Whirlwind

This year has been a whirlwind, with having my first child and working, sadly, my blog has taken a back seat (and a little bit of my cooking). I have cooked some fun, creative dishes and, of course, I forgot my camera in the diaper bag, or in the laundry basket, or next to my bed. You may have noticed my new blog name, I wanted to re-vamp my blog. I am hoping to take it the next level eventually. I just felt like this name was more me. I mean what is better than homemade béchamel or whipped cream?

But, I am getting better at keeping my head afloat now. My little girl is 11 months old, her 1st birthday party (expect a special blog featuring this celebration!) is around the corner. 

Lately, my time has consisted of playing with my daughter, work, and focused on moving (back to Colorado we go!) In the midst of that craziness, I've realized how important it is to take time for what I love. Cooking. There is something about taking a bunch of beautiful, random ingredients and conduct them in a symphony of flavor that produces something that makes you smile. One morning, it was that perfect temperature outside that I wanted to start my morning off with a cup off coffee on the front porch. Mind you this mellow morning lasted about 30 seconds, until my daughter wanted to play in the grass. But hey, I had 30 seconds... :) 

To give my plain 'ol coffee a little bit of fancy, I topped it with a whipped vanilla meringue. Added the perfect pop of sweetness, and just made me feel special. 

After my daughter made it pretty clear this was not a morning of relaxation, I decided to introduce her to pancakes for the first time. Since, she is still being introduced to a lot of foods I chose to kick out the sugar, add in goat's milk (what we've decided to transition her to once she turns one), and I had some mascarpone cheese in my fridge, along with some oranges that needed zesting. And voila! Halen's Pancakes. 

Halen's Pancakes

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 cups goat milk (buttermilk or whole milk would work deliciously)
1 tsp vanilla 
zest from one orange
2 Tbsp butter
honey for serving
berries for serving

I started by combining the dry ingredients together. Then I whisked the vanilla, milk and orange zest into the eggs. Then I combined wet and dry ingredients together, I added the butter, being careful not to over mix. Let the batter sit for a few minutes. I got my skillet hot, placed a bit of butter and then I made silver dollar size pancakes for Halen using a tablespoon. For my husband and I, I used a 1/3 measuring cup. 

Once the pancakes are done, I drizzled the adult pancakes with honey and placed a few blueberries and strawberries on top. For Halen's I placed them on her tray along with the berries. Needless to say, she approved! 

My friend's birthday was this past weekend, and with the rising heat I decided a regular cake just wouldn't do. I had seen these watermelon faux cakes on Pinterest and decided to give it a go. I bought a small watermelon, sliced almonds and fruit all from Trader Joes to make this springtime gem. 

Dana's Watermelon "Cake"
one small watermelon
2 kiwis
a handful of raspberries
1 cup sliced almonds
Homemade Whipped Cream 

I sliced the watermelon to model the shape of a small cake, making sure the top and bottom were flat. Then I made my whipped cream. I iced the cake and used my hands to stick the almonds onto the sides of the cake. I sliced up some kiwis and fanned them out on top. I finished by placing a few raspberries on the very top. 






Homemade Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp sugar

Whip the heavy cream on high, add in sugar. Let beat until peaks start to form. Do not over beat, or you will get butter. 








And for a perfect centerpiece to any dinner table, any celebration you can always make a personalized flower pot. We did this for Valentines Day, and we love using it for all different flowers. Made from yours truly, my dear Halen girl. 

Baby it's cold outside! A day's worth of yummy foods while staying cozy inside.

Whenever it is frigid outside I love to make foods that comfort the soul. Since I've been pregnant (6 months!) I have craved pancakes...in all varieties. And as much as I'd like to go out to eat every morning...our baby budget doesn't quite allow that. So I've given making them myself a go.

This particular morning I looked in my fridge and had fresh raspberries, left over sour cream and honey. I decided to be brave and use all of these ingredients in my pancakes.

Raspberry Sour Cream Pancakes with Orange Blossom Honey
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup whole milk (or half n half/heavy cream)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1 cup of fresh raspberries
honey (or syrup)

Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together the rest of the ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Melt a tablespoon of butter (or olive oil) into your pan on medium-high heat. Ladle about 1/3 cup of batter into the pan. You should be able to make about three at a time, or depending on the size of pancakes you prefer. Cook until the edges start to bubble and brown, then flip. Cook for another two minutes and your pancakes should be ready to go!

I've been topping my pancakes with honey lately, so much healthier and quite delicious. This Saturday morning I actually had a fancy honey left over from Thanksgiving...orange blossom honey. It was divine on my pancakes. Plus the sour cream makes the batter incredibly fluffy. Hope you enjoy!

The next recipe is a snack fit for a queen by the roaring fire, friends gathered around the firepit outside or a couple cuddled on the couch. An avant-garde cheese plate.

Classique assiette de fromage (Classic Cheese Plate)
Ingredients:
1 bunch of red grapes
1 bunch of green grapes
1 bunch of purple grapes
a handful of fresh or dried figs
2-3 different kinds of cheese
honey
1 pear
1 apple
crackers

You really can put anything on your cheese plate. It just depends on what you prefer to snack on. I am in love with cheese. So I chose a smoked gouda and a Havarti cheese for my plate. I sliced these cheeses up and placed them on a pretty glass cake stand as my plate. Then I sliced my pear, apple and figs and placed them on the plate. Next was washing and placing the grapes in bunches on the plate, along with the crackers of your choice. The last addition was to ladle a bit of honey near the figs onto your cheese plate. You can use any kind of honey, to make this a little more special try a blossom honey, mine was an orange blossom honey and it was superb. Then serve! Trust me, this snack will be gone in no time.

My next recipe to share on a cold, blustery day would be my warm orange zest biscuits with a variety of toppings and a cup of tea.

Orange Zest Biscuits
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp cold cubed butter
2 Tbsp cold pieces of cream cheese
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 cup whole milk (or heavy cream)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Add cold butter, cream cheese and zest, use fork to combine. Should turn into small pea sized crumbles. Add milk and mix until combined. Make a ball of the dough and flatten, wrap in plastic wrap and let this sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes. After the dough has set, flour your surface and roll out the dough with your rolling pin (or take the easy way and lightly push it out with your hands) make as thin as you prefer. Then use your biscuit cutters or a simple cup and cut out your biscuits. Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum or parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes and you'll pretty much want to eat these right away. To serve I set out pumpkin butter, apple butter, sour cherry preserves and creamed honey. You can top with anything you like or even simply butter. Out of all these options...my favorite was the pumpkin butter...but creamed honey topped with sour cherry preserves came in as a close second. Pour a hot cup of tea or coffee and se faire plaisir! (Enjoy yourself!)

My last recipe for the chilly day would be my pumpkin chocolate cake topped with slivered almonds. For some reason baking is one of the best things I like to do when it's cold or when I'm stuck inside. Hence the yummy cake!

Pumpkin-Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease two 8 inch round pans. In a medium bowl mix in flour, baking soda and salt. In a standing mixer/large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla, pumpkin and vegetable oil. Slowly add in the flour mixture and then slowly add in the milk. Divide batter evenly into pans. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center. Make or grab your frosting. Don't be too disappointed, but I didn't make my frosting this time. (I'm still perfecting my baking skills.) I used chocolate frosting and to fancy up the cake a bit I used slivered almonds for the top. Once the cake was cool, I frosted and topped with the almonds. And voila! Enjoy while the cake is still warm.

Hope you enjoyed all my recipes! Please leave any commentary about recipes you tried. xo Lo

Concert in the Park

After moving to Colorado I took a break from unpacking and had a fun evening out with my family. We sat on a huge hill covered in soft grass which overlooked a stage with a fun, 40s style band playing swing music. With a sigh of relief and oncoming relaxation I opened my picnic bag and pulled out the goodies I prepared for this special event.

A few hours earlier I created the following: summer salad, cheese wheels, strawberry cheese and crackers plus date cakes and chocolate puffs.

Summer Salad
the rest of the box of campanelle pasta
bag of frozen brussel sprouts (or fresh)
two strips of bacon
1/2 red onion
canellini beans
one fresh tomato
red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
smoked paprika

Cook the rest of your campanelle pasta, while the water is boiling cook your bacon in a cast iron skillet.  Once the water is boiling add your pasta. Once the bacon is mostly crisp, remove and lay on a few paper towels to de-grease. Pour your brussel sprouts into the bacon grease to saute, add in half the onion, some salt and pepper.

Once the pasta is al dente, pour in a colander and put in a large bowl to cool. Crumble the strips of bacon into the bowl of pasta, dice up the tomato and add into the bowl as well. Once the brussel sprouts are done, let cool on a cutting board. Dice up the rest of the onion and add to salad. Slice up brussel sprouts into thin slices and add in spices. Mix this salad up and let the flavors merry while cooling in the fridge. After an hour or so of cooling the summer salad should be ready to dive in to.

Cheese Wheels
1/2 puff pastry
white cheddar
blue cheese (or any cheeses you have)
cherry tomatoes
capers

You can really use anything for these cheese wheels, any kinds of cheese, veggies or meat. I happened to have a white cheddar blue marbled cheese, leftover cherry tomatoes and capers. So I rolled out my puff pastry and layered my cheese, tomatoes and capers, then I rolled up the puff pastry like a jelly roll. I used an extra sharp knife to slice half inch pieces and then set them on a greased pan. I baked them for about 15 minutes (as soon as the puff pastry is golden).

Strawberry Cheese and Crackers
5 sliced strawberries
marbled white cheddar blue cheese (or any cheese)
wheat thins (any crackers)

This is very simple, but since I was using a mixed blue cheese, strawberries added a depth of sweetness to the harsh tones of blue cheese, not to mention this made the simple snack that much more summer.








Almond- Date Cakes with a Honey-Chocolate Drizzle
12 dates
1 cups of almonds
1 cup of chocolate covered almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs separated
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt

Drizzle
1/2 cup honey
melted chopped chocolate covered almonds

This was such a hit at the concert...anyone will love it! Put the almonds, chocolate covered almonds, cinnamon and 1/4 cup of the sugar into the food processor, process til ground but not a powder. Whisk egg yolks, lemon zest and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Beat egg whites until foamy, add in remaining sugar (tablespoon at a time), you want soft peaks to form. Fold in yolk mixture, add dates then fold in the almond mixture. Pour into a cupcake pan, I use silicone cupcake holders that way I can continue reusing them. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

For the drizzle, pour honey into a bowl add the chopped chocolate covered almonds and melt in the microwave (about 30-45 seconds- don't overcook). Drizzle this over the cupcakes and top with a few sunflower seeds. Then enjoy!

Chocolate Puffs
1/2 puff pastry
chocolate candies
honey

This dessert is super easy and definitely a kid pleaser! Take a snack size chocolate candy and take a small square of puff pastry, drizzle a bit of honey and wrap all the sides around the chocolate. I used a kit kat type candy but snickers are good to use or anything really. Bake at 350 degrees until the puff pastry is golden, about 15 minutes.

Create all these awesome snacks and you are sure to have smiling faces, enjoying some live music outside on a summer night.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo