Magic in the Middles

Try these. Soft, peanut butter center, chocolate cookie on the outside. It is almost like my favorite cookie, Peanut Butter Blossoms only inside out. The only change I made was to omit the peanut butter in the chocolate part. I wanted there to be more of a distinction between the chocolate and peanut butter. Delicious. Really serious cookie. They take a little time to make, so only make them for people you really love.






Image: kingarthurflour.com

Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

These are the best...pancakes...ever. My friend, Jaime makes these and like everything she makes, they are divine. I am completely obsessed with them. You will love them so much that you will want to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...but don't do that, they are all oatmeal... plus you can make them with whole wheat flour without anyone knowing! So do not eat them as your three meals a day as you will be tempted to do, trust me...I've done it before, it's not pretty. But do make them right away with the Buttermilk Syrup...they go to together.


Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes
Combine in large bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight:
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups buttermilk

In the morning add to the bowl:
2 eggs
2 T. sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup flour ( I use white wheat)
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon

Mix well in mixer or by hand and drop onto hot griddle. Serve with buttermilk syrup.

Buttermilk Syrup:

2 sticks of butter
2 c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla

Melt butter in LARGE pot, then add sugar and buttermilk. Boil 2 minutes, remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla. Stir well, it will bubble up profusely at this point so make sure you have a big pot. Serve over Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes. This syrup keeps well in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave. You could make half the recipe and it makes enough, then you won't feel so bad about using 2 whole sticks of butter, but it's really, really good.



photo: foodnetwork.com

Disgusting

Last night we were drawn to this segment of a program on the Travel Channel. We couldn't stop laughing at this restaurant from Taipei Taiwan called Modern Toilet. No joke, the food is served in plastic toilets etc. I am not even going to go on...you just have to read for yourself here, here, you get it, right?





image: spike.com

I scream

Have you tried this? I am not a huge ice cream lover, but this one does it for me. Vanilla ice cream with thin ribbons of chocolate throughout. It is kind of like a Klondike Bar, but SO much better, the quality of ice cream is waaay better, as is the chocolate, plus you get lots more chocolate in every bite. It's like that Magic Shell stuff without the partially hydrogenated junk. GO get yourself some and while you're there, pick up some little Keebler waffle bowls to go with...it's the perfect treat.

Chocolate

This is my favorite. I love milk chocolate, but most brands are too sweet for me. This one is a bit darker than most milk chocolates. It's really good on it's own, in a recipe, or for hot chocolate.

M&M's Miracle Cookies

These are unbelievably good. Just 5 ingredients and you get the perfect bite of peanut butter and chocolate. Cookies without butter or flour?! Who knew? I guess that is the miracle.

1 egg
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
*3/4 cup M&M's chocolate mini baking bits

Mix it all up in a bowl, the dough will be a little crumbly. Scoop onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen small or 18 large cookies. Mine don't turn out like the picture at all. Mine keep their mounded shape which is extra good to bite into. I suppose you could flatten them if you want, but then you wouldn't be able to fit the whole thing in your mouth. You will love me forever once you try these. This is where I got the recipe.

*I use mini chocolate chips and only 1/2 cup, I think 3/4 cup is way too much.

V Chocolates

What???!! I've never done a post about my favorite V Chocolates? Mmmmm. You better get on over there and get you some chocolate covered caramels or truffles or thin mints or toffees. Best... caramels... EVER. Would I lie to you? Try the Milk Chocolate Caramels with Pretzels first. Then get some of the Little Bears, little cinnamon bears dipped in Belgian chocolate...to die for. Pick up some of the Chocolate Frogs for the kids because you will not be sharing.

True Beauty

Does anyone else in the world besides me, watch this show?? Come on people...I need to dish with someone about it! This is television viewing at it's finest.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Lest you think I only bake treats, here is proof that a few healthy things do come out of my kitchen once in awhile. This is a really good alternative to deep fried, greasy, but-oh-so-good buffalo wings. Not exactly man food for the big game, but still delicious and satisfies my need for Frank. The blue cheese dressing is really good too. One minor change I make to the recipe: instead of broiling it in the oven, I just saute cut up chicken in a little olive oil with THE hot sauce in frying pan. Easy.






Photo: foodnetwork.com

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then there is nothing else to say here. I came across this picture on my very favorite food blog Serious Eats. I was reading this piece about one of my first loves and then I found this recipe here and then I made it right away. I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year than with this. There are no words to describe the pleasure. I even forgot to add the butter and didn't even know it was missing, but I will have to make it again soon and conduct a control group among my expert panel of tasters (Andrea, are you in?). I used half semi sweet, half milk chocolate pieces. So, a control is definitely in order, not that there is anyway to improve upon perfection, just more excuses needed to make it again...and again. I didn't put marshmallows on top, just a dollop of cream, but the toasted marshmallows on top and the look of hot chocolate are what lured me in. I am mildly obsessed with hot chocolate so you can see why I was drawn to this photo and the 12 Days of Hot Chocolate bit. Cheers!






photo: ezrapoundcake.com

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

This little house won first prize at the local Ginger Bread House Decorating contest. Sweet! All that creativity must certainly come from her mother. Well, I unwrapped all those Tootsie Rolls, that must count for something, right?

Puff my pastry

Make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, now! Puff pastry, peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallow all baked together in a gooey, perfect little bite. These pretty much meet all of the daily requirements from the food pyramid(minus maybe a few key foods) so why not serve them for dinner? Just serve a nice salad on the side and call it good. So easy to make, kids can assemble them. Leave the peanut butter out if allergies are a concern, they are still really, really good. In fact, you could get pretty creative with these and come up with all sorts of fillings, puff pastry is nice like that. Oh, the possibilities! You could put anything in my puff pastry and I would eat it, almost.

Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies

You have to try these. My friend, Lisa raves about them here.
I didn't really believe that a cookie could be THAT good, but just look at the ingredients...as if they didn't have me at chocolate malt...they had to go and add creme fraiche, cream cheese, AND half and half!!! Unbelieveable. They are really good chilled, and get better the next day in my opinion...if they stay around that long. And an added bonus is that they are really rich, too rich for my kids, so I get to eat them all. If you can't handle the filling(wuss!) you can fill them with ice cream. This is the perfect cookie for ice cream sandwiches(my search is over) they are nice and flat, but still chewy and can hold up to the melting ice cream. But really, don't waste them on ice cream, make the filling. Thanks Lisa, I hope lots of packages full of malt powder start coming to your doorstep! Get the recipe here.



Photo: marthastewart.com

For Nie Nie

In December 2007 I bought these shoes. A few weeks later I broke my foot in a bad way. I've never worn these shoes. My life was turned upside down for a time after my injury. I was no longer able to do the everyday things I sometimes dreaded and complained about. After being parked on the couch for months, I would have given anything to get up off of that couch, drive my kids to school, make their lunches, and vacuum the floors. When I recovered I vowed that I would never again complain about washing the dishes, scrubbing the kitchen floor, folding laundry, or changing another poopy diaper. I really have tried to live each day full of gratitude now that I can get out of bed unassisted and walk to the bathroom, take a shower, and drive to the store. When I talked to a good friend of mine shortly after the incident she said that she would be grateful that day and every day that she could go run her errands that she didn't want to do. She got it right, that is exactly what she should have said and done to make me feel better.
Over the last week I haven't been able to stop thinking about someone who I don't even know, but who will be aching to do all of the things she was once able to do, but can't until her body is able. My friend Gabby, has declared Thursday August 28, 2008 Nie Nie Day in honor of Stephanie. That day I will do for Stephanie what she cannot do for herself. I will get out of bed and shower and dress myself for Stephanie. I will wake four sleepy little heads and fix their breakfast for Stephanie. I will make the beds and pick the clothes up off of the floor for Stephanie. I will drive my children to school and pick them up at the end of the day for Stephanie. I will run my errands with a car full of screaming kids for Stephanie. I will happily make lunches for my children and snacks and dinner for my family in honor of Stephanie. I will scrub my toilets and wash and fold and put away mountains of laundry in honor of Stephanie. I will scrub my floors and dust the cobwebs in honor of Stephanie. I will answer phone calls, e-mails, walk to the mailbox and pick up the dry cleaning in her honor. I will load and unload the dishwasher many times for Stephanie. I will pick up toys from the floor for the 13, oooth time that day for her. I will change lots of diapers and brush little teeth for her. I will clip tiny fingernails and toenails, bathe little ones, and comb knots out of their hair for her. I will help children with homework and read stories to them for her. I will tuck four little ones into bed at the end of a long day, for her. I will do it all over again the next day and the next... full of gratitude for what I can do. I will savor every minute of the day and no longer look at those tasks as mundane or too laborious because I know if she could she would give anything to be able to do just one of the things on my list today. Today I will wear my red shoes for her, maybe when I am vacuuming!

The real hero of the Olympics

Hands down, the best part of the Olympics was this young boy, Lin Hao who led the Chinese team at the opening ceremonies. Don't get me wrong, I love Michael Phelps and his mother as much as the next gal, but this brave boy deserves more gold medals than all the athletes combined! See the story here and here.

French Dip

Here is the best recipe for French Dip Sandwiches that I have ever tasted. I used to make these every now and again, but they will never make an appearance at my dinner table after trying this latest recipe. They are an abomination, a slap in the face to the slow cooker recipe. These are 10 times easier and quicker to make and if I can make your life easier when it comes to dinnertime, then my job here is done. A few changes I made to the recipe: I seasoned the meat with salt and pepper, and browned it on all sides before adding to the slow cooker. I omitted the beer and subbed a can of beef consumme. I put the consumme in the pan that I used to brown the meat and scraped up all the brown bits, then added it to the meat in the slow cooker. As most reviewers suggest, about a half an hour before serving, take the meat out and slice it and put it back in the cooker for the last half hour. You could also add worchestershire sauce to the au jus, but I left it out and it is mighty tasty just like that. It's all I can do to keep myself from drinking that juice down as an after dinner drink!


Photo: Allrecipes.com

Chocolate Caramel Slice

I had to come out of hiding to share this bit of deliciousness. This was in the May 2007 issue of Bon Appetit and when I laid eyes on it I knew that we would be instant friends, it was love at first sight. I just got around to making them today and boy howdy are they good, good enough to break my vow of silence in the blog world. Think Twix candy bar but 10x better, maybe 20x even. This is the recipe that I used, but I wasn't crazy about the crust. There are better recipes out there for a more buttery crust. The caramel and chocolate were perfect together, how can you go wrong with those two? They are a match made in heaven. I did a Google search for these babies and found a lot of variations, some with coconut in the crust, some use crushed cookies, plus I learned about Copha (a shortening derived from coconut)but most stay true to the same ingredients. Bring these to your next barbeque and you will be the most popular person there. Really, I don't know where these have been all my life or how I have managed to get this far without them in my life. I do believe my life is now complete. Now I will resume my hiatus, I've got more important things to do, like watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Photo: Taste.com.au

Salsa

I need a good bottled salsa recommendation. I have been on a lifelong quest for THE perfect "go to" salsa that I can keep on hand. I have tried a number of mediocre jarred salsas in my lifetime, but none of them are worth keeping around. It used to be Pace Picante, but it lacks that certain something, then Goya Pico de Gallo, but either they changed or I changed. I've tried the Desert Pepper brands and they are good, but not knock your socks off good, Newman's, Chi Chi's, Frontera Grill to name a few, I think I have tried them all. I recently tried an Archer Farms brand that has promise, but I continue to search. If you have found your true love, your soul mate in salsas will you please share the love? I am sure I am not alone in this search.

photo: williams-sonoma.com

Pecan Squares

I don't know if I have posted this recipe before or not, but it definitely is worth repeating. Awhile back The Food Network aired a short lived series called The Cookworks, loved it, but it's gone, curses! One episode had the participants making these. My mouth was watering and I could not stop thinking about these until I finally made them. I normally don't eat pecan pie because it is way too sweet and rich for me(if that can be believed). These are great for the pecan loving bunch because they are caramel-y, gooey, sticky, and buttery, but not overly sweet or rich like their pie counterpart. You can even taste a little bit of the honey. I don't dip mine in chocolate like Ina does in this photograph, but it's not a bad idea at all.

Photo: foodnetwork.com

A Mom and her Nose

I have had this cold for some time now. I can't smell when to change the baby's poopy diapers. My son will come home from school and say, "Mom, you have to change his diaper, he really smells." I wonder how long he has been sitting in it, poor thing?! I have almost burned the house down twice now. I go to put something on the stove and walk away only to come running for all of the smoke billowing out of the kitchen. I nearly poisoned my family one night...how was I to know the meat was bad??!! I couldn't smell or taste it, looked good to me! Thank goodness my husband came home from work AFTER we had all eaten the tacos and he asked, "what's wrong with this meat, is it bad, I think it's bad?!" Nice. So, I used to think that losing your sight or hearing would be the the most frightening sense to lose, but I would have to say, as a Mother, losing your sense of smell/taste is by far the most hazardous. A Mom needs her nose. I will say that it is an optimum time for cleaning out all of those things growing fur in my fridge and changing said poopy diapers.