Delicious Shots

Ginger Potato Pancakes with Herbed Goat Cheese

2012-03-07T19:57:00.001-08:00

Today was one of those days where I feel the need to cook something different. Believe it or not I haven't had that many potato pancakes in my life. I always thought they were kind of boring. I know you are probably thinking I'm crazy, right? Well, I don't think that way anymore.

I've been playing around with different flavors and I found that the ginger-potato combination works quite beautifully and the addition of herbed goat cheese is just fantastic.

I also wanted to share THIS LINK with you, it's about Uganda kids being abducted by a monster named Kony but we can help stop him. They have an amazing 30 minutes film explaining everything and how one can help. Watch the video and help spread the word. It's for a great cause.

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes, peeled

1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped

2 large eggs, beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1 garlic clove

1/2 tbsp ginger

canola oil for frying

Using a grater, coarsely grate the potatoes. With a kitchen towel, squeeze out all the water over a bowl, the idea is to squeeze out as much water as you can. In a mixing bowl, place the potatoes, onion, ginger, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper, mix until well combine. Heat a non-stick pan and coat the bottom with oil. Take about 1/4 cup of the mixture and place it on the pan, quickly try to flatten the pancake with the back of a spoon and let it cook for a couple of minutes until golden. Flip the pancake over and cook the other side. Serve while still warm.

Herbed Goat Cheese

4oz goat cheese

1/4 cup of chopped mix fresh herbs

I used rosemary, basil, thyme and parsley

the zest of one lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl until well combined.

Dark Chocolate Rose Truffles

2012-02-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

There is no such a thing as "too much chocolate". Well, at least in my world. Chocolate is one of those little things that makes me happy and I think my son Lucas agrees with me. Every time I hand him a piece of chocolate he goes "happy!" Making me smile each time.

Speaking of things that make one happy, I just started doing yoga again. I was just getting into it when I got pregnant and even then I did pregnancy yoga which did wonders for my back.

After my son was born (almost two years ago), I stopped and it wasn't until last week when I decided it was time to pamper my body again. I'm loving my classes and I have a great teacher who I'm comfortable with.

Going back to chocolate, for this week's recipe I made chocolate truffles infused with roses. It's the first time I used roses for this purpose and I loved it. The floral after taste against the bittersweet chocolate is fantastic. I liked it so much, I now want to experiment with lavender and suggestions are welcome!

Ingredients:

3/4 heavy cream

1 tbsp butter

7oz 70% dark chocolate,

finely chopped

1/3 cup dried roses (see note)

cocoa powder for dusting

1 tsp rose water

Place the chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl. Combine the cream and roses and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and let the roses infuse with the cream for 5 minutes. Return the cream to stove and heat it until just starts to simmer. Strain the cream over the chocolate and let it stand for 10 minutes allowing the chocolate to melt. Add the rose water and gently stir until smooth. Pour the mixture into an 6-inch glass baking dish and set aside to cool at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Using a melon baller, scoop chocolate onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and return to the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Shape truffles and roll them into the cocoa powder to coat.

Note: If you don't have dried roses you can just add an extra tsp of rose water although I think the combination of the 2 are nice.

A year of Fun and Meatballs with Goat Cheese and Couscous

2012-02-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

In a day like today, exactly one year ago, I decided to enter the exciting world of blogging. When I started this journey I had no idea where or how to begin. I didn't even have a clear idea of what blogging really was. However, I was committed to start and one year later I am absolutely happy the way things have turned out. My blog has brought me the opportunity to meet wonderful people and do things that I

wouldn't have done otherwise. It has been a learning experience and I can't wait to see what else is coming.

Another thing I have to thank blogging is the passion I have discovered for food photography and styling. It truly opened my eyes to a whole new world that I absolutely
love and enjoy and which I can't see myself living without.

I like to celebrate this day, not with a cake but with a family recipe straight from my Middle Eastern side of the heart. This dish is so delicious and actually very simple, it's meatballs in a tomato sauce that are served with goat cheese which we add (off the heat) while the meatballs are still hot so the goat cheese lightly "melts". This dish is typically served with a warm piece of flat bread but I had a wonderful couscous I got at the market that went fantastic with it.

I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for all the support!

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cumin

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

salt and pepper

Olive Oil

For the sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cumin

1 small onion, finely chopped

salt and pepper

To Serve

4 oz Goat Cheese (depends how much you

like goat cheese)

chopped parsley

Directions

To make the meatballs, place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, except the olive oil, and combine them well (using your hands is best) Form the mixture into about 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12 inch skillet. Heat the oil and brown the meatballs on all sides. Remove the meatballs to a plate and cover them. For the sauce, add the onions to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. While the onions are cooking, place in a bowl the 2 1/2 cups of water and add the tomato paste, stirring well until well blend and smooth. Add the tomato/water mixture to the skillet, add the rest of the ingredients, stir it and bring it to a boil. Add the meatballs, cover and let it cook over medium heat for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and add chunks of goat cheese and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately with couscous or bread.

Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce

2012-02-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day! My husband took me out for dinner. I was not expecting that because we never really celebrate this day but I'm glad we did because we had a fantastic time. We usually have a casual dinner at home, sometimes with friends or just the 3 of us.

Lucas sure enjoyed the chocolates I got for him and now I'm in big trouble because he is a chocoholic just like his mother.

Today has been a lazy day. The sky is gray, not really raining but cold. In days like these, I really crave either soup (lentil being my soup of choice) or a bowl of pasta.

As you can see, I went for pasta. It's a light cream basil pesto (I LOVE basil by the way) with Parmesan cheese. Simple, good.

I always like to keep pesto on hand. It is the simplest thing to make and, when properly stored, can last a long time.

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

1 bunch of basil

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grated

Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food

processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add

the oil and process until well combined. Add the

cheese and pulse a few more times until incorporated.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: If you don’t have pine nuts, almonds, hazelnut

or walnuts work great.

For the pasta

1 pound of spaghetti

(or the pasta of your choice)

1 cup of light creamy (heavy

cream or half and half works too)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon butter

In a large skillet, add the cream and butter, season with salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil. Stir Parmesan cheese into cream. Add in the pesto, and cook for one minutes. In a pan, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the pesto sauce and toss well. Taste for salt and pepper and serve with more Parmesan cheese.

Delicious Valentine's!

2012-02-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

Here it is guys! As promised, the second edition of Delicious Shots Magazine post is up! Lots of DIY projects, recipes and contributions from 3 amazing ladies: Sarah, Nicole and Sneh. Happy Valentine's Day :)

Download Box HERE

Open publication - Free publishing - More desserts

Rabbit in Almond Sauce

2012-01-25T19:22:00.000-08:00

"Why don't you try rabbit in almond sauce?" asks Lucia, a good friend of mine from Spain after I told her I had a rabbit in the fridge and no recipe. See, every time I find myself in this situation, I tend to cook the classic stew. Nothing wrong with that but I like to try different things every time I can and my friend's suggestion sounded very interesting.

She gave me the recipe (her mom's) and I started cooking right away. I had no intentions to post this rabbit recipe but it was SO good I just had to.

What a wonderful change from the ordinary. I thank Lucia for letting me share with you this delicious recipe. Who knows, it might become one of your favorites too.

Ingredients:

1- 2 lb. rabbit, cut into portions

olive oil

1 medium onion

6 garlic cloves

2 tbsp flour

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 cup wine

2 cups water

3/4 cup ground almonds

2 sprigs of thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Add the rabbit, season with salt and pepper and sear over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until browned. Remove the rabbit to a large plate. Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Sprinkle with flour, stir and cook for 2 minutes more. Add wine, tomato sauce, water, thyme, almonds and return the rabbit to the pot. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes stirring occasionally. Add water to thin the sauce if it gets too thick.

Orange Pavlova

2012-01-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

I've been eating Pavlova for a while now and I had no idea that this delicious dessert was named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. Actually, now that I mention it, this dessert kind of looks like a little tutu, doesn't it? I guess we learn something new everyday.

If you are not familiar with this dessert, it's a crispy meringue with a marshmallow-like consistency in the inside. It's usually topped with whipped cream and berries or other fresh fruits. You can make this a one big Pavlova to share or make individual servings like I did.

One of the things that I love about it is that you can make everything ahead of time and it's very simple and fast to assemble and it looks fabulous. To me, this is ideal for summer parties.

I was inspired by the citrus season and went ahead and changed things a little bit. I made an orange cream, probably a bit more than what I needed for this recipe but it's so good you can eat it with so many other things like bread, cookies or even for breakfast with pancakes, croissants or brioche. I also made a very simple orange sauce and topped it with fresh kiwi.

Ingredients:

Orange sauce

4 cups orange juice

3 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp dark rum

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil

and reduce to half. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.

Orange cream

3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

the zest of 3 oranges

1 cup sugar

5 large eggs

12 tbsp butter

Combine all the ingredients (except butter) in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water. Cook whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and mix on high speed. With the blender still running, add the butter, a couple of pieces at the time. When the butter is fully incorporated, let the cream blend for 5 minutes more. It should be light and silky. Let it come to room temperature and refrigerate for 1 hours before serving.

Meringues

5 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp corn starch, sifted

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed, beat the egg whites and salt until frothy, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Mix in the vanilla and vinegar and mix until glossy and thick. Using an spatula, lightly fold in the corn starch. Spoon the meringue into the sheet pan creating little nest with the back of the spoon. You will get about 9 4-inch meringues nest.

Bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and let the meringues dry inside with the oven door closed for another hour. Don't peek! you'll let the heat out. Let it cool completely.

To assemble

4 Kiwis, peeled and sliced

Spoon some orange cream in the center of the meringue, add kiwi and spoon orange sauce around the Pavlova. Serve immediately.

Onion Soup

2012-01-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

I always enjoy my trips to the farmer's market. The only problem I have is, I go there to get ingredients for something I'd planned but as soon as I get there, my mind is completely changed by other ingredients.

This time there were so many onions at the market that I took it as a clear sign: Onion soup. Never made this soup before? It's a lot simpler than it sounds/looks. My only complain when making this soup is the time I spend crying over the onions but that is quickly forgotten when I start eating.

To my surprise, Lucas loved the soup. That means another meal on my "Approved by Lucas" list. By the way, I heard from Lucas something that I thought I would wait years for, he told me he was sleepy and asked for a nap! I was in shock. I said "of course honey" thinking my baby is growing faster than I can realize.

On a different note, I'm happy to tell you that I'm working on another magazine-style post for February. It's a Valentine's Special edition filled with DIY projects, downloadable gift cards, boxes and other projects as well as the contribution of 3 amazing ladies with wonderful blogs that kindly agreed to sharing recipes and photos with us.

Ingredients:

4 once butter (1 stick)

6 large onions, sliced

2 fresh thyme sprigs

3 garlic cloves

1 cup of red wine

8 cups beef broth

3 tbsp flour

1/2 baguette sliced

Gruyere cheese

salt and pepper

In a large pot, melt the butter. Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 to 30 minutes. Lower the heat, sprinkle the onions with flour and cook stirring for 3 minutes. Add the thyme and wine, bring to a boil and simmer until the wine starts to reduce. Add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the thyme and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Preheat the broiler. Arrange six ovenproof soup bowls on a baking sheet.

Ladle soup into bowls, arrange 2 baguette slices on top of each bowl and sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere. Broil until cheese melts and turns golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Five-Spice Lentil Soup

2012-01-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had an awesome New Year Celebration with your friends and family. We had fun despite my son being a little sick with a cold.

I like to start my first blogpost of 2012 with a five-spice lentil soup recipe. It has been COLD in New York these past days. We were having good temperatures and suddenly it got really really cold. It's been so cold, I've been trying to avoid going out.

I would normally make this soup with red lentils but all I had in my pantry was green lentils which is ok. I didn't think it was critical as to actually go out on the horribly-frezzing-cold just to get the "right lentils"

To me, the best way to eat this soup is with garlic bread which I make by simply grilling bread and then rubbing it with a garlic clove.

Ingredients:

1 pound lentils, rinsed (red or green)

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 quarts water (more if needed)

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt to taste

Directions

In a large pot, place the olive oil and set over medium heat. Add the onions and celery, cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the lentils, salt and the five spices, stir to combine. Add water, cover and cook until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Check the lentils after 20 minutes to make sure they have enough water. Taste and adjust salt and liquid if needed. Using a hand blender, puree the soup. Serve with warm garlic bread and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Garlic Bread

Bread

garlic

olive oil

Drizzle bread with olive oil and grill it over high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until browned. While bread still warm, rub it with a garlic clove. serve warm. So simple, so good.

It's All About the Eggnog!

2011-12-29T15:58:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit late delivering this recipe to you but it's worth the wait. There is this eggnog from Honduras that is really popular during Christmas time and of course, impossible to get it here unless someone brings it from there. It is by far the best eggnog I've ever had. My goal this Christmas was to re-create that same flavor and texture. It was tough since I had no references other than the memories I have of it.

I don't know if theirs is made with cooked eggs, mine is! So don't be afraid to try it. After few attempts, I finally came out with this super creamy, I repeat, super creamy recipe. I am so happy with the way it came out, the texture is so silky that stays in your mouth even after you drink it. Although it wasn't exactly the same, it really brought me back and I'm sticking to this recipe.

Since I already was in the eggnog mood, I was also inspired to make a tart, but this is not just any tart. It's a cheesecake eggnog tart so good, I had to make it twice last week. I have a feeling I'll be making it again on New Years Eve, but this time, I'll make individual servings to pass around.

This year I'm making little chocolate cupcakes wrapped in doilies with a "Happy New Year" tag for my guests to take home. I think it's a cute idea, besides, what a better way to start the new year than with chocolate? If you would like to download the tag just click HERE!

I hope all of you have a great New Year, filled with love and health!

Happy New Year!

Ingredients:

For the Eggnog:

6 large egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/3 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoon

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup dark rum

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and beat until sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the evaporated milk, heavy cream, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and carefully temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the saucepan and cook stirring until mixture thickens, about 8 minutes, do not let the mixture boil! Remove from the heat. Whisking constantly, let it cool over an ice bath. Once cooled, stir in the rum, pour into a serving bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill, preferably over night.

Eggnog Cheesecake:

For the crust:

8oz Graham crackers

4oz unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Wrap the outside of a 9-inch spring-form pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. For the crust, finely grind the crackers in a food processor. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs have moistened. Save 1/2 cup of crumbs to sprinkle over the cheesecake later when ready to serve. Press the rest of the crumb mixture over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes.

Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.

For the filling:

2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup sugar

2 whole large eggs

2 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons dark rum

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

a pinch salt

Beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add rum, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt and mix on medium-high speed until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the whole eggs and egg yolks and add it to the mixture. Mix until just combine, about 30 seconds. Pour filling into the crust, place the cheesecake in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes. Let the cheesecake cool completely without cover. Once cooled, cover it and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs before serving.

NOTE: I added 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to the crumbs before sprinkle to cheesecake.

Butternut Squash Soup and Free Greeting Cards

2011-12-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

Butternut squash soup. This comforting fall/winter soup is one of my favorites. I love its sweetness; it almost makes me feel like I'm eating dessert.

I love to serve soup as a starter on my holiday dinners. My favorite way to serve it? Little shooters. It's a fantastic way to get people started. It's like a preview of what's coming next and of course, leaves plenty of room for the rest of the meal. I usually make a large batch of it the day before and just warm it up when i'm ready to serve it.

The mascarpone cheese is a perfect addition. Instead of adding spices to the soup, I add them to the mascarpone cheese and it works beautifully. I also like to garnish it with fresh rosemary. It not only makes it look pretty and festive, but also adds some flavor to the mascarpone cheese.

I have also designed some greeting cards for you to download for free! Just click HERE, download, print, cut and start writing! I made them in two colors, red and blue. They go perfect with the occasion especially if you are giving out baked goods. Also, there is still time to enter the giveaway from SneakPeeq, click HERE to read more!

Merry Christmas!

Ingredients:

For the Spiced Mascarpone Cheese

1 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg

In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk until well combined and smooth.

For the soup

1 1/2 pound butternut squash,

seeded, peeled and cut in 1-inch dice

2 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice

2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch dice

2 shallot

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add shallots and carrots and cook for about 8 minutes. Add the squash and potatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir the vegetables to coat them with the oil and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add enough hot water to just cover the veggies, cover and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and puree the vegetables with an immersion blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with mascarpone cheese and garnish with rosemary.

Bûche de Noël and a Giveaway!!

2011-12-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

Bûche de Noël. You’ve probably heard of it before. A traditional French log-shaped Christmas cake. Everything about this cake is just delicious, beautiful and fun. If you've ever been curious about making this cake, hopefully this recipe will encourage you to go ahead and do it. Is it hard? well, not really. It just has several elements and also depends on the decoration. The crazier you go, the longer it will take. I do this cake once a year for Christmas so YES, I go crazy but what I do is I divide the work in 2 days. One day I make all the mushrooms and the snowman, which is really the most meticulous part and the next day I do the jelly roll and the filling.

A lot of people like to fill it with ganache which is delicious but I choose to fill it and cover it with dulce de leche and chocolate buttercream. It came out really delicious and a glass of Champagne or sparkling wine goes really well with it!

Now onto the giveaway!

Sneakpeeq is giving away 20% off your next purchase just for entering, plus a chance at the Grand Prize: two winners will be picked to receive a $25 sneakpeeq gift card to use on your favorite food, style and home products. Five runners-up prize winners will receive a $10 gift card—that goes a long way in sneakpeeq’s amazingly low-priced boutiques!

Come see all the things you love but haven’t discovered.

Enter the giveaway by doing two simple things: click HERE and join sneakpeeq and answer the following question: What's your favorite dessert?

All winners will be announced on 12/26/2011

Good Luck!

Winners Announced
$25 winners:

Nico Le

Kristen Seikaly

$10 winners: Audris Lau
Jesica Juventia Edisanto
Kaylie Kinney
Michaela Dunajská
Kiko Hernandez

Congratulations! Please claim your prize at deliciousshots@gmail.com

For the cake:

4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup cake flour, sifted

2 once butter, melted and cooled slightly

cocoa powder

Preheat the oven 350 F. Grease a jelly roll pan (17 by 12 inches) and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and flour the bottom and sides of the pan, knocking out the excess. We first need to make a meringue. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whip attachment, beat the egg whites on low, gradually add the sugar and raise the speed to high, beat for about 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and using a rubber spatula, carefully fold them into the meringue. Fold the cake flour into the meringue and last fold the cooled melted butter. Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out into an even layer. Bake the cake for 5 minutes, rotate the pan and continue to bake for another 7 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched. While the cake is baking, place a clean kitchen towel on a work surface. Place coco power in a sieve and generously dust the kitchen towel evenly.

When the cake is done, immediately flip it into the prepare kitchen towel. Remove the pan and gently peel off the parchment paper. Carefully start rolling the cake from the long end into a tight spiral. Keep the cake rolled until it's completely cooled and really to be filled.

Dulce de leche Buttercream:

1 sticks of butter, softened

8oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup dulce de leche

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch of salt

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese together until creamed. Add the dulce the leche and mix until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and salt and mix for 3 minutes more.

For the mushrooms find recipe HERE and for the snowman, just stack 3 mushroom meringue caps and insert a toothpick in the center to hold the three together.

To assemble:

Gently unfold the cake and using an offset spatula, lightly coat the surface of the cake with a thin layer

of buttercream. With the help of the kitchen towel, carefully re-roll the cake into a tight roll. Transfer the cake to a serving platter before continue with the decoration. Using a serrated knife, cut 1 inch off one of the ends of the log and place the end end piece cut side up on top of the log ("glue" it to the log with some buttercream) to resemble cut brunch. Using the offset spatula, cover the entire log including the ends with buttercream. With the help of a fork, score the log in long even lines to resemble tree bark. Decorate the cake with mushrooms meringues and the snowman (this is the fun part so enjoy it!) and last but not least, let it snow!! dust the cake with confectioners' sugar!!

Delicious Christmas is Here!!!

2011-12-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Download File HERE!

It's finally here! The Christmas magazine I've been working on for the past couple of months is ready!!!!!!! I am so excited to share this with you because I put a lot of thought into it and as you might know, it's not easy to get carried away with projects when there is a 19 month old baby running around the house screaming for attention. But I did enjoy the process and I can already tell you, I would do it again.

Enjoy!

Open publication - Free publishing - More delicious

Roasted Butternut Squash, Carrots and a Giveaway!!

2011-11-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is here and I figured I am just in time to share these last minute recipes with you. Even though my menu is not yet finalized, I am not worried because this year we are sharing responsibilities in the kitchen.

For example, my hubby is in charge of the mashed potatoes, this is a big deal since he is not fan of cooking, he rather believe that he is sitting at a judge table of a cooking contest, tasting every single dish, but it's ok, he always comes out with the best reviews. My two cousins are helping too. One is in charge of the appetizer and the other one is in charge of a side dish. I am in control of the turkey. I plan to do it simple. Basically, I will rub it with herb butter and garlic under the skin and roast it low and slow for a couple of hours. And Lucas? Well, I guess he will be our judge this year.

And just because I love you and I want to say thank you for your support, I am hosting a giveaway! It's a beautiful dress from Shabby Apple. Hey, we need to be pretty for the holidays, right? Also, they are generously giving us 10% discount on our next purchase (enter the code deliciousshots10off).

To enter the contest, you need to do 2 simple things: "Like" Shabby Apple Facebook page and answer the following question:

Where are you spending New Years Eve this year?

Just leave your answer in a comment to automatically enter the contest.

The winner will be picked randomly and announced on Friday, November 25th! If you are a guy, you can win this for your girlfriend, sister, cousin, wife, well you get my point!

Happy Thanksgiving and Good Luck!

Winner Announced!!!
Congratulations Mary "such beautiful recipes and delicious shots indeed!! In new years I hope to be wearing that dress next to the ones I love, in Miami."

Please contact deliciousshots@gmail.com to claim your dress
Have a beautiful weekend!

Pork Tenderloin

2011-11-15T07:10:00.000-08:00

I love holidays. Not only because you get to eat more but because it's family time. Even though everyday should be family time, everybody makes that extra effort to come from wherever they are even from a different country just to see you. That alone makes me want to cook something extra special for that special someone who's coming to visit.

When it comes to Thanksgiving, of course there is always a yummy turkey in my Thanksgiving dinner but I always make pork tenderloin as well. It has become a family favorite. Why pork tenderloin? It all started with my grandmother. She was never a big fan of turkey so she always made pork tenderloin to compensate. It was passed on to my mom and now I do it too. Since I remember, it has been part of our Thanksgiving dinner, and even though my grandma is no longer with us, we still make it to honor her.

The best part of having two proteins is that they make great leftover dishes for the next day and even the day after which is perfect because nobody feels like spending all day in the kitchen. This is also the fist year my son Lucas will get to eat real Thanksgiving dinner since last year he was only 7 months old and didn't really enjoy solids. I can't wait to find out what he likes and what his favorite dish will be, would it be the garlic mashed potatoes? or perhaps pork tenderloin just like his great-grandmother? who knows but I can't wait to find out.

For those of you who like to participate in contest, Macy’s is inviting fans to submit their favorite holiday recipes at their Facebook page. ENTER HERE for a chance to win fabulous prizes! Be sure to enter, you never know!

Ingredients:

2- 1 pound pork tenderloins loin

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

olive oil

the juice and zest of 3 lemons

2 rosemary sprigs

salt and pepper

To make the marinade, combine the lemon juice and zest, garlic, dijon mustard. Slowly add about 1/2 cup olive oil while mixing with a fork (like making a salad dressing) add black pepper. Place the pork and the rosemary sprigs in a large enough resealable plastic bag and add the marinade. Make sure the pork is completely covered with the marinade. Squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours but even better, overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Remove the tenderloins from the marinade. Add salt and pepper to the tenderloins. In a oven-proof saute pan, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Sear all sides of the pork until golden brown. Place the pan in the oven and roast the pork for 20 minutes or until the meat registers 140 F. Take it out of the oven, cover the pork with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

To make the Cranberry-Raspberry Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 cup red wine

1/4 cup orange juice

the zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons sugar

12oz raspberries

1 cup of cranberry (frozen)

Melt the butter and add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Also, add the juice that the meat has released from resting. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Finnish Pancakes

2011-11-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

As the Holidays approach, I think more and more about food. Not only I think what to make on the actual festive day but also in the days that follow.

One of my favorite things to do the next day is of course, eat the leftovers gathered with family and friends that are visiting. But what about people who are visiting for few days, you know, guests? That's when breakfast becomes a big deal in my house and I am always looking for different ways to make it delicious.

I can either poach 12 eggs and make a Hollandaise sauce with home fries or I can just make this quick Finnish-style pancake, bake it for 25 minutes and serve it all at once. These pancakes are so delicious. They are thin and the texture is like a baked custard.

On a different note, perhaps you've noticed the new section on my blog called "Cluelinary 101". Basically, I've gathered useful information that comes in handy when it comes to baking and cooking. Although I am not done with the list, I started with the baking part of the segment. I hope it helps!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/2 cup of flour

1 1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tbsp butter, divided in 3 parts

1 pinch of salt

the zest of 1 lemon

Serving suggestions: powder sugar, cocoa powder, maple syrup or fresh fruits.

Pre-heat the oven to 450 F.

Beat eggs until foamy. Add in the rest of the ingredients except the butter and mix until batter is smooth. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add it to the batter, mix until well combined let the batter rest for 15 minutes. Place the remaining butter in 2 9 inch cast iron skillets (2 tbsp each) and place it in the oven until butter melts. Make sure the pans are well coated with butter (even the sides) Equally divide the batter into the 2 cast irons and bake for 25 minutes or until pancakes are lightly browned on top.

Serve immediately.

Tarte Tatin

2011-11-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hello! I first would like to apologize to those who received a e-mail update from an old post I made for mother's day. I have no idea what got into blogger and re-posted that on November 1st. Not only did it re-post it but also deleted some comments which makes me sad because it's not the first time that happens. Well I sure hope it doesn't happen again.

Moving onto this week's true post! I am so happy to start what I like to call "the baking season". It's funny but everything I bake starting November, I feel like it's a holiday treat.

I gathered all my kitchen gadgets and I am opening my favorite season with Tarte Tatin which is a delicious upside-down apple tart. Years back when I had this tart for the first time, I never went back to the traditional apple pie for Thanksgiving. There is nothing wrong with that pie, it is also really good, it's just that I fell in love with this tart and since then, that's what you will find in my Thanksgiving dinner table.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

5 apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters

1 stick of butter cut into

tablespoon peaces

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

zest of one lemon

Find tart pastry recipe here

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

Place the sugar, water, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla bean seeds in a 10-inch ovenproof pan. Stir to combine. Boil the mixture for 8 to 10 minutes or until it becomes a deep amber color. Be careful in the last minutes because it could go really quick from an amber color to burnt caramel. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, 2 parts at a time. The mixture will start to bubble up so be really careful. once the butter has melted, stir to combine and then begin to arrange the apples, remember, the bottom will be the top so make it pretty :). Return the pan to the stove and cook for 20 minutes. Roll out the pastry dough and place it on top of the pan folding it in at the edges. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes before turning it over to a serving platter. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Labneh

2011-10-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Labneh is a Middle Eastern style cheese made out of plain yogurt. The consistency of it is very much like cream cheese. It is healthy and delicious and a great snack or dip. It's the easiest thing to make, all you need to do is drain the whey out of the yogurt (over night) and that's it!

Let's talk about the toppings for a minute. Good quality extra virgin olive oil is a must, the rest is up to you. Some people like to add cucumbers. Very refreshing specially in the summer.

I like to add za'atar which is a blend of herbs and sesame seeds and Sumac which is a type of berry that has been dried and ground, very popular in Middle Eastern cooking. It has a beautiful tart flavor. Both ingredients have become more popular in the US and are easy to find. It's good to try new ingredients and experiment. Who knows, you might find an ingredient that will rock your kitchen. If you can't find these ingredients, chopped fresh herbs can do the trick as well as a drizzle of lemon juice and paprika.

Ingredients:

32oz container Greek yogurt

sumac

za'atar

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Place 3 layers of cheesecloth in colander set over a bowl. Add the yogurt and bring the sides of the cheesecloth together and tie it with string. I usually hang it above the sink with the help of a wooden spoon for 4 hours and then right before I go to bed, I transfer it to the refrigerator to continue the draining process. Be sure to put a bowl underneath to catch the whey. Refrigerate for 24 hours. The consistency should be like a soft cream cheese. Transfer the cheese to a serving plate, spread it and sprinkle salt fist and then add toppings. It should stay good for up to a week, well covered. It may get a bit sour as time passes but it's ok. Enjoy it with warm flat bread.

Beet Salad

2011-10-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

I love a simple salad with fresh ingredients. I know, beets take forever to cook. A medium size beet can take 30 to 40 minutes to cook but it's worth the wait since I'll end up with a nice, healthy and delicious meal. I usually cook both yellow and purple beets but I couldn't find the yellow ones this time.

I love to combine both to make it colorful for Lucas. I am going through that face right now where I have to make everything fun and interesting for him to eat. I've never had that problem before but now I find myself more often playing and making all sorts of faces to get him to eat. I was reading that they go through this but I hope he goes back to normal soon. Sometimes I wish babies came with a manual but I am glad I live in a time where information is available to you with just a click.

Back to the recipe. Because beets take their time to cook, I usually make extra to keep in the fridge.

They make a great side dish when combined with herb couscous, basically I do this same recipe but without the mixed greens and instead of slicing the beets I cube them.

Ingredients:

3 medium beets

Mixed greens

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup pistachios

Blue cheese (I used gorgonzola dolce)

1 Lemon

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the beets. Cook until they are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Let them cool a little bit and rub off the skins under running water with a soft cloth. The hotter they are, the easier it will be to peel them, but be careful not to burn yourself. Slice the beets into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lightly dress the mixed greens with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the salad by putting mixed greens in the center of a plate, place the sliced beets on top, add the blue cheese, pistachios and drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt.

Halloween Treats

2011-10-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

Halloween is almost here. I never really liked Halloween, but with my son Lucas that has changed. Now I can't wait to dress him up and take him trick or treating. I am not sure how much he will understand it (he is 18 months) but for sure he will enjoy all the treats he can get.

I have been thinking of a few treats for him and to give out to our neighbors. I will still have my pile of store-bought candies for the children I don't know, homemade staff would be weird right?

I made chocolate cat cookies. All kids like anything chocolate. I also made little meringue ghosts for the older kids. Both things are really good and are fun activities to make with the kids, specially the cookies.

This Saturday we are going apple picking and I am hoping to get a nice size pumpkin. It will be fun to hand carve it and see if we can come up with a nice Jack-o'-lantern. I am sure it will be ugly since carving is not my thing, but hey, it's Halloween after all.

Ingredients:

For the chocolate cookies:

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cup flour, plus more for

rolling and cutting out dough

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, beat in the egg. On low speed, mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half and form into two disk, each about 3/4 inch thick. Wrap disk in plastic, chill until firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days. On a lightly floured sheet of waxed paper, using a floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 inch thick. (If dough becomes too soft to work with, refrigerate for a few minutes.) Using 2 to 3-inch Halloween cookie cutters, cut out shapes, dipping cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking, place on a baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Bake until is dry to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies 1 to 2 minutes on baking sheet before transfer to a cool rack to cool completely .

For the meringue ghosts:

3/4 cup sugar

2 egg whites, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

chocolate frosting fo decorate

Preheat the oven to 200 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed, beat the egg whites and salt until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the cream of tartar and the vanilla. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe the ghost into the prepared baking sheets. I held the bag upright and squeeze the meringue, making a wide base then a smaller center and then a tip. Bake the meringues ghosts for one hour. Turn off the oven but let the meringues dry inside the oven with door closed for another hour.

Let them cool completely before decorating it.

Red Velvet Cake and an Invitation

2011-10-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

Red velvet cake. I don't make this cake very often, you see, this is one of those things that are so
good, you only make them on special occasions. Last Friday was my birthday and even though
I didn't know what kind of cake I wanted, I was happy I went for red velvet cake. I don't want to sit down and tell you how good it was but I can tell you it's one of my treasure recipes. It's good and a
piece of cake to make it :)

I had a nice birthday weekend, my mom made a lovely dinner for me and the next day my hubby and cousins treated me for brunch. We went to Salumeria Rosi. If you visit New York, this place is a must go. This is my favorite way to spend a birthday, good food, good wine and surrounded by people I love.

In other news, I am working on a magazine style post just for the month of December. I am gathering some of my favorite recipes to share them with you. I am hoping to have it ready December 1st.

Here is were it gets interesting, I want to invite you to be a part of it. To participate, you need to first, follow this blog, summit your recipe via e-mail to najwakronfel@gmail.com with a photo of your dish (no bigger than 5 MB) by October 31st. It could be a dessert, main course, salad, cookies, anything Christmas related. 5 recipes will be chosen and featured on the magazine, of course, all your work will be credited to you and there will be a link to your blog as well if you have one. This should be a lot of fun! I am anxious and excited to see and test your recipes!
Please note that our decision to pick the winners is not only based on the quality of the dish but also on the photography.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons coco powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all the dry ingredients, mix in low speed until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix well all the wet ingredients including the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add wet ingredients, mix the batter until all the ingredients are well combined, turn the speed up to medium and mix for 30 seconds more. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 25 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

The Frosting:

16oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 stick of butter, room temperature

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese together until creamed.

Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix until well combined.

Assemble:

Carefully cut cake in three layers and spread some frosting on each layer. Spread the top and the sides with the remaining frosting, I used the back of a spoon to decorate.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

2011-09-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti and meatballs should be in everyone's repertoire. For some of us, this dish is the ultimate comfort food. Today, I'm sharing my take on this dinner classic.

It's a fairly simple dish to make but it does require some time to prep and if you make the sauce from scratch, it would take even longer but I totally recommend you to do it because it makes the difference.

My son Lucas had this for the first time and he loved it. I think it's universal, kids love this dish and I can't blame them. What's not to love? Garlic, Parmesan cheese, a great sauce. I think this dish is one of the things he will remember and trigger his childhood memories when he grows older.

Ingredients:

The Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 md onion, chopped

2 garlic clove, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon dry oregano

2 cups of water

1 (6oz) can tomato paste

2 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

The Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1 egg, beaten

3 garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/8 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

For Serving:

Parsley, chopped

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To make the meatballs, place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, except the olive oil, and combine them well (using your hands is best) Form the mixture into about 2-inch meatballs. Pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12 inch skillet. Heat the oil and brown the meatballs on all sides, don't overcrowd the pan, brown them in batches. Remove the meatballs to a plate and cover them. For the sauce, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then add the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaves water, salt and pepper. Mix well, cover and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and roughly puree the sauce with a hand blender. Cover and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add the meatballs, cover and cook for 25 minutes more. Cook spaghetti according to package directions and serve with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Hummus

2011-09-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for Fall? I know I am. In fact, I have been ready for a while now. I will tell you my little secret. I don't really like summer that much. It's just too hot and this year was pretty bad so I am happy it's gone at least for now. The only thing I will miss is the summer fruits and vegetables.

This week's recipe is hummus. This was my childhood favorite thing to eat and it continues to be. I am happy to see that my son loves it and I already can see that this will be one of his favorite things too.

I can eat hummus almost every day, it's healthy and it's the perfect thing to do ahead of time and eat when you are in a rush so I always keep some in my fridge. Another great thing about hummus is that it's easy and quick to make and definitely cheaper and tastier than store bought hummus.

Ingredients:

1 15.5 canned chickpeas, drained

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for garnish

2 garlic clove

the juice of 1 lemon

1/4 water (from boiled chickpeas)

salt to taste

paprika

Drain the chickpeas and place them in a medium saucepan, add water to cover them and boil the chickpeas for 5 minutes. Drain the chickpeas reserving 1/4 cup of water. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, taste for seasoning. Transfer to a serving plate and drizzle hummus with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

Happy Weekend!

Chocolate Mousse

2011-09-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

I hope everybody had a great time with their families this past Mother's day! We had a blast! It's my second year being a proud mother and I still can't get use to flowers, cards and people congratulating me on this day. All these years calling my mom to tell her happy mother's day and now I get a "to you too, honey". It seems surreal. Being a mom has been the most wonderful experience.

On Monday I had a terrible craving for chocolate (how weird), and I went back to one of my favorite things, chocolate mousse. Chocolate mousse doesn't have to be complicated, I personally don't like to use eggs on my chocolate mousse. I like to keep it simple and quick and love to use a little bit of coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor even more. It's a great recipe to have specially when you don't have a lot of time and need a quick dessert.

Ingredients:

7 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 cups of heavy cream

1 tablespoon of instant coffee

disolved in 1/4 tablespoon of hot water

In a bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cream to soft peak. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water. Once the chocolate is melted,

mix in the coffee. Whisk 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, fold in the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate with a spatula. Do this gently, we don't want to deflate the cream. Pipe the mousse into ramekins and top with whipped cream.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-09-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it was about time I posted a cupcake recipe on this blog. What a better flavor combination than peanut butter and chocolate?

The frosting is nice and smooth and the chocolate cupcake light and moist. The only negative part of these cupcakes is that you can't eat only one.

I thought about making this cupcake recipe for my birthday which is in a couple of weeks but I am very indecisive, and now I want something with lemon curd. I have a feeling chocolate is going to be somehow involved in this cake, mmm... We'll see what happens in a couple of weeks, maybe I'll end up making something completely different. Suggestions are welcome.

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

2 tablespoons brewed coffee

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup good cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended. Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount).

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting. Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Peanut Butter Icing:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Fig Jam and a DIY Project

2011-09-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

The last batch of figs. I know, It's been all about figs lately but like I mention in my last post, we got very lucky with our tree this year and had lots and lots of juicy, sweet figs. I've been collecting figs these past days until I finally got one pound of them to make a jam.

I made this very same recipe last year and everybody loved it. If figs were in season at Christmas time, I would totally give them out for gifts. Although, if properly canned, jam can keep for a few months but then again, it's too good, it wouldn't make it until then.

One thing I love about this recipe is that it's not very sweet, and here is where I pay attention, I taste whatever fruit I want to turn into a jam, to see how sweet it is and that's how I decide how much sugar to use. Now,

the figs I used in this recipe were very sweet so I used 3/4 of sugar where I normally would have used 1 cup.

Play around and taste, taste, taste! Clove plays a nice role in this recipe, it leaves a nice aftertaste and makes it a great addition when used in a savory dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb figs, washed and cut in half

3/4 cup sugar

The juice and zest of 1 lemon

1/8 cup red wine

1/4 teaspoon clove

A pinch of salt

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients and let it macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes,

stirring occasionally. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens.

Here is my little secret, instead of using a potato masher to break down the figs, I use a hand blender, but be careful not to over blend. A food processor will work too. Fill glass jars with hot fig jam and enjoy.

I also made a little DIY project, how to distress wood to use as a photo backdrop. It's very easy, here is how it goes:

First, find a piece of wood you want to use, whatever sizes you want but if the wood you are using is painted,

you will need to sand it first. Strike the wood with the back of a hammer to create some dents, don't hit too hard we don't want to break the wood. By the way, this is a good way to take you anger out hehehe.

Next, scratch the surface using a screwdriver or other pointy metal object you might have on hand. Using wood stain, pour some directly onto the wood and spread it all over using a rag. You can use a brush too.

Let it dry and give it a second coat or as many as you need to reach the desired darkness. That's it! that's exactly what I did and what I used for some of my photos. I hope you find this tutorial useful and please, feel free to share your opinion and give us some extra tips ;)

Chocolate-Coffee Cake with Fresh Figs

2011-09-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a weekend! A hurricane in New York? I was not expecting that. It came as a guest to say

happy birthday to my husband. I had planned a Southern meal to celebrate my husband's 30th birthday which was on Saturday. Instead, I ended up preparing for the hurricane. Thankfully, nothing bad happened around here but I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. Despite the hurricane, I decided to go ahead and do what I had planned. My mom made a delicious pulled pork which I wish I had the recipe for to share with you but I was not there when she made it and my mom is not great at giving recipes, no measurements or quantities, I love it.

Of course there was a cake. My husband's all time favorite, chocolate fudge cake with a chocolate-coffee frosting. I love this cake, it's rich, chocolaty, it has a lovely coffee flavor and the frosting is just good. I also used some fresh figs to top the cake, I used figs, because I love them but also because my tree is just producing figs like crazy, it's the best harvest we've ever had.

For the cake:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 cup of buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1 cup of hot water

Fresh figs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,

combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt at low speed until blended. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Slowly add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients on low speed until just blended. Scrape around the bowl with a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom and the sides. Mix the coffee powder into the hot water and pour coffee into the batter, blend well on low speed for 20 seconds. The batter will be thin, don't worry, that's the way it should be. pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 25 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Frosting:

7oz Chocolate, semisweet chocolate,

finely chopped

2 sticks of butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 cup of confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon of instant coffee dissolved in

2 tablespoons of hot water

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and the dissolved coffee and continue mixing for a minute more. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then turn the speed back to medium and mix until smooth. On low speed, add the melted chocolate and mix until well blended. The frosting will be a bit runny but don't worry, just let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes or until it's hard enough to pipe the cake. You can also spread immediately on the cooled cake if you don't want to pipe.

Tip: feel free to double up on the frosting if you like chocolate as much as I do :)

Assemble:

Carefully cut cake in three layers and spread some frosting on each layer. Spread the top and the sides with the remaining frosting, if you want to create the ruffles, here is a useful video you can watch. Don't be afraid, just go for it. Place the figs on top.

Shakshuka

2011-08-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for something different to serve your family on a Sunday brunch, Shakshouka is just the thing. Growing up this dish was a staple in my home and it is, by far, my favorite egg recipe for brunch.

Shakshouka is a North African and Middle Eastern dish. Super simple to make: eggs, a couple of ripe tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs and spices. The eggs are cooked soft, then dip a freshly baked piece of bread in it.

You will find some recipes that add sausage. I prefer it simple but feel free to add it if you like. The type of spices that goes in to this dish vary from region to region, also, there is no right way to make this dish since each family has their own recipe, which is often done using what they have on hand. I'd like to share with you my family recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/4 cup of onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 Ripe tomatoes, diced

4 eggs

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon dry oregano

chopped parsley

In a pan, heat the olive oil, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, cumin, paprika, dry oregano. Cover, lower the heat and cook slowly for 10 minutes. Break down the tomatoes with the help of a potato masher. Crack the eggs directly over the tomato sauce, make sure to space them out evenly over the sauce.

Cover the pan and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes or depending on how soft or well done you like the eggs.

Finish it off with chopped parsley, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and black pepper.

Cherry Clafoutis and Props

2011-08-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

I have been working all week organizing my props. What seemed impossible, was finally done. Well, at least most of it. I still need to find a place to store all my fabrics and more ceramic. A couple of more shelves should do the trick. By the way, I was forced to take this step because my son Lucas is getting tall enough to reach into some things and I caught him already a couple of times playing with some pots and spoons! Before he can reach the ceramic and glass, I played it safe and put everything away.

I was surprised to see the amount of props I have collected in a few months. I might be addicted to buying props :O

Well, on to this week recipe, a lovely cherry clafoutis. My first cherry clafoutis of this year, When I had the first bite I said "Why? Why would I wait all summer to make this deliciousness?" Seriously! no excuse.

This dessert is traditionally made with unpitted cherries, but it makes it a little harder to eat it like that, specially when you are sharing it with your kids. It's best served warm, dusted with powder sugar.

Ingredients:

1 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup of milk

1 vanilla pod

3 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour, plus more for pan

2 tablespoons Cognac

1 lb Cherries (pitted or unpitted)

Powder sugar for dusting

butter for the pan

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Butter and flour a 9inch baking pan and set aside. Place the cream in a saucepan, add the vanilla pot (split in two and scrape out the seeds) and add them to the cream. Heat on low fire for a couple of minutes, remove from heat, add the milk and let cool. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and flour, then add in the cream, mix well, add the cognac and the cherries and stir well. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until light golden on top. Dust with powder sugar and serve warm.

Orzo with Vegetables, A Great Side Dish

2011-08-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Summer is not over yet. I want to share with you this orzo recipe I do over and over during summer time. It makes for a great WARM side dish. You can have it cold as a salad as well but Lucas and I prefer it warm. I have been lucky so far with my son. He eats almost everything and I never have to struggle to feed him. This orzo recipe is definitely on his favorite list.

If you have never cooked with orzo before this is a good recipe to start. It's easy and delicious and I have a little secret to enhance the flavor, paella seasoning. It doesn't have to be a specific brand, the saffron particularly adds a nice flavor to it and gives it that beautiful, rich, yellow color. Also, orzo makes a great risotto dish, I promise I will soon be posting a recipe, I have a really good one with truffle oil, yum!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cup of mushroom, sliced

1 small zucchini, sliced

1/2 cup of onion, finely chopped

2 garlic clove, thinly sliced

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon paella seasoning

1/2 pound orzo

parsley, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Cook orzo according to package directions. In a pan, heat the olive oil, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms, cook for another minute. Then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, cover the pan, lower the heat and cook slowly for 10 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cooked orzo and the paella seasoning, toss well and cook in low heat for just 30 seconds more. Turn off the heat and add parsley. Serve warm.

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

2011-08-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

Simple is good. Specially true when it's super hot out there and you don't really feel like spending a whole day in the kitchen, but at the same time, your are craving something more than just a salad. That's when I turn to this recipe.

This recipe is definitely a favorite one in my family and came on, there is nothing better than the taste of fresh tomatoes in the summer, that's when they are at their best. Trust me when I tell you, this is much better than canned tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound of ripe tomatoes

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

fresh basil, sliced thinly

1 pound of spaghetti

salt and pepper to taste

6 asparagus, bottoms trimmed (optional)

Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Score a cross in the top of each tomato, plunge them into boiling water for about 20 seconds and then peel the skin away, it should come out easy, cut them in half.

In a pan, heat the olive oil, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat and cook slowly for 15 minutes. Break down the tomatoes with the help of a potato masher. If you are adding asparagus, add them at the last 5 minutes of cooking the sauce. Add the Parmesan cheese, basil and toss well.

Panna Cotta with Figs

2011-07-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

It has been a hot! hot! hot! week in New York. When is this hot I don't even want to eat, all I want to do is nibble on cherry tomatoes and eat watermelon all day.

I have been waiting all summer for figs (from my backyard tree). I went to check on them again and finally I collected about 9oz of perfectly ripe figs! Enough to make panna cotta with fig compote for 6.

I love, love, love panna cotta. Such a simple dessert to make, plus it's one of those do-ahead-of-time desserts for a dinner party and you could have different toppings for your guests to choose from, it makes it fun.

Ingredients:

2 cups of heavy cream

1/4 cup of sugar

1 pod of vanilla

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1oz pack of gelatin dissolved in

3 tablespoons of cold water

Dissolve the gelatin in 3 tablespoons of cold water, for about 10 minutes. Place the cream, vanilla bean, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Add the gelatin to the pan, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds, or until the gelatin is well blended with the cream. Pour the cream mixture into molds, cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.

For the Figs:

9oz of fresh figs

1/8 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

the juice of half lemon

2 tablespoons your favorite liquor

Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stir occasionally. Be careful, we don't want all the liquid to dry out. Let cool and serve on top of the chilled panna cotta.

Baked Apricots

2011-07-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

Who is in the mood for some baked apricots? One of my favorite things to do in summer time is to come home from the market overloaded with seasonal fruits. I like to take advantage of them now, they are here only for a few weeks. Very often I find myself with a few pounds of apricots and no exact plan, but who needs a plan anyway? One day I can make a marmalade or a tart, apricot trifle the list is endless. Without a doubt baked apricots is my favorite way to have them, I just love the contrast of hot and cold because to me, a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of baked apricots is a must.

Another thing I love to do when making this dessert is to do cardamon cookie crumbs to go on top of the baked apricots. Cardamon is my ingredient of choice when it comes to spice things up in a dessert. I use it very often and in this case, I think it works quite well.

Ingredients:

6 apricots, peeled, halved, and pitted

2 tablespoons of sugar

3 tablespoons of sweet wine (or your favorite sweet liquor)

1 pod of vanilla (or 1 tablespoon of good vanilla extract)

butter to grease the pan

For the topping:

1 teaspoon finely ground cardamom

4oz Graham crackers

3 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

Place the apricots, cut sides up, in a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar, vanilla and sweet wine (make sure all the apricots get coated) Bake until apricots are soft, about 25 minutes.

For the topping:

Finely grind the crackers in a food processor. Add the cardamom and melted butter and process until the crumbs are moistened. Spread the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

To assemble:

Serve the apricots with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream and sprinkle with cardamom cookie crumbs, serve immediately.

Pancakes

2011-07-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like to wake up to the smell of freshly made pancakes in the morning? I know I do. I am not really a breakfast person, I usually don't eat before 11am. I just drink coffee, water or tea. It's really bad I know. On Sundays it's a bit different, I do like to do something special for the guys of the house, usually a big brunch. Every Sunday I cook something different but lately, pancakes have been in the menu more often because my son loves them. It's funny to see his little face all happy to see pancakes in front of him. He goes "pankeke". Too cute.

I did an "old fashioned style pancakes". No ricotta cheese or egg whites fold in the batter. Just a simple recipe, good old maple syrup and fresh blueberries. The secret to this recipe is to add a little more baking powder than you normally would. The batter becomes thicker right before your eyes. If you find it too thick, just add a little bit more milk and don't worry, it will still be a fluffy pancake.

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour

1 3/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons baking powder

3 tablespoon melted butter

3 tablespoon vanilla sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

A pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix together the milk, melted butter and eggs. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Heat a lightly greased griddle over medium high heat. Scoop the batter onto the griddle, using 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Brown on both sides. Serve with maple syrup and fresh blueberries.

A trip to Connecticut and Rustic Peach Tart

2011-07-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we went to Old Greenwich, Connecticut to visit our cousin. Beautiful place, nice and quiet, a great getaway from a noisy city like New York. I was really excited because we had planned a trip to the beach. It was such a nice day, perfect for the occasion and I was so inpatient to see Luca's reaction to the sea. At first, he was a little bit overwhelmed but once he got to the water, he was more relaxed and even started to play with the waves.

After the beach, Eric, a dear friend of ours, invited us over to his house for a delicious BBQ, soon after, the fireworks started. I am only sorry Lucas didn't get to see the fireworks, he was so tired from the beach, he went straight to bed. The evening ended with a exquisite cheese selection and wine. It was a really fun long weekend of great friends and fantastic food. I really forgot all about calories, I ate exactly what I wanted to eat.

We went back home and took a quick trip to the market. I had all the intentions to make a mixed berry tart but I saw some delicious looking peaches and couldn't resist the temptation so I ended up making a rustic peach tart. It turned out really good, a perfect complement to a perfect weekend.

Ingredients:

1 lb peach, peel and pit

1/4 cup vanilla sugar, plus more to sprinkle the galette

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cornstarch

the juice of 1/2 lemon

egg wash (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoon of water)

Find a tart crust recipe here

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

In a sauce pan add all the ingredients and mix them with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally. We want some of the liquid to evaporate to avoid the compote to ooze out while baking. Let it cool completely. Divide the dough in 2 parts. Lightly flour a work surface and roll each piece of dough into a 1/8 inch thick, round. Place half of the filling in the center leaving 1 1/2 inch of uncovered dough around the edge. Fold the outer edge of the dough in toward the center. Don't worry if is not perfect, that's the beauty of the galette. Wrap the entire baking sheet with plastic film and chill for 1 hour. When ready to bake, brush each galette with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake them for about 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Gazpacho Soup, Spanish Tortilla and a Surprise Picnic Birthday Party

2011-07-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to do this post for a while, I'm two weeks late to be precise but with so many things to do and the veria/wholefoods event, it's been impossible. To be honest, I am so glad the event is over, I was stressed and nervous, my first TV appearance cooking LIVE, I mean, I had a reason to be nervous.

Moving on. Two weeks ago, It was my cousin Raquel's birthday, she turned 30. My other cousin Nadia and I planned a surprise picnic birthday party for her. It was really hard to keep this from her, specially because we got two of her best friends to come, one came from France and the other one from Honduras. She had no idea. To get her to the park, we told her that I was planing Luca's (my son) first picnic. She fell for it. We told everybody to bring something to share which was really nice.

I made Tortilla Espanola (Spanish tortilla) and a refreshing Gazpacho soup. I also made tres leches baked in jars for favors, I used Banksy's famous image (balloon girl) to created a label, she loves that image.

It came out great, she was really surprised, and we all had fun, my son Lucas loved it too. He was running around and even skipped a nap. I love to bake in jars, this time I used baby food bottles. I was afraid the glass wasn't going to resist the heat but it turned out great. It was so easy to carry, everybody loved it and most important, mess free. :)

Ingredients:

For the Gazpacho

Marinate:

2 garlic cloves

4 lb tomatoes halved

1 lg yellow onion, roughly chop

1/2 red bell pepper, Roughly chop

1/2 green bell pepper, Roughly chop

1 cucumber seedless, Roughly chop

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 vineger

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp salt

2 cups water

In a big bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the water and cucumber. Mix well, cover it and refrigerate for 1 hour. Add the cucumber. In batches, add the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth adding water as needed. Taste for seasoning. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Is best If you leave it over night, the longer gazpacho sits, the better.

Tortilla Espanola

4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

5 eggs

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1/2 olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil and add the onion, cook until onions are soft, about 6 minutes, set them aside.

Heat the rest of the oil in a 10inch non-stick frying pan, add the potatoes and cook slowly in low heat until tender, we don't want the potatoes to brown too much. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a bowl, add salt and pepper. When the potatoes are done, drain off excess oil into a bowl, then add the potatoes and the cooked onion to the eggs, mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of oil back to the frying pan and pour in the potato mixture and spread out evenly. Cook over medium heat until set, about 3 or 4 minutes (don't stir them). Shake the pan occasionally to prevent the tortilla from sticking. Turn the tortilla (you can use a plate) and cook for another minute or two.

Note: You could carefully lift the side of the tortilla to see if it has lightly browned.

Quinoa Salad with Pan Roasted Asparagus

2011-06-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

I, first of all, would like to thank everybody for your support on this event. It was a lot of fun cooking live and also meeting so many wonderful people. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was invited to a cook-off organized by Veria TV and Whole Foods Market "Unlock the Taste of Summer" In which I had to create a healthy summery dish in 15 minutes using asparagus. I was really happy when I found out that my mystery ingredient was asparagus. I just love them.

I finally choose to make a quinoa salad with pan-roasted asparagus. I was pleased with the way it came out and I should mention this is a dish I eat a lot specially during the summer time. Quinoa is also one of my favorite things because it's super healthy and very versatile. It could easily be used in desserts too.

The event went great! I had a great time cooking in front of a live audience along with the other two ladies, who did a great job. Barbara, a raw food specialist did a fantastic job making a very creative RAW dish (mango cream sauce, served over spiralized zucchini and yellow squash) Lisa, also did a good job using spinach. I am very happy with the results, I had a blast and would do it all over again!

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa

2 cups of water

1 small cucumber, diced

1/8 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 garlic clove

1 lemon

8 asparagus, bottoms trimmed

1/4 cup black olives, pitted

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Place the water in a small pot and add the quinoa and 1 teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil. cover and reduce to simmer. Cook for about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain excess liquid, if any. In a pot, boil the asparagus in salted water for 2 minutes. In a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and then add the asparagus, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, saute for 2 minutes and add a squeeze of lemon juice. In a sauté pan with a lid, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and then add the garlic, cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, cook for 8 minutes covered with the lid, but do check on them often. Discard the garlic.

To assemble:

In a bowl, combine the quinoa, cucumbers, herbs, cherry tomatoes and black olives. Toss to mix thoroughly.

Adjust seasoning, add a drizzle of olive oil and place asparagus on top.

Unlock the Taste of Summer

2011-06-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

I am excited to let you know that I will be participating in a cook-off organized by Veria TV and Whole Foods Market "Unlock the Taste of Summer" This televised event will take place on Sunday June 26, 2011 at the Glastonbury, CT Whole Foods Market. The challenge will be to create a healthy and delicious summer dish in 15 minutes! I will have 30 minutes to prep. The key ingredient assigned to me is asparagus so any ideas or suggestions on what should I make are welcome!!

If you are in the area you are more than welcome to stop by, celebrity chef Andrea Beaman will be the judge of this event and will be doing live demonstrations. It all starts at 11am. You can also drop by Veria's Facebook page at 11am E.T. on June 26th to see the action streamed live.

Well, wish me luck! I am nervous already but really excited to be there and I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Linguine with Clams

2011-06-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

"I have a surprise for you" my mom said. And I am thinking, what could it possibly be? it's not my birthday, mmm. She comes home and hands me a small cooler. What?? At this point, a million things are going through my head. I opened it, and I see about 15 pounds of clams. She has gone fishing and I think there was a clam convention were she went because she is telling me that they caught about 50 pounds all together and she saved some for me. Now I am thinking, hello summer! She loves to go fishing during summer time and I am happy to be one of the benefactor, how can I complain?

It's funny because clams was not the only gift I got yesterday! My hubby came home with an awesome tripod and a remote shutter release for my camera. I had no idea he will get that for me and for that, I thank you baby!

Well that brings me to my recipe. It's a simple recipe, when it comes to seafood I really like simple. A quick tomato sauce with white wine and saffron, simple but good.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of olive oil

3 tomatoes, diced

1 sm onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon saffron

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups of fish stock

3 pounds small clams

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1 pound dried linguine

Heat the olive oil, add the onion and cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, for another minute. Then add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the white wine, fish stock and saffron, cover and boil for 15 minutes. Add the clams, cover, and cook until the clams are open, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add parsley. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente.

A Trip to Chinatown and Coconut Crêpe Cake

2011-06-09T18:26:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a great day to walk around the city and rediscover places. I have been living in New York for over 10 years and I forget sometimes how beautiful New York is. So, once in a while, I like to be a tourist for a day and pretend it's all new to me. This time I picked Chinatown. Let me start by saying this place is like another country.

The little streets, the signs, the food of course. I feel like I need a passport to be there. I like Chinatown but I don't really go there very often because it's ALWAYS CROWDED and I don't really like to be in places where there is a lot of people. That's why I don't like Times Square or Soho on a Saturday by that matter. But overall, I had fun.

On Sunday, I made a crepe cake I had been planing to do for a while. It's quite a lot of work, I won't lie, but the final product is so good, it's hard to describe. I went for coconut pastry cream cover with chocolate glaze. Coconut and chocolate is simply an irresistible combination for me. I love coconut. That's one of the things I miss from Honduras. The accessibility to fresh fruit right from my backyard. I had a nice variety of fruits and veggies, guava, coconut, lemon, avocado, corn, just to mention a few. But on the other hand, I do LOVE the versatility of New York. I guess we can't have it all.

Ingredients:

Crêpe recipe here

(Do double recipe)

For the coconut pastry cream:

6egg yolks

1/2 sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup whole milk

1 1/4 cup coconut milk

1 vanilla pod

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon coconut extract

Sift together the flour and cornstarch. Whisk together the egg yolks and half the sugar until pale. Add the flour/cornstarch mixture and mix until smooth. Place the milk, coconut milk, vanilla pod, coconut extract and the remaining sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and add it to the egg mixture, stirring continuously. Pour back into the saucepan and cook stirring until the cream is thick but smooth, about a minute. Stir in the butter. Transfer to a bowl and cover the surface of the pastry cream with plastic wrap placed directly over the top. Let it cool completely.

For the Chocolate Glaze:

8oz 70% Dark chocolate, chopped

150 grams of unsalted butter cut in pieces, at room temperature

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water. Once the chocolate and butter are completely melted, stir in the corn syrup. cover the surface of the chocolate with plastic wrap placed directly over the top. Let it cool to room temperature.

To Assemble:

Lay 1 crêpe on a cake stand and cover with coconut pastry cream. Repeat until you use all the crêpes. Cover and refrigerate for half and hour. Cover with chocolate glaze and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Note: Add the chocolate glaze right before serving.

Cherry and Raspberry Galette

2011-06-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

My son Lucas is finally walking. That means less time for me and more time chasing him around. It's so cute

to see him walk, he is still kind of scared but he gets better everyday. He has so much energy but he gets tired

faster since he walks, which makes him nap longer, and that's when I take advantage.

Cherry season inspires me all the time. It's my favorite part of Spring. I have been waiting all Spring to make a cherry galette. I find the cherries to be a bit sweeter at the end of Spring. To me, that's when they are at their best. Of course, I had to make a cherry galette. It wouldn't be Spring to me if I didn't. I was so pleased with the way it came out this time, I started to eat it before my photo shoot was over. If it wasn't because I promise one to my cousin Raquel, I would have probably eaten the whole thing. I should probably mention

that I ate all the cherries I had bought for the galettes and I had to take a second trip to the market to get more. But on my defense, it was worth it.

I also add raspberries, that's what I did new this time, the flavor combination was simply delicious. Any fruit combination would do the trick, just work with what you have on your fridge. I also love savory galettes, try leek and gout cheese, I love that combo.

Ingredients:

12oz Cherries, pitted

8oz Raspberries

1/4 cup vanilla sugar, plus more to sprinkle the galette

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cornstarch

the juice of 1/2 lemon

egg wash (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoon of water)

Find a tart crust recipe here

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

Divide the dough in 2 parts. Lightly flour a work surface and roll each piece of dough into a 1/8 inch thick, round. Place half of the filling in the center leaving 1 1/2 inch of uncovered dough around the edge. Fold the

outer edge of the dough in toward the center. Don't worry if is not perfect, that's the beauty of the galette. Wrap the entire baking sheet with plastic film and chill for 1 hour. When ready to bake, brush each galette with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake them for about 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Apricots

2011-05-28T07:07:00.001-07:00

Apricots, a photo by Delicious Shots on Flickr.

A Quick Photo to Wish you a Happy Weekend :)

Leek and Potato Soup

2011-05-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today wasn't exactly the best day for soup (85°F In New York). But who set this rule anyway? you can have ice cream in the middle of winter and that's OK. Leek and potato soup is my son Lucas favorite meal. He even goes "mmm" after each spoon. I don't blame him it's a great soup.

I don't use vegetable stock (unless it's homemade) or cream to make this or any soup. I think the vegetable looses flavor and identity and I like to taste my veggies.

I also like to add flax seeds, they don't really add much flavor to the soup but they have a lot of health benefits. Flax seeds are really underused. Well I hope everybody enjoy this long weekend, I know is going to be a fun one around here, some BBQ, friends, family and of course dessert.

Ingredients:

1 pound of leeks

2 Yukon gold potato, diced (skin on)

1 small zucchini

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

Flax seeds to sprinkle

salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Chop the leeks into small pieces.

Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, add the leeks, garlic, zucchini, salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Add enough hot water to just cover the veggies, cover and let it simmer for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and puree the vegetables with an immersion blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with flax seeds and few drops of olive oil.

Note: The texture of this soup is not very liquid, so feel free to add a bit of water to make it less thick, but trust me, it's pretty good as is.

Crêpe Suzette

2011-05-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

Well, Crêpes don't need and intro, we all know and love them. I have been meaning to do crepes for a while now, and I keep postponing it and I don't know why, because what good reason can you have to postpone a crêpe? But today I was really craving them so I finally went ahead I made some.

As you know, you can stuff crêpes with almost anything from sweet to savory. I love these types of food that let you be creative. I see crêpes as a blank canvas, I sometimes don't even know what I am going to fill them with, once I'm done making the crêpes, I just go through my fridge and see what's there. This time I knew exactly what I wanted, good old crêpe suzette.

I just love the simplicity of it, orange-caramel sauce with a touch of grand marnier. Seriously, what's not to like? I will definitely be posting more recipes with my favorite combinations.

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cups of flour

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

3 tablespoons melted butter,

plus more for the pan

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Sift together the flour, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, milk and water and pour the mixture into the dry ingredients whisking constantly until you get a smooth batter. Stir in the melted butter, cover and let the batter rest in the fridge for 45 minutes.

Heat a crepe pan and grease with some butter. Pour enough batter to coat the botton of the pan, make sure it gets spread evenly. Cook over medium heat for about 45 seconds, flip and Cook for another 30 seconds.

For the Sauce:

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons of butter

3/4 cup Oranje juice

The zest of 1 orange

3 tablespoons grand marnier

Mix the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves then increase the heat and boil until the sugar turns a golden brown. About 10 minutes. Stir in the butter. Once the butter is melted, carefully, add the orange juice and zest, let it boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the grand marnier, mix to incorporate.

To assemble:

Fold the crêpes in half twice (shape of a triangle). Lay crêpes into the pan and turn them to coat.

Serve them and pour remaining sauce over it. Vanilla ice cream? why not?

Note: They are best enjoyed warm.

Currently participating on About food contest "LE CRESPELLE"

Chocolate-Coffee Semifreddo with Salted Caramel Sauce

2011-05-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we had a little gathering with some friends I had not seen in a while. I wanted to do

something special for dessert to celebrate the occasion. Semifreddo, Italian for "semi-frozen", seemed to be the perfect thing. There are several ways to make a semifreddo and a lot of different flavors, but you know me and my chocolate obsession, it wasn't hard choose.The texture feels like a frozen chocolate mousse. I also added coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor even more. Another great thing about this dessert is that you can make it ahead of time, way ahead since it's frozen, it will stay good for a while.

I also made a salted caramel sauce to drizzle the semifreddo, they are a match made in heaven. I always like to have caramel sauce in my fridge. It's just a great complement for many desserts, even for fillings!

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Semifreddo:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs, separated

3 tbsp powder sugar

1 cup pistachios, chopped

1 tbsp of instant coffee dissolved

in 1/2 tbsp of hot water

Line a 9 by 4 1/2 loaf pan with parchment paper or plastic wrap, set aside.

Heat 1 cup of heavy cream in a sauce pan. In a bowl, mix together the sugar, cocoa powder, coffee and egg yolks. Slowly, pour the hot cream into the mixture whisking constantly until well combined. Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan and cook over low heat, stirring continuously until the mixture is thick (custard-like consistency) about 3 minutes. Be careful not to boil the mixture. Remove from the heat and cover (the surface) with plastic wrap. Let it cool for about 30 minutes. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. In a clean bowl, whip the remaining heavy cream until soft peaks form, add the powder sugar and whip until stiff and glossy. Gently, fold in the whipped cream into the chocolate custard, then fold in the egg whites. Carefully, fold in the chopped pistachio. Transfer the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 24 hours.

For the Caramel sauce:

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

1/4 tsp sea salt

Mix the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves then Increase the heat and boil until the sugar turns a golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the butter. Once the butter is melted, carefully pour in the cream and milk (it will bubble up) and continue to cook for another minute or two. Add the salt and mix well.

Note:

I like the caramel to be a little on the runny side, that's why I like to add milk. Also, when

the caramel cools down, It will thicken more.

Participating in The Gelati e Semifreddi contest

Cardamom Strawberry Tartlets

2011-05-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I want it to finally celebrate spring with strawberry tartlets. It's been a cold and rainy

Spring in New York but this weekend was so nice and sunny, I was so inspired to bake and set up for the photo-shoot outside, in my terrace and just spent the whole day there. It's was a nice weekend overall. On Saturday, my cousin Raquel took me to this amazing fabric store where I found the cutest fabrics for props. I went crazy trying to choose from hundreds or even thousands different styles. I felt like a kid in a candy store. After that, I made a quick stop on the market to pick up some fresh strawberries and oranges which, by the way, made great fresh squeezed orange juice on Sunday.

On to the tartlets! This recipe is good because it holds very basic pastry recipes. It's always great to have

a good tart pastry recipe on hand because it's versatility, it could easily go from sweet to savory. The creme patissiere it's very basic to have too, to spice things up I added a little bit of cardamom.

For the tart pastry:

1 3/4 cups flour

6 oz unsalted butter,

well chilled and diced

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon sugar

a pinch of salt

Cold water

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Sift the flour, sugar and salt. Place the mixture into a food processor and pulse a few times, just to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 2 teaspoons of water and pulse until the dough comes together. If the dough is not coming together, add 1 or 2 teaspoons more of water. Bring the dough together with your hands forming a disk and Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to line six 4-inch tart shell , about 1/8" thick. Place the pastry back into the refrigerator for another 20 minutes. Line the pastry shell with a with crumpled parchment paper and fill it with tart weights or you can use dried beans too. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly brown. Set aside to cool.

Creme Patissiere:

3 Egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup cornstarch

1 cup milk

1/2 vanilla pod

1/2 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)

Whisk together the egg yolks and half of the sugar until the mixture is very pale yellow. Sift in the cornstarch and add the cardamom and mix well. Place the milk in a saucepan, add the remaining sugar and vanilla pod and bring it just to a boil. Whisking constantly, pour the hot mixture over the eggs. Pour the mixture back into a saucepan and bring it to a boil stirring constantly. Don't worry if you start to see lumps, it will smooth out

as you stir. Boil for about 2 minutes and mix in the butter. Transfer to a bowl and cover the surface of the pastry cream with plastic wrap placed directly over the top to prevent the formation of the skin. set aside to cool then refrigerate until cold.

To Assemble:

Fresh strawberries, hulled and slice.

Fill the pastry with the creme patissiere and arrange the strawberry on top.

Madeleines

2011-04-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

I love madeleines but not as much as my husband. He loooves them! He could eat the whole batch I make and not give us one! but he is a good guy, he shares. I love to have them with tea or coffee in the afternoon but my favorite thing to do is to have them with lemon curd spread on top, ahhh so good! Then I could eat the whole thing and not share. They make great gifts too. The truth is, I stopped buying pastries to take to parties long ago, I'd only buy one if I have no time to bake. I sometimes like to add finely ground almonds to the madeleines and of course, chocolate.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup sugar

3 Eggs

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 Tsp baking powder

1 stick of butter, melted

Grated zest of 1 orange

pinch of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

Spray madeleines mold with non-stick spray and set aside. Wisk together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is pale and thick. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and zest, mix until well combined and add the melted butter. Mix until smooth. Spoon batter into the molds and bake for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Banana Bread

2011-04-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

I had a crazy week between cooking, Lucas, appointments, Laundry, lots of it, a light ganache recipe gone wrong. Phew! But despite all, I had a lot of fun with my family there was a lot of baking, cooking and eating involved which makes it more fun. I love weekends like that, specially when you live in a city like New York

where you, unfortunately, don't get to see your family as often as you would want to.

One of the things we had was banana bread. I have been making this bread a lot lately because I always end up with leftover bananas that Lucas didn't finish and I won't eat because they are way to ripe for my taste. I like my bananas on the greener side, yes, it's one of those crazy things. I love this recipe, it's a cake-like recipe, a bit spongy and very moist.

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp Vanilla

1 pinch of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and eggs until light and fluffy, about 5 to 8 minutes. Slowly add the oil. Once the oil is well mixed, add the sour cream, vanilla and the mashed bananas. With the mixer on low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients, mix until well combined. Bake for one hour and fifteen minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Aebleskiver

2011-04-17T15:48:00.001-07:00

I love to start a Sunday with a good stack of pancakes or waffles but today I decided to give it a twist and make aebleskiver. To be quite honest, I still don't know how to pronounce the name of this dish but who cares, they are so good the name is the last thing on your mind. Aebleskiver are Danish style pancakes with a moist and fluffy center. It's funny how I came across them, I discover the aebleskiver pan first and I tought it was so pretty but had no idea what it was for. I started to do my research and went to a couple of Danish places to try them and I just loved them so I bought the pan and started to experiment and that's how this recipe was born.

They are fairly easy to make but tricky to turn. I messed up a couple of batches before I could make decent looking ones but it's worth the effort. One of the things that I love about them is that you can fill them with just about anything and of course being the chocoholic I am, I didn't think twice and went for chocolate. I have made aebleskiver filled with dulce de leche as well. They are sensational. Just make sure the dulce de leche is cold to avoid a big mess.

Ingredients

2 cups Milk

2 Cups flour

2 Eggs

1 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp melted butter, plus more for the pan

1/4 Cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Chocolate chips

Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Separate the egg yolks from the whites, beat the whites until they form stiff peaks. Whisk together egg yolks, milk and melted butter until just mixed. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and whisk until well combined. Gently fold in the egg whites. Using an aebleskiver pan, brush each cup lightly with melted butter and fill then 3/4 of the way, place chocolate chips in the center of each one and turn them when they start to get bubbly around the edge.

Serve warm.

Lucas Birthday Cake

2011-04-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

It has been a year since my son Lucas was born. It hasn't been an easy year for me, so much to learn, long sleepless nights, playing, crying, feeding, diapers, laundry, a few extra pounds. The list is endless. But I won't change a thing, my son means the world to me and I would do it all over again.

Let me tell you a little bit about him. He has a nice personality, is always happy and makes lots of facial expressions. It's so funny to see him. He likes to eat about everything I give him except eggplants, he is not to crazy about them! He doesn't walk yet but I think it's a matter of days now. He loves water, music and enjoys car rides. He says a few words: mama, papa, agua (water) ek (Milk) and he rubs his belly when he is hungry.

I have been thinking about this day and I want it to do something small but special with the family. I decided to do a layer cake with light ganache topped with mushroom merengue and it came out very well. It was a fun cake to make specially when I put together the mushrooms merengues.

Lucas, I want to tell you how much I love you and I am very proud of you. Happy Birthday Love,

from Mommy.

For the cake:

2 1/4 cup cake flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 Lg eggs

Preheat the oven 350 F.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix the dry ingredients just to blend. Add the vegetable shortening to the dry ingredients and blend on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes. In a mixing bowl, whisk to blend the milk, vanilla and eggs. On medium speed, add slowly half of the liquid to the dry ingredients and blend well, slowly add the other half and mix until well combined. Turn the speed up and mix for 30 seconds or until batter is smooth. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack and cool completely.

For the Light ganache:

16oz Bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 1/2 cup heavy cream

In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream until it just begins to simmer, be careful not to allow cream to boil over.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes. Stir melted chocolate into cream until mixture

is combined and smooth. Allow the chocolate to come to room temperature stirring occasionally, once cool, cover with plastic film and refrigerated over night. Next day, place in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not over-mix or ganache will be to hard to spread.

For the mushroom meringue:

3 large egg whites

1/2 tsp lemon juice

9 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

chocolate frosting

Preheat the oven 200 F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Beat the egg whites with lemon juice until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar one tablespoon at the time mixing well after each addition. mix until whites are stiff and glossy. Beat in vanilla. Transfer mixture to large pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. For the mushroom caps: Pipe domes, 1 to 2 inches in diameter, onto prepared baking sheets, and flatten the tips with your fingers. Pipe stems onto baking sheets. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven or until dry. To assemble, spread bottoms of caps with a thin layer of chocolate frosting, carefully insert stem. With your fingers, rub some chocolate frosting on top of each mushroom cap.

To assemble the cake:

Carefully cut cake in two layers and spread one third of the light ganache onto the cake and place the second layer on top. Spread the top and the sides with the remaining light ganache. Place the mushroom meringue on top. I put cinnamon stick on the side of the cake to resemble wood.

Churros con Chocolate

2011-04-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

Churros are the perfect treat for anybody. They are best enjoyed warm and of course with hot chocolate. Churros use to intimidate me. I just thought they were one of those things you buy but when you make it yourself, the outcome is a mystery until you try and believe me, there's nothing to be intimidated about. Some say you really need a churro maker to achieve the perfect consistency but then I say, "Well, back in the day, there were no churro makers."

Everything was handmade, even though I use my electric mixer, you can perfectly well make them by hand.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
4 tbsp butter
pinch salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 eggs
oil for frying

for coating
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a saucepan, mix together water, butter, sugar and salt over medium-high heat and bring it to boil. Add the flour all at once and mix with wooden spoon until well mixed and no lumps of flour remain. Remove from heat and let cool for a minute. Transfer to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment and mix adding the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Mix until the dough comes together, it should be smooth. Scrape the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Heat the oil into a deep heavy skillet (I used cast iron)
When Oil is hot, pipe the dough into the oil and cut with scissors. Don't overcrowd the pan. Fry until golden brown. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and coat the churros with the mixture. Serve with your favorite hot chocolate.

Lemon Curd

2011-04-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have done several trips to the farmers market in hopes to find berries but nothing yet. I guess I am being a little impatient but how can I not be? It's still winter in New York even though we are officially in Spring. I guess I can't complain because I still find great vegetables and other goodies. Last Saturday, while at the farmers market, I decided that it was time to start planting my own herbs so I went ahead and got mint, rosemary and basil. This time I didn't get any parsley, I just can't get it to grow. For me, It's such a difficult herb to take care of so, at least for this season, I give up.

I also found lemons, they were very juicy this time. Actually, they might be the juiciest lemons I've ever gotten which is cool. Back in Honduras, we use to grow our own veggies. I miss that. I wish I had the backyard to do it here but in New York, having a big terrace is more than the average "backyard" people have. I am not complaining, I am very lucky to have that.

I was thinking to make lemon bars with this lemons but then I changed my mind to lemon curd and I don't really know why but I am glad I did. It came out really good! I love lemon curd with croissant, that's got to be my favorite combination. I will soon make those lemon bars I promise but for now I hope

you enjoy the curd.

Ingredients:

5 large eggs

3/4 cup freshly squeezed

lemon juice

The zest of 4 lemons

1 cup sugar

12 tbs butter

cut into 1 tbs pieces

In a saucepan (off the heat) combine the lemon juice, sugar, zest and eggs and whisk until well combined.

Turn on the heat to medium and Cook whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened, about 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, I do this in 2 parts at a time until it's well incorporated and

reaches a silky and smooth consistency. Cool completely and refrigerate for two hours.

My idea of comfort food

2011-03-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's been raining in New York all day. It's windy, cold, and gray outside. I have to say I actually like days like these, when I don't have to go out that is.

All I want is to sleep all day and be on my socks and pj's but my son Lucas had other plans like play all day and crawl around the house. Phew! Days like today make me think of comfort food and to me nothing says comfort more than a bowl of hearty lentil soup. During winter time I make lentil soup once a week, yes, I love it that much. It's everything I want in a bowl. It's high in protein and very healthy too. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do.

Ingredients:

1 Pound Pardina lentils, rinsed

1 Cup chopped onion

2 Carrots

2 Garlic cloves

1/2 Cup chopped celery

3 Chorizos, cut into slices

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Quarts water

2 tablespoons salt

1/2 tablespoon gound black pepper

Directions

In a Dutch oven, place the olive olive and set over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery, cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes, add the garlic and chorizo and cook for another minute. Add the lentils, water, salt and black pepper, stir until combined. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Check the lentils after 20 minutes to make sure they have enough water also,

taste to see if they need salt.

Almond Pots de Creme

2011-03-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

This summer will be very special for me. I know we just started spring but I just can't wait to do all the outdoors activities that I have planned for my son. I see a lot of picnics and trips to the beach.

Today I was thinking about a dessert to take to a picnic we have been planning with my hubby but winter doesn't quite wants to leave New York yet. However, that didn't stop me from making Almond Pots de Creme. Yes, Almond Pots de Creme for a picnic. It's perfect! I baked them in baby food glass jars that I have been collecting just for these trips. They seemed perfect. Just remove the stickers and clean them well and when you are done with baking, cover them back with their lids. You can bake many things in these jars. Imagine individual servings of cheesecakes or flan, just get creative. Pots de Creme are usually a little richer than a regular pudding and you can infuse them with about any flavor you want, in this case I added ground almonds for texture. I love them. You will be seeing more recipes of it for sure.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups milk

2 egg yolk

1 egg

1/3 cup of sugar

1 vanilla pod

1 1/2 tablespoons of

ground almond plus

more for topping

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Place the milk in a sauce pan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, mix together the yolks, egg, sugar and the ground almonds. Strain the boil milk over the egg mixture constantly stirring to avoid the eggs to scramble. Skim off the surface to remove any foam. Ladle into five 4oz jars and place it in a roasting tin. Pour hot water to come halfway up the sides of the jars. Bake for 40 minutes or until the custards are set, (The center of the Pots de Cremes may still jiggle slightly when shaken). Let them cool and then refrigerate them for 2 hours. Sprinkle them with the rest of the ground almond.

Arroz con Leche

2011-03-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

I went to sleep last night thinking about this cinnamon sticks I got a few days ago, thinking on a recipe to utilize them and of course arroz con leche (rice pudding) immediately popped into my mind. Arroz con leche means to me cozy, home, mom, warm, soothing and all of those things that make you go back in time and find that little kid in you. Just the smell of the cinnamon perfuming my whole house takes me back to those happy days. This recipe is my mom's. We made it together because her directions are a bit hard to follow: "a little bit of this, a pinch of that, stir it until you see it's right" ahhh the old school way, the best way.

I gave my son Lucas a little taste and he seemed to like it. Well, at least he didn't make that face he makes when he absolutely hates something. It makes me happy to think that I am building this memories for Lucas and hopefully one day he will say " smells like my mom's kitchen"

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice (I like Basmati)

5 cups water

2 cinnamon stick

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup raisins

Ground cinnamon, for dusting

Directions

Put the water, rice, and cinnamon sticks in heavy saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Strain out the liquid, discard the cinnamon sticks and return the rice to the saucepan. In another saucepan add whole milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk and bring it to a boil. Stir in the milk mixture into the rice and continue cooking over medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes or until the mixture is thick, stir constantly. Add the raisins, and stir well. Dust with ground cinnamon and serve.

Note: A good sing for me is to cook until the liquid it's just below the level of rice. The rice will

continue to absorbe the liquid even after cooking.

Popovers

2011-03-17T17:53:00.001-07:00

I love popovers. They are so simple to make and so versatile. You can enjoy them in many ways with soup, cheese, cream of vegetable, stews or just have them with your favorite marmalade.

They should be crispy on the outside and hollow and tender on the inside which makes them easy to fill after baking them. Sometimes, I even like to add cheese and herbs to the batter before baking them. You can really get creative and turn popovers into a very special treat.

Makes 12

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups whole milk, warm

4 lg eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Generously spray the popover pan with nonstick spray. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together the eggs, milk and melted butter just until well combined. Add in the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes. Fill the popover cups three-quarters full. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes more or until golden brown. Remove the popovers to a cooling rack and pierce the sides of the popovers with a knife to allow steam to escape. Serve warm.

Note: It's very important not to PEEK on them while baking. This can cause the popovers to collapse.