LIFE’S SHORT…
12 Friday Apr 2013
Posted in Recipes
Category Archives: Recipes
ICE CREAM STEAK & FRIES
29 Friday Jun 2012
Posted in Father's Day, Recipes
Check out this steak and fries dessert that we made for dad on Father’s Day! It’s a recipe that I found in the June, 2012 issue of the Food Network Magazine. I came across this and immediately showed it to my daughter and asked her if she wanted to make it for Father’s Day. She thought it was great, so we surprised dad with some ice cream steak and fries.
Here’s the recipe:
FOR THE STEAKS:
1 1 1/2 quart cylindrical carton chocolate ice cream
1/2 cup finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies
FOR THE FRIES:
2 12-ounce frozen pound cakes, thawed
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
HOW TO:
Make the steaks: Using a serrated knife, slice the carton of ice cream crosswise into 4 rounds, dipping the knife in hot water as needed. Snip off the carton with kitchen shears. Tightly wrap each ice cream round into a steak shape with your hands (the warmth of your hands will soften the ice cream). Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Unwrap one ice cream steak and transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper. Dip a metal skewer in hot water, then press into the ice cream to create parallel diagonal grill-mark lines. Makes lines in the opposite direction to form a crosshatch pattern, dipping the skewer in hot water as needed. If the ice cream gets too soft, return to the freezer until firm. Fill the lines with the chocolate wafer crumbs. Transfer the steak to a baking sheet and freeze until firm (about 30 minutes). Repeat with the remaining ice cream steaks.
MAKE THE FRIES: Using a crinkle vegetable cutter or a chef’s knife, trim the sides of the pound cakes, then cut each cake crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Cut each cake slice into strips. Divide between 2 parchment lined rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle the melted butter over the pound cake fries and toss. Bake in a 350 degree oven until lightly toasted, about 8 minutes, tossing halfway through; let cool slightly.
Arrange the steaks, the pound cake fries and strawberry jam on plates. (Each plate serves 2).
CINNAMON ROLLS
19 Tuesday Jun 2012
Posted in Recipes
I’m back and I have the most wonderful, yummy, delicious recipe EVER for cinnamon rolls. We had friends from NY come to visit two weekends ago and this was one of my breakfast items that I made. Now I can’t take credit for this recipe one bit, but I need to share this with you!
The recipe comes from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. I have both of her cookbooks and they are lots of fun to look at, even if you never cook anything from them. It has gorgeous pictures of her ranch where she lives with her family. There are also lots of wonderful recipes for you to try. If you are concerned about the amount of calories in your meals, these are not the recipes for you. She does not hold back!
The cinnamon rolls look like this right after coming out of the oven! Warm with lots of icing–it doesn’t get any better than this!
Did I say that these are really yummy? BEST EVER!!!! Here is the link over at The Pioneer Woman for the recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/
Hope you can find some time to make them. Send me a note if you do. I’d love to know what you think.
♥Wendy
Guacamole Recipe
25 Friday May 2012
Posted in Recipes
Here is a favorite recipe in our house. This is a great recipe for the upcoming picnic weekend! It’s quick, easy and quite delicious!
Guacamole
2 plum tomatoes
2 ripe avocados
2 Tbsp. minced red onion
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (2 limes)
3 cloves garlic
Kosher salt
Small amount of salsa
Cilantro, to taste
Hot sauce (optional)
Quarter your tomatoes, discarding the seeds and chop. Halve and pit avocados. Scoop avocado into a bowl and mash. I like to use a wooden bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Be sure to give yourself enough time to mix up the guacamole and let it sit so that the flavors can blend together for an hour or so before serving.
A useful tip — save the pit and once you have the guacamole blended, place the pit on top of the guacamole. This will keep the guacamole from browning! Just remember to take it out before serving.
Makes 2 cups.
Grab a bag of your favorite tortilla chips (ours are Tostito’s Lime Chips) and enjoy!
Happy Memorial Day weekend!
♥Wendy
PIZZA NIGHT
27 Friday Apr 2012
What do you have for dinner on Friday nights? I don’t know about you, but by the end of the week I am ready for an “easy” dinner. We’ve been having fun experimenting with different pizzas on Friday nights. The kiddos always stick with the standard cheese and pepperoni, but my husband and I try to be a little more adventurous!
I thought I would share a recent discovery that I made for pizza dough. It comes from the book My Pizza, by Jim Lahey, founder of Sullivan Street Bakery and Co. in New York City. He was on the Martha Stewart Show one day and I had to run out and get his book. The pizza crust looked so yummy!! You can find his book on amazon.com.
Sorry that I do not have any pictures to share, but you can check his book out and it’s loaded with yummy looking pictures!
His basic pizza dough recipe is below (make sure you read through it before starting) it’s a little different!
PIZZA DOUGH (makes enough for 4 pizzas)
3 3 /4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups water
In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and, with a wooden spoon or your hands, mix thoroughly.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow it to rise at room temperature for 18 hours or until is has doubled. (side note: I did not let mine rise for 18 hours). Make sure to keep it in a warm room and it will rise quicker.
Flour a work surface and scrape out the dough. Divide it into 4 equal parts and shape them: for each portion, start with the right side of the dough and pull it toward the center; then do the same with the left, then the top, then the bottom. The order isn’t important; what you want is four folds. Shape each portion into a round and turn seam side down. Mold the dough into a neat circular mound. The mounds should not be sticky; if they are, dust with more flour.
NOTE: If you don’t intend to use the dough right away, wrap the balls individually in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Return to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter, covered in a damp cloth, for 2 to 3 hours before needed.
Now go ahead and top with your favorites!
TO BAKE YOUR PIZZA:
Put your pizza stone on a rack in the oven about 4 inches from the broiler. Preheat oven on bake at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Then, to boost the heat of the stone without the oven’s elements shutting down, open the oven door a few inches and leave it ajar for about 30 seconds. Some of the ambient heat will escape, but the stone will stay just as hot. Now close the oven door and switch to broil for 10 minutes to heat the surface to a maximum. Open the door and slide the pizza in to broil. Since the stone is so close to the element, you may need to pull the rack out a few inches to get the pie centered on the stone; do it quickly and don’t worry about losing too much heat. With the door closed, broil for roughly 5 minutes until the crust is adequately charred but not burnt and the toppings are bubbling. Check a couple of times, the pizza will cook quickly.
There you have it! Go out and buy your favorite toppings and try this yummy pizza dough tonight!
Have a great weekend!
♥Wendy
