Chewie!

In my quest to figure out what to do with the leftover egg whites I had in the fridge (from my excursion down the streets of Custard Court), I extensively searched the wonderful worldwide web to find an answer that seemed pretty simple: meringues. When I mentioned I was thinking of making these delights to BF, he grimaced and said they weren't his favorite. Well, foohey on him I said and proceeded to search out a recipe that would take care of 8 egg whites that had been residing in the fridge for nearly a week.

I didn't really see any one recipe that I absolutely had to try, so I decided to come up with my own. Now, as I am no seasoned baker, this could've been a huge disaster. But to my surprise, I was rewarded with somewhat-stable looking cookies for my first-time ever adventure into egg-white-territory. As I tried a cookie from the chocolate batch, I thought, hey, this ain't so bad. But as I continued to taste-test the next batch of orange ones, I realized why BF is not-so-big-of-a-fan. They came out exactly like the recipes I had looked at said they should: crunchy outside, soft and chewy in the middle. But I think the part that trips me up in rating this as a good eat is that the chewiness in the middle is more of a caramel/toffee chewy rather than a soft-chewy texture. I think I was expecting more of a brownie-type inside, but I guess I should've known better since the only ingredients I used were egg whites and sugar (plus flavoring elements).

Anyways, I don't think I'm going to ever make these again since neither I nor BF would willingly eat them. The remaining cookies were packed up and shipped off to BF's company so that his co-workers might enjoy them (if they like meringues that is).

EDIT: Since I didn't find a recipe I really liked,  I took the basic elements of making meringues from  fxcuisine.com and just adapted what I had to their suggestions.

Basic Meringue Recipe

Ingredients:
1 part egg white
2 part baker's sugar (also known as caster sugar)
flavorings (I used 1 tsp orange zest for the orange meringues and 1/4 cup cocoa powder for the chocolate ones)

Directions:
Make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are absolutely clean and free of any kind of oils/residues. Whip the egg whites until they become a stiff, white foam (I start off a little slow and then move up in speed once the egg whites become less congealed). Gradually add in the sugar while the mixer is going (I slowed the mixer down here to about a medium so sugar wouldn't spray everywhere) and continue whipping the mixture until it becomes very stiff (its imperative that you only add the sugar when the egg whites are stiff otherwise you end up with a deflated mixture that won't be fluffy).

Add in your extracts if you're flavoring your meringues, otherwise just transfer the mixture into a pastry bag (or ziploc bag) and pipe onto parchment paper (I highly recommend using parchment paper or else you're left with stuck-on meringues that crumble when you try to remove them off the trays). I used a large star piping tip, but you can just cut a corner of the ziploc bag and go from there.

Bake for 90 minutes at 220 degree F. After 90 minutes, shut off the oven and leave the meringues in the oven with the door open. This helps them dry out even more which is what you want. Once they are cooled, they should just pop right off the parchment paper and into waiting mouths. Meringues detest moisture, so if you need to put them in a airtight container if you want them to last for more than a few hours. 

Orange Meringues

Precarious Position

Chocolate Meringues

Star light, Star bright,
send me some chocolate tonight!

Beef, it's what's for dinner for one

I actually went to work today. Surprising? Yes, of course considering I'm currently unemployed. The company mom-in-law is consulting for needed some organizational help with their annual Holiday Card mailing and I was just the OCD gal for the job. So I woke up at an ungodly 7:30am this morning and am crashing like no other right now... yes... it is only 9:30pm. But before I crash, I wanted to share with you the dinner I made for just me. BF is apparently working late tonight and isn't home, so even though I made a very scrumptious dinner, I ate it alone watching foodnetwork (I guess technically I cooked with the Neely's and Rachel Ray and ate with Alton Brown so I wasn't really alone).

Anyways, before I jetted off to work, I took some steaks out of the freezer and put them in the refrigerator to defrost. I prepped them with some spices and into the cast iron skillet they go. Because the meat is a bit heavy, I wanted to keep the cabbage really light and sauteed them in sesame oil and rice wine. So as I try to keep myself from a food coma in order to study for my Chinese quiz tomorrow, here's a picture of dinner for one.

Steak with sauteed cabbage

This entry is brought to you by the letter "P"

P for Profiteroles that is! Once again, the bad-fruit bandit has struck again and BF and I are left with 4 very ripe, be-speckled bananas sitting on our kitchen table. Instead of making the usual banana bread with these guys, I thought I'd try something different. Now I'm going to be really honest and say that the things I bake/cook don't always turn out the way they're supposed to. BF will tell you that my cornbread chicken turned out something terrible. Even I wouldn't eat it (but he being the BF that he is ate it and told it was wonderful - yes, this is why I keep him around).

I try really hard to follow recipes to a T, but sometimes that's just not possible. So on my new adventure, I tried making banana custard. Normally I would just opt to buy the prepackaged banana flavored stuff from the grocery store, but I wanted to be daring. So I searched around online and found a recipe that seems pretty simple: puree bananas with a splash of cream, mix with egg yolks over a double boiler, when it hits 180 degrees, remove from heat and continue mixing and let it gel at room temperature. Easy peasy I say to myself.

Ummm... did I say easy peasy? First off, I have all the right ingredients - DONE! What I don't have is a thermometer and a double boiler. No problem. I can make a make-shift double boiler (which cook hasn't had to do this right?) and I can guess at the temperature. Ummmm... did I say no problem? I tried twice. Let me repeat. I tried TWICE and the second time was worse than the first! How is this possible? I think some things just aren't meant to be. Apparently, me and custard do not get along AT ALL. I think this is one of the things that I'm really REALLY going to have to work at. Boooo for thinking I was that great and could get it right the first time.

So what's the deal with the profiteroles? Well, it was my original idea to put the banana custard inside them instead of the traditional whipped cream I usually do. But alas, I resorted to the tried and true when I chucked the 2nd batch of brown banana, gooey mess into the trash can. So although these guys aren't anything fabulous, they sure tasted good and redeemed my failures just a little bit.

EDIT: Here's the recipe to these wonderful edibles courtesy of  Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network 

Basic Pate a Choux Dough for Profiteroles 

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup + 2 tbsp bread flour
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp confectioner's sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a heavy bottomed 1-quart saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour, all at once, to the pan and quickly stir vigorously to incorporate the flour into the liquid.

Return the pan to the stove, and over a medium-low heat, continue to cook and stir the dough over the fire. Do this until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Remove the dough from the saucepan, and place in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix the dough on low speed until the dough is cooled down to about 140 degrees F, which is still quite warm to the touch, but cool enough to prevent the eggs from cooking if added to the dough.

Raise the speed of the mixer to medium, and add 1 of the eggs to the dough and mix until completely incorporated. Continue adding the remaining eggs, 1 at a time, waiting until each egg is incorporated before adding the next egg.

Immediately transfer the dough to a piping bag with a large, round tip. Do not pipe them too closely together as they will need space to expand as they bake. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake the eclairs for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and continue to bake the eclairs until they are dried out, about 22 minutes longer. Turn the oven off and remove the eclairs from the oven. Using the tip of a pairing knife, cut a small slit in the side of each eclair, near the bottom. Place the eclairs back on the baking sheet and place back in the oven, propping the oven door open so the eclairs can dry out as they cool, about 1 hour or until the oven is cool. They should just come right off the parchment paper when you're ready to fill them.

For the filling, I use 1 cup heavy whipping cream and add confectioner's sugar to taste (some like it sweeter, some don't) and about a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. Beat until the cream forms soft peaks and pipe using the same pastry bag/Ziploc bag method (just cut the corner hole smaller). BF likes them really plain, but I like to jazz mine up with a glaze of chocolate if I'm serving them to guests/company. Just melt some milk/semi-sweet chocolate, add a dash of rum (yes, I did say rum) and vanilla extract and glaze to your heart's content.

Rise my minions!

Go out and conquer this world! *muahahahahaha*

I've got a pocket full of sunshine

Profiteroles with whipped cream

King of the World!

What's for Dinner?

As a marriage and family therapist, I have to be pretty quick thinking when it comes to answering questions. Usually the questions I have the hardest time answering are the ones asking for my opinion or what I think. For example: Do you think my kid is crazy? What should I do about my husband's cheating? Do you think this is normal? And as a trained mental health professional, my answers are usually questions themselves. For example: What does crazy mean to you? What do you want to do about your husband's cheating? Who's to say what is normal? You get the idea.

But when it comes to the question, "What's for dinner?" I get stumped sometimes. Answering this question gets even harder with everyone's schedules in a jumble. BF fences Wed and goes back to work afterwards. Dad-in-law works over in Berkeley from dawn until after dusk and is pooped when he gets home. And mom-in-law is busy busy networking and attending meetings.

Lucky for me, I was preemptive and asked everyone what their schedules would look like for the week so that I could plan who was cooking (if there was to be any cooking at all) and what they would like to eat. I also had the notion to pre-plan when grocery shopping on Monday by buying staples to keep in the refrigerator. Things like chicken, orange juice, dried pasta or whatever else may be on sale that I could use in a variety of dishes is my main goal. All I have to do is figure out what to cook with the things I bought. So to help me with that, I go to foodnetwork.com!

My search on foodnetwork.com brought up one of the best rated dishes on the entire site: Giada de Laurentiis' Roman-style Chicken. She's got more than 600 reviews for this dish and its still rated 5 stars! The best part is it tastes even better the longer it sits! This means I gotta try it and it'll be perfect for BF and mom-in-law who will be coming home late! And it just so happens that I had most of the ingredients she listed, minus the white wine (which I actually do have in the pantry, but I'm not a big fan of wine sauces) and capers. I didn't have skinless breasts or thighs like the recipe asked for, but I did have quarter chicken that was on sale for 67 cents/lb. Chicken is chicken is chicken (unless its chicken of the sea and that's way different). I cooked this dish super early, around 6pm and just left it in the pot on the stove. As the recipe said, it definitely tasted better just sitting there.

Dad-in-law's dinner, on the other hand, did not come from a recipe on foodnetwork.com, but from the amazing place that is my brain. He likes what he likes, so cooking for him usually comprises of a meat, vegetable and rice. I saved 2 pieces of chicken for his dinner and baked them with a sesame ginger marinade and stir fried some frozen veggies in the freezer. Pretty simple and easy I must say. When everything was done, I put dad and mom-in-law's dinners in tupperware and dad-in-law swung by to pick them up. I ate my dinner while watching my Wednesday night shows and BF served his up when he got home around 10pm. Another hump day survived!

EDIT: Here's the recipe:

Roman-style Chicken

Ingredients:
4 skinless chicken breast halves, with ribs (I used chicken leg quarters w/skin)
2 skinless chicken thighs, with bones (I used chicken leg quarters w/skin)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1 teaspoon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
3 ounces prosciutto, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes (used fresh tomatoes - cherry and roma - since it's what I had)
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (used dried)
1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves (used dried)
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons capers (I didn't have any, so I omitted these)

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (used dried)

Directions:

Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.

If serving immediately, add the capers and the parsley. Stir to combine and serve. If making ahead of time, transfer the chicken and sauce to a storage container, cool, and refrigerate. The next day, reheat the chicken to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the capers and the parsley and serve.

Snuggled in tupperware

Roman-style Chicken

a double take for dad-in-law's dinner

Sesame ginger chicken with stir fried veggies
(the veggies must be shy as they are only peeking out from the bottom of the chicken)

My horse is amazing ... it tastes just like raisins

First, go to this website and watch the video: www.getonmyhorse.com

Ok, so if you're like me, you'd be saying, "Huh?" and "What was the point of that?" But to BF, this video is the funniest thing - EVER. He hums it while he's at his desk. He hums it in the bathroom. He hums it in his sleep. Seriously. And even though I don't get it, it doesn't deter his enthusiasm to get me to like it the same way he does. But I think the only enthusiasm I ever found in it was the woman's mentioning that the horse tastes like raisins. Hmmm... raisins...

So now that I have raisins in my head, my lightning speed synapses fire and I come up with the wildest idea - oatmeal raisin cookies! I know, right, genius! But not just any ol' oatmeal raisin cookies. These babies come from the land of dreams, where hopes are fulfilled and everyone owns a labradoodle. I'm talking about the notorious Mrs. Ironman's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies! (insert dramatic music here). Now who is Mrs. Ironman you should ask? Well, I think the better question to ask is who isn't Mrs. Ironman? (er, just go with it). But to answer the question, the first one, not the second one, she's only just the mother of BF's younger sister's husband and famous baker of oatmeal cookies. Yup, you got that? Ok, let's roll then.

Apparently these cookies came around sometime last year and were the talk of the town. BF, who hates raisins (an all other dried fruits for that matter) absolutely went ga-ga over them. Wow, I say to myself since BF REALLY REALLY hates raisins and actually ate the cookies. That only meant that I had to get my hands on the recipe. But before I could actually make them, I was given a warning: red lights flashing and annoying beeping sounds kind of warning - they will not taste the same as the cookies Mrs. Ironman makes. BF's younger sister, who is an apt baker herself, has never been able to get her cookies to taste the same as Mrs. Ironman's even when following the recipe to the T... even when making them with Mrs. Ironman herself! I think to myself, challenge accepted!

But wait, you may be thinking, how would you know what they're supposed to taste like if you've never tasted the original? Well, you're right I would say. I have no idea what the originals taste like. But I do know a good oatmeal cookie when I taste one. What do you think?

Oh, sweet surrender

Yes, I am getting fancier with my photos *pats self on back*

Artistic, no?

Golden goodness

Oats and raisins - the dynamic duo

Cookies in the night, what were the chances?

A Pooh of a Pineapple

BF knows I love these things. When we were still doing the long distance thing (he up in the Bay Area and me still in the graduate program in San Diego), he sent me the full collection of these pooh key chain holders (animal themed - dolphin, horse, giraffe, dog, cow, cat, etc) one at a time through USPS. BF, always well-intentioned, put each into a regular sized envelop, slapped a stamp on it, tossed it into the mail and called it a day. Needless to say, the San Diego USPS branch that processes my mail did not take kindly to his presents jamming their machines. I got some pretty mean notes on each of the envelopes, but tried and true, I received each one unharmed.

I was reminded of this when we went to Fry's Friday in search of good deals for new mouses now that he's lugging his laptops around at his new job. As we exited, I glanced longingly at the vending machines that poop out these suckers, but didn't want to experience the disappointment of not getting the most prized pooh key chain of all - the pineapple pooh. And quite seriously, I have been eying this one since the first time I saw the machines and decidedly put my obsessive mind to own it.

So what does BF saunter in with after eating our Sunday brunch, hanging out with his parents, sister and nephew, and working a bit? Nothing less than the most coveted of all pooh key chains - my PINEAPPLE POOH! I couldn't believe how lucky he was to actually get it on the first try. THE FIRST TRY! SERIOUSLY! I guess he's just that good. I guess that also means I need to bake something really really ridiculously special as my thanks. But for now, here's my homage to pineapple pooh!

Bubble bubble, toil and trouble

I have no idea what gave me the idea to make monkey bread (aka bubble cake and a whole slew of other names which can be found on the wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_bread). All I knew what that I had to make it. Now this delectable delight often is made with store bought doughs (biscuits and such), but I didn't really feel like heading out to the store at about 9pm at night nor did I really want to lose any sleep over such a strenuous endeavor. But lucky for me, a google search brought up Alton Brown's recipe which called for everything to be home-made (SCORE!) and that prepping involved an overnight escapade in the refrigerator (double SCORE!).

As I mixed everything up and let everything settle for the night as Alton Brown dictated, I realized my dough was not rising to the occasion. In fact, it was failing miserably. Seeing as it was now about 12pm at night and I was exhausted, I took the advice of BF and heated up his cast iron skillet which so happened to be nestling itself on the back burner of the stove. I placed the bundt cake pan filled with promising 1 oz droplets of butter and sugar onto the skillet and let the residual heat from the skillet help out the lack-luster yeast.

I was tentative to go to sleep and kept a weary eye on the pan, but my REM cycle was calling to me and I reluctantly left those monkeys in the pan to fend for themselves. My stress and anxiety were for naught when I woke up to find a pan full of puffy balls ready for baking! SUCCESS! Dad and mom-in-law were on their way to McD's for a cup of coffee and I was ready to bust their chops with a full Sunday brunch of Poppy Eggs and Meat! Get ready, because here it comes!!

EDIT: Here's the recipe for Alton Brown's Monkey Bread found on the Food Network

Overnight Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

Dough:
4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 large whole egg, room temperature
2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
20 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting
1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt 
Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Topping:
8 ounces unsalted butter, approximately 16 tablespoons
8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
1/2 teaspoon ground rosemary (I replaced this with cinnamon instead)
3 ounces raisins, approximately 3/4 cup (omitted since BF hates raisins)

Coating (I omitted this part since I figured the topping would be enough):
2 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 5 tablespoons
1 teaspoon ground rosemary

Directions:

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough and add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the 8 ounces of unsalted butter, brown sugar, rosemary, and raisins. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Pour half of the topping into the bottom of 2 bundt pans and set aside. Cover and store the other half of the topping in the refrigerator until the next morning.

Place the melted butter and rosemary for the coating in a medium shallow bowl and stir to combine. Once the dough has risen, turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Portion the dough into 1-ounce pieces; roll each piece into a ball. (You should have approximately 36 balls.) Roll the balls in the melted butter and rosemary.

Divide the balls evenly between the 2 bundt pans. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the bread from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the bread. Close the oven and let the bread rise until slightly puffy looking, 20 to 30 minutes. Once the bread has risen, remove it and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Once the oven is ready, place the bread on the middle rack and bake until slightly golden on top, approximately 25 to 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Place the remaining topping in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Reheat until the mixture is pourable, approximately 5 minutes. Fifteen minutes into baking, pour the remaining topping over the bread, and finish cooking. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then invert onto a platter or cutting board. Serve immediately.

And coming through the gates with a clear lead are the Poppy Eggs
aka sunny side up

Fresh out of the oven - Monkey Bread!!
(BF called them monkey balls - lol. We did not say this to the in-laws)

Is it worth it, let me work it
I put my thing down, flip it and reverse it

OooOoOoo brown sugah, how come you taste so good?

Almost like a giant donut. Almost.

Monkey bread, check. Bacon, check. Scrambled eggs, check.
A relaxing Sunday brunch with the in-laws, successfully executed.

I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconut...

...macaroons that is. BF tends to like our fridge as empty as possible, so I decided to utilize the leftover coconut flakes from his pineapple birthday cupcakes (see "Here you me my friends" entry) to make some macaroons. Now, to be quite fair and honest, I haven't always been a lover of coconuts. No Siree. But BF and his dad (dad-in-law from now on) LOVE tropical fruits. Seriously. I think if dad-in-law could quit all the things he's doing and just be a papaya farmer, he would do it in a heartbeat. I, on the other hand, like the sweeter fruits such as mango and obviously, pineapple (see posting name). But coconut has always been the one thing I just don't have a heart for, especially the flesh. BLARGH in my books. But after living with my old roommate Silent Lamb for 8 years (she is a LOVER of all things coconut), I can finally say that I'm used to the smell of coconut via lotions, candles and air fresheners. My next step - desensitizing my taste buds to coconut so that I can actually taste my creation (to make sure its actually good) and then to actually enjoy eating it. It was also good timing that dad and mom-in-law were coming over for dinner tonight, so I thought I would surprise them all with a Friday night dessert!

EDIT: These tropical treats are based on the recipe on the back of Baker's Angel Flake Coconut package

Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:
1 pkg (14 oz) coconut flakes
2/3 cup sugar
6 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:
Mix coconut, sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract until well blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased and floured cookie sheets. (I found that I didn't really need to flour the cookie sheet. Just spraying it with a non-stick spray is good enough)

Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to wire racks. Cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. (I make rather large macaroons, so I only get about 2 dozen out of this recipe).

Mt. Macaroon

A duo of coconut macaroons

Baked Ziti-di-doo-dah

So in the hunt for dinner tonight, I realized I had all the essential ingredients to make something that I normally don't make: baked ziti. Why is it that I usually don't make this delicious dish? Well, mainly because I'm lactose intolerant (I like to refer to myself as a lactard) and this dish involves a whole lot of dairy in the form of cheese. My solution this time you may wonder? Umm... I didn't really have a good solution, so I'm taking the side effects as they come because there really isn't any good substitution for cheese.

Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a really good lactard and tend to stay away from dairy 97% of the time. My 3% vices tend to be pizza (cuz of the cheese), ice cream (sorry, soy ice cream doesn't cut it here) and half-and-half (gotta have my starbucks coffee). So what made me go out and buy cheese (shredded mozzarella to be exact) from the grocery store? Well, the BF's mom (mom-in-law for lack of a better title) suggested making potatoes au gratin using the new japanese mandolin I recently bought on sale at Kohls. But potatoes seemed too starchy and even the thought of all that cream and cheese made my stomach revolt in the most unpleasant way. An excavation of my pantry brought up dried pasta (mini pene), tomato sauce (roasted garlic and onions version), onions and garlic. Perfect! But wait, what about the meat? Another excavation, this time through the freezer, manifested a log of breakfast sausage which BF has not had time to touch (he's a lover of breakfast goods, but has been too busy switching jobs to actually cook said meal). Commence good eating!

In all her glory, behold! Baked Ziti!

Hellooooooo NURSE!

The first cut is the deepest ... and the tastiest!

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Yes, I came up with the title on my own. But as it implies, there were some goodbyes and some deliciousness. BF recently put in his 2 weeks notice to move on to more exciting things and today was his last day! He never once has asked me to bake something for him to take to work in the 2 1/2 years he's been there, but knowing he was leaving, he wanted to send his coworkers off with a taste of what they would be missing. So what better way to say goodbye then with BF's all-time favorite toffee chip cookies. Let me tell you, making 25 dozen of these babies for a CORPORATE sized business is no laughing matter. According to BF, they were gone in seconds. And taking a look at them, why wouldn't they be?

EDIT: These guys are made from the recipe right off the back of Heath's Bits 'O Brickle Toffee Bits

Brickle Drop Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/3 cups (8 oz pkg) Heath Bits 'O Brickle toffee bits

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheet and set aside.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl until blended. Add eggs and beat well until combined. Stir together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a separate bowl. Gradually add dry mixture to wet mixture until well blended. Stir in toffee bits.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly and remove to a wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 6 dozen (I make my bigger so I only get about 4-5 dozen from the recipe).

Toffee Chip Cookies

photo credits to BF as my hands were shaking from making 25 dozen cookies

It Takes the Cake

Fruit be warned: you will not be eaten in this household. Why is that you ask since I'm an avid fruit-eater? Well, mainly because I get lazy with the whole fruit peeling and cutting and the BF just so happens to be lazier than I am at it. With that in mind, my good intentions in buying fruit from the grocery store usually means throwing money into the garbage can after about a week of sit-there-and-look-prettiness that doesn't really get my mojo going enough to actually consume said prettiness. Now here comes the good eats part: however lazy I am about cutting fruit and eating it, I will definitely bend over backwards to bake something with it. Conundrum? Yes. I like to call this my time in the Twilight Zone (it's best not to ask why). Anyways, long story short, I worked these bartlett pears into a random cobbler/crisp. The pears were way too soft and pretty much melted in the oven, but boy-o-boy did they taste good with the mashed-up granola bar topping I put on top. Random? Indeed.

Bartlett Pear Crisp with Granola

Here You Me My Friends

So here's my first attempt at actually logging all the crazy things I come up with in my small, but homey kitchen in the Bay Area. I used to put snapshots of my creations on my xanga webpage, but I'm fickle and have since moved away from the "teenage-angst" feel of xanga into the more "adult, mature" time of my life with this blogspot. So here goes a new chapter in my life, but not before I revisit some of the things I've done previously.

Pineapple cupcakes with whipped cream and toasted coconut

(for BF's b-day this year)

Chocolate bundt cake with white peaches
(to feed classmates so they'd like me more... it didn't really work)

An excursion down Culinary Lane:
Bacon wrapped Scallops with a Mango, Onion, Avocado Chutney.

Ode to a Japanese Bento Box
I made this snack-attack for a study group (I love you ladies!) in the hopes we'd stay awake long enough to learn something