Tormented Kitchen

This weekend, I was hungry for something sweet. Not too long ago, we had dinner at Campo which was finished off by their dessert sampler. We got a tiny Mason jar of panna cotta topped with berries, a tiny slice of chocolate cheesecake, and another tiny Mason jar of salted caramel budino. I have been thinking of the panna cotta and budino ever since.  Budino is Italian for pudding. I did some Internet research and happened upon a recipe that I decided to give it a try. My littlest helper was happy to smash cookies, mix them with melted butter and spoon it into cups. I took care of all the hot stuff over the stove, like making the two separate batches of caramel, one to flavor the budino and another to pour over top of the completed product. It was a bit time consuming. I've never spent so much time making pudding before. I had to separate my eggs, mix milk and cornstarch, temper the yolks with the hot milk, them mix, mix, mix and cook some more. Then it went th...

Tonight's dinner was my second mystery box. Our made-up rules for the mystery box are: 1. I can use anything in the mystery box, all or some. 2. I can use anything in the pantry, fridge, or freezer at home. 3. I have 1 hour to cook and serve. 4. I must prepare a meal that fits the time of day, such as dinner at dinner time. Here's what I got. Coconut milk, coconut juice, a whole coconut, Asian eggplant, mango, carrots, figs, and a Chilean sea bass fillet. I added from the "home stores" olive oil, limes, mint, curry paste, bell pepper, jasmine rice, plus kaffir lime leaves, potatoes and seasonings that aren't shown here. I made a lime mint vinaigrette to marinate the fish in after removing the scales. I later grilled the fish. I made curry with the coconut milk, carrots, potatoes, red bell pepper, mango, lime juice, red curry paste, and a splash of fish sauce. The fish took longer to cook than I wanted it to.  Fish always takes twice...

I'm not sure who knows or realizes this, but I tried out for Masterchef in December 2011. I also sent in a video the year before since I couldn't make auditions in person. They didn't pick me either time. However, I'm not fazed. I'm going to audition again.  Let me tell you, after watching the current season, it's a good thing they didn't pick me because I would have wiped the floors with the competition.  I mean, I'm good at desserts, but I can cook a steak, a burger, sushi, all the kinds of eggs they wanted, you name it. I'm not a pro and have never received any pro training, but I'm way, way better than some of those goofs on the air. So, dear hubby has presented me with a fun challenge. He's giving me weekly challenges, let's call them Freddy's Mystery Box.  I thought I was off the hook this weekend.  Nope. Tonight's mystery box was two sourdough baguettes, plus whatever I felt like from the fridge and pantry. Right aw...

High altitude bakers, this is for you! We all do it. We all have to add extra flour to boxed cake and brownie mixes. Because the box says so and they are right that things don't cook up the same here as low altitude. The box says use all-purpose flour, good old nutritionally lacking AP flour. I use unbleached whole wheat flour instead.  I can't tell a difference because it's usually only 1/4 cup of extra flour. Your food will not taste like cardboard because you changed part of your flour.  My Ghiradelli box-mix brownies turn out great with this. Health-wise, I know it's only a teeny tiny microscopic improvement, but it's still a teeny tiny improvement. I also use some unbleached whole wheat flour in gravy and for dredging pan-fried meats. If that is too "natural" for you, try making tiny steps toward better nutrition by using unbleached all-purpose flour. I promise it's not a huge difference so I know you won't come back and tell me...

It's birthday cake season! This past week, I made cupcakes for one student's birthday at work. She asked for chocolate cake and frosting that wasn't too sweet. I used my chocolate cake recipe and cream cheese frosting. They were super! One party attendee raved about how moist and light and fluffy they were, like clouds. That was so nice of her to say so! I decorated the tops with a squirt of Duff silver food color spray and Haley helped add the silver sugar sprinkles on top. Ingredients 1 lb cream cheese (or 2 8-ounce blocks, Neufchatel can stand in here if you can't find cream cheese) 1 cup butter (I used salted butter) 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar Method 1. Using a sturdy stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together  the butter and cream cheese. They should be soft, but not runny when you start, so slightly cooler than room temperature. I like to put my ingredients in a bowl out on the counter about an hour befo...

Pancakes are a breakfast staple at our house. If we don't have pancakes, then we eat their cousin the waffle at least once a week. Sometimes, we even make breakfast for dinner. The kids love it when I do that. I toss some bacon in the oven (yes, I cook bacon in the oven), then whip up some pancakes. Yumm-o! Pancakes are easy. If you're used to pancake mix in a box, you really have to try these.  They are not any more difficult to make from scratch, but the flavor is so much better. You can control the quality of your ingredients and use all organic (or not). Justin remembers eating pancakes at Grandpa Tony's house as a little kid. Tony would start putting things in a bowl and they would just turn out, without measuring. Sometimes you can do that, You just know since you've made them so many times. Just so you know, we always, always call these pancakes. They are also known as hotcakes or flapjacks, but I just don't like saying "flapjacks" or ...

For my birthday this past year, my dear hubby took me to a trendy bar/eatery.  The highlight was my drink. So I have carefully crafted my own improved version for home consumption. I used a hurricane glass because it made it prettier. As you know, a good part of the appeal of food and drinks are the appearance.  Make it pretty and taste good., and you will wow your friends. I have intentionally made this drink with and without alcohol, for one, because I am such a lightweight drinker! Without vodka, it was still fantastic! I can also share the mocktail version with the kids. I like my drink with the extra sweetness of vanilla syrup. If you are trying to cut calories, you might want to back off the regular syrup and switch to sugar-free and consider fat-free half & half. I know fat-free half & half is a mysterious chemical alteration of the real thing. But if you want that texture and creaminess, it's an option. By the way, a regular shot is in t...