The other day, Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) asked me if I wanted to help her make Halloween candy bark. Um – YES. Obviously. I mean – I’m not a crazy person.
Turns out, it is incredibly easy. Melt around 2 cups of chocolate, spread it on a silpat or parchment paper, sprinkle and press candy into it, chill, and done. What a great way to use up extra candy!
You can really use anything here – any kind of chocolate, any kind of candy. We used semi-sweet chocolate and reese’s, tootsie rolls, m&ms, white chocolate chips, and heath bits.
This month’s Food and Flix selection was Hocus Pocus, hosted by The Lawyer’s Cookbook – a perfect flick for Halloween! This movie came out when I was 8 years old, and I loved it. I hadn’t seen it in years, and it was interesting going back and watching it as an adult – I still found it to be a lot of fun. I also noticed that the director was Kenny Ortega – aka the director of High School Musical, ha! My favorite character is definitely Sarah Jessica Parker, she is so goofy and I love her singing in this film. Amok! Amok! Amok!
Anywho, I had been wanting to make candy corn themed jello shots for a while, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity! (Although, I despise actual candy corn – yuck.) I didn’t like a lot of the recipes out there using orange and lemon jello, the flavors just didn’t seem right to me. So I opted to start with a white liquor (Rumchata) and get my colors with food dye. I added in some butterscotch schnapps for extra deliciousness, too. I used equal amounts of each color, but that resulted in a really big white layer, so I have adjusted the amounts in the recipe below to better represent the appearance candy corn. (more…)
First, make sure that you are using good quality salmon. I refuse to eat farmed Atlantic salmon, and wild caught Alaskan can be expensive. So I usually opt for the farmed Norwegian or Icelandic, which never fails to be thick and fatty – yum.
First you will cook shallots in butter, then add Prosecco and thyme to make a poaching broth. Then, you will carefully place the salmon into the broth and spoon hot liquid over the top until cooked to your liking (Melissa and I both prefer medium). (more…)
I love homemade pizza, you know this. And I really love burrata on homemade pizza – it is so creamy and gooey and just heavenly. It’s great with tomatoes in the summer, but when paired with caramelized onions it becomes this luscious and sophisticated fall combination.
The onions are caramelized slowly with butter (this takes time and patience), and finished with balsamic vinegar. They are piled on pizza dough and topped with torn burrata, no sauce needed.
Then it is baked and topped with fresh basil. Oh. My. Gosh. It is just so good – rich and creamy and perfect.
My thanks to Melissa from Smells Like Brownies, for suggesting that we make this and for teaching me to stop rolling my pizza dough out so dang thin! (more…)
It’s time for another Secret Recipe Club post! This month, my assignment was The Tasty Cheapskate. Food was not a big focus for Jean growing up, neither eating it nor cooking it, which is pretty much the opposite of my childhood. Luckily all that changed for her as an adult. Now she focuses on whole foods and budget friendly family meals. She even did a challenge where she fed her 6 person family on $6 a day! Incredible!
Looking through her blog, I found a lot of yummy baked goods. Like a bunch of different pull-apart breads, but especially this coconut and lime one. Also zucchini bread with lemon or with coconut. And self frosting nutella pumpkin muffins – shut the front door! But despite all those yummy delights, what I really wanted was a nice healthy meal – so my eyes lit up when I saw this Broccoli Barley Casserole. And I was even more excited when I saw that the original recipe used farro, which I have been meaning to start using for a long time, and that it could be made in one pot.
Start by sauteing onions and garlic in a Dutch oven. Then add the farro and allow to toast a bit.
Add in frozen spinach, water, and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the liquid is almost all gone and the farro is tender but still chewy, about 20 minutes. (more…)
I made these cupcakes (a long time ago) for the bridal shower of a vegan friend of mine. Please ignore how terrible I am at frosting – this was literally my first time using my piping set. I got the recipe from Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) who said it was a delicious cake recipe, even for non-vegans. And you know what? She was right! These cupcakes are moist and decadent and very chocolatey – and don’t taste at all like avocado! They are also incredibly easy to make.
The original post included a lemon and avocado frosting that I was not a fan of, so I ended up using Duncan Hines chocolate frosting in the tub (which just happens to be vegan). You can use whatever frosting you prefer.
Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes
adapted from Joy the Baker
makes 36 cupcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used avocado oil)
1/2 cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1 medium avocado
2 cups water
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake wrappers into 3 muffin tins.
Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar.
Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl, including the super mashed avocado (you really don’t want any chunks).
Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
Mix the wet with the dry all at once, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth.
Scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
