I love bargain shopping - so much so that I can't resist kitchen appliances that will let me make products I could more easily buy.
There was the fresh pasta maker I bought when a chain cooking store closed out. More recently, there was the tabletop ice cream freezer I bought for a whopping 50 percent off.
Today I broke that little ice cream churning machine in with a batch of no cook Mango ice cream. I modified a recipe for Vanilla ice cream that I found at the Eagle Brand website.
What a creamy, dreamy frozen treat!
Easy no cook mango ice cream
Puree all ingredients in a food processor. Pour into the mixing canister of an electric ice cream freezer. Churn for 20-40 minutes or until desired consistency is achieved. Remove from canister and freeze well before serving.
My son just came home from Tokyo bearing daifukumochi, Japanese sweets typically made from glutinous rice cake and red bean paste.
They are delicious!
Last year he brought me green tea flavor. This year's treat was strawberry chocolate.
I'm used to buying daifukumochi in the Asian markets, but they really aren't the same quality.
There's just a little something missing, texturally and flavor-wise.
These little bites are sublime, soft and slightly chewy, with the sweet tang of strawberry tempered by a tiny but rich dark chocolate drop. Amazing!
Fitness magazine proves less is indeed lusciously more with these lemon bars.
The recipe makes sixteen 100-calorie bars for a light and refreshing summer dessert that won't wreck your diet.
According to Kerry Neville, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, the butter used in this recipe is better in flavor and health benefits than margarine.
Additionally, Neville says this recipe uses far fewer eggs for a lighter, healthier bar.
For the recipe, go to Slim Lemon Bars at www.fitnessmagazine.com.
It's a grand old flag and it jiggles!
Look what the Browneyedbaker has done with Jello just in time for the Fourth of July.
I love the stained glass effect and how fun these cute little stars are for big and little kids alike.
Want to make some of your own? Hop on over to BEB for the recipe and more festive pics.
Need more inspiration?
Over at Bon Appetit, they've got a slide show of patriotic desserts that make me want to grab my spoon and dig in - now.
Their Orange Layer Cake with Buttercream Frosting and Fresh Berries has me pledging allegiance. Ditto for the Red Velvet Cake, also with berries of the red and blue persuasion.
For star appeal, try their recipe for White Balsamic Custard Tart with Fresh Berries. Or perhaps the Strawberry-Blueberry Napoleons, another revolutionary dessert.
Happy Independence Day!
To watch CIA's Chef-Instructor Stephen Durfee demonstrate how to
prepare Rhubarb and Strawberry Shortcakes with Gingered Crème Fraîche
click here: www.ciachef.edu/Shortcakes.
Rhubarb and Strawberry Shortcakes with Gingered Crème Fraîche
Makes 9 small square shortcakes or 8 small round shortcakes
Vanilla Shortcakes
Rhubarb
Whipped Cream and Crème Fraîche with Ginger Chips
For the shortcakes:
For the rhubarb:
For the whipped cream:
Nutrition analysis
for Rhubarb and Strawberry mixture per 1-ounce serving: 25 calories, 0g
protein, 6g carbohydrate, 0g fat, 0mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol, 0g fiber.
Nutrition analysis
for Shortcake serving: 260 calories, 4g protein, 27g carbohydrate, 16g fat,
210mg sodium, 50mg cholesterol, less than 1g fiber.
Nutrition analysis
for Crème Fraîche per 1-ounce serving: 120 calories, 1g protein, 12g
carbohydrate, 8g fat, 15mg sodium, 30mg cholesterol, 0g fiber.
The term "Hokey Pokey" presumably evolved from the Italian cry that the Italian vendors used as they hawked their cheap ice cream. "Ecco un poco" they’d cry (that’s Italian for “here’s a little”), or "O che poco" (Oh, how cheap). Hokey-pokey actually referred to cheap ice cream or ice milk.
This year, Valentine’s Day falls on one of the least romantic days of the week: Sunday. But while Sunday may not shine in the romance department, it positively owns brunch. So let’s make the most of it, shall we?
Invite two or three couples over and celebrate the fact that cupid’s arrow finally hit its target and the pressure is off!What could possibly be sweeter than your sweetheart? That’d be dessert. Strawberry Crème Brulee is a fabulous treat that is as easy on the eyes as it is the taste buds.
Strawberry Crème Brulee
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 35 minutes
Makes 6 servings
Crème Brulee:
1 package (16 ounces) Driscoll’s Strawberries, hulled, divided
2 cups half and half
7 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup light brown sugar, divided
Heat oven to 325°F. Place six 6-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan; set aside.
Coarsely chop 4 strawberries and evenly divided in bottom of each
ramekin. Bring half and half to a boil in a saucepot over medium heat.
Whisk egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a bowl 2 minutes or until golden
yellow. Slowly whisk hot half & half into egg mixture. Divide among
prepared ramekins. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to reach
halfway up sides of ramekins.
Bake 35 minutes or until edges of custard are set and center jiggles
when ramekin is tapped. Remove from hot water bath and cool to room
temperature. Cover each one with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours
or overnight.
Heat broiler. Press through a sieve 2 teaspoon light brown sugar evenly
over the top of each custard. Arrange custards on a baking sheet and
place 2 inches from source of heat. Broil until sugar melts and
bubbles.
Top each with a strawberry halved.
Nutrition Per Serving: 285 calories, 13.26g total fat, 7.23 saturated
fat, 6.33g protein, 31.85g carbohydrate, 284.74mg cholesterol, 1.03g
fiber, 51.27mg sodium
Tip: lighten up the recipe by replacing half and half with milk
From the first bite, I've always loved Baklava. It's a simple dessert with complex contrasts of flavor and texture - honeyed citrus and cinnamon, layers of papery-thin, buttery crust, and finely chopped nuts.
Years ago on a memorable date, my companion wanted to introduce me to the wonders of Mediterranean cooking. He was so earnest and so completely charming, that I hadn't the heart to tell him I'd eaten already at the restaurant he proposed or that I was familiar with the cuisine.
Never one to disappoint someone, especially someone of the male persuasion, who is trying to make me happy, I never let on and my Prince Charming proceeded to wow me with his Greek restaurant, ordering all his favorites and finishing with the classic dessert.
I loved the way he seemed delighted to delight me, and I loved the honey-syrup drenched Baklava.
Although the love affair lasted only a brief moment, my passion for Greek food and the deceptively simple Baklava has lasted a lifetime. Still, I'd never considered making Baklava. I always thought it would be too hard, having heard horror stories of phyllo's difficulty.
The good news is that the dessert, while time-consuming, is not difficult at all and the results are sensational. Make some for your next gathering and your reputation as a domestic goddess will be firmly established.
This recipe is easily halved as well.
Baklava
from Gourmet June 2004
Adapted from Eleni Theos Stelter
Resist the urge to chop the nuts in a food processor — it makes them release more oil, resulting in a heavier baklava.
Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 12 hr (includes chilling and standing)
Yield: Makes 32 pieces
Make syrup:
Combine sugar and water in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan. Squeeze juice from lemon and orange into sugar mixture. Add fruit halves and cinnamon sticks. Bring mixture to a boil over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, then simmer 10 minutes. Stir in honey and return to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Pour through a sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl, pressing hard on, then discarding, solids. Chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.
Assemble and bake baklava:Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until combined well.
Generously brush a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish with melted butter. Halve phyllo sheets crosswise and stack sheets. Keep stack covered with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened clean kitchen towel.
Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in bottom of baking dish and brush top sheet generously with butter. Continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, staggering sheets in each double layer slightly to cover bottom of dish, then brushing every second sheet generously with butter, until you have used 10 sheets of phyllo total.
After brushing top layer of phyllo with butter, spread a rounded 1 1/2 cups of nut mixture over it. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons butter.
Repeat layering 3 more times. Top with 10 more sheets of phyllo. (You will use 50 sheets of phyllo total.) Butter top and let baklava stand at room temperature to harden slightly (to facilitate cutting), 10 to 15 minutes.
Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 16 equal rectangles, then cut each piece in half diagonally. (Be sure to cut all the way through.)
Bake baklava until golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour. If your oven runs hot like mine does, the baklava will be ready in 30 minutes.
Transfer dish to a rack to cool, then slowly pour cold syrup around edges of hot baklava, in between all cuts, and over top. Let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours. (Cover once baklava is at room temperature.) Do not chill.
Cooks' notes:
