What The Fudge?



Well the love of cooking and feeding people let me to some extreme baking. I baked a total of  204 cookies, 272 pieces of candy, and 2 1/2 lbs of peppermint brittle. The majority of the goods were placed into gift tins for friends and family (plus a few of my employees) but the remainer was brought to game night. This is just a small sample of some of my work.

Christmas dots

Candy cane blossoms

Chocolate turtles

Orange Cranberry Cookies

Choco-caramel Nuget

PEPPERMINT FUGDE

The fugde was by far my favorite.



The best thing about Christmas time is that I can cook over one thousand things and not be judged. I can give away everything so I don't have to gain 200 pounds.

It's getting late so I should get some sleep. I'll post the recipes on a later date.

Keep cooking,

DaSha

Brownies and Cookies? It must be Funday!

Last Sunday I went to church (as custom in Utah). I had already volunteered to make the treat for Game Night. Michelle had also planned to bake cookies for something she was doing that night. She had the brilliant idea to bake together.
Anyway, I made my Lemon-Filled Short-bread Cookies  (I haven't perfected the name yet). I've made these many a times in the past usually around Christmas. And I kinda invented a new recipe. Cheesecake brownies.

 Lemon-Filled Shortbread Cookies recipe

COOKIES:

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Zest, pinch

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

FILLING:

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons lemon juice (Juice from 1 medium lemon)

2 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar and lemon zest. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Make filling as cookies cool off.

For filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel and salt in a saucepan. Stir in egg, lemon juice and butter until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat until thickened. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Cool. Spoon 1/2 teaspoonful into each cookie while still warm. Allow cookies to cool completely before enjoying. 

Cheesecake Brownies recipe

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, divided

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided in half

1/2 cup white sugar, divided in half

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided (two 2/3 cups)

1 teaspoon baking powder, divided in half

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 7x11 inch glass baking pan.

Combine cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 egg in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Set aside.

Fill a double boiler with water and bring to a boil. (If you don't have one this is what I did Fill a pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Turn the heat off, and set a frying pan over the water.) In the top pot or pan, combine 1/4 cup butter with one cup of chocolate chips; stir until just melted and blended together. Stir in  1/4 cup sugar, then sift together flour, and baking powder; stir into chocolate until evenly blended.  

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan spread it to coat the entire pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate layer.  Repeat step two this time adding 2 eggs before flour add salt with flour mixture.

Top cheesecake layer with chocolate mixture (this doesn't need to completely cover the cream cheese layer). Using a knife, swirl the top chocolate layer into the cream cheese to make a marble pattern.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until top is crinkled and edges pull away from sides of the pan. Cool thoroughly. Cut into 16-20 squares. Store in the refrigerator.


The cheesecake brownies are extremely moist and rich. Someone at game night said "It's like a cheesecake wrapped in brownie!"

ENJOY!!!! 

Sesame Chicken Stirfry

So I just cooked dinner for myself. Yes, I had dinner at 3 pm. I work tonight so I figured I had to eat earlier than usual. So anyway I mulled over the many dinner posibilities for hours and landed quite nicely on stirfry. Upon checking my refrigerator for vegetables I found my sesame seeds. Then I thought why not sesame chicken? 

This is what I came up with...

Ingredients:

Seasame Chicken-

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon pinapple juice

2 dashes sesame oil

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon canola oil

4 (5 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes

vegetable oil for frying

Sesame sauce-

1/2 cup water

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup rice vinager or distilled white vinegar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon red chile paste

1 teaspoon Ginger

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

1 clove garlic, minced

Stir fried Veggies-

2 tablespoons vegatable oil

1 green bell pepper, julianned

1 red bell pepper, julianned

1/2 lb sugar snap peas, trimmed

1 large carrot, sliced or julianned

1 small head broccolli, chopped

minced ginger, optional

Sesame seeds

Directions

1. Combine the ingrediants for sesame chicken. Mix well; stir in the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large wok or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Combine the ingredients for sesame sauce in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn heat to low and keep warm, stirring occasionally.
4. Fry the marinated chicken in batches until cooked through and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
5. Transfer the chicken to a large platter, top with sauce, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
6. Heat 2 tbs vegetable oil in wok or medium sized skillet. Stir fry the vegetables with ginger 2-4 minutes. Add Chicken mixture heat for 2 min longer serve over rice.

 

It's Almost Here...

First Test Kitchen day coming soon! The meal is all Italian or possibly a dash of French.

The tentative menu is:
Buschetta with Fresh Tomatoes and Garlic
Swiss Chard Pansotti with Walnut Pesto OR Tortelli with Potatoes
Stuffed Chicken Breast with White Wine Vinegar
AND
Tiramisu with Savoiardi OR White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse OR  Crème brûlée

Throughout the meal I'll serve my Fresh Italian Bread and my Not-Yet-Famous Garlic Infused Olive Oil Dressing.
The servings in Italy are smaller, not as small as Japan but smaller, the foods are more filling and MUCH more delish. Because of the smaller size however I decided that instead of doubling the 'recipe' I'll be better off adding a dolce or dessert course instead of the traditional Fruit and Cheese course. You don't need to eat a lot to enjoy good food.

The only problem now is choosing between my "or's". Actually I also have to choose the friends I invite. I can only fit a few in my new apartment. (BTW did I mention I have a new apartment? Well I do, I haven't moved in yet but I love it nonetheless.) I'm thinking I'll invite maybe five. So there will be six in total. I have so many friends who like food that it's hard to choose.

I think I've selected three already based on "what they'll bring to the table." Friend One is so sweet that even if he/she doesn't like it he/she will complement me to keep me happy. Friend Two is new so I can get fresh prospective of the meal and he/she wouldn't know how much confidence I have in my cooking. Friend Three is like Friend One but has a bit of knowledge of the authentic stuff.
I like to have at least two guys at these things, just so that I don't only have one. That being said I would like to have another guy but I won't worry about it too much. 

Best Marinara Sauce...PERIOD (and EXCLAMATION POINT)

Lately I've been missing my good friend Jasmine. She was my first REAL friend in college we were roommates. I haven't seen her since November! That's insane so I decided it was well past time for us to hang out and catch up. If you know me there is only one way for this to happen...with food. Or, better yet, over food.

I put together this menu just for that occation:
Chicken Parmigiana
Fresh Baked Italian Bread
and
Pasta Primavera

Do you see a theme? (HINT it's all Italian)

Now for the Chicken Parmigiana I need a really good marinara sauce. I thought it was time to give up on buying jars of pasta sauce and start making my own. I figured it couldn't be too hard and it's WAY cheaper. I used
1 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes
1 6-ounce can of Tomato paste
about 5 whole basil leaves
1 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 avocado
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 cup finely diced onion
a few leftover pieces of yellow squash

I put all of these in a blender and pureed it for a few minutes. I added a little more pepper to taste pulsing after each addition.
Next I let it simmer for about 35 mins. to bring out the flavor of the basil and cook the vegetables to perfection.


To sum it up this is the Best Marinara Sauce...Period (and EXCLAMATION POINT).
By the way that's now the official name of the sauce. Best Marinara sauce or BMSPaEP for short
(I'll post the other recipes after I make them)

DaSha's Test Kitchen

So, I've been giving some serious thought to starting my own test kitchen before I open my restaurant in the distant future. It's just a way for me to test out my new recipes. Once I feel inspired to create a mini masterpiece I'm the only one who knows what it tastes like. I need other people to honestly give me their opinion of my food I do a good enough job but I am kind of bias you know.
I'm not fishing for complements, though they are nice, what I really NEED is constructive criticism. You don't have to be a foodie just someone who likes food with little to no dietary restrictions like food allergies preferably.
I really want to test my food on willing participants before I serve it to unknowing dinner party guests. That being said I will have the "test days" on separate days from the dinner parties, most likely according to my volunteer 's preferences.

On to the search for the perfect guinea pigs!             

Before My Flight

So I just got back from visiting my family in Chicago. I fly standby so I pack a big enough lunch to last me hours. I decided it was best to pack one that I could eat hot or cold...so why not a sandwich. If you know me just a sandwich is never just a sandwich. I make my own bread now, never store bought. So I tried my hand at focaccia bread. It was rather simple and pretty flavorful. I'll try infusing garlic and rosmary into the dough next time. For the filling I sauteed so chicken breast with black pepper and a few peices of red and green bell pepper and added a piece of cabbage and a bit of cheddar cheese. The sandwich spread was a mixture of equal parts Dijon Mustard and Mirale Whip (or Mayo) with half rosmary. It was by far the tastiest sandwich I ever made.

the finished bread   open faced sandwiches

the finished product

The sandwiches were so tender I cut them with a plastic knife!

I also made tiny sugar cookies that I put in a pringles can and cinnamon rolls. I made the cookies mainly for the person who drove me to the airport at 5 in the morning. and half of the cinnamon rolls were left at home for my roommate.

Sunday Dinner

An empty belly is the best cook.  ~Estonian Proverb

Ah... Sunday Dinner. It's an American Tradition I shall never grow weary of. My Grandma always believed that Sunday dinner is the most important and requires at least three foods. I've always agreed.

Sunday July 24th 2011 I cooked dinner for Michelle and Ellesse. I call that a party, you can't go wrong with these two. I made a three course dinner (with dessert) and I think it turned out well. 

I love a good dinner party. As Ellesse said "You know the food's good when the talking stops." All that really matters to me at dinner parties is knowing that I'm helping nourish someone. I truly love to cook for people and when people enjoy the food it just makes it so much better.


This is the meal I prepared.

Herb Roasted Chicken with red potatoes, Sauteed Carrots, Broccoli and Parsnips, and Macaroni and Cheese with Lemon-Lime Mousse for dessert.



Herb Roasted Chicken Breast with Red Potatoes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

12 small red potatoes

DaSha's Lemon Pepper Marinade (Recipe follows)

2 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian Parsley

Chopped fresh oregano and chives to taste

Lemon pepper

Garlic salt

onion powder

4 tsp ground ginger, divided

2 tsp nutmeg, divided

1 stalk celery

Directions:

1. Pierce chicken and cut potatoes in half. Place chicken and potatoes in marinade for 1-4 hours.

2.  Preheat oven to 350. Remove from marinade and discard remaining marinade. Rub 1 tsp of Ginger and 1/2 tsp nutmeg into each breast. Place chicken and potatoes in 9x13 baking dish, sprinkle rosemary, oregano, parsley, and chives evenly over chicken and potatoes. Season as desired with remaining spices. Chop celery and add to dish.

3.  Bake for 30-50 min or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken reads 165. 

DaSha's Lemon-Pepper Marinade

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon lemon zest 

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon peppercorns, grounded or cracked

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large glass bowl. Add your meat of choice (1 lb boneless or 2 lb bone-in). Stir to incorporate, cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. 

Sauteed Carrots, Broccoli, and Parsnips

 Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4 large carrots, peeled

1 small Parsnip, peeled

1 head broccoli, chopped and steamed

1 garlic clove crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

1. Julianne carrots (Cut into matchsticks) and dice parsnip.

2. Heat oil in saute pan and add garlic when hot. Remove and discard garlic once browned and add carrots and parsnip saute about 1 min and add broccoli. Cook to desired tenderness.

Macaroni and Cheese

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

3 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 cups milk

1/3 cup butter or margarine

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup bread crumbs

paprika

1 pinch nutmeg

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to the package directions replacing 1 cup of water for 1 cup broth. Drain.

2. In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in 7x11 dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.

3. Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika and nutmeg.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

AND FINALLY ... DESSERT!

Lemon-Lime Mousse
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch salt

3 egg yolks

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel

1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and milk; stir into sugar mixture. Add juices; whisk until smooth.

2. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes longer, remove from heat.

3. Add lemon and lime peel. Cover surface with plastic wrap; refrigerate until completely cooled. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into individual dishes. Serve Chilled

They Say The Best Things In Life Are Free

...and after my raid about an hour ago I believe it.
So I've recently been craving sweet fruits. being that I have a grand total of $0.05 in my bank account buying it wasn't an opition. I had to come up with something else. On the route to and from work I walk past at least five houses with large and bountiful cherry trees. These trees are never harvested for the fruit so I decided to go cherry picking after work (it was a bonus that I got off just before midnight). I came home with almost two pounds of cherries! I guess next time I'll bake a cherry pie.

Dinner Party?

I can't seem to do this right. I wanted to have a dinner party where everyone invited can come but it's not so easy.
First I chose the 17th, that's a Sunday so it's a pretty typical and safe choice, but Travis is in San Fran until that night, and both Brian and Ashley have to work until late. So I volunteered to work that afternoon to early evening (to grab a few extra dollars). Then I figured Travis and Ashley would be available the next week and it was likely that Brian would be also so I postponed it to the 24th.

There, everything is fixed right?
Wrong! That weekend Erynn is out of town. Now, the whole reason I decided to do one this month is to hang out with my friend Erynn again after so long. ...but he was the only one of the five people to respond positively to that day (Michelle didn't respond).

Although it may be a bit of a stretch I could have a solution that will solve the whole issue. Two parties. Yes, you read it right two. One on the 17th, a late dinner with Erynn and Brian, and one on the 24th, an early dinner with Travis, Ashley, and Michelle. That my friends is a plan.

Now I just need to figure out if I really can pull it off. I may need to find another person or two for each but if not it's still a pretty good plan if I do say so myself.

I probably should find at least one other guy for the second. I don't know Travis very well so I'm not sure how he feels about drawing so much attention...

An intimate dinner is a good idea for the 17th for sure, I know both guys well enough to be comfortable with that, in fact, I think I've done it before.

Okay it's settled I'm doing it!

New (and Nice) Cookware!

After careful consideration (and a phone call to my mom) I chose to buy the WearEver Cook & Strain 10 piece cookware set in red. I must say I am thoroughly pleased with my selection. Especially since it has a lifetime warranty! This is by far my favorite purchase.

The only question now is: What do I cook first?

My Little Brother Visits

Even the simplest of meals can be made wonderful when shared with someone you care about. This very simple breakfast I made and ate with my little brother Regie was easily the best breakfast I've had in a while.

Food for Thought

The belly rules the mind.  ~Spanish Proverb
Hello, welcome to my kitchen. My kitchen is home to many memories and friends. To cook for people, to me is a joy that surpasses all else. I love the opportunity to express myself through food. A belief of mine is 'one who has friends never eats alone.' I truely believe that food is one of the greatest expressions of love a person can show to another.
The idea here is to document the dinner parties I host and give a general idea of my "recipes". I put recipes in quotation marks because I really don't use them and when I create them I rarely follow them. After all "if God intended us to follow recipes He wouldn't have given us grandmothers" (Linda Henley). That doesn't make much sense here because I'm not a grandmother and almost none of the food I make is from my grandmother, but you get the jest.
I plan to have atleast one dinner party a month and I cook for myself almost every day (it's hard to scale recipes down to feed only one so sometimes I have to repeat meals).