I Love Giveaways!!

I have two more giveaways to tell you about!! Both come from Marye, who owns Baking Delights and Kettle and Cup. You can enter to win four mini carrot cakes from Eggology and maple bacon pancake mix from Bacon Freaks. I don't know about you, but I'm not turning down free food!

Cake Decorating Kit Giveaway

Head on over to All About Cakes for your chance to win Betty Crocker's Cake Decorating Kit.

A New Pasta Sauce

Before I share my recipe, I finished the Facebook fan page of Chocolate Moosey. Here is the link. If that doesn't work, search for Chocolate Moosey.

Sometimes, you just don't know what to do with extra butternut squash. I already made soup. I made wontons with it. I almost made rolls, but I didn't. I was thinking that there are recipes for roasted red pepper sauce. I wonder if there were any roasted butternut squash sauce? Yup, I found a match on Recipe Zaar.

The recipe calls for half-and-half. I had a few tablespoons of heavy cream I needed to use, so I threw that in plus some fat free milk until it was desired consistency. One review suggested using chicken broth instead of water it calls for. I didn't expect this sauce to be as great, but it really exceeded my expectations. I will definitely be making this sauce more often.


Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce




2 lb. butternut squash
2-3 garlic cloves, skin left on
1/2 cup heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk
1 cup water or chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried sage or parsley
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Pasta

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Cut butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds; save for roasting later. If you are having trouble cutting the squash, boil in water for about 10 minutes or until soft enough to cut. Place garlic cloves around squash. Bake for about 40 minutes.

2. Bring water to a boil and cook pasta.

3. Meanwhile, when cool enough to handle, remove skins from garlic cloves. Taking one half of squash, scoop out squash and place in a food processor or blender. You only need one half, so use the other half in another recipe. Chop garlic into big chunks and place in blender/processor. Puree for about a minute. Add cream/milk; puree some more. Add water/broth until desired consistency. You may need to add more or less. Add sage/parsley, salt, and pepper.

4. When pasta is done, pour sauce on top and toss. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Recipe Zaar

Twitter

One of my goals this year is to increase readership and the amount of comments I receive. I know several blogs are using social networking, so I figured why not? I decided to create a Twitter account (which actually I made several months ago but never used). From what I understand, you follow me with your own Twitter account. Then whenever I update, a message gets sent to everyone following. You can also get these updates sent to your phone. I am very new, so I can't say much about the service, but I do know from my multimedia classes that it is becoming more popular.

Once you have your Twitter account, you can follow me. I will update with message of new blog posts and random food bites. Hopefully not too random haha

If you do not have a Twitter account, you can also subscribe for email updates. It is the second box in the right column, right beneath my Foodbuzz ad. I am also working on creating a Facebook page.

Yummy Fish

Before I share a delicious salmon recipe, what do you think of the new layout? Are the colors too repulsive? I like the pink and blue together, but I'm not sure if my readers will like it. Be honest.

Anyway, I made a nice dinner last week. Then again, any dinner is nice when it involves fresh salmon. It goes on sale about every few weeks, so I wait until then. The simplest way to prepare this is to brush some sort of marinade or glaze on top and broil or bake. Depending on what you use, it could be considered a healthy meal as well. I used a brown sugar and ginger glaze, topped with sesame seeds.

If you use a broiler, make sure the salmon is completely thawed and the broiler is preheated. If not, your fish will take longer than indicated. Also, make sure the middle is done as well because the edges finish a lot sooner. The recipe said to broil 5 minutes, but mine took about 10-15 since it was still semi-frozen. Also, top with sesame seeds during the last few minutes so they become a little toasted.

If you bake it, bake it for about 20 minutes at 350F. The salmon is done when it flakes easily. Make sure the middle is done as well.


Brown Sugar and Ginger Glazed Salmon




1 salmon fillet (about 1/2 lb.)
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard (I used yellow)
1/4 tsp soy sauce
1/16 tsp ground ginger
Sesame seeds

1. Preheat broiler. Line a cookie sheet with greased foil. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Place skin side up on cookie sheet. Broil for 3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, mustard, soy sauce, and ginger. After 3 minutes, flip salmon so it's skin side down. Brush with glaze. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Broil for another 2 minutes or until salmon flakes all over.

Makes 1 serving.

Source: Recipe Zaar

A Cake That Strengthens Your Arm Muscles

I made this pound cake a few days before I came back to school because I had some butter I needed to use. Of course, I turned to my favorite book - Baking: From My Home To Yours. Dorie offers great tips on making pound cake before you start. Make sure that if you don't use a stand mixer, you have great arm strength because you end up beating the batter for about 10 minutes total. Also, it takes about 75-90 minutes to bake, depending on your pan size. You will probably need to add the foil tent after the first 45 minutes.

As far as taste goes, I don't really know what pound cake tastes like because usually when I have it, it has toppings that mask the base. I was expecting a little lighter texture, almost like angel food cake, but then again pound cake has a lot of butter and eggs in it haha





What better way to serve pound cake than with strawberries and whipped topping? Actually, you can use pound cake as the base for Baked Alaska. If I were home longer, that's what I would have done. Guess that means I have to make another pound cake later haha


Perfection Pound Cake




This cake can be found on page 222 with pointers on page 220 of Dorie's book Baking: From My Home To Yours. If you don't own this book, consider searching on Ebay or Amazon for a copy.

EDIT - Happy 200th post to me! If I weren't so poor, I'd have some kind of giveaway.

Mini Makes It Cuter

Gah I am freezing right now. The thermostat claims the apartment is 70 degrees, but my room definitely is not. It's on the edge and on the third floor, so I get hit by twice the wind as opposed to two of my roommates. To make it even better, they are calling for 2-4 MORE inches of snow. It wouldn't be so bad if the sidewalks weren't slushy and muddy and the construction workers finished working on the sidewalks during break and not during classes. Sad part is they started construction back in November.

Anyway, for Christmas I got a mini muffin pan. I knew it was coming because I didn't ask for much and I picked it out haha I don't know why, but mini muffins seem more fun and appealing than regular muffins. Plus if I need to bring goodies to a club meeting or a friend's party, I can whip up 24 mini cupcakes or brownie bites in no time. Or those cheesecake bites. To convert a regular-sized muffin/cupcake to mini-sized, multiply the quantity by 4. For example, if the recipe makes 12 muffins, multiply 12 by 4 and you will get 48 mini muffins.




I figured for breakfast at school, I can make mini muffins to snack on. I chose Dorie's Chocolate Chunk Muffins because I had some bittersweet chocolate to use. I imagine you can sub your favorite chocolate because these muffins definitely reflect the 70% cacao I used. They were also a little dry, so they are meant to be eaten with coffee or tea. The recipe says to add chopped chocolate, but I think mine melted. I'll use chocolate chips next time because they keep their shape after baking.


Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Muffins




For the recipe, refer to page 19 of Baking: From My Home To Yours. I really do encourage everyone to buy the book, but if you really want the recipe, email me.

Tuesdays With Dorie...Kinda

Ok so I don't know if I really should be calling this Tuesdays With Dorie this week because although I made corn muffins, I made the ones on page 4 instead of the Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins on page 6. Did I make the wrong ones by accident? Nope. I made these a few days before the January recipes were announced. Since nobody in my family really eats corn muffins, I didn't want to make another dozen. Plus I couldn't cut the recipe in half because it involves 1 egg yolk (unless somebody has a solution?). Really, the difference is these don't use peppers or buttermilk.


Corniest Corn Muffins




For the real TwD recipe this week, please check out Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake, who picked the recipe, and the other TwDers.

Ice Cream Sundaes...Without The Ice Cream

I love sprinkles. Although I don't use them often, I have an obsession on buying sprinkles and cupcake liners, especially after the holidays when they are on sale. I can't tell you how many Christmas liners I ended up buying this year :X I wanted to use my rainbow nonpareils, but instead of making cupcakes, I made sundae cookies. I'm not a good decorator, but I thought I did a nice job making these cute.




I printed this recipe last year from Cookie Madness and stored it in one of my many binders. As I was going through it, I was in the mood for a marshmallowy treat. Plus I had maraschino cherries to use from my cherry chocolate blossoms. The original recipe didn't call for sprinkles, but I thought the addition made them more like a sundae. I cut the recipe in half and got a dozen cookies.


Sundae Cookies




3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp cherry juice
2 Tbsp maraschino cherries, chopped
6 large marshmallows, cut in half
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp corn syrup
1/8 tsp vanilla
Sprinkles
12 whole maraschino cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, cream sugar, butter, water, 1 1/2 tsp oil, baking powder, and vanilla until well blended. Add cocoa and 1 Tbsp oil; mix well. Add milk and cherry juice. Add dry ingredients. Stir in cherries.

3. Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes. As soon as they come out, press a marshmallow half on top of each cookie. Let cool until sturdy enough to transfer to cooling rack.

4. In microwave, melt butter, Stir in chocolate and corn syrup. Microwave in 10 second intervals until melted and combined. Stir in vanilla. Spoon over each marshmallow, covering it completely. Top with sprinkles and a cherry.

Makes 12 cookies.

Source: Cookie Madness

A Healthier Way To Make Wontons

Despite what I post, I do make more than just desserts. Today, I decided to make wontons for dinner. Normally, they are fried in oil, but you can bake them and get them just as crispy. There are so many fillings you can put into wontons, savory or sweet. Since I had a butternut squash in the fridge, I made Crispy Butternut Wontons. The recipe came with a spicy tomato sauce, but I used jarred spaghetti sauce. This recipe does take time because you have to bake the squash first. I find that boiling it in water for 5-10 minutes makes it a lot easier to cut in half before baking. Save the seeds so you can roast them later.

These wontons make a great appetizer, or serve with a salad for dinner.


Crispy Butternut Wontons



1 butternut squash
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresly ground
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1 teaspoon water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
24 wonton wrappers

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Boil squash for 10 minutes; drain. When cool enough to handle, cut in half. Scoop out seeds; save for later use or discard. Place each half face down on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool.

2. Scoop out 1 cup of butternut squash; save the rest for another use. Combine with ricotta, parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

3. Mix together water and egg. Spoon about 2 tsp of mixture into each wonton. Brush edges of dough with egg mixture. Fold two opposite corners together so it forms a triangle. Repeat with remaining wontons.

4. Place wontons onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Brush tops with remaining egg mixture. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve with tomato sauce.

Makes 24 wontons.

Source: Recipe Zaar

All I Want To Do...

...is bake cupcakes all day long! Except I get stuck eating most of them, and that's probably not good for one's diet haha I baked White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes for New Year's Eve. I found a similar recipe at Baking Bites, but I dressed it up with peppermint extract and crushed candy canes. Since I only had enough white chocolate for the batter, I used a plain cream cheese frosting.

Nicole's recipe called for 18 cupcakes, so I cut it in half and made 9. Next time, I will probably make the same amount but scoop out 6 cupcakes because as you can somewhat see, mine were too tiny to be full cupcakes. I also ended up baking them an extra 10 minutes.

I imagine you can do more with the white chocolate cupcakes as a base, such as adding raspberries or macadamia nuts. A raspberry buttercream perhaps?


White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting




3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2-oz white chocolate, chopped
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tsp milk

Frosting
2-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/8 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp milk
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line muffin pans with 6 cupcake liners.

2. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Melt white chocolate by either heating it in 30 second intervals in the microwave or in a heat-proof bowl over boiling water. Stir well with a fork and cook only until the chocolate is smooth when stirred.

4. In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg, followed by chocolate and peppermint extract. Working in three additions, alternate adding in milk and flour mixture, ending with flour. Mix until just incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.

5. Bake 20-23 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Cool on a wire rack.

6. Frosting: Cream together cream cheese and butter. Beat in vanilla and milk, then add in the confectioners’ sugar gradually until the frosting reaches desired consistency. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Makes 6 cupcakes.

Source: Adapted from Baking Bites