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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Banana & Mixed-Berry Cobbler

As per @CrowndVic's request, I am blogging and posting this recipe. The thing I love about cobbler is that it's simple, easy and doesn't take much to make. More than likely if you cook and occasionally bake you can make this.

This cobbler was made on a whim. I was thinking of remaking a peach cobbler but seeing that I didn't have any peaches I had to make do with what I have. Very rarely can you "make-do" with what you have when it comes to baking since baking is a bit more complex than just cooking especially with the chemistry of the ingredients...another reason why cobbler is great :)

Banana & Mixed Berry Cobbler

3-4 fresh bananas
1 package of frozen mixed berries (about 2 cups); thawed
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar (I used sugar in the raw)

for the cobbler topping:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
4-5 Tbsp of brown sugar (light or dark brown)
1 Tbsp cinnamon (I like cinnamon so I use a lot of it but you can use less)
1/2 tsp cloves
4 Tbsp butter; cubed
2/3 cup heavy cream or buttermilk or milk (whichever kind you use) enough to moisten it so make it dough-y or a little more if you want it a bit thinner.

Directions for fruit mixture:
• Pre-heat oven to 350*
• Slice up bananas (not to thin or too thick) and toss it in a bowl with the lemon juice so the bananas doesn't turn black. Let sit for a few minutes
• In a bowl, toss the bananas, berries, cinnamon and sugar together. Set aside.

Directions for cobbler topping:
• Combine all dry ingredrients together.
• Mix butter in, used your hands to mush it in (yea that's a technical term I know lol)
• add in cream/milk. mix well.

I used a ceramic pie dish or you can use any non-stick baking dish. Pour fruit on baking dish, top it with the dough evenly and bake for about 25-30 mins.
Let it sit for a few minutes after taking it out of the oven to give the juices a little time to thicken. Serve by itself or with a scoop (or 2 or 3) of your favorite ice cream :) Enjoy!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Lent: What did you give up?

I'm feeling a bit guilty because I have not been keeping up with this lil blog of mine. It's not like I'm not cooking or baking (well I have been baking less though as I've been too busy and tired as of late) but I just haven't been able to take pictures of the food (and utilize my new camera that i luuuurrrrvvveeee!) as well as just lack of creative juices to write about it. I know, i know, it's a lame excuse but if any of those who still reads this or waits for me to write something really and i mean really need me to make something or give you a recipe of something, all you have to do is ask :) (I promise to respond/help however I can)

So, back to the task at hand. Lent. In case you need me to explicitly say it, I am catholic. Born and raised, I even lived in a convent for about 2 years. Yes, a convent, with nuns and all that jazz. So yea... Lent. I decided I will give up meat for lent and become a pescetarian (as in the only "meat" I ate was fish/seafood). It wasn't too hard really. I am actually not really craving much but I have had some meat :/ it was unavoidable but for the most part I kept to my promise. Before you get all antsy about what the heck I'm talking about and when is the food part gonna come in, well here it is!

I have made this last year for a Valentines day dinner and a few more times since then. I actually got the recipe from a magazine called CUISINE Lite. The dish is super delicious and fairly simple and well, lite. What is it? It's Sweet Soy Scallops with Hawaiian Linguine. I'm gonna list the recipe then my notes/alterations at the end...so make sure you read all the way through okay? Also, pardon the not quite so great picture...trust me it will taste good!

Sweet Soy Scallops

*this recipe makes 2 servings*

3 Tbsp. minced scallions
2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. coarse-ground mustard
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
8 large sea scallops
2 tsp. canola oil

Combinescallions, syrup, soy sauce, mustard, and pepper in a bowl. Add scallops; marinate for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Remove scallops from marinade;pat them dry, reserving marinade. Sear scallops in the skillet until they're brown on both sides, 5-6 minutes total.

Add marinade to skillet; boil until mixture begins to thicken slightly and forms a sauce, 1-2 minutes. Scallops should feel firm to the touch. Serve scallops topped with sauce.

***notes*** When I made this I actually bought 1 lb. of scallops. I made a bit more of the marinade (double or triple it, its up to you and you can use the sauce for topping later). I also marinated my scallops overnight it made the flavors really soak into the scallops.

Hawaiian Linguine

3 strips low-sodium bacon, diced
4 oz. fresh linguine or angel hair pasta
1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 Tbsp. minced red onion
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro (optional but highly recommended)

Cook pasta according to package but omit any oil or salt.

Cook bacon however you cook your bacon

Toss linguine, bacon, pineapple, and onion in a large bowl. Stir in cilantro, if desired. Serve with Sweet Soy Scallops.


***Notes***
I cooked my bacon first before dicing it. So much easier. You can also omit bacon completely, it will not really affect the dish, it'll still be yummy.

I used the "fresh" linguine that you can find in the same case as the bacon and what not...i think it was Bertolli brand.

Also, i used canned pineapple.




There you go! Enjoy! I sure did :)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello Dear Readers :) (well that is if anyone is still holding out hope for me)

First of all, let me apologize for the blog silence. I decided to put the blog on hiatus because life just got a bit hectic the past few months and I didn't have much time (or motivation) to take pictures and all the work that goes into blogging.

Secondly, I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday(s). I baked quite a bit over the holidays (as well as cooked) and I hope you did too. I moved a couple of days before thanksgiving and it was super stressful which is another reason why the blog went on a vacay. My kitchen is about a quarter of the size of my old kitchen :( I wish it was bigger but I'm making it work. As long as there's an oven, a stove, a fridge and a sink, I can make it work. You get creative with space when it's limited.

I'm sure you all are wondering what I have in store for you on this special day (or not lol) This recipe I'm sharing was created by the lovely Carrie of Fields of Cake Blog What is it you may ask? Raspberry Almond Truffles is what it is! I first happen upon this deliciousness last year and I made it for my Valentine of 2010. He loved it too. I'm sure if he was around now he'd still love it. This is way, way better than store bought (not that there's anything wrong with that) but making your own truffles (any treat really) just gives it that extra special oomph! (that may help you get lucky ;)) Well, I'm going to stop blabbering and share the recipe :D


Raspberry Almond Truffles

7 ounces dark chocolate (highest quality you can afford) chopped into small pieces

¼ cup heavy cream

Pinch salt

1 ½ Tbsp Chambord (or other raspberry liqueur)

½ pint fresh raspberries

¼ cup or so almond paste

Place chocolate in heat proof bowl and set aside.

In small saucepan heat cream and salt to a hot simmer (not boiling), pour over chocolate and shake the bowl a bit to settle the chocolate. Allow it to sit for a few minutes then stir gently with a spatula until smooth and silky. Add the liqueur and stir to incorporate.



Stuff each of your beautiful plump red raspberries with a bit of almond paste (I found it easiest to shape the paste into a cone then place in the raspberry that way)




Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper, get a fork or get you a dipping set from your local craft store. (I'd say get the more expensive, metal sets because the plastic ones isn't too durable)

Place a few stuffed raspberries into the chocolate and cover completely in the yummy, silky chocolate. Use the fork to fish them out one at a time, tap the fork on the side of the bowl to get excess chocolate off and shimmy the raspberry onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat this until they are all cozy in their new chocolate suits then allow them to chill for a while then re-dip them.

(I'm using Carrie's Final product pictures because mine is still in the fridge chilling :))




You can package this by putting it on a foil wrapper like this and then box em up like this or you can get a bigger box if you want.

Enjoy!

P.S.
If your chocolate doesn't melt completely, microwave for 10-15 seconds stir and check for melty-ess, repeat if necessary.

Also, I rinsed my raspberries. Rinse and shake off the water gently (whilst in the strainer/colander) then kinda let em roll on a sheet or two of paper towels to shake off the water and let sit (in a cool area or the fridge) to dry before stuffing with almond paste.