Below are the 13 most recent journal entries recorded in Recipe Maven's InsaneJournal:

Saturday, May 19th, 2012
9:26 pm	Eating Well in Chicago http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6299211.html For all our normal frugality and staying-in-ness, we do manage to eat really well every now and then. There's this joint down the street called Fish Bar, and it's a perfect Sunday night meal. I love Fish Bar because you sit at a wrap-counter around the service area, like a greasy spoon. Amazing craft beers are served in mason jars. And you get tater tots in a paper cone. The seafood served, however, is so fresh and perfectly prepared you'd think you were at a high-class white-tablecloth establishment. I'm such a sucker for oysters. And they do this Siracha sauce coating on some of the fried shrimps or clams or things, UG, so good and spicy. Maybe the best scallops ever. Speaking of seafood. That spicy tuna roll was Intense. This was at a lovely and fancy place that I don't remember the name of because it was the middle of February. Ha. I am behind in th' bloggin'. I believe this was Rise Sushi, and I was with Lana, and if I remember correctly, there were also 3 Lychee martinis each. Mmmhmmm. For even more fancy-pants fish, in April there was OYSY sushi. It was spectacular. There were more martinis. Adorbs. The same weekend as OYSY, we also got to eat at Lula. And now I believe everyone should eat at Lula. It's not easy to find perfect pasta and pasta sauce. Believe me, I am a picky bastard about that nonsense. This was perfect. And in the background, yes, that is a big ol' bowl of delicious kale. I usually never eat dessert, but I will make an exception for a goat's milk custard topped with an array of delights, and a hot and delightful coffee. And finally. Because we are beer-dorks, last night we had plans to go out "somewhere" for Chicago Craft Beer Week. After a couple days reading reviews and event listings, by luck or fate we decided on the Owen & Engine restaurant. We were seated right away and then ate a meal the likes of which I haven't enjoyed in ages. He had the Hangar Steak with ramps and hash browns, and I had a Duck Confit with brussel sprouts and wild rice. Flavor explosion. And for my fellow beer-dorks out there: His came with a Three Floyd's Mushy P, and mine was served with a 5 Rabbits 5 Vulture Porter. Before dinner there was Bell's Oberon, Two Brother's Dog Days, and Sierra Nevada's Hoptimonium. After dinner there was Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale, Boulevard Boss Tom’s Golden Bock, and then some beer at Delilah's that I really wish I could remember (ha) because it was delicious and came in a Chimay chalice. In case you can't tell, I am mildly addicted to Instagram these days. You can follow me there at melissasuestanley More catching up later! And, I am assuming, some new and exciting treats that involve a suitcase and a fresh box of imodiums. Stay tuned. (Comment on this)
2:48 pm	Ten Coconut Recipes http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6299122.html You may have noticed that I went a little coconut crazy recently. I know I've mentioned this somewhere before, but I hate it as a child (I think it was a texture thing), so now I'm making up for lost time :) I recently posted a list of 10 coconut recipes on Willow Bird Baking and thought I'd share here, too. 1. Buttery Coconut & Almond Morning Buns (It's hard to pick a favorite because all the recipes are SO different, but I wish I had some more of these hot coconut almond morning buns with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top right this second.) 2. Banana Coconut Cream Cakes 3. Banana Coconut Cream Cupcakes 4. Pumpkin Oat Snack Cake with Broiled Coconut Icing 5. Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Coconut Cake & Coconut Whipped Cream 6. Brownie-Bottom Coconut Chocolate Cream Cake 7. Tres Leches Coconut Cake Trifle 8. Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Coconut Icing 9. Nanaimo Bars 10. Coconut Cream Tart (Comment on this)
1:16 pm	Blueberry Scones with Maple Glaze http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6298860.html These scones are delicious, quick, and easy. They can literally be mixed, baked, and glazed within 45 minutes -- perfect for the difficult Sunday I had this past week. I love the combination of maples and blueberry because it reminds me of a sweet blueberry pancake breakfast. Hope you enjoy :) Blueberry Scones with Maple Glaze Recipe by: Adapted slightly from Tyler Florence (scones) and Recipe Girl (glaze) Yield: 8 scones or 16 mini-scones These scones are delicious, quick, and easy. They can literally be mixed, baked, and glazed within 45 minutes -- perfect for my crisis Sunday! I love the combination of maples and blueberry because it reminds me of a sweet blueberry pancake breakfast. Scone Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks 1 cup fresh blueberries 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones Maple Glaze Ingredients: 1/3 cup icing sugar 2 Tbs maple syrup 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together (I usually do this on a piece of wax paper that I can then use as a chute to pour the ingredients into a bowl) and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the cold butter into the mixture 6-8 times until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs (you can do this with a pastry cutter or two knives if you don't have a food processor.) Pour the flour mixture into a bowl and fold in the blueberries gently so as not to break them. Make a well in the center of this mixture, add the heavy cream, and slowly work the flour and cream together to form a dough, being careful not to overmix. Lightly flour a surface and press the dough out (careful not to handle it too much; the butter should stay in tiny, cold pieces) into a long, skinny rectangle: about 12 inches by 3 inches. Cut the rectangle in half and in half again so that you have a row of 4 3-inch squares. Cut each square in half diagonally to form your scones (you can cut them in half on the other diagonal, too, if you want mini-scones.) Place the scones on the prepared baking sheets, brush on heavy cream, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Let scones cool while you mix the glaze. Whisk icing sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup together until smooth and drizzle over the scones. Eat immediately. To read the story I tell to my students ALL THE TIME, see what I was originally supposed to bake last Sunday, and see more photos, please head over to Willow Bird Baking! x-posted to food_porn, cooking, picturing_food, and bakebakebake (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
1:00 pm	Make it Mini http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6298619.html I used a muffin tin to make these yummy mini pies, laced with lemon curd. More pics and how to here... (Comment on this)
6:17 am	Mars Bar Slice http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6294887.html Mars Bar Slice is pretty much a childhood staple where I’m from, and there’s no question why. It’s gooey, crunchy and chocolatey, with just a hint of caramel flavour from the Mars Bars. It’s incredibly fast to make, there’s no oven baking time, and it’s deliciously, unapologetically calorific. It was one of the first things I ever made with my grandmother when I was a very small girl, and it immediately takes me back to sunny afternoons in her garden, drinking lemonade and eating home made picnic fare on a blanket under the lemon tree. For lots and lots of step by step pictures and the recipe, please go to my blog, Cloudberry Dreams. Otherwise, the recipe alone is MARS BAR SLICE 50g butter 1 tbsp golden syrup 4 x 54g Mars Bars 60g Rice Bubbles (or Rice Krispies, if you’re not from Australia or New Zealand) 200g milk chocolate 20g Copha/Crisco/Trex/whatever vegetable shortening you can find MAKES APPROX. 21 SERVES 1. Grease and line a rectangular baking tray with either foil or baking paper, then set aside. 2. Slice each Mars Bar in half lengthways and then cut into small pieces. 3. Cube the butter and then place it in a small saucepan with the golden syrup and the Mars Bar pieces, stirring continuously over a low heat for approximately five minutes, or until the mixture has melted together and is smooth, thick and glossy. It may take several minutes for the nougat from the Mars Bars to fully melt into the mixture – just keep stirring, it will happen! Remove from the heat when the mixture is ready. 4. Pour the Rice Bubbles/Rice Krispies into the melted Mars Bar mixture and stir to combine. The mixture will become very, very thick and sticky extremely quickly. 5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press it down and into the corners with either your fingers or the back of a metal spoon so that it sticks together and the surface is smooth. 6. Place the tin into the fridge for 20 minutes to cool and harden the mixture. 7. Meanwhile, get your ch0colate, break it into pieces and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. 8. Add 20g of chopped vegetable shortening to the chocolate pieces. 9. Microwave in 30 second blocks of time, removing the bowl and stirring before each new burst in the microwave. The chocolate and shortening should melt together and be shiny and smooth. 10. Remove the tin from the fridge and pour the melted chocolate over the base of the slice so that the surface is completely covered. 11. Return the tin to the fridge for a further 30 minutes so that the chocolate can fully set. 12. Once the chocolate is fully set, remove the tin from the fridge and carefully lift the slice out of the tin by slowly lifting the sides of the foil/baking paper. Peel away the foil/baking paper and place the slice on a clean chopping board. 13. Using a large knife (I run mine under hot water for a few seconds to heat the blade), cut the slice into square pieces and serve. It will keep in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for several days – except you probably won’t be able to resist it long enough for it to get anywhere near going bad! Enjoy! x x-posted to cooking & picturing_food (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
6:23 pm	Honeydew Ice/Granita http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6298236.html Honeydew Ice- The perfect cold treat for the hot weather! Super easy, fresh, healthy, and you don't need an ice cream machine! Recipe and more over at The Alchemist. (Comment on this)
10:46 am	Chicken Fried Steak and the Trimmings http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6298110.html Chicken Fried Steak with Sage Sausage Gravy And Honey Glazed Grilled Yams with White Balsamic Grilled Artichokes. Full Recipe at Unrivaledkitch.com (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
1:16 pm	Fresh Ideal http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6297655.html I love these mini "heirloom" tomatoes and made a tasty salad with machen lettuce, avocado, red onion and goat cheese, more info and pics here. I love adding a cup of warm rice too, so good! Anyone else do that? (Comment on this)
Friday, May 11th, 2012
3:57 pm	Chocolate & Raspberry Brownies http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6294288.html Did anyone see the cover of BBC Good Food magazine this month? It had the most gorgeous looking chocolate & raspberry brownies I've ever seen, and I honestly couldn't resist the idea. I used an adapted version of a great brownie recipe, the results were amazing. These gooey, chocolatey, raspberryish beauties are the perfect childhood-to-adulthood crossover treat. You need these in your life. Immediately. For lots of step-by-step pictures and the recipe, please visit my blog, Cloudberry Dreams. Otherwise, the recipe alone is CHOCOLATE & RASPBERRY BROWNIES 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped 225g butter 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 200g soft brown sugar 170g plain flour 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 150g raspberries MAKES APPROX. 16 1. Heavily grease and/or line a 20cm (8in) square cake tin (I couldn’t find a square one in the cupboard, so I had to settle for a round one…you can do this if you have to!) and preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius (that’s 325 Fahrenheit or Gas Mark 3). 2. Melt the chocolate and butter together, either using the microwave (heating in 30 second blocks and stirring between each block of time) or in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. It should be lovely, smooth and glossy once it’s melted. 3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, egg yolks and brown sugar until they come together and the mixture is golden brown. 4. Now add the melted chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture, stirring gently until combined. 5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder and then pour into the chocolate mixture. 6. Gently fold the flour into the chocolate until just combined, making sure that there are no flour pockets hiding in the mixture. 7. Add the raspberries and fold them very gently through the brownie mixture and pour the mixture into the tin. 8. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, then remove the tin from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for an hour or two before turning the brownies out onto a board. I cut the edges off mine to square it out into a normal brownie shape. Enjoy! x x-posted to cooking & bakebakebake (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
12:49 pm	fried green tomatoes http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6297453.html I made these fore a recent lunch party, I had on my new porch. I just recently moved from GA to CA and was not even sure I could find green tomatoes! Luckily I did, a local "Sprouts" had a sale on vine ripen tomatoes with a few stray greens, which are simply unripened tomatoes. The added firmness makes them ideal for frying. Recipe and pretty pics here. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
9:51 pm	Breakfast Apple Pie http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6297102.html Breakfast apple pie, perfect for Mothers Day Brunch! Recipe and more over at The Alchemist. (Comment on this)
4:07 pm	Gooey Butter Strawberry Shortcake http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6297001.html I don't know if I really need to sell this to you, but just in case: this is gooey butter cake + strawberry shortcake, so basically, it's perfect. My fear is that you’re going to immediately deem it too sweet for your taste, so let me address that first: this dessert has the perfect balance of sweet cake, tangy berries, and freshly whipped cream that, without sugar added, lends a rich background bitterness. In short, it’s quite a savvy combination and not cloying in the least. I actually expected the Gooey Butter Cake itself to be too syrupy sweet for me, but was pleasantly surprised at its flavor. Essentially, this cake is a beautiful, simple harbinger of summer. Gooey Butter Strawberry Shortcake Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking, adapted from one provided to St. Louis Today by Fred and Audrey Heimburger of Heimburger Bakery. Yield: would easily serve 4-6 people Crust Ingredients: 1 cup cake flour 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/3 cup butter, softened Filling Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened 1 egg 1 cup all-purpose flour 2/3 cup evaporated milk 1/4 cup light corn syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla icing sugar Toppings Ingredients: 1 pound strawberries, quartered 2 cups heavy whipping cream Directions: NOTE: If you don't have a skillet, I believe you can bake this in a greased 9-inch square baking dish (I'd use a glass one if you have it, and check it early and often. Remove when there's some jiggle left.) Let us know how it goes if you try it this way for all the other skilletless people! Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together cake flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together. Press the mixture into the bottom (this step is a lot harder than it sounds, but be patient and use the back of a spoon to help spread/press the mixture down. I also stuck mine in the fridge for a bit to make the butter less sticky) and up the sides of a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Make the filling: Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow (about 2-3 minutes). Mix in the egg until just combined. Alternate adding the flour and evaporated milk, mixing after each addition. Mix in the corn syrup and vanilla. Pour the filling into the crust and sprinkle the top with icing sugar (I forgot to do this, and did it afterwards. Oops). Bake and assemble the cake: Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until cake is nearly set (mine was probably ready around 30). Some jiggle is fine -- do not overcook! It'll finish setting up as it cools. Let it cool in pan for 2 hours. In the meantime, beat heavy cream to stiff peaks. Pile heaps of fresh strawberries into the center of your cooled, set gooey butter cake, top with a mountain of freshly whipped cream, and serve. To read my list of very important summer plans, read more the gooeyness and strawberryness of this cake, and see more photos, please head over to Willow Bird Baking! x-posted to food_porn, cooking, picturing_food, and bakebakebake (Comment on this)
4:07 pm	Cookies & Cream Cupcakes http://food-porn.livejournal.com/6296637.html Like me, you’ve probably seen millions of variations of these babies floating around the internet, and I figured it was high time that I jumped on the bandwagon. Mine are a variation of the versions by the lovely Return of the Yummy and Bakerella. These really are some of the tastiest cupcakes I’ve ever made. The Oreos on the base give each chocolate cupcake a rich, biscuity crunch, and when topped with a creamy vanilla frosting laced with Oreo pieces, the cookies and cream dream is complete. Lots and lots of step-by-step pictures and the recipe are on my blog, Cloudberry Dreams. Otherwise, the recipe alone is COOKIES & CREAM CUPCAKES For the cupcakes: 250g butter 1/2 cup cocoa 2 cups plain flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed 3 eggs, whole 2 egg yolks 180g dark chocolate, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon instant coffee 1 tablespoon water 1 cup buttermilk (I used one cup of semi-skimmed milk with one tablespoon of lemon juice added to it) 2 x packets Oreo cookies 1. Firstly, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit or Gas Mark 4). Line cupcake/muffin trays with 24 cupcake papers and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 2. In another bowl (I used my stand mixer’s bowl, but any large mixing bowl will do if you’re using hand held beaters), beat the butter and brown sugar on high speed for 3 – 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. 3. Add the eggs and the egg yolks one at a time, beating for two minutes after each addition. 4. Beat in the vanilla extract and the melted chocolate until the mixture becomes glossy. 5. In a separate cup or bowl, combine the coffee with the water and pour into the cake batter, beating on high for 20 – 30 seconds to combine. 6. Set the mixer to the lowest speed and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk. Make sure that the flour is the first and last thing you add! 7. Place an Oreo cookie into each of the cupcake papers lining the prepared muffin/cupcake tray. 8. Carefully spoon your cupcake mixture over the top of the Oreos in the cupcake papers, filling to 2/3 full. 9. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes in the oven, until cupcakes are cooked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. COOKIES AND CREAM FROSTING 200g butter, softened and cubed 1/2 cup milk 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 8 cups icing sugar, sifted 10 Oreo cookies, crushed/chopped Extra Oreos, for decorating 1. Beat the cubed butter on high speed for 5 minutes until light and creamy. 2. Add the milk, vanilla and half of the sifted icing sugar and beat for 3 – 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. 3. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat again for 3 – 4 minutes, until light, fluffy and a spreadable consistency. 4. Add the chopped/crushed Oreo cookies and beat on low speed for 1 minute to thoroughly combine. 5. Pipe or spread the frosting onto your cupcakes and decorate however you like; I finished mine off with Oreo cookies that I’d cut in half. Enjoy! xx x-posted to cooking, bakebakebake & picturing_food (Comment on this)