Scrumptious Sweets for Holiday Happiness

I was excited to start my holiday baking this year with some desserts that are vaguely familiar in this blog as well as a new treat I found in the Whole Foods Recipe guide! As I was preparing some of the treats, I noticed that I had one box of baking soda that was slightly passed the expiration date. Oh no, I thought to myself, the last thing I wanted to do was run to the store! 

Thankfully the interwebs seem to have an answer to every question under the sun. I simply typed, "baking with expired baking soda" into Google and discovered this helpful hint to see if your baking soda is still okay to use. The hint is kind of an obvious one, but here it goes.

Mix 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar into 1/2 cup of hot water. Slowly pour in a small amount of baking soda. If the baking soda is not expired, it will immediately bubble and fizz in the water/vinegar mixture because vinegar and baking soda have a combustible relationship! Mind. Blown.

So this year I made Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies (Recipe Blog Post: Brown Sugar, How Come you Taste so Good), Chai–spiced cookies, Cinnamon cake with a Cannoli filling frosting, and an Eggnog Pie. 

 < The Dessert Table. There was a lady finger cake and a Junior's Cheesecake as well. Junior's Cheesecake is probably the best cheesecake in the world second only to my grandfather's homemade cheesecake.

> Brown Sugar Pecan cookies in the middle and the Chai–Spiced cookies around the edge.

(Recipe blog for Chai–Spiced cookies: Have a Crafty Christmas and a Happy New Year)

Eggnog Pie: 

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie shell

4 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup eggnog

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 teaspoons bourbon

Freshly ground nutmeg (optional)

Freshly ground cinnamon (optional)

Method:

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

– Using pie weights, bake pie crust for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool

– In large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together until blended. Add eggnog, vanilla, and bourbon.                      – Whisk until blended and pour into pie crust. 

– Bake for approximately 1 hour . Pie will puff  while baking and settle while cooling.  

– Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg and cinnamon. 

Enjoy!

Modern Lovers Cupcakes

Music has a euphoric quality about it, even the most violent of sounds can be soothing. It also says a lot about a person. So, in addition to what I am reading, I figured I would share my albums of the moment. 

Currently Reading: Schrödinger's Ball by Adam Felber. 

Current Albums (in no particular order): 

1. Mixed Emotions by Tanlines. 

2. Sleepwalking by The Casket Girls. 

3. The Modern Lovers by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. 

4. Around the Fur by The Deftones 

5. Centipede Hz by Animal Collective. 

6. Cobra Juicy by Black Moth Super Rainbow. 

7. LP by Discovery

8. Comeback Kid by Sleigh Bells

9. Even if it Kills me by Motion City Soundtrack

10. Keep it Hid by Dan Auerbach

Much like my interest in many forms of music, I find it important to experiment with flavors when I bake. I have had the idea for a while to create a tasty cake that can stand on its own against a Dark Chocolate Sriracha Buttercream; it needed to have a richness to it that demanded attention against the bold flavors in the buttercream. 

Then it hit me, I had a bottle of Southern Tier Creme Brûlée Stout. If you have never had this beer, it has a great rich flavor as if you were drinking one of the best desserts known to man! 

But alas, as I get older, there are some things I have learned are best to keep a secret and this recipe just might be one of those things.

Enjoy!

It's Perfectly Chilly, so have some Chili!

Florida in the fall is unusual; actually, it is more nonexistent. The weather goes from Summer to two days of Winter then back to Summer. However, this year it is quite beautiful with a chill in the air at night, low humidity, and days that top out at 80 degrees – it's heavenly.

Chili is usually reserved for those two nights of Winter, but I decided to embrace the Fall, so here is my recipe for Chili and homemade cornbread muffins!

First, the chili:

1 ld ground chuck

1 sirloin tip steak: cut into small chunks

1 bottle of Guiness

1 lrg onion

2 cans kidney beans

1 28 oz can crushed tomato

2 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp paprika

8 tbsp chili powder (to taste)

1 tbsp crushed red pepper (to taste)

1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

In a medium pan, sauté ground beef until cooked through. Drain and set aside.

In pot, sauté sirloin tip steak chunks in olive oil until brown. Set aside.

Reduce heat and sauté  onions for approximately three minutes.

Add cumin and crushed red pepper and sauté for one minute.

Return meat to pot and add remaining ingredients.

Simmer for 1 1/2 hours 

Top with cheddar cheese and serve.

Cornbread Muffins:

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter; melted

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Combine eggs, milk, and butter and add to the flour mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Drizzle with honey as desired.

New York & Cupcakes

I will be the first to admit, it has been entirely too long since I have posted. I will no longer make excuses, but I will tell you what has been up. 

Other than working, I recently celebrated my twenty sixth birthday, which is pretty amazing if I do say so myself. I've joined the red lips club and started donning the scarlett pout. I fell in love with the night in New York, and rekindled a never ending affair with the City. I became a unicorn with dancing fever. I meandered in a red polka dot dress. I have killed it and earned it. Watched terrible movies and shared kisses. Watched a mutant squirrel hop a fence. Since the start of my new job, baking has been at a minimum and when I did get the opportunity to bake, it was recipes I already shared; ones that I perfected and were easy to do. Then, I started to explore again, and I now have a few recipes to share! Yay!

First, my darlings, a story of New York City:

I fell in love with a boy at a bar. We

touched, danced, talked, kissed

between shots of Jameson.

He walked me home. Down the

streets of New York City. The September chill.

We walked hand in hand like lovers

Only we were not lovers, not even friends.

Just two strangers looking to fill a void

We kissed at stop lights waiting to walk

How New York City brings out the romantic in everyone

He asked me to move to the city.

Promises made before parting ways,

he asked me to brunch and I politely accepted.

Not wanting to face truths of life, we both insisted this moment

was not a fleeting one. Fooling ourselves for an

instant of companionship in the vast city.

I did not call him the next day. There was no point.

We were just two strangers seeking something

the other could not provide. 

It was better that way.

And now, lovelies, on to yummier things:

Magic Hat #9 Cupcakes with a Maple Cardamom Glaze.

Ingredients

Cupcake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup Magic Hat #9

1/4 cup almond milk 

Glaze:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon cardamom (to taste)

1 cup confectioner's sugar

Method

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Line cupcake tin

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth between each egg. Then add vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Beat in Magic Hat #9, then the milk. 

Bake for 18 minutes. Let cool.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and maple syrup together over medium heat. Whisk in cardamom, then slowly whisk in confectioner's sugar until desire level of thickness. Pour over cake. 

More recipes to come soon! Enjoy!

my apologies and misadventures in baking.

If there are any avid readers out there of Life, The Universe, and Everything, you have my sincerest apologies. I have neglected my blog of as late. I can not even whole-heartedly blame my new job or circumstances, it has just been far out of my mind and I have not been baking as much recently. 

That will change, I am picking up my measuring cups again as soon as I find a good recipe that I thoroughly enjoy. I have been remaking all of my oldie but goodie recipes lately when I do bake such as the brown sugar pecan cookies, old fashion chocolate chip cookies, brownies, etc. I realized where I was attributing this desire for not trying a new recipe. 

Mother's Day is a time for my family to get together at my aunt's house, have a nice dinner, and, of course, desert. This year, I made a blueberry caflouti. I was so excited, it came out of the oven looking heavenly; I was sure it was going to be the most amazing this I have ever made in my life. As we set the table with all of the desert, naturally, I was anxious for everyone to try this masterpiece desert. As it turns out, the caflouti was lackluster and had a texture that I personally did not enjoy. My sister put hers in the microwave and insisted it had a better texture warm, but she was just trying to be nice because she knew I was proud of this desert.

It was not my only disaster that day either. I had this brilliant idea, thanks to Pintrest and far more advanced bakers than myself, to bake an apple pie within the peel of the apple. Basically, you gut the apples, use what you can salvage as well as some extra apples as the filler then fill each apple and lattice the pie crust over the top. They were looking exquisite, but alas, the apples exploded. I managed to save what I could, throw it in a dish, make a streusel, and turn it into an Apple Brown Betty. This was good, very good, but it was not as cool as serving everyone their own individual apple pies. 

This only proves, there are misadventures along the baking path, but improvisation is key, and never let one bad desert get you down. 

Something I have not talked about in a while, books! Damn the Hunger Games series because I am hooked. I think it is one of the better young adult novels out there. And while the love triangle garbage rears its head a little too frequently, I understand that it is a young adult series and that kind of stuff is expected. Still not as good as Harry Potter, though.

Until next time, Enjoy! 

1 Quiche, 2 Quiche: Crab Quiche, Collard Quiche.

Life has been a little crazy, but that has not stopped me from baking/cooking; only posting.

If you could not tell, this is the Quiche addition of Life, the Universe, and Everything Delicious!

Why, you ask? Because I love Quiche and I have made two recently!!

First and foremost, if you want a great recipe, wholefoods.com is the place to go, it is also where my first recipe is from: the Crab Quiche!

- 6 large eggs

- 1/2 cup half-and-half

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

- 1/4 tsp dried dill

- 1/4 tsp dried thyme

- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese; divided

- 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions; divided

-  8 ounces of lump crabmeat

- 1 roma tomato; diced

- one frozen pie crust

– Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half- and- half, salt, pepper, dill, and thyme. Set aside. 

– In unbaked pie crust, sprinkle in one half cup of Monterey Jack cheese, and top with green onion.

– Break up crabmeat and place evenly on top of green onions then top with diced tomato and remaining green onion.

– Pour egg mixture slowly over layers; do not completely fill pie crust because the egg will expand upon cooking. 

– Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

– Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 50 minutes. The center of the quiche will be puffed and the cheese lightly browned on top. 

– let cool for 5 minutes

The second Quiche recipe is a Collard Green and Parsnips Quiche. This is an original recipe and I did not measure some things out as I created this recipe, so I do apologize for the lack of measurements on some things (mainly just the cheese)

- 6 eggs

- 1/2 cup half-and-half

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

- 1/4 tsp dried thyme

- 1/4 tsp dried dill

- Gouda cheese sliced thin

- 1 shallot; chopped

- 1 parsnip; sliced and parboiled- 10 minutes

- 4 leaves Collard Greens; washed, dried, and chopped

- habanero cheddar cheese; sliced thin

- 1 frozen whole wheat pie crust

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees

– In a medium bowl, beat eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper, thyme, and dill. Set aside.

– In unbaked pie crust, place Gouda slices until bottom is covered. Sprinkle shallots over Gouda.

– Place about half of the parsnips on top of the shallots. 

– Add Collard Greens, then top with remaining parsnips. 

– Slowly pour egg mixture into pie crust. Then top with Habanero Cheddar cheese. 

– Bake for 50 minutes

– Let cool for 5 minutes

Later this week, my kitchen blunder transformed into something delicious, and Blueberry Clafoutis. Enjoy!  

Yummy in my Tummy

Blueberry muffins make me smile. So, without further ado, Martha Stewart made an awesome blueberry muffin, and I attempted it myself. It is a damn good recipe.

Instead of using butter, I used coconut oil; it has a similar texture to butter and the measurements are the same when oil is in a solid state. To do this, chill the oil briefly before measuring.

- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups blueberries
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cup sugar; divided
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a fine sieve over the flour mixture bowl, toss the blueberries in about 2 teaspoons of the flour mixture. Set both aside.

-In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup of sugar; beat until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Add flour and beat just until combined, then add milk; again, beat just until combined. Fold in blueberries with a rubber spatula. Divided batter into greased and floured muffin tray.

- In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg. Sprinkle over top of batter. Bake for 30 minutes rotating half way through. Let cool.

Here is something else that makes me smile.

Enjoy!