Sugar High

Follow Me!

2012-01-21T10:39:00.001-07:00

While we wait for new recipes to arrive, how about we socialize in other ways?

Now you can -

Like Sugar High on Facebook

Follow Sugar High on Twitter

Follow Sugar High on Pinterest

View Sugar High on Flickr

Aaannd don't forget to Subscribe by RSS!

Phew! Hope I can keep up with all this!

Hope to see you all around. Have a great weekend!

-Jess

Almost forgot! Remember to follow with Google Friend Connect on the right!===>

Have You Missed Me?

2011-12-11T09:38:00.001-07:00

'Cause I've missed you!

You may have noticed I've been on hiatus AGAIN. This has not been a great year financially for Sugar High. For the first time in a long while Ramen and boxed mac & cheese have been my main dishes. My kitchen, while still dirty, has been much cleaner than normal. And my house is so cold this season because I have no reason to turn on the oven. What a sad, sad way for a foodie to spend her holidays.

I do try to fit in an occasional baked treat, or nice homemade dinner when money allows. I have very slowly been saving pictures and recipes here and there so I have something to share with you when the time comes. In the meantime, you can visit me on Facebook. I'll be updating Sugar High's page more often, sharing my favorite recipes and food blogs from around the internet with you, and getting more input from you on what kind of recipes you would like to see on Sugar High.

The new year is almost here, and I know it's going to be a great one! Hang in there, baby :)

-Jess

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

2011-06-19T13:24:00.001-06:00

It's no secret that potatoes are my favorite food, and sweet potatoes are one of the best! I love the sweet flavor of them, it's like a dessert in a vegetable. I've been dying to make sweet potato fries, and I came across this recipe for a spicy version. Flavored with chili and smoked paprika, these sweet and spicy fries did not disappoint!

-Jess

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Recipe from A Doctor's Kitchen

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. chipotle powder, or to taste

Preparation-

Place the oven rack in the uppermost position and preheat oven to 425° F.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, and chipotle powder. Blend well with a wire whisk or fork.

Place potato slices on a nonstick rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and toss to coat. Spread the wedges out in single layer, flat side down. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 the spice mixture. Turn so that the other flat side is down and sprinkle with the remaining spice mixture.

Roast 30 to 40 minutes, turning once or twice, until the wedges are cooked through and lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Best Sloppy Joes

2011-06-08T09:42:00.002-06:00

If you've never had a homemade Sloppy Joe, you've been missing out! This sloppy joe sauce has chunks of veggies and uses mustard, worcestershire and steak sauce for flavor that is so good it goes far beyond any sauce you will get from a can. This is my go-to recipe for sloppy joes, and soon it will be yours too!

- I always top my sloppy joes with mustard (honey mustard is my favorite). It adds a great flavor I can't get enough of.

-Jess

Sloppy Joes

Recipe slightly adapted from Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

1 pound ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 1/3 cups ketchup
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1½ Tbsp. steak sauce
2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
¾ tsp. garlic salt
1½ tsp. paprika powder

Preparation-

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef, onion, green pepper, and celery until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender. Add the remaining ingredients; mix well.

Simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve on hamburger buns. Topping suggestions: mustard, pickles, jalapenos, potato chips, onions, hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

2011-06-07T10:34:00.042-06:00

Would you believe me if I told you that before I made this jam I had never eaten rhubarb? It's true! Up until now, I've never tried rhubarb. Yet, I have this weird obsession with it. I have dozens of rhubarb recipes locked away, constantly searching for more while I wait impatiently for rhubarb season, only to stare at it longing to bake it into something delicious.

Rather, what I assume would be delicious seeing as how I had no idea what it tasted like.

I also have had a desire to make my own jam. I happened upon this very simple strawberry rhubarb jam that is made.... in the microwave. I thought, 'Microwaveable jam? Hey, I can do that!'. Plus, it's like killing two birds with one stone. So I finally gathered up the courage to buy rhubarb.

This was definitely worth waiting for. I can't believe how simple this jam method is! Mix up your ingredients, pop them in the microwave for several intervals mixing in between each one. There you have it, perfect jam. This is a great method for first time jam makers like myself.

And the taste is amazing! Rhubarb really complimented the sweet strawberries, I love it's tang. I used a little less sugar in my recipe, I didn't want it overly sweet - I wanted the tart rhubarb to really shine. I was so pleased with my first rhubarb experience that I was eating this stuff by the spoonful!

-Jess

Go HERE for this microwave jam recipe and lots of helpful tips!

Helpful Hints-

* Because this jam isn't preserved, you need to keep it refridgerated and consume it within a couple weeks. I had no problem doing that!

Brownie Bottom Peanut Butter Pie

2011-06-02T12:58:00.001-06:00

From above this looks like a typical cream pie. It's topped with peanut butter and chocolate peanut butter. Yummy, but nothing too exciting...

But you decide get a better look and realize that it's a light and creamy peanut butter pie atop a layer of rich dark chocolate brownie. Now, it has your full attention!

Then, you take a slice and see there are even more surprises. The rich brownie layer is spotted with bits of peanut butter chips. This pie is also sitting on a crumbly Oreo crust. Not just any Oreo crust, though... it's a Peanut butter Oreo crust.

For a peanut butter/chocolate lover, this isn't just a slice of pie, it's a pure slice of creamy, delicious heaven!

-Jess

Brownie Bottom Peanut Butter Pie

Pie Recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Pie inspired by Pillsbury

My original recipe for Dark Chocolate Brownies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

For Oreo crust-

1 package Oreo cookies - I used peanut butter oreos

¼ cup butter, melted

For the brownie layer-

½ cup butter, melted

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2 eggs

¾ cup flour

½ cup cocoa - I use Hershey's special dark

½ tsp. salt

½ cup peanut butter chips

For peanut butter layer-

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. salt

1½ cups creamy peanut butter

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Preparation-

For Oreo crust-

Process cookies in a food processor, or place in a ziplock bag and mash with a rolling pin until cookies reach a crumbled consistency. Mix cookie crumbles with melted butter. Press evenly into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan.

For brownie layer-

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream melted butter, both sugars, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, cocoa and salt. Add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Pour brownie mix over cookie crust. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Cool while making peanut butter filling.

For peanut butter layer-

Beat cream cheese, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter and vanilla, mix thoroughly.

In a seperate chilled bowl whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Mix 1/3 of whipped cream into peanut butter mixture to lighten it. Fold in remaining 2/3 whipped cream. Spread peanut butter filling evenly over cooled brownie layer. Freeze uncovered for 4 hours before serving.

For the peanut butter topping melt some peanut butter - as much as you'd like- in a microwavable bowl. Pour into zip lock baggy, snip of end and drizzle over pie. For a chocolate drizzle add a little cocoa - as much as you'd like- to melted peanut butter (you may have to microwave it again as the cocoa will thicken it slightly). Pour into baggy, snip off end and drizzle over pie.

Store pie covered in fridge.

-Enjoy!!

On Top Of Spaghetti...

2011-05-27T20:34:00.002-06:00

All FILLED with cheese.

Meatballs are good. Turkey meatballs are better. Cheese stuffed turkey meatballs are the best!

Normally we mix ground turkey in with the sauce, but this week (yes, we typically have spaghetti dinner once a week) I had a craving for meatballs. I was looking for a recipe and came upon this one on Picky Palate. Stuffing meatballs with mozzarella? Genius!

These meatballs are so delicious! I'm in love. I should mention this is the second stuffed recipe from Picky Palate that I have fallen for. Once again, Jenny is my hero.

I made 12 big meatballs, and am already out. I already plan on making these again for meatball subs next week. :)

-Jess

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Recipe from Picky Palate

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound ground turkey

1 large egg

½ cup finely chopped white onion

½ cup Panko bread crumbs

½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup milk

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. yellow mustard

1 tsp. hot sauce, like Tabasco - I used Tapatio

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. garlic salt

Ten 1-inch Mozzarella balls

Preparation-

Preheat oven to 350°F, and grease 9×13-inch baking dish with oil.

Place turkey, egg, onion, bread crumbs, Parmesan, milk, garlic, Worcestershire, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper and garlic salt into a large mixing bowl, stirring until just combined.

Take ¼ cup turkey mixture and press into center with your thumb to make room for cheese ball. Place cheese in middle then with hands enclose the cheese with the turkey, making sure the cheese is completely covered. Place meatballs into prepared baking dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cooked through.

Serve over top your favorite pasta.

Enjoy!

Helpful Hints
*Turkey will make for slightly healthier, and very tasty meatballs. It is a little harder to work with than beef because it is so sticky, wearing rubber gloves when making the meatballs makes the process a bit easier.
*Meatballs freeze very well. Stick leftovers in a sealable container and freeze for later use in different dishes.

Oreo Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-05-25T14:02:00.001-06:00

Just when I thought a cookie couldn't get any better than the Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, I came across these.

The Man and I are big fans of peanut butter, so when I showed him this cookie he told me I absolutely HAD to make them. Fine by me!

I was sure to use peanut butter Oreos to get the most peanut butter flavor. The cookie is so soft and delicious, it's really a great match with the Oreo's chocolate cookie. These cookies were just as sinfully delicious as the chocolate chip cookies. I dare say they are even better!

-Jess

Oreo Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe from Runs With Spatulas

Printable Recipe

Makes 28 cookies. I halved the recipe and got 15.

Ingredients-

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1½ tsp. baking soda

28 Peanut Butter Oreos (1 package)

Preparation-

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and both sugars until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Slowly stir in flour mixture 1/3 at a time until completely incorporated. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place 1 tablespoon of cooking dough on top of an Oreo cookie. Place a second tablespoon underneath. Gently press the dough down around the Oreo, sealing the cookie dough edges together so that no Oreo shows through. Transfer the cookie to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining oreos, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies have just started to brown around the edges. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade

2011-05-24T17:05:00.000-06:00

There is nothing more refreshing when the weather turns warm than freshly squeezed lemonade. Lemonade is so simple to make, and doesn't take long at all! The flavor can be easily adjusted to your liking - I like my lemonade tart, so I used less sugar to make it lip-puckering. I decided to kick the flavor up a notch with strawberries, it tasted delicious! If you don't like strawberries, simply omit them from the recipe or replace them with your fruit of choice. This is the best lemonade I've had, definitely a keeper!

-Jess

Strawberry Lemonade

Recipe from AllRecipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

1¼ cups sugar*

8 cups water

1½ cups fresh lemon juice, about 6-7 lemons

1 bag frozen strawberries, pureed (optional)

Preparation-

In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 1 cup of water. Heat while stirring just until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat to cool*.

Remove seeds from lemon juice, leaving pulp. In a pitcher, combine sugar syrup, lemon juice, remaining 7 cups water and strawberry puree, if using. Chill and enjoy!

Helpful Hints-

*Adjust the amount of sugar to your liking. My measurement produced a tart lemonade that wasn't too sweet. If you prefer it sweeter, I suggest using 1½ - ¾ cups sugar.

*I didn't allow my sugar syrup to get too hot, so it was able to cool nicely on the counter while I squeezed the lemons. If you're in a hurry, stick the syrup in the fridge to chill faster.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

2011-04-28T09:18:00.001-06:00

When I first saw these Snickerdoodle Muffins, I thought they were named after my favorite cookie only because they are covered in cinnamon-sugar. I had to find out for myself if they really stood up to the Snickerdoodle name.

First of all these muffins, just like the cookie, are very hands-on in that you take balls of batter and roll it in cinnamon-sugar before baking. Once they are baked, they have a nice fluffy center that is much lighter than traditional muffins, and the crackled tops have a slight crunch to them that really resembles a snickerdoodle cookie. Best of all, these muffins really do taste just like a snickerdoodle! I'm not sure which one I like better now, the cookie or the muffin??

While these muffins make a yummy breakfast the next day, I think eating them fresh and warm out of the oven was the best. I found that the crunch on the top that I loved was lost after a few hours.

-Jess

Snickerdoodle Muffins - makes 20 big muffins
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen
Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

For the batter:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup buttermilk

For the topping:
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Preparation-

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Mix in the sour cream and buttermilk. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have smooth batter - Be sure not to overmix!

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Use an ice cream scooper, or large spoon, and plop a scoop of batter (about 3 Tablespoons full for larger muffins - the liners should be about 2/3 full) into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. Place the ball into the muffin liner. Repeat with remaining batter, then sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar over the tops of the batter.

Bake in preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes or until they are golden on top and just baked through.

Enjoy!!

Helpful Hints-
*Use an ice cream scooper to easily transfer balls of batter to the cinnamon-sugar.
*Be sure the amount of batter used for each muffin fills the tin 2/3s full (this is about 3 tablespoons of batter). If they are filled any less than this, they will not form the big, crunchy snickerdoodle-like top.

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

2011-04-25T10:46:00.000-06:00

Continuing my Easter carrot cake tradition with Carrot Cake Cheesecake

This year I wanted to bake something other than the traditional carrot cake. Since carrot cake is normally paired with cream cheese, I got a great idea to incorporate the flavor of carrot cake into a cheesecake. I did an online search, which brought me to this gorgeous carrot cake cheesecake at Pennies On A Platter.

A moist and spicy carrot cake combined with creamy cheesecake.

This actually isn't what I originally had in mind, but it looked too damn good to pass up!

If you look at the original recipe, and compare it with mine, you'll notice a big difference. I'm not too sure how it happened, but during baking the cake portion was pushed to the bottom/edges/top creating a sort of soft, cakey crust. Didn't come out half cake and half cheesecake like it should have, but there was no way in hell that was going to stop me from digging in!

The cheesecake was light and creamy, and really went perfect with the moist carrot cake.

Uh, Carrot cake crust.

This was a 10-inch cake, and was completely devoured at our family's Easter dinner. Success!

Kitty Approved

I didn't notice 'til I was editing photos that a bite appears to have been taken from this slice. I swear I didn't do it! I had taken a short break in the middle of photos to change camera batteries, unintentionally leaving our cat in the room alone with the slice of cake. I'm pretty sure Sugar felt this was the perfect time to sneak in a taste. I found it appropriate to finish what she had started before going to dinner. Yum :)

Here is last year's Carrot Cake recipe. My. Favorite. Carrot. Cake. Period.

-Jess

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Recipe from Pennies On A Platter

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

For the cheesecake:

16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

¾ cup sugar

2½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. flour

3 eggs

For the carrot cake:

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

8 oz can crushed pineapple, packed in 100% juice, drained

1 cup grated carrots (about 2 carrots)

Preparation-

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9 or 9 1/2- inch springform pan.

For the cheesecake batter, in a large bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the flour, eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated and no lumps remain. Set aside.

For the carrot cake batter, combine the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and spices. Stir into the egg mixture and mix well. Add the pineapple, and carrots. Stir until just combined.

To assemble the cheesecake, pour 1 1/2 cups of the carrot cake batter over the bottom of the prepared pan. Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese batter over the bottom layer of carrot cake, using up 1/4 of the batter and reserving the rest for the top layer. Top with large spoonfuls of remaining carrot cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter, spreading evenly with a knife.

Bake for 50 to 65 minutes or until cheesecake slightly jiggles in center. Turn oven off, open door slightly and let cake sit for 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cool completely, then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Enjoy!

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

2011-04-20T14:48:00.001-06:00

I always loved dying eggs for Easter as a kid. I'm 22 now, and I still love it! I even manage to get the Man to join me in egg coloring every year, it gives us a chance to be creative together, gives us time to talk, and we both get some level of joy from seeing our creations. I don't think a person should ever feel 'too old' to do anything, especially dying Easter eggs.

This year I decided to try something different than standard dyes, joining in on a trend I've been seeing growing on food blogs - Natural egg dying. Meaning instead of using chemical colors, you use natural ingredients (veggies, fruits, spices) to get gorgeous eggs.

This is a little more time consuming than the artificial way, but I'm really happy with the way my eggs turned out.

I did four colors - blue, green, brown, and pink.

Left to Right - Dyed 1 hour, Dyed 2 hours, Dyed 3 hours

Blue - Red Cabbage. This is my favorite dye, and seemed to be the quickest-setting. I left the three eggs in the dye for different lengths of time, the longer you leave it in the richer the color will get. The deepest blue is gorgeous, however I LOVE the lightest blue the best.

I noticed that the light blue was the only one to get little dark specs on it. Gorgeous!

Green - Spinach. I'm not sure if it's because I didn't use enough spinach, didn't boil it long enough, or if spinach dye typically just takes more time, but these seemed to take FOREVER to get to where they are. I finally removed them from the dye after 3 hours, and I am really happy with the shade they became.

Light Brown - Coffee. I chose brown because it's not a color of egg you usually see for Easter, and 'cause I had plenty of coffee on hand. This was the easiest dye to make, but also took 3 hours to get to the shade shown.

Pink - Strawberry preserves. Usually beets, or cranberry juice are used to make pink/red. I had neither. I wanted to try something that I haven't seen done, I took a few Tablespoons of strawberry preserves and boiled it with a cup or so of water. Not a very good idea, as it didn't really work that well. The pink is a lot more pale than I would like, but still looks pretty. One thing I did notice, and really like, about this color is that the eggs smell like strawberries! None of the other eggs smell like their color. I like it.

So, there you have it. My first experience dying eggs using natural ingredients. I think it worked really well, and I'll definitely try it again next year using the onion skin method. My favorite thing about these eggs is how uneven some of the color was. The finished eggs had lines, spots, and blotches of uneven color shades which I find even better than a smooth even finish. However, if you prefer a more even shade, you would just boil your eggs in the dye instead of cold dipping them like I did.

I do still plan on coloring eggs the old fashioned way with the Man. It's become a tradition for the two of us, and I want to keep it going. I'll be sure to post pictures. :)

Here are some really helpful sites with great information for dying eggs naturally.

Boulder Locavore

Serious Eats - Gorgeous onion skin method!

Itsy Bitsy Foodies

Squidoo

-Jess

Asparagus & Gruyere Tarts

2011-04-19T13:06:00.002-06:00

Spring is finally starting to show itself. One sure sign of the season is the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. One of my favorite spring veggies is Asparagus. With Easter right around the corner, I thought this Asparagus Tart was perfect for a Spring/Easter dish.

I found this recipe on Closet Cooking, I LOVE Kevin's blog - he always makes the most delicious foods. What first caught my eye about this recipe wasn't the asparagus, it was the Gruyere cheese. Gruyere is by far my most favorite cheese, I would kill for it. Despite how expensive it is, I try to buy a small block any chance I can get. It's definitely not a cheap habit, but to me it's worth every penny.

This recipe also adds a spread of honey dijon mustard, I used honey mustard instead 'cause it was what I had on hand. I was pretty skeptical about the addition of mustard, seemed kind of odd to me, so I made a few tarts without mustard. Boy, was I wrong -I should have known better than to question Kevin's recipe. Shame on me. :/ The mustard tasted fantastic! The tarts without mustard weren't nearly as flavorful as the ones with mustard. Do NOT shy away from the mustard. Trust me :)

Kevin's recipe tops a whole puff pastry sheet with the ingredients, which is then cut into servings. I wanted to make something that was a little more like individual appetizers, so I cut my puff pastry into 9 squares, which fit about three 1-inch pieces of aspargus. The puff pastry bakes up around the perfectly roasted, tender asparagus acting as flaky pillow to it, and gruyere cheese makes it extra creamy. Once I got a taste of one, I could not stop eating them! This would be the perfect side dish to serve with your Easter brunch or dinner.

Enjoy!

-Jess

Asparagus & Gruyere Tarts - makes 9 individual tarts, about 4 servings*
Recipe from Closet Cooking
Printable Recipe

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to the packages directions
2 Tbsp. honey dijon mustard
2 cups gruyere, grated
1 pound* asparagus, rinsed and trimmed into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Roll the puff pastry just so it is slightly flattened. Cut into 9 squares (two cuts horizontally and vertically = 9). Score a line around each puff pastry square ½ inch from the edge. Brush the mustard around the inside of the cut. Sprinkle the cheese over the mustard. Arrange a few asparagus pieces in a single layer over the cheese, press down gently. Season with salt and pepper. Lightly drizzle olive oil over the asparagus.

Bake in a preheated oven until the asparagus is tender and the pastry is golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Helpful Hints
*My directions make 9 tarts, about 4 servings - 2 per person. You can make more by cutting slightly smaller squares, be sure not to go too small. Or, just double the recipe. If you want to make a whole tart, follow the same directions just skipping the step of cutting into squares.

*I know I didn't use a whole pound of asparagus for my mini tarts, but I didn't keep track of the exact amount I did use. If you purchase 1lb, it will be plenty.

*A line is scored ½inch in from the edge to allow the edges to bake up away from the center. No need to poke holes in the center, just top it as it is.

Chicken Salad Croissants

2011-04-17T16:01:00.000-06:00

These cold chicken salad croissant sandwiches are the perfect snack for warm weather get-togethers and parties. The salad is healthy and creamy with a slightly sweet flavor, and goes great with bread and crackers. The best thing about this recipe is how versatile it is, you can use a variety of grapes, cranberries, or nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds..). You can also choose to use mayo instead of Miracle Whip, just be aware that the flavor will be slightly altered. Serve it with bread as a sandwich, as a topping for crackers, wrapped in lettuce, or keep it just the way it is for a side dish.

-Jess

Chicken Salad Croissants
Recipe from Food.com

2½ cups cooked chicken, diced
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 small onion, minced
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ cup fat free Miracle Whip

Croissants

Combine all the ingredients. Chill for 30 minutes. Serve on croissants, sandwich bread, or with crackers.

Happy First Birthday To...

2011-04-14T12:21:00.001-06:00

Sugar High!
Yep, it's Sugar High's 1st birthday. Can you believe it? I can't! A year ago, I had hoped Sugar High would still be here today, but I have to admit I didn't think it actually would be. Even though I took a hiatus for a little while (which I'm still trying to climb out of), I'm still here and going strong! Starting this blog is one of the best things I've ever done, and I'm really looking forward to sharing another tasty year with you!

I decided to celebrate 1 year with a treat that I've had my eyes on for a long, LONG time- Raspberry Lemonade Bars. I love citrusy foods - especially lemonade, and once I saw the gorgeous pink color of these bars, I just couldn't resist!

These bars are a lot easier to whip up than I thought they would be, they take very little effort for great flavor. They're very creamy and VERY tangy, the crust and powdered sugar topping give them the perfect balance of sweetness. Once the three bars pictured were done modeling for me, I happily gobbled them up without a care.
Delicious! :)

-Jess

Raspberry Lemonade Bars
Recipe from Sophistimom and How Sweet It Is

For the crust-
9 Tbsp. (1 stick + 1 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temp.
¼ cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt

For the filling-
1½ cups sugar
3 egg whites
1 egg
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 3 large lemons
2 Tbsp. lemon zest, about 2 large lemons
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1-2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed - I used 2 cups
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 8×8″ square baking pan with a strip of parchment paper (8×14″) so that it covers the bottom and overlaps on either side. Set aside.

Cream butter, sugar, and salt with an electric mixer. Mix in flour until just incorporated. Flour hands and press dough into prepared baking pan, so that it comes up about a 1/2 inch around the sides.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. While it cools, prepare the filling.

Whisk sugar, egg whites, egg, lemon juice and zest, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Pour raspberries into a fine sieve and press through to extract all the pulp and juices. Whisk into lemon mixture and pour into crust.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until filling is completely set. Let cool completely. Using the overlapping edges of parchment paper, gently lift the dessert from the pan. Cut into 16 squares. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Helpful Hints
*Do not skip the first step of lining the pan with parchment paper. The parchment paper keeps the baked bars from sticking to the pan, allowing for easy removal. Greasing it prior to lining it will allow the paper to stick and hold in one place.

*I helped my bars cool down a bit faster by sticking the pan in the fridge about 15 minutes after letting it cool on a rack. I pulled it out once it was cool to the touch.

Here are my most favorite recipes that I have shared during my first blogging year.

Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Cookies & Cream Rice Krispy Treats

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Caramel Coconut Pecan Swirl

Pistachio Bites

Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream

Slow Cooked Tequila Refried Beans

Orange Chicken

2011-04-06T18:37:00.000-06:00

Why order out when you can make delicious Chinese food at home? It's cheaper, and tastes WAY better than take out. It does take some effort to prepare, but it's worth it. This Orange Chicken recipe, from Annie's Eats, is slightly sweet with a great citrus kick. Even with just two people to feed in my house, this chicken was gone in no time!

-Jess

Orange Chicken

Recipe from Annie's Eats

For the marinade and sauce:

¾ cup chicken broth

¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1½ tsp. finely grated orange zest
6 Tbsp. white vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar (dark or light)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1½ lbs. boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water
8 thin strips orange peel (optional)

For the coating and frying:
3 large egg whites
1 cup cornstarch
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups peanut or canola oil

To make the marinade and sauce-
Combine the chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper in a large saucepan; whisk to blend well. Measure out ¾ cup of the mixture and transfer it to a large zipper lock plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces to the bag, pressing out the excess air and sealing well. Refrigerate and let marinate 30-60 minutes, but no longer. Place the saucepan with the remaining mixture on the stove and heat over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until smooth. Add the mixture to the saucepan with the sauce. Continue simmering until the sauce is thick and translucent, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the strips of orange peel, if using.

To prepare the coating-
Place the egg whites in a pie plate and whisk until frothy. In a second pie plate combine the cornstarch, baking soda and cayenne pepper; whisk to blend. Drain the chicken of the marinade in a colander or large strainer; pat dry with paper towels. Place half of the chicken pieces in the egg whites and turn to coat. Transfer the pieces to the cornstarch mixture and coat thoroughly, shaking off the excess. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

To fry the chicken-
Heat the oil in a 11- or 12-inch round Dutch oven or straight-sided sauté pan until the oil reaches 350°F. Carefully place half of the chicken pieces in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through cooking. Remove from the oil with a skimmer or slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Return the oil to 350°F and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
**(For this step I just used my deep fryer, heated to 350°F, added ¼ of the chicken and plunged it into the oil to cook for 5 minutes.)

Reheat the sauce if necessary and toss with the cooked chicken pieces. Serve over rice, if desired.

Enjoy!

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-03-25T17:47:00.000-06:00

I have been seeing this recipe popping up all over food blogs for the past couple months. This lovely creation was first made by Jenny at Picky Palate. I fell in love with these fattening goodies as soon as I laid eyes on them. Jenny is my hero.

A very soft chocolate chip cookie surrounds an oreo that becomes soft itself with a slightly gooey cream center once baked. These cookies were awesome, they did not disappoint! That's coming from a person who doesn't really like chocolate chip cookies. I enjoyed them best right out of the oven with a tall glass of milk for dunking. YUM! :)

You can find the original recipe at Picky Palate.

Make them right away. Then watch them disappear much quicker than it took to whip them up. It is so worth it.

Helpful Hints
*I wasn't too sure on how big of a scoop to use for the cookie dough, or exactly how long to bake, so I just experimented a little. (I used a small scoop, about the same size as the oreos.)

With these cookies I used slightly mounded scoops of cookie dough, and baked for about 11 minutes. The cookie dough spread slightly more, was less browned on top, and had a slightly more gooey middle.

These cookies I used a level scoop of cookie dough, and baked for 13 minutes. The cookie held it's shape better, tops were lightly browned, the inside was still very soft, but not as gooey.

Both cookies were amazing. I didn't really have a favorite, but if I HAD to pick one over the other I'd go with the first ones.

-Jess

Brown Butter Banana Bread

2011-03-22T18:11:00.000-06:00

I've been in love with brown butter ever since the Brown Butter Ice Cream recipe. I'm always trying to substitute it for regular butter whenever I can. The most recent recipe I've tried using brown butter is Banana Bread. I was hoping the flavor of the brown butter would be more noticable in this bread than it was, it seems the bananas are just too powerful for it to shine through. Nevertheless, this recipe makes for some amazing banana bread.

-Jess

Brown Butter Banana Bread

•2 Cups flour
•1 tsp. baking soda
•¼ tsp. salt

•½ Cup butter

•¾ Cup brown sugar

•2 eggs

•1 tsp. vanilla

•3 very ripe bananas, mashed

•½ Cup sour cream

•Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of a 9x5-inch bread pan.

•In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

•Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until caramel colored. Watch it carefully 'cause it can quickly go from a nice caramel color to burned! Pour browned butter into a mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, mix well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla, mashed bananas, and sour cream. Add flour mixture, stirring just until combined.

•Pour into prepared bread pan. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Helpful Hints
* I grease only the bottom of my pan to avoid a hard lip from baking on the edge of the bread. I never have any problem getting the sides of the bread out, just gently run a butter knife around the edge.

*Don't over mix when adding the flour mixture to the banana mixture, it will make a very dense and tough bread.

Irish Soda Bread

2011-03-17T17:12:00.000-06:00

Keeping it traditional with a simple Irish Soda Bread. This bread is probably the easiest bread I have made in that it doesn't require kneading, and goes from bowl to oven in less than 10 minutes. Simple! Irish Soda Bread has a nice crispy crust, and a fantastic, moist center. This is definitely my new go to recipe whenever I'm in the mood for bread. It was perfect paired with Irish Stew. :)

-Jess

Irish Soda Bread
Recipe from Kevin at A Bird In The Kitchen

•3¾ Cups all purpose flour
•¼ Cup cornstarch
•2 Tbps. sugar
•2 teaspoons baking soda
•1 teaspoon salt
•3 Tbsp. butter + 1 Tbsp for brushing
•1½ Cups buttermilk

•Preheat oven to 400°F

•Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking soda and salt.

•Cut 3 Tbsp. butter in until mixture resembles course crumbs. Gently mix in buttermilk to form a dough. Dough will still be loose and raggy.

•Shape dough into a ball, place on a baking sheet and cut an X in the top one-inch deep. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Melt the remaing 1 Tbsp. of butter and brush on top of the bread. Enjoy while it is hot and fresh.

Helpful Hints
*I can't stress enough how important it is to not over mix when adding the buttermilk. Over mixing with result in a tough bread. Do NOT over mix!

Irish Stew

2011-03-16T21:44:00.000-06:00

Okay, I'm not Irish (as far as I know there's not a drop of Irish blood in me, could be wrong), and I've never been to Ireland, but there's something about St. Patrick's Day that I just love. I think it's the color green, my favorite. Maybe it's that I have an excuse to drink beer (some of which is green!). Oh, and don't think I've forgetten about the FOOD! These may not be the reasons this holiday began, but they are damn good enough for me to want to celebrate it.

I wanted to make a traditional Irish dinner in honor of the holiday, what better place to look for a recipe than Donal Skehan's blog? He is Irish, afterall! This recipe is traditional, with the exception that it uses beef instead of lamb. It's an amazing one pot stew that comes together pretty quick. It has a wonderful taste, and just the right amount of chunky veggies. Served with some Irish Soda Bread, this is the perfect St. Patty's Day dinner. :)

Enjoy!

-Jess

Irish Stew
Recipe from GoodMoodFood

•3 Tbsp. wholemeal flour
•3 teaspoons ground black pepper
•1 ½ pounds stew steak
•Sunflower oil
•4 large carrots, sliced
•2 large onions, chopped into half moon pieces
•5 Cups beef broth
•A good pinch of sea salt
•2 bay leaves
•5 large potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1cm discs
•A good handful of freshly chopped parsley

•Preheat the oven to 400

•Place the steak, wholemeal flour, and black pepper in a resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and give it a good shake so that all the steak pieces have a nice coating of flour and pepper. Heat a large frying pan with a good glug of sunflower oil and brown half the steak pieces. Transfer the steak pieces to a large casserole. Repeat with the rest of the meat.

•Fry the onions in the meat juices on the pan for 2 minutes, adding an extra drop of oil if necessary. Transfer the onions to the casserole. Add in the carrots, beef broth, sea salt, bay leaves, and stir through. Add the potato slices on top, season with a generous amount of black pepper and cover with the lid. Transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for 1 ½ hours.

•Serve straight from the casserole, along with some Irish Soda Bread to sop up the juices. Sprinkle the parsley on top and enjoy!

Helpful Hints
- I don't really have any for this recipe, it turned out great with no complications. If you have any questions, Ask away!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2011-03-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

One of the dishes we enjoyed at Alexis' baby shower.
I have shared this recipe before, but I love it so much that I feel it deserves to be shared again. :)

-Jess

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Recipe can also be found on Blog Chef

•2 8oz (16oz) packages cream cheese
•1 cup ranch*
•3/4 cup buffalo sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot Buffalo
•1 10oz can chicken, drained
•1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

•Combine all* ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and cheese is melted.

•Usually served as a dipping for chips or vegetables, but I will not hold it against you if you want to eat it straight out of the pan. ;)

Helpful Hints
*You can use any ranch dressing you like. Bacon ranch is my favorite. Bleu cheese dressing would be amazing!

*The cheddar is normally melted on top of the dip, but I like to mix it in with everything else. Do whichever you like, and use as much as you want.

*It is normal for this dip to gather grease on top after it sits for a bit. Just stir it again, or - if you really don't like it- you can skim it off with a spoon.

A Baby Shower

2011-03-01T10:27:00.001-07:00

My younger sister, Alexis, is expecting a baby girl very soon.

I wanted to make a cake for her baby shower. We got together so I could show her some photos of cakes I thought were cute, and she put together a picture of exactly what she wanted. Her idea was adorable, and I couldn't wait to bring it to life.

I am thrilled with the result of this cake! I was able to match it nearly perfectly with Alexis' drawing, and she loved it. I should mention this is only the second big cake like this that I have made.

The bottom tier is a styrofoam cake dummy, used to add height to the cake without the need of extra unneccesary cake. Second tier is Strawberry Cake with a yummy Strawberry filling. Third tier is Vanilla cake with Bavarian Cream filling. The whole cake is covered with Marshmallow Fondant, and the decorations on 1 & 2 are also MMF. 3's decorations are buttercream frosting. And the whole thing is topped off with an adorable pink baby elephant sugar cookie.

Everything in and on the cake is homemade by myself, except for the fillings which were purchased at Orson Gygi here in Salt Lake just to save myself some time.

Mommy & her cake

Cutting the cake

I used the famous White Almond Sour Cream Cake recipe for the cakes. This is a doctored cake mix recipe. I usually try to avoid recipes like this, but this cake is wonderful. It tastes amazing, it's very moist, and has a great dense texture that is perfect for stacking and carving cakes.

Strawberry Cake, Strawberry Filling

Vanilla Cake, Bavarian Cream Filling

There were a lot of other yummy foods at the shower.

Chicken salad croissant sandwiches, a spicy pasta salad, buffalo chicken dip, tortilla rollups, and sugar cookies.
I thought they were all so good that I'm going to share the recipes for everything in the following weeks. :)

I had a lot of fun celebrating the new life in my family. This will be my first niece, and I can't wait 'til the day she arrives!

-Jess

White Almond Sour Cream Cake (WASC)

Slightly adapted from a Recipe found on Food.com

Normally this recipe is doubled, I cut it down for each cake that I made. You can look at Food's website for information on how much cake one recipe makes. With the recipe I'm providing I was able to make two 8-inch round 3-inch deep cakes.

1 Box white cake mix (see hints below)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ cup sour cream
½ cup vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract*

*Optional. If you don't like almond, just use 3 teaspoons of vanilla.

Preheat oven to 325°. Cut rounds out of parchment paper the same size as the cake pans you will be using. Spray cake pans with non-stick cooking spray, place parchment rounds in bottoms of pans and lightly spray again.

Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined. I beat mine until there are still little chunks left in it. Pour into prepared pans, 2/3's full.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. For my 8-inch cakes, this took about 45-50 minutes.

Let cool in pans on cooling rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pans to finish cooling.

Helpful Hints:

*To keep the surface of the cake even while baking, I take a metal flower nail and stick it right in the center of the cake batter in the pan before baking it. This helps distribute heat evenly throughout the cake, leaving the top nice and even. When the cake is done baking, and cooled, you can flip it over and pull the nail right out.

*You can make any flavor of this cake that you can find in cake mixes. Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Cherry, Spice, Red Velvet, Devil's Food... Anything! For any cake other than vanilla or white, I'd recommend ommitting the almond extract.
-For strawberry & cherry cakes, you may choose to use a corresponding extract, but I just used all vanilla extract for my strawberry cake and it was wonderful. Also, replace vanilla yogurt with strawberry or cherry yogurt.

-For chocolate cake, remove 1/3 cup from flour and replace it with cocoa powder and replace vanilla yogurt with chocolate yogurt (Yoplait makes some).

*This cake freezes very well. After completely cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and stick in freezer. It will hold for up to a year this way. Freezing the cake allows you to make the cake ahead of time, and also makes it very easy to cut into layers for filling.

I'm Still Here!

2011-02-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hey!

Yep, I'm still here.

And, I've received LOTS of messages from you asking 'Where have you gone?' and 'I miss your posts!' :) :)

The past few months my living situation became very hectic when I found myself having a hard time finding a new place to call home, all because of this guy. Guess people really don't like renting to owners of Pit Bulls. :( We moved in with family, and I had to pack away my kitchen, forcing me to stop cooking (and blogging). We were finally able to find a suitable house, and moved in right away. Now I have my own kitchen to cook in again!

I've really been missing everything about blogging, and I'm so excited to jump right back into it!

-Jess

Kane, Now 7 months!

Rhubarb Spice Cake

2010-09-30T12:53:00.000-06:00

This cake is full of spicy fall flavors that are nicely complimented by small chunks of rhubarb. This cake is soft, yet not as moist as I'd like. It goes really well with a tall glass of milk. This is a nice, subtle way to enjoy rhubarb. :)

Rhubarb Spice Cake-
(Adapted from Betty Crocker)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
1¾ cups finely chopped fresh rhubarb
1 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with shortening; lightly flour.

In large bowl, beat flour, 1¼ cups of the sugar and remaining ingredients, except rhubarb and nuts, with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in rhubarb. Pour into pan. Sprinkle with nuts and remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve with Sweetened Whipped Cream, if desired.

Tips:
* You may use self rising flour instead of all-purpose, just be sure to leave out the baking soda and salt.

Enjoy! :)

Slow Cooked Tequila Refried Beans

2010-09-27T08:55:00.000-06:00

These beans aren't actually refried because they are made completely in the slow cooker, not fried. They are much healthier than traditional refried beans and pack a lot more flavor. These beans are thick and creamy with a hint of lime and a kick of tequila. You could definitely keep out the jalapenos and tequila if that's not your sort of thing, but I would recommend sticking to the recipe. Trust me. These are by far the best refried beans I've ever had. If you haven't tried homemade refried beans yet... Do it. Now. :)

Slow Cooked Tequila Refried Beans-
(Inspired by Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures)

3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed and picked over
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground coriander
2 Tbsp. lime tequila, optional
½ cup to 1 cup milk
The juice of 1 lime
3½ tsp. salt, or to taste
Pepper to taste

Place the dry beans, water, and chicken broth into a slow cooker. Cook covered on HIGH for 8 hours. Strain and pour beans back into slow cooker.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onions and jalapenos. Cook until tender. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat.

Add the sauteed vegetables to the slow cooker along with the oregano, cumin, coriander, and tequila. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding milk a little at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Cover and cook on LOW, stirring often, for 1 hour. Stir in lime juice, salt and pepper. Serve with freshly sliced jalapenos and crumbled cotija cheese, if desired.

Tips:
   * The alcohol in the tequila will cook off. If you don't cook with alcohol, just leave it out.
   * Try using half pinto beans, and half black beans. Yum!
   * You can make your beans as thick/thin, creamy/chunky as you like just by altering how much you mash the beans and how much milk you add.
   * I served mine with freshly sliced jalapenos, and crumbled Cotija cheese.

Delicious! :)

Keepin' It Real

2010-09-23T08:38:00.000-06:00

This recipe for Coffee Crumb Cakes is supposed to be a knock-off of Hostess's cinnamon coffee cakes. I used to eat those coffee cakes all the time. They're really good so I was hoping this recipe would turn out just as tasty.

It didn't.

These muffins are really bland, and definitely not sweet enough. The recipe called for cinnamon to be in the topping only. I think it'd be better to swirl it through the batter. I'd also add more sugar (brown sugar) and vanilla to give it a better flavor.
This is one recipe that ended up being tossed out. :(

Coffee Crumb Cakes-
(Adapted from FamilyCircle magazine)

1½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
½ tsp. vanilla

Topping-
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
Pinch salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray and dust with flour.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-size bowl. Whisk to blend. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until smooth. Add flour mixture alternating with milk until just blended. Stir in vanilla.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, about ¼ cup in each.

Topping: Combine sugars, cinnamon and salt in a medium-size bowl. Stir in melted butter. Add flour and rub mixture with hands to make crumb topping. Mixture should clump together and form little balls. Sprinkle topping over batter in the cups, about 1 heaping tablespoon for each.

Bake 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

Homemade Carpet Deodorizer

2010-09-20T14:59:00.000-06:00

Having a new puppy who is in the process of being housebroken means you can expect accidents to happen on your carpets. Store bought carpet deodorizers can become pretty expensive in the long run, so I decided to make my own. It's as simple as having some baking soda, and a fragrance. You can use any fragrance you want whether it be flowers or your favorite spice from the kitchen to get your carpets smelling their best.

What you'll need-

•Baking soda. How much you need depends on how much carpet you have to cover.
•Something to put the baking soda in, preferably a mason jar.
•Fragrance of your choice. This can be a flower (like lavender), scented oil, or even a kitchen spice such as cinnamon. I used my favorite scented wax. You can pick it up at whole-sale stores, like wal mart.

What to do-

Pour the baking soda into an air tight jar. How much you use depends on how big of an area you want to cover. I used about ¾ cup for my 12x12' living room.
Add the fragrance of your choice to the jar of baking soda, and give it a good shake to combine. If you're using scented oil it will clump, you'll need to break up these clumps to allow all of the baking soda to combine with it. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour to allow the baking soda to soak up the scent.
Lightly sprinkle the scented baking soda over the surface of your carpet. Let sit anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight. Vacuum as usual.

Now you have clean carpets that smell the way you want them to, not the way he makes them! :)

Side note: I finally found the original recipe I used to make Sweet Honey Cornbread. Now you have it, too!

Sour Cream Peach Pecan Pie

2010-09-15T12:44:00.000-06:00

This pie is made by putting peaches in a pie dish and covering them with a mixture of sugar, eggs, and sour cream that transforms into a sweet custard when baked. It's topped off with a yummy brown sugar and pecan streusel.

While baking, the custard in my pie started forming a top crust before I could cover it with all of the streusel topping, which is supposed to be a very thick layer. The filling also did not firm up as much as the source's picture shows, but it still cut very well and held it's shape for the most part.

The combination of fresh peaches, sweet custard filling, and pecan streusel made this pie truly amazing! The flavors, as well as the textures, are fantastic. This is one pie that you will definitely want to try before saying goodbye to summer. :)

Sour Cream Peach Pecan Pie-

(Adapted from Taste Of Home, serves 8)

Pastry for 9-inch pie

4-5 peaches, peeled and sliced

2 Tbsp. peach preserves
1 cup sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3 egg yolks
¼ cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla

TOPPING:
½ cup flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
3 Tbsp. chopped pecans
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ cup cold butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges.

In a large bowl, combine peaches and preserves. Transfer to pie dish. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, sour cream, egg yolks, flour and vanilla. Pour over peaches.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. By this time the filling in my pie was starting to brown and form a crust. You may want to check it after 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, pecans and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly; sprinkle over pie.

Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and topping is golden brown. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning, if necessary. Cool completely on a wire rack for 3 hours before serving. If you don't allow the pie to completely cool before cutting, it will not be set enough to hold its shape.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Tips:

* Make sure you give your pie crust a fluted edge to prevent the filling from spilling over.

* You're supposed to bake the pie halfway, cover it with streusel, then finish baking. After the first bake time, the filling in my pie had started to brown, forming a top crust. This prevented me from topping it with all of the streusel. I'd say check the pie after 25 minutes (instead of 30) to be sure the top isn't overcooking before you top it with the streusel.

Yumm :)

Dorie's Dimply Plum Cake

2010-09-14T10:11:00.000-06:00

Plums are good.
Having never baked with them before, I instantly wanted to bake this cake the first time I saw it. The Man was suspicious of it, but I knew it would be yummy. It is a Dorie Greenspan recipe, after all. And I trust Dorie. :)

The cake is very easy to make, the longest part is always the actual bake time which in this case is 40 minutes. This cake is very moist and has a fantastic flavor! I was hoping that the plums would have given it something special, but they were just plums. The Man isn't fond of them, but he happily ate the surrounding cake. I'm thinking of making another, but next time I will slightly cook the plums in a brown sugar/butter mixture, sort of like I did for the peaches in my Rum Spiked Peach Cobbler. This will make the plums sweeter (mine were a bit tart), and give the whole cake more flavor.

As you can tell, my cake didn't really come out 'dimpled', the plums pretty much got swallowed by it and one is completely submerged. This is actually more than fine with me cause when I first saw the dimples of this cake it reminded me of the Surinam Toad.
Haha, sorry if that ruins your appetite. :)

Dimply Plum Cake-
(From Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan;Serves 8)
Prep: 10 minutes Bake: 40 minutes

1½ cups all purpose four
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground cardamom - I used cinnamon
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
Grated zest of one lemon - Didn't have any, so left it out.
1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
8 purple or red plums, halved and pitted

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8x8 baking dish or a glass pie plate and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture. Pour the batter in the prepared dish, smooth the top and arrange the plums on top, cut side up.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Tips:
* I don't have any because I didn't run into any problems! This is a very easy recipe that really anybody could make! Like I said next time I'll cook the plums in sugar before adding to the cake. Once I make it that way I'll post the recipe :)

Mmmm, Plums! :)

Shortcut Slow Cooker Chili

2010-09-10T08:21:00.000-06:00

Warning:
This recipe uses canned beans, canned tomatoes, ground beef, and ground spices. If you don't like that, I suggest you stop reading! =P

Yes, I could soak and cook my own beans, I could chop up fresh tomatoes (hell, I could also just grow them), I could use a high quality, expensive meat (could even raise it and kill it myself), and I could use fresh chilies. But, I didn't.

My pregnant sister was dying for some chili, so I invited her and our younger sister over for dinner. That meant 2 extra mouths to feed (3 if you count preggers) than what I'm used to. So, I wanted a recipe that would be really, really easy and very fast to whip up. This means making one that uses canned food.

Sometimes you just need a quick fix, and I see nothing wrong with using shortcuts every now and then.

I thought this chili turned out amazing, it had so many great flavors. It came out thick, with just the right amount of juices. The recipe itself is not too spicy, so I added some extra chili powder to give it a little more kick.

We enjoyed it with Sweet Honey Cornbread. Alexis and I ate it by taking a spoon of cornbread and scooping up the chili on top of it. Very yummy! I also like to eat mine topped with crushed saltine crackers. And, of course, it's good with shredded cheddar.

The best thing about this recipe is how quick and easy it is. You pretty much just throw everything into the slow cooker and forget about it. Nothing is better than coming home from a long day to the wonderful smell of chili ready to be eaten. :)

Shortcut Slow Cooker Chili-

(Adapted from Cookography)

2 lbs. lean ground beef or turkey

1 package thick cut bacon

2 Tbsp. oil

2 medium onions, diced
1 bell pepper (any color), diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced - about 2 Tbsp.
¼ cup chili powder
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
2-15oz. cans pinto beans, drained
1-15oz. can red kidney beans, drained
1-28oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1-28oz. can tomato puree
Salt to taste

Cook ground beef until brown. Thoroughly cook bacon. Transfer both cooked meats to a slow cooker.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Add diced onions, bell pepper, and celery, and minced garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are slightly tender. Add to slow cooker, along with all the remaining ingredients. Season with salt.

Cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours, or on LOW for 6-7 hours.

Tips:
   *Line your slow cooker with a slow cooker liner for easy clean up.
   *For a really thick chili, you can add about ½ cup crushed saltine crackers.
   *For a thinner chili refrain from draining the beans.

Yumm :)

Sweet Honey Cornbread

2010-09-09T08:41:00.002-06:00

My favorite recipe for cornbread.

This Sweet Honey Cornbread is really yummy. The texture is nice and moist, not overly dry like some others, and it has the perfect sweetness. The Man took a bite and asked 'Why haven't you made this before?!'. Even my 9 year old sister kept coming back for more. Actually, I'm damn sure she ate more cornbread than the chili that I served it with.

I will definitely never have a need for another cornbread recipe. :)

Sweet Honey Cornbread-
(Sorry, I couldn't find the source!)

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1¼ cups milk
2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350°F, and lightly grease a 8-inch square pan.

In a bowl whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Into a seperate bowl add eggs, milk, honey, melted butter, and oil; mix well. Stir in flour mixture; mixing well. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is a nice golden brown and the center is set.

Tips:

*To easily measure honey, first lightly grease your measuring spoon with oil. This will allow the honey to slip right out of the spoon.

*If you like, you can also make these as muffins. Just grease a muffin pan, or use muffin liners, and cut the baking time by 10 minutes.

Enjoy! :)

Corn Tortilla Enchiladas

2010-09-07T13:38:00.000-06:00

Enchiladas are my favorite Mexican dish. Growing up, my family ate a lot of them, so often that enchiladas were the first dish I knew how to cook on my own. They're great because you don't really need a set recipe, just meat, tortillas, and sauce, then you can throw in whatever else you like.

I really like this recipe from Pioneer Woman.
For one it doesn't use just canned sauce itself; it combines the canned stuff with chicken broth and spices making it way better. Two, it gives the meat filling texture and great flavor by adding onions and chiles. Three, it uses corn tortillas that are gently fried and then dipped into the red sauce. Dipping the tortillas was definitely the hardest task to accomplish for this dish, but the end result was well worth it.

These Enchiladas are very good. I made these for dinner while my two younger sisters were staying with us, and they both loved them! I know I've done something right when my picky-eater sister gobbles down something I've made, like she did that one time.

If you follow the recipe as is, it doesn't make a very spicy dish, so the only thing I changed to this recipe was adding a small can of hot tomato sauce. I like my Mexican food to be SPICY. The spicier the better! I also added green onions to the meat filling. Next time, I'll make these with chicken, just cause I like it better than beef(in this case I used ground turkey). :)

Corn Tortilla Enchiladas-
(Adapted from Pioneer Woman)

For the Sauce:

1 Tbsp. Canola Oil
1 Tbsp. All-purpose Flour
1 can (28 Oz.) Enchilada Or Red Sauce - I also added 1 small can of hot tomato sauce
2 cups Chicken Broth
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Ground Black Pepper
2 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro

For the Meat Filling:
1½ pound Ground Beef- I use turkey to make it healthier.
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
2 cans (4 Oz.) Diced Green Chilies
½ tsp. Salt

For the Tortillas:
10 - 14 Corn Tortillas
½ cups Canola Oil
For Topping:
3 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
½ cups Chopped Black Olives
1 cup Chopped Green Onions
½ cups Chopped Cilantro

The Sauce-
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.

The Meat-
Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

The Tortillas-
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. I found this took quite a bit less time to do. You may need to sacrifice a few tortillas before you get it down right. Remove to a papertowel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Assembly-
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan, spreading evenly. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Tips:
   * For spicier enchiladas, use 1 can of El Pato hot tomato sauce.
   * For healthier enchiladas, use turkey instead of beef.
   * Be very gentle when frying and dipping the tortillas. I was having problems with my tortillas breaking apart. I ended up frying them over a lower heat for half the time stated in the recipe. You just have to sacrifice a few tortillas to find out what works best for you.

Enjoy! :)

An Anniversary Cake

2010-09-02T21:37:00.001-06:00

This week the Man and I celebrated our 4th anniversary.

He usually brings me sweet gifts, and great surprises. I usually cook or bake him something.

I didn't get the chance to cook him an amazing dinner like I had wanted to, because I was way too busy welcoming his surprise to our home.

6 week old pit bull, My gift for the Man on our anniversary.
He's such a cutie, and a huge cuddler!

I did get the chance to make a cake, though.... the next day :)

I went with a Crepe Cake because it's totally different from any other cake I've seen, and it has a gorgeous presentation. I made vanilla crepes, layered them with whipped chocolate ganache, and also topped it off with chocolate ganache, and finally surrounded it with chocolate shards.

This is what the cake looks like on the inside. I got a little filling-happy after the first few layers. Sorry, I couldn't get a decent photo of the chocolate shards, but you can get an idea of what it looked like here.

I had intended to cover the top with strawberries and more chocolate, but my strawberries went from nearly-ripe, to growing mold overnight.

Damn you wal mart! How many times do I have to tell myself NOT to buy from you, especially when it comes to produce..?

I do not like chocolate. I had only chosen to fill and cover this cake with chocolate because it was supposed to be topped with the chocolate covered strawberries, so it all would have fit together.

Needless to say, the very chocolatey crepe cake was still pretty good. I really like the texture of the whipped ganache, it is perfect for filling. I will definitely make another crepe cake, but using a vanilla filling, possibly creme fraiche, and top it with nothing but a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

The Man loved it, and was impressed by the presentation, which is all that mattered.

Vanilla Crepes- (I tripled this)

(Adapted from All Recipes)

1 cup flour

2 eggs

½ cup milk

¼ cup water

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Whisk together the eggs, milk, water, sugar, and vanilla. Sift in the flour. Add salt and melted butter; stir until well combined and smooth.

Take a frying pan, or crepe pan, 8"-10", depending how big you want your crepes, and heat it over medium-high heat. Very lightly oil, or spray, the pan before pouring batter in. Take about ¼ cup of batter, pour it into the center of the pan and quickly swirl the pan around to completely cover the bottom. The crepe should start cooking right away, if not turn up the heat. Cook for 2 minutes. Loosen the edges with a small spatula, or butter knife. Using a spatula, I just use my fingers, flip the crepe over and cook for about 1 minute more. Cool completely to assemble cake.

Chocolate Ganache- (I also tripled this)

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Pour chocolate chips into a bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil over medium heat, scraping the bottom with a rubber spatula to keep it from burning. Once boiled, pour cream over chocolate. Let sit for 10 minutes. Stir until smooth, you may need to use a whisk. Let cool. The longer the ganache cools, the thicker it will get.

To whip the ganache-

Let it cool completely. I stuck mine in the fridge, and stirred it often. Once it was cooled down, I stuck it in the freezer along with a whisk attachment for a few minutes to get everything colder. Using a mixer with the now-cold whisk attachment, whip the ganache on high until it gets fluffy, and lighter in color. This happens pretty fast. Once its whipped, your ready to assemble the cake!

To assemble cake-

On a cake stand (if you're a poor girl like me, you can use a cookie sheet ;)), place down one crepe. Spread a layer of whipped ganache onto the crepe, using as much or as little as you like. Top with another crepe, and continue the process until you have as many layers as you want, being sure to leave the top crepe naked. Take your thin ganache, and slowly pour it over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. You can try to smooth it out if you want. At this point, I just covered mine with chocolate shards.

You can learn how to make chocolate shards here.

Crepe Tips:

* I tripled the recipe to allow me to make all the crepes needed for the cake.

* Your pan needs to be heated over medium-high. Once you pour the batter on the pan, the crepe should start to cook right away. If it doesn't, the heat is too low. If the crepe cooks too fast and becomes dry and hard, the heat is too high. It may take a couple practice crepes to find the right temperature.

* I took some water out of the recipe because I wanted a fluffier crepe. You can increase the water by ¼cup if you want a thinner batter.

* Be sure to coat the pan with a very thin layer of grease, before cooking every crepe. If the crepes are sticking, use a little more grease. However, there really shouldn't be a problem with crepes sticking because of the amount of butter used in the recipe.

Ganache Tips:

* I made three batches for my cake. Two were whipped, one was plain.

* Before attempting to whip the ganache, it must be very cold. Otherwise, you'll just have bubbly ganache.

* Remember, the longer the ganache sits, the thicker it will get.

Yum ;)

Les Madeleines Patisserie

2010-08-31T14:00:00.000-06:00

To stick with the sweet theme of my blog, my dive of choice this month was Les Madeleines Bakery. They offer a gorgeous selection of pastries, cakes, and candy, as well as breakfast and lunch sandwiches. Everything here is made from scratch, using the finest ingredients. The chef, Romina Rasmussen, trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York, and was even named best pastry chef in 2007 by Salt Lake Magazine.

My sister, Alexis, is expecting a baby, and I've been wanting to treat her to something yummy, so I brought her along with me. We went at 9 in the morning so we could enjoy some breakfast sandwiches with our sweets. The sandwiches were something you could definitely make at home, but they were really good! They were made on wheat bread full of melted butter, with a real egg (which they get locally), and a slice of actual cheese, not that processed crap.

Alexis went with the ham, egg, and cheese sandwich.

I chose plain old egg and cheese. My egg ended up being cooked slightly over-easy, which is what I like. I'm sure you'd be able to request that your egg be cooked harder if you like.

Kouing-Aman
This is their specialty. It translates to 'butter bread', and comes from Brittany. I've read that only 6 bakeries in the U.S. make this, and one just happens to be here in Salt Lake! This pastry is so popular, that Madeleines limits you to only 6 without a 72-hour pre-order. I can definitely see why! Kouing-Aman has a crunchy, caramelized crust that breaks open to reveal a soft, gooey, buttery, sweet, and flaky inside. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the inside, but I gobbled it up. It truly is heaven!

I've never had a french macaron before, so I got this Raspberry Button. It was ok, a little to much raspberry for me though.

We also tried this Butter Toffee Shortbread. Yum.

Black & White cookie. Very soft, I like the chocolate/vanilla icing.

Canellé. This has a dark, caramelized crust, and a very tender center. I thought this was pretty good, very interesting.

Alexis chose this cookie, which I can't remember the name of. It was really yummy.

I highly suggest stopping by Madeleines for breakfast or lunch. Do NOT leave there without first grabbing a Kouing-Aman, or two... or three.... :)
Check out their website to see all of the great pastries and sandwiches they offer.

****
Les Madeleines
Patisserie & Cafe
http://www.les-madeleines.com/
216 E 500 S
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
(801)355-2294
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 8 - 6, Saturday 8 - 4, Closed Sunday & Monday.

Bleu Cheese & Pear Muffins

2010-08-30T10:05:00.000-06:00

I am not what someone would call a 'picky eater'. I love all kinds of food, especially flavors that are unique, and I feel there is no harm in trying everything at least once. I love this recipe because it uses two familiar ingredients that most wouldn't think to combine, creating a unique flavor of it's own.

The first time I made these Bleu Cheese Pear Muffins I thought for sure they'd be a hit, so I kindly brought them to my mom's house for the whole family to enjoy. I forgot, though, bleu cheese does not sound very enticing to many people, and to those people it can taste even worse than it sounds. Turns out my brother, sister, and mother all loathe bleu cheese. I had to ~~force these down their throats~~ get on my knees begging them to try just one! My hard work ended up getting disgusted looks, and spit into the trash.

Oh well. That just meant more for me and the Man, which we were perfectly fine with. At least We know how to enjoy the wonderful tang of bleu cheese. :)

This recipe calls for the muffins to be made in a mini muffin pan, but this time I wanted to try regular sized muffins. They were both good, however the mini muffins pack so much more flavor into them. A flavor that I should clarify I absolutely love. I really appreciate the flavor that bleu cheese delivers. Whenever I see anything that incorporates bleu cheese, I die to try it. The tanginess of the cheese is a great counterpart to the sweet pears. Definitely a wonderful team that any true Foodie will enjoy. :)

Mini Bleu Cheese & Pear Muffins-

(Adapted from the book 1 Mix, 100 Muffins, by Susanna Tee)

Oil or melted butter, for greasing - You can always just stick with cooking spray

14 oz. canned pear halves, drained and diced into small pieces (see Tip at bottom)

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

Ground black pepper

Heaping 1 cup bleu cheese of your choice, finely crumbled

2 eggs

1 cup milk

6 Tbsp. sunflower oil, or melted, cooled butter

¼ cup walnut pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease two 24-cup mini muffin pans, or line with paper liners.

Into a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in the bleu cheese and diced pears.

In a seperate bowl, lightly beat the eggs then beat in the milk and oil. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the beaten liquid ingredients. Stir gently until just combined; do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Scatter the walnuts over the tops of the muffins, if using. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until well risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Tips:

*You may use any bleu cheese that is to your liking, but Stilton cheese is most paired with pears.

*Like I said before, these can be made in a regular muffin pan but won't pack as much punch as the mini muffins will.

*The recipe calls for canned pears, but I used 3 fresh, very ripe pears.

Enjoy! :)

Here is the photo of these muffins taken from the cookbook. Hopefully it looks more appetizing to you than my own. :)

Photo courtesy of Clive Bozzard-Hill, 1 mix, 100 muffins

S'mores Cupcakes

2010-08-26T10:18:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you've seen these before. They're everywhere! A classic campfire treat turned into a fluffy cupcake. I adore s'mores. I have to have one (two...three..) everytime I'm around a campfire. Even when I'm not camping, I still eat s'mores toasted over the stove.

I don't really like cake. BUT. I'm a huge fan of the lighter, fluffier, portable cupcake. As you can guess, once I saw this dessert- a combination of two things I love- I wanted to try them right away.

There's a few different ways to make a S'more cupcake. One recipe makes a chocolate cupcake with a graham cracker mixture stirred in. Another one makes a graham cracker 'crust' which is then topped with chocolate cupcake. And one makes just a plain old graham cracker cupcake. Of course, they're all topped off with marshmallow frosting, and a little drizzling of chocolate. I DO NOT like chocolate cake (or ice cream, frosting, i can barely even stand plain chocolate), so I chose to go with the plain graham cracker cake recipe.

This cake is awesome. It's the fluffiest cupcake I've ever had. These also have the perfect graham cracker flavor, because the recipe doesn't use much flour, but instead uses crushed graham crackers. Even though these do not rise very much, I would strongly suggest that you don't fill the cups more than half full. I've made these twice now, and both times I've tried filling the cups ¾ of the way. But, this just causes a hanging lip to form on the cupcakes.

Did I mention how heavenly these smell while baking?

I absolutely love these cupcakes plain, just the way they are. But if you really want a s'mores cupcake you can go ahead and top them with some yummy marshmallow frosting and chocolate. You could use a kitchen torch to toast the top of the marshmallow, but if you're a poor girl like me and you don't own a fancy torch, you can just stick them under your oven's broiler for a few seconds. These taste amazing! Definitely the best S'more I've ever had. :)

S'mores Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Cupcake-

(Adapted from Nabisco)

1½ cups graham crackers, finely crushed - This is about 20 crackers

½ cup flour

2½ tsp. baking powder

½ cup butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

¾ cup milk

In a small bowl combine the crumbs, flour and baking powder; set aside.

Beat the butter and the sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

Alternately add flour mixture with milk, beating well after each addition. Divide the batter into two muffin tins lined with 16 cupcake liners total.

Bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes or until done. Cool in pans for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. Top with marshmallow frosting. Garnish with chocolate shavings, or melted chocolate.

Marshmallow Frosting-

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

8 large egg whites

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof mixing bowl. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove bowl from saucepan, and beat using a whisk attachment, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.

Tips:

*Fill cupcake liners somewhere between ½ and ¾ of the way full.

*Make sure you beat the marshmallow frosting to STIFF PEAKS. Otherwise the frosting won't set, and you'll end up with a cupcake that looks like this...

Enjoy! :)

Lasagna Roll Ups

2010-08-24T13:02:00.001-06:00

Lasagna is probably my favorite dish of all. I love the pasta, the cheeses, the meaty sauce.. it's all so good. I cook for only two people which makes it difficult to make a whole lasagna because half of it ends up going to waste. Because of this we don't get to enjoy my favorite dish very often. That is until I came across this very simple version.

Lasagna roll ups are an excellent way to enjoy lasagna. I love how simple they were to make, I love that the individual portions make serving very easy, and most of all I love that they can be individually frozen and reheated.

To make this recipe healthier I would use whole wheat lasagna (too bad I didn't have any) and ground turkey (both of which I normally substitute in recipes that call for pasta/meat). If you can find italian style ground turkey use it, it tastes great in this dish. I also used store-bought spaghetti sauce (one of the very few things I don't make myself). We went with Newman's Own Sockarooni sauce. It's definitely our favorite sauce to use, it has a fantastic flavor and nice chunks of peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms...everything!

I really liked making lasagna this way, and I plan on sticking to it! :)

Lasagna Roll Ups-

(Adapted from Homemade By Holman)

8-10 lasagna noodles - Depends on how full you make them. I was able to fill 9.

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1-24 oz jar spaghetti sauce
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat. When it reaches a boil, salt liberally and drop in noodles. Stir occasionally and cook to just al dente; about 7 minutes. Drain noodles and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add turkey and cook til brown. When almost cooked through, add about ½ cup of spaghetti sauce and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon of each the basil and oregano, and ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes; stir to combine.

Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. Add ricotta, Parmesan, ½ cup mozzarella and remaining basil and oregano; stir together. Spray pan lightly with cooking spray. Add enough sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.

To assemble, on a drained noodle, evenly spread a spoonful of cheese mixture. Top with a spoonful of meat sauce and roll up tightly. Place seam side down in pan. Continue until you've used all of the fillings. Top each with a little more meat sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining crushed red pepper flakes. Bake 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Tips:
   * Be sure not to over cook the pasta. You want it to just be al dente, the pasta needs to be slightly firm to make up for baking time.
   * Lasagna is great because the recipe doesn't need to be exact. You can leave the meat out if you'd like, and you can change up the measurements of any of the cheeses to suit your taste. Don't be afraid to swap cottage cheese for ricotta. You can also use as little or as much sauce as you'd like
   * These roll ups can be made ahead of time. Just freeze cooled roll ups in a tightly sealed container, then blast in the microwave for a couple minutes for a quick meal!

Enjoy! :)

Blueberry Zucchini Banana Bread

2010-08-24T05:00:00.001-06:00

Zucchini bread is one of my favorites. I saw this very colorful Blueberry Zucchini Bread on Closet Cooking. I loved the idea of combining zucchini and blueberries. I decided to go with my favorite recipe for zucchini bread, I also had some very ripe bananas that I didn't want to just throw out, so I just tossed them into the mixture creating a blueberry zucchini banana bread.

If you like zucchini bread, you're sure to love this one. This bread has the same great moistness that you'd expect from both zucchini and banana bread. The zucchini flavor is awesome! And, the sweet blueberries really add something special. The only thing I didn't like was that the banana was non existent. It couldn't be tasted at all! Maybe next time I'll use a little more...? I'll definitely experiment with this bread until I can get the right amount of flavor from both the zucchini and banana. :)

Blueberry Zucchini Banana Bread-
(Adapted from All Recipes)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup very ripe banana, mashed
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups zucchini, grated
2 cups blueberries

Lightly grease the bottom of two 8 x 4-inch bread pans. Preheat oven to 325°F.

Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

In a large mixing bowl beat together eggs, vanilla, brown and white sugars, and banana. Add dry mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pans. Gently drop some extra blueberries on top of the batter, if desired.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and cool completely.

Tips:

   * Grease only the BOTTOM of your bread pan. This will keep the bread from forming a hard, dry edge (lip) during baking.
   * Toss the blueberries in flour before adding to the batter to keep them from sinking.
   * Do NOT squeeze or drain the water out of the zucchini. All that water is what gives zucchini bread its wonderful moistness.

Enjoy! :)

Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream

2010-08-19T07:49:00.001-06:00

Link to recipe at bottom of post.

I fell in love as soon as I saw this over on Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures.

Brown butter? Just plain awesome.

Candied bacon? Bacon cooked in brown sugar. Need I say more?

I love both of these ingredients. Brown butter is a simple way to add amazing flavor to pretty much anything, and candied bacon is something I use quite a bit in most recipes that call for plain bacon. It's sweet and salty goodness just can't be denied! I've never heard of using either of these to flavor ice cream, but I knew this one would be a sure winner.

Remember when I said my peach cobbler ice cream was my new favorite?

Well, I spoke way too soon!

I think this ice cream is so good that if I had to choose the proper word to describe how I feel about Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream, it would have to be.... Orgasmic.

Naughty, I know. But this ice cream really won me over!

First you're met with the nutty flavor of the creamy brown butter ice cream, which I LOVE. Nothing beats the flavor of brown butter! Then you find yourself stumbling upon crispy pieces of sweet and salty bacon, throwing your tastebuds through one hell of a ride.

This is absolutely a match made in heaven!

I'm going to send you all over to Susi's blog for the recipe.

Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures is one of my very favorite food blogs. I enjoy reading every post, getting the chance to learn more about her and her family bit by bit. Not to mention Susi cooks and bakes some wonderful food, posting delicious photos. Her husband and kids are very lucky. I wish I lived close enough to invite myself over for dinner, her food always makes me drool! My favorite part of her blog is a section she does every Friday called Ice Cream Fridays in which she shares really interesting and delicious ice cream recipes. Actually, she was the first to introduce me to David Lebovitz, which I'm really happy about :).

Susi,

I was very close to giving up on my blog because I thought no one was looking my way, or even cared what I had to say. You came along and left so many nice comments, more than I've ever gotten from one person. Your kindness gave me the drive to continue writing my blog. Thank you!
You've done a fantastic job with your own blog, and I look forward to watching it grow more and seeing what else you have in store! :)
-Jessica

Here's the recipe for Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream.

Here are some more of my favorite recipes from Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures:

Tequila Refried Beans - Oh.. My...
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes - Why haven't I made these yet? One of my favorite cookies turned into a cupcake, what could be better?
Bacon-Spinach Mashed Potatoes - Love this. Great way to enjoy my favorite food.
Gingered Carrot Cookies - I'm a big carrot cake lover. These are fantastic!

Enjoy! :)

To ALL of my readers-
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my blog. I love reading all the comments from you guys, every one I get makes me love doing this that much more. Thanks for being there to support me!

Blue Cheese and Garlic Hasselback Potatoes

2010-08-17T11:01:00.000-06:00

Hasselback. My new favorite way to enjoy a potato. These fancy looking potatoes seem like they'd be hard to make, but they are actually really easy and they taste fantastic! Once cooked, hasselback potatoes have some great textures. On the outside they are lightly crisp, while the inside is very soft and creamy. Definitely unlike any other potato!

While these potatoes can certainly be eaten plain, I wanted to add some flavor so I chose to put some garlic in. You want to be sure to slice the garlic as thin as you possibly can. This allows it to cook up nicely, giving the potato the right amount of flavor. I had sliced some too thick and we ended up having to pick out the garlic slices before eating because the flavor was just too strong. So slice it THIN!

It doesn't stop there!

I thought some blue cheese would be the perfect thing to top these off. Blue cheese is fantastic! It adds a wonderful tang to the potatoes that I just can't get enough of. :)

Blue Cheese and Garlic Hasselback Potatoes-

(Adapted from Seasaltwithfood)

9 small yukon gold, or new potatoes

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1-2 Tbsp. crumbled blue cheese*

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter, cut into 9 small cubes

sea salt & ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

To cut the potatoes you will need an old wooden spoon, one you're fine with cutting up. Place a potato in the spoon, and starting from one end of the potato, slice it in 3 to 4 mm intervals. The bowl of your spoon should be deep enough that it will keep the kife from slicing completely through the potato.

Slip several slices of garlic, and a some crumbles of blue cheese (*you can really use as much or as little as you'd like) into each potato and put the potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and top each potato with a cube of butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potato skin look crisp and the flesh feels soft. Enjoy hot!

Lucky Charms Treats

2010-08-16T16:26:00.000-06:00

I love Rice Krispie Treats, but I tend to get bored of the same old thing. Instead, I made marshmallow treats using one of my favorite cereals - Lucky Charms!!

I think this worked out really well. The marshmallow slightly softens the cereal, giving it a nice chewy texture. And, because the cereal is already sugary, these are sweeter than a traditional rice krispie treat.

I'd recommend rolling these into balls instead of cutting into squares, just because it would be easier. Enjoy! :)

Lucky Charms Treats-

5 cups Lucky Charms cereal
3 Tbsp. butter
4 cups marshmallows - That equals 38 big ones, just thought you should know!
1 tsp. milk

Slowly melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat. Do not allow it to brown. Stir in the marshmallows; allow them to melt slowly. Stir in milk. Immediately pour over cereal and stir until cereal is completely coated.

You can press the mixture into a square baking dish (lightly greased), allowing to sit for an hour or so before cutting. You can roll the mixture into balls... or just eat it as is!

[No Rise] Raspberry Lemon Cinnamon Rolls - Revisited

2010-08-11T15:03:00.001-06:00

I hadn't planned on trying these again so soon, but the Man's mama had heard about them and kindly asked that I make her some. The first batch had tasted so good that I was more than happy to give this idea another shot.

I liked the first dough recipe I used, however it was very sticky and a little difficult to work with. I also didn't want to deal with the rising time of yeast dough, so I chose a very simple no-rise recipe. This dough is very easy to work with and is perfect if you're in a hurry to make the rolls, or if you're just enemies with yeast, because it uses baking powder to rise. You'll have perfect cinnamon rolls that are big and soft in less than 30 minutes!

Rolling the dough was a breeze thanks to this awesome pastry mat I got from CSN, which I only possess because I won the giftcard that bought it (THANKS SUSI!!!). The mat doesn't need to be floured or have anything else to help it work. It's completely non-stick! Hopefully now I won't have anymore dough-rolling tragedies. Thank you all so much for your suggestions on rolling the dough, I greatly appreciate it!

These cinnamon rolls turned out fantastic! I think even better than before. The dough is very soft, and rises nicely during baking. It produces more of a biscuit style roll, than a chewy roll, which I love. Of course, the filling is delicious. Raspberries and lemons make a great couple, both adding a wonderful tartness to the sweet rolls. Like before, I used a lemon glaze. I think these rolls are great without the glaze, however, that extra kick of lemon really does push these over the edge.

This is a great treat that will disappear soon after being made. Just ask my sister... She had 4 as soon as they were done! :)

Raspberry Lemon Cinnamon Rolls - No Rise-

(Dough recipe adapted from Rara Bakes)

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. baking powder*

½ tsp. salt

¼ cup cold butter**

¾ cup milk

½ cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cups brown sugar

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. lemon zest

2 cups fresh raspberries, halved

Lemon Glaze-

2 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup milk

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

To make glaze- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; mix well.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.

Mix raspberries with 1 tsp. lemon juice. Strain extra juice; set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut cold butter into dry ingredients until crumbly. Add milk; stir well. Knead dough for 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

On a lightly floured surface, or on your nifty new pastry mat, roll dough out into a ½-inch thick rectangle. Spread softened (not melted) butter over dough. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar, cinnamon, raspberries and lemon zest.

Tightly roll up rectangle lengthwise, and cut into 1-inch slices using a sharp knife or dental floss. To cut using floss- wrap the floss around the dough roll, cross the ends of the floss over each other, and then pull the ends down and to the sides to cut through the dough. Place rolls on prepared baking sheet and cook in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Drizzle with lemon glaze.

Enjoy! :)

*Be sure to use good/fresh baking powder, or rolls will not rise properly during baking.
**I freeze my butter and then grate it using a cheese grater to make cutting it into the dry ingredients easier.

Tiramisu

2010-08-05T13:55:00.000-06:00

Tiramisu - I've never had it before. I actually never even heard of it until I got into food blogs! I've been captivated by this fancy dessert for a very long time, so it was the obvious choice of what to make with my homemade mascarpone.

Having never made, or eaten, Tiramisu before, I wanted my first one to come out as close to perfect as possible. I chose to go with a recipe from Pioneer Woman. Ree is awesome and posts the best step-by-step recipes. I knew I'd be able to pull this off with her help.

Of course, I pulled it off!

I thought this Tiramisu turned out great! I love the flavors of the coffee and liquor paired with the tanginess of the mascarpone. YUM!

I think I may have soaked a couple lady fingers just a bit too much, but it still turned out great, and I'm glad I no longer have to miss out on such a wonderful dessert! :)

PW's Tiramisu-

(Adapted from Pioneer Woman)

5 egg yolks

½ cup sugar, divided

¾ cup Marsala wine, divided
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pound(16 oz.) Mascarpone cheese, room temp. (recipe here)
1½ cups brewed espresso or very strong coffee
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 package (7 Oz.) savoiardi (lady fingers)
Cocoa powder, for dusting

In a double boiler with a non reactive bowl, whisk egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar until pale yellow and thick. Gradually add ½ cup Marsala, while whisking. Cook over medium heat, scraping the bowl occasionally, for 5 minutes. The mixture should be thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Stir mascarpone cheese until smooth. In a mixing bowl, combine whipping cream and remaining ¼ cup sugar, and whip to soft peaks. Add the softened mascarpone cheese and the chilled egg yolk mixture. Fold mixture gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Into the 1 ½ cups brewed espresso (or VERY strong coffee) add remaining ¼ cup Marsala and vanilla. Arrange the ladyfingers in a single layer in a 9 x 13 pan (you can also use single serving dishes). Spoon 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of the coffee mixture over each ladyfinger (keep it under 1 tablespoon per cookie). Plop 1/3 of the cold cream/mascarpone mixture on top and spread it into a layer. Sprinkle on a thin layer of cocoa powder. Repeat the process two more times.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours, before serving. This allows for the cookies to soften and all the flavors to come together. To serve, spoon out helpings onto individual plates.

Note: tiramisu does not last beyond 24 to 36 hours, as everything eventually starts to break down and become soupy, so enjoy it soon after refrigeration time.

Enjoy! :)

Just a Reminder!

Sugar High has a facebook page! If you like my pictures you can see a lot more there. I'm always adding new pictures, including pictures that are not on the blog.

ALSO, if you make anything from the recipes on Sugar High, I would love to see your pictures! You can upload them onto the facebook fanpage. :) :)

Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

2010-08-04T13:15:00.000-06:00

I think we can all agree that mascarpone cheese is hard to find and once you do find it it is ridiculously expensive.

But it's also ridiculously EASY to make! It is so easy (and cheap!) that you'll be slapping yourself silly wondering why the hell you've been spending a fortune on tiny tubs of the creamy cheese. This is even better for those of you who don't have access to mascarpone.

Now all you have to worry about is... what to make with it? :)

Mascarpone Cheese-

(Adapted from Baking Obsession, makes 8 oz.)

2 cups whipping cream

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

In a double boiler with a non reactive bowl, heat cream over low until it reaches 190°F, stirring frequently. This takes about 10-15 minutes. If you don't have a thermometer just wait until you see tiny bubbles surfacing. Stir in the lemon juice. Continue to cook, while stirring, until the mixture thickens. It will thickly coat a wooden spoon; you will also see clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove bowl from heat and let it cool 20 minutes.

Line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface, it will firm up after refrigeration time. Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

Keep refrigerated and consume within 3 days.

Fried Milk With Cream Cheese

2010-08-03T15:05:00.001-06:00

I saw this interesting recipe for deep fried milk and cream cheese over on Table for 2. Immediately I was intrigued by it and wanted to make some right away.

The recipe calls for cream cheese and milk to be cooked together until the mixture forms into a thick pudding, after being refrigerated it is then sliced and fried. My mixture became a thick pudding, but was definitely not firm enough to slice. I think this was because I didn't cook it long enough to thicken properly.

No worries!

I decided, instead of making sticks, I'd make balls. Doing this worked just as well, if not better, as the sticks.

I was a little suspicious of this recipe to begin with, but I have to say, I'm really happy I tried it. I think the fried milk turned out really good! The crust is sweet and crispy, reminds me of rosettes. And the inside is really soft, very creamy. It had a great flavor, although I do wish the cream cheese was more prominent. I did add a good splash of vanilla to the milk to enhance the flavor.

I think these fried milk balls would be great served as an appetizer or even a dessert. :)

Please, visit Wendy's blog Table for 2... Or More for the recipe. I absolutely love her blog, and I know you will too. It doesn't take long at all to find delicious, and interesting, new recipes to try!

Waffles & Frites, and a Guinness Float

2010-07-31T18:23:00.000-06:00

Bruges Waffles and Frites- a cute, tiny shop - barely big enough to fit the Man, the owner, an employee and myself inside- located in downtown Salt Lake across the street from Pioneer Park. This popular spot is run by Pierre Vandamme, a German native, specializing in Belgian waffles and frites (fries). They have a small fridge that contains mounds of yeast raised dough waiting for the waffle grill. What makes these waffles, called Liege Waffles, so unique is that the dough contains pieces of pearl sugar which melts into caramel when cooked. This makes for one deliciously sweet waffle. The outside is crisp with a dense, soft center that's bursting with caramel chunks. It's so good that you really don't need any toppings on it.

pearl sugar in the batter turns into caramel when cooked

Nonetheless, the Man and I did order two waffles with different toppings. The first was topped with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream and fresh raspberries. It was really good, I loved the combination of the ice cream and waffle. The second waffle was topped with strawberries and a delicious Crème fraiche. This waffle was to die for! The crème fraiche is amazing, and is absolute heavin in your mouth when combined with the strawberries and waffle.

Belgian waffle with strawberries and creme fraiche

Their frites are also delicious with a crispy crust, very soft inside. We enjoyed our frites on a huge sandwich known as The Machine Gun. The Machine Gun is a sausage sandwich topped with frites and a really tasty sauce (not sure what it was) served on a baguette roll. The Man wolfed this beast down in a matter of minutes! His only complaint was that the sausage was really tiny. Oh well, it was still really good.

Our expierence at Bruges was really good. The staff was super friendly, our cashier was very informative in telling us all there was to know about the food, and Pierre was really friendly coming out to us as we were finishing our meal to ask how it was. The waffles, and sandwich, were a little pricey but well worth it. We will definitely be visiting again and again :)

*****
Bruges Waffles and Frites
336 West Broadway
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

(801)363.4444
Hours: Mon-Thurs. 9-7 Fri-Sat 9-9 Closed Sunday
Price: $ entrees under $10 (keep in mind that the Machine Gun is almost $9, and the waffles run from $3 and up depending on what toppings you get, toppings are between $1 and $3 each)

Guinness Float - For Adults Only!

My last recipe for National Ice Cream Month. This is a great dessert for you beer lovers out there. It takes the classic Root Beer Float and replaces root beer with good old Guinness. This drink is really creamy, and the vanilla ice cream gives the dark beer a nice flavor that's actually pretty tasty.

Guinness Ice Cream Float-
(adapted from High/Low Food/Drink)

Bottle of Guinnes draught
French Vanilla Ice Cream

Pour ¾ of Guinness into a tall glass. Add a large scoop of ice cream, top with remaining beer. Garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Enjoy! :)

Raspberry Lemon Cinnamon Rolls - A Delicious Disaster

2010-07-28T09:08:00.001-06:00

What would a food blog be without a couple disasters?

S#!t happens, especially in the kitchen. Even more so when you're a self-taught homecook and almost everything you cook is a first time experience.

But, that's why I thought this recipe would go over smoothly. I've made cinnamon rolls before, only a couple times. The first was years ago, middle school, I had made cinnamon rolls from a recipe I got from school. Having never made them before, I was pretty nervous about the end result. They turned out beautifully. They were rolled perfectly, tasted great, and were very large with the perfect chewy texture.

I made this same recipe about 2 years ago. I was nervous again because it had been a while since I last made them. I had trouble rolling the dough, so I ~~forced~~ asked my mother nicely to help me. They turned out good, though not as great as the first time for some reason.

Now here I am again, craving a big chewy cinnamon roll.

However, this time, not so nervous. I have a little experience with them, and I have a recipe from a reliable source on hand. I figured everything would go smoothly.

It did. In the beginning....

It started out with a craving for the gooey spiraled treat. After not being able to find my old recipe, I searched the internet and my dozens of recipe books for that one recipe that stood out to me. After hours I finally settled on a recipe from the Lion House Bakery cookbook. I love Lion House (I've said it before). They have wonderful recipes that always turn out for me.

I wanted to add something extra to the cinnamon rolls. The first things that came to mind were raspberries and lemon. I don't usually second guess myself, plus it's not a very good idea to argue with a woman, so I just went along with that idea. :)

I made the dough by hand, and let it go through its first rising. Despite having to proof the yeast, the dough rose beautifully.

Now, on to rolling out the dough. This is the part that where I start to get intimidated because I've never had luck with rolling any kind of dough. It always sticks to the countertop no matter what I do. I heavily floured my work surface and began to roll. It seemed to be fine.

I topped it with butter, sugar and cinnamon, then topped it with raspberries and lemon zest. Lookin good so far!

That is.. until I started to roll up the dough. It turns out the dough did stick to the counter, making it very difficult to roll. I had to scrape it away from the counter while trying to roll it at the same time. This caused a few tears in the dough, and didn't allow me to roll it as tightly as I should have.

That's NO BUENO!

In order to have a perfectly shaped cinnamon roll, it has to be rolled tightly. Mine were very loose, and pretty messy thanks to the combination of sticky dough and excess moisture from using frozen raspberries (next time I'll stick with fresh raspberries). Nonetheless, I set them out onto baking sheets to finish their final rise. They rose great, and were really big (thank you, loose rolling).

During baking alot of the cinnamon sugar melted out (thanks, again, looseness), which made the rolls stick to the parchment paper. And, they were GIGANTIC! I was able to gently pry one of the beasts away from the sheet to see if it tasted better than it looked.

Trust me when I say that these raspberrry lemon rolls were really delicious! The dough was very light and fluffy. Almost a melt-in-your-mouth kind of softness. Like I said, there wasn't much cinnamon sugar left in them, but the raspberries and lemon made up for that. Raspberries add a great tartness; perfect when paired with lemons.

I made a lemon glaze to top. If you're one of those people who don't like icings on cinnamon rolls, please, DO NOT pass on this glaze. It really gives the rolls that final touch that just pushes them right over the edge!

These Raspberry Lemon Cinnamon Rolls were fantastic, despite nearly being a disaster. I will DEFINITELY be making these again very soon. Hopefully I'll have better luck handling the dough and rolling process.

I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions regarding what I could possibly do differently next time.

Raspberry Lemon Cinnamon Rolls-
(Cinnamon Rolls by Lion House Bakery)

2½ cups water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup nonfat dry milk
2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
7 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup butter, melted
1½ cups fresh raspberries
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. lemon zest

Place water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and dry milk powder in a large mixing bowl and stir vigorously until milk is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over liquid mixture, then add the 1 cup sugar, salt, and flour.

Knead dough in bowl for 10 to 15 minutes (this will be messy); OR if you have a stand mixer you can place the dough hook on it and mix at low speed for 10 to 15 minutes.
The dough will be very sticky. Lightly grease a second large bowl with oil, place dough in the bowl turning to completely cover with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.**

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and roll out into a rectangle, slightly less than ½-inch thick. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Combine raspberries with lemon juice; spread raspberries evenly over dough. Sprinkle with lemon zest. Roll up rectangle lengthwise and cut into 1-inch slices. Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. Place rolls on cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.

Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes. After baking, let rolls cool slightly before glazing.

Lemon Glaze-
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
¼ cup half and half or milk

Mix all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, beating until light and well mixed. Pour over warm cinnamon rolls.

** If you want to make the dough a day ahead, mix dough according to directions. Instead of allowing dough to rise, place it in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. When ready to use, remove dough from refrigerator and follow directions for rolling out, rising, and baking. Allow longer time for the shaped rolls to rise because dough will be cold.

Easy Haystack Dinner

2010-07-24T17:19:00.000-06:00

-This is by far my most popular recipe!

This little haystack doesn't look like much,

Don't be fooled. It is Delicious!-

This dinner is probably the one that my family ate the most when I was growing up. It's perfect for any family because it's quick, easy, filling, and affordable. And it tastes really good. These Haystacks are made by piling rice, meat, peas, and cheese on top of eachother forming a stack that resembles, well... a haystack!

This dinner is already fairly healthy, but to make it just a bit healthier I use ground turkey instead of beef. The meat is cooked and combined with cream of mushroom and cream of celery soup, which makes it super creamy and tastes fantastic. I also normally would have used whole wheat rice, but all I had was white.

Really, you could put any kind of topping you'd like on this dish. I'd love to make it again using chicken and maybe toss a couple extra veggies in.

Did I mention it tastes even better smothered in melted cheese? Oh Yeah! Peas + Cheese = One very tasty combination. :)

Easy Haystack Dinner-

Recipe from my mother, slightly adapted
Printable Recipe

4 cups water

2 cups rice

2 lbs. ground turkey, or beef

1 - 10¾ oz. can cream of mushroom soup - I used mushroom with roasted garlic soup

1 - 10¾ oz. can cream of celery soup

2 Tbsp. milk

2 cups (16 oz) cooked peas

Shredded cheese for topping

In a large pot combine water and rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender.

Meanwhile, cook turkey in a large saucepan until thoroughly browned. Add both cans of soup and milk; stir until well combined and creamy. Cook until warm.

To serve Haystacks put some rice on a serving dish, top with meat mixture, then top with peas and finally top with shredded cheese. If your peas are warmed the cheese should melt over them, if not you can stick the plate in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Enjoy! :)

-Jess

Raspberry Semifreddo

2010-07-22T13:00:00.000-06:00

Continuing my celebration of National Ice Cream Month with a frozen treat that does not require an ice cream maker!

Semifreddo, Italian for 'half cold', refers to any semi-frozen dessert. I've never tried a semifreddo... Okay, I've never even heard of it. That is until a very pretty Raspberry Semifreddo popped up over on Chocolate Shavings. The beautiful red swirls in this dessert are what first caught my eye, and when I found out it was actually an ice cream, Chocolate Shavings had my full attention!

Semifreddo is a great alternative to ice cream for those who don't own an ice cream maker; all you really need is a hand mixer (and a freezer, of course!). This yummy dessert involves folding whipped cream into a thick egg mixture, giving it a creamy mousse-like texture.

I'm guilty of licking the remains left in the bowl, and on my rubber spatula. What can I say? It's very good, and perfectly sweetened! This stuff would be great on its own, but the raspberries are a great addition. We don't have fresh raspberries around, so I used frozen which worked perfectly fine. If you don't like raspberries you could absolutely substitute them with blueberries, strawberries, blackberries... I think cherries would be awesome! :)

Raspberry Semifreddo-

(Adapted from Chocolate Shavings, originally from Donna Hay, serves 6-8)

3 eggs

2 egg yolks, extra

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup superfine (caster) sugar

2 cups whipping cream

Raspberry Puree:

1½ cups raspberries, or other fruit of your choice

0-2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

To make the raspberry puree, place the raspberries in a food processor, or blender, and process until smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness with icing sugar. Strain to remove raspberry seed. Discard seeds and set the puree aside.

Place the eggs, extra yolks, vanilla and sugar in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and, using a hand held mixer, beat for 6-8 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale.

Remove from the heat and beat for a further 6-8 minutes or until cool. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold cream through the egg mixture until well combined. Pour into a 2-litre container. Lick the remains of your bowl :). Drop spoonfuls of raspberry puree into cream mixture and, using a spatula, gently fold it through the cream mixture for a swirled effect. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Top with extra raspberries if desired.

Enjoy! :)

About Me & Sugar High

2010-07-21T15:34:00.001-06:00

So, I had originally planned to share a recipe today. But, the weather turned to doom, it is very cloudy, not very nice for taking photos. I decided to wait on it til tomorrow, hopefully I'll have good picture-taking weather.

Instead of looking at food, you can head on over to my About page. There you can read how I got my start on cooking, and why I started Sugar High. You can learn a little about me and the Man, including a link to watch a video of me getting a piercing!

Now you know who is behind Sugar High!

-Jess

Pistachio Bites

2010-07-20T19:43:00.000-06:00

Pistachios have a nice subtle flavor making them perfect for adding to baked goods. Seeing as how I've been munching on a lot of pistachios lately, I thought this was the perfect time to dig this recipe out of my to-cook pile. These two-bites-size cookies are made up of flour, butter, sugar, and pistachios - very, very easy to make. And, they taste great! These cookies have a buttery shortbread-like flavor made even better by the chunks of pistachios. A little extra sweetness is added by dipping them in white chocolate, which I think tastes great combined with the nuts. I never thought something so simple could taste so good! :)

Pistachio Bites-

(Adapted from Land O' Lakes, makes 5 dozen)

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar

2 cups flour

¼ tsp. almond extract

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup pistachios, shelled and coarsley chopped, and seperated

6 oz. white chocolate or vanilla candy coating

1 tsp. shortening

Combine butter and brown sugar in a large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, almond extract and vanilla. Beat well until dough comes together. Stir in ½ cup of pistachios until even distributed in dough.

Divide dough in half; shape each half into a 10-inch log. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm (at least 3 hours or overnight).

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut 1 log at a time, keeping remaining log refrigerated, into ¼-inch slices with sharp knife. Place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet - Do not allow to sit on cookie sheet longer than 1 minute! Doing so means the difference between a chewy cookie and a crunchy cookie. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Place white chocolate, or candy coating, in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute. Stir; continue microwaving, stirring every 15 seconds, until it is melted and smooth.

Place waxed paper onto flat surface. Dip each cookie halfway into warm chocolate; shake off excess. Place onto waxed paper and immediately decorate with remaining pistachios.

Enjoy! :)

Chocolate Ice Milk Sundae

2010-07-17T17:50:00.002-06:00

Ice milk is basically a frozen mixture of sugar and milk. It's a great alternative to ice cream because it uses less ingredients, no need to cook, and you don't need an ice cream maker.

This chocolate ice milk is delicious! I thought it was going to be full of ice chunks, and hard as a rock. It's actually really creamy! It almost has a 'soft' texture. I gave it some extra beatings with the mixer during freezing to break up the ice crystals so it would turn out smoother.

Using coffee in the chocolate sauce gave this otherwise-plain chocolate ice milk a fantastic flavor boost, turning it into a decadent chocolate sundae.

Ice milk is so yummy and simple to make that it will now be my go-to dessert on those hot and lazy summer days.. Plus, you could probably get the same result just using chocolate milk as you would using the recipe I've provided, which would make a one-ingredient dessert!:)

Chocolate Ice Milk Sundae-

(Adapted from Prevention, serves 6)

Ice Milk

¾ cup superfine sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder - I used Hershey's special dark

2 cups cold milk

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Sauce

2/3 cup superfine sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

¾ cup strong brewed coffee

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk sugar and cocoa in large bowl. Slowly whisk in milk and vanilla until dry ingredients are dissolved. Pour into 8x8" baking pan and cover. Chill in freezer 2 hours, or until nearly frozen.

Score surface with knife and cut into chunks. Transfer to food processor or blender and process until smooth and creamy. Pour into resealable freezer container. Freeze 2 to 3 hours, or until solid, pulling out once or twice to blend. Doing this will break up big ice crystals, making your ice milk smoother.

Combine sugar and cocoa in small saucepan, stir in coffee. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring. Reduce heat to low and cook 8 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Let cool slightly and stir in vanilla extract. Serve over scoops of ice milk.

Enjoy!

A Sweet Bastille Day Celebration: Cherry Clafoutis, Snow Eggs, Pots De Creme

2010-07-14T14:43:00.002-06:00

The French really know how to make fantastic desserts.

In honor of Bastille Day, I'm going to share a few classic, and delicious French desserts.

Cherry Clafoutis

Cherry Clafoutis (kla-FOO-tee) is a dessert that consists of cherries covered with a thick batter that is described as being somewhere between flan and crepe batter.

Traditionally, cherry clafoutis is made with cherries that still contain a pit. The pits are said to release a lovely almond-like flavor when baked. However, some people choose to remove the pits for easier eating. Some recipes include almonds, or almond extract to make up for the flavor of the removed pits.

I chose to leave the pits in so that I could experience a TRUE cherry clafoutis, the way it was meant to be experienced. I also made a second clafoutis with pitted cherries just so I could compare the two, and see for myself if I could truly taste a difference.

Cherry Clafoutis is a very simple dessert. Just blend a few basic ingredients together, pour over cherries, and bake. It took only 5 minutes, if that, to put together.

My entire house smelled absolutely wonderful as the scent of the batter started drifting out of the oven. While baking, the batter puffs up beautifully, and naturally sinks back down when taken out of the oven. Unfortunately, it fell flat long before I was able to get a shot of it, but it did look gorgeous!

The texture of the clafoutis is very much like a crepe. It's very soft, light, and fluffy.

The taste is wonderful! The slightly sour cherries were a great contrast to the sweet vanilla flavor of the batter. I did notice a slight difference between the two clafoutis I made, and if I had to blindly pick one over the other based off of taste I would pick the one with the cherry pits. However, it would be a lot easier to enjoy it without having to stop to spit pits out of every bite.

This dessert was delicious, and I'd love to try it with other fruits. Perhaps raspberries or peaches. :)

Recipe for Cherry Clafoutis

Oeufs à La Neige

Oeufs a la neige (OUFS ah lah nehzh) - meaning 'eggs in snow' - sometimes referred to as 'Snow Eggs'. This unusual dessert consists of meringue floating on top of a vanilla custard, called crème anglaise. I've never seen anything quite like this before, so you can bet I was intrigued by it.
This dessert was a little more hands on than the others featured in this post, for the fact that it deals with poaching balls of meringue. It was still very easy, using a few very basic ingredients.

The crème anglaise is very good. It has a lovely vanilla flavor, and smooth texture. I absolutely loved what the poached meringue did to this dish. The flavor combination is fantastic! I especially love the texture of the meringue. Delicious! :)

Recipe for Oeufs A La Neige

Chocolate Pots De Creme

Pots De Creme (poh-duh-KREHM) is a very rich custard dessert, typically served in tiny cups. Some pots de creme recipes call for the custard to be baked in a water bath, then chilled before eaten. The recipe I have chosen does not require any baking, just a few hours of chilling. I'm not sure if there is a difference between baked and unbaked pots de creme...?

This Pots De Creme is super easy to make, just cook a few ingredients together for about 4 minutes and stick in the fridge until thick. Once cooked, this stuff is pretty much like a thin pudding. I definitely could have eaten it just like that.

And, after being chilled for a few hours, it just gets even better.

Pots De Creme is very, very creamy. And decadently RICH. It's a good thing it is served in tiny portions, because it is super thick. I couldn't even finish one! Talk about satisfying! :)

Recipe for Chocolate Pots De Creme

Of all three of these recipes, I have never before made any or even tasted any before now. This was truly a new experience for me. It is my experiences such as this one that led me to begin a blog in the first place. I love having the opportunity to teach myself new things in the kitchen, and sharing what I learned with you. I really enjoyed all these new foods, and putting this post together. I hope you enjoy it too!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-07-13T17:13:00.001-06:00

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Delicious!
Scrumptious!!
To DIE for!!!
My ALL-TIME FAVORITE cookie. EVER.

These cookies are bursting with pumpkin flavor, along with some spices commonly found in pumpkin pie. I guess you could say they almost taste like pumpkin pie, but SO much better!

I love that these cookies are not overly sweet, or spicy. The pumpkin is really allowed to shine through.

The best thing about Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies is how moist, and soft they are. So soft that I'm not entirely sure they should be classified as cookies.

More like... Muffins.

Muffin cookies.

A lot of people, including the Man, like to eat these cookies once they have been refrigerated. Pumpkin cookies...COLD?

Absurd!!
In my opinion, the best and only way to enjoy these cookies is when they are warm. Especially straight out of the oven.
I think I'm in heaven! :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies-
(Adapted from AllRecipes, made me 12 BIG cookies)

1 C. pumpkin puree

½ C. white sugar
½ C. brown sugar
½ C. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 T. vanilla
1 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F; lightly grease cookie sheets.

In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by spoonfuls* on greased cookie sheet (don't worry about making them look pretty. The bumpy, uneven look of these cookies is a trademark!) and bake in preheated oven for approximately 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

* A wonderful thing about these cookies is that you can make them as small or as big as you want. I used BIG, rounded spoonfuls of dough for each cookie. These cookies puff up, and mine came out big and PERFECT!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream---Without An Ice Cream Machine

2010-07-12T20:55:00.001-06:00

Okay, making ice cream without a machine was not part of the plan.
But, for some reason, my ice cream maker just wasn't freezing the mixture. I'm not sure what the problem was, I think my freezer is too warm therefore the ice cream bowl was too warm.
Anyhow, after tasting the pumpkin pie flavored cream I had just cooked up, there was no way I was just going to give up on turning it into ice cream. It tasted way too good to go to waste!
This created the perfect opportunity to learn a new ice cream making technique.

To make my ice cream I just poured my cream mixture into a metal mixing bowl and stuck it in the freezer. Every 30-40 minutes I gave it a good mixing with my electric mixer, and stuck it back in the freezer. This process lasted a few hours, but it was well worth the wait.

The ice cream ended up very creamy and rich. And the flavor is fantastic! It has a strong pumpkin flavor that is sweetened up perfectly with brown sugar. I used typical pumpkin pie spices to top it all off.
This Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream was delicious served on top of a warm pumpkin cookie. :)

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream-
(Recipe by Me)

1½ C. whole milk
1½ C. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¾ C. brown sugar
6 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 C. pumpkin puree

In a large saucepan over medium heat combine milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and brown sugar. Heat until scalded, but not boiling.

Add a small amount of cream mixture to eggs while whisking. Return egg mixture to saucepan; mix well. Cook, while stirring, until mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in pumpkin puree. Refrigerate until cool.

At this point you may pour mixture into ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacterer's directions
OR
You can click here to learn how to make ice cream without a machine.

Peppermint Ice Cream

2010-07-11T13:59:00.001-06:00

Continuing my celebration of National Ice Cream Month!

Every year, around Christmas, I beg the Man to allow me to buy some Peppermint Ice Cream. I'm always so eager to get some because it only comes around once a year.

But, who says I have to wait for winter to enjoy peppermint-anything? Thanks to my handy-dandy ice cream maker, I don't have to wait for snow to fall to scoop up a bowl of one of my favorite ice cream flavors.

Peppermint Ice Cream-

(Recipe by Me)

2 C. whole milk

1 C. heavy whipping cream

½ C. sugar

4 egg yolks

½ tsp. vanilla

1½ tsp. peppermint extract

Red food coloring

Heat milk, cream, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until warm, do not allow to boil. Add a small amount of milk mixture to egg yolks while beating. Return egg mixture to pan, mix well.

Reduce heat. Cook while stirring until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in extracts, and red food color until you get desired shade. Cover and refrigerate until cool. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

Dive of the Month: Rich's

2010-07-08T09:27:00.006-06:00

DISCLAIMER:
I AM NOT, nor do I claim to be, a food critic. Everything written in this review is purely based on my own non-professional OPINIONS. I write reviews only to give others my opinion about certain restaurants/products, so that they can better decide for themselves if they would or wouldn't want to try out what I'm reviewing. I give good reviews to those who have satisfied me, not because I've been given or want something. Likewise, I give bad reviews to those who have dissatisfied me, and in no way am I intentionally trying to harm them.

Instead of going out to eat a few times a month, the Man and I decided to save our money and pick one restaurant each month to review. This is June's pick.

Okay, okay. I know I'm a bit late, but I just couldn't find the motivation to write about this one. It's not that this place was bad, I just have more fun writing about my own recipes.

This time we picked Rich's Mighty Fine Burgers & Grub. Their specialty? Burgers, of course! Rich's has one of the best selections of burgers I've seen, including the Blue Wing Burger, which is supposed to be the spiciest.

They also have a good selection of sandwiches ranging from philly cheesesteaks, to tilapia, and even veggie. And, you can't have sandwiches and burgers without a side of fries! Or, if you don't like fries, you can go with sauteed zucchini or fried green beans.

The Man ordered the Blue Cheese Crumble Bacon Burger- Premium blue cheese crumbles, bacon strips and blue cheese dressing. We both felt it could use a lot more flavor. Plus the burger was obviously burned to a crisp, as well as the bacon. He chose a side of regular fries with queso dip. I liked the fries, and I thought the queso dip was really yummy, although it had burnt pieces in it.

I ordered the Mushroom Provolone Burger- Seasoned and sauteed mushrooms with provolone cheese and garlic pepper ranch. This one was really good, much better than the Man's burger, however the patty itself was also overcooked, dry and bland. I enjoyed it with a side of Blue Cheese Crumble Fries, which were delicious!

What I really liked about Rich's was that you can watch your food be prepared in a clean and friendly environment.

What I didn't like??

The hamburger. It appeared that they use frozen patties. Frozen patties are not very flavorful at all. They have a sign next to the register to warn you that they DO NOT fully cook the burgers to ensure the best flavor possible. Best flavor possible.... in a frozen patty. If you're uncomfortable with eating meat that has any pink in it at all, you should ask that it be fully cooked, or just skip the burgers all together.

***

Rich's Mighty Fine Burgers & Grub

30 E Broadway

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

(801)355-0667

Hours: Mon-Sat 11-8 Closed Sunday

Price:$ (entrees under $10)

[8/2/10] UPDATE:
I need to apologize for a mistake I have made. Apparently Rich's does not freeze their meat. They get fresh meat delivered daily from local businesses. Sorry about that Rich, no harm meant. I thought I saw what I did, and my boyfriend had thought the same.
This DOES NOT change my opinion on the burgers. My boyfriend and I both found them to be flavorless, bland. If we had these burgers without the toppings we had chosen, they would not have gotten as good a review (which is why I gave it 3 out of 5 stars). Even so, they still weren't completely satisfying. My boyfriend actually ended up slathering his burger with fry sauce because it just wasn't that great. Everyone has their own opinion, this was ours.

However, we may still visit Rich's again for the fact that they have burger toppings that you can't really get anywhere else. Plus, those blue cheese fries were fantastic.

Sorry again, Rich. I will definitely be sure to get the facts straight next time.

p.s. I was not implying that you are a liar with my wendy's comment. I was trying to make a point that although a company says they do something one way does not always mean it's the truth. I appreciate your offer to let me come back to check out your meat fridge. I do believe that your food is fresh, and I am sincerely sorry for the mistake.

Yummy Peach Cobbler Ice Cream

2010-07-07T21:15:00.002-06:00

First things first.
You can now Like Sugar High on Facebook! Just look to my sidebar for the Facebook widget, or click!, to Like Sugar High. Lots of updates, and TONS of delicious pictures!

Now, lets get back to celebrating National Ice Cream Month!!

Peach Cobbler... ICE CREAM

This just may be my new favorite ice cream flavor.

It doesn't just taste like peaches... It really tastes like Peach Cobbler! You can taste the peaches, the cobbler syrup, the crust... everything!

It starts out with a great, super easy, no-cook peach ice cream recipe from Lion House (those folks really know what they're doin'!). I made this already great recipe even better by using the peaches straight out of my Rum Spiked Peach Cobbler. Using the cobbler peaches instead of plain peaches really gave the ice cream a fantastic flavor. I also added about 6 pureed peach skins (saved from the peaches in the cobbler) to give it an extra boost of peachy-ness. I loved the orange and red speckles that this gave the ice cream.

It doesn't stop there!!

To top off the cobbler part of this ice cream I added big chunks of cobbler crust, also taken straight from my cobbler recipe. The chunks are my favorite part of this ice cream. And, the great part is, they don't freeze! Adding baked goods to ice cream does not alter the texture very much at all. You're biting into delightfully soft pieces of crust! DELICIOUS!! :)

Yummy Peach Cobbler Ice Cream-

(Adapted from Lion House Christmas, makes 2 quarts)

5 large ripe peaches*

Juice of 1 lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp.

1½ C. sugar

1 C. heavy whipping cream

7 oz. sweetened condensed milk

2 C. whole milk

Cobbler crust**, frozen for 1 hour and broken into pieces

Puree peaches in a blender, or food processor, until smooth. Combine peaches, lemon juice, and sugar in a large bowl and refrigerate 2 hours.

Whip cream; fold into peach mixture along with sweetened condensed milk and whole milk. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Gently fold in crust pieces. Store in the freezer in an airtight container.

See? Easy Peasy!

* Any peaches will do, you may peel them if you like or keep the peel to add extra peach flavor. Just puree the skins along with the peaches.

To make sure that your ice cream actually tastes like peach cobbler I would suggest using peaches out of a cobbler like I did! Not every one has a peach cobbler on hand, so you can go to my cobbler recipe, follow the directions for cooking peaches in rum-butter adding a little cinnamon. Puree the peaches along with the sauce from the pan.

** To make the crust chunks, follow the directions for the crust, and bake in a small baking dish for about 30 minutes.

Rum Spiked Peach Cobbler

2010-07-06T10:07:00.001-06:00

No dessert screams Summer! to me as much as peach cobbler.

I made this classic dessert one step better by slightly cooking the peaches in a butter-rum sauce before tossing with the other ingredients. The rum I use is Tattoo, which adds a very nice, sweet flavor to the peaches. (I believe I've raved about Tattoo before..)

The filling tasted great, not too sweet, it was perfect! The juices set up very nicely. This cobbler was not runny at all, unlike some others I've tried before.

Oh, and the crust...

SO so so so so good!! It has a wonderful flavor, and an even better texture. It cooks up nice and golden with a slight crunch on the outside, and light, fluffy and very moist on the inside.

YUMM!! :)

Rum Spiked Peach Cobbler-

(Adapted from Tyler Florence)

Filling-

12 peaches,about 10 cups, peeled and sliced*

½ C. butter

5 Tbsp. brown sugar
2-3 Tbsp. dark rum**

¼ C. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Crust-

1 ½ C. all-purpose flour

¼ C. white sugar

¼ C. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2/3 C. Heavy cream, plus more for brushing

Preheat the oven to 375°F, lightly coat a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in 5 Tbsp. brown sugar. Add sliced peaches and rum; cook stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Drain.***

In a large bowl add the peaches, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon and mix well to coat the peaches evenly; set aside.

In a medium bowl, or food processor, add the flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles course meal. Add cream and mix just until the dough comes together. Don't overwork; the dough should be slightly sticky but manageable.

Dump the peaches into a 13x9-inch baking pan, place in oven until heated through, about 5 minutes. Drop pieces of dough over the warm peaches. There can be gaps, the dough will puff up and spread out as it bakes. Brush the top with some heavy cream and sprinkle with some sugar; put it into the oven on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is browned and the fruit is bubbling. Enjoy warm.

* I used half yellow peaches, and half white. The yellow peaches have a much sweeter, peachier flavor. The white seem to be less mushy than the yellow. You may use whichever you prefer. I also left the peel on my peaches just because the peel holds a lot of flavor, plus I just like the added texture.

** Like I said, I used Captain Morgan Tattoo which a delicious dark rum. You may use any rum you'd like, light or dark, just keep in mind that light rum will not have as deep of a flavor as dark rum. If you don't consume alcohol at all, completely skip the first step and just combine your peaches with the other filling ingredients.

*** If you'd like an extra boost of flavor in the filling, you may reserve ½ C. of the liquid and add it to the peaches along with the other filling ingredients.

I Scream, You Scream...

2010-07-03T11:43:00.001-06:00

We all scream for Ice Cream!!

Yay!

It's [finally!] that time of year.

July.

National Ice Cream Month!!

And I'm celebrating! Through the whole month of July I'll be posting a lot of ice cream recipes. Some I've created myself, and others are from books or blogs that I've been dying to try.

I'm very excited about this because I love ice cream! I eat a lot of ice cream, much, much more than I should. Hey, I can't help it, that stuff is good!

I think ice cream is one of the funnest things to make because the flavor possibilites are endless. I love cooking something that allows my creativity to flow.

Today, I just wanted a basic vanilla ice cream with my favorite mix ins- brownies, caramel, and hot fudge. I used the dark chocolate brownies and caramel that I made. Sadly, I was out of fudge topping, but those brownies and caramel are good enough that I can do without the fudge. The ice cream was yummy, I love the texture of the chewy brownies, and the caramel gives a great contrast.

Most ice creams I make are custard-based. This takes a little longer to do than cream-based as you have to cook it for some time. I don't mind, though. Custard ice cream is so rich and creamy. I especially like to eat it soft serve. I will be sharing cream-based recipes also, for those of you who prefer eggless ice cream.

Basic Custard Vanilla Ice Cream-

1 C. whole milk
1 C. heavy cream

½ C. sugar

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 T. vanilla

In a medium saucepan over medium heat stir together milk, cream and sugar; heat until it just barely starts to boil (about 5 minutes). Pour a small amount into egg yolks while whisking. Pour warmed eggs into cream and stir. Cook until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Pour through a mesh strainer to remove any lumps that may have formed during cooking. Stir in vanilla. Refrigerate until cool. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Store in airtight container in freezer.

I added pieces of chopped brownie, and swirls of caramel to this ice cream
Check out this website for awesome tips on adding baked goods to ice cream!

If you know of a really good or interesting ice cream flavor, I'd love to hear about it, and possibly post it on this blog!