Cooking fun with OXO! Peppermint Cheesecake minis

This winter I was super lucky to get a chance to check out the cutest new measuring set from OXO. For those of you who read this blog and are close friends you may know that I used to be a chemistry teacher. This is why I totally freaked when I saw this new set from OXO that is little beakers. I was so happy to have them because when I was making these adorable little cheesecakes I had to use some funky measurements because I was making 3/4 of a recipes. I know that sounds crazy but sometimes when you have a party to go to and you forgot to buy enough cream cheese and your amazing finance runs to the store but buys the wrong type and you have to get it in the oven because you still need to shower and your ride will be there in less than an hour....its a  3/4 of a cheese cake kind of day!

Luckily it was so easy to adapt the recipe and by making smaller cupcake versions not only was less messy to eat (with no cutting or serving to worry about) but no one missed the other 1/4 cake. I have seen many version of this with crushed peppermint candies but I have to be honest I think that they either have to be crushed into dust then it isn't pretty or its too chunky and I choke on them. I also didn't add the topping since I was already in a bit of a rush but these little cakes were done so fast that I never got an after shot! Filling the cakes was no fuss because I poured all of the batter into a zip top bag then cut off the corner. Using a baggie as a disposable pastry bag just makes clean up a breeze.

Recipe at Epicurious  Peppermint Twisted Cheesecake

Chocolate Graham Cracker Drink

This delicious chocolate martini was stolen from a local restaurant.  We couldn't help but snapping a pic of the menu as we were leaving and then recreating it at home! I love fancy drinks but often times at the end of dinner I am too stuffed to enjoy them. But a fun girl's night at home is the perfect opportunity to celebrate with one of my favorite foods....chocolate!

In a martini shaker combine 1 part each of Bailey's, Amaretto and Chocolate Liquor  with ice and shake. Pour into a glass rimmed with brown sugar  and graham crumbs and garnish with a mini- graham cracker.

Pumpkin Pudding Brulee

There is no shortage of seasonal inspiration in the fall. It almost seems that before the summer sun even fades bloggers are starting up their seasonal love. I admit I start marking recipes almost before its was cool enough to bake in the house. This year I finally found fuel for a cooking torch that I received as a gift a while back (thanks again Amy!). I was really excited and may have gone a bit overboard (as noted by the semi-charred crust on top) but I did start to get the hang of it - sometimes getting things picture perfect can be a bit difficult.

I am sorry to admit that I am not sure what recipe I used for this so I can't share it but there are so many on line to get your pumpkin fix.

The Moistest Pumpkin cake ever!

So AGAIN this year there is a pumpkin shortage and when I went to the store they were just about cleaned out! I guess that means all of the plans I had for pumpkin cheesecakes are going to be on hold till next year? I was happy that I got one of the last few cans and made this cake because true to its name it was so absolutely moist and delicious. However, as usual I decided that I couldn't wait to spring my cake open (the restless peanut gallery who kept asking "is it done yet?" may have contributed to that!) though it was far from cooled so it kinda crumbled making the picture a little less pretty. (Food Photo hint #14595 if you mess up your cake stick it in a martini glass and pretend that's how its suppose to look!)

The cake took a bit longer that expected at least 20 - 30 min more due to subbing out the bundt pan for a springform. It was a good option as the batter was perfectly contained though it did rise above the edges in the oven but I think that I would like to invest in a proper bundt cake form. I first found this pudding pie recipe that sounded absolutely sinful with airy light layers on creamy mouse but in the end the cake won out with my friends. If I and lucky enough to find more cans of pumpkin you know what I will be doing later! 

An Amazing Detour: Burdick Chocolates and a look back at summer 2011

Even though summer is now past I can't help but look back on some of the amazing adventures we had. If I had been a good blogger, you would know all about them but alas my blogging skills, especially in the summer months leave something to be desired! Our summer started out with an amazing trip to Stockholm, Sweden. We had many fun adventures including eating a luxurious traditional Swedish Smorgasbord at the Opera Cafe (a cafe/nightclub on the grounds of the Opera house). Unfortunately while it was quite beautiful inside, it seems that our tastes are not as fond of traditional Swedish cuisine as we might have hoped.

This summer also involved many different weddings. We saw 4 different friends (well 8 technically!) married this summer and each wedding was so different and unique. I am amazed that I could go to four wedding not see one repeating element ... all of brides even walked down the aisle to a different song! take that Wagner.

It was on the way to one of these weddings that we took a little detour to a small New Hampshire town and spent a lunch at L.A. Burdicks How did we find this little gem? Unfortunately I don't have a romantic story of us antiquing through the small towns of Vermont and New Hampshire and randomly stumbling upon a quaint town with this cafe (though the town and cafe were adorable!).... in fact I don't think that I have stumbled accidentally upon anything in the past few years. In this age of technology and iphones, I did what any self-respecting foodie in a foreign land (haha I don't know if a state 3 hours drive is exactly foreign but stay with me here) would do... I googled it! When I saw that Burdick's was mentioned in three different Chowhound.com posts (and it was only 3 exits away!) I was sold (and hungry).

We arrived at a bit of an odd hour between lunch and dinner so we had the place almost all to ourselves. The pending Hurricane Irene made the quiet sleepy town even more so as most people busied themselves at the supermarket collecting water and batteries to prepare for this 100- year storm that was on track to punish New England. As the hostess called to warn those with Sunday Brunch reservations to call first in case they lost power, we sat savoring one of the most decadent mochas of all time. From the oozing, gooey, cheesy crust on the French onion soup to the freshly made salads, we very much enjoyed our visit to Burdicks. But the best part of the meal came with the check... these adorable little penguins, a Burdick trademark made paying the check a bit sweeter (along with their mice...made of chocolate of course!) After that small sample, we couldn't help taking a trip to the adjoining chocolate shop and grabbing a few chocolatey little friends to join us on the rest of our adventure.

Brandy Soaked Cherry, Chocolate and Almond Blondies

I know I have mentioned smittenkitchen before- she is just amazing at inspiring me into crazy baking adventures and keeping me from fitting those skinny jeans! I can't put all the blame on her though as this time it was a birthday party and some friends over for dinner that got me asking "What should I bake?" A quick search pointed me to this super flexible blondie recipe. I absolutely agree with her comments in this recipe, being able to use melted butter instead of a standard room temp is a wonderful time saver and these blondies are easily going to become my go-to when I need a baked good fast!

 

I made two batches in just one weekend using the double recipe for the 9 x 12 pan and my only criticism is it is impossible to wait for these to completely cool! I was a bit too hasty on both batches and ended up with some broken bars that were "damaged" and I had to take care of them!  I guess the diet is on hold till Monday yet again. The version pictured above used dried cherries soaked in some brandy for about 20- 30 min to plump them up and rehydrate them slightly but if you are looking for a more child-friendly dessert you can also do this with hot water. I also made a simpler version using just chocolate chips and walnuts and there were no complaints (in fact I think there was a bit of a fight over the last few crumbs)!

click through for the recipe! and if you want a million mix in suggestions head to smittenkitten's comment section

Homemade Oreo Cookies

This recipe has somewhat be haunting me. Growing up there was really few true "junk foods" in our house, my mom always had a soft spot for potato chips and my dad loves his Oreos. Until recently I really didn't care for potato chips (my boyfriends addiction and their ever presence in my home has changed that a little!) but I have always enjoyed an Oreo. My normal eating habits tend to avoid processed food like Oreos now but I do sometimes get samples from my work of the Oreo Cakesters and I couldn't stop thinking of them. I decided that a dinner I was holding was the perfect chance to try them out (and then hand them out!) without totally killing my NYE resolution (its still Jan I have to give it at least a month!).

I took my recipe from smitten kitchen and as always they were delicious! However the cookies were not really like oreos and the batter was very grainy because of the sugar. I don't know if I did something wrong or this is just the way they are suppose to be. I have to admit... I don't remember if I put in 1c or 1.5c that was in the original recipe but I would suggest using less as they were very sweet. These cookies were made after quite a bit of glogg was consumed so I do have an excuse. Also I did not have the vegetable shortening so I used all butter - the frosting worked out perfectly fine.  These cookies were a serious hit at my party and the review on smitten kitchen mention a version with a bit of peppermint and candy cane that sounds divine. As is they were so good that I secretly hid a few of these cookies pre-party because they were flying off the plate so quickly - definitely go for a double batch!

Keep reading for the recipe....

Upsidedown Apple Ginger bread cake

At the beginning of October I was woken up early on a Saturday morning and told to get dressed in something warm but comfortable and to hurry up! With so little info I was both curious and confused but I decided to go with it and let my boyfriend take me on an adventure.... About 30 minutes later we arrived at Hillview Farm in Gillette, NJ. After a tractor ride out to the field, we focused on finding apples that would stand up to baking....of course while sampling plenty of apples on the way! We spent a great day out on the farm picking different types of apples and enjoying the orchard and came home with a basketful ready to cook up.

I had done some work researching some apple recipes and wanted something different than the standard apple pie or apple crisp so when I saw this gingerbread cake recipe I couldn't resist! For this recipe, I used mainly Cortland apples and I felt that it came out perfectly however any firm, tart apple would be a good choice. Also check out some variations on this recipe made with pears! 

Girls' Night Out: Red Velvet Whoopie Pie

I don't want to get into how long its been since I was a care free co-ed living the college life but one thing is sure I don't see the girls as often as I use to. While we might not have ended the night by drinking till they kicked us out of the bar, it was still a great night and even better when I woke up feeling clear headed and remembering everything! With the temperature dropping and a pregnant friend to satistfy I decided to bake something fun for an after dinner treat.

As the notes say on the Food Network site - please don't expect this to come out exactly like a red velvet cake, whoopie pies are a bit closer to a cakey cookie. While I really liked them as is, I think that making them even more bite size would have been better as they were quite the mouthful.

Guest Post: Stef's Wedding Cake by Ruthie

Hi there readers - this past weekend I was attending my cousin Stefanie's wedding and was able to spend some time with her friend Ruthie, who made her wedding cake (and a bunch of mini-pies!). Coincidentally, Ruthie actually only lives a few blocks away from me.... but we had to drive about 8 hours north to finally meet one other! Ruthie was kind enough to do a guest post about her experience making a wedding cake and with out further ado.... here is what she had to say! (Oh and for the record not only was the cake delicious..... but I had 2 pies!)

Thank you for letting me guest blog.  I am not a big reader or a writer, but I definitely follow a few food blogs. I am, however, a "big" baker (read: I love it). A bit of a background on me, perhaps? I love to bake but with an almost-nine-month old at home and a full time job, I often struggle to to find the time to bake. I never was a great cook, mostly due to the fact that I never spent the time playing around trying things out in the kitchen when I was young.  My mother and older sister did it all while growing up, and now I'm lucky enough that my husband does the majority of the cooking.  When I do throw something together,  I find myself "baking" my dinners so quiches and roasting are popular.  I basically can sum it up with being much more comfortable with the oven than the stove top.

Keep reading for info on the wedding cake!

6/11/10 - Strawberry Tart

With spring berries just starting to arrive at the market its hard not to think of dessert! This tart is one of my favorites and also one of my first dessert recipes.My aunt use to help me with this when I was younger but she has passed the recipe on to me now and I have fun creating it on my own (with a little help from my amazing architect boyfriend who is the BEST! at arranging the berries just so). One of the secrets to this tart is making sure you go over the berries with a fine tooth comb (so to speak!) and I have found that using a nice big colander to help wash them and get any grit off them is especially necessary when you are using farm fresh (vs those big mutant berries that you find year round in the stores) Luckily today's Daily Special is a wire mesh colander and is perfect for this task!

5/19/10 - Strawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Cobbler

After spending 20+ years of my life only hearing about rhubarb but never tasting it, it has quickly become one of my favorite spring treats. The slender celery-like stalks are the perfect match for my all time favorite strawberries. As I child, I loved strawberries that I ate so many I ended up in the hospital with an allergic reaction! I don't know how or why this happened but it hasn't I haven't had any issues since and I am never shy with the strawberries. Rhubarb is a bit tart but the sweetness of the berries (or another fruit) contrasts it wonderfully making both seem even more delicious. This recipe is very fast which makes it a great option for an after dinner treat any night of the week.

2/6/10 - Lava Cake with Chocolate Cherry Peanut Butter Centers

This dessert was inspired from bell'alimento she made her version earlier this week for World Nutella Day. Of course I didn't have nutella (sad!) and a quick trip to the store didn't help to fix that so I had to use what was on hand....which happened to be delicious Naturally Nutty Chocolate Cherry Peanut Butter I had used a car of their butter toffee peanut butter to make ice cream a few weeks back and this stuff is just AMAZING to cook with. As she warns while they may look small a whole cake is for the serious choco-holic only (or just find someone special to share it with!)