Friday, July 30, 2010

The Beach



Ah, the beach. It evokes memories of sandcastles, waves and potato chips. Where I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, the beaches were gorgeous, but not necessarily for swimming. The beauty of seaweed washed up on shore and tiny crabs running along the rocky sand was something I didn't appreciate until I moved away.

The lakes I grew up on and visited as a child hold the memories most people have of beach vacations.

...I remember spending the entire day out on my family's speed boat, watching my brother and cousins wakeboard through the waves, catching a foot of air coming off the wake.

...I remember my mom wrapping me up in a warm towel she had layed out in the sun and giving me a big hug as I told her about my time out on the jet-ski.

...I remember burying my cousin so far in the sand that he couldn't get out, upon which time my brother and I tickled his toes mercilessly.

...I remember my dad chasing me in the pool until he would catch me and throw me into the air, slashing me back into cool blue water.

...I remember playing chicken war with my brother against my two cousins, splashing water on eachother as the sun set in the distance.

...I remember running my Dad's boat into the dock with my friend (oops, sorry Dad, we never told you), and breaking the front light which my friend fixed as I hyperventilated on the dock.

...I remember eating Cheetos on the sand, watching my fingers turn a brighter and brighter shade of orange before I would run down to the water and wash away the orange dust.

With all the lovely memories the beach brings me, its no wonder I have been retreating to the sand and salt water as much as possible this summer. I just can't get enough of the feeling you get when the sun is warming you from the outside in and the perfectly blue sky shining down on the white sand. Hope you are enjoying the warmth of the sun and everything else beaches bring this year, no matter what sort of beach may be near!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Christmas in July Cookies



Its Christmas in July! I never had the honor of celebrating Christmas in July, but I know other people have. This makes me jealous and a little angry that my household did not celebrate it.

I shipped these cookies off for a Christmas in July celebration a few weeks ago. Candy canes, Christmas trees and snowmen, oh my!

My cookie and icing recipes here!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Blackberry Freezer Pops



For the love, could someone please turn down the humidity level in New York?

Granted, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where summers are so beautiful and humidity-free, its outrageous! I never realized what I had until I moved to New York and got lost in a world of humid and sweat-filled subway platforms.

Let me also inform you of the lack of air conditioning in our kitchen and living room. Needless to say, some frozen treat of some sort was beyond necessary.

These babies were just perfect! And they couldn't have been easier! I got the idea from Bakerella, but the super simple recipe is below. Clear aside some room in the freezer and get some of these goin!

Blackberry Pops
Adapted from Bakerella

Wash 2 cups of blackberries (any fruit will work).  Place them in a food processor with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.

Pour into dixie cups and layer with vanilla yogurt if desired. Freeze until firm, about 12 hours.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Kylie Sugar Cookies



So I'm an aunt now! Exciting, right?! My niece, Kylie, was born several months ago and unfortunately lives on the other side of the country! I still haven't seen her, yet, but managed to send some cookies her way! Of course, she can't eat them, but I'm sure Mom and Dad enjoyed them!

Here are the cookie and icing recipes I used.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt



I enjoy summer. I find myself much more social. I go out more, I spend more time with my friends. I spend more money on ice cream...

Wait. Not so good. So I'll make my own!

There are literally a bagillion ice cream stores around nearly every corner of New York City. For a person who loves ice cream to begin with, it makes it very difficult to say no to ice cream on a daily basis. And not to even mention that we are in a heat wave of epic proportions. Blech. Out comes the ice cream maker.

Spice made this one and it was unbelievable. So incredibly creamy and tart-tasting, we couldn't put it down. I'm serious. We just sat on the couch with the tupperware full of frozen yogurt between us and ate away!

Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt
Eating, etc. via Foodie with Family

The Strawberry Coulis
1 cup strawberries, washed & hulled (frozen or fresh, we used fresh)
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1) Place all ingredients in blender & process until smooth. Set aside in fridge.

The Frozen Yogurt
2 cups 2% milk-fat Greek yogurt
4 oz (1/2-brick) Neufchatel cheese (do not soften in advance)
half of 3/4c cold milk (I don’t know what half of 3/4s is, so eyeball it!)
1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Pour into a bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate for one hour prior to churning.

Freeze yogurt mixture according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions (about 15-25 minutes). Transfer mixture to a freezer-safe covered storage container. Pour strawberry coulis by tablespoonful over yogurt, to taste. Using two butter knives, cut & swirl the coulis into the yogurt. Cover & freeze. (If not serving immediately, allow container to sit out on counter for several minutes before serving.)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Pesto



Wow! So many savory recipes all of a sudden! I can assure you, its only because it is too hot to turn on our oven at the moment. I'm not just saying that. It has been above 90 degrees outside for the past few weeks. Let me tell you, those subway platforms....yum! Ok, I'm lying about that last part. They are absolutely disgusting.

On to the pesto! We have a basil plant now in our apartment who started off as a 4 inch tall little guy. He has grown to about 2 and a half feet tall now! Although Spice was scared to pick off all the basil leaves for fear that they wouldn't return, she did to make this pesto! And it was time...the poor plant was getting heavy from so much foliage!



The pesto was great. We used it for the base of a pizza, as a dipping sauce and in pasta. So many possibilities! This recipe is gvery versatile and you can tweak it to your heart's content. Spice ended up putting in a bit more olive oil because we wanted a thinner consistency. This will definitely be a repeat recipe in our apartment.

Pesto
From Eating, etc.
2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed

1/2 cup olive oil (we used about 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup walnuts or pine nuts (we used pine nuts)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic (Mince them first to ensure the garlic is well-distributed)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and purée. Use immediately or place in freezer-safe containers & freeze until ready to use. Thaw in refrigerator or at room temperature (do not thaw in microwave!).

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Scallop Po' Boy

As you may remember Sugar and I recently visited a food festival in New Jersey. It was a day of good friends, great food, and Paula so pretty much the best day ever! While there we had the most amazing sandwich, a scallop po'boy. It was crunchy yet creamy, spicy yet sweet, and just plain delicious. After we got home I obsessed about this sandwich for about 2 weeks and finally decided to find a recipe for it.


I easily found out how to fry scallops from Martha Stewart she has her own version of a po'boy but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I needed the sweet corn and mango remoulade or else it just wouldn't be the same.


So I did what any foodie would do, I made it up! There are a few tweeks that need to be made to this recipe, but I am pretty proud of it. I don't want to post the remoulade recipe yet since it isn't quite there. But I plan on trying this again next week and will post it then! In the meantime enjoy some pictures from our feast!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Strawbery Freezer Jam



So many delicious strawberries and so many possibilities for them! Based on what I hear from others around the country, stawberry season is in full swing everywhere! Our grocery store and local fruit and vegetable stands have had strawberries on sale aplenty! And not just strawberries, but luscious, juicy, bright red strawberries with a tang all their own! Recipe one to use up strawberries: Freezer Jam! I'm sure this could be made with another berry. I bet blackberries or marion berries would be equally delicious!

This jam was so easy. The only tedious part was cutting the strawberries! And the whole thing came together very quickly...under one hour or so.

I didn't have the powdered pectin this recipe called for, so I used liquid pectin I had on hand. The  jam wasn't as thick as I would have liked, so if you use liquid pectin, I would put in more than it calls for. Other than that, this jam is delicious! The strawberries all rose to the top in my jars, and I think that has something to do with the liquid pectin as well. Still tastes great, though!



Strawberry Freezer Jam
Eating, etc.

2c strawberries
4c sugar
3/4c water
1 - 1.75oz box of pectin
4 one-pint jars with lids

Crush berries, one cup at a time, using a potato masher. Pre-measure sugar into a separate bowl. Stir sugar into fruit, mixing well. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small saucepan, stir together 3/4c water and one box pectin. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Add pectin mixture into fruit, stirring constantly until sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy (about 3 minutes).

Pour into clean jars, leaving 1/2" space at top for expansion during freezing; cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks, or freeze up to 1 year. Thaw in fridge.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Green Tea Lemonade

There are a few things that you just accept when living in New York City... 1) Your rent is sky high 2) Bums Happen and 3) You pay way too much for coffee. Living in the city during the summer means taking daily, sometimes hourly trips to Starbucks or your local D'n'D (Dunkin' Donuts). And these trips are not cheap people, we are talking $4 sometimes $5 for a cup of joe.

Recently a dear friend of mine named Smoon introduced me to a new drink at Starbucks called the Black Tea Lemonade. It is delicious and refreshing and exactly what you want on a hot summer day. One day my local SB's ran out of black tea and asked if I would take green tea, and BOOM an addiction was born.  I have been blowing big bucks getting my daily fix of this delicious drink and needed to find a more cost effective way of treating my addiction. Thank God for Hannah at Honey and Jam, who posted the black tea version on her site. Below is the slightly modified green tea version.

I feel like I must warn you all though, once you try this you will never be the same. Enjoy!



Green Tea Lemonade

6 bags of green tea
6 cups of water (for tea)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 cup lemon juice, please use fresh you won't regret it

Bring 6 cups of water to boil, remove from heat, add tea bags and allow to steep for 10 minutes.

Heat 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Combine the lemon juice, simple syrup, and steeped tea in a pitcher.

Stir and Refrigerate until cold. Then serve over ice.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Salmon Croquettes



So weekend mornings at our apartment consist of Spice, myself, two large cups of coffee and Food Network. We sit there as long as possible and more often than not, make a list of things we want to make that day. Last Saturday was no exception and after a toxically wonderful Paula Deen show, we decided to make her Salmon Croquettes.

I can't begin to tell you how easy to make these were and how delicious they tasted! We ate them as an afternoon snack with a mayo sauce Spice came up with and devoured every last one! Neither of us had used canned salmon, but we just ended up with a large can of alaskan salmon that we used all of.

We enjoyed these with green tea lemonade (copy cat of the Starbuck's version) that was to die for on a hot day! I'll post the recipe soon!



Salmon Croquettes
Paula Deen

  • 2 fillets canned salmon, flaked

  • 1 egg, beaten

  • 2 tablespoons green onions, diced

  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs

  • Vegetable oil, for frying


Over medium heat, heat oil in a medium skillet. Combine canned salmon, beaten egg, green onions and 1/4 cup bread crumbs. Form into patties and dust with additional bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Chocolate Chip Cookies



So, the thing with chocolate chip cookies: Everytime I make a new recipe, I think that recipe is the best one ever and has beaten out every other recipe I have ever made for chocolate chip cookies. I've come to realize, however, that this could just have to do with the fact that I love chocolate chip cookies and when I do make then, I fall so madly head over heels that I declare the recipe my favorite.

I guess I need to chill out. But, seriously, I REAAAAALLLLY liked this recipe for chocolate chip cookies! The recipe doesn't call for chilling the dough and when I rolled them into balls and placed them on the cookie sheet, I had a hard time believing they would stay thick and wouldn't flatten out in the oven. Low and behold! They really did turn out thick! And VERY chewy indeed!

Why, you may ask? I have no idea! Maybe it has to do with the melted butter or the ratio of baking soda to flour. But, really, I don't know. But whatever does it, I like it a whole heck of a lot!

I think you'd better make these and decide for yourself. Don't forget some milk!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Brown Eyed Baker

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Raspberry White Chocolate Blondies



It has been such a hot, humid summer so far in New York. I can't even tell you how gross this city gets when it is humid. Unbearable. And, you know its bad when you'd rather stay at work where there is air conditioning than go home to the sauna that has become your apartment.

Needless to say, baking has been the furthest thing from my mind for the past week. Thankfully, I asked our roommate to do a weather dance, which she must have done because the humidity finally went away!

And on goes the oven!

I thought something fruit-like and light would be appropriate for summer. And these White Chocolate Blondies from Picky Palate delivered big time! These are very sweet and almost melt in your mouth! The raspberries give a great tang to them. I bet they'd be perfect for a 4th of July BBQ if you used raspberries and blueberries together!



Raspberry White Chocolate Blondies
From Picky Palate

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 inch baking dish and spray with cooking spray.

Melt butter in microwave safe bowl. Stir in ¾ Cup white chips until melted and smooth. In a large bowl combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and ½ Cup white chips. In a small bowl whisk the eggs and sour cream. Pour into the dry ingredient bowl along with the melted white chip mixture. Mix until just combined.

Spread evenly in the baking dish and top evenly with 1 Cup raspberries. Sprinkle sanding sugar over blondies. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean from center (I ended up having to bake mine for about 45 minutes).