Nutella Fudge

For Maiyo's 1st birthday, I wanted to focus on a desert table rather than a cake (which I'm not super fond of) so I made several yummy treats. One of which was nutella fudge!

So simple to make, this fudge came out really creamy, a bit more like truffle filling, but still held its shape like fudge. I'd say it was the best of both worlds.

A little sea salt on top really clinched this as a must keep recipe (I'm thinking christmas presents!) but it would be just as amazing without the salt, so you decide!

I found this recipe through Two Peas and their Pod, who found it on Tasty Kitchen. These are two great sites to check out!

Photos by my amazing friend Juanita Turner

Nutella Fudge
Makes ~130 3/4 inch squares

1 Tbsp Butter
1 can (14 Oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
8 oz Bittersweet Chocolate (I used 4 oz 100% and 4oz Milk) CHOPPED
1 C Nutella (Room Temp)
3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)
Sea Salt

-Grease then line a 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
-In a double boiler (or glass/steel bowl) add remaining ingredients except for sea salt.
-Place on a sauce pan with 2 inches of simmering water, do not boil and do not let the bowl touch the water.
-Stir with a silicone spatula until thoroughly melted and well combined. 
-Pour fudge into prep'd pan and let sit ~1 hour.
-Sprinkle up to 1/2 tsp Sea Salt and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set.
-Remove fudge by lifting parchment flaps and then cut with a hot knife into desired square sizes or cut shapes with a cookie cutter.
-2 ways to heat the cutting instrument: 1-running it under hot water or 2-fill a glass with hot water and dip it in. BUT make sure to quickly pat it dry as you do not want water on the fudge! 

*sorry for all the typos, blog post is a bit more readable now:-)

Owls & Monkeys, My Baby Turns One!

Of course I wanted a very special celebration for my baby turning one, so I came up with a Monkey & Owl theme that went like this:

Monkey See, Monkey Do
We want to Hoot to You
That Baby Maiyo is Turing One
and We're going Bananas
cuz we Want You to Join the Fun!

Hoot Yes or Hoot No, cuz Baby Maiyo Wants to Know!

We had so many wonderful friends, new and old, come and enjoy a very warm sunny day in Corralitos, it was absolutely wonderful. Great food, yummy desserts, lots of games, plenty of fun areas for the kids, it was probably the best kids b-day party ever!
 

Thanks so much to my wonderful friends Dr. Goldi & Ben, for hosting us at your beautiful home and arranging the Boardwalk Game Lady (Thanks Trish!) to entertain all 25 kids (and some parents) in fun times. As they say the 1st birthday party is more for the parents, well with Ben taking over the BBQ and Trish entertaining with games, Ana & I really did get to enjoy ourselves and we had a blast!

Recipes of the individual treats to come soon, for now here's some pictures taken by the talented Juanita Turner!

Crazy Time & How to Cut a Mango

Hey, things have been crazy here. Lack of sleep for the last year has finally taken its toll on me this past month and my mommy brain has just gotten worse. I have lots of foodie stuff to blog about but I'm not sure that I'll be able to or when. And with Maiyo turning the big 1 next week, I'll be super busy making all kinds of cute stuff for the party, I just hope I can find time to blog about it afterwards.

So here's just a quick tutorial that someone asked me for and I hope you can follow along with the pictures. If not, send me a note and I'll fix it!

Banana Peanut Butter & Chocolate Bites

Easy fun treat I found on Pinterest. Funny cuz my best friend emailed my the same pin and asked if I could make some. I don't have time to type up the directions so here's a picture tutorial instead.
So here you go, a nice little bite size dessert.

Italian Pizza

One of my favorite dishes that we had in Italy last year was a sauce-less pizza in the town of Parma. It was a pizza with sausage, potatoes, olive oil and cheese and it was amazing. So much so that I tend to default to it every time I make pizza now.

In the past, I use to buy pre-made pizza dough because I don't like the smell of yeast, but since I'm trying to make most things from scratch nowadays I decided it was time to get over my scent aversion. It's been almost 20 years since I last made pizza dough and I had fun making this one.

I found a dough recipe here but I simplified it to fit my lack of patience and it came out great. I would recommend dividing the dough in 3rds for thin crust or half for thick crust but definitely not 6ths like the recipe states unless you want to make small individual pizzas.

Italian Pizza
Serves 2

Dough:
(makes 2 thick crust, 3 thin crust, or 6 individual thin crust pizzas)
4 1/2 C Unbleached Flour (Chilled)
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp (Rapid Acting) Yeast
1/4 C Olive Oil
1 3/4 C Water (Ice Cold)
Cornflour
 
-Add first 3 ingredients to mixer and mix with paddle attachment.
-Add in Oil & Water and combine.
-Change out paddle attachment for the dough hook and knead for 7 mins.
-Divide dough into desired serving sizes.
-Coat a bowl with oil and place dough in coating its surface.
-Let sit for about 2 hrs.
-Place remaining dough (coated with oil) in freezer bags and store in freezer for up to 3 months.
-Once dough has settled, take out and roll on a well floured surface as desired.

Italian Pizza
4 oz Italian Sausage (Cooked)
1 Lg Russet Potato or 2 Yukon Potatoes
1/2 Tbsp Butter (Optional)
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
1/2 White Cheese (Parmesan, Mozzarella, etc.)
Pizza Dough

-To cook the Italian sausage: place in heated pan on medium-high heat while occasionally breaking apart the meat until browned.
-To cook the Potatoes: peel then chop into 1/2 inch cubes. Remove sausage from sausage pan leaving about 1 tablespoon of grease in pan and cook potatoes in it. (Or cook in a new pan with 1/2 tablespoon of butter on medium heat for about 10 mins.
-Prepare your baking surface (pizza stone or cookie sheet) by coating with cornmeal.
-Place pizza dough on prepared baking surface then add toppings.
-Sprinkle with S&P.
-Drizzle with Olive Oil and top with Cheese.
-Bake @ 425 for ~12 mins.
-Remove from oven and lest rest a few minutes before cutting.

And Yet Another Jam

Why so many Jams you ask, I know I've been on a crazy kick, we eat a lot of PB&J's and I love jams in tarts and on zucchini bread, over yummy french cheeses and even as a base for pizza (my Balsamic-Fig Jam pizza to come soon). So why not jam, there's so much yummy fruit around where we live and it just makes perfect sense. If you're over jammed, I apologize, but if you tried my jams you wouldn't be complaining:-) but don't worry the jams will slow down...I finally bought a food dehydrator and now I'm going crazy with that!

heh

Sorry I don't have a picture for you. Things have been super busy/crazy here and I thought it would be better to get a recipe out than to have pictures, but maybe not, you let me know and I'll take some pics!

Correction: Took a picture of the jam but it didn't come out too well so I edited it with some fun effects

(oh and about this particular jam, I think I may do some more jamming this summer cuz I'm on a roll, these jams just keep getting better!)

Strawberry-Cherry Jam
Makes ~52 ounces

4 C Strawberries (Huled and Chopped)
2 C Dark Sweet Cherries (Pitted & Chopped)
3.5 C Sugar
3 Tbsp + 1 Tsp Low Sugar Pectin
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice 

-Prep the Strawberries & Cherries and place in large stock pot with Lemon Juice & 1 C Sugar.
-If you have time, let the fruit macerate about 30 mins (I put mine in the fridge overnight only cuz I got tired) and then bring to a slow boil over medium heat.
-In a separate bowl mix 1/2 cup Sugar & Pectin and set aside.
-Cook fruit for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, then let cool slightly.
-Use an immersion blender to mash up the fruit as fine or chunky as you desire.
-Return to heat, stir in Sugar-Pectin and bring to a rolling boil for 10 mins.
-Add remaining 2 cups of Sugar and return to a boil for 1 min.
-Pour into small sterilized jars and either seal and place in refrigerator or process in a water bath.
-Water bath processed jams will stay good stored in a dark & cool place for one year, refrigerated jams will stay good for about 3 weeks.

NOTE: I doubled this recipe and it came out great but you can also half the recipe for a smaller batch.

Home Ground Chicken Burgers

I'm on a savings kick. We've been a bit on edge with some major financial costs this year, as I know many people are, but we're finally starting to feel the weight of me not working and so I've been trying to cut corners as much as possible. As I noted in another post I hate ground beef, but ground chicken (my usual go to ground meat) has gone up $1 per package since last year. So remembering that I bought a food mill/meat grinder last summer, I decided to grind my own chicken!

Now the last time I remember using a meat grinder was back in my culinary class days using an industrial one that ran so smoothly I had no problems...let me say this was not the case with my kitchen aid attachment! You should have seen the site, both Anastasio & I made a mess and lost about 1.5-2 lbs of chicken trying to figure out the black grease spewing from the center of the attachment.

After researching online we found some good tips & tricks so next time shouldn't be as much of a fiasco! It really is a very easy thing to do, so we'll keep grinding our own chicken meat from now on. End result only cost us the same as if we bought pre-ground, which means next time the savings will be huge at a little over $2 a pound!

Home Ground Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Cheddar
Serves 2

1 Chicken Breast (or 1/2 lb Store Bought Ground Chicken)
1/2 C Loose Fresh Spinach
1/4 C Sharp Cheddar (Grated)
3 Tbsp Plain Bread Crumbs
1 Egg Yolk
Salt, Pepper & Cayenne To Taste

-Slice the Chicken Breast in strips that will fit through the meat grinder and run through.
-Meanwhile, bring a medium size pot with ~6 cups of water to a boil.
-Using tongs drop in a big handful of Spinach and blanch for about 30-45 seconds.
-Remove spinach to a colander or plate with towel to drain.
-Once cool enough to handle, chop Spinach.
-Combine the Ground Chicken with Spinach & remaining ingredients and form into 2 patties.
-Either grill or cook in frying pan with a little oil until browned on both sides.

It's been a long month

Hey Everyone,

Sorry again for the lack of posts, it's been a very long, busy month and although I've got a bunch of recipes to share, I haven't had a chance to write them up. Another problem I've been fighting is capturing my creations, I just haven't had the opportunities to take very many pictures that weren't late at night, and by then I'm so exhausted, I have no patience for the camera.

So I hope you don't mind a bunch of posts lacking pictures, I assure you all the recipes I post are wonderful, happy cooking!

Here are some vintage carnival cookies from a party I helped plan this month:

Plum-Vanilla Bean Jam

Plums are falling off trees left and right, so if you have some or a friend has a tree, go pick them now and make this yummy jam!

This jam gave me a bit of a headache. My intent was to make it sans pectin but to no avail, after an evening of pure frustration, I broke down and added the pectin, and more plums since I originally added too much sugar to compensate for lack of pectin. Plums are suppose to have a lot of natural pectin in them but I used too many over-ripe plums and its just ripe or not so ripe plums that contain the firming agent. So if your plums are pretty ripe, be sure to add the pectin!

A hint of vanilla really goes well with this jam and livens it up a bit. I would suggest this as an ice cream topper or even a pie filling, as well as on toast or waffles!

(Organic) Plum-Vanilla Jam
Makes ~54 ounces

6 C Plums-Organic if available (Chopped)
3.5 C Sugar
3 Tbsp + 1 Tsp Low-Sugar Pectin
1/2 Vanilla Bean

-Prep the Plums and place in large stock pot. (You can peel them if you like, I left the skins on)
-Cut the Vanilla Bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds out into the pot, then add the bean pods.
-Add 1 cup of Sugar to fruit and bring to a slow boil over medium heat.
-In a separate bowl mix 1/2 cup Sugar & Pectin and set aside.
-Cook fruit for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, then let cool slightly.
-Either take an emulsion blender to the pan, place the fruit in a food processor/blender, (but be sure to remove Vanilla Bean Pods before blending then return after) or use a potato masher and mash/puree fruit as fine or chunky as you desire.
-Return to heat, stir in Sugar-Pectin and bring to a rolling boil for 10 mins.
-Add remaining 2 cups of Sugar and return to a boil for 1 min.
-Remove Vanilla Bean Pods if still in pot.
 -Pour into small sterilized jars and either seal and place in refrigerator or process in a water bath.
-Water bath processed jams will stay good stored in a dark & cool place for one year, refrigerated jams will stay good for about 3 weeks.

NOTE: I doubled this recipe and it came out great but you can also half the recipe for a smaller batch.

Cherry Port Jam

Next up in my summer jamming session is Cherry Port Jam. Bing cherries are all around and in perfect form so I have plans to also make cherry liqueur before they go away for the year.

This jam is divine. I would suggest using a bit nicer port (I used just a basic cooking port and not one of my yummy drinking ports like this one) it came out wonderful but a bit strong in smell, though not in taste..

Next time I make this recipe, I think I'll double the port but then reduce it in a separate pan then add the reduction to the jam...food for thought.

Cherry Port Jam
Makes ~52 ounces

6 C Dark Sweet Cherries (Pitted & Chopped)
3.5 C Sugar
1/4 C Port (High Quality)
3 Tbsp + 1 Tsp Low Sugar Pectin

-Prep the Cherries and place in large stock pot.
-Add 1 cup of Sugar to fruit and bring to a slow boil over medium heat.
-In a separate bowl mix 1/2 cup Sugar & Pectin and set aside.
-Cook fruit for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, then let cool slightly.
-Use a potato masher and mash fruit as fine or chunky as you desire.
-Return to heat, stir in Sugar-Pectin & Port and bring to a rolling boil for 10 mins.
-Add remaining 2 cups of Sugar and return to a boil for 1 min.
-Pour into small sterilized jars and either seal and place in refrigerator or process in a water bath.
-Water bath processed jams will stay good stored in a dark & cool place for one year, refrigerated jams will stay good for about 3 weeks.

NOTE: I doubled this recipe and it came out great but you can also half the recipe for a smaller batch.

MMCCC: Momma Mary Choco Chip Cookies

Again, I apologize for the lapse in posting, I have a lot in the tube but I just haven't had the time ti dish them out. Hopefully this week I'll catch up, even with the holiday:-)

I've been craving cookies for a while so here's my honey chocolate chip cookies for your enjoyment!

 
MMCCC: Momma Mary Choco Chip Cookies
Makes 3-4 Dozen

2 1/2 C Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 C Light Brown Sugar
1/2 C Unsalted Butter (room temp)
1/4 C Honey
2 Tbsp Molasses (Dark)
2 Large Eggs
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 bag Choc. Chips

-Sift Flour, B. Soda, B. Powder & Salt, set aside.
-Beat (in Electric Mixer)  Butter & Sugar for about 5 mins then add Eggs (1 @ a time), scrape down sides.
-Add in Honey, Molasses & Vanilla.
-Then add Flour Mix in batches.
-Drop onto prepared baking sheet and bake @ 350 for 11-12 mins. Turn once during bake. Cool on rack.

NRW 25: Italian Fries

New Recipe Week 25: Italian (French) Fries

When we were in Italy last year we had the most amazing french fries, and not just in one city but all of them. Yes, we ordered french fries in Italy, I was 5 & 1/2 months pregnant and I was always craving potatoes, don't mess with the preggers:-)

Ok, back to the amazingness of these fries, which were so rich yet light, wait, isn't that a contradiction in terms? Anyway, the fries were the best tasting fries we had ever had and do you know why, because they were fried in Olive Oil. Now I've had a hard time finding Olive Oil here in the states that tastes as good as the stuff from the source, but there are some good ones out there. For cost purposes I use California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I know this make these particular fries a bit more costly, but really, it's well worth it, and if you're gonna have something fried, olive oil is better for you too.

Italian Fries
Serves 2

2 Medium Russet Potatoes
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt + More for Seasoning
2 C Water
Olive Oil (Pure or Extra Virgin)

-Peel and cut Potatoes lengthwise in slivers about 1/4 inch in thinkness.
-Place in bowl with Salted Water.
-In a deep pan pour enough Olive Oil until about 1.5 inches deep.
-On medium-high heat, bring oil to about 325 degrees.
-Working with tongs, grab a bunch of potatoes & lightly strain (by shaking off) water then add to oil. Be Careful for splattering oil!
-Continue to add potatoes to oil but do not crowd.
-Cook for 10 mins or until golden brown.
-Remove potatoes to bowl and sprinkle with Salt & toss to coat.
-Place on paper to strain off excess oil and repeat with remaining potatoes. Enjoy!

More Jam

Pluots and Peaches are abound at all the local farmers markets. We bought so many last week that we couldn't eat them all before they started to over-rippen, so jam I did!

Wanting something a little different from just plain peach jam (of which I made a ton last year) I decided to throw in some vanilla bean and all I have to say is holey moley this ones a keeper!

This recipe made six 1/2 pint jars and one 4 ounce jar, but you could easily halve the recipe and make a small batch for your refrigerator, especially in you don't want to process the jam.

White Peach, Red Pluot & Vanilla Bean Jam
Makes ~52 oz

~4 White Peaches (Peeled & Diced)
~8 Red Pluots (Peeled & Diced)
4 C Sugar (Divided)
3 Tbsp & 1 Tsp Low-Sugar Pectin
1/2 Vanilla Bean

Easy way to peel the fruit: Prepare a large bowl of ice water and a large pot of boiling water, each enough to cover the fruit. Place the whole fruit in the boiling water for about a minute, then, using tongs or slotted spoon, remove the fruit into the ice water. After cool, take each out and peel.

-Place 6 cups of prepared Fruit in a bowl with 1 cup of Sugar and mix in.
-Scoop the seeds out of the Vanilla Bean and into the Fruit, add the pod as well, mix together and let macerate for at least an hour, overnight if you have time.
-Mix 1 cup of Sugar with Pectin and set aside.
-Bring the Fruit/Sugar/Vanilla mix to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
-Remove from heat, discard the vanilla bean pod and blend fruit with an imersion blender, in a regular blender or food processor.
-Return Fruit to heat with remaining 2 cups of Sugar and bring to a rapid boil.
-Add in Sugar/Pectin mix and bring back to a rapid boil for 1 minute.
-Pour into sterilized jars and process in water bath for 10 minutes.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Here in La Selva we have a bake sale, parade and all kinds of fun activities in the community. I was very excited to celebrate Maiyo's first Independence Day so I made a bunch of cookies to mark the occasion. They were the hit of the sale, beside all the brownies that is:-)

 Momma Mary's Sugar Cookies
Makes ~ 3 dozen cookies

1 C Butter (Room temp)
1 C Superfine (Baker's) sugar
1 Tsp Salt

1 Egg Yolk + 1 Whole Egg (Room Temp)
2 1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Almond Extract

2 3/4 C Flour (Unbleached)

1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

-Beat (in an electric mixer on medium) Butter & Sugar for 5 mins then add in salt.

-Add Egg Yolk and beat 1 min then add Whole Egg and beat another 3 mins.

-Add in Vanilla & Almond Extracts.

-Slow mixer and add Flour (mixed with Baking Powder) in batches until combined.

-Divide & wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour or until firm.

-Roll out dough on floured surface until desired thickness and cut with cookies cutters.

-Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake @ 350 for 10-13 mins.

-Decorate with desired frosting.

Tomatoless Guacamole

With the 4th of July festivities already upon us and BBQ's galore on schedule I've finally posted my tomato-less guacamole. All ingredients are to taste, add more or less for the desired flavor and hotness. Just make sure to make a bunch cuz this goes super fast!

Tomatoless Guacamole (served with Tropical Carnitas)
Makes ~2 Cups

3 Medium Avocados
1 Lemon (juiced)
2 Garlic Cloves (minced) or 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1-2 Jalapenos (diced) or 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
3 Tbls Onion (chopped) or 1 Tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Red Bell Pepper (diced)
Salt & Pepper to taste

-Cut up and mash avocados in a bowl.
-Add remaining ingredients and mix in.
-For best flavor, let sit 30 mins but can be enjoyed right away!

NOTE: all spices and lemon are to taste. I like a lot of lemon in my guac, but others may not so start with 1/2 a lemon first then add more as you like it. Same holds true for the jalapeno/cayenne, just add as much of this 'heat' as you like.