No Fear Entertaining

Wordless Wednesday…

2009-11-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

Drop In & Decorate

2009-11-13T11:51:00.001-05:00

Back in 2002 one of my good food blogger friends, Lydia started a wonderful program called Drop in & Decorate. It’s a simple concept: bake some cookies, invite friends or family (or co-workers or neighbors) to drop by and help decorate, and donate your cookies to a local food pantry, emergency shelter, senior center, lunch program, or other nonprofit agencies meeting the basic human needs of people in your own communities.

This year if you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate® event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help.

Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product -- including sugar cookie mix and icing -- to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And she iwll also include a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, donated by Wilton, to people who plan to host cookies-for-donation events.

There’s also a free downloadable guide with everything you need to know to host your own party, available on the Drop In & Decorate web site.

It’s a simple idea in a complicated world, and something anyone can do! If you’d like more information, you can visit the web site or contact Lydia directly at lydiaATdropinanddecorateDOTorg.

Check out Lydia’s site for more details .

Photos courtesy of Drop In & Decorate and Lydia Walshin

Apple Pancakes for dinner…

2009-11-12T13:16:00.001-05:00

We are still in our crazy, running all the time, trying to find some sense of balance in our lives mode. So I am making dinners in the crockpot or else finding things that I can make ahead of time and just reheat for a quick meal between activities (BMX racing, ice skating, and karate). I made a really good white chicken chili but ate it all without a single photo. So will post when I make it again and you can bet I will be making it again, it was just that good.

Anyway, these pancakes came about because I had some fruit that badly needed to be used up or tossed out tomorrow. There were 6 apples, 4 bananas and 2 pears. 3 of the bananas went into banana chocolate chip muffins (1 had to be tossed), and 3 apples went into the pancakes. I am going to make apple/pear sauce with the remaining fruit to use as topping for the pancakes! These pancakes are delicious and a perfect way to use up some of that fruit. They can be made ahead and just warmed up (for dinner) but of course they are way better hot off the griddle!

Apple Pancakes (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
14 tsp nutmeg
3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated (I used macintosh and a honey crisp apple. You could use any)

Directions:

1. Mix the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
3. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir in the apples.
4. Heat a thin layer of oil in an electric skillet on medium heat. Drop large spoonful of batter into the pan and flatten it out a little (otherwise, you might have trouble getting them to cook in the center) and cook until golden brown underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook them for an additional two or three minutes.

I sprinkled these with cinnamon sugar and topped them with maple syrup but apple sauce will be great on them too!

Royal Foodie Joust Winners: Orange, Black and Sugar

2009-11-08T11:46:00.001-05:00

Jenn, The Leftover Queen, is busy taking care of Royal duties in San Francisco this weekend and has asked me to step up and help her out with the Royal Foodie Joust winner post. As always I am so happy to help out a friend!

I love the fall, it is one of my favorite season. Unfortunately living here we really don’t have too much of a fall to speak of. But I still love the fall ingredients and these ones were awesome.So when Kat, from A Good Appetite, winner of last month’s Joust, sent me her choice of ingredients for this month I was thrilled!

Orange - Pumpkin (or anything other orange flesh squash, i.e. butternut, acorn, kabocha)
Black - Stout, Porter or other dark colored Beer (if you don't want to use alcohol, you can substitute in cola)
Sugar

The Jousters loved the colors, er ingredients this month. We had 20 entries this month! Ranging in everything from appetizers to dessert! Be sure to check out all the recipes and tantalizing photos here on the Foodie Blogroll forum!

We welcomed several new Jousters this month, who will hopefully become regulars, and welcomed many of our seasoned Jousters back, after a much deserved summer break! I hope this will encourage some of you to join us this month too! Things are always exciting, and changing in the Jousting fields! We have a fantastic group of ingredients this month too. I will announce them at the end of the post!

About the Joust:

The Royal Foodie Joust is an awesome and fun monthly peer voted competition that is hosted on The LeftoverQueen/FoodieBlogroll Forum! It gets better each and every month as the competition gets stiffer and more creative, as Jousters try to outdo each other! It is also one of the friendliest competitions I have ever seen. So please don’t be intimidated to come and join us this month in another round!

We don’t bite, unless of course there is real food in our faces

The only rules for the competition is that each Jouster create only one dish and each entry must feature three ingredients in common.

This competition has been referred to many times as the “Iron Chef” of the Food Blogosphere. Each month’s ingredients are chosen by the previous month’s Best Overall Entry winner. The Best Overall winner of each Joust not only wins the Queen’s favor, bragging rights and a cool icon to put on their blog, but is also awarded with a super awesome Royal Foodie Joust Apron! There are also prizes for the winners of the other two categories: Best Photo and Most Unique Interpretation

So what are you waiting for? Come over and join us this month!

If you would like to participate in this month’s Joust, be sure to submit your entry by 12 NOON, Eastern Standard USA time on the First of the following Month (Dec. 1, 2009)!

If you have an idea you would like to share about how to make the Joust a better community event, please join us in discussing it here.

Although there were so many awesome entries this time around, there can only be one winner in each category, and each month making that call gets harder! Onto those winning entries now!

This month’s Best Overall winner is Inspired Taste (Joanne and Adam) with their Guiness Burger with Butternut Squash Fries

As food bloggers (and food appreciators) we all know that pictures speak a thousand words and this month’s Best photo winner goes to Nuria from Spanish Recipes with her beautiful Pumpkin Puree with Sugar and Beer Spider Web Reduction

And last but not least is the entry that won the Most Unique Interpretation which this month goes to 5starfoodie with Stout Pumpkin Sous Vide with Goat Cheese and Maple Syrup

Thank you so much to our winners, all the participants and everyone who voted! Remember, even if you don’t enter the Joust you can still vote for your favorite entry on The Foodie Blogroll Forum!

*********************************************************************************

So without further ado, Joanne and Adam of Inspired Taste have decided to use seasonal ingredients to inspire you for this month’s Joust!

Here are your ingredients:

Pear
Ginger
Fennel

Please post your entries here!

Let the games begin!!!

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Spice Muffins

2009-10-28T13:11:00.001-04:00

Have you noticed that pretty much the only things I do right now are things that are quick and easy? Sad but true. I am busy…

I went searching yesterday for a quick and easy recipe to make some pumpkin muffins. I wanted something that used no appliances and I could whip out in a matter of minutes with minimal mess. These were perfect and fit my criteria flawlessly!

See the crunchy cinnamon/sugar coating on top? It absolutely made these muffins!!!

Pumpkin Muffins (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Adapted from the American club, in Kohler, Wisconsin via Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Makes 12 muffins

Put oven in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, and brown sugar in a large bowl until smooth. In another bowl whish together the flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until until just combined. Be careful to not over mix .

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Pecan Pie Bars

2009-10-24T15:56:00.001-04:00

These are soooooo good! I would never lie to you about something so wonderfully ooey, gooey and somewhat in some places chewy!

My friend Marye Audet very generously sent me a copy of her new cookbook “The Everything Cookies and Brownies Cookbook”. This book is part of the “The Everything” series of books. And what a great addition to the series it is!

I love baking cookies and brownies so this one is right up my alley…it has frosted cookies, filled cookies (with ideas for fillings), brownies, bar cookies, drop cookies and get this…even some that are good for shipping.

If you are looking for a comprehensive, all in one spot cookie and brownie book this one is it. This book even has a section for special needs, as in gluten free and egg/dairy free.

Love the book Marye and congrats on a job well done! I can’t wait to try out the rest of the delicious recipes!!!

Pecan Pie Bars (from The Everything Cookies & Brownies Cookbook – recipe reprinted with Marye Audet’s permission)

Ingredients:

Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter

Topping:

1-1/2 cups light corn syrup
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips, optional (I used 1/2 cup scattered on the crust of half of the jelly roll pan)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 10” x 15” jelly roll pan with parchment, allowing it to overhang sides and ends slightly.
Stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Cut in 1 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press firmly into the pan.
Bake 20 minutes.
Mix together corn syrup, eggs, remaining sugars, 3 tablespoons of butter, and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Stir in pecans, pour over hot crust. If using the chocolate chips add them before you pour the topping on the crust.
Bake 25 minutes or until set. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-21T00:27:00.000-04:00

What do you think that the man who will always love her the most whispered to make her smile like that?

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-10-19T16:14:00.001-04:00

So it’s been a while. I can give you a million reasons why I haven’t posted since last month but I won’t. Hopefully this is the end of the dry spell.

I had 4 small bananas that were past the eating date according to everyone in my family. I knew I needed to make something with them but couldn’t decide on anything. I was going to make a banana cake with cream cheese frosting but getting out the mixer seemed like a lot of work while I was trying to do laundry and clean. Banana bread rarely gets finished here for some reason. Everyone starts gung ho on it and then I end up throwing out the last 3 slices. I was going to make banana snicker doodles but once again sounded like too much work.

Finally I came across a recipe for banana chocolate chip muffins from the Epicurious website. I love this site because of the honest reviews that people leave on the recipes. How can you go wrong when 275 people have left comments for you!!!

These muffins were delicious. Light and fluffy, full of bananas and chocolate chips. Definitely yummy my taste testers just confirmed!

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins (Epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line twelve 1/3-cup muffin cups with foil muffin liners.
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl.
Mix mashed bananas, egg, melted butter and milk in medium bowl.
Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not overmix).
Stir in chocolate chips.
Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake muffins until tops are pale golden and tester inserted into center comes out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs, about 32 minutes.
Transfer muffins to rack; cool.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-30T11:43:00.001-04:00

Daring Baker’s do Puff Pastry and Vols-au-Vents

2009-09-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Wow, was this month’s challenge ever a “challenge” . Our temps here in Southwest Florida are still in the mid 90’s every single day and if I turn my A/C to more than 80F I end up with an electric bill that is $350+!!! Anyone who has ever worked with puff pastry knows that these are not ideal circumstances for making the dough…But I DID IT!!!! And look how pretty and puffy these turned out!!!

There was a lot of refrigerating going on though and I had butter popping through and melting all over my counter so I was shocked at how nicely these turned out. Unfortunately they took me a whole day to make and then I let them chill over night. After all of that I just ran out of time for making the wonderful lemon mousse that I had planned to fill them with. Whatever, the girls loved them filled with fresh blueberries and drizzled with chocolate. Isn’t that what it’s all about anyway???

For this challenge we had to make puff pastry (Michel Richard’s recipe) and form at least part of it into vols-au-vent…

The recipe and directions:

Equipment:
-food processor (will make mixing dough easy, but I imagine this can be done by hand as well)
-rolling pin
-pastry brush
-metal bench scraper (optional, but recommended)
-plastic wrap
-baking sheet
-parchment paper
-silicone baking mat (optional, but recommended)
-set of round cutters (optional, but recommended)
-sharp chef’s knife
-fork
-oven
-cooling rack

Prep Times:
-about 4-5 hours to prepare the puff pastry dough (much of this time is inactive, while you wait for the dough to chill between turns…it can be stretched out over an even longer period of time if that better suits your schedule)
-about 1.5 hours to shape, chill and bake the vols-au-vent after your puff pastry dough is complete

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Fill and serve.

*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.

*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.

*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough

From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Steph’s note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

There is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). They do seem to give slightly different ingredient measurements verbally than the ones in the book…I listed the recipe as it appears printed in the book. http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter

plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Steph’s extra tips:

-While this is not included in the original recipe we are using (and I did not do this in my own trials), many puff pastry recipes use a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, added to the ice water, in the détrempe dough. This adds acidity, which relaxes the gluten in the dough by breaking down the proteins, making rolling easier. You are welcome to try this if you wish.

-Keep things cool by using the refrigerator as your friend! If you see any butter starting to leak through the dough during the turning process, rub a little flour on the exposed dough and chill straight away. Although you should certainly chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns, if you feel the dough getting to soft or hard to work with at any point, pop in the fridge for a rest.

-Not to sound contradictory, but if you chill your paton longer than the recommended time between turns, the butter can firm up too much. If this seems to be the case, I advise letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to give it a chance to soften before proceeding to roll. You don't want the hard butter to separate into chuncks or break through the dough...you want it to roll evenly, in a continuous layer.

-Roll the puff pastry gently but firmly, and don’t roll your pin over the edges, which will prevent them from rising properly. Don't roll your puff thinner than about about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick, or you will not get the rise you are looking for.

-Try to keep “neat” edges and corners during the rolling and turning process, so the layers are properly aligned. Give the edges of the paton a scooch with your rolling pin or a bench scraper to keep straight edges and 90-degree corners.

-Brush off excess flour before turning dough and after rolling.

-Make clean cuts. Don’t drag your knife through the puff or twist your cutters too much, which can inhibit rise.

-When egg washing puff pastry, try not to let extra egg wash drip down the cut edges, which can also inhibit rise.

-Extra puff pastry dough freezes beautifully. It’s best to roll it into a sheet about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick (similar to store-bought puff) and freeze firm on a lined baking sheet. Then you can easily wrap the sheet in plastic, then foil (and if you have a sealable plastic bag big enough, place the wrapped dough inside) and return to the freezer for up to a few months. Defrost in the refrigerator when ready to use.

-You can also freeze well-wrapped, unbaked cut and shaped puff pastry (i.e., unbaked vols-au-vent shells). Bake from frozen, without thawing first.

-Homemade puff pastry is precious stuff, so save any clean scraps. Stack or overlap them, rather than balling them up, to help keep the integrity of the layers. Then give them a singe “turn” and gently re-roll. Scrap puff can be used for applications where a super-high rise is not necessary (such as palmiers, cheese straws, napoleons, or even the bottom bases for your vols-au-vent).

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent

Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:
-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Salsa Chicken Enchiladas

2009-09-20T16:37:00.001-04:00

Quite possibly this is to be one of the laziest posts I’ve even written. Why? Because it is my lazy end of the week go to meal. I got the recipe from my friend Lynn and have been making them regularly since!!! This is a great recipe to use to feed a crowd and Lynn has used it to feed many over the years…

Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

I jar of good quality salsa (or just you favorite!)
chicken (4 breast or 8 thighs-boneless skinless)

Directions:

Throw chicken and salsa into a crockpot on low and cook for 4-8 hrs depending on whether or not you had the foresight to thaw your chicken (yes, I throw frozen chicken in here).

Once the chicken is done. You need to remove it from the crockpot and the sauce and shred it. This chicken can now be used in tacos, nachos, or anything else that requires some nicely seasoned chicken!

We use it in enchiladas…

Salsa Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

corn tortillas
salsa chicken (see recipe above)
shredded cheese
onions, finely diced
enchilada sauce
jalapenos, finely diced

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F.

Using Elise from Simply Recipe’s process of heating the tortillas - “Heat a small light skillet on med-high heat. Add a teaspoon of oil (high smoke point oil as indicated above, we use grapeseed oil) to coat the pan. Dip a tortilla in the sauce (I used the sauce from the crockpot that I cooked the chicken in) to coat the tortilla with sauce on both sides. Place the tortilla in the skillet and heat for a few seconds, until the tortilla begin to show some air bubbles. Use a metal spatula to flip to the other side for a few more seconds. Set aside on a plate. Repeat with remaining tortillas.”

Using these tortillas place some shredded cheese, onion and shredded chicken in them and roll. Place seam side down in a baking pan large enough to hold the amount you are making. When the pan is filled top with enchilada sauce, onions, cheese and jalapenos.

Pop these in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned and the cheese is all bubbly.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

2009-09-16T14:35:00.001-04:00

My goal each and every day is to feed my family a healthy lunch and dinner. Oh how I have been lax at meeting that daily goal! Turning a new page and starting off on the right foot and all here is my attempt to get it all back together. The meals that I cook have to either be crock pot, slow cooked or else pre cooked that we can heat up after, between or before whatever extra curricular event we have happening on that night. I don’t use packaged or prepared foods at all so everything that I do is from scratch, just to make it more challenging huh?

Between karate 2 days, skating 2 or 3 days and BMX 2 or 3 days you can just imagine that it is a little hectic around here. One thing though that we ALWAYS make sure that we do it to eat together. There is none of this grabbing and eating on your own here. We sit down to a family meal each and every single night. Is it easy? No way, but we do it.

One of my big problems though is that we get pretty bored with all of the fast things that I can make and it has been way too hot for a slow cooked or crock pot meal. So this is what I came up with yesterday and it is going to be added into the rotation.

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

I was able to make the black bean mixture, cut up all of the cilantro, jalapenos and crumble the goat cheese ahead of time. When we got home I heated the bean mixture and got the griddle going. These were assembled, cooked and on the table in 10 minutes. I served sautéed zucchini along side and it was really the perfect meal!

Black Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadilla (inspired by Fine Cooking)

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 lg yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
24-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno, chopped
4 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
6 flour tortillas, Burrito size (we used 2 whole ones for T and I and 1 each for the girls)

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, cumin, chili powder, oregano and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. With the back of a fork, break up the beans to make a chunky mash. Stir in half of the cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the black bean mixture over the tortilla and crumble the goat cheese, sprinkle with jalapeno and some cilantro top with another tortilla. Cook on a heated and oiled griddle until nice and golden brown. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and slice up and serve.

**We served these with chopped up avocado, salsa and sour cream. This was a delicious and quick week night meal!

This would also be a great idea for an appetizer for your next party or pot luck. Cut into smaller wedges these would be perfect!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Big and Bold Blueberry Muffins

2009-09-10T19:44:00.001-04:00

I made the best muffins I have ever made the other day. This is another recipe that I have been meaning to try and just never got around to it. Silly me.

This recipe was pointed out to me by Kelly of Sass & Veracity. She had posted these muffins and told me they were the best. If you haven’t been to her blog you really need to check it out. Kelly is an amazing cook and baker but my favorite thing about her recipes is that she always adds notes on the end. These are almost like her own personal notes that she has written along the side of the recipe in the magazine or the cookbook. Sometimes they are things she would do different the next time or reasons why she did what she did this time. I have cooked many of her recipes and have never had a “fail”.

I can’t wait to make these again and again. The possibilities are endless. You can use just about any flavor combo that you can imagine with these. When making these muffins Joanne Chang advises that if you want to add fruit or chocolate to the master recipe, do so in 1-1/2 cup quantities and if you are altering flavorings such as citrus zest, or spice, then 2 tsp. of zest is recommended, and/or 3/4 tsp. spice. Also these are really easy. You don’t need a mixer and only 2 bowls being dirtied. Love that…

Joanne Chang's Master Muffin Recipe
Makes 12 big top muffins

3-1/2 c. all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. sugar
10 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 c. whole milk at room temp
1 c. sour cream at room temp
2 lg. eggs at room temp
1 lg. egg yolk at room temp
1 1/2 c. of blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine sugar, melted butter, milk, sour cream, and eggs. Add this wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix gently until nearly all the dry ingredients are moist and the batter is still lumpy.

Gently mix the additional ingredients into the batter being careful not to over mix. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper cups, and spray over the top of the muffin pan lightly. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups, mounding it. Bake in the center of the oven about 30 to 35 minutes or until tops are golden brown and centers set.

Cool muffins in the pan placed on a baking rack for about 20 minutes before removing them to a platter.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

2009-09-04T06:45:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago my sister (I miss you and can’t wait to see you!!!) emailed me a recipe that she had had at a dinner party. She went on and on about this salad. Saying it was her new favorite salad and how I HAD to make it right then. Well, me being me, a couple of months passed and I finally got around to making it. Guess what? It was good! Really, really good!

I did have to change it around and add some different things to it but essentially it is the same.

I will be making this one again and again!!!

Mediterranean Orzo Salad – adapted from the July 09 print issue of House & Home (my changes in italics)

Ingredients:

1 lb. orzo pasta
1 small zucchini, cubed ( I threw it in the pasta water to cook in the last 2 minutes of cooking the orzo)
1/2 of a red pepper, chopped
1 cup black olives, pick your favorite, coarsely chopped
8 oil-packed sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used about 1/4 cup more for flavor)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (you could use white)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
5 oz. goat cheese, crumbled (I used feta because that’s what I had)
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions:

1. Cook orzo in a large pot of boiling salted water for about 7 minutes or until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water until completely cooled. Drain again.

2. Combine lives, sundried tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, slat and pepper in a large bowl. Add cooked orzo and stir well. Stir in goat cheese and basil just before serving.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Chocolate and Key Lime Cupcakes

2009-09-01T06:45:00.000-04:00

I’ve been having a bit of a block lately. I can’t write. I’m still cooking and baking but nothing seems to be inspiring me to write (or “right” about it. LOL!!!).

I keep putting it down to the season. I know it sounds weird to all of you northerners but here in Southwest Florida in the months of August and September we are a virtual dead zone of fresh produce! It is just too stinking hot outside for anything to grow let alone thrive…I will be planting my garden this month so hopefully that will help give me a badly needed boost! Until then I offer you some delicious chocolate and key lime cupcakes…

Chocolate and Key Lime Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla

Filling:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup of fresh squeezed key lime juice
zest of one key lime

Directions:

In a bowl, beat cream cheese. Add key lime juice, zest, sugar, egg, salt. Mix well. Set aside.

For cupcakes, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Mix well. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full with batter. Top each with 2 Tbs. of cream cheese mixture and then top with more chocolate batter to cover the cream cheese.

Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan. This makes 12

These were truly delicious. I tossed around whether it should be a white cupcake or chocolate but my helpers decided it HAD to be chocolate. Glad I listened to them. Some of them caved in but that’s because I was a little over zealous in my filling!!!

Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

2009-08-28T06:45:00.000-04:00

So I am running a little bit behind on the BBA challenge but I still feel pretty good with my progress. This week I made the Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread. Funny thing is I almost skipped this one. But the girls went back to school this week and I found myself with a couple of free minutes and an empty house. When I saw that it wasn’t a 2 bread I jumped right in. I am so glad I did…

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

I really, like this bread. I followed the recipe to a tee. Right down to the huge amount of cranberries and walnuts that went into it. It did take a while to get them all incorporated but with some patient kneading they all fit in. Someone on twitter (so sorry that I forget who!!!) suggested that these would be an incredible addition to the Thanksgiving table made into muffins!!!

Will I be making this again? I think so. I liked it and the family liked it and I really think that it would make the best turkey sandwich with leftover roasted turkey from Thanksgiving!

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Celebration Bread!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…English Muffins!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-26T06:45:00.000-04:00

My life, my love, my heart…

Finest Foodies Friday – August 21, 2009

2009-08-21T06:45:00.000-04:00

Jenn, The Leftover Queen has asked me to step in and help her out with this weeks FFF so without further ado…

As always here is what the FFF is all about. Finest Foodies Friday! FFF is a weekly Friday post featuring favorites from The Foodie Blogroll! We do this so we can share in the rich diversity of what The Foodie Blogroll has to offer by featuring some of our favorites and yours!
What is the Foodie Blogroll? It is the first and fastest growing free membership blogroll for food bloggers and has become a wonderful community to share ideas about all things food related. With a membership of over 4700 food blogs, I am sure you can find much inspiration and new friends!

The only requirement to be featured here on FFF is to be a member of The Foodie Blogroll and be displaying The Foodie Blogroll widget on your blog. If you are not yet a member, but you have a food blog and would like to join us, please click here!

If you have a favorite foodblog on The Foodie Blogroll, that you would like to be featured here on FFF, please join us over on The Leftover Queen/Foodie Blogroll Forum, and post your favorite Foodie Blogroll foodblogs here.

These are my 5 blog choices for the week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Whole Food Whole Family

This is a beautiful vegetarian blog written by Chandelle who has a wonderful dream “My dream is to live self-sufficiently on a little plot of borrowed earth and save the world.” Nice huh?

You need to check out her post on Fresh Spring Rolls with Thai-inspired Almond Dip

The Dessert Nook

This blog is written by 19 year old Laura from Helsinki, Finland who has had a life long dream to become a pastry chef. What a great dream! She sure does make a mean looking Strawberry Ice Cream!

Mango & Tomato

Great blog written by Olga who is a DC blogger. She writes about a huge variety of things from restaurant reviews, to Daring Cook and Baker posts and then she posts some really great frugal hints…Love the one about freezing the last little bit of a bottle of wine but I have to question the dumpster diving??? LOL!

Mixing Bowl Kids

What an inspiring blog by a woman who is passionate about families spending time together in the kitchen. Long been a passion of mine as well. She offers cooking classes for children which I personally think is a wonderful idea. what a way to inspire a life long love of food? She is also a fellow Canadian. Check out her creative corn coins…made to help accommodate a toothless child!

Playing House

Fun blog by a self confessed amateur foodie living in the Pacific Northwest. I was scrolling through all of her posts and I have to say that I would be hard pressed to choose just one recipe that she has posted on her blog as a favorite. I love the Thai beef, Oreo brownies, Panzanella, ice cream, cookies. I could go on and on!

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this week’s FFF. Remember, if you would like to see a blog featured here, who is part of the FBR please visit the forum and nominate them.
WE NEED NOMINATIONS!!!!!!

Also we all love to know how people came to find our blogs, so please visit all of our featured bloggers today and don’t forget to tell them that you found them via Finest Foodies Friday!

Using up some leftover corn…

2009-08-18T06:45:00.000-04:00

Last week was a crazy week for me. My Mom was here and that was so incredibly, super awesome! But sadly she is gone now and we were so busy that the week passed in a huge blur! Please Mom, figure out the dog and come and stay with me!!!

Anyway, we ate last week and we ate really well but I was always flying out the door to some event or thing that I never really got any pictures. This week all that is going to change. It’s only Tuesday and already I have made something that is blog worthy from dinner last night!!!

We had some corn on the cob leftover from my youngest daughter’s birthday dinner. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it to. This is easily my favorite way to use up corn that doesn’t get eaten.

I eat this as a salad but it could also easily be used as a salsa. If I have any leftover I sometimes wrap it up in a corn tortilla for lunch the next day. This is fast, easy and delicious!!!

Black Bean and Corn Salad (adapted from CDKitchen Black Bean and Corn Salsa)

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz.) can black beans ( rinsed and drained)
1 cup fresh corn kernels, removed from cob
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

Directions:

Mix all the above well. Refrigerate over night to let flavors blend.

As Always,

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies

2009-08-07T09:40:00.001-04:00

I have been a bad blogger, a very bad blogger! I have not posted since the end of July. I really have no real excuse other then the fact that I have been pretty busy with a new job and then just being a little lazy and hanging out with the kids.

But get ready. I am back and raring to go. I have my Mom here visiting me next week from Toronto so I am sure we will be cooking up a storm!

I have to clean my house and work so I am going to leave you with my guilty pleasure from yesterday…

I adapted these from the original Toll House Chocolate Chip recipe by adding some cocoa powder and dried cherries. I still have 1/2 of the dough in my fridge (I have realized that 5 doz. cookies around are not such a good thing so I always save some in the fridge to make when the first couple of dozen are gone) and I think I am going to add some pecans to them.

These were wonderful and chock full of chocolate and cherries. Great for an afternoon snack and equally as good for a quick breakfast (shhh…don’t tell the kids!)

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies (adapted from the Nestle website)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi sweet chocolate chunks and chips
1 cup dried cherries (rehydrated slightly in some hot water)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in cherries and morsels and cherries. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Corn Bread for the Bread Baker’s Apprentice

2009-07-29T06:45:00.000-04:00

This week (and I am pretty sure I am behind?) I made Corn Bread. Was I eager to make this…no way. I even put it off over and over again. Once I finally got all of the ingredients together I could never remember to do the overnight cornmeal soak. Then, get this, when I did remember I didn’t have time the next day to make it. I placed the soaking cornmeal/buttermilk mixture in the fridge and kept hoping for a better day!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Finally the eve of the day that I would be able to bake this bread came. I wanted to be fully prepared so I even cooked up the bacon ahead of time and crumbled it and placed it in the fridge.

The next day I pulled out the cornmeal soak and let it come to room temperature and then prepared the batter. I decided to cook this in my 10 cast iron skillet. I like the flavor and the ease that it lends to corn bread. The only thing I found was that it needed to be heated for a bit longer in the oven before the batter was added. I had also ran out of honey (have been using it for one of my girls who has a cough) so I decided to completely omit it and not even add any more sugar as I had read previous comments about it being overly sweet. I added one extra tablespoon of buttermilk to help make up for the missing liquid.

Will I be making these again? Not so sure about that. It was okay but my original corn bread recipe is really good. I found this to be really cake like in texture and flavor. Loved the amount of corn in it and the crunchy cornmeal but it was too sweet and the bacon was overpowering.

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Corn Bread!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread!!!!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

The Daring Baker Challenge…I made Mallows!!!

2009-07-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

I did it! Once again I managed to pull it off in the 11th hour. I am in good company though as I am sure that my buddy @kellypea of Sass & Veracity is doing the same. My other good buddy @vindee of Passionate About Baking has been spurring me on all month to no avail so she will be pleased to see them finally finished!!!

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This was such a perfect challenge for the crazy summer months! Thanks so much Nicole for not weighing us down with some insurmountable task when we are all so busy trying to have some fun!!! I have also started working a new part-time job and with the training schedule and just trying to figure out what I am doing everything is a but more hectic…

For this months challenge we were allowed to choose between the two cookies or to make them both. I choose to make the Mallows and skip the Milan Cookies mainly because I ran out of chocolate and also that we did not need that many cookies in the house!!! I did take the easy way out and used store bought marshmallows and I am a little disappointed in myself but I promised myself and the girls that I will try to make marshmallows at some later date when life isn't quite so complicated!

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies) Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Watermelon and Feta Salad

2009-07-25T18:35:00.001-04:00

These babies are popping up all over the internet and I just had to have some. I thought that the combination of watermelon, vinegar and feta would be amazing…and it was!!!

This was such a bright, summery and delicious salad. I can’t wait to make it again!

Watermelon and Feta Salad from Dragon’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
1/2 cup tomato, seeded and chopped
1 seedless watermelon wedge, 5 inches wide, cut into chunks roughly the same size as the tomato and watermelon
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons basil leaves, shredded
1/2 cup crumbled feta

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix together the cucumber, tomato, watermelon and poblano.

2. Whisk together vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Add the basil and feta. Toss gently to combine.

5. Serve at room temperature.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Tostadas for dinner?

2009-07-21T08:03:00.001-04:00

We have had some corn tortillas in my fridge for a while. You know that package that gets moved every time you need something from in there? I had originally bought these because I love corn tortillas but found out that the rest of the family does not :( The other day I finally got to the point where I need to use these up and some other things that I had in my fridge as well!

These were really just a meal of leftovers that worked out to tummy stuffing, yummy, perfection!

Tostadas

Ingredients:

Corn tortillas (2 for each tostada)
oil for frying
1 lb ground beef
taco seasoning
refried beans
green chilies
iceberg lettuce, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded
onion, chopped
sour cream
guacamole (I just mashed up some avocados added salt, pepper, garlic powder and some lime juice this time!)
jalapenos, chopped
green onions, chopped
cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Heat the oil for frying the corn tortillas in a large deep sided pot. Cook each tortilla individually until puffed up and crispy. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool an drain.They are now tostada shells.
Brown the ground beef and add taco seasoning to taste and 1/4 water and reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Heat the refried beans with the green chilies.

To Assemble:

Place one tostada shell on a plate and spread with some refried beans (this is all done to taste so I am not going to give you actual measurements for the assembly!), ground beef mixture, and some cheese.
Top with another tostada shell and spread more beans and beef.
For the topping just add what you like using the ingredients and the picture above as a guide. I sprinkled cheese, lettuce, onion, sour cream, guacamole, jalapenos, green onions and chopped cilantro.

These were a delicious and speedy week night meal. The time comes in the assembly but that can be done quickly as well!!!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

POM Cello-Rita

2009-07-17T10:21:00.001-04:00

Remember a couple of weeks ago I posted my Cello-Rita recipe? I had come up with the cocktail for a contest that my friend Courtney over at CocoCooks was holding and guess what? I won!!! Yay! Thanks so much Courtney! Expect to see a lot more drink recipes when I receive the book I won!!!

It’s summer and we spend A LOT of time in and around the swimming pool. My youngest swims probably about 3 times a day sometimes more. Here are some pictures of my youngest and our crazy Golden Retriever who really thinks he is one of the kids…

My youngest and the golden retriever diving into the pool!

Crazy dog swimming under water! He really thinks he is one of them!

Last Sunday I was chillin’ in the pool. A necessity in the hot and steamy days of summer here in South West Florida when T. walked out of the house carrying a nice cold drink for me! When asked what it was he told me to guess. I took one long sip of it and I knew instantly and it was delicious!!!

POM Cello-Rita

2 parts of Tequila El Conde Azul Blanco (or your favorite tequila)
1 part Limoncello (homemade preferably, thanks Jenn!!!)
2 parts of your favorite margarita mix
1 part POM Wonderful (hopefully supplied to you by the generous folks at POM Wonderful!)
squeeze of lime

Shake all ingredients and serve over ice.

This is delicious with a salt rim or not. But should be enjoyed on a hot summer day either on the beach or by the pool! Bartender optional but highly recommended!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com