Yesterday was a huge dinner fail. I tried to make a sausage, kale and gnocchi soup in the crock pot. I actually wanted to use frozen tortellini but Sprouts didn’t have any so I opted for frozen gnocchi instead. The gnocchi was gummy, tasteless and discussing. Sprouts, I love ya but go back to the drawing board on those frozen gnocchi. Blech. I scooped all the gnocchi out and added rigatoni instead. It was tolerable.
I made it up to all involved by making bananas foster. (more…)
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on April 23, 2013
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2013/04/23/bananas-foster/
Let them eat cake.
After seeing Les Mis this week I can’t stop singing and humming and thinking about it. Now that the French Revolution is on my mind I felt like a decadent Caramel Apple Cake was in order for today’s post. Despite the fact that Les Mis takes place several years after Marie Antoinette lost her pretty little head and regardless that the reports of her actually ever uttering that phrase are sketchy, I’m going to pretend that it’s true. For the sake of cake.
I made this cake for Christmas Dinner and I must say that it was delightful and fairly easy to boot. It’s in my repertoire of go-to desserts. (more…)
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on December 29, 2012
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/12/29/caramel-apple-pound-cake/
I have been very blessed to have had two grandmothers that were both fabulous cooks. My maternal grandmother (MaMaw) was from Louisiana and made the best gumbo you have ever put into your mouth. It was so good that whenever my mom and I are at a restaurant that serves gumbo we first ask for a small taste, politely explaining that we know what real gumbo is supposed to taste like. 90% of the time we send it back. (more…)
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on December 4, 2012
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/12/04/virginia-greens-chocolate-cake/
It always happens…I buy buttermilk for one recipe but the store doesn’t have anything smaller than a 15 gallon jug. (okay, maybe not 15 gallons but it feels like it) What in the heck am I supposed to with all that extra buttermilk? Drink it? No thank you. I chose to make pound cake (among other things) and added rosemary on a whim. So glad I did because it was divine. (more…)
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on November 19, 2012
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/11/19/rosemary-lemon-pound-cake/
Don’t you love Pinterest? I do. I found this recipe, pinned it then made it. Before Pinterest I would have seen the site and thought how nice it would be to make that but would never get around to it because I didn’t have an easy way to keep track of which site it was on.
I have to give credit where credit is due. This recipe (with a few little tweaks of my own) came from a blog called Lululu At Home. Thanks Lulu!
Ingredients:
4 apples*, peeled, cored and sliced
2 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs apple cider
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 pieces of thawed puff pastry**
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbs. raw sugar
*I used Honey Crisp but Granny Smith or Gala would be nice too.
**I’ve had lots of luck with Pepperidge Farm puff pastry which can be found in the frozen section with desserts.
Put apples, butter, brown sugar, cider and cinnamon in a skillet. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place one piece of puff pastry on it, and spoon the apple mixture on top, leaving one inch boarder. Place another piece of puff pasty to cover the mixture. Fold the edges over and crimp the boarder with a fork to seal it.
Brush the pie with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the top with raw sugar.
Cut a few little slits with a sharp paring knife on top of the pie to let the air out while baking.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until pastry puffs up and turns golden brown.
Serve with ice cream.
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on October 3, 2012
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/10/03/apple-pastry/
Oh. My. God. Becky. Look at those plums. They are sooooo big.
Now that I have Sir Mix A lot ringing in your head (you’re welcome) run, don’t walk, to the store to get plums before the season is completely over. This cake was not only beautiful but seriously delicious.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
zest from 1/2 a lemon
8 oz. butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
8 oz. jar of plum jelly or preserves
4 plums, halved and pits removed
Preheat oven to 350. Sift together dry ingredients, expect sugar.
Remove seeds from vanilla bean. Run a sharp knife down the long side of the bean to split it open. Open up he bean so that it is flat on the cutting board. Using the flat side of the knife, run the knife along the bean to scrape out the seeds. Repeat to extract as many seeds as possible.
In a mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla seeds & lemon zest. Mix until just combined.
Add eggs one at a time.
Alternate dry ingredients and milk.
Line the side of a spring form pan with parchment paper.
Wrap foil around bottom and outside of pan. This will keep the juice from running out the bottom of the pan, dripping on to the bottom of your oven and prevent a plume of smoke from coming from the oven when you open it to check and see if the cake is done. Wrapping the pan in foil will prevent you from having to frantically wave a cookie sheet in front of the smoke detector to keep it from going off. It will also prevent you from running from one end of the house to the other to open the door and windows to create a draft to remove the smoke. Wrapping the pan in foil will also keep the toddler from wandering out the open front door and then you wondering 20 minutes later where he is. Theoretically speaking, of course.
Spread jelly on bottom of the pan. Place plum halves face down in the jelly around the perimeter of the pan.
Pour batter over jelly and plums. Place foil lined pan on rimmed baking sheet. I don’t think I really need to explain why a rimmed baking sheet is needed, do I?
Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
I like big plums and I can not lie…
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on September 19, 2012
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/09/19/vanilla-plum-cake/
While we were on our vacation extraordinaire to New Hampshire, we visited a tiny island to swim and pick blueberries. We were all given a singular job: pick enough blueberries so we could have pie that night.
Harry only contributed about 3 blueberries to the greater good. Most of his went immediately into his mouth. That’s okay with me…super foods make for a super boy.
We came away with 8 cups of wild blueberries! Enough for a pie, a cobbler and a little left over for breakfast the next morning.
Making this pie is super easy if you have an island covered in wild blueberries, a boat to get you there and an aunt who can whip out a pie in 10 minutes. If you don’t have all of these things, the grocery store will suffice.
Dear Husband’s energetic Aunt whipped up a blueberry pie in no time. I had no idea it was so easy. Next time I want to make one I’ll have to visit a grocery store for my berries instead of a picturesque island in the middle of Lake Winnipesaukee. I’m not sure it will taste quite the same as picking the berries yourself made the pie taste that much better. I’m willing to take a taste test.
Ingredients:
2 pie crusts
8 cups blueberries
3 Tbs dry tapioca
water
2/3 cups sugar
juice from half a lemon
dash of salt
1. Soak tapioca in water for about an hour before you are ready to assemble pie.
2. Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Combine blueberries, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Drain water from tapioca. Combine tapioca with berries.
3. Fill pie crust with berry mixture (approximately 6 cups), cover with the second crust and pinch the edges to seal. Use a fork to poke holes in the top of pie. (Save the remaining 2 cups for blueberry cobbler*
4. Bake at 420 for 10 minutes. Reduce to 350 and bake for one hour.
* Cobbler crust ingredients: 1 1/2 cups oats, 5 tbs. melted butter, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Reduce to 350 and bake for 25-35 minutes.
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on August 15, 2012
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/08/15/wild-blueberry-pie/
Right up front I’m going to let you know that I did not come up with this concoction myself. I saw it on Wistful Chef and knew I must make it. Go check it out for beautiful photos of strawberries and strawberry puree and strawberry sorbet. All the food photos on this blog are amazing. When did taking artful pictures of food become such the thing to do? I never really saw this trend until I started reading Pioneer Woman and now it’s all over the place. I’m guilty of it myself on a weekly basis except my photos aren’t nearly as professional looking. I’m just a wanna-be. It used to be one would only see beautiful pictures of food in magazines like Martha Stewart and Better Homes and Garden. Now all of a sudden everybody and their dog is a professional food photographer. And when did people start setting up professional photo studios in their kitchen? I’m not complaining, I love looking at all those beautiful photos. The power of the internet, man it’s scary.
Anywho – I turned this recipe for Strawberry-Coconut Sorbet into a tropical drink by adding one little ingredient…rum. Perfect for 103 degree heat.
1 pound fresh strawberries, chopped
1 cup coconut milk
1 lime, juiced
1-2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1 shot Malibu Rum
Add all ingredients (except rum) to blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Place puree mixture in ice cream maker and churn until creamy and thick.
Spoon into a glass and stir in a shot of Malibu Rum.
Perfection.
You would think that the coconut milk plus Malibu Rum would give an overwhelming taste of coconut. Actually, the taste was still subtle and the perfect balance of strawberry and coconut. I think you should try it.
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on July 10, 2012
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/07/10/strawberry-sherbert-rum-sipper/
Over Mother’s Day weekend my mom brought her crepe pan and taught me how to make crepes. Had I known they were so easy to make I would have been doing this a long time ago.
You don’t have to have a crepe pan you can use a regular skillet, but using a crepe pan makes you feel really professional. You start to think you could own a french crepe stand at the farmer’s market.
Crepe batter:
1 cup. flour
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
2 cup milk
2 Tbs. melted butter
sift flour, sugar & salt and set aside. Beat eggs and milk with electric mixer. Beat in flour until smooth then stir in melted butter.
Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tps lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream, whipped, fold in gently
1 carton strawberries, sliced
1-2 Tbs white sugar
Mix sliced strawberries with white sugar and set aside.
Combine cream cheese, confectioners sugar, lemon juice, zest and vanilla in a mixer. Fold in heavy cream. refrigerate.
Getting the crepes just right takes some practice. It took me multiple tries until I was satisfied with the result and I want to share them with you so that you know I’m not perfect. I make lots of mistakes at lots of stuff…not just crepes.
I finally got the hang of it. Here’s the trick…Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the pan with vegetable oil. The fire has to be very low. Only pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and swirl it around to spread it nice and thin. It only takes a couple of minutes until you can run a knife all around the edges. Gently pick it up with the knife and flip it over.
When you are ready to serve, spoon a couple of scoops of filling on to a crepe. Roll it up, top with strawberries and some more confectioners sugar and you’ve got a dessert to die for. This is seriously delicious.
These thin little pancakes freeze really well too. In case you want to make them ahead of time and then pull them out and wow somebody…say your mother-in-law or your boss. Just place a piece of wax paper in between each crepe and seal in a zip lock freezer bag. They thaw out in minutes.
Posted by Hugs, Kisses and Snot on July 9, 2012
http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/07/09/strawberry-crepes/
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