Heading Across the Pond

I miss blogging.....feels like I haven't in a long time....really this is because September has been crazy busy and I have not done any interesting cooking. Everything has been easy, on the fly dishes that I make all the time.

Today I am heading to England for a work convention, I am excited! But this means there will probably not be any more posts in September, October will be different, I have big plans to start cooking up a storm!

Cheerio My Friends!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

I had big plans this weekend to make coconut cream pie but that fell by the wayside when I found this recipe for one of the best looking cupcakes I have ever seen.

The recipe has many steps starting with the bottom crust.

A mixture of crushed graham crackers, sugar and melted butter a pressed into the bottom of the tin and then topped with finely chopped chocolate. This is than baked for about 5 minutes to set the crust and melt the chocolate.

The crust is then topped with the cake batter. The batter is not thick at all, it has the consistency of melted ice cream, which worried me at first but everything turned out well. The batter is topped with the remaining graham crackers and chocolate and then baked.

Next comes the marshmallow frosting. I was a bit nervous about making the frosting but it turned out to be very easy.

I then pipped it on top of the cupcakes (I still need some practice at this) and placed them under the broiler to toast.

The cupcakes are delicious! One thing to note is that the recipe says it makes 2 dozen, when in actuality it could probably make about 4 dozen.

Anxious for Fall and New Cooking Magazines

I have been uber busy recently. Nothing I can complain about, but it has kept me out of the kitchen quite a bit. This weekend (and hopefully next) I plan to change that. I am missing cooking and baking a lot.

Fall is upon us (OK, so it is still hot outside, but a girl can pretend) and I could not be more excited, Fall is my favorite season. The weather is great, the clothes are cozy and best of all it starts the season for all sorts of fantastic foods.

I have two new cooking magazines that I can not wait to make some recipes out of. One is Cooks Illustrated American Classics. I am excited to try the following recipes from this issue.

Crisp Fried Chicken: Who doesn't love fried chicken! I have never attempted it though so it will be a new experience.

Philly Cheesesteak: One of my favorite sandwiches and I think that Peter may like it too.

Coconut Cream Pie: This is one I think I may try this weekend. I really like cream based pies and this recipe looks excellent and the crust is made with animal crackers....very interesting.

The second magazine is a special edition from Cuisine at Home. This is one of those $10 splurges but I love the regular magazine and this issue is filled with Soups, Stews and Chilies which are some of my favorite foods. There are countless recipes in this issue that I would like to try and I am sure I will though out the Fall and Winter seasons. This weekend however, I think I am going to try Kung Pao Shrimp Soup. I already have some shrimp that needs to be used and the recipe seems light enough for the warm weather that is still lingering.

One thing I am worried about with the Kung Pao Shrimp Soup is Sriracha.....what the heck is that!?!?! Looks like it will be Google to the rescue for me on that one, hopefully I will be able to find it in a local grocery store......

BLT's & Copious Amounts of Tomatoes

We have TONS of tomatoes on our one lone tomato plant. Last night I took about 10 over to the Gilby's for dinner, and I just picked about 60 more......I swear, 60! I will be sharing these with my office mates tomorrow as there is no way that Peter and I would be able to eat all of these tomatoes. And, believe it or not there are still plenty to pick once they are ripe!

Tonight, in an attempt to use up some of the tomatoes we had BLT's for dinner. YUMMY!!! This is one of my all time favorite sandwiches and I love how simple and old fashion they are. Just some great bread, mayo, lettuce, bacon & tomatoes. It doesn't get much better than this!

Foster's Pimento Cheese Spread

I had this delicious treat over Christmas when Traci brought it for lunch one afternoon when the girls got together to bake. I loved it and have been looking for an occasion to make it again. Saturday was just the day, I co-hosted a baby shower for our good friends Becky & Nate. She is as big of a cheese fan as I am so this was perfect......I wish there had been leftovers!

From The Foster's Market Cookbook pg. 102

1 cup (4 oz.) grated sharp Cheddar cheese *

1 1/2 cup (4 oz.) grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup (4 oz.) grated smoked Gouda cheese**

1 roasted red & 1 green bell pepper, peeled, cored, seeded & chopped***

1 cup good quality mayonnaise

1 jalapeno, seeded & minced

1 tbls. cider vinegar

1 tbls. honey

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Mix together the Cheddar, Parmesan, Gouda, and roasted peppers in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, jalapeno, vinegar, honey, salt & pepper and stir to blend well.

Stir the mayonnaise mixture into the cheese mixture and mix well. Season with additional salt & pepper if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use or up to one week.

Notes

* If you have a food processor use it to shred the cheese, the time saving is unbelievable.

** I used regular Gouda, not smoked

*** I used an oven roasting method for the peppers. Rub peppers with Olive Oil, place on a baking sheet, and roast in a preheated 450 degree oven, turing until the skin is charred. Remove the peppers and cool, then remove the charred skin, stem, core & seeds.

Cheesecake Redemption

I will not be defeated!!!


I had to give cheesecake a try again, but I decided not to use the same recipe. Instead I used the recipe for New York Cheesecake from my trusty Baking Illustrated Cookbook. I really like this book because it gives several suggestions based on mistakes that the bakers made while trying different methods for each recipe. They do this to find what they feel gives the best final product.





I followed the directions to a T, I took my time and prayed that this go round would be better than the last. I am happy to report that my hard work payed off, the cake turned out beautifully.









I brought it to my father in laws house on Sunday to celebrate his birthday and it was a big hit! I can not wait to make it again and will try some different variations that were suggested as well.

Blueberry Pancakes

I picked up the most recent issue of Cooks Illustrated last week and I am excited to try almost every recipe in the issue. Most will require some time, which I don't have a lot of at the moment, but one stood out right away as quick and I had all the ingredients on hand.

Blueberry Pancakes on page 43 was what caught my eye. I believe I have mentioned before that I am not usually one for pancakes, however this recipe reminded me of sleep overs at my friend Megan's house when we were little girls. Her mom would make us blueberry pancakes on Sunday mornings and it always made me so happy. Since I had blueberries left from the bag my mother in law gave me last week I decided that this past Sunday would be the day for pancakes.

Delicious! I just loved them and Peter did to, he said "these are better than Pancake House" which is one of his favorite breakfast restaurants, so I knew I had done a good job!