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Did I really let 6 years go by without visiting this wonderful city? Lets not do that again... Budapest, 2012 - Freedom Bridge I know I will leave my heart here again... Had such a fabulous time... Operas, Thermal Baths, Ice Skating, a few parties... even a pig slaughtering. What a wonderful life... I am (wishfully) looking at jobs here ;) And.. the FOOD... Mulled wine (forralt
After stuffing ourselves with delicious samples at the Fall Eats festival, Aniko (my bfff, best foodie friend forever!) introduced me to a place called Eataly. Quite frankly I felt more in Italy at this place than I did in Little Italy. Its a gourmet market / cafe / bakery / small plates restaurant. The second you set foot inside you will feel like you just sank into a bag of espresso beans,
The fabulous culinary experiences continue with foods from the Fall Eats festival in Madison Square Park. Let's start with my favorites working our way down the list... Risotto ball stuffed with fennel basil pesto & a baby tomato from Arancini Brothers (side note: they have a huge variety listed on their website, including roasted beets with goat cheese. Sold!) http://
It is my first fall in New York and it is perfect. The air is crisp. There is a steady breeze blowing from the Hudson river and the forecast always promises sunny in the mid 70's. Last weekend I went biking along the Delaware and the weekend before that along the lower half of Manhattan. I can really see myself getting into cycling - if only winter wasn't right around the corner! Sigh. But my
Now I get it.... Food trucks are fantastic!!! I grabbed this taco at a food truck festival at South Street Sea Port (really cool water front board walk here in NYC with shops and restaurants). It was $3 bucks. Had saucy pulled pork, mango, cilantro, onions, and a green sauce of some sort all in a cheese-lined corn tortilla. Talk about big bang for your buck! If you are in The City, or
Not much to say .... this picture speaks for itself. :) Why should I have to wait to enjoy fried goat cheese at a restaurant? I have an abundance of the stuff sitting in my fridge...my next move is obvious.. let's try this at home. I couldn't have been more pleased. This is SO easy. Ingredients (1 serving) 3oz soft goat's milk cheese 1 egg 1/3 cup flour 1/3 cup panko bread
These are just like Bojangles biscuits* (see fine print). Need I say more? Last week I made the rustic blueberry tart/gallette (featured twice already on this blog so no need for a repeat) and here I am again with buckets of buttermilk. If I haven't ranted about this already I find it ridiculous that they sell buttermilk in such large quantities. Almost every recipe I have ever seen
(photo courtesy of JohnnyJet.com) Sometimes the simplest things are so satisfying.... Rustic Italian bread (lightly toasted) + MacKenzie Creamery Cognac-Fig Goat Cheese (slightly melted on toast) + Topped with figs, apricots, and pears (sliced) + chopped walnuts and sliced prosciutto + and a drizzle of honey or balsamic vinegar reduction = DIVINE! Serve along side a light
Introducing a new wiki project called MyCityCuisine.org. Help out by submitting write-ups or photos about great food in your town... and see what you should order next time you travel. I haven't figured out what I am going to submit for Charlotte yet but I'll think of something :)
(do I even need to say it... pls excuse the poor photo quality) The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake. At first I thought to myself.......Isn't this the same as the December challenge?? Nope!.... And a meringue in the middle; thats strange.
The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert. Overall great challenge. There was no filling recipe provided so I did not end up making any filling but I got through the tough part... making the Jonconde Imprime. Originally I wanted to do a
Merry Christmas! The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration. I loved this challenge! And, from what I could tell, so did everyone
Sweet Potato Maple Cheesecake with gingerbread crust and marshmallow sour cream topping. - YUM! I'm a little behind on blogging - today is Christmas day and this cake was made for Thanksgiving. I'm not entirely at fault - sister had the camera with all the pictures. If you're from the South its a safe bet that you've had sweet potato casserole - maybe with candied pecans but most likely with
The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. So what is a crostata??? Our host provided a brief description: "...crostata (tart), an Italian dessert.
The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious. This month's challenge was so much fun!! Is it obvious I am not much of a Dunkin' Donuts fan? I've always favored Krispy Kreme... maybe because my uncle would
I am baking cookies on a school night and don't feel a bit guilty about it.... (I may think otherwise come 8am tomorrow morning when I'm taking a test ;) But seriously, for the record, I'm pretty darn good at managing my time and Mr. Cliff T. Ragsdale, author of Spreadsheet Modeling and Decision Analysis, has been the gracious recipient of my undivided attention for the last week. It was high
The biggest challenge this month was figuring out what shapes to cut my cookies for the "September" theme. October would have been easy: "Halloween". March: "Birthday", November: "Thanksgiving", May: "Flowers", June: "Summer Time".... but September???? I guess it might depend on what part of the world you are in but I can't really think of any "themed" holidays around here... I guess there is
Curry Chicken Burgers with Carrot Salad Carrot Salad: 3 tbs olive oil (I just omitted this)1 1/2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice1 tsb Dijon mustard1/2 tsp sugarSalt & Freshly ground black pepper, to taste3 cups peeled and grated carrots1 tbs snipped fresh chives Combine all ingredients and toss to evenly coat carrots. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Burgers: 2 tbs olive oil1/2 cup
haha, I'm just now noticing that really obvious color "dot" on the photo...Thats the best I could do with a free photo editing software...the idea was good though, right? I love all kinds of books. Novels, coffee-table books, how-to's, magazines, news papers, the list goes on - I'm not so sure if I'd go as far as to say I love text books, but after a few years of school I've kind of developed a
Fluffy, sticky, sweet and super simple. Fluffy White FrostingKind of like Marshmallow Fluff(enough for an 8 inch double layer cake) Ingredients1 cup white sugar1/3 cup water1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar2 egg whites1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1. In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly. 2
The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The
Over the summer I have gotten into the habit of baking on Friday nights. Yes, I know I’m a little boring – and I’m okay with that ;) But this new routine has left me in a bit of a jam… what to do with all these baked goods. So I started thinking…. I try to give back when I can; donating to Goodwill, running 5Ks for a cause etc...so why not kill two birds with one stone: break in my new
The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home. More to post later - but in brief, it was a vanilla Swiss roll with a strawberry whipped cream filling filled with coffee
The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home. More to post later - but in brief, it was a vanilla swiss roll with a strawberry whipped cream, coffee ice cream,
Upon request: a Funfetti birthday cake for my friend Richard. You know, the same one that ate my gingerbread house... >:-\ (I'm still a little bitter about that.) This is basically your best white cake recipe with a quarter cup -or more ;) of sprinkles. (Make sure they are the long kind. I have tried to make a confetti cake with the flat and non-glossy sprinkles before... doesn't work. They "
Happy Birthday Dad!Most of the time I try to come up with a catchy post title. Something that is suggestive of what to expect from the recipe. This time "Triple Trouble Chocolate Cake" was the best I could come up with.... this is three ultra moist layers of decadent chocolate cake smothered with a rich, luscious butter cream that makes for a dangerously divine birthday dessert. Would make
"What is your favorite flower?", a question for which I never have an answer. But, I can tell you it would most certainly not be a Geranium. Growing up we had about ten of those potted plants on our glassed-in front porch. Every so often, my sister and I were each given a paper grocery bag and told to go pick the brown leaves and dead flowers off the Geraniums so they would "look nice". I
Just wanted to share what I made for Fourth of July this year. I used the same blueberry galette recipe from earlier and used a cookie cutter and red sprinkles to make the stars. Everyone at our neighborhood block party loved it =D And this was much easier than last year's flag cake... recall the dog incident.
The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard. I love having a roommate who wholeheartedly supports my passion to bake. One Saturday afternoon I came home to two small
Several months ago I bought the book Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorrie Greenspan. If you click around on food blogs you've probably noticed "Tuesday's with Dorrie". I thought about joining but aside from all my usual baking, the Daring Baker's keep my roommates well fed. Instead, I just bought the book and decided to try the recipes on my own time. Ps. I loved them! (and I'm not a huge
After finally deciding to paint my new kitchen yellow I thought it would never get done. It took three trips to Lowe's and a couple to Home Depot until I eventually got the color I wanted. Its called "Caribbean Sunset". True I'd rather be on the beach of some island but for now, I am enjoying my own little oasis. Two of my good girl friends, Ashley and Brittany, came over to help and were
Hello Summer!! After one whole week I finally "broke in" my kitchen! I thought fresh blueberries from the Charlotte Farmer's Market would make a lovely rustic tart. Made the perfect dessert for burgers on the grill. Happy Memorial Day! Blueberry GaletteRecipe courtesy of Cooking Light (serves 10)PASTRY: 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 7 3/4 ounces) 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup
The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri. I'm in the middle of a move and just realized I haven't posted my Daring Bakers challenge for this month!! So I'll post a more detailed description and the recipe soon -
Life is sweet... Exams are over!! Time to celebrate! : )) Fresh strawberries from Bernie's Berries, just up the street from Dad's house, made this absolutely divine! [and they don't have to know its low fat ] I used a cheesecake recipe from Eat Better America.com.... A fantastic website that that takes classics and "healthifies" them. Okay, all you skeptics.. dont' knock it 'till you try
Don't be fooled. This is not a real cookie mix but Quaker should consider! Class: Marketing 3100Assignment: Come up with a new product or product line extension and create a successful marketing plan. ---- Well, my next move was obvious. Let's do something related to food... preferably something that requires baking. :) This project required the works: real market research, surveys, budget
This is the labor of love!! Are you jealous of my roommates yet?? Does your roommate make this cake for your birthday breakfast? Didn't think so. I've been meaning to share this cake with you all for a few weeks now.. I've been a bad blogger! But a good baker.. and a good student : )) Answer: 33. I should have stopped at 21 - the number of years. That would have been appropriate (and a
I haven't had much time to blog lately (read: senior year is intense) but I just had to share with you what a fantastic birthday I had!! It was such a fun afternoon. The weather was mild and was perfect for my customized "geocaching" present hunt in the park! (I'm sure my sister and I looked ridiculous digging through the bushes. ) We ate this entire "cake"....guilt free!! Its a veggie
You need vanilla extract for practically everything.... I'm sure McCormick is making a pretty profit charging $2.75 for 1oz of the stuff. ;) So why not make your own? I found a few different recipes for making vanilla extract but there are a couple of basic concepts worth noting: Use Grade B - extract grade vanilla beans and for every 1/3 cup of vodka you need 1 vanilla bean. Thats basically
Spring has sprung! Yesterday was the first official day of the season and I couldn't have wished for a more beautiful way to leave behind our unusually long winter. Carolina blue skies and 76 degree weather must be a sign of an especially warm spring season to come. Something about me: I love warm weather (not really a huge fan of humidity though). I guess that can be fact number one, of seven,
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls - Made as a surprise morning treat for a close friend (and to celebrate of a (nearly) perfect exam grade 98 on supply chain - yay! :) A good friend of mine (and roommate) Brittany was having a bit of an off day - if you're a baker you already know what I'm thinking.. yep, she needs something sweet - that will make everything better! (and will give me a chance to dig
My fingers were numb by the end of this process but in the name of St. Valentine I did this because I love my friends and knew they would enjoy them. Vanilla beans on Ebay = ultra good deal and delicious homemade vanilla bean ice creamI ordered vanilla beans on ebay - trust me this is the way to go - they're normally $3.50 for 1-2 beans. Ah! I got 10 beans for $5. So with my new high torque
The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession. I searched high and low for plain, pasteurized cream and had no such luck but all was well my search ended
Since this chocolate chip cookie recipe is baked in a brownie pan you reduce your prep time by cutting out bars instead of rolling the dough into individual little balls to make cookies... which means shorter Yield to Yum time! :) ...and OH MY GOD did I just use a finance term to make a baking analogy?!?! Something is wrong with the finance to baking ratio here...Clearly stocks, bonds and
Mmmm.. yogurt topped with granola-addicting stuff that is packed with sugar and calories; an average of around 200 for 1/3 cup to be exact, which heavily outweighs the health benefits, in my opinion. And if you plan on munching right out of the box you've long surpassed the 1/3 cup serving size and could have splurged those calories on something way more worthy - like chocolate cake ;) So, I
I had to snag the last one left for a photo! Have you ever been to Mimi's Cafe? They have one of the best brownie a la modes - it is my weakness. It is HUGE though. Imagine an entire 8 x 8 inch brownie cut diagonally into two mega triangles stylishly placed onto a dinner plate, not dessert plate - thats how mega this brownie is - then drizzled with hot chocolate syrup and topped with vanilla ice
The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca. Chocolate * Vanilla * Mocha * Hazelnut Tackling the first part of this month's two part challenge I began by making the graham crackers from which I
Pancake + Muffin = PUFFIN! Good morning!!! It is my favorite time of day. The sun is rising, GMA is on, and I am a happy camper. : ) I am sipping on a cup of French roast coffee with vanilla creamer and dipping puffins filled with plump blueberries into a puddle of maple syrup. I found this recipe last night on Quinn's Baking Diary and I knew the faster I got to sleep the faster morning would
Again, someone let the bananas brown and that means I get to try a new banana quick bread recipe. This time I chose muffins. This was a simple, no frill recipe and honestly had the best texture and taste of any banana bread I have made yet. (I have made at least four different kinds, some of which I didn't even bother posting because I was not all that impressed.) These were moist, had a good
I got it for $14 dollars, no joke!! (okay, it was 18 with shipping but this book retails at $40!) Perhaps you have seen people post completed recipes on foodgawker or have seen the logo on other blogs. Many active bloggers of the foodie community participate in Tuesday's with Dorrie (TWD). For those of you not familiar with this blog you can read more about how blogger Laurie started her
Move over Reece's, I've got a line up that will put your peanut butter cup to shame!! I am on winter vaykay and that means more time in my kitchen!! This is the g o o d life. I can see why going back to school for a masters degree is going to be harder than I thought. I have enjoyed the few short weeks of just interning and cooking.. and more cooking... and lots of baking!! (which
