NuM NuM

The other night Lobster and I hosted a Holiday party and had about fifteen guests, twenty platters of food, seven desserts, and chocolate treats here, there and everywhere! There was an insane amount of food and I went a little nuts and also made a dessert bar.



I made cute little mini raspberry lemon cupcakes, salted caramel cupcakes, almond toffee brittle "crack," peanut butter blossoms, and chewy brownies. Needless to say it was a sugar overload and everyone took home a doggie bag of sweets to enjoy for the next few days. Luckily for me, there were a few stragglers left behind so Lobster and I had desserts for the week.


While trying to decide what desserts to serve, I knew I had to make brownies. After all, who doesn't love brownies?! The question was, what recipe to try? I set out to find the best brownie recipe and my goodness, there are more brownie recipes on the Internet then there are hairs on my head. And jiminy Christmas, are people particular about their brownies! I like mine chewy but the combinations I found were endless - chewy, fudgey, cakey, chocolatey, cocoa-ey.....you get the idea. The recipe I finally chose was ironically called, "chewy brownies" from Cook's Illustrated. They're always a trusted source and deliver excellent results and this time was no different. The brownies were chewy, moist, fudgey, chocolatey and best of all had that lovely crackly top you usually only get from the box-mix everyone loves. I even refrained myself from eating or cutting them until two days later, since brownies apparently taste better with age - such self control I have! Where that self control went when it came to finally eating them - I have no idea.

While I can't leave well enough alone and know I'll still be experimenting with other recipes, this was a good starter recipe for a classic brownie. If you'd like to try a "fancy" brownie, try my all time fave Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Cheesecake Swirl Brownie. Enjoy!

*For the Chewy Brownie recipe, you can find it here

For Thanksgiving I put a twist on your traditional pumpkin pie and served a pumpkin trifle.While I do enjoy a good pumpkin pie, I'm always in search of new and innovative recipes - and let me tell you, this one delivered! What is a pumpkin trifle you ask? Well, think of it as a pumpkiny tiramisu meets bread pudding and marries a pumpkin mousse - yes, it's NUM!

For the photo, I made individual servings for Lobster and I, but for the actual big event I layered everything in a large trifle dish. Visually, it was a lovely presentation. Either way you serve it, your guests will be pleased.


Pumpkin Trifle
Makes 12 to 14 servings
Found on What Megan's Making but recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 2 pumpkin bread loaves
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 10-oz jar pumpkin butter (Trader Joe's)
  
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

Dessert or appetizer? Either way you serve it, this was delicious!! Sweet and salty - my favorite! I served this dish as an appetizer, but it's so sweet and decadent you could just as easily have this for dessert. Each bite gives you a sweet and salty party in your mouth - but nothing beats that first bite. Once you stick your fork into the phyllo, you hear a nice crunch and the cheese begins to ooooooze. Then, once you put the whole thing in your mouth, you get a hit of salty goodness from the cheese, crunchyness from the phyllo dough - take all that deliciousness and mix it with the honey and sweet roasted figs - it's the perfect combination of textures and flavors...NUM! Did I describe that well enough for you?! :D Run, don't walk to eat this plate of delicious yummyness. It's a guilty pleasure, but one worth all the extra calories. Pure decadence!


Feta wrapped in Phyllo Dough with Honey and Roasted Figs
Recipe from Food Network
6 servings

* Phyllo pastry sheets from 1 frozen package (recommended: medium or thick style, if available)
* 1 1/2 pounds Greek feta cheese, in block form
* Vegetable or sunflower oil, for frying
* 3/4 cup Greek honey
* 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
* 1 small jar candied figs, or fig jam

Directions

Thaw the frozen phyllo pastry sheets in the refrigerator overnight, and then bring these to room temperature prior to use for easier handling.

Drain the feta cheese from the brine. Cut the block of feta using a thin, sharp knife into 6 slices, approximately 2 by 4 inches and 1/2-inch thick. Set the slices on a clean kitchen towel to dry.

Lay the phyllo sheets on a flat surface and cut with kitchen scissors or a small sharp knife to size. They should be cut into rectangles, approximately 8 by 12 inches. Use a ruler if needed.

Lay 1 cut piece of phyllo in front of you like a sheet of wrapping paper - the 12-inch length top to bottom. Place a slice of feta at the top end of the sheet slightly below the edge and wrap it up as you would a small package. Fold the top end of the sheet over the feta and then fold the left and right sides over. Flip the partly wrapped feta down the sheet towards you until it is fully wrapped. If needed, a little water can be used to seal the last edge of the sheet onto itself.

Set aside with the sealed edge on the bottom of the package so the weight keeps the phyllo closed. Do not stack packages on top of each other. Continue to wrap all the pieces of feta.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a deep sided skillet using sufficient oil to float the package, about 3 to 5 inches of oil. Fry to a golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. The pastry should puff up slightly. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on a paper-towel lined plate.

Serve each package on an individual plate or, if on a serving platter, do not stack the packages. Drizzle each package with about 2 tablespoons of honey and sprinkle with a teaspoon of black sesame seeds. Top with cut roasted figs.

Cook's Note: Uncooked packages can be frozen for later use. If freezing, dust lightly with cornstarch or flour to help keep them separate.


Honey Roasted Figs

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh figs

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wash, slice, remove stems from figs. Quarter the figs and arrange in baking sheet sprayed with PAM.
3. Roast for 8-10 minutes, or until they begin to brown.

After preparing a mediocre dinner, I redeemed myself with this fantastic dessert. Sooo....are you wondering why the "cream" is in quotation marks? Well let me tell you: for all you tofu haters out there, this dessert will change your mind FOREVER!!! So for all the ladies who have men that loathe tofu, make this dessert and I promise they'll be more open minded for the bland, chalky stuff they refer to it as.

I tricked lobster into eating it again - tehe. I said, "you like it?" He said, "yah it's good." I said, "no really, do you reeeeeeally like it?" with a devilish smile. Then he stared at me funny and said, "What the hell - don't tell me there's tofu in here?" Muhahaha....sucker! (insert laughing smiley) He couldn't even tell and you truly cannot taste the tofu whatsoever since it becomes a smooth cream mixed with the honey and lemon juice. Just NUM - makes you want to do the happy dance for your healthy, light, delicious dessert that's truly good for you. Get your protein and fulfill your sweet tooth all in one meal. Yum-May!

Some other recipes to sneak tofu into you meal:
Lighter Eggplant Parmesan
Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Tofu "Egg Salad" Sammie


Lemon Tofu Cream with Fresh Raspberries
Adapted from Enlightened Cooking
Makes 4 servings

Feel free to substitute an equal amount of honey for the agave nectar.

4 tsp grated lemon zest, divided use
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp agave nectar, divided use
1 package (12 ounces) silken tofu, firm or extra-firm, drained*
2 cups fresh raspberries

Combine 3 tsp (1 tbsp) of the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 cup agave nectar, and tofu in a blender. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides of blender with rubber spatula as necessary.

In a small bowl, mash 1 cup of the raspberries with the remaining 2 teaspoons agave nectar. Gently mix in the remaining raspberries.

Divide 2/3 of the lemon cream evenly among four bowls or serving glasses. Spoon raspberry mixture over cream, then top with the remaining 1/3 of the cream and sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp lemon zest.

*I used Jah-Yuhn nah lah Silken tofu brand – sold at Korean markets

Ever sine I began my cooking venture I've always wanted to make a trifle. Well, today I finally made one and it did not disappoint! The funny thing is, I've never actually eaten a trifle before but always wanted to make one because they look so darn perrty. Trifles are the kind of desserts where guests will swoon an ooh and ahh b/c chances are they've never seen one before. My family was a bit skeptical at first, saying things like, "What is it? What kind of cake is that??!" Haters! But one bite and they were hooked! Suddenly the verbage changed into, "oooh....how did you make this?" Little did they know it's the easiest thing to make. Although it is a bit more labor intensive than I thought it would be. The whole thing probably took me about an hour and a half from start to finish. Who knows, maybe I'm just slow. But, the end result was definitely worth it and everyone loved it. My family has now requested I make this annually for everyone's birthday...yay for me.

If you are a first time eater/maker of trifle, the taste is similar to a cake batter along with the addition of vanilla pudding pie. Yes folks, it's that yummy! Rich, velvety, creamy and ohhhh soooo goooood. Trifle's are also a great alternative for people who don't like rich chocolatey desserts too - although that person sounds like a complete LOSER! :D This dessert is very versatile so feel free to swap out the flavors if you're not a fan of vanilla. Lemon would be a good substitute and one I'll be trying out next. Make this for your next barbecue while summer's still here and you'll be the hit of the party. Happy eating!


Angel Berry Trifle
Adapted from here
14 Servings
One serving = 209 calories (3/4 cup)

Ingredients
• 1-1/2 cups cold fat-free milk*
• 1 package (1 ounce) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup (8 ounces) fat-free vanilla yogurt
• 6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 1 prepared angel food cake (8 inches in diameter), cut into 1-inch cubes**
• 3 cups strawberries, sliced
• 3 cups blueberries

Directions
• Slice strawberries into 1/4-inch slices and mix with blueberries. You want to reserve about 10-15 slices of strawberries from the outer edges of the berry to decorate the top of the cake. Also reserve the middle slices of the strawberry to line the outside of the trifle. Middle slices should all be about the same size. This is not necessary but it makes the trifle more visually appealing.
• In a small bowl, whisk the milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.
• In a large bowl, beat the yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream and vanilla until smooth. Fold in pudding mixture.
• Place a third of the cake cubes in a 4-qt trifle bowl. Top with a third of the pudding mixture, push pudding mixture down so it seeps into the cake. Line the outer edge of the dish with the reserved middle strawberry slices placing them vertically side by side against the glass (see photo) Add a third of the strawberries and blueberries in one layer across the pudding. Then add half of the whipped topping and slather it across the berries till it reaches the edge of the dish. Make sure you push layers down every time you add pudding and whipped topping. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining cake, the final pudding layer. Decorate top of pudding with outer edge slices of strawberries and a handful of blueberries. Serve immediately or refrigerate. This is best served when trifle has been in fridge for about 4-8 hours. When serving, make sure you make a big enough scoop to reach the fruit layer.

*I accidentally used 2 cups of milk and it was fine. I just had pudding mixture left over after I made the trifle...don't worry I put it to good use.
**I bought mine already prepared at Ralphs Grocery Store in the bakery section

Tonight lobster and I had a few friends over for a "Burger Throwdown!" When you have two competitive cooks in the kitchen, things can get a bit ugly. I had to keep an eye on my burgers just in case the Fisherman tried to sabotage them. He came with his game face and tried to win everyone over by putting bacon, balsamic glazed onions, guacamole and melted cheddar cheese on his burgers. Homeboy even brought his own buns - he was that serious! Clearly he was in it to win it! Alas, sadly there could only be one winner. We tallied up the votes and by unanimous decision, the winner was: guess whooooooooooooo........ME! Haha (applause, applause) "thank you, thank you!" Well, to be fair the Fisherman did receive one vote - does it count if you vote for yourself? ^_^ Even the fisherman's wife voted for my burger...so kind she is. I was excited to be crowned the coveted title of: "the queen of burgers" since his was delicious too. It was a great night full of laughs, glutinous eating and some bomb-ass food.

Token and his wife made a few treats as well and they were NUM! Wifey made a flourless chocolate cake, creme brulee, and some delicious breakfast muffins for us to eat the next morning on top of all the glutinous food we took in from the night before. Who couldn't use more butter and sugar in their diet? For the creme brulee she even brought her own torch and made the crispy, crunchy caramelized top. That's the best part in my opinion - when you stick your fork into the top and you here that CRACK from the burnt sugar...mmmmm. I love guests who bring a plethora of food, especially when it involves a light as a cloud chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was sinfully delicious and the perfect ending to a wonderful meal. What a great group of friends to have for a fabulous dinner...LOVE IT!!!



Chocolate Cracked Earth (Flourless Chocolate Cake)
Serves 6 to 8
Adapted from Tyler Florence

* 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
* 1 stick unsalted butter*
* 9 large eggs, separated
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
* 2 cups heavy cream, cold
* Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1-inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs - this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate; then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.

(She had to bake it an extra 10 minutes)

While the cake is cooking, make the whipped cream. Whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.

Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners' and the whipped cream.



Creme Brulee
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa
Makes 5 to 6 servings

* 1 extra-large egg
* 4 extra-large egg yolks
* 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
* 3 cups heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it's very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

Today I made myself a healthy fruit and yogurt parfait. I couldn't tell which one I was more excited about - eating the parfait or just the idea of making something in my cute new glasses. Ain't it perrrrty?! It's like whatever you make automatically looks yummy and fancy. I have great plans for these little guys...de-constructed tiramisu, strawberries and creme, hot fudge sundaes...nummmmm! I'm getting hungry just thinking about the endless possibilities.

Today they were used to make me breakfast. I filled each layer with a little bit of Special K cereal, topped with greek yogurt, sliced strawberries and drizzled with honey. After you finish the first layer keep building until you get to the top - grab a fork and dig in.

Other suggestions could be:
- strawberries with sour cream mixed with brown sugar
- angel food cake topped with strawberry or blueberry sleury
- holding vessel for cobbler with ice cream

These cinnamon rolls are INSANELY DELICIOUS!!!! All those hours of searching for the best recipes on the Internet surely does pay off when you get to put yummy goodness in your belly. These are finger-lickin', mouth watering, lip smackin' GOOOOOOD!!! These are better then the cinnabons you eat at the malls b/c you get to enjoy these fresh out of the oven. They are so yummy and warm and the glaze you pour over the top is just heavenly.


These cinnamon rolls will now become a tradition in our home. These are sooooo good and rich that they can only be consumed once a year. Therefore, we will be enjoying them every Christmas and savoring every bite...guilt free!

While making this recipe I am still having difficulty learning how to roll out my dough. I follow the recipe exactly but for some reason I cannot get the dough to roll out to the correct size. So frustrating!! Therefore I was only able to make 8 rolls instead of 12. Well, it was really more like 6 because the two on the end had less of a dough to cinnamon sugar ratio so I doubt they will get eaten. Anyway, I hope you try this recipe and enjoy them as much as we did. (Haha, update: I was rolling the cinnamon rolls from the short side of the dough rather than the long side. Therefore I was unable to get the proper amount :)


Fastest Cinnamon Buns
by Kathy Kingsley
Yields: 12 buns

For an extra-sweet touch, reserve some of the glaze to pass at the table, so people can drizzle a little more on top

For the dough:
3/4 cup cottage cheese (4% milk fat) or 1% fat or part skim ricotta
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

For the filling:
3/4 oz. (1-1/2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup (4 oz.) chopped pecans

For the glaze:
2-1/2 oz. (scant 2/3 cup) confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 Tbs. cold whole or low-fat milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

Make the dough:
In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (I pulsed mine about 6 times - don’t overprocess) The dough will be soft and moist.
Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12x15-inch rectangle.

Make the filling:
Brush the dough with some melted butter, (I just used butter spray) leaving a 1/2-inch border unbuttered around the edges. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough and pat gently into the surface. Sprinkle the nuts over the sugar mixture.
Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, and leave the ends open.

With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan; they should fill the pan and touch slightly, but don’t worry if there are small gaps.

Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. (Mine only took 20 minutes) Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and remove the springform ring. Transfer the rolls to a serving plate.

Make the glaze:
In a small bowl, mix the confectioners’ sugar, 2 Tbs. milk, and vanilla to make a smooth glaze. It should have a thick but pourable consistency, so add up to 1 Tbs. more milk if necessary. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls. Let stand 5 minutes and serve.

**Here is another version to the recipe, although I haven't tried it yet.

Apple-Butter Cinnamon Buns: Instead of using the cinnamon-pecan filling in the main recipe, mix 3/4 cup apple butter, 1-1/2 Tbs. melted butter, and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Omit the melted butter from the main recipe and spread the dough rectangle with the apple mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup (3 oz.) finely chopped walnuts, if desired. Roll, cut, bake, and ice as directed. Because this filling is wetter, the buns may need to bake for 30 minutes.

Lately I have been on a baking kick for the past few days. But I would have to say that these are my favorite so far and the peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal cookies come in at a close second. But holy cannoli, these toffee brittles are lethal. They are so addicting. If dessert could be a drug, THESE WOULD BE CRACK. I absolutely love the taste of toffee. If you love Almond Rocha or Heath bars you MUST make this!!! This dessert is so surprisingly good and easy that it makes you say, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I made this." It tastes sooooo much like the real thing and it's unbelievably easy. I must warn you though, these are SUPER addicting. I just ate about 4 of them and I JUST pulled them out of the fridge. I'm realizing I really shouldn't make any more desserts because I find myself consuming way more than any human should actually eat in one sitting. I think I will cut back a bit before I bust an artery.

I found this recipe from this website. I halved the recipe and my first batch burned because 15 minutes was way too long to have these in the oven. Maybe because I made a half batch they cooked a lot faster. I pulled mine out after about 5 minutes. Basically, when the caramel begins to bubble in the oven you want to pull these out. After I finished sprinkling almonds on top I put them in the freezer to cool down faster b/c I'm just impatient like that. After they were cool enough to eat I broke them into funky shapes which I think makes it look more decorative and whimsical. These are sooooo good, they are heavenly.

UPDATE: I am now using a different that produces excellent result every time

Almond Chocolate Toffee Crunchies Recipe
Ingredients:
1 sleeve of saltine crackers (20 crackers)
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted (I used salted roasted almonds)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Line crackers on cookie sheet close together. In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and start timer and boil for 3 minutes - do not stir. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely. Bake for 5-7 minutes. I would linger more towards 7 minutes just to ensure that the caramel sets. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the cookie sheet. The chocolate should start to melt. Spread chocolate over the toffee mixture and top with nuts. Allow to completely cool before breaking toffee up in pieces. If you're impatient like me put them in the freezer for 10 minutes. Enjoy!