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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Lighter Than Air Almond Macaroon Cookies



From Denny: When you want something a little sweet but without all the extreme sport calories, often macaroons are just the ticket. My favorites are either coconut, chocolate or almond; there is just nothing like using almond paste in a recipe, awesome!

This recipe comes from a famous institution of a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia: Nikolai's Roof. We had a lot of wonderful times at this restaurant. These cookies are a snap to make and would make lovely gifts for the holidays for friends and family or to serve at your gatherings!

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: These cookies are a fixture on Nikolai's Roof's dessert menu and are a snap to re-create at home. Almond paste can be found in a tube or a can in the baking section of grocery stores. These cookies can also be dropped by teaspoon, but using a piping bag speeds the prep and guarantees perfect circles. Try them out for the holidays.

Hands on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 22 minutes
Serves: 50

Ingredients:

8 ounces almond paste
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups 10X confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 egg whites

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix almond paste, both sugars, flour and egg whites until well-blended and smooth. Pipe one-inch rounds onto a paper-lined pan using a plain piping tip fitted in a pastry bag. With damp fingertips, press down any peaks. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool on pans before removing from paper.

Nutrition:

Per serving:
43 calories (percent of calories from fat, 26), 1 gram protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 1 gram fat, no cholesterol, 3 milligrams sodium.

*** Thanks for visiting and come back often!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Video and Recipe: Malaysian Rib Spring Rolls

From Denny: This video was originally run for the Fourth of July season, yet good food is good any time of the year. Right now, tail-gaters for the football season are looking for the unusual take on barbecue ribs and this recipe just jumped out at me to post. As an American kid who spent time in Asia, I grew to love Asian cooking and this chef just captures such wonderful flavors in this recipe you just have to try it! Chef Halston's recipe is both unusual and innovative.





Finger-licking good! Malaysian rib spring rolls, a mouthwatering Asian-themed dish

Malyasian rib spring rolls with maple and tuong basil sauces

From: Chef Andre David Halston

INGREDIENTS

Malyasian short ribs

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 pounds Sterling Silver beef short ritbs 1-bone
• 2 tablespoons porcini mushroom seasoning (Market Salamander brand)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, milled
• 1 cup garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and rough-chopped
• 8 full-length stems fresh rosemary
• 1 cup port wine
• Beef stock (enough to cover by 3/4)

Crisp spring rolls filling

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons garlic fresh chopped, fine
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 ounces leek, white and green julienne
• 1/2 pound Napa cabbage, shredded
• 1 tablespoon ginger, fresh peeled, very fine dice
• 1 tablespoon porcini seasoning
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, granulated fine
• 1 teaspoon black,peppe, milled
• 2 pounds short rib meat (shredded by hand)

Malaysian peanut slaw mix

• 3 full leaves white cabbage, fine shredded
• 3 full leaves Napa cabbage, fine shredded
• 1 full leaf red cabbage, fine shredded
• 2 leaves baby arugula leaves shredded
• 25 sticks carrots, peeled matchstick

Crisp spring rolls rolling

• 10 spring roll wrappers
• 1/2 cup egg whites (lightly whisked)
• 2 ounces short beef
• 1 ounce vegetable mix

Lite soy dipping sauce

• 1/2 cup lite corn syrup
• 1/2 cup soy sauce, light
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup green onions, sliced 1/4-inch
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/4 cup brown organic sugar
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar, seasoned Marukan

Peanut dressing

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar, seasoned
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy
• 1/2 cup soy sauce, lite
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 4 ounces cilantro, fresh leaves, no stems
• 1/3 cup sugar, organic white
• 1 tablespoon mustard, ground dry
• 1 teaspoon ginger, dry powder
• 1 tablespoon Malaysian chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, milled fine

DIRECTIONS

Malaysian short ribs


Preheat oven to 250 degrees; you need the oven for 4 hours.

In a pan over high heat, warm the pan for 1 minute. Evenly sprinkle the meat with porcini mushroom seasoning.

Add the oil to the pan. Evenly cover the bottom of the pan with pieces of short ribs. Cook to a nutty brown color on one side; turn over, add the garlic cloves and ginger and cook to nutty brown. Add wine and bring to a boil. Add the beef stock and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Cover with a lid and place into the oven. Set the timer for 4 hours.

After cooking, place the pot uncovered into the refrigerator; when cool, remove the meat from the bone.

Spring rolls filling

In a saute pan over medium heat, warm the pan for 1 minute; add the oil and warm the pan for 30 seconds. Add the garlic, carrots, leek, cabbage and ginger; evenly sprinkle the vegetables with the porcini seasoning and sea salt; saute until the vegetables have softened, about 2 minutes. Spread the ingredients on a sheet pan; place uncovered in the refrigerator until cool.

Malaysian peanut slaw mix

Place all items into a bowl and evenly mix.

Crisp spring rolls wrap

Place the wrapper onto a clean sanitized area of a table with one point of the wrapper pointing toward you. Evenly brush the wrapper with the egg whites. Place the beef about 1 inch away from the point in a log shape. Place the vegetables on top of the beef. Place the point over the meat and veg. Mix, squeezing the mix tightly. Roll 1 time. Fold each edge tightly over the top and lightly press to seal. Continue to roll in a small log shape.

Lite soy dipping sauce

In a pot over medium heat add all ingredients; whisk for 1 minute and bring to a boil. Cook for 4 minutes exactly, whisking every minute, and remove. Pour the sauce into a glass or plastic container; refrigerate until cool.

Malaysian peanut dressing

Place the peanut butter in a plastic container. Place your Bermixer into a plastic container, add the vinegar, start the mixer. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, cilantro and mix for a few minutes. Add the sugar, mustard, ginger, chili sauce and pepper; mix for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid and refrigerate.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

13 Lollapalooza Halloween Posts to Make You Grin!



From Denny: Here's a roundup of all the funny and informative Halloween posts from this week - Dennys Blog Feeds where you can view all the blogs at a glance for description and headlines to recent posts:

5 Crazy Funny Halloween Posts for Recipes, Costumes, Parties

From Denny: I've been writing intensely all day to get out all the funny Halloween related videos I've found and tasty recipes! I'm downright bug-eyed that I'm not sure which end is up - literally by the funny odd photo I found on StumbleUpon.

You will enjoy all these crazy posts as they were great fun to write:

5 Campy Halloween Posts, Costume Ideas and Recipes

Halloween Italian Comfort Food: Halloween Purses, Pumpkin Risotto, Chocolate Pudding Cake, Pumpkin Bread Pudding, Nutella Apples

Video: Halloween Campy Cakes - Chocolate Spider Cakes, Ghoulish Ghost Cakes

4 Campy Halloween Drinks for Your Party, Find Out Halloween Trivia



This little kittie is staying indoors come Halloween night... smart move, Oh, Wise One...

From Denny: What is Halloween without something a bit campy and ridiculous? The first post has a recipe and some sophisticated inexpensive decorating ideas. The costume ideas for you and your soon-to-look-ridiculous dog are the funniest. I like the X-Ray Machine costume best.

The second recipe shows you how to easily assemble your own Oreo cookie black Halloween spider cookies which are sure to be a hit with the kids at the door or your friends at your posh Halloween party!

Halloween

Video and Recipe: Halloween Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Pound Cake, Decorating Ideas, Pumpkin Carving Tips, Amusing Costume Ideas for You and Your Pets

Recipe: Fun Halloween Oreo Spider Cookies



OK, these posts are so scary they are funny! (Lame, I know... I just love it when people over-hype their products. It's so outrageous.)

Funny

Lampooning Perfectionists is the latest Cheeky Quote Day! segment over at The Social Poets to get you laughing and thinking about how to improve your life without making it stressful.

Lampooning Perfectionists - Cheeky Quote Day 28 Oct 2009

I went cruising the web looking for more funny chocolate quotes than I already have stashed on Romancing The Chocolate blog and ran into funny Sandra Boynton's site. She has a new movie short just released a couple of days ago. B. B. King sings alongside his famous sidekick Lucille.

Let's all support her as this is her first movie debut. The little documentary that sidekicks it is interesting as to how many people it really takes, all the hoops they have to jump through, just to make a tiny film - and she made it funny too!

5 Funny Chocolate Quotes, Sandra Boyntons B. B. King Video

In case you missed any of these cute little Halloween funnies over at Dennys Funny Quotes, here's a repeat:

(Featured new today) Video: Creepy Hotels for Halloween Getaways

Repeats:

Funny Halloween Quotes, Halloween Cartoon

Cheeky Quote Day at The Social Poets, Funny Halloween Animation

*** Handmade Unique - lists posts from several blogs around the blogosphere with Halloween posts.

*** Thanks for visiting, everyone, and thanks for your great support! Have a fun and safe Halloween!

*** Editorial political cartoons will be here tomorrow for Sunday's post. Come on, you know that Halloween is so campy and funny that no writer can resist the temptation of writing posts for the silly holiday we enjoy so much. It's just too much fun! You know me; I'm always up for a good grinner! :)

Friday, October 30, 2009

Video: Halloween Campy Cakes - Chocolate Spider Cakes, Ghoulish Ghost Cakes

From Denny: Chef Annabel Karmel keeps us laughing and baking fun cakes for campy Halloween. I had more fun finding these crazy Halloween videos for you on all my blogs... :)



Ghoulish ghost cakes

From: Annabel Karmel

Makes: 10 cakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
• 3 quarters cup plus 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• Cornstarch for dusting
• 1 1/3 pounds white rolled fondant icing
• 1 tube of black writing icing

DIRECTIONS

Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, adding a tablespoon of flour with each egg. Beat well and fold in the remaining flour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spoon the batter into 10 greased and floured dariole moulds till just over half full. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Allow to cool, cut off the top of the cakes to form a flat surface, then turn out onto a board or plate. Allow to cool completely.

Dust your work surface with cornstarch and roll out the icing.

Cut out 8x6'' circles. You can use a saucer as a guide.

Drape these over the sponge cakes to form ghosts. From the trimmings either use a mini cutter to cut out some tiny white oval shapes or roll out some tiny balls of white icing into oval shapes.

Dampen them with a little water and stick them onto the front of the ghost.

Use a blob of black writing icing for the pupils of the eyes.



Chocolate spider cakes

From: Annabel Karmel

Makes: 16 cakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into 2cm cubes and softened
• 1 cup packed plus 2 tablespoons soft light brown sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

Decoration

• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• Licorice laces
• 16 mallowmars
• Licorice allsorts
• Mini candy-coated chocolates (mini M&Ms)
• 1 tube writing icing

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 muffin pans with 16 paper liners.

Put the chocolate, butter and sugar in a heatproof bowl and melt, stirring frequently. You can melt the chocolate in the microwave (about 3 minutes, stirring after each minute) or over a pan of warm water (make sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water). Leave to cool slightly.

Whisk together the eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Stir this into the cooled chocolate.

Put the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a strainer or sifter and sift over the chocolate mixture, then fold in, along with the milk chocolate (if using). Spoon into the paper liners, filling to around 2/3 full (an ice-cream scoop is good for this).

Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until the muffins are risen and just firm to the touch. Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Now for the decoration: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Using a palette knife or flexible spatula, cover each cake with some of the melted chocolate.

Arrange eight licorice strips for the spider's legs and stick a mallowmar in the center of each. finish with licorice allsorts and chocolate candy eyes. You can use a blob of writing icing to stick the candy on the licorice allsort.

*** Thanks for visiting, everyone!

*** For more Halloween recipes and funny Halloween videos:


4 Campy Halloween Drinks for Your Party, Find Out Halloween Trivia

Halloween Italian Comfort Food: Halloween Purses, Pumpkin Risotto, Chocolate Pudding Cake, Pumpkin Bread Pudding, Nutella Apples

*** Handmade Unique - lists posts from several blogs around the blogosphere with Halloween posts. Pay her a visit!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

7 Tasty Posts 4 Halloween AND Funny, What More Do You Want?



This little kittie is staying indoors come Halloween night... smart move, Oh, Wise One...

From Denny: What is Halloween without something a bit campy and ridiculous? The first post has a recipe and some sophisticated inexpensive decorating ideas. The costume ideas for you and your soon-to-look-ridiculous dog are the funniest. I like the X-Ray Machine costume best.

The second recipe shows you how to easily assemble your own Oreo cookie black Halloween spider cookies which are sure to be a hit with the kids at the door or your friends at your posh Halloween party!

Halloween

Video and Recipe: Halloween Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Pound Cake, Decorating Ideas, Pumpkin Carving Tips, Amusing Costume Ideas for You and Your Pets

Recipe: Fun Halloween Oreo Spider Cookies



OK, these posts are so scary they are funny! (Lame, I know... I just love it when people over-hype their products. It's so outrageous.)

Funny

Lampooning Perfectionists is the latest Cheeky Quote Day! segment over at The Social Poets to get you laughing and thinking about how to improve your life without making it stressful.

Lampooning Perfectionists - Cheeky Quote Day 28 Oct 2009

I went cruising the web looking for more funny chocolate quotes than I already have stashed on Romancing The Chocolate blog and ran into funny Sandra Boynton's site. She has a new movie short just released a couple of days ago. B. B. King sings alongside his famous sidekick Lucille.

Let's all support her as this is her first movie debut. The little documentary that sidekicks it is interesting as to how many people it really takes, all the hoops they have to jump through, just to make a tiny film - and she made it funny too!

5 Funny Chocolate Quotes, Sandra Boyntons B. B. King Video

In case you missed any of these cute little Halloween funnies over at Dennys Funny Quotes, here's a repeat:

Video: Creepy Hotels for Halloween Getaways

Repeats:

Funny Halloween Quotes, Halloween Cartoon

Cheeky Quote Day at The Social Poets, Funny Halloween Animation
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