April 7, 2009

Thanks for all those links for great Easter Baking ideas, BigSis. And you're right when you say they're from brilliant minds. Your list includes some of my most favorite food blogs! I'm consistently impressed by their amazing talent!

Since you and SisMama will be here in CA for Easter, maybe my guys will persuade you to bake something sweet for them. You know how deprived they are!

I haven't even had time to think about the Easter Dinner Menu yet, so I think I'm going to leave the dessert up to you!  I do LOVE Easter Bunny Cakes, though.  I've always remembered that one year when my birthday actually fell on Easter and SisMama made me a fabulous Easter Bunny Birthday Cake. I was probably only 7 or 8 years old but I've never forgotten it!

This Easter Bunny Cake from Betty Crocker is really cute.

Wanna make me one for my birthday? Pretty please? It's so cute!

~LilSis

April 7, 2009

Are you baking for Easter?  The essential Bunny Cake with coconut decoration automatically comes to mind, but how about something a little different?  Here are some ideas from the brilliant minds in Blogdom!

• Easter Egg Shortbread Cookies from Baking Bites
• Bee Hive Honey Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream Frosting topped with Peanut Butter Crunch from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
• Strawberry Easter Desserts from Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases
• Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting from The Kitchen Sink Recipes
• Matzo Toffee from Noble Pig
• Spinach Brownies from My Baking Addiction
• German Chocolate Cake: Inside Out from Sass & Veracity
• Easter Cookies from Joy of Baking
• Strawberries and Cream Cake from CookieMadness
• Easter Pie from Cooks.com
• Blueberry Lime Angel Food Cake from Cast Sugar
• French Yogurt Cake from She's Becoming Doughmesstic
• And last but not least, don't miss the adorable sheep, chickies, bunnies and Easter eggs that Bakerella has created!

Happy Easter, and happy baking!

~BigSis

March 29, 2009

I saw this Peanut Butter Coconut Bar recipe on Cookie Madness recently and I thought it sounded interesting. I love coconut and I love peanut butter, so why not put them together? It's a combination that I haven't seen in too many recipes.

I'm not always successful at my baking attempts, but I'm not ready to give up on trying to become a better baker (yet) !  I do, however, try to find recipes that aren't too complicated. This one seemed pretty easy so I decided to give it a try.

Anna said that she felt the bars were a little dry so I asked her what she would change if she were to make them again. She made a few suggestions. First of all, I did take her advice to start off by making a half batch to make sure everyone liked them.

I cut the recipe in half, but still used the one egg that was in the original recipe. Anna had suggested possibly adding an extra egg yolk to help moisten the bars, so I didn't think it could hurt to use the whole egg. (I got lucky and it worked out fine.) I also added 1 T. of Coconut Milk and used chopped pecans on top of the bars instead of peanuts.

These really did turn out good! They were rich and moist and almost a cross between a blondie and a peanut butter cookie, with a little surprise of coconut.

Peanut Butter Coconut Bars
(adapted from Gourmet via Cookie Madness)

6 T. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter
1 large egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1 T. coconut milk
1/4 t. salt
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 c. chopped pecans

In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter, beat the mixture until it is combined well, and beat in the egg, the vanilla, the coconut milk, and the salt. Add the flour, beat the mixture until it is just combined, and stir in the coconut. Spread the mixture evenly into a buttered pan (for this half batch, I used an 8 x 8 pan). Sprinkle the pecans over it, pressing them into the mixture lightly, and bake in the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the mixture cool completely in the pan on a rack, then cut into bars.

Thanks for the recipe and the suggestions, Anna! Now, does anyone have any ideas on what to do with an entire can of coconut milk?

~LilSis

March 28, 2009

Did you know that Texas produces her own olive oil?  I didn't!  Not until last year when I noticed that Dallas foodies were freaking out about this new olive oil from the Texas Olive Ranch southwest of San Antonio. They have 40,000 olive trees there, and produce the most delicious olive oil.

Texas Olive Ranch

It has a wonderful fresh olive flavor, but isn't too sharp like some good olive oils are.  You know the ones…they make you cough after you taste them?  That isn't desirable to me in olive oil, but we all have our own taste, right?

I hadn't tried the Texas olive oil until Central Market was sampling it recently, and I got a taste and immediately grabbed a bottle, after I wiped away the oil dripping down my chin and licked my fingers!  At $13.99 for a 16.9 fl oz bottle, it's definitely not pricey for a great olive oil.

Besides Central Market, in the Dallas area you can find the Texas Olive Ranch olive oil at Tom Spicer's and Flavors from Afar.  You can also buy it in person in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.  The web site says online ordering is coming soon, so all of you outside of Texas can order this scrumptious olive oil.  This is my oil of choice now for hummus, pesto, salads, you name it.  If you have the opportunity to try it, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that a great olive oil can come from Texas, not just from Spain or Italy!

~BigSis

March 27, 2009

Hey BigSis! I bet you wish you had some of BigT's homemade Pita Chips to go along with that hummus! I normally buy my pita chips from Trader Joe's but these were really good! I'll definitely be making this recipe myself!

BigT just started the P90X Workout Regime a couple of weeks ago so he's being very disciplined with his meal planning. (If all goes according to plan, maybe we'll have him do a guest post in the near future about his progress.)

The last couple of mornings that I've been up at 5:30, the same fitness expert, Tony Horton, that does the P90X videos has a new program called The 10 Minute Trainer. I've actually gotten sucked into that infomercial! The guy is good! I'm actually considering getting the videos.

Healthy snacks are a part of the daily plan, so BigT decided to make a big batch of these pita chips to take to work. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from but he got it from his stepmom, C.

Pita Chips

1 T. Kosher Salt
1 T. Dried Basil
1 t. Garlic Powder
1 t. Onion Powder
1 t. Dried Oregano
1/2 t. Black Pepper
1/4 t. Celery Salt
1/2 c. Olive Oil
8 Pitas (he used Western Bakery Alternative Pita Bread)

Mix all spices and oil in a large bowl. Cut the pita bread into eighths. Toss the pita pieces into the spice & oil mixture, then place on a single layer onto two cookie sheets. Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

When these were done, I was wishing that I had some of your Healthy Hummus to dip them in!

~LilSis

March 26, 2009

I'm literally making a batch of hummus every week. I didn't make one last week though, and guess what? I was a little bit low in energy and my workouts weren't 100%. I don't think that hummus is a miracle food – although it is really healthy – but I think it gives me a great boost of protein that I need. Last week I guess I was on more of a salad kick and didn't have good balanced meals at night, so back to the hummus I go!

I used my usual Healthy Hummus recipe, and tweaked it a touch. I had some dill and chives left over from last week's Potato Ho Down Dilled Potato Pie, so they went into the hummus, giving it the great green color. I used 5 cloves of garlic, crushed and sauteed as always, and the juice of 2-1/2 lemons. I clearly like my hummus really lemony and garlicky. I also like to use a great flavorful olive oil in it, even though it doesn't take much. My favorite right now is Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I'll talk more about that incredible product next time.

Dill Chive Hummus with Green Dippers

All this green hummus needs is some lovely green veggies to scoop it up with.  Besides my hummus addiction, I'm still nursing my asparagus obsession, and probably will until it gets too expensive.  I found great asparagus at Central Market for $1.50 a pound, and also got some fresh sugar snap peas.  I blanched them separately for just 3 minutes, and shocked them in salty ice water before draining and drying them off for a week of tasty dipping!

~BigSis

March 23, 2009

I'm not a huge fan of all of the folks on the Food Network because I feel like lots of them are just television personalities, not real live chefs or even great cooks.  You know who you are!  I do like Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) because her food always looks easy to do, and anything I've made of hers has worked.  And we know that Bobby Flay is a great chef, has been since he was a very young man, and his Goat Cheese Enchiladas are on my Cooking Bucket List.  I also have had good luck with a few of Giada De Laurentiis' recipes.  I just wish we didn't have to see so much cleavage when she's cooking!  I'm sure she's a lovely woman, I just think the prosciutto ravioli or nutella bruschetta would come out just as well if the “girls” were covered up a tad.  That's just my opinion; I'm sure the guys out in TV Land disagree!

Anyway.  I don't need to get off on a rant.  I had Food Network on over the last weekend while I was cleaning, and happened to hear Giada talking about this fried olive recipe.  Since I have a deep love for all things olive, I dropped my vacuum cleaner and ran to the TV.  This recipe for Italian Fried Olives looks scrumptious and I would SO make them ASAP if I didn't know that I would eat every last ding dang one of them as soon as they came out of the hot oil.

Giada's Italian Fried Olives

Green olives are filled with a mixture of gorgonzola and ricotta cheeses, thyme and lemon zest. They are then tossed in flour, rolled in egg and then rolled around in bread crumbs before being briefly fried.  How good does that sound!!??   Oh my gravy.  These are on my “must try” list, even though I had to tolerate eyefuls of cleavage to see how they were made!

Hey, Giada!  Thanks for the awesome appetizer recipe!  Now how 'bout breaking out a turtleneck, sister?

~BigSis

March 21, 2009

Happy Caturday, friends!  I hope you had a great week, as I did.  We had St. Patrick's Day and the first day of spring; all in one week.  Plus we've had great weather all week here in Big D, AND SisMama and I booked tickets to go see LilSis and her boyz soon!

The other good thing about this week was that my friend Mojo Jojo had a birthday on Friday.  I've been looking for an occasion to try out the Irish Cream Bundt Cake ever since LilSis reported seeing it on RecipeGirl, and then Noble Pig made her version.  It looked so delicious and easy and moist that I had to try it.  With all this buzz around one cake, it just had to be good, right?

Only one problem…I'm not a huge fan of Bailey's Irish Cream so I don't have it and didn't really want to buy any.  I do have a bottle of Kahlua from my last trip to Mexico a long time ago; bought in the airport because the bottle was really cool!

Kahlua Bundt Cake

I used Noble Pig's recipe, but just substituted milk for half of the liqueur in the batter and Kahlua for the other half.  I reduced the amount of liqueur in the glaze by a tablespoon or so and added a touch of milk.  The substitutions came out great, and we all liked the cake.  It truly was moist and tasty, with a beautiful brown crust.  The Kahlua flavor didn't scream “This cake is full of booze!”.  It just added a depth of flavor to the vanilla cake, and the pecans were perfect in it.  Will I make this again?  Oh, yeah!

After the attack of the knife and forks at the office!

Thanks for the recipe RecipeGirl, LilSis and Noble Pig!  And happy birthday, Mojo Jojo!

~BigSis

March 19, 2009

I hope you remembered to visit Evil Chef Mom yesterday to check out this month's Potato Ho Down roundup. In case you missed it, her “As the Potato Peels…The Western Episode” is a fun and creative story showcasing all of this month's Potato Ho Down entries.  Check it out!

BigSis and I were so happy that Madame Potato Ho Sparkey Marie and Madame Potato Ho Christina Shane let us join their Ho Down! The fun monthly blogging event was founded by Krysta of Evil Chef Mom and Cathy of Noble Pig.  We love both of their blogs!

Thanks to both of you for letting us join your fun!

~LilSis

March 15, 2009

As long as we're talking about potatoes and St. Patrick's Day, I decided to do one more Irish recipe before the holiday.  I'm making the Ham and Potato Pancakes that I just discussed in my St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas post a few days ago. This comes from a little cookbook called Irish Food, Fun, and Crafts.

And, yes, I too am entering my recipe into the Potato Ho Down being hosted this month by Evil Chef Mom.

To participate in this fun event hosted the third Wednesday of each month, each entry must have a Potato Ho name. Since this is my first time to submit an entry, I'm making a big deal about announcing my Potato Ho name!

Drum roll, please… My Potato Ho name is Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay. (And no, I didn't just pull that out of a hat. There is a method to the madness.) You can read all the rules about this monthly blogging event on Potato Ho Down or on Noble Pig.

Now, for Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay's recipe.

Madame Potato Ho Frosty Gay Ham and Potato Pancakes

3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, grated, and squeezed dry (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions, green parts only
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup finely chopped cooked ham (4 -5 ounces)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 -3 T. vegetable oil

First, combine grated potatoes, green onions, and eggs in large bowl, mix well.  Add ham, flour, salt, and pepper; mix well.

Heat 2 T. oil in large heavy bottomed skillet. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls and press with back of spoon to flatten. Cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Remove to paper towels to drain. Add remaining 1 T. of oil, if necessary, to cook remaining batter. Serve pancakes warm.

This is an easy recipe and the pancakes turned out really nice. It's a great little appetizer to serve at your St. Patrick's Day Party. And, my family loved them for breakfast. I made SirHoney one the size of the skillet!

Don't forget to check Evil Chef Mom's site on Wednesday, March 18th for the complete March Potato Ho Down Roundup!

~LilSis