Lemon 'egg' cake!

Happy Spring. Happy Easter!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing you all a day surrounded with love...

and something sweet too!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Sweet 16.

 I hope you have the happiest of birthdays!!

Enjoy the stacks of cookies specially made for you!

 You and me, we go waaaay back. Thank for taking time to share a cup of tea with me...

 and sharing your art work...

and helping me bake...

and decorate...

...and for being there for me when it was my turn. 

Thanks for being always sweet and special. 

Happy Birthday!

love, 

your other BFF aka Auntie Patsy!

Happy 2012

I walked into a book store today and to my left I saw well intended eating light and diet health books; and to my right I saw well intended work-out books. In front of me were the 75% off discounted Christmas left overs.

Guess which direction I walked in?

If you guessed the discounted Christmas section then you know a little more about me. I love a good bargain! And, I also love delicious a guilt-free dessert! So today I made lite strawberry Jello! Ok, you're right it's not a labor intensive dessert requires an oven! So here's another savory recipe that ALSO does not require an oven. It's truly simple to make. I know this may sound strange to a few of you but trust me, add this recipe to your list of new things to try for 2012 ,if you haven't already savored this before.

Aged Balsamic Vinegar with Strawberries!

The balsamic vinegar and black pepper intensify the flavor of the strawberries and bring out their sweetness. This dish is great on top of your salad, over a slice of pound cake and whipped cream, over ice cream or the way I like it, served alone! Recipe follows.

Aged Balsamic Vinegar with Strawberries

1 quart of Strawberries

3 tablespoons of sugar

coarse black pepper

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Hull the strawberries and cut them into quarters lengthwise.

Place in a non reactive bowl, such as glass and toss gently with sugar and vinegar. Allow to rest for about 15 minutes so that the strawberries macerate in the vinegar and sugar mixture. Add 4-5 grinds of coarse black pepper. Allow the flavors to blend for another 5 minutes before serving. 

A little history of Aged Balsamic Vinegar

A condiment originating from Italy. The towns of Modena and Reggio Emilia have been producing this since the Middle Ages. True balsamic vinegar is made from a reduction of pressed white Trebbiano and Lambrusco grapes. The resulting thick syrup, called mosto cotto in Italian, is then aged for a minimum of 12 years. 

True balsamic vinegar is rich, glossy, deep brown in color and has a complex flavor that balances the natural sweet and sour elements of the cooked grape juice with hints of wood from the casks. As Vinegar ages the flavor intensifies over the years with a minimum aging period of 12, 18 and 25 years. The older the better! Bottles can costs between $150 - $400 each!

 A great 'starter' bottle I recommend is the one my husband got in his stocking this past Christmas - heavy stocking! We're addicted won't go back to less than 25 years!! This bottle can be purchased at William Sonoma, Olivier 25 year Barrel Aged Balsamic Vinegar $28. It's a hint thicker than most sold at your local chain market and has a slight taste of sweetness, if you taste compare to what you currently have at home and pour some over your homemade salad you will immediately know what I mean. We got to sample it at Williams Sonoma (didn't want buyers remorse!), just ask them to pour you a sample!

Happy Shopping!

Not So Lazy Holiday Baking!

I realize getting this blog out Dec 31st is long past due of the Christmas holiday season of giving and sharing. A sure sign of being a bit too busy to work on my blog so I'll just jump right in as to what I've been up to.

The first half was spent traveling to Quebec City, Canada where we enjoyed snow and the amazing sights of the old city. If you've never been it's a must see city to add to your bucket list. A very european french city on this side of the Atlantic!

A view of Le Chateaux Frontenac up on the cliff and below the old French section. Which is abundant of bistros, antique stores and lots of boutique shopping!

Then comes the baking...yes my kitchen too smelled of vanilla and sugar for about a week.  I challenged myself in baking 'a few' batches of assorted cookies to take to holiday parties.

I loved baking this Holiday Biscotti sprinkled with holiday colored sugar flavored with lemon and almonds. I also did another version with dried cranberries and pistachios! 

English Toffee with chocolate and pistachios, YUM!

This year I tried something new, I added holiday themed wafer paper to my sugar cookies, a hit for all ages! A friend of mine has a business doing wonderful designs on wafter paper for cakes and cupcakes creating edible works of art. Check it out at http://ticings.com/ 

The best compliment I had at a party was a few folks thought I had purchased the cookies at a pastry shop!!  "Thank you!" I said, "But no, if you only knew..." (how easy it was!).

Placing wafer paper designs onto cookies is simply easy! Add a little icing to a baked cookie and place the wafer paper on top and voila, quick decoration for your cookie!  I put icing all over the cookie and sprinkled the edges with colored sugar. 

Speaking of sugar, gotta have sugar cookies!
I love this recipe, it's so easy to make and bakes to perfection every time.

Sugar Cookie recipe:
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
powdered sugar, for rolling out dough


Directions:
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Place butter and sugar in a large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookies sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheets for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week. Makes about 3 dozen.

 Happy 2012 Baking!

roasted butternut squash soup

 Another reason to fall in love with Autumm is the guest appearance of Butternut Squash soups and stews on restaurant menus and home kitchens this time of year. The lightly sweet taste of apples, butternut squash and sweet potatoes all roasted and blended with chicken stock makes for a great day of watching your favourite movie, game or reading a book, with a bowl of soup!

Ingredients:

1 medium size butternut squash

3-4 Sweet potatoes

1 large apple

Salt and pepper

2 tsp of dried thyme

2 tbs fresh rosemary

1-14oz can of chicken broth

Olive oil

4-5 garlic cloves

Grated Parmesan cheese

Croutons

Serves about 6 bowls.

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with foil.

Slice and cut up the butternut squash, apples and sweet potatos.

Leave the garlic cloves whole.

Rub with olive oil and add salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the flesh is very soft and can be spooned out. The apples and sweet potatoes will be done earlier than the butternut squash so keep an eye on them. 

Once you remove them from oven, cool down a bit so you can work with it, (don't want to burn yourself) and spoon out all the flesh into a blender. Discard peel. Add a a bit of the chicken broth to help puree until smooth.

Work in batches and pour the puree into your favourite soup pot. Set over medium low heat to warm thru and add chicken both to your desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Garnish with croutons and parmesan cheese!

Bon Appetit!

Happy Halloween!

 Have a great time carving out pumpkins or...

 strolling your local cemetary...

tonight!!!