Another month and another Daring Bakers Challenge.

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

Last month when I discovered we were baking canoli I joked about how I thought the daring bakers were reading my mind as I had wanted to give them a try for a while. At the end of my post I continued the joke with predicting the fact that this month’s challenge would be Gingerbread houses as I had wanted to make them this month as well. Well imagine my surprise as I read that this month’s challenge was – in fact – going to be gingerbread houses! I just about fell out of my chair! How awesome!

Homemade gingerbread houses instantly bring me to memories of my childhood. I can remember going over to grandma’s house every year for Christmas or Christmas Eve and spending a majority of the day decorating my gingerbread house with as many pieces of candy I could get my hands on as if it was yesterday. While those houses were not made from scratch, unlike the one we did for this month’s challenge; I still enjoyed every little bit of it!

Another thing I remember from my childhood was the snow. Growing up in Minnesota I got plenty of it. We spent many a Christmas sledding through the woods outside my grandmother’s house and engaging in afternoon long snowball fights and loved every moment of it. It truly has been a long time since I enjoyed a white Christmas seeing as how I have lived in
Texas for a little over 10 years now.

Well lucky me because this month not only gave me a flash back of my past with the making of gingerbread houses but I also got a white Christmas as well! For the first time in many a year we received snow here in Dallas and I doubt that there could have been a bigger smile on my face for the holidays! The only thing that is unfortunate is that shortly after taking pictures of our gingerbread houses and some of our newly fallen snow our camera decided that it was time to quit! I was extremely disappointed as I wanted to share with you pictures and recipes of all our favorite Christmas cookies!
I guess we will have to be on the lookout and pick one up soon so that we can get everything back to normal around here as soon as possible.

Now back to the gingerbread houses!

I never knew it could be so difficult making gingerbread houses from scratch. In an effort to save myself some time with this challenge I wanted to make my dough in advance and have it ready to go so that I could really have some extra time in decorating it. However, while the instructions say you can refrigerate the dough overnight, I highly recommend you do not. The dough cools too much and becomes impossible to work with. It also dries out significantly despite being wrapped in plastic and got to the point where I decided to just throw it out and start over. I also added an extra 1/2 cup water to the recipe to give it a little more workability.

Then came the Royal Icing…. What a pain! This icing recipe sets up so fast that I could barely squeeze it out of the pastry bag. I ended up using it for a couple of pieces and then opted for a fall back Royal Icing recipe that I had saved from some cake decorating classes I took. It was much more workable and I think saved myself a tremendous about of time. While it takes a little more time to set your wrists with thank you!

Basically the recipe mimics the one we used for the challenge but adds a quarter cup of water to it and removes the vinegar. You can then add powdered sugar to stiffen it up a little bit if it is runny or add more water to it if it becomes difficult to work with. All in all I was really happy with my final result and still had a blast doing it. After all the point of a challenge is to challenge your capabilities right?

With the last of our out of town guests starting to leave tonight I am reminded of all the wonderful memories we have created over the past few weeks and look forward to the ones that we will make in the future. I wish you all the most happiest of holidays and ask you to hold those who may be less fortunate in these times in your thoughts and hearts.

Merry Christmas!

Y’s Recipe:
Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.

3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place.

4. [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.]

5. Preheat the oven to 375′F (190′C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.

Royal Icing:

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren’t using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Two weekends ago my grandparents came into town to do some visiting as they made their way down to Florida for the winter. Yes, most Minnesota (well most northern state) grandparents have the same migratory patterns which are surprisingly similar to that of a flock of ducks.

While they say they are just trying to stay warm I have a different theory. I believe that all of the grandparents go to Florida and engage in one massive 3 month long Spring Break party that no one under the age of 60 knows about and is reminiscent of the days of yesteryears. While many of you may question the feasibility of this let me first give you the name of this recipe; Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo.

Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo is not really a name that grandparents come up with while sipping hot coffee watching the sunrise on the beach. This is partly why I suspect that there may have been a little spring break partying involved with the creation of this recipe. *Disclaimer* they claim to have gotten this recipe from their son (my uncle) but I’m pretty sure that this is just another one of their elaborate cover ups (similar to that of Roswell).

Next Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo has everything you could ever want at a party; it’s extremely filling (great for absorbing any late night party concoctions) quick and easy to make (you need that if you have been partying for too long), and then there is a case to be made about how the recipe directions were written…

Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo

4 Chicken thighs
2 lbs of Polish sausage, sliced
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1 jar of Prego/Ragu/whatever Garlic and Herb spaghetti sauce
1 can (11 oz) corn
1 green pepper

- Cook the birdie bits and den slice ‘em up.
- Cut up the sausage. 2 lbs is double the normal amount but I like da sausage.
- Dump everyt’ing in a pot and den add 2 cups of water. You can add more water if you likes your Gumbos thinner.
- Bring da pot to a boil as if you was going to cook up some crawdads. Cover and cook over a medium fire for about 15 minutes or until da rice isn’t crunchy no more.

For a little more kick in your Gumbo you can zing it a little wit’ a bit of hot red pepper sauce.

Hoo-Wee!

Now does that sound to you like a recipe written by grandparents who do nothing but sit around and play cards every day as they say they have been? I think not! But I’ll let you be the judge here…..

Regardless of who or how this recipe was created I would have to say that this recipe is definitely the perfect recipe for a fall get together with family or friends. It makes enough to feed a hungry group of people and will leave everyone completely satisfied. Which is great…. no matter what it is you’re doing ……

The beginning of September means a few things here in Texas.

1. The heat is finally starting to subside.
2. Cold winter months are fast approaching.
3. Cherries are reaching the end of their season.

Because of this I find myself wanting to jar every fruit known to man as I know that the long cold winter months will most likely yield nothing but frozen fruits and sparse vegetables.

A couple of years ago a fried of mine brought over some brandied cherries during the holidays and gave me my first taste of a truly fantastic ice cream topper. While this is not the only thing brandied cherries are good for, it surly is my favorite use of them.

Seeing as how it takes 3 months before the brandied cherries are ready to eat I thought that I would make this a two part series. The first part will be as you can see below the steps involved with jarring your brandied cherries and storing them for a later date. Pretty much the only thing I don’t like about these babies is the fact that they lack the sense of immediate satisfaction due to the 3 month fermenting period….

Begin your brandied cherries by submerging your mason jars in boiling water for 5 minutes. While normally this process is done primarily to keep the jars from cracking when you add hot ingredients, I do this for these jars as well as you never know who (or more importantly WHAT) might have been in the jar before you got it at the store. Once your jars are ready you can take them out of the pot and set them aside as they don’t have to be hot for this jarring process.

There are two ways of approaching the next step. If you want quick and easy brandied cherries simply de-stem your cherries and place them in the jar until you reach about a ½ inch from the top. If you want (in my opinion) much more flavorful and easier to consumer later cherries; pit your cherries. If you don’t have a cherry pitter, (as I quickly found out I miss placed) you can always use a paper clip by unfolding it into an S shape and using it to dig out the pits. Personally a cherry pitter is a worthwhile invention however, in a pinch the paper clip wasn’t a bad option. A little bit messy, but since when has working with cherries not been messy?

Now it’s time to fill the jars with sugar. Slowly add your sugar until the jar is approximately ¾ full. Make sure to tap the jar a few times to ensure that the sugar fills in any gaps.

Now comes the fun part; adding the liquor. While I know the title of this post says brandied cherries, don’t let this limit your imagination. For this years batch I used brandy for 1/3 of my jars, Kirsch for another 1/3, and Cognac for the remaining third. Another great liquor that came to mind was some aged whiskey, but alas, I had already finished the bottle earlier in the week. Fill your jars just below the rim to allow a about a ¼ inch space of air between it and the lid. It is important to leave this space as it will help you properly form your seal shortly.

Make sure to securely tighten your lids to your jars as close to center as possible to ensure a good seal. Place the jars into a large pot and completely submerge with water. Bring the water to a hard boil for 10 to 13 minutes. Then turn off the heat and allow the jars to sit for an additional 5 minutes to help equalize the pressure in the jars. Remove each jar and let cool.

The next day check your seals. Do this by removing the screw tops carefully and gently pushing down on the center you should feel no give what so ever. If your seal is broken you can stick them in the fridge and do the process over again when you have the chance.

Turn the jars over every hour for 4 hours to allow your sugar and liquor a chance to mix completely for the next day.

Now comes the hard part. Wait (if you can) 3 months before opening your jars….

My friend sent me this link to the recipe he uses to do this however, I feel it’s really lacking in the proper jarring steps so please make sure to follow the instructions above to avoid any possible jarring diseases….

Brandied Cherries
Altered slightly from Ehow.com

Ingredients:

Roughly 3 1/2 pounds black cherries for 12 jars
6 cups sugar
6 cups brandy or other liquor

Directions:

1. Simmer the jars in water for about 15 minutes (Lids and rings can go in, too).
2. While the jars are sterilizing, wash the cherries well and remove the stems completely drain them well.
3. Pit the cherries.
4. Fill clean jars with the cherries, packing tight without squashing them.
5. Pour sugar over the cherries until the sugar is at about the 3/4ths level, shaking the jar as you add the sugar to make sure all air pockets are getting filled.
6. Pour brandy in slowly, swirling it around a bit as you pour so the sugar absorbs as much as possible. Add brandy to within an ¼ inch of the top.
7. Clean the lip of the jar with clean paper toweling and put the rubber lid and ring on the jar, securely.
8. Place in a large pot and submerge in water. Bring the water to a violent boil and boil for 10 – 15 minutes.
9. Remove form heat and let sit for an additional 5 minutes until jars have pressurized.
10. The next day check your seals to ensure proper sealing.
11. Turn the jars upside down, and turn them end to end again every hour for 4 hours. This insures that the brandy and sugar will mix completely.
12. Store in a cool, dry, dark place at least 3 months before using. A basement pantry works well but can be stored in the refrigerator on a low level in back. You can cover the jars with a dark dish towel in the fridge.

It just so happens that Peaches are in season (well sort of)! A friend of mine happened to be driving though the Texas Hill Country (down by Fredericksburg) and was gracious enough to pick me up some fresh peaches. It’s like the peach capital of Texas down there…. As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I was going to make!

When we took out trip down to Fredericksburg Texas the other month the peaches were just becoming ripe and now we are at the end of the season, a somewhat sad reminder that the end of summer is slowly drawing near. While those of us in Texas would never guess that as 100 degree plus days seem to stretch late into the weekly forecast the end of the peach season here in Texas tells us that cooler days are not too far away.

I do have to admit Peaches are one of my favorite fruits. They look extremely beautiful, they smell fantastic, and they can be used for a million different delicious desserts from a simple peach cobbler to a delicious smooth and creamy ice cream.

With my vacation fast approaching (sometimes it feels as though it couldn’t come fast enough). This is why I wanted to share with you the recipe that I will be using to enjoy the peaches that were graciously brought up for me the other day.

That’s right Peach Sangria! I love Sangria during the summer (especially Peach Sangria) because it is such a light and refreshing drink. Peach Sangria for me is best enjoyed while on vacation; at a time when worries and schedules melt away and the fleeting days of summer seem to last forever.

This Peach Sangria recipe has been my go to recipe for pretty much every big summer vacation I’ve taken in the past couple of years. So if you happen to have a friend (or if you yourself decide you want to) stop and pick up some of the last fresh Peaches here in Texas I suggest you make yourself a large pitcher of Peach Sangria and do a little nothing for the next couple of hours or days (that’s really up to you).

Peach Sangria
Makes 10 tall drinks

Ingredients:

6 peaches skinned and sliced
1 cup peach schnapps
½ cup fine sugar
750ml bottle of rose wine
4 cups 7 up or other citrus flavored soda
1 cup rose champagne

Directions:

Place ingredients in a pitcher and stir with a spoon until well combined. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. Sit back drink and relax!

I am on a mission…..

And when I’m on a mission nothing can stand in my way. Not even the sacred traditions of what time certain meals are to be enjoyed.

Heck who am I kidding? I love to do breakfast for dinner all the time! Maybe it’s the kid in me but there is something about it that is comforting to me when you take a traditional breakfast meal and make it for dinner (like French toast).

But this week was a little different not only was this inspiration part kid it was also part MacGyver of me as I try to clean out my fridge (the very important mission).

Why is this such an important mission? Well in two weeks I will be taking a 1 week long vacation! I’m going to be heading north to Minnesota to stay at my family’s cabin in an effort to escape the heat of Texas.

Well I’m actually going because…well….I need a vacation…. Don’t we all?

As I was on this mission I noticed that a had an unusually large amount of Gruyere cheese left that desperately needed consuming (at least that’s what I told myself) as well as a couple dozen farm fresh eggs. Now when I say farm fresh eggs were talking strait from my parents neighbors farm where the chickens run free and peck at your feet as you collect your eggs fresh. I can’t even begin to tell you the difference these eggs make when you are baking (or in my case making Croque-Madames).

What I love about the Croque-Madame is the fact that it takes the already super delicious Croque-Monsieur and slams a fried egg on top to improve the already super nutritional meal. I can’t help but feel when the Croque-Madame was invented the very talented chef was on a mission to clean out his/her fridge as they were on their way to vacation.

I can even hear them in the kitchen going…. Gruyere…. Ham….Bread… well I could definitely do a Croque-Monsieur ….but what the heck am I going to do with all those eggs? I’m leaving for vacation in a week…. Hum… this gives me an idea!

To being our Croque-Madame we in fact start by creating a Croque-Monsieur. In a small saucepan melt some butter over low heat. Then add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook stirring for two minutes to create your (yup you guessed it) roux. What I love about a Roux is that all great sauces tend to begin with one!

Next we whisk in our milk and bring to a boil. The sauce will begin to thicken as we reduce the heat and allow to simmer for five minutes.

While the sauce is simmering shred a ½ cup Gruyere cheese. Add this and the mustard into the sauce and whisk until the cheese is melted.

Remove this form the heat and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. You now have a classic Mornay sauce (Which is one of the best parts of the Croque-Monsieur/Madame).

Now it’s time to build your sandwich. I know the recipe says to place the sauce on first but I find this difficult and confusing. Begin by buttering one side of our bread and placing it butter side down on a pan. Next spread 1 tablespoon Mornay sauce over your slices.

Stack your sandwich high with ham and some moderately thick slices of Gruyere. Don’t go skimping on the Gruyere here (you’ll thank me later).

Butter the remaining slices of bread and place them butter side up on top of the Gruyere. Allow these to cook on your skillet for a few minutes on each side until each side is a golden brown.

Spread the remaining Mornay sauce and place these in a broiling pan. If you don’t have a broiling pan don’t panic as it’s not really necessary here as this will not need to drain anything. Broil your sandwiches until the Mornay sauce begins to brown (about 2 minutes). While these are browning quickly fry up some eggs to place on top. When the Croque-Monsieurs come out of the oven allow to cool for 10 seconds and then make them Croque-Madames by placing the fried eggs on top. Bon Appetite!

Croque-Madame
A slightly altered recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
6 ounces thinly sliced Gruyere
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
8 slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts discarded
¼ pound thinly sliced ham

Directions:

Make the Sauce:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small heavy sauce pan over moderately low heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to make a roux. Whisk in milk and bringto a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop enough cheese to measure ½ cup. Whisk chopped cheese and mustard into sauce, then whisk until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg. Cover with wax paper placed directly on surface to keep warm.

Make The Sandwich:

Lay 4 slices bread on work surface. Divide ham and remaining cheese slices among them. Spread 1 tablespoon Mornay sauce evenly on each of remaining bread slices and invert over ham and cheese. Spread half of remaining butter evenly on top of sandwiches and transfer, buttered sides down, to an oven proof 12 inch skillet. Spread remaining butter on top of sandwiches. Cook over low heat, turning ounces, until both sides are golden, 6 to 8 minutes total.

Preheat broiler. Leaving sandwiches in skillet, spread tops of sandwiches evenly with remaining Mornay sauce. Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat until sauce is bubbling and golden in patches, about 2 minutes. Transfer sandwiches to plates.

Every year I look forward to the spring and the wonders it will bring. I also love spring because it’s the only other time of the year besides Christmas that I take time to make some delicious treats. One of my favorite treats to make are Fleur de Sel caramels.

These caramels are unlike any you have tasted before. The balance of saltiness and sweetness could not be better exemplified by any other creation. The delicate floral notes of the Fleur de Sel will draw out the rich smoky undertones of the caramel. Your end result is a candy so addictive you won’t want to share! And I won’t blame you either!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Fleur de Sel, I highly recommend taking some time to get to know it. Known as the caviar of salt, Fleur de Sel or (flower of the salt in French), has become revered for its decedent texture and flavor for many years.

It is traditionally from the coast of Brittany, France, most notably Guerandel. However, the Camargue and Noirmoutier varieties Fleur de Sel are just as delectable. Fleur de Sel is hand harvested from the salt marsh waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A lousse de fleur (fancy term for wooden rake) is used by the workers to scrape the very top layer of salt from the surface of the water being careful not to disturb the coarse salt before it sinks to the bottom of the salt pans.

Fleur de Sel de Guerande is known for its fresh taste and exudes the aroma of bright violets and delicate balance of minerals (trust me you can taste the difference!). These small flaky crystals, moist in texture, are known to be an excellent source for calcium, potassium, magnesium, copper and iodine. The Noirmoutier and Camargue versions of this delectable salt, produced in southern France, are slightly grey with a pink hue due to the sandy minerals collected in the process of harvesting which can make for some beautiful looking salt.

Used as a finishing salt, Fleur de Sel is to be sprinkled as a finishing touch to the prepared meal not cooked with!! I use it with salads and on top of vegetables, but this versatile seasoning really comes alive when used on desserts such as a chocolate mousse or, as you can see above, caramels! The only down side to Fleur de Sel as with any great ingredient, is that the labor intensive process of managing and harvesting this delicacy by hand causes it to be relatively expensive when compared to other salt varieties. However, it does make a great gift if you can’t justify buying it yourself!

To start your Fleur de Sel Caramels bring the heavy cream, butter and Fleur de Sel to a boil in a small sauce pot. Once this mixture begins to boil set it aside quickly and let cool. Be careful not to let this boil for too long as you can scorch your milk and you will have a burnt flavor in your caramels.

While the cream is cooling bring the sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil. This is the tricky part of making caramels. This mixture should be cooked on a medium heat until it begins to boil. Constantly monitor your temperature. When your candy thermometer reads 235 degrees it should be time to add the cream mixture. You will notice that the color of the bubbling sugar has turned a slight amber color.

Add the cream mixture. This is where having a deep pot is crucial. The sugar will boil up for a few moments and then subside. You will notice that your temperature has probably dropped 10 to 15 degrees during this time. Keep you heat on medium and make sure NOT TO STIR this mixture. Over stirring your caramels can cause you to have a granulated sugar mess rather then they chewy texture you are going for!

Once your temperature has reached 255 degrees (hardball stage) remove it from the heat and immediately pour the caramel into your prepared Pyrex dish. Let this cool for at least 2 hours if not overnight.

Time to cut your caramels! I usually eyeball this but if you want to get all exact use a ruler and notch the corners on each side to give you a guide. These caramels are delicious just like this. However, if you want to create an out of this world candy experience, simply sprinkle a small amount of Fleur de Sel on top. This will heighten the salty/sweet experience. Now if you are feeling daring simply melt down some high quality chocolate nibs and either immerse your caramels completely, or drizzle the melted chocolate over top and sprinkle with Fleur de Sel for a candy fit for even the most renowned chocolatier. I personally like to do all three. This way I am able to give myself and others a mini sampling to die for!

Fleur de Sel Caramels Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon Fleur de Sel
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square Pyrex square or baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.
2. Using a medium heat, slowly bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
3. Using a medium heat bring sugar, corn syrup, and water to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan. Boil, without stirring until you reach 235 degrees and the mixture is a light amber color. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to wipe down the sides to prevent sugar crystals from creating a grainy texture in your finished product.
4. Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, boil until caramel registers 255°F on thermometer, this should take 10 to 15 minutes but sometimes takes longer depending on how much the mixture cools when the cream has been added.
5. Pour into Pyrex/baking pan and cool for at least 2 hours. Preferably overnight. Cut into 1-inch pieces, sprinkle some additional Fleur de Sel then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

For those of you who don’t know Maman and Gourmand did a little interview with one of America’s smallest artisan chocolatiers. What I love most about the article is that the true love and passion Mr. Pollard has for his craft really shines though. He has dedicated his life to creating some of the world’s highest quality chocolate and it really shows. After reading this article and discovering that they would be giving away some of their chocolate artistry I couldn’t help but pull out my favorite chocolate recipe and enter!

The Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream Sandwich is a sunny day must! I have long loved the combination of crunchy chocolate cookie and rich creamy mint chocolate chip gelato! It immediately takes me back to summers as a child where I would bike down to the local convince store to buy the nestle version of this timeless classic. While this version is a little more sophisticated and delicious (in my opinion) it still conjures up days of a carefree life style!

To begin our masterpiece we mix together some shortening and sugar. The base for any delicious cookie.

Next we throw in some brown sugar and mix again. While this is mixing add the egg and vanilla and mix for an additional 2 mintues.

In a separate bowl mix together the cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking soda. Pour this into your mixer and you’re almost done!

Once your cookie base has been made it’s time to add some more chocolate! Mix in your chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. Doesn’t that look delicious? It’s perfectly understandable if you eat the dough like this. After all you need to test your product throughout production to ensure that its coming together properly right? =)

This should yield you 36 + cookie balls. I like to use a melon baller to form my dough as it helps keep uniformity. Plus it’s a lot faster this way.

Once your cookies have cooled place them in the freezer for about an hour. When they are solid enough it’s time to pull out your gelato! Now I don’t have pictures of the gelato because this is something I had made a couple of weeks ago. I have included the recipe and will definitely make it at a later date to share with you. Trust me; it’s worth the effort! Once you have assembled your work of art it’s time to enjoy. I suggest sharing this with family and friends. Dessert is always better enjoyed with company!

Chocolate Chunk Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp good Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup high quality semi-sweet cocoa powder
• 1 cup mint chocolate chips (extra for rolling prepared cookie in)
• 1 cup high quality semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 375
2. Combine your cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside
3. With a mixer cream the shortening and granulated sugar
4. Add the brown sugar and mix until well combined (scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed)
5. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on medium until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes)
6. Slowly pour in your dry ingredient mixture until everything is combined (scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed)
7. With a spoon mix in your chocolate chips and chocolate chunks
8. With a small scoop (a melon baller works well for this) lay out your balls of dough on a cookie sheet
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes
10. Let stand for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack, once on rack let cookies cool completely (about 20 minutes)
11. Lay the cookies on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place in the freezer for about an hour
12. Take cookies out of freezer and scoop a generous amount of Mint Chocolate Chunk Gelato onto the flat side of one of the cookies
13. Top with another cookie and roll the sides in the leftover mint chocolate chips
14. Eat right away before the Gelato melts and ENJOY!

Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato
Recipe from Making Artisan Gelato

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole milk
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups fresh mint leaves, cleaned and patted dry
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup chopped dark chocolate

Directions:

1. Pour milk and ½ cup sugar into medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stirring occasionally; heat to 170 degrees. Remove sauce pan from heat and add mint leaves, stirring to make sure they are fully submerged. Cover and steep for 2 hours.
2. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean medium since sauce pan pressing on the mint leaves to remove as much flavor as possible. Place the steeped mixture back on the stove over medium heat. Stirring occasionally bring back to 170 degrees.
3. In another medium bowl whisk together egg yolks and remaining ¼ cup sugar until foamy and slightly thickened.
4. Carefully temper the egg yolks with the hot milk mixture by slowly adding about half of the hot liquid to the eggs, whisking continuously. Pour the heated egg mixture into the sauce pan with the hot milk and return to the stove top.
5. Stirring continuously with a wooden spoon cook the mixture over medium heat until it registers 185 degrees or is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon taking care to make sure the mixture does not boil. Remove from heat.
6. Pour the heavy cream into a clean, large stainless steel mixing bowl and set over an ice bath. Pour the heated custard through a fine mesh sieve or strainer into the cold cream, add the vanilla extract, and stir until fully incorporated.
7. Stir occasionally until the mixture has fully cooled. This should take about ½ hour. Remove the mixing bowl from the ice bath and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.
8. When ready pour the chilled mixture into the ice-cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s specifications. When the gelato is about 2 minutes from being done, slowly add the chopped chocolate and finish processing the gelato.
9. Remove the finished gelato from the ice cream maker and place in a plastic container. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer to fully harden before serving.

What I love about spring time…

Sunny days…
Soft gentle breezes…..
Beautiful blooming flowers dripping with the morning dew…..
Peach Bellini Mimosas in the morning…..

When I woke this morning I decided that I would celebrate this beautiful Friday by starting it with a little breakfast pick-me-up. Is there better way to start the day? I doubt it. I am especially excited about this weekend because one, it has already started early and two, this extended weekend has already begun on the right foot. I plan to spend this weekend soaking up the beautiful Texas sun, enjoying the perfect weather, and spending time with family and friends! I think you should do the same!

Peach Bellini Mimosas are the perfect drink of spring (I think they need to declare this officially from the White House). They are light and sweet and make the perfect spring morning drink. They are simple to make leaving you with plenty of time to enjoy the morning dew! I hope that everyone has a beautiful weekend with plenty of sunshine and Peach Bellini Mimosas!

Peach Bellini Mimosas

Ingredients:

• 2 cup peach nectar, chilled
• 1 1/3 cup orange juice, chilled
• 1 750ml bottle champagne, chilled
• 2/3 cup grenadine syrup

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in large pitcher. Stir. Sit back. Sip and Relax!

I feel that the soufflé has been given a bad rap by movies for years! Hollywood has portrayed the soufflé as being extremely difficult to get right. However, as you will see, it’s not really all that hard to make a dessert that is light, fluffy and delicious!

I feel that the only difficult thing about a soufflé is deciding what to top them with! I made these soufflés as the finishing touch to my Mother’s Day weekend. My mother (and me as well) love the flavor combinations of amaretto and chocolate. There’s just something special about that nutty liquor.

As I decided to up the amaretto ante I wanted to make amaretto soaked strawberries and homemade whipped cream (which if you’ve never made before you MUST to stop buying the store brand stuff because homemade tastes so much better and is too simple to make! Trust me you’ll thank me later!) to top my Mother’s Day dessert.

Since the most difficult step in making a soufflé is deciding what to top it with, I feel this step should be done first. To make amaretto soaked strawberries just combine the strawberries and amaretto liquor and refrigerate. This can be soaked for as little as an hour; however, if you want to have the best results this should be done a night in advance. The longer they sit the more they soak up that liquor! Err…. I mean…. amaretto flavor!

The second step in making your soufflé is to place your chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt it down. While this is melting, in a separate medium sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks and cream until combined. Once this mixture has been combined, whisk in the chocolate and amaretto liquor until smooth. Finally, whisk in your flour and cinnamon until incorporated.

Next beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. This can take a minute or two so be patient! I can’t tell you how many times I sat there going why are the peaks not forming yet?! They will come, trust me.

Now comes the fun part. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold half of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture until it is fairly smooth. Make sure not to over do the mixing as this is what gives your soufflé the light and fluffy texture. It is also the reason as to why many a soufflé has collapsed!

Then take the fairly smooth chocolate mixture and mix it back into the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain (like pictured above). Again, be sure not to over do this! Now all you need to do is simply divide this amongst your ramekins and place on a baking sheet. A little trick I like to use is to spray the insides of the ramekins with cooking spray and a teaspoon of sugar. This will prevent them from sticking to the sides and bottom of the glass in the end. Bake this until puffed and firm to the touch (should be about 18 minutes). Serve immediately!

As your soufflé bakes you should make your own whipped cream. As I stated before making your very own special homemade whipped cream is super simple! So simple in fact you will begin to wonder why it is you ever paid for this stuff in the first place!

To make whipped cream combine 1/2 pint of whipping cream, 3 tblsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Whip this with a mixer or whisk until combined and fluffy. See! Wasn’t that easy? The best part of this is by far the flavor. Most store brands skimp out on quality vanilla creating a whip that taste more like whipping cream then, well, whipped cream!

Once the whipped cream has been created it’s time to make the chocolate ganache I used to top the soufflés. Combine ¼ cup heavy cream ¾ tsp sugar and bring to a boil (I also added 1 tsp amaretto liquor as well. I know, a bit over kill, but as I said, I love amaretto!). Remove from the heat and add 4 oz good semi-sweet chocolate chips. As the chocolate beings to melt stir constantly until a smooth chocolate ganache has been created.

Your soufflés should be about ready to come out of the oven at this time. You should see beautifully puffed chocolate desserts! You can serve these by removing them from the ramekins and topping them with your whipped cream, chocolate (amaretto) ganache, and amaretto strawberries, or you can leave them in the ramekins as I do and eat your heart out!

Chocolate Soufflé

Soufflé Ingredients

• 2 1/2 ounces good semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup Amaretto Liquor and 3 tblsp for strawberries
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions

1. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 375°F. Lightly coat two 10-ounce ramekins with cooking spray; coat the insides of each with 1 teaspoons sugar.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt your chocolate, stir every 30 seconds until smooth.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolk and cream until combined. Next, whisk in the chocolate and Amaretto Liquor until smooth. Finally, whisk in flour and cinnamon until completely dissolved.
4. In a separate bowl beat egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in 2 tablespoons sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form.
5. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold half the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture until fairly smooth; then gently fold this combined mixture back into the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Divide between the prepared ramekins and place on a baking sheet. Bake until puffed and firm to the touch, 18 to 22 minutes.

Amaretto Soaked Strawberries

Amaretto Soaked Strawberries Ingredients

• 1 cup strawberries, de-stemmed, and halved
• 3 tablespoons Amaretto Liquor

Directions

1. Combine strawberries and Amaretto Liquor. Refrigerate overnight.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Homemade Whipped Cream Ingredients

• ½ pint whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Whip whipping cream with a whisk or mixer. When thickened add sugar and vanilla. Continue to whip until combined and refrigerate or serve immediately.

To continue this week’s Mother’s Day Brunch recap I bring you the second recipe I prepared for that special day. A frittata is a type of Italian omelette, the main difference between the traditional omelette as many American’s know and the frittata is the way in which it is prepared.

A frittata was originally prepared by partially cooking on the stove and was finished on the grill. While this may produce a slightly better tasting outcome, now a days it is significantly easier to prepare fully on the stove. A frittata pan can be found at many retailers throughout the country; however, they are generally extremely expensive.

The difference between a frittata pan and a regular pan is the fact that it has two pans on top of each other which have been locked in the back on a hinge to make it easier to flip without spilling. I personally do not own one of these pans as I don’t feel that shelling out $150 on a pan that has only one purpose is a great idea. I like to take two pans (that are of the same size) and put them over each other. This is fully capable of yielding you the same final results only less expensive as you can see above.

I found this recipe a while back on the Williams-Sonoma website while I was doing a little online shopping for my kitchen. I made some slight adjustments and produced a result that anyone’s mother would adore! I decided to make this recipe for two reasons. The first being that asparagus is currently in season, and the second being that you can easily add or subtract ingredients within a frittata to create completely different flavor combinations without significantly changing the structured output. Experimenting is highly encouraged!

The first step in creating a frittata is preparing your egg mixture. For this particular frittata we used eggs, chives, tarragon and pancetta (oh how I love pancetta; the saltiness of this meat really adds great character to the dish!)

Once the eggs have been mixed thoroughly we add the goat cheese and asparagus. Adding this now instead of the step before will keep the goat cheese from becoming dissolved in the mixture as you beat the eggs and will give you small spots of cheesy gooeyness! You will then put this in your improvised frittata pan and cook for 8 minutes. Flip, and cook for another 10 minutes, then flip again…..

Place your fully cooked frittata on a serving platter and let it cool. Your frittata, or fancy omelette as my wife refers to them as, will be perfectly prepared and ready to devour. Bon appetite!

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Frittata
Adjusted slightly from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon
• 3 oz. cubed pancetta
• 1/2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed, spears steamed until just tender and cooled
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 leek, thinly sliced and rinsed well

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, chives, tarragon, pancetta, the 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Stir in 4 oz. of the cheese. Cut enough asparagus ends into 1/4-inch lengths to measure 3/4 cup and add to the egg mixture. Reserve the remaining asparagus spears.
2. In the deep half of a frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the leek and salt and cook until the leek is tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the egg mixture.
3. In the deep half of the frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter. Add the egg mixture and cook, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula to allow the uncooked eggs to flow underneath, 3 to 4 minutes. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and cook for 6 to 8 minutes more.
4. Remove from the heat, uncover the deep pan and arrange the reserved asparagus spears on top of the frittata in a spoke formation. Meanwhile, set the shallow half of the pan over medium heat and melt the remaining 1 Tbs. butter.
5. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and flip the frittata into the shallow pan. Cook, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes. Flip the frittata back into the deep pan, then slide the frittata onto a serving plate. Let stand for 5 minutes. Top the frittata with the remaining cheese and serve.