My First Cooking Video

I have been super busy the last few weeks, mostly shooting cooking videos for a contest for Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Paula Deen.  Here is my first video.  I will post the recipe soon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaV_kKbBHyg

April Fools Food!

So I decided to make "bacon and eggs" today for April Fools Day - What do you think?  I love them  The eggs are so cute - and the bacon tastes great!  So much fun to make too - even kids could help!

So the first thing I did was make the bacon, I used Kraft Caramels and Tootsie roll midgies - Mine were a smidgen old, so I softened them for about 5 seconds in the microwave, that seemed to work pretty well.  Just cut them, layered them and rolled them out on waxpaper using a rolling pin.  Pinched them up a bit so they would curl up .

 

Lots of fun!

Next I made the eggs, just melted white chocolate and yellow M&Ms.

and I let them set up  in the freezer for about 10 min.  Then Voila

Bacon and eggs!

Experimental Cooking - recipe 2

Ok, so I had this Idea for a pie - still need a title for the recipe - I would welcome any suggestions on a title :)

  

Took a gingerbread baking mix

cut it together with some butter and some pecans in my food processor.   Put it in the bottom of a premade pie crust, in a 10 inch deep dish pie crust. 

  

Mixed together orange juice, molasses, egg yolk and hot water and poured over the dry mixture.   Baked for about 35 min at 400 degrees.

Made the orange creme. 

Let the pie cool completely if you have time,  refrigerate the creme until pie is cool.

I went ahead and spread the orange creme on the pie while it was still warm.  Didn't seem to cause much of a problem, but I would probably wait until it was cool.

Spread the creme to the crust.

 

Made an orange sauce for the top of the pie. I spooned the sauce on, but would probably drizzle it in the future.  Definitely would garnish with orange slices and crystalized ginger. 

Finished product.  It was alot of fun to make.  I think I like this one.

Experimental cooking March 20, 2010 - Quiche Florentine in Tomato cups.

I have come up with this idea for a heart healthy recipe for a contest, it still needs a little tweaking though, so If you would lilke to volunteer to cook this for me and critique it, I would appreciate it. 
Quiche Florentine in Tomato (or Pepper) cups

To be heart healthy I had to use egg beaters instead of real eggs,  But it turned out pretty good actually.

Next I hollowed out the tomatoes

Then I chopped up the basil, thawed the spinach, and stirred it together with grated parmesan cheese.

Added about 1 tsp grated onion, and 2 cloves grated garlic. 

  Stirred in the Eggbeaters. 

Filled the tomatoes  

Added 1/2 cup water to the baking dish,  Baked at around 400 for 25-30 minutes. 

Finished product........ I thought it was good, but I would like some other opinions.  Anyone willing to try it?  Or try in in a green or red pepper half?  Let me know.  Thanks

Blast from the Past

Here are a few of my favorite food projects from the past.

I made this cake for a friends birthday last year - so much fun.  I think I will have to pick a new painting and try another one............any suggestions?

This cake took 10 different colors I think.  Lots of fun.  I was so nervous that she wouldn't like it though, because this is her favorite piece of art.  Oh, and be forewarned if you ever try to copy this - black food coloring will stain!  Rinse it out immediately and you will probably be ok. 

Another fun project with food - a candy bouquet.  Made this for Dad on Fathers Day last year.  some florist wire, styrofoam and florists tape - and of course the candy - no cooking required!

this year for Christmas I got the set of both of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French cooking.  this was my first ever recipe that I fixed from those books - Cheese Souflle.  I used a combination of parmesan and swiss as called for in the recipe - but I am pretty sure I used a little more cheese than they called for,  Thankfully The recipe still turned out really well!  It was SO good.  I am excited to try lots more from these books.  And will be posting about them, when I try a new one!   
I am a little nervous about trying to cook the live lobsters - and about the suckling pig in book two, but I am sure I will get to them eventually!

Cheesy Fried Pickles

Several months ago, when a dear friend was in town I had some Cheesy Fried Pickles at a local restaurant.  Several people asked me to recreate them and I came up with this recipe.  It is one of my favorites!  It takes a little work, but the results are SO worth it.

First you will need to mix the sauce - 1 pkt ranch dip mix, 1 1/2 cups sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonaise, and about 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill.   Set that aside until ready to use.  Then you will need a package of wonton wrapers (in the refrigerated produce section, near the herbs sometimes, othertimes near the Asian veggies in the produce area)   a small bowl of water and a pastry brush.  wet a paper towel and squeeze dry, use the damp paper towel to cover wonton wrappers while you work.  Separate one wonton wraper, place on work surface, and brush edges with pastry brush dipped in water. 

Then  put a dollup of sauce in the center of the wrapper - about 1 tsp.

Top with a quarter of a slice of havarti cheese - I used the Kraft slices found in the cheese section of the dairy counter  1 pkg of 10 slices is enough for 40 appetizers

One 16 oz jar of Hamburger Dill pickle chips should be enough for one batch.  I drained a few at a time on paper towels -  so they weren't so juicy,

Place a single pickle slice on top of the cheese - or two if they are small :)

Fold in the four courners and brush with damp pastry brush again.  Press edges to seal.

Place on a wax paper lined plate  - you can layer them, just make sure there is waxed paper between the layers or they will stick together. 

Once all the wonton wrappers are filled and sealed, fry them a few at a time - either on the stove top or in a frydaddy (set to about 350)  until they are golden brown - you will have to turn them.  place them in the oil seam side UP at first or they will be hard to turn due to the bubbling. 

Serve hot with extra sauce on the side for dipping!

You can also try the same thing with the dill pickle spears - use 1/2 slice havarti cheese and eggroll wrappers instead.  Just before serving the spears, cut in half on a diagonal.   

First Post

Ok - I am trying this out - we will see how good I am at keeping it up - or if anyone is interested

Here is a simple and yummy dish to try.

4 Cheese Sausage Melts

1 9.5 oz pkg. Texas Toast Style Garlic Bread with Mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheese (6 slices)
1 12 oz roll Jimmy Dean Regular Sausage
1/3 cup diced onion
½ cup roasted red bell pepper, drained
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 ¼ cup shredded Colby Jack or Mild Cheddar Cheese
Optional : 1 10 oz box spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 4 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

Preheat oven to 425° F. In a large skillet, sauté sausage with onion over medium-high heat, until sausage is cooked through, about 5 min. Add roasted bell pepper, Parmesan cheese, tomato paste, and any optional ingredients you choose. Cook 5 min more, stirring constantly.
Place frozen garlic bread slices cheese side up on un-greased baking sheet. Spoon filling evenly on top of frozen bread slices. Sprinkle each slice with shredded cheese. Bake at 425° F for 10 min or until filling is hot, bread is cooked through, and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.