I am completely smitten with strawberries, so I’m glad that strawberry season is finally in full swing. I just can’t get enough of these sweet, luscious fruit right now. I love eating them fresh with my morning yogurt, but I have been thinking about how to use them a little more creatively. My first attempt was the strawberry-tomato salsa paired with corn cakes you may remember from a few posts back. That one turned out quite well so I’m at it again.
I can’t believe that it’s been over three months since I’ve baked anything with chocolate. How could I have let that happen? To remedy this dire situation, I adapted my Fig, Almond Frangipane, and Orange Tart to make this nutty tart. I recently received a complimentary bag of hazelnut flour from Bob’s Red Mill to try out, so I took this opportunity to use it in both the crust and the frangipane. Continue reading
Until now, all the ice creams I’ve featured here have been made in the French-style, meaning that it is made from a custard base that includes eggs. This method relies on egg yolks to give richness to the ice cream. However, today’s recipe is a Philadelphia- or American-style ice cream that is made without eggs. It is an adaptation from Jeni Britton Bauer’s recipe for The Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World featured in her book, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. Traditionally, Philadephia-style ice cream is made from an uncooked base, but Jeni’s technique requires boiling the liquids to remove as much of the water in the mixture as possible. This step, as well as adding cornstarch to absorb any remaining water, eliminates ice crystals and keeps the ice cream smooth. A big thanks to Jeni for figuring this out and for sharing it with all of us!
I need basic recipes like this 4 Ingredients Nutella Brownies in my repertoire. This treat is perfect for those times when pretty good is good enough and I don’t have the inclination to spend a lot of time prepping, baking, and cleaning up. (Sometimes it’s nice not to haul out the Kitchenaid mixer!) I just want to get in and get out of the kitchen, but also satisfy an unexpected guest or persistent craving for something sweet. Cookbook author, Abby Dodge, has written many more of these quick and easy recipes in her book, Desserts 4 Today: Flavorful Desserts with Just 4 Ingredients. The concept of this book is pure genius because the recipes are simple, versatile, and inspires creativity. In each recipe, Dodge includes numerous suggestions for substitutes when you don’t have an ingredient or don’t care for it and for ways to “gussy it up” to make it fancier. Since one of my favorite flavor combinations is hazelnuts and orange, I followed this recipe, but added 2 more ingredients – Cointreau and orange zest. From start to finish, it took about 20 minutes before I had this flavorful dessert with just 4 6 ingredients. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting 10 minutes for the brownie bites to bake. Continue reading
Kellogg’s Pop Tarts have been a convenient breakfast treat for many Americans growing up. Adults turn nostalgic at the mere mention of them, usually recounting days when they ate their favorite flavor on the bus on the way to school. I know it may be shock for many of you, but I didn’t have my first Pop Tart until after I got married. Chris used to love the Chocolate Pop Tarts and he would eat them with ice cream. I tried one, but I didn’t really care for the dry, cardboard-like pastry covered in super sweet icing. A couple of days ago, while perusing one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen written by Deb Perelman, I stumbled on her entry for homemade pop tarts. Those pop tarts looked so cute, especially naked without that coat of icing. I knew that I had to make them this weekend.
daisy's world 