip the pretzel in the water and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
Sprinkle the pretzels with the kosher salt and let them rest for about 15 minutes.
Put the pretzels in the oven for 6 minutes, then rotate the trays and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Keep an eye on the pretzels so that they don’t burn.
Remove the pretzels from the oven and immediately brush them with the butter. Keep brushing them with butter until you’ve used it all.
Serve the pretzels warm with plenty of mustard or another condiment of your choice.

I went a little wild and made cinnamon & sugar, cheddar & parmesan, garlic salt, and regular kosher salt pretzels. I'm thinking I should have double the recipe, because these did not last long in my house! I even took some of the dough and rolled it into long breadsticks for dipping in our soup, and they were delicious. I love how simple these are to make, you pretty much just throw everything in a bowl, let it rise and bingo, bango, bongo, you've got pretzels!

They're almost simple enough to make you want to make them on a weeknight for a little midweek pick-me-up. I also love that they can be sweet or savory, and you can forgo the butter step if you're trying to stay a bit on the healthier side. Very versatile, and VERY tasty!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Daring Bakers Go To The Opera!

It is a fresh start to the Daring Bakers this month, as we've gotten our own website! If you go www.thedaringbakers.com, you'll find our new forum, where non-Daring Bakers and Daring Bakers alike can discuss their favorite topic: food. However, to view the Daring Bakers forum for the challenge of the month, you must first become a Daring Baker, and the details are explained on the website. So, if you've been lurking and want to join, then hop to it my friend!

This month's challenge had me quite intimidated. First of all, our lovely co-founders of the Daring Bakers, Ivonne of the blog Cream Puffs in Venice, and Lis of the blog La Mia Cucina, were hosting this month's challenge, so I knew it was going to be a doozy. Second, when they announced the challenge and that it would be a French pastry, I got really nervous, because I know how painstakingly intricate French pastry making is. And thirdly, the recipe itself blew me away: FIVE pages of recipe, and that's at 10 pt font, too. I knew I had my work cut out for me, indeed.

I won't post the recipe here, as it is quite long and I don't want your eyes to turn square just reading it here! If you hop on over to either Ivonne or Lis's blogs (in the blogroll) you'll be able to find it there.

The only trouble I had with this recipe was that I burnt one of my cakes. Lucky for me, I was able to improvise by halving the rest of the recipe, since I made the cakes first. I just made a mini-Opera cake instead!

I feared that the cake would turn out tasting like cardboard or too sweet or not have enough flavor, but it was none of those things. I chose to make my syrup with Grand Marnier liquer, and added some lemon and lime juice to my buttercream in order to give it some punch and pizzazz. I'd have to say that my favorite part, though, was the white chocolate glaze, it was so yummy. I'm a big fan of white chocolate, and for some reason, it always reminds me of Easter, since my mom used to always get me white chocolate Easter bunnies every year. I took this lovely cake to dinner with my mother in-law and some of her friends and extended family, and it went over really well. And it never fails that when I serve a Daring Bakers challenge to my family, they always end up asking for the recipe, and this was no exception!

The recipe is a wee bit time consuming, so it's probably easier to take it easy and go one step at a time, but it's really worth it for the oohs and aahs you'll get. Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Now THAT Is Breakfast!!

I love when my mother in-law comes into town! Not only is she amazing, and sweet, but she always introduces me to new things. I figured that this time around, I'd introduce her into something new as well. See, in our family, I'm pretty well known for my desserts, I can always be counted on to bring a scrumptious after-dinner treat, so I've really been trying to buff up on my breakfast skills, too.

I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com during Mother's Day weekend, but I was out of town on Mother's Day (don't worry, I was with my mom, we were just staying at a hotel on the other side of the state) and have kept the recipe printoff floating around in my purse since then. I looked forward to making this for my mother in-law all week.

Creme Brulee French Toast (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup (I used maple syrup instead)
6 (1 inch thick) slices French bread
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon brandy-based orange liqueur (Grand Marnier®)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in brown sugar and corn syrup, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Remove crusts from bread (I left mine on, and they added a nice chewiness to the french toast), and arrange in the baking dish in a single layer. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla extract, orange brandy, and salt. Pour over the bread. Cover, and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the dish from the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature. (I carefully flipped the toast at this point, so that it was evenly coated on both sides).
Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffed and lightly browned. (You might want to set the oven to broil for the last 10 minutes or so, until the tops are lightly browned and crisp).

My thoughts: Super duper yummy, soft yet crispy and chewy. To the pre-baked mixture, I added a pinch each of cinnamon and cardamom, which made this taste so breakfasty and nice. As you can see, I added some sliced strawberries and bananas, so we weren't haivng just bread for breakfast. This dish creates its own syrup, and I actually added a bit more Grand Marnier to the mixture, because I really wanted to have that flavor come out. Be warned, though, this will make your baking dish terribly sticky, so you might want to line it with some tin foil. And if you choose to broil it at the end of baking, do NOT bake this in a Pyrex dish, because broiling will cause it to shatter. This would make a really great breakfast for a special occasion, or for whenever you want something other than pancakes or bacon & eggs or regular French toast.

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Let's Have Soup

Do you ever have those days when you look in your kitchen and are completely dumbfounded as to what to make for dinner? I had a day like that today. I was just so sick of making the same old stuff over and over (can you say "rut"?).

I had been searching forever for a copycat recipe of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, but nothing I found seemed to sound like it would turn out like theirs. I wanted something hearty, slightly creamy, kind of spicy, and totally yummy. So, I decided to adapt two or three recipes I found online, so I could make my own with what I had in my kitchen.

Mehgan's Zuppa Toscana:

Ingredients:
-1 lb spicy ground sausage (I like to use the SPICY kind)
-6 red potatoes, thinly sliced (you can peel them if you want, but I left the peel on)
-1 medium onion, diced
-3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
-3 cans of chicken broth
-1 cup heavy cream
-2 bunches of kale

Instructions: In a stock pot, over medium heat, brown the sausage with the red pepper flakes, onion and garlic. Add the chicken broth, bring to a simmer. Add half the potatoes and return to a simmer. Reduce heat slightly and cover. Once the potatoes become soft, add the other half (the first half of potatoes will help to thicken the soup). Once the second half of potatoes is fork-tender, add the heavy cream. Let simmer 5-10 minutes. Add the kale just prior to serving.

My thoughts: This was probably the most amazing last-minute meal I've made in a LONG time. I must thank my big sister for helping me with this recipe, because that girl sure does know her potatoes! She was right there the whole time, helping me chop and dice and stir. And even though it was still pretty warm in our house (the temperature was pushing 80F when I got home from work), it was still nice to have a meal that wasn't super heavy and didn't leave me feeling weighed down (not to say that this was the most diet-friendly meal on God's green Earth, but you know what I mean). Anyway, this soup only takes about an hour and half to make from start to finish, which isn't too bad, since you don't have to babysit it the whole time. Plus, it tastes so close to the "real thing" that you'll really like the fact that you didn't have to pay $6 a bowl for it. Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

It's That Time Again!

Time for another Royal Foodie Joust! As I've said in the past, Jenn the Leftover Queen (who has recently become a Mrs!! Congrats!) hosts the monthly Royal Foodie Joust over at the Leftover Queen Forum. Last month's winner, Elle, chose Raspberries, Lime and Almonds for us to play around with for this month's challenge. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to make, and since one of my favorite co-workers is leaving soon (his going-away party was today) I figured I'd make him something yummy for work tomorrow.

I decided on Raspberry and Lime Muffins with Almond & Cardamom Streusel, and boy, am I glad I did! These muffins made my house smell divine, I'm tellin' ya. Here's the recipe:

For the Muffins:

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 cup sugar

-1 tbsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp salt

-2 eggs

-1 cup of milk

-1/2 cup vegetable oil (I actually used olive oil, since we were out of veggie oil, and there's hardly a noticeable difference in taste)

-1 tsp lemon extract

-Juice of 1 lime

-1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries

For the Streusel:

-2 tbsp flour

-5 tbsp sugar

-1/2 tsp cardamom

-2 tbsp softened butter

-1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. Line or grease muffin cups. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, with the exception of the raspberries. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened. Gently fold in the rasperries. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the streusel. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with the muffin batter, then spoon modest amounts of the streusel mixture on top. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, serve warm.

I sampled these babies, and boy, are they good! The streusel adds a nice crunch to the top layer, and the muffins are tender with a nice crumb. I like that they're not overly sweet, since the streusel does contain quite a bit of sweetness already. And the cardamom adds an interestin depth that isn't overpowering, but is still present. All in all, a pretty delicious muffin that's good... well, anytime!

~Mehgan~

That's Like Summer In A Bowl!

I love that quote from "Friends!" Interesting fact about me: I love "Friends"! If I had my way, I'd have one of those multi-DVD player things that hold 5 or 6 discs, I could put an entire season of Friends in there and let it play all day long. But, alas, my hubby thinks I'm weird and therefore, I don't do that (except on days that I have off and he has to work, tee hee!)

My dear friend's birthday was coming up, and I had absolutely NO time to prepare dessert for his birthday BBQ. It was finally sunny outside, which put me in a stellar mood, so I hopped on over to the grocery store for inspiration. Immediately upon entering the produce section, the sweet smells of berries started to crash over me like waves of deliciousness. I grabbed a bunch of different berries, some kiwis, a package of cream cheese, plus some other miscellaneous items, and rushed home to make this beautiful tart for my friend on his special day.

I found the recipe on FoodNetwork.com a while ago, and always fall back on it, depending on what's in season, whenever I need a quick & easy recipe that will impress whoever I'm cooking for. I actually featured a picture of it in my very first blog posting almost a year ago! Here's the link to Paula Deen's Fresh Fruit Tart http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32767,00.html

And the recipe:


Crust:
-1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced

Filling:
-1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Topping:
Fresh strawberries, kiwi slices, blueberries, raspberries

Glaze:
-1 (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
-1 tablespoon cornstarch
-1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
Whipped cream, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust: In a food processor, combine the confectioners' sugar, flour, and butter, and process until the mixture forms a ball. With your fingers, press the dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. Pat until the crust is even. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

For the filling and topping: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust. Cut the strawberries into 1/4-inch slices and arrange around the edge of the crust. For the next circle, use kiwi slices. Add another circle of strawberries, filling in any spaces with blueberries. Cluster the raspberries in the center of the tart.

For the glaze: Combine the limeade, cornstarch, lime juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool. With a pastry brush, glaze the entire tart. You will not use all of the glaze.
Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Remove about 15 minutes before serving. Slice into 8 wedges and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

My thoughts: the crust is so delicious, I could eat it alone with a glass of milk. And the filling is just so yummy, especially if you're a cream cheese lover, like me. And you can't go wrong with fresh berries! I was half-tempted to melt down some milk chocolate to spread over the crust prior to filling, but thought that would be a bit much, especially since I was making this for a guy's birthday party. But, maybe for my next girl friend's birthday I'll make one with chocolate inside!
~Mehgan~

Daring Bakers Get A Little Cheesy!

Greetings! It's time for yet another Daring Bakers Challenge! This month we've got the yummy and super-delicious Cheesecake Pops!! Deb from Taste and Tell and Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms were the lovely hostesses for this month, and God bless them, they picked such a mouth-watering choice, perfect for my mom & sister's Breast Cancer 3-Day bake sale.

These turned out so well, I loved how much freedom we were given as far as decorating and stuff goes. So much fun!! Here's the recipe:

Cheesecake Pops
Makes 30 – 40 Pops
-5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
-2 cups sugar
-¼ cup all-purpose flour
-¼ teaspoon salt
-5 large eggs
-2 egg yolks
-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-¼ cup heavy cream
-Boiling water as needed
-Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
-1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
-2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)
Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional
Instructions: Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream. Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight. When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours. When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety. Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth. Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed. Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

My thoughts: The cheesecake recipe is AMAZING! So smooth and delicious, I fully plan on using it in the future for whenever I need to make a cheesecake (I'll probably halve the recipe, as this makes a lot of batter). However, I doubt I'll make the pops themselves again, because it's just too much of a pain the ass to roll them and dip them. I had to freeze the cheesecake, then roll the balls, after that I had to re-freeze the balls in order to get them hard enough to dip. I also went through 2 packages of white chocolate, and three packages of semi-sweet chocolate in order to coat all 46 of the pops that I had. Maybe if I had chosen to use the wafer chocolate or something, I don't know, maybe it would have streched a bit further. Oh well, they still turned out really well, very nice presentation and they sold really well at the bake sale. This recipe didn't take me nearly as long as I had expected (this IS a Daring Bakers Challenge, of course), but they certainly tasted like they took a long time!

~Mehgan~

An Awesome Long Weekend!

So, the hubby and I decided to take a four-day weekend to visit his family before we move to Alaska, and it was so much fun!! I knew we'd be eating and eating and eating tons of good food while we were gone, so in preparation, I decided to make a healthier dinner of baked salmon with sauteed asparagus, zucchini & squash, with some quinoa. Super-easy, and super-yummy.
Now, my husband's best friend from high school is living with the sous chef and the head pastry chef from one of the nicest restaurants in Walla Walla, Whitehouse Crawford. I actually got to go bowling with the head pastry chef, can you believe that?! It was like a foodie celebrity sighting, lol!

On Friday night, we popped by the restaurant for dessert, and he recommended the creme brulee for me. It was DIVINE!! The sugar crust cracked puuuuuuuuurfectly when I got it, it made me giggle! I scarfed this badboy down in a most unladylike manner, but I didn't care, I was in creme brulee heaven!!

He recommended the puff pastry atop lemon meringue drizzled with blackberry sauce for my husband, and boy, it was impressive!! So many different flavors to taste. We shared with each other, of course!

So, if you're ever in the area of Walla Walla, definitely make a trip to the Whitehouse Crawford, even if it's just for drinks and dessert. They serve tons of local wines (there are over 100 wineries in Walla Walla) and they staff there is really friendly. Two thumbs WAY up!

~Mehgan~

It's Royal Foodie Joust Time!

Hello, once again! Here we are, ready and rarin' for another Royal Foodie Jous!! Last month Michelle of USVFood won, and she was ingenius in picking mango, cardamom and brown sugar as her three ingredients for this Joust.

Naturally, about 84,000 recipes went flying through my mind!! Should I go sweet or savory? (I almost did both!!). I decided to go sweet this time. Here's my entry!

Mango, Cardamom & Brown Sugar Mascarpone Phyllo Tarts:

Ingredients:
- 3 to 5 sheets of phyllo pastry
- 1, 6 oz raspberry yogurt
- Two mangoes, peeled and sliced into bite-size pieces
- 4 to 6 oz mascarpone cheese (depending on how thick you want the consistency)
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- chocolate shavings for the top

Instructions: Heat oven to 350F. Cut the phyllo sheets into circles about 4 inches in diameter. Lightly grease a muffin tin, then place each phyllo pastry round into the muffin cups, to form the tart cups. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. In a bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, with the exception of the chocolate, until well combined. Spoon mixture into the cooled tart cups carefully, then shave some of the chocolate on top (I used some of the yummy Vosges chocolate I got in my Blogging By Mail package!!). Serve immediately, otherwise they'll get soggy. Adapted from this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_34630,00.html

I've been making this recipe for about a year now, and I love it because it's fairly inexpensive, I can make it in a snap, and it always goes over really well. I only wish they had photographed better, because they looked so amazing! My friend Terry ate six in a row, one right after the other! I guess they really were that good!

~Mehgan~

I Am So Going To Miss This...

I may or may not have mentioned this before, but the husband and I will be moving to Kodiak, AK this summer (in three months, give or take), and I am gradually getting used to the idea of us living there. We already have a house lined up, and I have been in contact with my future co-workers, so that when we move I'll just slide right in to my new position.

However, I have a lot of trepidation about how restricted we'll be, in so many aspects. For me, being a foodie, I'll only have Safeway, Wal-Mart and the on-base Commissary to shop at for groceries. This concerns me. But, there isn't much I can do about it.

In the mean time, I have decided to take as much advantage of my favorite places to shop while I still can (dead woman walking, people!). Today, we took my brother in-law and his girlfriend to do some sightseeing in Seattle (Experience Music Project & the Science Fiction Museum) and on the way out of town, we realized we had some time to kill. And lo and behold, at that moment, we were driving right through Chinatown!

I've been to Uwajimaya a handful of times, but mainly I was there on a mission, picking up some catered food for events and whatnot. I didn't get to actually do any shopping for myself all the time I've been there in the past. Today was much different!

We must have spend about 2 hours in Uwajimaya, oohing and ahhing over, well, everything!! We only intended to pick up a few snacks to munch on at home, but ended up needing two of those hand baskets that quickly filled up! We were amazed at the selection, and had I had more moolah, I would have stocked up on fish as well, but alas, we were trying to keep it under $50 (which we did... just barely).

The sake/beer aisle was incredible. I didn't know where to start. I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to recognizing quality sake, but my brother in-law's girlfriend was such a sweetheart and helped me choose which one I would most enjoy. (I'm sipping on some plum sake as I type this, and it's very good, much better than the white wine I usually swig during blog posts).

My husband and I loved the drink aisle, it was so huge, and again, the selection was vast. I got a Hello Kitty lychee juice that I'll be drinking tomorrow with lunch.

Once we got home, I dumped all our bags on the kitchen table for a quick shot before we dug in. The sweet stuff is mainly for me, as the husband doesn't have a big sweet tooth (yeah, just wait till he tries this stuff! He said that last night before he had a cupcake, and quickly changed his tune). There's some Asahi beer (very good, I had a sip) and another kind of beer that my brother in-law's gf likes, some assorted hot & spicy rice snacks (some w/seafood, some made from shrimp, etc), some matcha chocolates, chocolate covered mushroom bisquits, a sparkling dessert sake and plum sake, strawberry filled koala bear cookies, chili rice crackers and my Hello Kitty lychee juice.

I really am going to miss living in Seattle, with access to just about anything within minutes of my house (ok, so Uwajimaya is more like 30 minutes from my house, but it's within walking distance of where I work). I suppose I'm just going to have to splurge big time whenever I come home to visit!!

~Mehgan~

A Very Matcha Birthday

My brother in-law's birthday is in a few days, and I really wanted to make something really tasty for him this weekend while he and his girlfriend are visiting with us. See, my brother in-law is one of those freakishly smart people: he spent the last eight years teaching himself Japanese, and has gotten to the point where he could test out of his first three years of college. Yeah, you could say I'm a wee bit intimidated by his giant brain.

I really like his new girlfriend, she is such a sweetheart, and she makes him so happy. So, I decided to ask her to help me in making his birthday cupcakes. I wanted to make something Asian-inspired, and I had been eyeing these delicious-looking Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes on Chockylit's blog, Cupcake Bakeshop (http://cupcakeblog.com/index.php/2007/01/green-tea-bubble-cream-filled-cupcakes-with-green-tea-cream-cheese-frosting/), for the last year. I had the recipe printed off and lurking in my cupboard for far too long, it was time to put these bad boys to the test.

And OH. MY. GOODNESS. These were by far my best cupcakes to date. The cake is soft and pillowy, and the matcha cream cheese frosting is totally irresistable, I wanted to squeeze the frosting bag directly into my mouth, like a Whip-It. I remained ladylike, and chose to squeeze the frosting onto my finger "by accident", then devoured it like a beast.

My frosting turned out paler green than on Chockylit's webpage, but that may be because my matcha powder was from a pre-made drink packet, not a large tin or anything. And I had to keep adding powdered sugar in order to get the frosting to stiffen enough to pipe. Here's the recipe:

Cupcakes~28 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. 2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each. 4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix to combine. 5. Scoop into cupcake papers about half to two-thirds full (depending on whether you want flat or domed cupcakes). 6. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Green Tea Cream Cheese Frosting
12 ounces or 1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (I actually used about 5 cups in total)
1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder (I used two tbsps)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours 2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment 3. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. 4. Add half of the sugar, the green tea powder, and the vanilla. Beat until combined. 5. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Frost and decorate as desired.

I topped the birthday boy's cupcake with a senbei cookie (little tiny fortune cookie with a ginger sugar coating). He LOVED them. These went over way better than I was expecting. It would be in my best interest to commit this recipe to memory, because I have a feeling I will definitely be using it again.

~Mehgan~