You (sham) ROCK!

Again with the cheesiness.  I know, I know...I can't help myself.

You DO (sham) rock, though, you know.

A couple of notes about these cookies...

ONE. The dough was tinted green just to make it a little more festive for St. Patrick's Day.  To do this, you make your dough, then just knead in the color, kind of like you would do for fondant.  Easy.

TWO. The little shamrock guitars are parts of two shapes put together.  A shamrock (you knew that), and since I don't seem to have a guitar cutter, a cut off broom handle.

THREE. I'll show you the tutorial for the guitars below.  For the other cookies, I had this "great" idea to make shamrocks from dots.  In reality, they look more like flat leaf parsley or cilantro.  On the bright side, if you ever need to make cilantro cookies, you'll know how.

To make the Shamrock Guitars, you will need:

• sugar cookies put together to make a shamrock guitar, such as a shamrock and a broom handle,
• royal icing tinted with AmeriColor Super Black, dark & light green using Leaf Green, and Bright White,
• couplers and icing tips (#2 & #1)
• disposable icing bags
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks

With a #2 tip, outline the guitar center and neck in black icing.  Reserve a bit of black piping consistency icing.

With another #2 tip,  outline the shamrock shape in the darker green icing.

Thin the black and green icings with water a bit at a time, stirring gently with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  Cover with a  damp dish towel and let sit for several minutes.

Stir the icings gently with a silicone spatula, popping any large air bubbles that may have formed on the surface.  Transfer to squeeze bottles.

Fill in (or flood) the black outline with the thinned icing, using a toothpick to guide to edges and pop large air bubbles.

Fill in the green outline with the thinned green icing.

Let the cookies dry for at least 1 hour.

With a #2 tip, add the bar below the center of the guitar in black.

With a #1 tip, add the strings and detail in white.  If you find your strings are "breaking" as you pipe them, squeeze all of the icing out of the bag and into a bowl, stir in 1-2 DROPS of water, then put back in the pastry bag.

With a #2 tip, add the detailing to the guitar in light green. 

(sham)ROCK ON!

Again with the cheesiness.  I know, I know...I can't help myself.

You DO (sham) rock, though, you know.

A couple of notes about these cookies...

ONE. The dough was tinted green just to make it a little more festive for St. Patrick's Day.  To do this, you make your dough, then just knead in the color, kind of like you would do for fondant.  Easy.

TWO. The little shamrock guitars are parts of two shapes put together.  A shamrock (you knew that), and since I don't seem to have a guitar cutter, a cut off broom handle.

THREE. I'll show you the tutorial for the guitars below.  For the other cookies, I had this "great" idea to make shamrocks from dots.  In reality, they look more like flat leaf parsley or cilantro.  On the bright side, if you ever need to make cilantro cookies, you'll know how.

To make the Shamrock Guitars, you will need:

• sugar cookies put together to make a shamrock guitar, such as a shamrock and a broom handle,
• royal icing tinted with AmeriColor Super Black, dark & light green using Leaf Green, and Bright White,
• couplers and icing tips (#2 & #1)
• disposable icing bags
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks

With a #2 tip, outline the guitar center and neck in black icing.  Reserve a bit of black piping consistency icing.

With another #2 tip,  outline the shamrock shape in the darker green icing.

Thin the black and green icings with water a bit at a time, stirring gently with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  Cover with a  damp dish towel and let sit for several minutes.

Stir the icings gently with a silicone spatula, popping any large air bubbles that may have formed on the surface.  Transfer to squeeze bottles.

Fill in (or flood) the black outline with the thinned icing, using a toothpick to guide to edges and pop large air bubbles.

Fill in the green outline with the thinned green icing.

Let the cookies dry for at least 1 hour.

With a #2 tip, add the bar below the center of the guitar in black.

With a #1 tip, add the strings and detail in white.  If you find your strings are "breaking" as you pipe them, squeeze all of the icing out of the bag and into a bowl, stir in 1-2 DROPS of water, then put back in the pastry bag.

With a #2 tip, add the detailing to the guitar in light green. 

(sham)ROCK ON!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Orange citrus bars from Paula Deen

I had a work potluck coming up and didn't know what to bring. This potluck's theme was soup and salad, and of course I asked to see if I would be able to bring a dessert instead. Wish granted!

I looked around for a lighter dessert that wouldn't feel too heavy with the soup and salads that everyone was contributing and also wanted something that would travel and store well. I didn't want to bring cookies, and frozen or chilled desserts would be difficult to transport and keep cooled.

Finally, I settled on these orange citrus bars from Paula Deen. Yes, she was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, but the woman can cook!  When taking a look at the list of ingredients, I noticed that this wasn't exactly a lighter recipe like I had hoped, but I thought that the idea of a citrus bar would be a nice addition to our potluck. Plus, the bars transport well and didn't need a refrigerator to keep them chilled.

One change I made to the recipe was the amount of glaze. Paula's original recipe is below, but I cut it down to about 1/4 of the original measurements. I didn't want the bars to be too sweet, so I only used one cup of powdered sugar and added orange juice and zest to my liking.

Everyone commented that the bars were a nice refreshing way to end the meal. In fact, several people (ahem) took more than one bar, and a few people mistakenly referred to them as lemon bars.  If you need a nice burst of citrus flavor to brighten up a meal, look no further!

Ingredients

• 1 orange, zested 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/3 cup orange juice 
• 4  large eggs 
• 2 cups granulated sugar 
• 1 cup cold butter (2 sticks), cubed
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour, divided

Orange Citrus Glaze:

• 4 cup confectioners’ sugar (I only used 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup orange juice (I used about 3-4 TBSP of orange juice)
• 1/2 cup orange, zested (Readers on her page didn't know what she meant by this; I simply just reserved some zest from my orange and added it into the glaze. Feel free to adjust this to your tastes)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Crust:
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, and confectioners’ sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan. Bake 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and juice until well mixed. Add 1/4 cup flour and baking powder, stirring to combine. Sprinkle in some orange zest. Pour into hot baked crust, and bake 25 minutes, or until set. Cool the bars so you may top with orange citrus glaze.

For the Orange-Citrus Glaze:
Add 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup orange juice together, so that it combines to make a nice creamy glaze sauce consistency. Add orange zest. When all ingredients are mixed well, pour onto the cooled citrus bars.

Source: Paula Deen

I had a work potluck coming up and didn't know what to bring. This potluck's theme was soup and salad, and of course I asked to see if I would be able to bring a dessert instead. Wish granted!

I looked around for a lighter dessert that wouldn't feel too heavy with the soup and salads that everyone was contributing and also wanted something that would travel and store well. I didn't want to bring cookies, and frozen or chilled desserts would be difficult to transport and keep cooled.

Finally, I settled on these orange citrus bars from Paula Deen. Yes, she was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, but the woman can cook!  When taking a look at the list of ingredients, I noticed that this wasn't exactly a lighter recipe like I had hoped, but I thought that the idea of a citrus bar would be a nice addition to our potluck. Plus, the bars transport well and didn't need a refrigerator to keep them chilled.

One change I made to the recipe was the amount of glaze. Paula's original recipe is below, but I cut it down to about 1/4 of the original measurements. I didn't want the bars to be too sweet, so I only used one cup of powdered sugar and added orange juice and zest to my liking.

Everyone commented that the bars were a nice refreshing way to end the meal. In fact, several people (ahem) took more than one bar, and a few people mistakenly referred to them as lemon bars.  If you need a nice burst of citrus flavor to brighten up a meal, look no further!

Ingredients

• 1 orange, zested 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/3 cup orange juice 
• 4  large eggs 
• 2 cups granulated sugar 
• 1 cup cold butter (2 sticks), cubed
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour, divided

Orange Citrus Glaze:

• 4 cup confectioners’ sugar (I only used 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup orange juice (I used about 3-4 TBSP of orange juice)
• 1/2 cup orange, zested (Readers on her page didn't know what she meant by this; I simply just reserved some zest from my orange and added it into the glaze. Feel free to adjust this to your tastes)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Crust:
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, and confectioners’ sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan. Bake 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and juice until well mixed. Add 1/4 cup flour and baking powder, stirring to combine. Sprinkle in some orange zest. Pour into hot baked crust, and bake 25 minutes, or until set. Cool the bars so you may top with orange citrus glaze.

For the Orange-Citrus Glaze:
Add 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup orange juice together, so that it combines to make a nice creamy glaze sauce consistency. Add orange zest. When all ingredients are mixed well, pour onto the cooled citrus bars.

Source: Paula Deen

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

The Unblogged Files: February

February was a pretty big month for me, not least of all because I spent the first two weeks of February in Malaysia!  (Many, many blogposts to come).

Here's what the rest of my February looked like.

I made a few zillion trips to Axil Coffee Roasters... seems I haven't run out of excuses to drop in!  I've tried enough of the menu now to know that there are a couple of less-than-inspiring dishes on offer. However, it's mostly delicious, and I still think it's the best coffee in the area.

Left: Coconut, Passionfruit & White Chocolate Muffin
Right: Strawberry and Pistachio Tart

The muffin was a little dry and disappointing, whilst the strawberry and pistachio tart was a well-made example of the classic fruit-topped crème pâtissière-filled tart.

Left: Cafe Latte
Right: Bircher Muesli with kiwi/spirulina & dukkah-coated pear

Cute presentation of the muesli!

Top left: Potato hash with bacon and poached eggs
Top right: Veal ragu with gnocchi
Bottom left: Steak sandwich with potato salad
Bottom right: Pappardelle with smoked fish (trout?) and capers

The steak sandwich was huge, and served with a heavy, mayo-based potato salad, which I felt was a poor match.  The other dishes on this visit were uniformly impressive - particularly the richly flavoured, slow-cooked veal ragu.

Inspired by Axil's veal ragu, one night I made my own veal stew with herbed ricotta gnocchi.

I'll blog the meal in detail soon, but just wanted to give a brief description now.  The stew recipe comes from Cook with Jamie, (previously made here), and I adapted the gnocchi recipe from a Donna Hay recipe.  I made the stew extra soupy, and fried the gnocchi in brown butter - very rich but so delicious!

Dessert that night was Nigella's chocolate brownie bowls (from Kitchen).

I've had the special tin for ages but only just got around to making them.  They looked really cute, but were a bit lacking in the taste department, as they need to be quite firm and dry to maintain the bowl shape.  Give me a rich, gooey dark chocolate brownie any time!

Y'all will know that in February we also hosted a massive ice cream party!   And after all that sweetness, I was craving salty food.  It seemed that no-one wanted to do a KFC-run (booo!), so we went to Best Food Gallery in Box Hill for dumplings and other salty goodness.

Yes, we ordered lemon chicken (the most kwai lo of all kwai lo dishes), and I'm not ashamed!  It was deep fried and dee-licious.  The vitamin-rich garlic gai laan and the super-spicy ma-po tofu were much needed after our big sugary arvo.

I tried carbonated coffee for the first time at the South Melbourne Street Fair.  St Ali had set up a little stall at the fair, offering the carbonated coffee, mocktails with cold-drip coffee, iced coffee and regular old espresso.

Looks like coke, huh?  I must be honest and say I really didn't like the carbonated coffee.  It seemed that the carbonation process intensified the coffee's sour, fruity flavours, and I thought the combination of unsweetened coffee with the bubbles was plain weird.  It was great to try something new, but I'm definitely sticking to my usual coffees from now on!   

I also attended one of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's Sidney Myer free concerts (as did the rest of Melbourne, it would appear!)

We brought a little picnic, all carried in my funky new picnic cooler-bag, complete with plastic wine glasses, plates and proper cutlery!

We brought some breads and other sweet nibbles from the Phillippa's event goody bag (sultana and orange bread, baguette, hot cross buns and biscuits), as well as some cheeses which were given to us at the Yarra Valley Dairy - the Juno and white savourine goats cheese log.  And crackers and fresh figs!

My friend Alaina brought some goodies that she bought at King & Godfree - super-hot salami, a curtain (!) of proscuitto, sun dried tomatoes and lovely marinated olives.

There were also Mrs Fields nibblers (bought by my friend Kristine), which I was super excited about. COOKIES!  You can also see my little gourmet improvisation: a fresh fig filled with goats cheese and wrapped in proscuitto.

Last weekend, we took advantage of the hot weather and made a trip to the Mornington Peninsula with some friends.  (And by the way, what's up with this week's rain?!)

We started off at Rye back beach, where the waves were a little too rough for us to swim comfortably, so we packed up and tried Sorrento back beach.  Whilst calmer than Rye, the waves were still pretty strong, but at least it was a patrolled beach.  We found a couple of calm patches and found relief from the heat in the cold water, whilst enjoying the beautiful views of the coastline. 

No trip to the beach is complete without fish and chips, and we grabbed a late lunch from Shark Shack in Rye.  It was incredibly busy that day, and we had to wait quite a while for our order, which gave me some time to ogle all their deep fryers, hehehe.

I felt really sorry for the staff in the shop - it was boiling hot in there, there were queues and queues of people, and loads of massive phone orders.  (The guy in front of us carried his order out in a crate!)  But, we got our food in the end and it was very fresh and very tasty, despite the volume of customers.

Mmm... salty and oily.  The perfect beach-day treat!

And that was my unblogged February!

March is shaping up to be a busy month for me - I've got a little trip to the Goulburn Valley coming up, as well as a couple of MFWF events, some birthdays and some family celebrations too.  Blog-wise, I'm gonna start blogging my trip to Malaysia very soon - yay! Can't wait to share my Malaysian foodie adventures with y'all!

February was a pretty big month for me, not least of all because I spent the first two weeks of February in Malaysia!  (Many, many blogposts to come).

Here's what the rest of my February looked like.

I made a few zillion trips to Axil Coffee Roasters... seems I haven't run out of excuses to drop in!  I've tried enough of the menu now to know that there are a couple of less-than-inspiring dishes on offer. However, it's mostly delicious, and I still think it's the best coffee in the area.

Left: Coconut, Passionfruit & White Chocolate Muffin
Right: Strawberry and Pistachio Tart

The muffin was a little dry and disappointing, whilst the strawberry and pistachio tart was a well-made example of the classic fruit-topped crème pâtissière-filled tart.

Left: Cafe Latte
Right: Bircher Muesli with kiwi/spirulina & dukkah-coated pear

Cute presentation of the muesli!

Top left: Potato hash with bacon and poached eggs
Top right: Veal ragu with gnocchi
Bottom left: Steak sandwich with potato salad
Bottom right: Pappardelle with smoked fish (trout?) and capers

The steak sandwich was huge, and served with a heavy, mayo-based potato salad, which I felt was a poor match.  The other dishes on this visit were uniformly impressive - particularly the richly flavoured, slow-cooked veal ragu.

Inspired by Axil's veal ragu, one night I made my own veal stew with herbed ricotta gnocchi.

I'll blog the meal in detail soon, but just wanted to give a brief description now.  The stew recipe comes from Cook with Jamie, (previously made here), and I adapted the gnocchi recipe from a Donna Hay recipe.  I made the stew extra soupy, and fried the gnocchi in brown butter - very rich but so delicious!

Dessert that night was Nigella's chocolate brownie bowls (from Kitchen).

I've had the special tin for ages but only just got around to making them.  They looked really cute, but were a bit lacking in the taste department, as they need to be quite firm and dry to maintain the bowl shape.  Give me a rich, gooey dark chocolate brownie any time!

Y'all will know that in February we also hosted a massive ice cream party!   And after all that sweetness, I was craving salty food.  It seemed that no-one wanted to do a KFC-run (booo!), so we went to Best Food Gallery in Box Hill for dumplings and other salty goodness.

Yes, we ordered lemon chicken (the most kwai lo of all kwai lo dishes), and I'm not ashamed!  It was deep fried and dee-licious.  The vitamin-rich garlic gai laan and the super-spicy ma-po tofu were much needed after our big sugary arvo.

I tried carbonated coffee for the first time at the South Melbourne Street Fair.  St Ali had set up a little stall at the fair, offering the carbonated coffee, mocktails with cold-drip coffee, iced coffee and regular old espresso.

Looks like coke, huh?  I must be honest and say I really didn't like the carbonated coffee.  It seemed that the carbonation process intensified the coffee's sour, fruity flavours, and I thought the combination of unsweetened coffee with the bubbles was plain weird.  It was great to try something new, but I'm definitely sticking to my usual coffees from now on!   

I also attended one of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's Sidney Myer free concerts (as did the rest of Melbourne, it would appear!)

We brought a little picnic, all carried in my funky new picnic cooler-bag, complete with plastic wine glasses, plates and proper cutlery!

We brought some breads and other sweet nibbles from the Phillippa's event goody bag (sultana and orange bread, baguette, hot cross buns and biscuits), as well as some cheeses which were given to us at the Yarra Valley Dairy - the Juno and white savourine goats cheese log.  And crackers and fresh figs!

My friend Alaina brought some goodies that she bought at King & Godfree - super-hot salami, a curtain (!) of proscuitto, sun dried tomatoes and lovely marinated olives.

There were also Mrs Fields nibblers (bought by my friend Kristine), which I was super excited about. COOKIES!  You can also see my little gourmet improvisation: a fresh fig filled with goats cheese and wrapped in proscuitto.

Last weekend, we took advantage of the hot weather and made a trip to the Mornington Peninsula with some friends.  (And by the way, what's up with this week's rain?!)

We started off at Rye back beach, where the waves were a little too rough for us to swim comfortably, so we packed up and tried Sorrento back beach.  Whilst calmer than Rye, the waves were still pretty strong, but at least it was a patrolled beach.  We found a couple of calm patches and found relief from the heat in the cold water, whilst enjoying the beautiful views of the coastline. 

No trip to the beach is complete without fish and chips, and we grabbed a late lunch from Shark Shack in Rye.  It was incredibly busy that day, and we had to wait quite a while for our order, which gave me some time to ogle all their deep fryers, hehehe.

I felt really sorry for the staff in the shop - it was boiling hot in there, there were queues and queues of people, and loads of massive phone orders.  (The guy in front of us carried his order out in a crate!)  But, we got our food in the end and it was very fresh and very tasty, despite the volume of customers.

Mmm... salty and oily.  The perfect beach-day treat!

And that was my unblogged February!

March is shaping up to be a busy month for me - I've got a little trip to the Goulburn Valley coming up, as well as a couple of MFWF events, some birthdays and some family celebrations too.  Blog-wise, I'm gonna start blogging my trip to Malaysia very soon - yay! Can't wait to share my Malaysian foodie adventures with y'all!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Tuesdays At The Table - Zucchini Fritters

Quick reminder: If  you're going to participate in book club, be sure to vote (in the top left corner) on our inaugural book!
How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was pretty darn good! 

Saturday was all about the errands, laundry and grocery shopping in the morning, a yarn run and Bed, Bath & Beyond field trip with my cousin in the afternoon, and an evening with my parents. 

Sunday was a small bridal expo down the Cape with my cousin Kristin and our friend.  Then some delicious Mexican food for lunch!  The mansion that housed the bridal expo was absolutely GORGEOUS! I wish that we had been able to poke around more. I also wish that the valet hadn't scared the bejeepers out of me - making me forget my phone in the car.  So, no pictures.  :-(  However, getting to spend some quality time with two of my favorite people totally made up for it!

This week I'm sharing zucchini fritters.  It's no secret that I'm typically not a big fan of zucchini, but these suckers are delicious!

Zucchini Fritters

2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
3 eggs
1 Tbs flour (coconut flour for those of you gluten free or on a paleo diet)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (coconut oil or bacon grease for the paleo diet)

Shred zucchini by hand or in a food processor and set aside (if it is wet, blot it dry with a paper towel).

In a large bowl, beat eggs together. Sift flour into eggs and beat together. (Note: coconut flour often has clumps, hence the sifting.) Add the shredded zucchini, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a large skillet and add your desired oil. 

Spoon the mixture into the pan in desired sized fritters. Cook on each side until each side is browned and tender to the touch. (Prevent breaking by turning as few times as possible.) Serve warm.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Quick reminder: If  you're going to participate in book club, be sure to vote (in the top left corner) on our inaugural book!
How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was pretty darn good! 

Saturday was all about the errands, laundry and grocery shopping in the morning, a yarn run and Bed, Bath & Beyond field trip with my cousin in the afternoon, and an evening with my parents. 

Sunday was a small bridal expo down the Cape with my cousin Kristin and our friend.  Then some delicious Mexican food for lunch!  The mansion that housed the bridal expo was absolutely GORGEOUS! I wish that we had been able to poke around more. I also wish that the valet hadn't scared the bejeepers out of me - making me forget my phone in the car.  So, no pictures.  :-(  However, getting to spend some quality time with two of my favorite people totally made up for it!

This week I'm sharing zucchini fritters.  It's no secret that I'm typically not a big fan of zucchini, but these suckers are delicious!

Zucchini Fritters

2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
3 eggs
1 Tbs flour (coconut flour for those of you gluten free or on a paleo diet)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (coconut oil or bacon grease for the paleo diet)

Shred zucchini by hand or in a food processor and set aside (if it is wet, blot it dry with a paper towel).

In a large bowl, beat eggs together. Sift flour into eggs and beat together. (Note: coconut flour often has clumps, hence the sifting.) Add the shredded zucchini, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a large skillet and add your desired oil. 

Spoon the mixture into the pan in desired sized fritters. Cook on each side until each side is browned and tender to the touch. (Prevent breaking by turning as few times as possible.) Serve warm.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Book Club Questions

Alrighty, ladies! I took the three books from my initial list that got the most interest, and they are now a poll in the top left corner.  Please vote! The new book will be announced next Monday - March 5th.
I'm happy to recycle the book suggestion next month.  What I'd really like is for you to give me some book suggestions that I can keep on a spreadsheet and use as our "go to" list.  However you'd like to share your suggestions (comment, email, tweet) is wonderful. :-)

Now...we need to pick the questions we'll all use.  As I mentioned before, I think 3-5 questions would give everyone a little structure, but still give enough freedom to make each post our own.  If you don't agree, let me know!  I'm open to any and all feedback!

1. Did you like the book?  Why/why not?
2. Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to them/ do they remind you of people you know?
3. Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not...and how would you change it?
4. If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?
5. How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? If so, how/why?

So...anyone want to design a button for the book club?  Kidding.  Kind of.

Alrighty, ladies! I took the three books from my initial list that got the most interest, and they are now a poll in the top left corner.  Please vote! The new book will be announced next Monday - March 5th.
I'm happy to recycle the book suggestion next month.  What I'd really like is for you to give me some book suggestions that I can keep on a spreadsheet and use as our "go to" list.  However you'd like to share your suggestions (comment, email, tweet) is wonderful. :-)

Now...we need to pick the questions we'll all use.  As I mentioned before, I think 3-5 questions would give everyone a little structure, but still give enough freedom to make each post our own.  If you don't agree, let me know!  I'm open to any and all feedback!

1. Did you like the book?  Why/why not?
2. Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to them/ do they remind you of people you know?
3. Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not...and how would you change it?
4. If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?
5. How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? If so, how/why?

So...anyone want to design a button for the book club?  Kidding.  Kind of.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Maple Pecan Biscuit Cake

Do you like cake for breakfast?  Me, too.  In case you're one of those people who feels guilty about eating cake for breakfast (are there people like that?), this cake is 100% guilt-free.  It's a BISCUIT cake!  See, totally breakfast food.

White Lily Flour is new to me, although I know I have heard of it.  My grocery store doesn't carry it, but I was more than happy to do a little baking and test it out. 
{PS...I've also never owned a Mercedes and would be more that happy to test one of those out as well.}

Back to baking...White Lily sent me a few recipe booklets, some flour, a Cuisinart mixer (!), and a few other goodies that you'll see in a minute ('cause you might win them).  I was totally inspired by one of their recipes, changed it up a bit here and there, and made this Maple Pecan Biscuit Cake.

Let me tell you, this little cake is going in my regular rotation for breakfast to serve when we have company.  It serves 9, but once our little family of 3 was finished with it, there was less than half a pan left.  Weird.


Would you like to try some White Lily flour for yourself?  And maybe a few goodies to go with it?

Yes?  Here's what one lucky person will win: 2 bags of White Lily flour, spatula, grocery list, grocery bag, 3 recipe booklets, pastry blender, dish towel, and a Cuisinart hand mixer...perfect when you don't want to use your countertop mixer.

To Enter:
Use the rafflecopter widget below to name one of the recipes from the White Lily website that you'd like to try...maybe it's a bread recipe, or breakfast recipe....or maybe DESSERT?!?

You can enter using your email OR facebook...we're trying something new, so let's see how it goes. :) US residents only, please.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
Maple Pecan Biscuit Cake

for the cake:
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 & 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups self-rising flour (I used White Lily)
1/4 cup Crisco, chilled
2/3 cup buttermilk

for the cream cheese drizzle:
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease an 8x8" baking pan.

Stir together the melted butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

Place the flour in a medium bowl.  Use a pastry blender to cut in the cold shortening until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.  Stir in the buttermilk, just until the dough comes together.

Dump the dough into the prepared pan.  With floured hands, press the dough evenly into the pan.

Pour the butter/pecan mixture over the dough.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the dough has risen and is done.  Remove to a cooling rack and let sit 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the cream cheese drizzle.  Beat the cream cheese until soft.  Beat in the sugar and vanilla.  Add the milk and beat until smooth.  Transfer to a piping bag or a baggie, cut off the tip and drizzle onto the warm cake.  Serve warm.

{{psst...if you like cake for breakfast, you must also see this shirt...thanks, Meg!}}

Do you like cake for breakfast?  Me, too.  In case you're one of those people who feels guilty about eating cake for breakfast (are there people like that?), this cake is 100% guilt-free.  It's a BISCUIT cake!  See, totally breakfast food.

White Lily Flour is new to me, although I know I have heard of it.  My grocery store doesn't carry it, but I was more than happy to do a little baking and test it out. 
{PS...I've also never owned a Mercedes and would be more that happy to test one of those out as well.}

Back to baking...White Lily sent me a few recipe booklets, some flour, a Cuisinart mixer (!), and a few other goodies that you'll see in a minute ('cause you might win them).  I was totally inspired by one of their recipes, changed it up a bit here and there, and made this Maple Pecan Biscuit Cake.

Let me tell you, this little cake is going in my regular rotation for breakfast to serve when we have company.  It serves 9, but once our little family of 3 was finished with it, there was less than half a pan left.  Weird.


Would you like to try some White Lily flour for yourself?  And maybe a few goodies to go with it?

Yes?  Here's what one lucky person will win: 2 bags of White Lily flour, spatula, grocery list, grocery bag, 3 recipe booklets, pastry blender, dish towel, and a Cuisinart hand mixer...perfect when you don't want to use your countertop mixer.

To Enter:
Use the rafflecopter widget below to name one of the recipes from the White Lily website that you'd like to try...maybe it's a bread recipe, or breakfast recipe....or maybe DESSERT?!?

You can enter using your email OR facebook...we're trying something new, so let's see how it goes. :) US residents only, please.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
Maple Pecan Biscuit Cake

for the cake:
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 & 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups self-rising flour (I used White Lily)
1/4 cup Crisco, chilled
2/3 cup buttermilk

for the cream cheese drizzle:
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease an 8x8" baking pan.

Stir together the melted butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

Place the flour in a medium bowl.  Use a pastry blender to cut in the cold shortening until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.  Stir in the buttermilk, just until the dough comes together.

Dump the dough into the prepared pan.  With floured hands, press the dough evenly into the pan.

Pour the butter/pecan mixture over the dough.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the dough has risen and is done.  Remove to a cooling rack and let sit 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the cream cheese drizzle.  Beat the cream cheese until soft.  Beat in the sugar and vanilla.  Add the milk and beat until smooth.  Transfer to a piping bag or a baggie, cut off the tip and drizzle onto the warm cake.  Serve warm.

{{psst...if you like cake for breakfast, you must also see this shirt...thanks, Meg!}}

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Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate cake with rose buttercream frosting

Remember my post about vanilla cupcakes?  Well, read on for the chocolate cupcake recipe that I had mentioned for our daughter's birthday party.

This chocolate cake recipe is a popular one, and there's a good reason why.  The cakes are not too sweet and keep their moisture even after a few days. Many people describe this as the perfect chocolate cake. I guess that is why this is called Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake.

I haven't had a single complaint about this cake. In fact, my husband requests this cake all the time. It's hard for the two of us to finish on our own, so I usually turn them into cupcakes instead. My coworkers definitely are not complaining about that!

I used this chocolate cake and its accompanying frosting recipe for a work potluck last winter around the holidays.  In between the layers, I filled it with a peppermint buttercream frosting that I found on ABC's Good Morning America website. My coworkers (and husband!) absolutely loved this simple adaptation.

This time, I made the cake for a coworker's surprise bridal shower. I used the buttercream icing recipe from i am baker, who also provides the tutorial for the rose cake design. The photo above is the final product of the rose cake, so it's a bit hard to see the actual chocolate layers. You don't need a picture of the chocolate cake anyway, so I'm sure you'll forgive me this time.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). 

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Variations

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line cupcake pan with paper liners. Heat oven to 350° F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Sources: Cake from Hershey's (their chocolate frosting recipe which I used for cupcakes can also be found there). Peppermint buttercream frosting mentioned above is from ABC's Good Morning America website. Buttercream recipe from i am baker. Rose cake tutorial can also be found at i am baker.

Remember my post about vanilla cupcakes?  Well, read on for the chocolate cupcake recipe that I had mentioned for our daughter's birthday party.

This chocolate cake recipe is a popular one, and there's a good reason why.  The cakes are not too sweet and keep their moisture even after a few days. Many people describe this as the perfect chocolate cake. I guess that is why this is called Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake.

I haven't had a single complaint about this cake. In fact, my husband requests this cake all the time. It's hard for the two of us to finish on our own, so I usually turn them into cupcakes instead. My coworkers definitely are not complaining about that!

I used this chocolate cake and its accompanying frosting recipe for a work potluck last winter around the holidays.  In between the layers, I filled it with a peppermint buttercream frosting that I found on ABC's Good Morning America website. My coworkers (and husband!) absolutely loved this simple adaptation.

This time, I made the cake for a coworker's surprise bridal shower. I used the buttercream icing recipe from i am baker, who also provides the tutorial for the rose cake design. The photo above is the final product of the rose cake, so it's a bit hard to see the actual chocolate layers. You don't need a picture of the chocolate cake anyway, so I'm sure you'll forgive me this time.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). 

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Variations

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line cupcake pan with paper liners. Heat oven to 350° F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Sources: Cake from Hershey's (their chocolate frosting recipe which I used for cupcakes can also be found there). Peppermint buttercream frosting mentioned above is from ABC's Good Morning America website. Buttercream recipe from i am baker. Rose cake tutorial can also be found at i am baker.

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Bicol Express

Bicol Express

One of the specialities of the southern Luzon province, Bicol, where we spend a few days on our recent Philippine Trip, is the spicy food. JB from J.B.Jose recommended we try the Bicol Express, which was exactly to our taste buds. It featured on the menu of most of the restaurants we frequented but one of the highlight meals of the trip was on our last day in the area at Kozina Tyche where we ordered Bicol Express along with several other stand out dishes!

Pork Sisig

Along with the speciality spicy pork and chilli, Bicol Express, which wasn't a disappointment, we ordered Sizzling Pork Sisig, a rich combination of minced pork, calamansi juice, served with a soft egg; Chicharon, crispy pork crackling; Crab Relleno, a stuffed crab dish, and Pinaputok na Cream Dory Fish, a beautiful looking dish of fish wrapped in banana leaves, which 

Pinaputok na Cream Dory Fish

The dishes were presented beautifully, looked and tasted delicious, reinforcing that Bicol was a great place for sampling typical local cuisine.

Bicol Express

One of the specialities of the southern Luzon province, Bicol, where we spend a few days on our recent Philippine Trip, is the spicy food. JB from J.B.Jose recommended we try the Bicol Express, which was exactly to our taste buds. It featured on the menu of most of the restaurants we frequented but one of the highlight meals of the trip was on our last day in the area at Kozina Tyche where we ordered Bicol Express along with several other stand out dishes!

Pork Sisig

Along with the speciality spicy pork and chilli, Bicol Express, which wasn't a disappointment, we ordered Sizzling Pork Sisig, a rich combination of minced pork, calamansi juice, served with a soft egg; Chicharon, crispy pork crackling; Crab Relleno, a stuffed crab dish, and Pinaputok na Cream Dory Fish, a beautiful looking dish of fish wrapped in banana leaves, which 

Pinaputok na Cream Dory Fish

The dishes were presented beautifully, looked and tasted delicious, reinforcing that Bicol was a great place for sampling typical local cuisine.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Ice Cream Party!!!

When I received the Cuisinart 2 Lt Frozen Yoghurt, Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker to review from Kitchenware Direct, I could have said: "I'll make an ice cream", but what I actually said was: "Let's have a party!"  You may remember that I had an ice-cream party back in the summer of '07 - that was five years ago and it was well overdue for another one!

In the week leading up to the party, we made eight different ice creams with loads of accompaniments for our sixteen guests.  It was a big blur of custard making, chilling, churning and freezing.

The Machine

Here's the ice-cream maker, in a snazzy metallic red.  My old ice-cream maker is a one-litre Breville Scoop Factory ice-cream maker (it's about ten years old now, I think, and still chugging along!)  Both work the same way: you have a chiller bowl (kept in the freezer between churns), which rotates in the machine with a paddle to churn the ice-cream.  Because the bowl needs to be completely frozen before churning, you can only make one ice-cream at a time.  Although if you happen to have two machines, you can make two at once!  Wahey!  

Because the machines are both so similar, I didn't see a huge difference in the quality or results.  The main bonus of the Cuisinart is that it has a 2-litre bowl, so I can churn more mixture at once.  The downside of this, though, is that it seems to take quite a bit longer than the smaller Breville Scoop Factory to churn the ice cream - about twenty minutes as opposed to ten.  (This wasn't a huge deal, as churned ice-creams need to sit in the freezer for a good few hours to firm up before eating anyway).

The Ice Creams

Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream

Strawberry Ice Cream
Cheesecake Ice Cream
Chestnut Ice Cream

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Mango Sorbet

Pandan and Toasted Coconut Sherbert

Of the eight ice-creams, we tried to get a mix of classic flavours and some more exotic ones, whilst also trying to make sure they'd match well together.  (Recipe sources are listed as a caption underneath each picture.)

Vanilla Ice Cream - Nigella Lawson's How to Eat

I used a very large, very fresh, vanilla pod for this one, which resulted in a super-speckly, very-vanilla vanilla ice cream.  Delicious!  I could have probably used just half the vanilla pod and it still would have been good.

"The World's Best Chocolate Ice-Cream" - Nigella Lawson's How to Eat

I love this dark, creamy chocolate ice cream, with smoky hints from the addition of burnt caramel.  (I've made it once before, as part of my How to Eat project!)  This is like a slightly lighter version of Fergus Henderson's dark chocolate ice cream, which, although delicious, is so dark and intense that I can only eat tiny amounts of it.

Strawberry Ice Cream - Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer

I'm always impressed by how vibrantly Nigella's strawberry ice cream actually tastes of strawberries, and tends to scoop pretty easily, despite being a fruit-based ice cream.  (As a general rule: fruits = water = an icy hard result).  The strawberries in questions were actually ones we picked by hand at Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm about a month ago - I'd carefully cleaned, hulled and measured them out, and stashed them in the freezer for just this purpose.

Cheesecake Ice Cream - Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer

This is one of my faves, which I've made twice before (here and here).  It's so easy to make, is always smooth and creamy, and really tastes like cheesecake.

Chestnut Ice Cream - BBC Good Food website

I wasn't a huge fan of the chestnut ice cream - despite using unsweetened chestnut puree, the finished product was very sweet.  It was also incredibly difficult to scoop, staying rock solid long after the other ice creams were already melting.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream - David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert

David Lebovitz' salted caramel was easily the most popular ice cream out of all of them.  I loved how creamy and soft it was, right out of the freezer.  I was afraid that the dark, almost burnt caramel would be too intense for my friends, but they absolutely loved it!  (N.B. the salted caramel ice cream from Ready for Dessert doesn't contain any butter, and is thus different from the salted butter caramel ice cream on David's wonderful blog.  I'm sure the butter version would also be delicious!)

Mango Sorbet; Toasted Coconut & Pandan Sherbert
(both adapted from recipes in David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert)

Finally we have a couple of fruity ices, both adapted from recipes in Ready for Dessert.  The mango sorbet simply contained mango, sugar and a little rum - refreshing and gorgeously bright yellow.  I adapted David's toasted coconut sherbert recipe to make the Malaysian-style pandan sherbert, and I was so pleased with the results that I'll give it its own blog post this week!

The Serving Bowls

I got to use all the funky ice cream paraphernalia that I'd gotten for Christmas - I love the pastel-coloured metal bowls especially, but the stripey paper cups and sundae glasses were pretty awesome too!

  

The Accompaniments

Meringues (plain, cocoa, blue)

Toasted Pecans

Lindt Chocolate Flakes

Salted Candied Peanuts (David Lebovitz recipe)

Blueberries, Strawberries

Coconut Flakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce (Nigella recipe)

Whipped Cream

Toasted Pecans, Shredded Coconut, Lindt Chocolate Flakes

Most of the ice creams we made were based on egg-yolk custards... which meant lots of leftover egg whites!  So I made a massive batch of meringues the night before - I divided the mixture into three, and made plain ones, cocoa ones, and baby blue ones.

Meringues - cocoa, plain

Blue Meringues

I thought the cocoa-swirled ones were especially pretty, but I must say I quite liked the plain ones too!  (I was pretty proud that I could pipe decent-looking stars, hehe!)  The baby blue meringues seemed to crack and weep a bit - I wonder if it was because of the extra liquid from the colouring, or if the mixture was mixed too vigorously when the colouring was added?  Either way, they turned out a lovely shade of blue so I was happy with them.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce - Nigella Express

The chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce from Nigella Express (recipe here) is insanely delicious!  Very rich, sweet and decadent - but still compulsive.  (Towards the end of the day, I even saw one of my friends dip meringues into the sauce to eat it!  Woah - sugar overload!)  Nigella suggests serving the sauce with ice-cream and salted peanuts, but why just have salted peanuts, when you can have...

David Lebovitz' truly amazing salted candied peanuts!  I cannot overemphasize how good they are!  I made them the night before, and it was so hard not eating them all before the party started!  (I've previously made them with macadamias - also fabulous).  I can't believe I only made one cup of peanuts - despite the huge amount of other sweet treats on offer, people couldn't seem to get enough of these and they were the first thing to finish up.  The next day, we even made a double batch of these to give to my dad and my aunt who only managed to have a little bit at the party.

I found it really interesting seeing how everyone approached the ice cream buffet.  (Are there three more beautiful words in the English language?)  Most people tried a spoon of each one and then went back for their favourites; some carefully considered the labels and then carefully selected their flavours - and all the while there was lots of discussion of the different flavours and toppings. Yay!

The Sundaes

Although most people just made up little bowls of mixed flavours for themselves, we did make some 'proper' sundaes too - let's check them out!

Neapolitan - chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice-creams with whipped cream and chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce 

Mont Blanc - Crushed meringues, chestnut ice-cream, whipped cream and chocolate flakes 

Eton Mess - Whipped cream, crushed meringues, strawberries, chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce

No ice-cream in this one - as the party drew to a close and only a few people remained, I realised that we had whipped cream, meringues and strawberries, and swiftly made myself an Eton Mess.

The "Georgina" Special - Salted caramel ice-cream, chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce, salted candied peanuts 

Perhaps the most on-trend ice-cream sundae of the day!

Affogato - Vanilla bean ice-cream and espresso 

The "I Can't Decide" - Vanilla, salted caramel, chocolate and cheesecake ice-creams with chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce and salted candied peanuts 

Everything tastes better with whipped cream
Left: topped with crushed meringues
Right: topped with chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce & chocolate flakes

What a super-fun day!  Big thanks to my friends and family for being so enthusiastic about the ice creams!

Sarah received the Cuisinart 2 Lt Frozen Yoghurt, Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker courtesy of Kitchenware Direct.

When I received the Cuisinart 2 Lt Frozen Yoghurt, Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker to review from Kitchenware Direct, I could have said: "I'll make an ice cream", but what I actually said was: "Let's have a party!"  You may remember that I had an ice-cream party back in the summer of '07 - that was five years ago and it was well overdue for another one!

In the week leading up to the party, we made eight different ice creams with loads of accompaniments for our sixteen guests.  It was a big blur of custard making, chilling, churning and freezing.

The Machine

Here's the ice-cream maker, in a snazzy metallic red.  My old ice-cream maker is a one-litre Breville Scoop Factory ice-cream maker (it's about ten years old now, I think, and still chugging along!)  Both work the same way: you have a chiller bowl (kept in the freezer between churns), which rotates in the machine with a paddle to churn the ice-cream.  Because the bowl needs to be completely frozen before churning, you can only make one ice-cream at a time.  Although if you happen to have two machines, you can make two at once!  Wahey!  

Because the machines are both so similar, I didn't see a huge difference in the quality or results.  The main bonus of the Cuisinart is that it has a 2-litre bowl, so I can churn more mixture at once.  The downside of this, though, is that it seems to take quite a bit longer than the smaller Breville Scoop Factory to churn the ice cream - about twenty minutes as opposed to ten.  (This wasn't a huge deal, as churned ice-creams need to sit in the freezer for a good few hours to firm up before eating anyway).

The Ice Creams

Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream

Strawberry Ice Cream
Cheesecake Ice Cream
Chestnut Ice Cream

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Mango Sorbet

Pandan and Toasted Coconut Sherbert

Of the eight ice-creams, we tried to get a mix of classic flavours and some more exotic ones, whilst also trying to make sure they'd match well together.  (Recipe sources are listed as a caption underneath each picture.)

Vanilla Ice Cream - Nigella Lawson's How to Eat

I used a very large, very fresh, vanilla pod for this one, which resulted in a super-speckly, very-vanilla vanilla ice cream.  Delicious!  I could have probably used just half the vanilla pod and it still would have been good.

"The World's Best Chocolate Ice-Cream" - Nigella Lawson's How to Eat

I love this dark, creamy chocolate ice cream, with smoky hints from the addition of burnt caramel.  (I've made it once before, as part of my How to Eat project!)  This is like a slightly lighter version of Fergus Henderson's dark chocolate ice cream, which, although delicious, is so dark and intense that I can only eat tiny amounts of it.

Strawberry Ice Cream - Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer

I'm always impressed by how vibrantly Nigella's strawberry ice cream actually tastes of strawberries, and tends to scoop pretty easily, despite being a fruit-based ice cream.  (As a general rule: fruits = water = an icy hard result).  The strawberries in questions were actually ones we picked by hand at Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm about a month ago - I'd carefully cleaned, hulled and measured them out, and stashed them in the freezer for just this purpose.

Cheesecake Ice Cream - Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer

This is one of my faves, which I've made twice before (here and here).  It's so easy to make, is always smooth and creamy, and really tastes like cheesecake.

Chestnut Ice Cream - BBC Good Food website

I wasn't a huge fan of the chestnut ice cream - despite using unsweetened chestnut puree, the finished product was very sweet.  It was also incredibly difficult to scoop, staying rock solid long after the other ice creams were already melting.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream - David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert

David Lebovitz' salted caramel was easily the most popular ice cream out of all of them.  I loved how creamy and soft it was, right out of the freezer.  I was afraid that the dark, almost burnt caramel would be too intense for my friends, but they absolutely loved it!  (N.B. the salted caramel ice cream from Ready for Dessert doesn't contain any butter, and is thus different from the salted butter caramel ice cream on David's wonderful blog.  I'm sure the butter version would also be delicious!)

Mango Sorbet; Toasted Coconut & Pandan Sherbert
(both adapted from recipes in David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert)

Finally we have a couple of fruity ices, both adapted from recipes in Ready for Dessert.  The mango sorbet simply contained mango, sugar and a little rum - refreshing and gorgeously bright yellow.  I adapted David's toasted coconut sherbert recipe to make the Malaysian-style pandan sherbert, and I was so pleased with the results that I'll give it its own blog post this week!

The Serving Bowls

I got to use all the funky ice cream paraphernalia that I'd gotten for Christmas - I love the pastel-coloured metal bowls especially, but the stripey paper cups and sundae glasses were pretty awesome too!

  

The Accompaniments

Meringues (plain, cocoa, blue)

Toasted Pecans

Lindt Chocolate Flakes

Salted Candied Peanuts (David Lebovitz recipe)

Blueberries, Strawberries

Coconut Flakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce (Nigella recipe)

Whipped Cream

Toasted Pecans, Shredded Coconut, Lindt Chocolate Flakes

Most of the ice creams we made were based on egg-yolk custards... which meant lots of leftover egg whites!  So I made a massive batch of meringues the night before - I divided the mixture into three, and made plain ones, cocoa ones, and baby blue ones.

Meringues - cocoa, plain

Blue Meringues

I thought the cocoa-swirled ones were especially pretty, but I must say I quite liked the plain ones too!  (I was pretty proud that I could pipe decent-looking stars, hehe!)  The baby blue meringues seemed to crack and weep a bit - I wonder if it was because of the extra liquid from the colouring, or if the mixture was mixed too vigorously when the colouring was added?  Either way, they turned out a lovely shade of blue so I was happy with them.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce - Nigella Express

The chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce from Nigella Express (recipe here) is insanely delicious!  Very rich, sweet and decadent - but still compulsive.  (Towards the end of the day, I even saw one of my friends dip meringues into the sauce to eat it!  Woah - sugar overload!)  Nigella suggests serving the sauce with ice-cream and salted peanuts, but why just have salted peanuts, when you can have...

David Lebovitz' truly amazing salted candied peanuts!  I cannot overemphasize how good they are!  I made them the night before, and it was so hard not eating them all before the party started!  (I've previously made them with macadamias - also fabulous).  I can't believe I only made one cup of peanuts - despite the huge amount of other sweet treats on offer, people couldn't seem to get enough of these and they were the first thing to finish up.  The next day, we even made a double batch of these to give to my dad and my aunt who only managed to have a little bit at the party.

I found it really interesting seeing how everyone approached the ice cream buffet.  (Are there three more beautiful words in the English language?)  Most people tried a spoon of each one and then went back for their favourites; some carefully considered the labels and then carefully selected their flavours - and all the while there was lots of discussion of the different flavours and toppings. Yay!

The Sundaes

Although most people just made up little bowls of mixed flavours for themselves, we did make some 'proper' sundaes too - let's check them out!

Neapolitan - chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice-creams with whipped cream and chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce 

Mont Blanc - Crushed meringues, chestnut ice-cream, whipped cream and chocolate flakes 

Eton Mess - Whipped cream, crushed meringues, strawberries, chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce

No ice-cream in this one - as the party drew to a close and only a few people remained, I realised that we had whipped cream, meringues and strawberries, and swiftly made myself an Eton Mess.

The "Georgina" Special - Salted caramel ice-cream, chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce, salted candied peanuts 

Perhaps the most on-trend ice-cream sundae of the day!

Affogato - Vanilla bean ice-cream and espresso 

The "I Can't Decide" - Vanilla, salted caramel, chocolate and cheesecake ice-creams with chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce and salted candied peanuts 

Everything tastes better with whipped cream
Left: topped with crushed meringues
Right: topped with chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce & chocolate flakes

What a super-fun day!  Big thanks to my friends and family for being so enthusiastic about the ice creams!

Sarah received the Cuisinart 2 Lt Frozen Yoghurt, Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker courtesy of Kitchenware Direct.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad