I'll admit it- I like some crappy foods. I enjoy the occasional fast food sandwich, store bought dinners, and easy boxed meals and desserts. I'm also not alone. I have seen many interviews with famous chefs where they purposely ask them what their favorite guilty pleasure is and most say a fast food joint or canned cranberries. So, even though I love to cook and bake from scratch and pride myself on loving some of the finest foods, I also love foods that are embarrassing. Here are some of favorites:
Boxed foods:
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Come on, name someone who doesn't enjoy this food? It's a childhood staple and still beloved by many adults. However, the generic brands aren't the same- you need to have the name brand stuff.
Boxed Stuffing. This one is pretty embarrassing because homemade stuffing is so easy to do, but on a busy weeknight or a night when you don't feel like slicing bread, boxed stuffing is the way to go. It's also very easy to eat the whole box yourself.
Hamburger Helper. I made this a lot in college for my husband. He finally banned me from making it because it's the definition of crappy food. The problem is, it's so easy to make and includes your meat, starch, and vegetable (you have to add that in though) all in one skillet! I think my husband finally drew the line when I made Hamburger Helper Fettuccine Alfredo and it turned into a paste after 5 minutes. I guess I don't blame him- it was pretty gross.
Canned foods:
Canned peas. For some reason, I only love canned or fresh peas. Frozen peas are gross. My husband thinks they smell like dirty socks, but I'll eat them every now and then. I think I ate them so much growing up that I developed a strange love for them that hasn't died.
Canned cranberries. This one is a Thanksgiving staple. I read a poll in a foodie magazine that asked people if they preferred canned or fresh cranberries and the majority said canned. I'll never forget the Thanksgiving when my sister and I had a cranberry eating contest. I don't remember who won, but I remember feeling sick.
Canned fruit cocktail. Again, another childhood favorite. I craved this when I was pregnant and I remembered how good it was. The real treat was the cherry halves. It sucks that they only include like 1 or 2 of them though.
Boxed desserts:
I love love love a homemade dessert made from scratch, but sometimes I don't have time, patience, or ingredients to make fresh brownies or cakes. I do enjoy a good boxed brownie- Ghiradelli is the best one by the way- and they are easy. Cake mixes are just ok. I only use a cake mix if I'm desperate for cake and don't have flour or if it's masked by other ingredients. I do draw the line at cookies in a box- gross.
Frozen foods:
Frozen pizza. As much as I love making my own pizza dough, frozen pizza is simple and good. I've had all brands and I love them all- even generic. Most of the time, I buy a plain cheese frozen pizza and top it with fresh veggies and turkey pepperoni. It makes me feel less guilty.
Frozen meals. While I usually don't eat frozen meals (mostly because of sodium and the fact that they don't fill me up), I will eat a Healthy Choice meal every once and awhile. In a pinch, they're easy and if you add a salad, it's not bad.
Lean Pockets. I know that this is a crappy sandwich, but they are good! I especially like the pizza pockets and the turkey and cheese. I won't even justify this.
Refrigerated cookie dough. This is in a category all on its own. I love cookie dough and for a quick fix, just open package and eat. Very simple and tasty. However, I hate the cookies once they're baked- not good at all. The uncooked cookie dough is all I need.
Fast Food:
Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich. This is really good and not bad for you. Grilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, soft bun, and mustard. One of my favs.
Taco Bell tacos. I love the beef and chicken. I think I ate Taco Bell a couple times a week in high school, so I still get a craving. It always happens late at night though....
Dairy Queen hot fudge sundae. For some reason, this is my favorite sundae. Simple ice "milk" and hot fudge- not from scratch, but I still love it.
Ok, there are some of my favorites. I won't apologize.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Cooking as healing
My husband and I have suffered the worst tragedy of all time: we lost our twins at 19 weeks on October 17, 2011. Caroline and Ryan were beautiful and perfect babies, we just have no idea what happened. After days of either not getting out of bed or off the couch, I decided to revisit my favorite past time of cooking. I'm starting slowly though. Easy dinners for us and then I'll venture out and try new recipes and hopefully develop new ones in my head (once my creativity returns that is). When I was pregnant, I hated cooking- the smells and various tastes did nothing for me. Now, however, my taste buds and sense of smell has come back and I might as well use them.
I craved chocolate chip cookie dough when I was pregnant, but you can't eat it raw due to the raw eggs in the batter. So, I decided to make chocolate chip cookie bars twice within 3 days (and I ate plenty of the batter too). We got bored with the cookies though, so I put them in the freezer. I was trying to decide what to do with them since they can't be in the freezer forever and frozen cookies aren't good. Finally, I created a new recipe: chocolate chip cookie balls.
I have made cake balls in the past which consist of crumbling cake into frosting, making balls, and covering them in chocolate. However, I prefer cookies over cake, so why not try it this way? I crumbled up the cookies into homemade white icing, rolled them into balls, froze them, and dipped them into melted semi sweet chocolate. The results were wonderful. While it is a very sweet treat, they are perfect little mouthfuls that leave you satisfied with only 1 or 2.
I also noticed something as I've been cooking and baking. I feel a little bit better. I daydream while I'm cooking and pretend that I'm making these recipes for my twins. I imagine what it would be like to have my children around me while stirring, sifting, or dipping. For a moment, I feel happy and my dreams are a reality with me being a mother and teaching my children how to cook. Reality always come back though and I'm back in the real world again. However, even if I only feel these joyful moments for a short time, cooking has a healing power that I never knew existed. I guess it's my own private therapy.
So, from here on out, my recipes and love of cooking and baking is dedicated to my beautiful twins, Caroline and Ryan, who I know are watching me and maybe even tasting what I'm creating. I love and miss you both.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls
For the cookies- (you can use your favorite cookie recipe or follow this one)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature (to make this lighter, you can use 1 stick of butter with 1/2 cup unsweetened plain applesauce. The cookies are a little cakey, but still good)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 bags semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 and grease 9x13 glass pan
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and set aside
Beat the butter and both sugars at medium high speed until light and fluffy
Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated
Add the vanilla
Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix only until incorporated- do not overmix!
Stir in chocolate chips
Spread the batter evenly into the pan and cook until cookies have set- about 25-35 min.- check often
Let cookies cool completely
Frosting- (you can use homemade or canned- homemade is always better. This one is my grandma's recipe that my mom also uses. It's easy, light, and flavorful)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2-3 tablespoons of milk (add more if needed)
2-3 cups powdered sugar (add more if needed)
pinch of salt
Mix above ingredients and add more milk and/or powdered sugar until a good spreading consistency is reached (taste for vanilla flavor too)
Once the cookies have cooled, crumble cookies into the bowl with the frosting and mix until everything has frosting on it
Using a tablespoon (or I use an ice cream scoop) scoop out balls of cookie and frosting and place on parchment lined baking sheets
Freeze balls until hardened (about an hour or more)
Once frozen, melt semi sweet chocolate- I'm not sure how much exactly, but it takes a lot of chocolate to cover all of the balls
Dip cookie balls into the chocolate, making sure every surface is covered by chocolate
Place them back on the parchment paper- you can also add sprinkles or colored sugar on them if you want
Once all of them dipped in the chocolate, place in refrigerator until hardened
Enjoy and as my old boss says, "Food and cooking make everything better." I couldn't agree more.
I craved chocolate chip cookie dough when I was pregnant, but you can't eat it raw due to the raw eggs in the batter. So, I decided to make chocolate chip cookie bars twice within 3 days (and I ate plenty of the batter too). We got bored with the cookies though, so I put them in the freezer. I was trying to decide what to do with them since they can't be in the freezer forever and frozen cookies aren't good. Finally, I created a new recipe: chocolate chip cookie balls.
I have made cake balls in the past which consist of crumbling cake into frosting, making balls, and covering them in chocolate. However, I prefer cookies over cake, so why not try it this way? I crumbled up the cookies into homemade white icing, rolled them into balls, froze them, and dipped them into melted semi sweet chocolate. The results were wonderful. While it is a very sweet treat, they are perfect little mouthfuls that leave you satisfied with only 1 or 2.
I also noticed something as I've been cooking and baking. I feel a little bit better. I daydream while I'm cooking and pretend that I'm making these recipes for my twins. I imagine what it would be like to have my children around me while stirring, sifting, or dipping. For a moment, I feel happy and my dreams are a reality with me being a mother and teaching my children how to cook. Reality always come back though and I'm back in the real world again. However, even if I only feel these joyful moments for a short time, cooking has a healing power that I never knew existed. I guess it's my own private therapy.
So, from here on out, my recipes and love of cooking and baking is dedicated to my beautiful twins, Caroline and Ryan, who I know are watching me and maybe even tasting what I'm creating. I love and miss you both.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls
For the cookies- (you can use your favorite cookie recipe or follow this one)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature (to make this lighter, you can use 1 stick of butter with 1/2 cup unsweetened plain applesauce. The cookies are a little cakey, but still good)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 bags semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 and grease 9x13 glass pan
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and set aside
Beat the butter and both sugars at medium high speed until light and fluffy
Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated
Add the vanilla
Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix only until incorporated- do not overmix!
Stir in chocolate chips
Spread the batter evenly into the pan and cook until cookies have set- about 25-35 min.- check often
Let cookies cool completely
Frosting- (you can use homemade or canned- homemade is always better. This one is my grandma's recipe that my mom also uses. It's easy, light, and flavorful)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2-3 tablespoons of milk (add more if needed)
2-3 cups powdered sugar (add more if needed)
pinch of salt
Mix above ingredients and add more milk and/or powdered sugar until a good spreading consistency is reached (taste for vanilla flavor too)
Once the cookies have cooled, crumble cookies into the bowl with the frosting and mix until everything has frosting on it
Using a tablespoon (or I use an ice cream scoop) scoop out balls of cookie and frosting and place on parchment lined baking sheets
Freeze balls until hardened (about an hour or more)
Once frozen, melt semi sweet chocolate- I'm not sure how much exactly, but it takes a lot of chocolate to cover all of the balls
Dip cookie balls into the chocolate, making sure every surface is covered by chocolate
Place them back on the parchment paper- you can also add sprinkles or colored sugar on them if you want
Once all of them dipped in the chocolate, place in refrigerator until hardened
Enjoy and as my old boss says, "Food and cooking make everything better." I couldn't agree more.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Baby cake
I work a couple days a week at a doctor's office that happens to have an ultrasound machine and a wonderful tech willing to peek at my twins when I'm there. She said that she can usually tell the sex by 16 weeks. Last week I was 16 weeks, so I dashed right to her office. However, since my husband wasn't with me, I didn't think it was fair to find out the sexes without him. We remembered an article in Food Network magazine titled "Baby Cakes" that explained some couples find out the sex in a cake. If the baby is a boy, the cake is dyed blue and if the baby is a girl, the cake is dyed pink. It is covered in thick icing and when the couple cuts into the cake, the sex is revealed. I loved this idea and knew I wanted to find the sexes out this way.
Instead of a bakery though, I asked my mom to make the cake since she's a better baker and I knew the cakes would be tasty. Here's how the day unfolded: I went to work, got my ultrasound, the tech wrote the sexes down on a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope. My mom took it and went home to make the cake. Since we're having twins, she made a 2 layer cake and each layer would be dyed a different color (or the same color, depending on what we have). I, meanwhile, continued to work and imagined what the sexes would be. Finally, work ended and my husband drove to my parent's house for the big revealing. We cut into the cake and the first layer was blue (boy!!) and the second layer was pink (girl!!). I think I screamed, my husband shouted "I knew it!", my dad laughed, and my mom said "That was the hardest secret I have ever kept!"
I thought this was an amazing way to find the sexes of our twins out. Instead of being in a doctor's office where the atmosphere is very formal, we were relaxed at home and celebrated right away with cake. Granted, the wait was terrible, but once we cut into the cake the joy and excitement was something I'll never forget.
Following are pictures of the cake and the recipe. I gave my mom my recipe for easy white cake and it's one of favorites. The crumb is dense, but light. It has loads of flavor (most white cakes taste like nothing) and if you dye your cake, add the coloring after you have separated the batter into the pans.
My recipe for white cake:
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
6 XL egg whites
4 tablespoon sour cream
2-3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
Preheat the oven to 350
Sift flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside
In another bowl (or measuring cup) combine milk, egg whites, sour cream, and vanilla
Whisk together until sour cream is incorporated and there's no lumps
Using an electric or hand held mixture, cream butter and sugar at least 5 minutes, until light and fluffy
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated
Add 1/2 of the wet mixture
Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture
Add last 1/2 of the wet mixture
Add last 1/3 of the flour and mix until just combined (do not overmix!)
Divide the batter into 2 9 inch greased and floured pans (line the bottoms with parchment paper too)
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean 40-50 min. (depending on your oven- check often so they don't burn)
Set pans on a cooling rack and cook cake in pans for 10 min.
Run a knife around the edges and carefully take cake out of the pans
Cool on cooling rack until completely cooled and ice with your favorite frosting
Instead of a bakery though, I asked my mom to make the cake since she's a better baker and I knew the cakes would be tasty. Here's how the day unfolded: I went to work, got my ultrasound, the tech wrote the sexes down on a piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope. My mom took it and went home to make the cake. Since we're having twins, she made a 2 layer cake and each layer would be dyed a different color (or the same color, depending on what we have). I, meanwhile, continued to work and imagined what the sexes would be. Finally, work ended and my husband drove to my parent's house for the big revealing. We cut into the cake and the first layer was blue (boy!!) and the second layer was pink (girl!!). I think I screamed, my husband shouted "I knew it!", my dad laughed, and my mom said "That was the hardest secret I have ever kept!"
I thought this was an amazing way to find the sexes of our twins out. Instead of being in a doctor's office where the atmosphere is very formal, we were relaxed at home and celebrated right away with cake. Granted, the wait was terrible, but once we cut into the cake the joy and excitement was something I'll never forget.
Following are pictures of the cake and the recipe. I gave my mom my recipe for easy white cake and it's one of favorites. The crumb is dense, but light. It has loads of flavor (most white cakes taste like nothing) and if you dye your cake, add the coloring after you have separated the batter into the pans.
My recipe for white cake:
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
6 XL egg whites
4 tablespoon sour cream
2-3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
Preheat the oven to 350
Sift flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside
In another bowl (or measuring cup) combine milk, egg whites, sour cream, and vanilla
Whisk together until sour cream is incorporated and there's no lumps
Using an electric or hand held mixture, cream butter and sugar at least 5 minutes, until light and fluffy
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated
Add 1/2 of the wet mixture
Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture
Add last 1/2 of the wet mixture
Add last 1/3 of the flour and mix until just combined (do not overmix!)
Divide the batter into 2 9 inch greased and floured pans (line the bottoms with parchment paper too)
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean 40-50 min. (depending on your oven- check often so they don't burn)
Set pans on a cooling rack and cook cake in pans for 10 min.
Run a knife around the edges and carefully take cake out of the pans
Cool on cooling rack until completely cooled and ice with your favorite frosting
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Healthier apple crisp
I love fall and all of the foods that come with it. I also love apples. Since being pregnant, I crave apples, but I have a problem. Raw apples make my Crohn's disease worse. I get very sharp pains where my ileum is and I'll be ill for awhile. However, I noticed that when apples are cooked or are in the form of applesauce, I don't have a problem. I've been eating applesauce like crazy and I'm getting a little sick of it, so I decided to make a twist on apple crisp.
I was at work and craving apple crisp all day. However, when I got home, I was exhausted and wanted to sit. So, I thought of an easier version (if you can imagine) of apple crisp that combines everything in one bowl and you just bake it. It has sweetness from apples, tartness from dried cranberries, and texture from old fashioned oats. In other words, it has it all and it's a guilt free way to enjoy dessert.
I made this twice over the weekend since my husband and I couldn't get enough, but I never measured accurately. You can hardly mess this recipe up though, so add as much or as little as you like and taste it before it goes into the oven.
Shortcut apple crisp
3 large apples, cored, and cut into bite size pieces (my favorite apple is honey crisp. They work really well in this recipe since they're so sweet, large, and crisp. Any apple will do though)
About 1 cup old fashioned oats
About 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar (more if you like- especially if you choose a tart apple like granny smith)
About 1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (more if you like)
pinch of salt
About 1/4 cup water (add more if it looks overly dry. Don't add too much though- apples will release their natural juices when cooked)
Mix all of the ingredients in an 8x10 glass dish (or any similar size- you can also distribute mixture among individual oven safe bowls)
Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes until the apples are softened.
Stir mixture at least once while baking
This is really good with whipped cream, ice cream, or my personal favorite, caramel sauce.
Reheat in microwave if you have leftovers.
I was at work and craving apple crisp all day. However, when I got home, I was exhausted and wanted to sit. So, I thought of an easier version (if you can imagine) of apple crisp that combines everything in one bowl and you just bake it. It has sweetness from apples, tartness from dried cranberries, and texture from old fashioned oats. In other words, it has it all and it's a guilt free way to enjoy dessert.
I made this twice over the weekend since my husband and I couldn't get enough, but I never measured accurately. You can hardly mess this recipe up though, so add as much or as little as you like and taste it before it goes into the oven.
Shortcut apple crisp
3 large apples, cored, and cut into bite size pieces (my favorite apple is honey crisp. They work really well in this recipe since they're so sweet, large, and crisp. Any apple will do though)
About 1 cup old fashioned oats
About 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar (more if you like- especially if you choose a tart apple like granny smith)
About 1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (more if you like)
pinch of salt
About 1/4 cup water (add more if it looks overly dry. Don't add too much though- apples will release their natural juices when cooked)
Mix all of the ingredients in an 8x10 glass dish (or any similar size- you can also distribute mixture among individual oven safe bowls)
Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes until the apples are softened.
Stir mixture at least once while baking
This is really good with whipped cream, ice cream, or my personal favorite, caramel sauce.
Reheat in microwave if you have leftovers.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Everything I used to love, I hate now
Pregnancy is a great thing- it's a time of change, growing, anticipation, and endless thoughts about how wonderful your children are going to be. However, it's also a time when you feel so sick you can't peel yourself off of the couch, eat like crazy, throw up, deal with heart burn, take naps multiple times a day, are crabby, and sore. You also have to buy new clothes every couple of weeks because you grow so fast that nothing fits. Well, I'm expecting twins, so I have experienced double these wonderful pregnancy symptoms. However, I've never been happier, so it's worth it.
Now, the reason I haven't blogged in a long time (other than not being able to get off the couch in the past 14 weeks). Food tastes strange to me. Fresh vegetables that I used to crave taste strong and rotten, chocolate tastes metallic, the smell of basil makes me queasy, baked goods are too rich, ice cream is beyond nasty, and roast chicken smells horrible and tastes worse. There are many more foods I can't stand now, but I won't type it all out. In short, all foods that I was crazy about before pregnancy I hate now.
My taste buds are childish now. I love honey nut cheerios, bagels (white only please!) with cream cheese, string cheese, baked potatoes, pizza (double the turkey pepperoni!), triscuits, granola bars, applesauce, twinkies, oreos, steak, and hamburgers. I never ate these foods before pregnancy- especially red meat. I could eat steak and burgers 3 times a day now. I never dreamed of buying twinkies and oreos (gross!), but they taste fabulous now. Go figure....
So, my cooking is limited to barbecuing steak and hamburgers, with a baked potato (sour cream and broccoli on top), followed by oreos dipped in milk. In a way, it's kind of nice to take a break from cooking, but I miss it. I'll be on a mission to find recipes that match my childish and bland taste buds, but for now, it's snack time!
Now, the reason I haven't blogged in a long time (other than not being able to get off the couch in the past 14 weeks). Food tastes strange to me. Fresh vegetables that I used to crave taste strong and rotten, chocolate tastes metallic, the smell of basil makes me queasy, baked goods are too rich, ice cream is beyond nasty, and roast chicken smells horrible and tastes worse. There are many more foods I can't stand now, but I won't type it all out. In short, all foods that I was crazy about before pregnancy I hate now.
My taste buds are childish now. I love honey nut cheerios, bagels (white only please!) with cream cheese, string cheese, baked potatoes, pizza (double the turkey pepperoni!), triscuits, granola bars, applesauce, twinkies, oreos, steak, and hamburgers. I never ate these foods before pregnancy- especially red meat. I could eat steak and burgers 3 times a day now. I never dreamed of buying twinkies and oreos (gross!), but they taste fabulous now. Go figure....
So, my cooking is limited to barbecuing steak and hamburgers, with a baked potato (sour cream and broccoli on top), followed by oreos dipped in milk. In a way, it's kind of nice to take a break from cooking, but I miss it. I'll be on a mission to find recipes that match my childish and bland taste buds, but for now, it's snack time!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Yes you can (make homemade marshmallows)
Marshmallows are probably my number 1 most requested recipe. They taste totally different from those rubbery store bought marshmallows. They are light, soft, pillowy, and sweet. They melt beautifully, go great in hot chocolate, or are perfect on their own.
I got the idea to make marshmallows after an episode of "Barefoot Contessa" of course. She made toasted coconut marshmallows and I couldn't believe how easy she made it seem. I found the recipe in her book and found all of the ingredients in my pantry. 20 minutes later, I had homemade marshmallows. My husband (or I) couldn't believe the difference. What appeared to be a mystery food and one that seemed impossible to duplicate was uncoded and everyone has the ability to make them for themselves.
This recipe comes from Ina Garten's cookbook, "Barefoot Contessa Family Style" (copyright 2002) on page 211. The recipe is simply titled "homemade marshmallows"
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
powdered sugar, for dusting
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degree on a candy thermometer (soft ball)
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin.
Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 min.
Add the vanilla and mix
With a sieve, generously dust an 8x12 in. nonmetal baking dish with powdered sugar
Pour the marshmallows in the pan and smooth the top (wetting your knife or fingers will make it not stick)
Dust the top with powdered sugar
Let them stand uncovered overnight until they dry out
Cut marshmallows into squares and dust edges with powdered sugar
Pretty simple, don't ya think? A few words to the wise that I've learned:
- Water on your fingers or knife will make the marshmallows not stick- however, don't soak your fingers because you don't want your marshmallows wet.
- Powdered sugar makes the marshmallows not stick together, so don't be afraid to use it, but tap the excess off.
- Don't be afraid of the mess! I was terrified at first seeing all of this white goop on my counter, but it's pure sugar- hot water will clean it up with ease.
- Substitute vanilla for peppermint extract or any other flavoring of extract- however just add 1/4 teaspoon of other extracts because the flavor will overpower the marshmallows.
- Use cocoa powder instead of powdered sugar for a chocolate flavor.
- Wrap the marshmallows tightly in tupperware or a plastic bag and store in the frig to make them last a long time (I've kept mine for a few weeks).
- Put on skewers to roast over an open fire (or hot grill) or use a kitchen blowtorch to toast the marshmallows and eat plain or as S'mores. Trust me, nothing is better than that.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Sometimes store bought is ok
I've recently been burnt out on cooking. That happens every once and awhile for me. I cook day in and day out, but there comes a time when I don't want to step foot in the kitchen. However, I wasn't going to resort to fast food. I needed to look elsewhere for a decent and healthy meal.
Ina Garten was the owner of a speciality food store called "Barefoot Contessa" for over 20 years. They specialized in ready made food that was tasty and easily carried out. Since I live in St. Louis (a pretty decent size city), I thought why not try take out food from speciality grocery stores or even chain stores? My first stop is a local grocery store on Kingshighway called Straub's. I love Straub's for a variety of reasons- they're local, they offer fresh produce, meats, and cheeses, their bakery is awesome, and they carry local products from pizza to cheese to cookies to cake. They have a "famous chicken salad" and one bite in, you'll realize why it's famous. It's incredibly simple: shredded white meat chicken, celery, and a mayo based sauce. I'm not sure what else is in the sauce because no flavor particularly stands out, but it doesn't have a gloppy mayo taste. It's so well seasoned that it's just perfect.
Then, I wanted to sample their cake. Granted whole cakes and slices are on the expensive side ($4 for a slice and between $10-20 for a small whole cake), they are worth it if you're in the mood for cake, but not in the mood to bake it yourself. I could pronounce the ingredients and nothing alarmed me (flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, etc) and the cake was moist with lots of flavor. My favorite is their strawberry shortcake. I bought one slice one day and went back the next day to buy them out of it. It is that good.
My other stops included Whole Foods (the chain) and Dierbergs (a grocery store in St. Louis). While the take out food was good at both of these, they didn't quite compare to Staub's. I really like the salad bar at Whole Foods because the possibilities are endless. They offer every kind of veggie you would want on a salad with plenty of main course dishes as well. They also didn't offer iceberg lettuce- just really good and flavorful types of lettuces. Dierbergs also has a great salad bar with fewer options. However, they're cheaper, so that's a plus. Whole Food's deli is much better than Dierbergs because they offer a range of vegetarian dishes and really healthy foods (lots of veggies) while Dierbergs mainly sticks with fried chicken and mayo based pasta salads. Again though, Dierbergs is cheaper, but it depends what you value (price over taste and quality).
I think both have great dessert choices. I'm a fan of Dierberg's cake and they offer probably at least 5-10 different kinds a cake a day. Whole Food's desserts are also quite good with my favorite being the vegan chocolate chip cookie (remember that just because it's vegan doesn't mean lower fat/calories- it has the exact same amount of calories as a regular cookie).
Anyway, I'm still new at this take out food concept so I'm still exploring my choices. Next I think I will sample the smaller local joints across various neighborhoods in the city. That sounds like fun.
Ina Garten was the owner of a speciality food store called "Barefoot Contessa" for over 20 years. They specialized in ready made food that was tasty and easily carried out. Since I live in St. Louis (a pretty decent size city), I thought why not try take out food from speciality grocery stores or even chain stores? My first stop is a local grocery store on Kingshighway called Straub's. I love Straub's for a variety of reasons- they're local, they offer fresh produce, meats, and cheeses, their bakery is awesome, and they carry local products from pizza to cheese to cookies to cake. They have a "famous chicken salad" and one bite in, you'll realize why it's famous. It's incredibly simple: shredded white meat chicken, celery, and a mayo based sauce. I'm not sure what else is in the sauce because no flavor particularly stands out, but it doesn't have a gloppy mayo taste. It's so well seasoned that it's just perfect.
Then, I wanted to sample their cake. Granted whole cakes and slices are on the expensive side ($4 for a slice and between $10-20 for a small whole cake), they are worth it if you're in the mood for cake, but not in the mood to bake it yourself. I could pronounce the ingredients and nothing alarmed me (flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, etc) and the cake was moist with lots of flavor. My favorite is their strawberry shortcake. I bought one slice one day and went back the next day to buy them out of it. It is that good.
My other stops included Whole Foods (the chain) and Dierbergs (a grocery store in St. Louis). While the take out food was good at both of these, they didn't quite compare to Staub's. I really like the salad bar at Whole Foods because the possibilities are endless. They offer every kind of veggie you would want on a salad with plenty of main course dishes as well. They also didn't offer iceberg lettuce- just really good and flavorful types of lettuces. Dierbergs also has a great salad bar with fewer options. However, they're cheaper, so that's a plus. Whole Food's deli is much better than Dierbergs because they offer a range of vegetarian dishes and really healthy foods (lots of veggies) while Dierbergs mainly sticks with fried chicken and mayo based pasta salads. Again though, Dierbergs is cheaper, but it depends what you value (price over taste and quality).
I think both have great dessert choices. I'm a fan of Dierberg's cake and they offer probably at least 5-10 different kinds a cake a day. Whole Food's desserts are also quite good with my favorite being the vegan chocolate chip cookie (remember that just because it's vegan doesn't mean lower fat/calories- it has the exact same amount of calories as a regular cookie).
Anyway, I'm still new at this take out food concept so I'm still exploring my choices. Next I think I will sample the smaller local joints across various neighborhoods in the city. That sounds like fun.
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