Mirror Mirror On The Cake

My mother and I love TV shows (who doesn't?!).  Some of our many, many programs that we'll watch are Britain's Next Great Baker or Ace of Cakes at times or Spring Baking Competition.  The point is that we like our baking/dessert shows.  Mirror cakes are something we've both had our eye on as being marvelous and the pinnacle of a fancy cake!  And then it was time for mom's birthday... and I had the genius idea of making her a mirror cake... not at all what she asked me for either. :)  But in the end, this recipe wasn't that hard and it turned out shiny and pretty and even though I did this three days before her birthday to make sure that I had figured it out correctly, I was too overjoyed and gave it to her anyways.  I really suggest trying it, it tastes (to me) a lot like eating marshmallow topping on a cake. 

Ingredients (on the right side is the weight/ounces for the recipe.  Use either measuring system, but stick to one or the other):

• 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar / About 300 grams
• 2/3 Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk / About 200 grams
• 1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp Water / 5 oz
• 8 tsp Gelatin Powder / 32 grams
• 1/2 Cup Water / 4 oz
• 2 Cups White Chocolate / 360 grams
• Gel Food Coloring
• 1 Frozen Cake

Directions:

1. Add the sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and water to a medium-sized saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. 
2. Pour the water into the powdered gelatin and mix with a spoon. Leave to swell for a few minutes. (Swelling is when you let the gelatin "bloom", this is useful to get the gelatin activated and ready to do it's part.)
3. When the sugar, milk and water mixture begins to simmer, remove from the heat and add the swelled gelatin. Stir until the gelatin has dissolved. 
4. Pour the hot liquid on top of the chocolate chips and leave to sit for 5 minutes to melt. 
5. Use a whisk to stir the glaze until the chocolate has completely melted. 
6. Pour the glaze through a strainer and separate into enough containers to add different color gels.  Add the gel food coloring and stir until well-mixed. Leave the glaze to cool. 
7. Once the glaze has cooled to 90º F / 37º C, pour it over the frozen cake which is on top of a cup, sitting on a tray or plate with a edge to catch the drips. 
8. Leave the glaze to set for 15 minutes before using a spatula to remove the drips. 
9. Transfer the cake to the fridge to set for a few hours before serving.

Here's some tips that need to be addressed before you try this recipe:

• The most important tip is that a typical mirror glazed cake requires molds because the cake is surrounded by mousse.  This is to not only add another element to the cake, but a layer of molded mousse around the outside of the cake allows the mirror glaze to coat the cake smoothly without any visible errors.  Just because of this DOESN'T mean that it's a required part of the cake.  When I made mine, I just used frosting to coat the outside and got it as smooth as possible before I used the glaze.  Errors can show a "bit" easier, but it's still just as pretty.
• Make sure your glaze is at 90 degrees F before you pour it!  This is SO important because if it's too cold, the glaze won't be smooth and if it's too warm, it'll run off your cake.
• Make sure the cake is frozen and fresh out of the freezer when you pour the cake.  This will keep the mousse/frosting from getting hot and running off and it helps the gelatin and chocolate set quicker.
• Make sure when you pour the glaze on your cake, put it on something that will allow the glaze to drip off the sides.  I used a small wire rack, but you can use a cup or a cake pan too.  I also recommend doing this over a larger baking tray or plate so that you can re-purpose the glaze onto another cake if you're making more than one.  
• The glaze will be shiny for about 24 hours.  After that, the shine will have faded, but the glaze is still good to eat.

It's a lot of work and it feel so technical, but the results were wonderful!  Definitely check out the original recipe here.  Good luck dressing up your cakes!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I always like to be creative and punny with the names of my blog posts, but this one I just can't.  It's too true!  Chocolate chip cookies are a sacred item in my household as they're both mine and my dad's favorite cookie.  Due to our love for them, we have tried so many different recipes and so many different store bought mixes and ready-to-bakes and none of them stand up to the amazing-ness that is this recipe!  So let's jump right into it!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs 
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I would like to note that this is usually a bit too much so you can always eyeball it)
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil on it.  This will keep the cookies from sticking to the pan and makes for easier clean up.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
4. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until creamy.  You can use a stand mixer or a handheld mixer, both work fine for this.
5. Add eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  
6. Gradually add in flour mixture.  (To do this, add a bit of the flour mixture and then pause and let the mixer combine it before adding more flour.)
7. Once all the flour is added, turn the mixer off and fold in the chocolate chips and nuts (if you're adding nuts).  
8. Form rounded balls of cookie dough, about the size of a tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet.
9. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.  Make sure to watch the bottoms so that they don't burn.
10. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

I absolutely love this recipe!!!  This is originally a Nestle Toll House recipe and can be found here.  I highly suggest giving it a look over.  You'll find not only these directions, but the directions to take this cookie dough and make it into a pan cookie version, a slice and bake cookie version (I tried this one, it's hard to do with the chocolate chips in it), and even alterations for high altitude baking.  Good luck in your future baking endeavors! 

The Ugly Slider

 This slider really reminds me of the ugly duckling story.  He was ugly as a duckling, but he became a beautiful swan in the end.  This slider was the same way.  It looks ugly on the outside, but when you bite into it, it's a beautiful flavor combination!  The fragrance in the kitchen was so amazing that just being near it made me hungry all over again even after I'd eaten!  This is a wonderfully simple and quick meal to make.  I always take longer to do recipes that I'm unfamiliar with so it took me 30 minutes to make this, but I know I can get this down to about 10-15 minutes next time, which is about the recommended amount of time that the original recipe states.
Depending on how big your sliders are, you can make 2 or 3 of these as a good sized lunch or make a whole cookie sheet full for a party, family visit, movie night, or whatever the occasion.  If you have kids, this can make a good snack time meal and it's easy enough that the kids can help.  But before I keep rambling, as I do love to do, let's cut to the chase.  Quick last minute note, I cut the recipe in half since I wasn't doing this for a large gathering and I had some fairly large sliders.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• For the sandwiches:
• 12 slider rolls
• 12-24 slices honey ham
• This will depend on how thick your ham is.  We prefer almost shredded thin so I had to use 2 or 3 slices per slider.  If you prefer big slices, you should be fine with 12.  Make it to your preference, like any other sandwich.
• 12 small slices Swiss cheese
• Mayonnaise
• For the sauce:
• 2 1/2 tsp. yellow mustard
• 4 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1/2 tbsp. finely minced onion (or 1 tsp. dried minced onion)
• With my dad not being a fan of onions, I added 1 tsp. of onion powder to get the onion like flavor without the pieces of onion.
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Poppy seeds, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  
2. Split the slider rolls and spread the insides lightly with mayonnaise.  Fold the slices of ham to fit on each slider bun, and top with a slice of Swiss cheese.  
3. Replace the top bun to assemble the sandwiches.  Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet.
4. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients except the poppy seeds in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Don't be concerned if the mustard doesn't combine well with the ingredients.  Drizzle the sauce over the tops of the slider buns.  
• My personal suggestion is to use the back of your spoon and spread the mustard on top as it'll most likely be small bits of it uncombined.
5. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.  
6. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.  Remove the foil and bake 2 minutes longer. 

These are so delicious!  For mine, I left the poppy seeds off since I'm not a fan of them, but that's always your own choice.  The next time I make these, and here's a suggestion for you all too, add some shredded chicken to it as a way to make a Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich.  I love Chicken Cordon Bleu any delicious way I can get it, and I'm excited to make this potential edit to the recipe!  For the lazy chef like myself, a good way to get chicken ready to just be shredded and put on the sandwich is to buy a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store on the way home and just shred a breast or two.  This is my favorite way to avoid boiling, baking, grilling, however you prefer to cook chicken so that I can cut down on how long I'm cooking.  The shorter time it takes to cook and the less dishes there are afterwards, the happier I am!! :D 

When I pulled these out of the oven, despite their tempting smell, I was really nervous about how they looked since our eyes do tend to help our senses cast judgment on food.  But after trying so many new things over my time, both amazing looking to looking like it was worse than thrown together, I've learned that appearances can definitely be deceiving!  Much like people, don't just a dish by it's presentation.  The original recipe can be found here.  If you have questions about the recipe, have comments to make, or have made your own adjustments, make sure to leave a comment below!  As always, happy eating!

S'more Cheesecake Please

One thing I'm always trying to do when I cook or bake is find things that can be loved by all.  In our house, cheesecake is adored by all of us!  The only exception is that s'mores isn't.  I am a huge fan of s'mores!  My dad isn't a fan of s'mores, but he loves a good char-burned marshmallow like I do.  My mother can't find the love in a good char-burned piece of marshmallow nor wants to combine it with chocolate and graham crackers.  The fact I haven't disowned them yet is amazing!  I kid mum and dad, you know I love you!  My life goal in the kitchen has been to find ways to incorporate s'mores into anything I can to find something they like.  And now, I've found the one!
This was my first time using a food processor, and let me tell you if you've never used one, it is so much fun!  It'll be loud and sound like you're going to break it, but no worries.  Your food will be pulverized in no time!  So for all you s'mores and cheesecake lovers, or those trying to convert overs to the dark side, here's the recipe:


Ingredients:

• 3 sleeves graham crackers squares
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups marshmallows (about 24), softened
• 3 chocolate bars (I prefer Hershey's)

Directions:

1. Place graham crackers in a food processor and process until they're fine crumbs.
2. Place the melted butter in the food processor with the graham cracker crumbs and process again until combined.
3. Measure the bottom of a 9" pie pan with parchment paper and cut out a circle big enough to fit in the bottom of the pan.  Line the pan and pour the graham cracker mixture in.  
4. Spread evenly and press the crumbs down with a flat-bottomed glass to flatten the crust.  Put the crust in the freezer.
5. Soften the marshmallows by placing them into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-45 seconds.  
6. Place the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and softened marshmallows in your food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
7. Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the filling onto the crust.  Spread evenly.
8. Place the chocolate bars in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted, smooth, and creamy.  Do this in 30-second intervals and stir in between.  It should only take about 1 minute to melt it completely.
9. Pour the melted chocolate over the cheesecake filling and marble into the cheesecake mixture.  
• The marbling is my personal suggestion.  The original recipe says to pour on top of the cheesecake in a spiral pattern, but for me, the chocolate solidified into a version of the magic shell chocolate coating for ice cream, so I don't personally suggest this method.
10. Let chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes at least so that the cheesecake can sit before serving.

This cheesecake was so delicious!  Another thing I want to expand on though is lining the pan.  The original recipe suggests lining your pan with aluminum foil, which lining it with something is a good plan so that your crust doesn't stick to your pan; and no one wants a cheesecake without the crust.  If you want to use the aluminum foil, you can; but I suggest pulling it out of the pan to cut it.  I lined mine with aluminum foil and tried to cut it out without pulling it out of the pan.... oh my gosh, what a nightmare that was!  The benefit with the aluminum foil is that you can pull the cheesecake in and out of the pan as needed, but for someone like me ,(the lazy cook), that's too much work!  This is why I suggest lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper instead so that you can leave it in the pan and have an easier time cutting it.

As always, this is my version.  The original recipe can be found here.  If you have questions, comments, or your own recipe recommendations/changes, leave a comment below.  I really hope that this can be enjoyed by all in your family as it was with my own, no matter the difference in taste buds.  Happy eating!

Chicken Piccata

Oh.  My.  Gosh.  To create a list of my favorite chicken recipes, I would have to add this to my top 5 easily!  For my parents' anniversary this year, I made them appetizers and dinner as their gift so they could have a restaurant worthy meal without having to leave home.  If you want to see the appetizer, you can go here.
Working the timing of this dinner was difficult, but timing multiple things is something I haven't quite grown into doing yet.  As a preferred baker, there's plenty of time to do multiple steps thanks to things needing to sit, rest, cool, you name it.  When you're cooking and it all needs to be hot at the table together, it's rather frustrating for me.  Let's just say I look like the road runner going around the kitchen.  I hope you don't share in that mad rush to do it all! :)  I've attached a (bad, but still) photo of what the finished product looked like.  When I took it, I was rushing so they could eat so no critiques.  But without further ado, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• *Check the size, you want them small to cook faster.  I had to split mine so you may only need two big ones.  You could pound them smaller too, but I don't like pounding food personally.
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 whole Lemons
• ¾ Cup Heavy Cream
• ¼ cup capers
• Chopped parsley, for garnish
• 1 pound Angel Hair Pasta

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Salt and pepper each side of the chicken breasts and dredge in the flour. Put the chicken breasts in the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked throughout and no longer pink. Remove from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
2. Turn the heat to medium low. Add broth, juice from both lemons, heavy cream, and capers. Bring the sauce to a boil and return to medium low heat. Test the sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed. Allow the sauce to cook and bubble for about 3 minutes.
3. Serve the chicken over cooked pasta and spoon the sauce over both. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

According to the original recipe creator, which the original can be found here, the point of this recipe is (to some extent) to be a quick recipe.  If you can get the timing down, it can be a 30 minute meal.  If I'm lucky, one day I can cook this in that amount of time. :)  Side note for anyone else who didn't know what this was, piccata means a chicken that's sliced, coated, sauteed, and served with a sauce.  

As always, if you have questions, comments, or recipe adaptions, leave a comment below.  Let me know how you feel about this dish.  Happy eating!

An Appetizer of Garlic Toast Bites

This year, my parents celebrated another double digits anniversary.  It's not uncommon for me to get them a gift or celebrate their anniversary with them.  This year though, I decided to give them an elegant restaurant date (minus the $50 bill).  I searched Pinterest high and low (since Pinterest is my go-to for all things crafting, cooking, and everything else).  I finally found a glorious appetizer and dinner recipe that I could see in a nice restaurant.  I'll post a link to the dinner recipe at the bottom if you're interested in seeing the full menu.  But let's not jump the gun, we all know the first course is an appetizer so let's start there.
I've added a picture of the appetizer (once about half of it was eaten) but I do want you to keep in mind... this was my first attempt at them and some of them don't have the cheese as well melted as some of the others.  But I got through it and it was loved by all!  Now without further ado, here's the recipe to make these easy, delicious appetizers.

Ingredients:

• 1 baguette
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 6 slices of prosciutto, thinly sliced
• sea salt & cracked pepper
• fresh basil, chopped

Directions: 

1. Prepare the bread by slicing it into thin slices.  Brush the bread with olive oil on one side.  
2. You can do it under the broiler in your oven, or on the grill.  If broiling, place them on a sheet oiled side up and place them under the broiler for 1-2 minutes.  Be careful not to burn!  If grilling, brush the other side of the bread with oil.  Grill the bread for 1-2 minutes.  Make sure to grill the bread just before serving.
3. When you remove them from the grill or oven, let them cool slightly, then rub the raw clove of garlic on each piece.
4. Top each piece of bread with small, thin slices of prosciutto.  Then, top each with a slice of fresh mozzarella.  
5. Grill or broil the toasts for 2 minutes, or just until the mozzarella begins to melt.  Remove from the grill or broiler and top with salt, pepper and fresh basil.

This is one of the simplest recipes I've done to date.  These aren't only a great app, but they're a good snack for movie night, party time, or going to a family dinner.  The link for the dinner recipe is here.  As always, the original recipe is here.  This is one of the funnest, most chaotic cooking attempts I've done, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat!  If you have questions, comments, or variations of your own, leave them below.  Happy eating!

Wo-manwich

In our house, Manwich isn't a word that gets used very often.  With mom not being a big fan of the Sloppy Joe's from a can, it's an extremely rare treat to eat them... until now.  I found a homemade Sloppy Joe's recipe that not only was loved by the Sloppy eaters of the house, but also mom.  Now, I will state ahead of time.  I've made the sauce for this recipe two completely different ways.  The first time was with the wrong kind of tomato sauce and a misreading of the garlic powder; the second time was the way it was supposed to be made.  Now, we personally prefer a thicker sauce, which is how the directions/ingredients list will show it, but this can be made to be a bit runnier if you prefer yours to be really sloppy.  But enough talk, let's get down to business.

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 pound ground beef (or turkey if you prefer)
• 8 ounces tomato paste
• 8 ounces water 
• *This can be gotten using the tomato paste can and your preferred water choice.
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Hamburger buns

Directions:

1. Set a large pot over medium-low heat. Add a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil, and saute the garlic for a minute or two until just fragrant and very light golden brown. Add ground beef, increase heat to medium/medium high, and cook until no longer pink, breaking apart and stirring as meat cooks.
2. While meat is browning, make sauce. In a medium bowl, stir together tomato paste and water until smooth.  Then, add ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then stir until well combined. Pour over browned meat, stir, and simmer for a few minutes until warm.
3. Serve on hamburger buns or rolls.

I love this dish!  And the wonderful thing about a homemade sauce is that if you make it too onion-y or too garlic-y, you can increase another flavor like ketchup or brown sugar to balance it out until you like how it tastes.  You can use an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce if you want, just cross off the water from your ingredients list.  For us, though, as I said earlier, it's just too runny for us and we don't care for sloppy buns if we don't have to.  I love this dish on its own or accompanied by some mac and cheese and/or mashed potatoes.  

As always, I share the original recipe here as this isn't originally my recipe.  This is just my adaption on it.  As English class always teaches, no plagiarism!  If you have questions about the recipe or you want to share your adaptions to my recipe or the original recipe, leave a comment.  Happy eating!