May the 4th be with you.

Today is Star Wars Day and to celebrate I made a treat out of my new Intergalactic Ice cream treats book:

I made Tatooine Terrine.  It is smooth, and rich, a chocolate-peanut butter delight.  I used what I had on hand so it is a little different from the recipe in the book, but very close.

2 cup chocolate chips (I used 1 cup milk chocolate and 1 cup semi-sweet
1 cup creamy peanut butter (although I think next time I will use chunky for the added texture)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup white sugar
chopped nuts (The actual recipe calls for peanuts but I only had cashews on hand)

You can melt the chocolate over a double boiler but I used the simple microwave method where you melt in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute, stir, and then 30 seconds, stir, 30 seconds, stir...until smooth.  Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.  Allow to cool as you whip the heavy cream until it starts to peak as whipping cream.  Add in the sugar as you whip, until stiff peaks form.  Stir into chocolate mixture.  Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap for easy removal.  Layer chopped nuts on the bottom of pan.  Pour chocolate mixture over nuts and smooth out.  Sprinkle with more nuts on top.  Over top with plastic wrap and freeze for at least an hour.  Slice and serve.

 

 

For Chewbacca Chicken Fingers or Death Star Chocolate Cake, check out this post.

 

For other Star Wars party ideas check out my Star Wars label.

Poppy Baby Shower

I recently helped out with a baby shower and it was all things Poppy, here are some ideas....

Poppy paper flower centerpiece (made with a Silouhette America poppy and pregnant lady)

Paper poppy and onesie garland (also made with Silouhette America designs)

"Thanks for Popping by", popcorn in a poppy bag, thank you treats

Plus some Poppy themed food such as a fruit and nut filled garden salad with poppy seed dressing.

Other ideas are that the soon-to be-mother is "ready to pop".

 

 

Other food we had:  Sloppy Joe sliders (rolls and sloppy joe filling in a crockpot), Strawberries and poundcake (pound cake, sliced strawberries that had been mixed with a Tbsp white sugar to make juicy, and some whipped cream), a regular garden salad, and Rice Krispie Treats with red and pink M&M's to match the poppy colors--these were a major hit!!

Fajita seasoning mix

I like Fajitas because they are quick and easy.  See how I mix them up here.

I mixed up this seasoning today instead of a premade seasoning packet because I didn't have one but I did have everything to make my own.

1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp Cayenne



Stir all together and then use 1-2 tsp of mix for your fajitas, or really I just toss it in to taste.

Ding Dong Cake.

My roommate Melissa loves Ding-dongs so when I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to make it for her birthday.  I adjusted the cream filling a bit to make it sweeter and changed the frosting to an easy chocolate ganache because ganache is just delightful.

This filling can be used for any of those Hostess treats (ie. Cupcakes, Suzy Q's, Twinkies, ding dongs, cake rolls, etc).  Warning:  Nothing about this filling/cake is good for you. You have been warned. Also read all the way through before making to see some options.

"Hostess" cream filling

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup butter, softened 
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup powdered sugar  (as needed)

 

Stir together milk and flour on medium heat in a heavy bottom saucepan until thick.  Set aside to cool.  Beat in a mixing bowl, butter and shortening for 4 minutes.  Add sugar and vanilla and beat an additional 4 minutes.  Beat in milk/flour mixture for another 4 minutes.  Taste, and if you desire a bit more sweetness add powdered sugar.

 

I made a devils food cake in 2 round pans. Layered the cream on top of one cake and topped with the other.  For the ganache heat up 1 cup heavy whipping cream in a sauce pan with 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips.  Stir until smooth and set aside to cool. 

 

 

What I should/could have done:  Left the layered cake on a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet and poured cooled ganache over entire cooled cake and let set, to make a smooth coating.

 

What I did:  Cooled the ganache in the refrigerator until thickened and  then frosted the cake.  This still tastes awesome and looks cool but doesn't look like a ding-dong with a smooth coating due to the cream oozing out the side and mixing with the ganache.  It still tasted awesome though.

 

 

 

Banana Cake

I had some leftover bananas and wasn't in the mood for banana bread so I had to give this cake a try.  AWESOME.

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat-free)

1 egg

1 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 large or 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

 

Cream together sugar, sour cream, butter, egg.  Add bananas and vanilla, mix well.  Stir in salt, baking soda, and flour.  Pour into a greased 8x8 or 9x13 pan (I made mine a 9x13 pan it was a lot thinner but I was feeding a lot of people, still delicious but if you want a thicker cake use an 8x8 pan or double the recipe for a 9x13).  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned.

 

I frosted my cake with a Brown-sugar glaze...

 

3 Tbsp butter, melted
3 Tbsp  brown sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar

 

Blend together melted butter, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Stir in powdered sugar until desired consistency.  Spread over warm cake and serve.

Carmalized Garlic and Baked Brie

I recently returned from Las Vegas where I had a wonderful lunch at the Mon Ami Gabi restaurant at the Paris Casino and Hotel.

One of the appetizers we tried was the baked brie.  It was drizzled with honey, toasted hazelnuts, and caramelized garlic cloves.  Seriously so good, I couldn't even believe they were garlic cloves.  When I got home I wanted to try to recreate this delight and this combo is pretty darn close.

I adapted from the following sources: Baked Brie, Caramelized garlic.

Brie:
1 wheel of Brie (12-14oz)
honey
hazelnuts

Place Brie wheel in the center of a 8x8 glass pan.  Drizzle with honey and sprinkle hazelnuts over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-20 minutes until soft and hazelnuts smell toasted (it is okay to leave it in for awhile, the original recipe calls for 10 minutes I left mine in for 20).

Caramelized Garlic:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp cooking white wine (could substitute with apple juice or just water, but cooking wine is inexpensive, non-alcoholic, and lends the right taste)
2 Tbsp water
1/2-1 cup fresh peeled garlic cloves (I buy the fresh peeled cloves from Costco.  You a lot more garlic for just $1 more and all the hard work is done).

Place garlic cloves in boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from boiling water and place in cold water to stop cooking.  This tenderizes the garlic.  Drain on paper towel.

In a heavy skillet, add butter, brown sugar, and cooking wine.  Place over medium heat and stir constantly until well mixed and butter melted.  Add water and swirl pan to incorporate.  If thickening too quickly turn down the heat.  Add garlic and stir to coat.  Allow to sauté while stirring occasionally over low heat until garlic is tender and the caramelization thickens up.  This takes about 10 minutes.

Spoon with a bit of sauce over the baked brie.  Serve brie with toasted baguette slices.

Eggplant Parmesan

I had never bought or used Eggplant but it was really cheap a couple of weeks ago at Winco and I remembered that any time I had eaten Eggplant Parmesan I liked it so why not make some.

This ended up being very easy!  I adapted a recipe from allrecipes.com.  My adaptation is for an 8x8 pan.

Eggplant Parmesan

1 medium-large eggplant, peeled and sliced

1 egg, beaten

1 cup of Italian breadcrumbs

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Prego Spaghetti sauce of choice

1/4 grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp dry basil

 

Slice eggplant into 1/3 inch slices.  Dip each slice in the beaten egg and then in bread crumbs.  Lay on lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until browned and tender.

 

 

In an 8x8 pan spread a layer of sauce on bottom.  Layer eggplant on top of sauce and sprinkle with some mozzarella cheese and some parmesan cheese (I like a lot of cheese so I didn't write amounts.  Suggested amount for whole recipe is 8 oz).  Layer sauce on top of cheese, and repeat with eggplant, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese until pan is full.  End with cheese on top.  Sprinkle with basil.

 

Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for 30-40 minutes, removing foil for last 5-10 minutes.  Serve with pasta or breadsticks.