Chocolate Gingersnap Cookies

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and filling their bellies (and waistline) with lots of holiday baking. I know we are:



Holiday baking not only means sticking with traditional recipes but also trying new ones. I wanted to do something for the guys at work, and what better way than with chocolate gingersnap cookies.



I was so excited almost every single cookie came out perfectly round, the same size, and with a nice crack. Very yummy too. The chocolate helps mute the gingerbread flavor slightly, so those who aren't crazy about gingerbread can find them more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong - you can still taste both flavors. They are also crunchy on the edges and soft in the middle.



Chocolate Gingersnaps




1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 Tbsp water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp cocoa
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and water. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tops begin to crack. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Makes 3 dozen.

Source: Taste of Home

Maple BBQ Pulled Chicken

Last post, I talked about pulled chicken. I haven't shared the recipe yet, so here it is.


Such a sad picture

I don't trust slow cookers. Not that I don't trust them to do their work. I don't trust leaving the house with a slow cooker on all day. Call me cautious. Call me paranoid. I just don't want to have to call the fire dept while I'm at work.

I don't own a slow cooker. Instead, I have this multi-cooker/deep fryer/steamer/electric pot thing. I can pretty much cook whatever I want. I got the brilliant idea of using it as a slow cooker. I can control the temp from 200F-350F (or was it 400F?). I decided one lazy Sunday afternoon, I would throw everything into the pot and cook on 200F. It worked, except instead of taking 6+ hours, it only took 2, so dinner was ready super early.

I've made pulled chicken at least three times now, once for my family who visited and twice for myself. I take the leftovers to work all week. Great on buns, in tortillas, and in spinach salads. I used McCormick's roasted spices and fresh jalapenos from my garden.

As you can see, I didn't take many pictures. I was just too hungry.

Maple BBQ Pulled Chicken

Three bone-in chicken pieces (I used leg and thigh)
1 large yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
3 jalapeno pepppers
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ginger
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop onion, garlic, and jalapeno peppers. Add those and everything but the chicken into your cooker. Stir to mix. Turn the heat on.

2. While heating up, remove the skin and fat from the chicken pieces. Put into your cooker and cover with sauce.

3. Let cook for a few hours. Flip the chicken every hour or two and keep them covered in sauce. The chicken is done when it's falling off of the bone.

4. Remove chicken from the sauce and turn off the heat. Take a slotted spoon and go through the sauce, making sure no bones were left behind. Once cool enough to handle (or use forks), shred the chicken and place back into the sauce. It should still be hot at this point, but turn the heat back on if needed. Serve on buns.

Recipe (and a better description) can be found at Choosy Beggars.

McCormick Roasted Spices Giveaway

So I'm slowly coming out of my blogging coma. McCormick probably hates me now because it's probably been at least two months since they let me sample their roasted spices collection. Although I haven't blogged about them yet, I have been using them. A lot.


Like in my fajita mix.


Or in my pulled chicken.

And other stuff I haven't photographed. I believe I used the cinnamon in some baking.

McCormick has been generous enough to provide me with two sets of their roasted spice collection - one to keep and one to give away. Just in time for the holidays, no? In order to enter, leave a comment about which one of these four spices (cinnamon, cumin, ginger, or coriander) you would use the most.

Earn one additional entry for tweeting about this giveaway with @chocolatemoosey mentioned. Once you do that, leave a comment and let me know your twitter name.

Earn another additional entry for posting a link on your Facebook account. Leave a comment letting me know you did that.

Deadline is Saturday, December 4, 2010. Open to US addresses only.

Baby Cones

Wow, so it's been about two months since I last posted. Here I am, almost at month five in my new town. Some mornings I wake up, finally happy with moving in the right direction. Other mornings I wake up, wondering what the hell am I doing here. "The only way we get there is one step at a time."



Did you know they now make baby ice cream cones? I didn't know that until the one guy at work brought in these baby ice cream cone cupcakes his wife made. After about five of us asking him where his wife got the cones, he called her and told us only one chain carried them. Although that chain isn't nearby here, it is very popular back towards Pittsburgh.



If I had a bakery, these would be on the menu, along with matching holiday sprinkles. I decided to bake a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. You take any cake recipe, fill each cone 2/3 of the way, bake in a mini muffin tin for 15-20 min at 350F, and let cool before frosting. I bet you could do a brownie mix instead of cake (although I wonder if it would rise enough?)


Aw it melted

One problem I had with them was after storing them in an airtight container, the cones got really soft. They weren't that soft before storing them, so...eat them all before storing? haha

Gulab Jamun

Looks like I didn't make it to the next round of Project Food Blog. Originally, I thought I did because I was listed first on the winners announced page. Then when I tried submitting, it told me I didn't make it. Did anybody else have this confusion? Or am I just dumb? Why would Foodbuzz list me on the winners announced page if I didn't make it?

Well I ended up making an entry anyway, which is ok because I burnt them. Round two was to tackle a classic ethnic dish you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar making. Immediately I was thinking Indian or Asian of some sort. My friend suggested samosas. Then she thought of gulab jamun. The challenge never specified dinner or dessert, and gulab jamun is a classic Indian dessert. When I read I had to use khova, I knew this made me a little uneasy. With no Indian stores anywhere close, I opted to make my own.



Khova is milk cooked down to a paste-like consistency, which takes between 1-2 hours, depending on how much milk you are reducing. This made me nervous because either my milk was going to burn really bad or I wouldn't get the correct consistency. Who wants to waste all that milk and time for nothing? The recipe I used (found at Cooking 4 All Seasons) called for 1.5 liters, which is about 6 cups of milk. Yikes. Since it's just me, I cut the recipe in half and used 3 cups, which is 3/4 quart. My khova took about 75 minutes to make, and I was getting excited towards the end because it actually looked like khova. I found a nice pictorial reference at Flavours and Tastes.


Look at how tiny! 3 cups of milk = 1/4 cup khova

Then you mix your fresh khova with some flour and baking soda and divide into small balls. While you are waiting for the oil to heat up, make your syrup. Boil together sugar and water. Then add cardamon and rose water (ick). I thought I had ground cardamon but realized it was actually coriander. Fortunately, I had green cardamon pods from Marx Food a lonngggg time ago, so I brought out my mortal and pestle and crushed them.



Since I only made four balls, I fried them all at once. They were in about two minutes when I realized they were burnt. Crap. I mixed them with the syrup anyway. Maybe I could eat the inside. Turns out I put too much cardamon in the syrup, so it was a little overpowering. I only took a picture of the inside because I'm too embarrassed to show them burnt. I guess there's always next time, right?



The gulab jamun recipe I used was from Aayi's Recipes. Please check out her blog for pictures of yummy, not burnt gulab jamun.

Project Food Blog - Now Voting!

Voting for the first round of Project Food Blog is now open! If you enjoy reading my blog (and I know I've been slacking), could you please take a few minutes to vote? Click on this link. You will see a Food Buzz toolbar up top. There should be a link that says "Vote For This Entry."

Project Food Blog - Ready, Set, Blog!

In case you haven't heard yet, Food Buzz is hosting the first annual Project Food Blog Challenge! Featured FB publishers are competing in multiple challenges to be the top blogger in the Food Buzz realm. There are about 2,000 participating bloggers, and only 400 will make it to round two.



How am I different than the average blogger? I don't have a family. I don't have a boyfriend, fiancee, husband. I don't have kids, nieces, nephews. Right now, I live alone. New job, new town, just me. Not even ol' Murray made it.



What I'm trying to say is I'm an independent cook. Sometimes, it's a struggle to make dinner because I get home from work and want to lay down forever. Most people would opt for boxed mac and cheese, ramen noodles, pretty much anything convenient. Not me. I want freshness. I want flavor. Most of the time, it's cheaper to make than to buy. Healthier to make homemade cheese sauce than using the who-knows-what orange powder. It's not like you go out of your way, either. Cheese sauce - melt cheese, milk, butter, flour. Done. Fajita seasoning? Mix together a bunch of spices and put in a jar. Done.

So if most of my readers have families, how do my recipes pertain to them? For starters, you can easily double the recipes I use, mainly because I cut them in half in the first place. The exception would be with baked goods, unless I made mini versions of something. Also, I have a tight income. I may only be feeding myself, but that doesn't mean I can spend my money freely. In the end, making homemade saves money for everyone.



Why should I be the next food blog star? I have a lot of passion for food. When I met everyone at my new job, they asked, what are your hobbies? I answered I love to be in the kitchen. My dream job would be a video editor on a Food Network production. If not FN, then at least for a food-related show or company. I spend money on ingredients and supplies rather than movies and shoes. Food is my life. It helps me with my loneliness, both when I studied abroad and now with my new life. Just this past weekend, I found a new favorite food store because they had ingredients I have never seen in person, including dragees.

Unexpected Hiatus

So my laptop got a virus Friday night. It is currently being fixed, so I'll probably be without it until next week. A bummer really because I definitely have more to post.

To those requesting to be my friend on Foodbuzz - I will accept them when I can. Signing up for Project Blogger has generated millions of requests. When the person next to you at the library is a non-stop chatterbox, it's hard to get anything done. Especially when he's also reading your screen every time you type or click a new page...

The Next Food Network Star

So it's been almost a week since The Next Food Network Star's season six's winner was announced, so I'm hoping I'm not spoiling it for anybody. I was really pulling for Brad to win. Sure, his camera skills needed work, but that is a skill that can be developed. What are your thoughts on Aarti joining the FN family? Will you tune into her show Aarti Party? I don't think I'll actually watch her show, but I will definitely be looking at her for Indian recipes.

Have any of you auditioned for NFNS? I haven't, but I already know I don't have the on-camera skills or cooking chops. Producing and editing skills are a different story...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Now that I live alone, I don't bake as often. Sure, I could take stuff into work (and I have), but it seems like everyone is on Weight Watchers. Plus I don't always have the energy. How do all you parents do it? I barely have energy to cook and clean for myself, let alone a family. I guess you get used to it? I hope so, or I'll never be able to take care of one.



My family does come up to visit, so when they do, I want to have a special treat for them. That way I can bake and get rid of the extra calories. Several months ago, I found a used copy of The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook. I've had this on my Amazon Wish List ever since I saw these on Bake or Break. It's more than just chocolate chip cookies. It has cookies, muffins, pies, tarts, puddings, cakes, ice cream desserts, pretty much anything with chocolate chips, including the Strawberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake I made back in June.



Anyway, after drooling at the pictures, I decided to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars. What a mouthful! And a good one too. The cookie dough layer on top ending up being almost a whole layer rather than chunks here and there, so the cheesecake layer isn't as dominant. I opted to leave off the chocolate drizzle. I enjoy them cold, preferably from the freezer. Of course my family forgot to take the extras home, so that's why they ended up in my freezer in the first place.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars



Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbsp butter, melted
2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Dough
5 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Filling
10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Crust: Preheat oven to 325F. Line 9-inch square pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir crumbs and butter together until crumbs are evenly moistened. Stir in mini chocolate chips. Press crumb mixture over bottom and 1 inch up the sides of pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Cool pan and leave the oven on.

2. Dough: In large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla until smoothly blended, 1 minute. Add flour, mixing just to incorporate it. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

3. Filling: In another bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Mix in egg and vanilla, beating just to blend them in. Pour cheesecake batter into the crust. Drop teaspoonfuls of cookie dough over top of the batter. Bake until top feels dry and firm and looks set if given a gentle shake, about 30 minutes.

4. Optional drizzle: Melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips until melted and smooth, either in a microwave or heatproof bowl over boiling water. Use a teaspoon to gently drizzle thin lines of melted chocolate over the top of the bars. Cool about 1 hour. Cut bars into 16 pieces. The bars can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Makes 16 bars.

Source: The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, page 47-48

Greek Chicken Salad With Cucumber Dressing

I found this recipe from my local grocery store's free magazine. It seemed like something I could easily make for one person. I must admit I did go out and buy skewers because of this, but I figured I would use the skewers more than once anyway. I have the space, so I'm thinking about investing in an outdoor grill. Might be a good time because grills are going clearance soon.



This is chicken marinated for 30 minutes then either grilled or broiled. You make a quick cucumber yogurt sauce and serve on lettuce. I hate iceberg lettuce because there's no flavor and no nutrients, so I served it on spinach. This recipe is pretty easy I think. It takes a little time mainly because of marinating the chicken, but you could probably marinade ahead of time and freeze it. The dressing takes a few minutes to chop and mix. Any leftover dressing you can use for future salads.

Greek Chicken Over Spinach With Cucumber Dressing



2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

Dressing
Half cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp dried parsley

Skewers
Spinach

In a bowl, combine oil, uice, garlic, and rosemary. Add chicken pieces, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat grill or broiler. Thread chicken pieces onto skewers. Grill/broil for 8 minutes, turning halfway through.

Meanwhile, mix together cucumber, yogurt, and parsley. Toss finished chicken pieces with spinach and top with cucumber dressing.

Black Raspberry Cupcakes

Anybody watch Cupcake Wars? I'm sitting here watching the Good Cause episode where it benefits a children's foundation. After several episodes, the show can get kinda boring - focus on flavor, focus on decorating, focus on display. What doesn't get boring is how many flavors people can invent. Kinda makes me wish I went into cupcake baking for a living!



Before the big move, I hurried up and went black raspberry picking because I didn't know if I could later this summer. I already made cheesecake and ice cream sauce. While I was at the farm, I saw a brochure with what you can make with curd. One of the ideas was cupcakes. You fill the cupcake with curd and make frosting with it. I thought, hey I could make my own black raspberry curd and make cupcakes.

Unfortunately, it's been a month since I looked up a recipe for raspberry curd, so I really don't remember which one I used. What I do remember is I went to Food Blog Search and typed in 'raspberry curd.' You can either make homemade or store bought.




You make chocolate cupcakes (your favorite recipe or cake mix). After they cool, you cut a hole in each center and fill with curd. Replace the top. Pipe on frosting and top with chocolate sprinkles and a berry.

Frosting: Whisk together 2 Tbsp melted butter, 1/4 c curd, and 1 1/2 c powdered sugar. Frosts 12 cupcakes.

Brief Summary Of New Place

A lazy Sunday afternoon, complete with rain. I love rain (minus driving in it). If I'm not caught off-guard, I love walking in it. Figured I would take this time to update and attempt to get back into the foodie world. I moved alone - no family, no friends, no cat. Murray stayed behind because he is so used to having someone home constantly, I don't know if he could live alone for 40+ hrs each week. Poor guy would lose his voice. Will I get a cat? I want to within the next few months, but we'll see what happens.



This is a picture of the outside of my apartment. Yes, it's an apartment. The bottom half of the house is mine. The top half is my landlord. Her and her family technically live in Maryland, but this is her farm, so they come up about every week or so for a few days. My neighbors are cows. I have human neighbors down the road, but it's not like I walk out and there they are. Definitely quiet and private.

As you can imagine, there are nights I get quite lonely. This is where I'm relying on food to bring me through. I'm in farm country, so plenty of fresh veggies and fruits, especially Chambersburg peaches. Even coworkers are bringing in a plethera of zucchini from their gardens. My vegetable drawer is bursting with goodies.

I'm only an hour from wine country too. Apparently, Gettysburg area is perfect for wineries. I found one that offers wine making and wine appreciation classes, so maybe I'll pick up a new hobby. One of them has a store in Chambersburg, so I bought some cider and dry white wine yesterday. I'm planning on making risotto because I bought Arborio rice right before I found out I was hired.

I do have an amazing kitchen. Brand new appliances. Even my pantry is great. You open it up, and there are shelves on the doors. Then there's this "rounder" in the middle, and you pull one side towards you, and there are more shelves behind it. Definitely a lot of room for ingredients! Once my place looks more homey, I'll post better pictures.

Anybody here have experience making one person meals? Maybe even two person meals because I can freeze leftovers or just eat it for work. I think it'll be a great challenge for me to blog about.

Foodie Friends In My Area?

It's almost the end of week two at my new job. I now have internet, cable, and blinds in my (brand new) apartment. I think I'm going to like it out here, but because I'm out here all alone - no family, no friends - it's going to be a rough few months. I did find someone who has a huge cookbook collection like me though! She even gave me the brilliant idea to buy an ottoman and store it with magazines. First I need to buy rugs and a couch.

Anyway, I was wondering if any foodies live in or around McConnellsburg, Chambersburg, maybe even Hagerstown, Gettysburg, or Harrisburg? Just looking for some foodie places, such as farmer's markets, restaurants, stores, wineries, breweries, etc. Maybe even a foodie friend?

Hiatus...Kinda...

I know I haven't been that great at updating my blog. Truth is, I have pictures and posts, just not the time. What makes it even harder is now that I moved, I currently don't have internet at my place. Right now I'm going to the library to check my email, so until I get things situated, I probably won't blog for awhile. Hopefully it won't be a long hiatus!

Recipe Inspirations Winner

Eek! Why didn't anyone remind me that I never picked a winner for target=give>McCormick's Recipe Inspirations Giveaway?? Sorry about the delay! With me moving next weekend, I've had a lot of my mind. The random generator I used online picked number 2, so Sweet and Savory is the winner!!

Black Raspberry Ribbon Cheesecake

I have so much to do and people to see, yet I'm running out of time. I'm moving July 3 and starting work July 12. That means I have to use up all the perishable food my parents won't use. That includes the freshly picked black raspberries from Sunday. What better way to use up stale Oreo cookies, black raspberries, half a lemon, and heavy whipping cream than cheesecake? I've made a lot of cheesecake in the past - Strawberry and White Chocolate Chip, Smores, Caramel Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip, even a plain one. This black raspberry cheesecake was probably one of the best ones I've made. It is a little messy with the sauce. It will stain everything, so make sure you clean up any spills before they dry.

Black Raspberry Ribbon Cheesecake



Crust
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 Tbsp sugar

Sauce
2 1/2 cups fresh berries
2 tsp lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch

Filling
24 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg whites
1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Combine crust ingredients and press into bottom and up sides of greased 9 inch springform pan. Chill 1 hr or until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 375F. Puree berries in a blender. Press through strainer if desired to remove seeds. In saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and raspberry puree. Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, and set aside.

3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla until fluffy. Add egg whites, beat until just blended. Stir in cream. Pour half into crust. Top with 3/4 cup raspberry sauce (refrigerate remaining sauce to pour on top later or use for ice cream, waffles, etc). Carefully spoon remaining filling over sauce. Bake 35-40 minutes or until center is nearly set. Remove from oven; immediately run a knife around pan to loosen crust. Cool on wire rack for 1 hr. Refrigerate overnight.

Source: Triple B Farms

Simple Black Raspberry Sauce

Black raspberry season is here!! I went back to the local farm where I previously picked strawberries and picked a nice amount of gorgeous, juicy raspberries. Because it was so hot out, I wanted ice cream. Not just any ice cream. Vanilla ice cream with raspberry sauce. Every year around July 4, I go to this arts festival and get a bowl of raspberries and ice cream. Always. Even in the pouring down rain. This sauce wasn't as thick as what I'm used to, but it was still delicious nonetheless. Unfortunately, all I had was cookie dough ice cream in the freezer. Weird combination but still yummy!! The directions say to let cool before using, but you don't have to. It'll just melt the ice cream.

Black Raspberry Sauce




1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
Half stick cinnamon (or few pinches of ground)
1 cup berries

Put sugar and water into a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Add berries, increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until saucy. If you want bigger chunks, don't cook it as long.

Source: Uhhh...

13 Months Later...

I have an exciting announcement to make!! Yesterday, I put my two weeks in at Target because I accepted a job as a multimedia developer!! Yay I get to put my degree and video skills to use!! As you can imagine, these next few weeks are going to be crazy between finishing up at Target, packing, finding an apartment, and seeing everyone. The job is located 2 hr 15 min away, so I'm living on my own in a small town (still in PA, now closer to Harrisburg). I'm hoping once I am settled, I can shift my blog to focus on meals and treats catered for us single people working full-time jobs. That's not a promise, but it would get me back to blogging. I did just make a nice salmon for myself because my mom doesn't eat fish and nobody else is home.

Any advice on relocating would be great!


Murray's two cents on the situation

Strawberry and White Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Strawberry season is here!! The local farm opened their strawberry bushes to the public for picking. You can't get any fresher than this! So many thoughts running through my head - what should I make?? Jam? Pie? Cupcakes? How about cheesecake? Not only is it cheesecake, it has strawberry puree and white chocolate chips.


Look, it matches the counter!

The original recipe calls for white chocolate to be melted and drizzled on top. I felt that although it would be more delicious, it wasn't necessary because it would cover up the juicy strawberries. The white chocolate chips were hard to detect, so if you don't have any, I wouldn't worry too much about running to the store last-minute.



I feel that this dessert is perfect for a summer get-together, but just be careful with the heat. It will soften very quickly and best to be out only when dessert is ready.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Chip Cheesecake



Crust

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 tsp cinnamon
7 tbsp butter, melted

Filling

3 cups strawberries, washed and stemmed
32 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tbsp flour
4 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 cup white chocolate chips

2 pints strawberries, washed and stemmed

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease 9 inch springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with aluminum foil. Have a big enough pan ready to hold the springform pan. Put a kettle on because you will need hot water later.

2. In a bowl, stir cracker crumbs and cinnamon together. Mix in melted butter until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of the springform pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Set aside with oven left on while you mix the feeling.

3. Meanwhile, process strawberries to a puree. Strain into a small bowl; discard any seeds or pulp leftover. Measure 1 cup and set aside. If there is any extra puree, save it for another use.

4. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smoothly blended. Mix in flour. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in both extracts and cream. Then mix in puree and chocolate chips.

5. Pour into baked crust. Put the springform pan into the larger baking pan. Pour enough hot water into the large pan to reach 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until center seems firm when gently shook, 1 hr 15 minutes. Remove from oven and leave in the water bath. Cover loosely with paper towels and let cool for 1 hr. Carefully remove from the water bath. Remove paper towels and foil. Cool for another hour, or until it feels cool to the touch. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 6 hrs or overnight.

6. Don't add the strawberries on top until ready to serve. It can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before adding the strawberries. Arrange the whole berries on top until covered.

Serves 12-16

Source: The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, page 78

Foodbuzz Daily Special - Mesh Colanders

Today's Daily Special, brought to you by Foodbuzz, is a stainless steel mesh colander set. Call me silly, but I love colanders. For the longest time we had our regular large one for draining everything, from pasta and veggies to tuna and defrosting shrimp. However, there were times where having a second colander came in handy when I was making both pasta and veggies and even shrimp sometimes. Personally, I found a small plastic one at a flea market, but I wouldn't mind getting a set of these stainless steel ones. Less likely to break and melt.

If you want the daily special price, which is 10% off, you must click on this link today only!! That means all day Friday only!! Once 12:00 AM hits, the deal is gone. You can still purchase the colander set. Just not at an awesome price.

Recipe Inspirations Giveaway

How many of you are in a hurry when you cook or don't take advantage of adding spices to your meal? Tired of making bland chicken or wishing the porkchops had better flavor? Well, McCormick has done it again! They found a way to successfully combine convenient cooking with bold flavors.



Recipe Inspirations are recipe cards that come with six pre-measured spice packets to make cooking a little faster. They provide the spices. You provide the protein and veggies. I had my box sent a few weeks ago (I love their marketing!!) but haven't had a chance to cook anything. Either I'm too tired from work or too busy on my day off.

I'm so glad I finally got around to trying one of their recipes - Spanish Chicken Skillet. Being half Italian and broke, all I eat is pasta. Pasta at work, pasta for dinner, leftover pasta for a snack. I need a dinner that had very little carbs. This Spanish Chicken Skillet is pan-fried chicken served with spicy bell peppers and tomatoes. It's amazing how spices can make or break a dish. Without this recipe, I probably would've made the chicken with salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs. Maybe some thyme or basil thrown in. Here, the chicken is coated with flour, paprika, minced garlic, thyme, and black pepper. No breadcrumbs are necessary. Crushed red pepper is added to the veggies. If you really hate spice, you can leave that out.




This dinner is definitely a keeper! I can't wait to try the other 5 recipes. The porkchops will be interesting bc I hate porkchops. Mainly bc they are usually dry and bland. Hopefully McCormick will change my mind!

To celebrate the launch of Recipe Inspirations, McCormick is offering a "Wednesday Night Dinner" prize package - Recipe Inspirations samples, $50 GC to Crate and Barrel, and a one-year subscription for Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine. To win this wonderful prize package, please leave one comment below answering the following question: What family meal do you enjoy making? Deadline for comments is June 12 at 11:59 PM EST. US residents only.

Foodbuzz Daily Special - Madagascar Vanilla

Today's Daily Special, brought to you by Foodbuzz, is Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Vanilla. As the name suggests, this vanilla is made from vanilla beans grown on Madagascar. There are several varieties of vanilla beans, based on where they are grown - Madagascar, Bourbon, Mexico, Tonga, Papau New Guinea, Tahiti, India, Indonesia, probably some more I forgot.

Chances are if you worked with vanilla beans or pure vanilla extract, you've worked with Madagascar vanilla. Each type of bean has a distinct vanilla flavor. I've only had Madagascar, so I can't compare it for you. I found a nice little guide at Vanilla Garlic should you'd like more information.

The best way to experience vanilla is vanilla ice cream. Growing up, I hated vanilla ice cream. It was so plain and blah. Then somewhere along the culinary road, I tried real, homemade vanilla ice cream. Amazing! I could definitely eat a whole carton of it. I suggest Dorie Greenspan's recipe in Baking: From My Home To Yours. I think I've made it three times last year?

Now to the daily special - buy a bottle of extract from this link and receive 14% off and $1 standard shipping. Free shipping if your total is $99 or more. You can check out Foodbuzz's Daily Special page for more information.

Tuesdays With Dorie - White Chocolate Brownies

So I'm sitting at my kitchen table yesterday morning and decided "hey I should prob look up the latest TwD challenges, especially since today is Tuesday." I realized yesterday's challenge was white chocolate brownies and knew if I ran out to the store, I could make them in the evening. Plus I had some apricots I wanted to use, so I figured I would sub them for the raspberries. I did bake these last night, but due to some unfortunate news that caused me to stress out (rescheduling stuff with a tight schedule), I was too upset to take pictures and upload them. Hence why they are being posted Wednesday evening.




I tried doing the meringue, but the egg whites wouldn't even whip to soft peaks. I think it was because the house was too hot. I couldn't whip them the other day for a pie I made. Or maybe I just need to buy a bowl just for egg whites so it doesn't get used for food storage.

I cut this recipe in half bc I didn't want all these brownies in the house when I made cheesecake the other night. I don't know if they had enough white chocolate in them. Plus they are super thin. I did use lemon zest instead of orange bc it's what I had, and I hate oranges.

It's hard to say I liked this recipe. I don't think they turned out the way they were supposed to, so I'll have to hopefully try this again the right way. Thanks Marthe of Culinary Delights for hosting this week! You can find the recipe in Baking: From My Home To Yours on pgs. 110-111 or on Marthe's blog.

Foodbuzz Daily Special - Burton Induction Cooktop

Eek! I think I'm a little late for posting Foodbuzz's daily special, but here goes! For the next few weeks, I will (hopefully) be posting about any one of the five given daily specials from Foodbuzz. Today's daily special is the Burton Induction Cooktop, Athena 6000. The way induction cooking works is with electromagnetically, meaning no flames to worry about. The cook top will stay cool as heat is only generated in the cookware it's in contact with. This baby sounds pretty sweet, especially if you have kids or live in a dorm. It would also be great if you don't have access to an oven or need more burners than what you are given.

To purchase this cook top, you can order it online here.

Goat Cheese Pizza

If you were to ask me what my favorite cheese is, I'd immediately say goat cheese. Some people are turned off just by the name, but it's just cheese made with goat's milk rather than cow's milk and tastes like a savory cream cheese. There's really nothing wrong with goat; I've even had goat curry before.



Going through my California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook, I found a goat cheese pizza. It's almost vegetarian because it has bacon, but I'm sure you could omit that and make it all veggie. Or even sub mushrooms. Upon reading the recipe, I thought this pizza would be a little... weird (for lack of a better term) because there is no sauce. You just brush olive oil on the crust. I was surprised since I was expecting it to be dry. The olive oil definitely helps, but the toppings give it such a powerful flavor profile, you don't miss the sauce. As far as the dough, CA Pizza Kitchen does give their recipe, but I was busy and tired, so I made the one I usually make in my bread maker.

Goat Cheese Pizza



Dough for 9 inch pizza
Olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup crisp bacon, crumbled
1 plum tomato, sliced
Red, yellow, and green bell pepper strips (roughly 15-20)
Red onion strips (roughly 10-12)
2 Tbsp mild goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 475F. Grease pizza pan.

2. Brush enough olive oil onto rolled-out crust to make a light coating. Sprinkle on 1/2 cup mozzarella. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp bacon. Place tomato slices on top - do not overlap. Top with pepper and onion strips. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella on top. Crumble on goat cheese.

3. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly, 10-15 minutes. Remove, slice, and serve.

Makes one 9-inch pizza

Source: California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook, p. 48

Duets by The Madelaine Chocolate Company

Last week, I was contacted on behalf of The Madelaine Chocolate Company to sample and review a new product - double-filled chocolate truffles known as Duets. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, of course I said yes.



A few days later, my package arrived. Inside, I found a cute little gift box ready to be opened, full of wonderfully-wrapped truffles ready to be eaten. There are four flavors - white and chocolate truffle, peanut butter and raspberry, peanut butter and caramel, and white chocolate and raspberry. The wrappers are conveniently color coded so you know which ones are which without reading. That can come in handy if you're grabbing one on-the-go and don't have time to read the little print.



The Madelaine Chocolate Company says on its site that "duets are the first double-filled chocolate truffles." They are perfect for any special occassion because they are elegantly wrapped to make the chocolate look and feel extra special.



The first one I tried was the white and chocolate truffle. Can't go wrong with double the chocolate, right? Next was peanut butter and raspberry. Tastes like a PB&J because the raspberry is more of a jam. The white chocolate and raspberry tastes like, well, white chocolate raspberry jam while the peanut butter and caramel tastes like a caramelly peanut butter cup. The PB and caramel is my favorite out of the bunch.

I would definitely recommend buying these truffles, whether as a casual snack for your candy bowl (which will empty rather quickly) or as a special gift. You can buy the Duets online or at most Wal Marts. Target doesn't have them yet, but I know the "fancy chocolate aisle" is going to be reset soon. Usually that means new products are introduced along with bringing back the best sellers. Maybe Duets will make it on the new planogram.

Stuffed French Toast

"For every failure, there's an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour." - Mary Kay Ash

Sorry I haven't been responding very well online, both blogging and email. I'm just trying to get through one day at a time, hoping one day I'll wake up and the sun will be shining. Until then, I'm on a very long detour to my destination. I'm also open for any motivational quotes because I can never find any when I need them lol

ANYWAY

Almost two months ago, McCormick sent me a toolkit and recipes to try. Easter morning, I tried their stuffed french toast, which is a great recipe when you want something special for breakfast. Pretty much it's a cross between a grilled cheese and french toast when it comes to making it. You spread the filling on bread, put it together like a sandwich, dip it in egg mixture, and cook in the skillet. The original recipe called for apricot preserves or jam, but I used blackberry jam since that's what we had in the fridge.

Stuffed French Toast



8 oz cream cheese
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, divided
16 slices bread
1/2 cup preserves or jam
5 eggs
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter, divided

1. Mix cream cheese, sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp vanilla in small bowl until well-blended. Spread mixture evenly onto half the bread slices. Spread jam on the other slices. Put the halves together and make 8 sandwiches.

2. In another bowl, beat eggs. Stir in milk, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Dip each sandwich into the egg mixture and drip off any excess.

3. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in skillet. Cook each sandwich a few minutes per side or until golden brown. Use remaining Tbsp butter if you need it.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: McCormick

Ready For My Close-Up

New camera. Poor cat haha

Tuesdays With Dorie - Swedish Visiting Cake

Yes, I know today is Wednesday. I baked this cake last night and was too tired to post. I'm still at Target, but I switched work centers to in-stocks, so now I have a steady schedule - 5 days a week, rotating weekends, start at 6-6:30 am and leave at 1:30-2 pm. Still not full time (roughly 35 hrs, might as well be FT). Why is it that I can move on up in a company that hires almost anyone, yet can't find a job even slightly related to my degree? Sigh. There are days I wake up and see myself still at Target 10 years from now because getting a job I enjoy is "too good to be true."

ANYWAY

Dorie's Swedish Visiting Cake is very moist. I kept forgetting to buy almonds, so I went with coconut. I was a little unsure about the baking time bc Dorie did say it would be "slightly damp," so I baked it an extra 5 minutes bc I didn't want to underbake it. Unfortunately, I let it cool in the pan, and it stuck when removing it, so that's why I have a chunk of cake for my picture.




Since hardly anybody knows what a Swedish Visiting Cake is, I just called it a lemon coconut cake (or lemon almond if you use those). Thanks to Nancy of The Dogs Eat The Crumbs for choosing this yummy, moist cake! You can find the recipe on page 197 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Nancy's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Coconut Tea Cake

This week's recipe was one I made last year when I had some limes in the kitchen. Knowing how much I loved it, I decided to make it again when it was chosen. I didn't take an updated picture because well, it looks exactly the same. Except I used lemon instead of lime. You can read more about this on my earlier post, but all you have to know is that this cake is worth making again and again. It can be somewhat dry, so if you aren't eating this with coffee or tea, you may want to consider a simple glaze to pour on top.



Thanks Carmen of Carmen Cooks for hosting this week! You can find the recipe on pages 194-195 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Carmen's blog.

McCormick's D.I.Y Workshop

The lovely people at McCormick have contacted me again about trying out their "Decorate It Yourself (D.I.Y) Workshop." Now, when they said they'd send me a toolkit, I thought they meant a care package like last time. I remember coming home and my parents asking, what did you order?? I said oh McCormick is sending me some stuff. When I walked into my room, there was this HUGE box on my floor. I'm talking big enough to hold two Murrays. It was HUGE. After opening it, I realized McCormick literally sent me a toolkit. Like, a box with hinges. Literally.


Palette, brushes, egg holders, sprinkles, neon and regular food coloring, vanilla, spice drops, marshmallows, cookie cutters, cupcake liners, and coconut

Even McCormick had something special for the cat.



Huge kudos for their PR/marketing team. Literally, a toolkit. I am so shocked and super excited I have another storage container (yes, I have issues being obsessed with storage containers).

Among my goodies was a packet of creative ideas and recipes. I won't have time to blog all about it now (simply bc there's so much and I still have lots to try), but I did make the Hello Flower Cupcakes. My neighborhood holds a spaghetti dinner each month. Being it's a neighborhood dinner, donations are always welcomed. Since my toolkit arrived several days before the dinner, I thought it was convenient to make flower cupcakes for a spring spaghetti dinner.



This is the second time I've donated and the second time my dad had to deliver for me. Both times I had to work. Although he didn't stick around for taste comments, there were a lot of ooos and ahhs. The recipe called for yellow cake cupcakes and 1 can vanilla frosting. With me being me, I made chocolate cupcakes and vanilla frosting from scratch. I chose chocolate cupcakes instead because they looked like flowers in soil instead of flowers in...uh...sand? Although technically you shouldn't be able to tell because of the green frosting, but you get the point. Plus I don't have a tested and approved yellow cake recipe yet. Here is the link to make Hello, Flower Cupcakes.



One awesome trick I learned is to take white sprinkles and add food coloring. Mix it around a bit (they say use a container with a lid and shake it but I just stirred it in a bowl), spread it onto a plate/wax paper/foil/whatever, then let dry for 15 minutes. Tada! Colored sprinkles! Now I don't have to buy a million things of sprinkles (although I still will). I used this trick with the green sprinkles (on the grass part). I already had blue and purple sprinkles, so I wasn't going to make more.

This is just one of the many ideas McCormick has to offer in their D.I.Y. Workshop. The rest I haven't tried yet (stupid Target). In case you can't wait or I don't get around to it in a timely manner, you can try Stuffed French Toast, Cheesy Bacon and Egg Brunch Casserole, and Festive Meringue Cookies.

Also, make sure you use McCormick's food coloring for dyeing Easter eggs this year. You can check out their virtual Easter workshop for decorating tips and ideas.