Did You Know? Fun and Free.

So several weeks ago, I got an okay from Williams Sonoma to take photographs during one of their technique classes that they do on the weekends. I wanted to share this with you because it's fun and free, with a dash of product information, of course.

The Williams Sonoma store here in Sugar Land, Texas, is such a friendly place. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and super helpful. I want to give a special "shout-out" to Maria, who did the actual demonstration- Thank you, Maria!

I tend to get hung up either in the gadget section (either wondering who really needs a strawberry slicer or greatly coveting an expensive, hand-carved wooden spoon to stir my marinara sauce) or at the knife wall. I love knives.

So back to the classes, did you know they had these? I've been on their mailing list for some time now and recently realized that these were free and involved getting to taste food too. Not too bad. Many of you may be saying, "Where's she been? I've know about this for years." If that's the case, please remember, mommies sometimes get very out of the loop, regardless of their foodieness.

I had such a blast taking photos. I felt like a pro...or something.

We all drooled as Maria, the most passionate baker I have ever met, talked to us about apple varieties, showed us different techniques for slicing and chopping. She showcased gadgets and got us all "oohing" and "ahhing".  

I believe the class is to be approximately an hour long. This class went on to be and hour and half. Normally, I would not mind, but the Hubs was trying to keep the 3 tots happy with a bag of graham crackers that just ran out. Needless to say, they were getting antsy. He had already walked them all over the outdoor mall twice, but I wanted to stay long enough to thank Maria, so we waited. The kids kept running up to me and yanking on my leg. I promised them treats that she was making if they were quiet. They did really well. 

The peeps snacking on the goods...see the Hubs in the background (far background) trying to look interested in something? Such a good guy.

Maria made fabulous cakes and a beautiful pie: an apple coffee cake with glaze, pecan muffins, pumpkin pie and that gorgeous molded cake...so pretty.

That was the cake mix she used for the coffee cake...delish.

Isn't this mixer gorgeous? It's a Breville. I didn't bother to look at the price tag, but it did have a timer and a paddle attachment that had mini rubber spatula type thingys on the side to scrape the bowl down as it works. Love that.

This is the apple coffee cake in their "gold" pans. I would love to have a set of those.

Delightful little pecan muffins.

This was the coffee cake made in the speciality pan.

Glaze for the coffee cake, but let's be honest, I was really focusing on that copper pot.

She did not make the pumpkin pie in front of us...

but she did show us how to use those adorable leaf-shaped cutters for the crust. Another favorite thing...

Tasty trio.

I simply wanted to share this because it is a lot of fun, you get to sample the treats, and they have classes on all sorts of things...not just baking. Here's the LINK to check out the schedule. They ask that you call to get your name on the list so they know how many to expect, but other than that, just show up!

So if you spend all your Christmas money at Williams Sonoma like I do, they you may want to check this out and get your foodie on.

P.S. There has been a lot of interest in when the videos will be up for the next challenge of Project Food Blog. I got an email last night saying they are extending it another week, something about issues with copyrighted music. Anyways, you'll have to wait one more week...wish it weren't so. I'm ready to get on with this! But until then I will try to keep you happy with other tidbits.

Love Ya, Foodies!

Mama Needs Some Comfort

Challenges tend to be challenging...right? This last week's preparations for Challenge #7 for Project Food Blog have left me a bit frustrated. I completed one video last week, then found out we had an extra week to prepare, so I decided to do something different...which lead to more time to think, which in turn, led to more ideas and another video. In that time, I lost two days of filming (well, two naptimes worth) to a "corrupt" disc. I don't know how that happened. I had my 15 minutes of pouting and got back to work. I'm really hoping you like what I've done. It's one part campy ridiculousness and one part informative recipe demonstration (kinda like the blog), which hopefully will equal your enjoyment.

I found myself furiously chopping zucchini innards, for the recipe I'm about to share with you, and realized how stressed I was. What I needed was a really comforting, cozy meal to get me back on track. So I give you these adorable stuffed zucchinis, which are a marriage of Italian and Lebanese flavors, baked to tender perfection and served piping hot. Oh! Did I mention that we actually had some cool weather to serve these with? Yes, a chilly 55 degrees outside. Finally! Some appropriate seasonal weather- cannot stress to you how happy it makes me.

Stuffed Zucchinis

6 servings

Oven 400 degrees

1 lb. ground beef

1 tsp. allspice

pinch ground clove

salt and pepper

2/3 cup favorite marinara sauce

2-3 slices provolone cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 small round zucchinis

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degree. Brown the meat with the spices, salt and pepper. Add the marinara sauce and let simmer. Meanwhile, cut the tops off of your adorable zucchinis. Scoop out the insides and chop up approx. half of them and add it to the meat mixture. Let this simmer for another 5 minutes.

Inside of the hollowed out zucchinis, place a good amount of provolone cheese (as much as you like) and then fill to the brim with the meat mixture. Top each one with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese. Place in a deep baking dish with an inch of water. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until zucchinis are tender but not mushy. Serve with a salad and crusty bread.

Love Ya, Foodies!

P.S. I should be posting my video on Saturday. I'm excited to share it with you!

Pirate Booty

Ahoy me hearties! These here pirate booties are the cutest around!

We didn't do much for Halloween this year. I threw some costumes together at the last minute. Being a pirate is cheap, easy and adorable. Put a wife-beater shirt with some old jeans that you have shredded around the bottom, slap on a bandana and a kohl-liner moustache...TAH-DAH!

Isn't she lovely? I think she may need a smidge more ribbon.

Being a Princess/Ballerina is easy too. Tu-tu with some make-up and a bow. Word to the wise: Avoid applying make-up (especially eyeshadow of the purpley-black persuasion) while holding a squirming, screaming, irritated 15 month old. It makes for uneven application and a subsequent black-eye look on your princess. Ugh. Sorry, Boo.

Always look tough when you are pirate, even if your a big softie. (He's my little marshmallow)

Can you guess how many takes it took to get this okay photo? Try fifteen. Tiny was determined to scream the whole time. I don't know what was going on with him, but he was a pirate mess. I was directing Bubba and Boo to run and stand next to Tiny wherever he stopped in the yard. So when he actually stopped moving, I would start yelling, "Go! Go! Go! Stand next to him! Hurry!" And then I would furiously snap away. This was the only pic that had all three looking at the camera. It was pretty hysterical.

Pirates don't steal lawnmowers! (He does look a little confused.)

I hope you all had a great weekend. I am working on my video for Challenge #7. (that's why there is no recipe in this post, just shameless plugging of my overly-cute kids.) Think theatrical and indulgent. It will be up this weekend. They gave us an extra week to make our videos! 

Hopefully I get another post in before that...

Love ya, Foodies!

A Spicy Little Number

The Hubs LOVES hot peppers. He puts them on everything. When his last jar of hot peppers ran out, he quickly started gathering more peppers from the garden and dropping hints about how much his pizza, meatballs or bowl of cheerios (kidding) needed some spice.

I donned the latex gloves and started chopping and chopping and chopping. Oh, my god! Could he have picked more peppers? Is there nothing left but stems out in the garden now? Will my eyeballs still be in my head after I finish this pot of peppers? Or will they be dissolved by the fumes?

I survived. But I will say, this was the hottest, frickin' batch of peppers I have ever made! What kind of peppers did she use, you say? Well, jalapeno, Anaheim, Hungarian Wax and some mini hell-peppers (yes, long lost cousins of the tiny hell-cakes.) I don't know what the red ones are called, but they grow in my garden and are unbelievably hot.

Use whatever peppers you like:

Pickled Hot Peppers

Keeps for weeks in the fridge. Will keep spice-hungry husbands happy for the same amount of time.

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp. salt

1 tsp. cracked pepper

1 cup cool water

2 cloves garlic, smashed but whole

2-3 cups sliced peppers

In microwave, cook vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in glass bowl for 2 minutes. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Pour over garlic and peppers. Add water and stir.  Pour into glass jar (I used a washed applesauce jar) and store in fridge.

Have fun burning your face off. If you don't do that, you can always do some voting for Work It, Girl!...HERE.

Love ya, Foodies!

P.s. Can I tell you, once again, how much I love each and everyone of you? Can I tell you how much your support and votes mean? Your comments have been a joy to read and have touched my heart. Thank you, again and again and again!

Totally Rad Voting

After the whirlwind of blog post construction, I sat down with my kids and we did some pumpkin painting. I figure this form of pumpkin decoration is safer for the tiny tots and possibly mommy too. (I'm notorious for cutting and burning myself in the kitchen) So we broke out the washable paints, that smell really weird. It's like rose-scented bathroom spray. So gross.

Initially I had just the two older kids do the painting, fearing Tiny would indulge in some paint-inspired amuse bouche before dinner, but it was killing me that he was not included in the festivities. So I armed him with two Q-tips dipped in a tiny dose of paint. He did great!- no snacking.

Bubba and Boo, dressed in their over-sized t-shirts, got to work choosing colors and creating pumpkin works of art. Boo was more interested in feeling the "squishy-squishy" paint and Bubba was focused on his craft...or "craps". Even mommy got into the painting and did a strange tribal-esque pumpkin.

I hope you all are enjoying the 80's inspired Road Trip entry for PFB Challenge #6, Work It, Girl!. If you thought it was totally rad, then you can click the link below to vote!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has voted! Your kind words and encouraging comments have meant so much to me!

Love Ya, Foodies!

PFB Challenge #6: Work It, Girl!

From stay-at-home mommy to...*poof!* overly-excited-80's-styled-PFB-cooler-carrying-career-woman!

First question, where did my eyebrows go in that "mommy" picture? Dumb questions aside, are you ready to go back in time with me? How about the 1980’s? Ready to ride the wild culinary ride of a Foodie House reinvention? Think above and beyond a chef salad with French dressing served alongside a Tab with a straw. Think era appropriate fine dining, shook up, re-configured and formulated into a fabulous (and possibly “rad”) lunch, fit for any corner office with a view. Think Beef Wellington, raspberry vinaigrette, white chocolate and a fruity spritzer. Make you cringe? It should. But I’m going to change your mind with this menu fit for any lunch, 1980’s or not.

The lunch...

...in the bag.

Challenge #6 for Project Food Blog is entitled Road Trip. The guidelines were to create a meal consisting of an entrée, side, dessert and drink that all has to fit into the cooler that they provided. Things like plates and cups did not have to fit- phew.

(Shhh. I found the plates and cool drink bottle for 98 cents each at Target and the napkin is a bandana I got at the craft store for $1.98. The piece of hot pink ribbon was free- just found it laying around the house.)

I’ve been wanting to do a throw-back type post for a while, but nothing seemed to fit the bill until now. What could be more fun than reinventing some classic dishes and flavors, transforming myself into a stylish career woman and making it all (well, the food anyway) portable? It wasn’t until I got knee-deep in preparation for this post that I realized how much work this was going to be. I was in desperate need of a pep talk. So I popped in Working Girl and got myself re-focused. (Que Carly Simon's Let The River Run and goosebumps)

One of my Top Five Fav 80's movies!

Menu

Beef Wellington Sandwich - Seared Filet of Beef, Duxelles Mayonnaise, Roasted Sweet Pepper and Alfalfa Sprouts on a Croissant

Asparagus Salad with Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette Topped with Feta Cheese and Crumbled Bacon

Day Glo Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Cream and Neon Buttercream Frosting

Pom Spritzer with Fresh Mint

Delicate.

I’ve always been intrigued by Beef Wellington. I mean, it’s mysterious. Beef wrapped up in flaky pastry? No wonder it was so popular. Translating the flavors of a traditional Beef Wellington into a sandwich, had to have three main factors: the beef, which is the tender, low-in-fat filet, a flavorful paste that goes on the outside of the beef (some made with liver and others with mushrooms- I prefer the mushroom version) and the flaky pastry. So I used the same cut of beef, seared it to a medium-rare temperature, made a duxelles (mushroom paste) and mixed it with mayonnaise for a flavorful spread on the sandwich and a croissant to play the roll of flaky pastry. From there, I added a couple of my personal favorite sandwich toppings: roasted sweet pepper and alfalfa sprouts.

Beef Wellington Sandwich

3-4 oz. seared filet of beef, thinly sliced

2-3 pieces of roasted red, yellow or orange sweet bell pepper

2 tbsp. duxelles mayo (recipe below)

1 handful of alfalfa sprouts

1 croissant

Assemble sandwich to your liking, but I put mayo on both sides of the croissant, meat, pepper then alfalfa sprouts. Wrap in parchment to keep the sandwich from falling apart. Fit into a small cake box.

Duxelles Mayo

Duxelles is loosely adapted from Tyler Florence's Ultimate Beef Wellington Recipe

8 oz. cremini mushrooms (or whatever you like)

1 shallot

1 clove garlic

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, using leaves only

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 c. mayo

salt and pepper

In a food processor, place all ingredients, except for butter, mayo and olive oil. Blend until the ingredients are almost to a paste consistency. In a pan over med-low heat, add butter and olive oil. Add mushroom mixture. Cook until all the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are brown and fragrant, about 10-15 min. Cool and then mix with mayo. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill.

Salad consumption is a blast!

Okay, we have to have a salad to go with this sandwich. Giant salads, as well as their partner in crime- raspberry vinaigrette, were plastered on every good restaurant's menu across America in the Eighties. For the Asparagus Salad, I wanted to do a couple of things: make a fresher version of raspberry vinaigrette, not use iceberg lettuce and switch out blue cheese from the Cobb salad with feta cheese and keep the bacon. As I read up on recipes for the raspberry vinaigrette, I couldn’t find one that used fresh raspberries- all of them called for raspberry infused vinegar. So I came up with my own version, which turned out pulpy and a vibrant red. Delicious!

Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette

1 handful fresh raspberries

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

5 tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper

Mash raspberries with fork. Add the rest of the ingredients. Whisk together. Stir before dressing salad.

Asparagus Salad

1 lb. fresh asparagus, blanched, chilled and cut into 1" pieces

1/4 c. feta cheese

1-2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

4-5 tbsp. Fresh raspberry vinaigrette

salt and pepper

Mix asparagus with dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Top with feta and bacon. Toss before serving.

While some keep Jack in their desk, others keep cake.

Do you remember how many “Death by Chocolate” type cakes there were in the Eighties? Do you remember how white chocolate snuck into every known dessert and covered every Christmas-time treat in it’s waxy, faux-vanilla flavored coating? I remember ice cream shops and frozen yogurt places all having some form of white chocolate mousse flavor or white chocolate macadamia nut combo on their list of treats.

It's obvious that the cake is horrible.

I personally really dislike white chocolate. It’s too sweet for my taste, but for this challenge, I put it in a context that my palate would receive it willingly. I made dark chocolate the star and white chocolate the supporting actor. I used one of my favorite recipes for chocolate cake, sliced the cake in half, filled it with a white chocolate pastry cream and topped it with neon buttercream frosting for a special Eighties flair. I must say, I was surprised by how yummy the white chocolate pastry cream turned out. Let’s just say, that that bowl was pretty clean by the time I took the spatula to it.

The frosting? Well, what would any Eighties inspired dessert be without something neon? It's a nostalgic reminder of every windbreaker, t-shirt, scrunchie and pair of jelly shoes I ever owned. It's Eighties fashion in a pastry bag.

Day Glo Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Cream

For the chocolate cake:

Divvies Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

I've adapted it to work as a cake

Oven: 350 degrees

makes 1 8x8 cake

1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8 pan with parchment and spray with pan release; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water until well combined. Add flour mixture to the mixer and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Batter should look and feel more watery than normal cake batters.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan halfway through cooking, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 37-39 minutes.

Let cake cook 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

White Chocolate Pastry Cream

an Allrecipes.com recipe

6 egg yolks

 5 tablespoons white sugar

 1/4 cup cornstarch

 2 cups milk

 1 vanilla bean, halved

 2 tablespoons butter

 3 ounces white chocolate

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Whisk in corn starch. Set aside.

In a stainless steel saucepan, bring milk and vanilla bean to a boil, remove from heat and remove vanilla bean. Stir a small amount of the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture. Return milk to heat and while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon, slowly add the egg mixture to milk. Mixture will thicken.

Allow to just come to a boil, remove from heat and stir in butter. Put mixture through a sieve into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (this keeps mixture from forming a skin over top). Cool slightly.

Stir in melted white chocolate, cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble cake.

 

Day Glo Frosting

this is a halved buttercream recipe from allrecipes.com

 

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes), softened

 4 cups confectioners' sugar

 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream butter. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add milk until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Divide the frosting into as many colors as you want to make. Add your food coloring. McCormick brand makes neon food coloring. That's what I used. The pink and green. 7-10 drops of each. Just play around and make what you like.

And finally, the spritzer. Basically, I'm thinking a non-alcoholic, better version of the wildly popular Bartle and James wine coolers. Now, if this was not a workplace meal, we would just go ahead and make it a real wine spritzer, but in keeping with company policy, no alcohol permitted.

She's far away from the office...

Pom Wonderful had sent me a case of their pomegranate juice, which I happily received. This was the perfect time to make a sassy little drink out of it. The club soda offered the “spritzer” element while the fresh orange juice and shredded mint mingled deliciously with the tart and tangy pomegranate juice. Top everything off with an umbrella, and you’ve got yourself a refreshing and borderline cheesy drink. We are, afterall, talkin’ about the Eighties.

Pom Spritzer

8oz. Pom Wonderful

8 oz. club soda

juice of half an orange

5-6 fresh mint leaves, torn

umbrella and orange slice for garnish

loopy-loop straw (just for kicks)

Mix all ingredients together, pour into travel container. Pour over ice at destination and garnish.

A Behind the Scenes Look

Oh Friends, I started making the food on Wednesday and didn't finish until late morning on Friday. For normal, non-blogging, non-mom people this would not take that long, but in between child rearing and the endless photography sessions with nearly every step of every food process, it was taking a long time. The plan was to have all the food done by Friday at naptime, so I could transform myself and take photos while the kids slept. Oh naptime, what would I do without you? As soon as the last bedroom door was closed, I ran to plug in curling irons and break out the unused makeup that lingers at the bottom of my makeup bag. Hairspray? Check. Fine-tooth comb? Check. Really ugly red lipstick? Definitely.

I curled, sprayed and teased my hair. I assembled my wardrobe like a white chocolate tornado, attempting to stuff maxi pads in the shoulders of my husband's suit jacket and just as quickly tossing them out when they wouldn't stay. I applied my makeup, concentrating on severe blush and bright red lipstick and dashed to the specified photographing areas. Then I realized, I need a broom.

I've learned, with my new DSLR, quite a bit about the timer and how to use it properly. I use it only when I have no one to photograph me, of course. But it's not just as easy as, push-the-button-and-run-in-front-of-the-camera-and-pose-before-it-takes-the-picture. No, you must have a stand-in, so that the camera can properly focus. Otherwise, what happens (and has happened to me a hundred times and I've got hundreds of lame photos to show for it) is that you will be out of focus while the background is perfectly in focus. What I would give for a mannequin. Seriously, I would love to have one; even a dress form would work. What did I use? A broom. Not quite tall enough and very unreliable, especially when "standing" is one of the major requirements of being a stand-in. A broom turned on its handle loses its balance quickly. A broom slowly slides down the wall that you are trying not to focus on. A broom is annoying to get out of the picture once you don't need it anymore.

Pushing the stand-in out of the way.... really awkward pose.

My other wonky stand-in.

For the office scenes, an even more unruly stand-in was used- my son's play shopping cart topped off with the PFB cooler for my head. It worked great as far as focusing goes, but when it came to moving it out of the way to make room for myself, well, let's just say it was less than graceful and quiet (remember, this is during naptime, as pretty much anything is that I do for myself, so quiet is important.) I found it hard to remove the stand-in, gently set it on the floor, grab whatever food item I was supposed to be eating and pose. Some photos completely missed the mark.

Nice view of the shirt cuff, but where's my head?

The amount of photos taken to get one good one would have to be 20 to 1. The entire 2 hour naptime was filled to the brim with failed photo attempts, drooping hair and a brain thinking, “what am I going to make for dinner?”

I have nothing to say about this one.

When I think about some of the things I have done in the name of this blog, it just makes me smile. I enjoy every step of it. Sometimes I get overwhelmed, mainly because my ideas tend to waver on the grandiose-side of things, but that’s just how I work and I can’t seem to find satisfaction in anything less. I know I can push myself to do more, tap into areas that are unusual, bring a fun, alternative view to food and cooking. I always want the food to have a story. I think that is what makes the post entertaining for you, my readers.

I honestly am so thrilled to be in this sixth round. Thank you so much judges and voters for keeping me in the contest. I know I keep saying how much fun I’m having, but it’s true. I want you to know how much I have grown, week by week, challenge by challenge in this craft. It has built-up my confidence, expanded my brain (which is always good) and widened the creative outlet, which is this blog. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Always re-apply your lipstick after a delicious, portable meal.

Love ya, Foodies!

P.s. I will send out a reminder post for voting, tomorrow!