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.