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Posts from the ‘Features, Articles and Recipes’ Category

Jun 8

55 Comments

Cooks Spotlight:Peanut Butter-Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Photo by Susan Pridmore

Photo by Susan-The Wimpy Vegetarian

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs The Wimpy Vegetarian, I have known Susan for quite some time, we first met on Food52 and I admire her delicious recipes, sound nutritional advice and beautiful writing style. Most of her recipes are vegetarian, she uses healthful ingredients and manages to whip up dishes that make you swoon, and believe me they are loaded with flavor and are truly satisfying. These cookies had me drooling, I love peanut butter and chocolate and fully planned on making them for this post but held myself back, I have been on a diet and am making headway with my weight loss and I knew if I made them I would eat them all so I am reserving this recipe (along with a few others) as a treat for when I reach my goal weight, 9 lbs to go!!  Just because I am on a diet that wont stop me from sharing what I believe is an amazing recipe. Look at these : Roasted Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich With Harissa Mayonaise or Roasted Strawberries And Honey Ricotta On Crackers. Each recipe is delicious and nutritions and beautifully written, you will feel like you are sitting at the kitchen table chatting with a good friend. Please visit Susan’s beautiful blog, i know you will love it as much as I do, there is a wealth of great recipes, sound advice and wonderful stories.

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 ounces unsalted butter, room temp
  • 3 ounces peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2.8 ounces confectioners sugar, sifted, plus some for sifting over the baked cookies at the end
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons coconut sugar
  • 1.5 ounces unsweetened cacao (chocolate) powder
  • 1 egg
  • 5 ounces all-purpose flour

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Fit a pastry bag with a tip for the shape you wish to pipe. Bigger is better here, as the cookie dough can be a little stiff. If you don’t plan to pipe the cookies, they can be spooned out onto the prepared baking sheet too.

Beat the softened butter and peanut butter with a paddle attachment until lighter in color and creamy (about 2 -3 minutes). The color changes due to the air being whipped into it, which translates into a fluffy base for the cookie.

Add the vanilla extract and salt. When fully incorporated, add the sugars and beat again until fully incorporated, starting on low speed.

Add the cocoa powder and egg and mix until fully incorporated.

Sift in the flour in thirds and mix in using a rubber spatula until flour is just incorporated before adding the next 1/3. Do not overmix as this will result in a tougher cookie.

If you’re piping the cookies, spoon ½ cookie dough into the pastry bag and pipe cookies onto the parchment paper or silpat, 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart from each other. I pipe mine about 1 1/2″ in diameter at their base. They will spread a bit in the oven from the butter, and the tops will sink a bit, but the overall shape should hold fine.

Bake for 8 minutes or until just starting to set up. Do not cook until they become hard or browned.

Cool on a cooling rack. For larger cookies, you may want to let them cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute before removing to a cooking rack.

Sift with a little confectioners sugar just before serving.

May 30

57 Comments

Fantastic Salad- Recipe From A Friend And A Beef Contest

My friend Abbie, who lives in Texas created this amazing salad for a Beef Contest and her recipe, Cali Avoado Steak Salad was chosen as one of the potential finalists, but in order to secure that coveted finalist spot she needs votes, because she is my friend and I want to help her I am posting her recipe and asking you all to help also, if you are so inclined. Thanks so much and here is the link to the site so you can vote. It sounds absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to make it!

Cali Avocado Steak Salad

Cali Avocado Steak Salad

http://www.beefcookoff.org/recipevoting.aspx

  • 1 beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick (about ½ pound)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • ¾ teaspoon pepper, divided
  • 1 large California avocado
  • 1 large navel orange
  • 2 loaves Nan bread
  • 4 cups mixed salad greens
  • 1. Rub both sides of steak with 1 teaspoon olive oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
    2. Cut avocado in half; do not remove skin. Cut top and bottom off orange; squeeze juice from each end over avocado. Brush cut side of avocado with 1 teaspoon olive oil: sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside.
    3. Brush both sides of nan bread with 2 teaspoons oil.
    4. Place steak on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 11 to 15 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, covered 13 to 16 minutes) for medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning occasionally. During last 2 to 3 minutes of grilling, place avocado, cut side down, along with nan bread, on grid over medium coals, turning bread once.
    5. Meanwhile, toss salad greens with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove skin from orange; cut into segments. Add to greens. Remove skin from grilled avocado; cut into slices. Carve steak into thin slices place on top of salad. Cut your nan bread into wedges and arrange around salad

 

May 17

8 Comments

VOTE For My(Healthy Flavor) Chocolate Hazelnut Raspberry Bars Please!!

Reblogging this please spread the word and vote for Brandi, her delicious Chocolate Hazelnut Raspberry Bars are vegan and totally delicious!! Click on the link, scroll down to desserts and vote for Healthy Flavor, thank you so much. Her recipes are AMAZING she totally deserves to win!!

May 12

53 Comments

My Mom

My Mom and Me

My Mom and Me

I love this photo of me and my Mom, I was about 15 months old. My Mother was wearing a bathrobe and high heels. You’ve got to love that, her hair neatly coiffed and this was first thing in the morning. She was only 20 years old in this photo. I just called her to wish her a Happy Mothers Day, I love hearing her voice and am so glad she is still here with us. You see, it’s a miracle she is still here and healthy. Almost 8 years ago she was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer, stage 4, they thought she might live 6 months to a year, that was devastating news, I couldn’t imagine life without her. With quick medical intervention which included aggressive chemotherapy, mastectomy and radiation she is now cancer free and has been for all this time. She lives far away from me and I don’t get to see her very often, she doesn’t like to travel, but we talk all the time and see each other as often as possible. She was the rock in our family, the practical one, she got us through lean times so well, we were barely aware of it. She is an amazing cook, always putting a delicious homemade meal on the table and so often she did it on a shoe string budget.

Mom is French and Scots- Irish and my Dad was Italian, she was accepted into a very Italian family, first generation in the US. My Grandfather didn’t speak English or only a few words and she was taught to cook amazing Italian food from my Aunts.

Birthday Party for my cousin

Birthday Party for my cousin

Mom won’t see this because she doesn’t have a computer and  only just recently got a cell phone. On Mothers Day I like to look back and think about all the wonderful things my Mother did, how hard she worked taking care of all of us and I really love and appreciate her and I wanted to share a little bit about her with you. Here are some photo’s of some of her recipes that I have shared on this site.

Meatballs

Meatballs

Pasta Fagioli

Pasta Fagioli

Homemade pasta

Homemade pasta

Italian Cheesecake

Italian Cheesecake

Happy Mothers Day, I hope all of you had a wonderful day!

May 2

77 Comments

I Am A Finalist In Whole Foods Contest!!!!!

I am so excited my recipe for Brown Rice Risotto is a finalist in the Whole Foods contest for whole grain breakfast. If you would not mind voting for my recipe it would be greatly appreciated, if you don’t want to vote thats ok too!! I am so thrilled that they chose my recipe. You can click here to vote if you don’t mind, and today is my birthday, what a great gift!!!

Brown Rice Risotto

Brown Rice Risotto

May 1

17 Comments

Thank You Everyone For All The Awards!!

Awards

Awards

I am writing a quick post because I have to acknowledge the wonderful, kind and sweet ladies that nominated me for a whole slew of bloggers awards. I will do a more formal post after this weekend but right now I am so so busy between work (it’s insane), getting ready for the bake sale this weekend and taking care of my ailing pugs I don’t even have a minute to breathe. Thank you so so much, it honestly means so much to me to be recognized by my piers. I mean that sincerely.  So thank you to:

Carla @eatsweet by Carla Sue

Melissa @bklynlocavore

laura @laurasmess

We all know how much goes into keeping our blogs current, writing, cooking photographing etc… and when we are recognized by someone who works as hard as we do it’s validation and we feel loved (or liked) and appreciated. So thank you to everyone, once things calm down here I will do the proper post. Hope you all understand! Thank you so much!! Please visit the beautiful blogs just click on them. each one is beautifully done with fantastic recipes and great photography.

Sisterhood or brotherhood

Sisterhood or brotherhood

Apr 29

42 Comments

No Kid Hungry Bake Sale And Divine Fair Trade Chocolate

Divine Chocolate

Divine Chocolate

Lets face it, as food bloggers a good part of our day is spent thinking about food, I constantly think about what new recipe can I conjure up with the beautiful and seemingly unlimited supply of food available to us. How is it then in this vast country with so much food, how is it that children can go to bed with an empty stomach?  It’s a very sad thought and because of this  I am participating with other food bloggers in a Bake Sale this weekend to benefit “No Kid Hungry“, 100% of the proceeds go to this amazing charity. In America, one of the wealthiest countries in the world 1 in 5 children go to bed hungry, thats a staggering statistic and this has to end. Local food bloggers are all donating baked goods and we are selling them here in Brooklyn at “The Flea” in an effort to raise money and awareness.

Divine Chocolate is one of the sponsers, click on the link to find out more about this wonderful company. They are the only fair trade cocoa company owned by it’s farmers. What a wonderful concept, the farmers/owners share in the company profits. You might ask why the photo of that luscious chocolate, well the good people from Divine have generously donated some chocolate to a handfull of bloggers that we will use in making our goodies for the bake sale and one of the lucky bloggers is moi!!!  I am very excited, because not only is this chocolate delicious, and the baked goods are going to help a very worthy cause but I am so happy to use chocolate that comes from a company that is owned by the farmers themselves. It’s a win win as far as I am concerned.

Back to the bake sale, visit the website to find out more information and what you can do to help. You can make a donation, there are raffles with fantastic prizes and this is something you can feel good about. We all love our children and knowing that we are doing something to help is the best feeling in the world. If you don’t live in NYC, no problem, enter the raffle or make a donation. Think about it, ending childhood hunger in the USA is within our reach and a donation no matter how small brings us one step closer.

I will be posting photo’s of the items I am making and also of the bake sale itself this weekend. We will also be able to meet some of the farmers from Ghana who offer their support for this very worthy cause. More to come….

Preview of the baked goods!

Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Photo taken by Whole Foods

Photo taken by Whole Foods

tumblr_inline_mhj1l1FBgF1qz4rgp

Apr 12

53 Comments

Favorite Cookbooks

This morning I saw Chef Mimi’s post on her favorite cookbooks, and I thought wow, what are my favorites. I have hundreds of cookbooks but what are the books I use all the time and go back to constantly. It’s tough to narrow them down but here are my favorites, what are yours? You can see I like to bake, the majority are all baking books. I tend to wing it on savory recipes for the most part. This is a lot of fun and feel free to join in and blog about your most used cookbooks.

Baking with Julia

Baking with Julia

I use this book so often I have a second book I bought for when this copy becomes unusable due to overuse. It contains some of Julia’s greatest recipes for baked goods and it’s written by the great Dorie Greenspan.

Julia's Kitchen Wisdom

Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom

I love this book it contains Julia’s master recipes for both savory and sweet items. From stock to mayonaise to pie dough. I couldn’t live without it.

Food52 Volume II

Food52 Volume II

This book is fantastic, it contains some of the best recipes from the food52 community and is a book I use all the time.

Baking in America

Baking in America

Greg Patents wonderful book is an historical guide to baking, this book contains recipes new and old and is easy to follow, impeccably written and the recipes are foolproof.

Mini Treats And Hand Held Sweets

Mini Treats And Hand Held Sweets

This is one of my new favorite books, the recipes are amazing, Abby Dodge is a goddess in the kitchen and who doesn’t love bite size treats.

James McNair's Cakes

James McNair’s Cakes

I use this book all the time. It has some of the best recipes in it, this book is amazing, My favorites are Mr. McNair’s angel food cake, chiffon cake, whipped cream icing, upside down cake I could go on and on, I love this book.

Apr 1

15 Comments

This is hilarious, happy April Fools Day!

Mar 19

68 Comments

Act Of Kindness And A Stuffed Apple A Day…

Persian stuffed apples

Persian stuffed apples

I have been sick with a very bad cold, I still have to work and care for my pugs, but other than that I haven’t been cooking (or cleaning) and I am trying to take it easy in between it all. I had a very busy day yesterday and frankly was feeling pretty bad last night when I got an email from my friend Azita. She is the author of the lovely blog Fig and Quince, she also happens to be my neighbor, living only a few doors down from me, how cool is that? She is awesome and so kind, in the email she asked if I was home because she wanted to bring something to me. It was a terrible weather day, sleet, snow and very cold  but Azita braved the elements and brought me some food. I love Persian food, she brought stuffed apples, it’s a savory dish and I think it is probably the same or similar to her recipe for stuffed quince on her blog.

I haven’t tasted them yet because I still don’t have a full sense of taste, I am getting it back a little at a time and hope to be able to eat this delicious dish tomorrow. I wanted to give a shout out to Azita whose thoughtful gift of food really cheered me up.

On top of not feeling well I also had an emergency with my dog, Nando. I have two senior pugs, both are diabetic, I have to adhere to a very strict schedule for feeding and medications, giving both of them insulin injections every day twice a day at the same times every day. I don’t know what happened yesterday, I gave both dogs their insulin and shortly afterward, Nando’s blood sugar plummeted, he collapsed and I had to administer some sugar syrup to raise his blood sugar quickly, he could have gone into a diabetic coma. I was very lucky that he came around and after that he started perking up and rested comfortably for the rest of the night.

Nando

Nando

Azita’s kindness really made my day and I wanted to acknowledge this.  So often we take the small things for granted, but I want her to know how much I appreciate it and how her act of kindness touched me. Thank you Azita, you are wonderful and if you haven’t checked out her lovely blog please visit, you will love it as much as I do not just for the delicious recipes but her writing style and art is amazing.

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