Fallen Souffle

San Antonio, Texas…home of the Alamo, Riverwalk, the Spurs and my Dad’s side of the family. Evan and I are taking an extended weekend trip to visit my relatives and eat lots of barbeque and Mexican food. I can’t wait!

As an Ode to Texas I have written an article about Baby Back Ribs in June’s edition of Very Good Things which will be up tommorrow so check it out while I am gone! See you on Tuesday!

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So I have finished the first round of Wilton classes and thought I would share my progress.

I have come a long way since the first class…I can’t wait until the second round of classes start!

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

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I am thankful everyday for those that have fought and perished for the freedoms that we have today.
I have a great respect for those that volunteer to protect our country and aid the world.
I am grateful for growing up in a military family.
I remember those that we have lost.

Please take a moment today to remember those who currently serve and have served our country, regardless of your political views we must be thankful for all they do and have done.

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I am usually not a fan of “convenience foods,” many time they are full of things bad for you and frankly I just like the satisfaction of making something completely from scratch (I know-I am a nerd) But one thing that I make sure to always have in my freezer is frozen bread dough. I have used this product for pizza, pretzels, calzones and I really want to make cinnamon rolls with them.

So this post is really geared towards my Mom because it is kinda hard to explain over the phone how to make these so I have included a step by step tutorial on how to make this yummy treat. Evan and I eat one of these for dinner but it would also be great for a party or snack.

Step 1. Defrost two loaves of frozen white bread dough on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with oil. Cover the loaves with plastic wrap that has also been sprayed. Take this out in the morning and it will be good to go for dinner.

Step 2: Smoosh the two loaves together and spread them out to about the size of your cookie sheet, making sure you have a nice rectangle.

Step 3: Layer in the good stuff. I like to start with a sprinkling of garlic powder and Italian seasonings. I then layer prosciutto, good provolone, salami and then mozzarella. I would make sure to get good quality meats and cheeses because they tend to have less water in them, I have made many soggy strombolis with cheap meat and cheese. I tend to stick to the drier meats anyways. You could also put spinach in, really whatever you like.

Step 4: Bring the sides of the dough to the center and pinch together. Pinch the ends together as well. Something important to mention is to not wet the dough because it will not stick together. Just pinch it almost like a pie crust

Step 5: Carefully flip the whole thing over so it is seam side down. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or so until golden on top and done on the bottom.

Step 6: Once removed from the oven I like to brush the top with garlic butter and maybe a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Step 7: Enjoy! We like to slice 1-inch thick pieces and dip them into warmed marinara…yum!

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Sometimes we just need a little something to help us to escape from the stresses of life. Whether you use chocolate, pasta, or tea to help you relax I think everyone has some sort of food or drink they turn to. When the times get rough, mine just happens to be of the alcoholic nature. Now I do not drink on a regular basis, I will have a beer or glass of wine maybe once during the week, if that, and on the weekends I will casually drink with friends. Since I have been so busy I have had less because I just don’t have the taste for it. But this week has been a challenge to say the least so I felt I was due a nice cocktail.

Evan was at his softball game and I was catching up on my DVR-ed shows so I decided to try a new drink. I saw this drink on Oprah, I think she aired it Monday. I made a few adjustments for my taste and have found my new drink of choice. I know you are all probably sick of me posting about lemons but they are my new “it” ingredient and they make this drink fabulous!

It is refreshing and smooth and the lemon and sugar are just perfect. Try it the next time you need to get away for a bit…

Lemon Drop Martini
inspired by Oprah’s “Legend’s Martini”

juice of 2 lemons
2 teaspoons sugar
2 shots of good vodka
2 springs of mint
sparkling water (optional)

Combine all ingredients except sparkling water into a shaker with ice. Shake until well combine or until your frustrations have somewhat subsided. Strain into a beautiful glass and add sparkling water if desired.

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Happy Blog Party!

I almost didn’t make it in time this week…something about two jobs, a cake class and oh yeah…housework almost kept me from the fun this month! Luckily I have two super easy recipes to contribute.

I have been making this yummy tea recipe since I saw Ina make it a couple of years ago. It is refreshing and good for you! I rarely drink anything else besides water during the day, but a nice cool glass of this with lunch it truly a treat!

Ina’s Fruity Summer Tea
4 Celestial Seasoning Red Zinger Tea bags
4 Celestial Seasoning Lemon Zinger Tea bags
4 cups cold apple juice (I actually used white grape juice this time around)

Steep all 8 teabags in 4 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes. (I usually throw in a bit of ice to cool it down before combining with juice.) In a large pitcher combine tea with juice and add as much ice as desired. Enjoy!

For the appetizer/dessert I decided to stick to two very lady-like things…cheesecake and lemon curd…what could be better! I have made these mini cheesecakes before and have added preserves to the top but seeing as I have a large amount of lemon curd in my fridge right now, I figured this would be a great way to use some of it.

Mini Lemon Curd Cheesecakes
1 8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cookies (I have been using vanilla wafers but used the Girl Scout shortbread cookies this time and they are fabulous!)
lemon curd

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth and well blended.

Place muffin liners into muffin tin and drop a cookie into the bottom of each cup. Spoon about 1/4 cup of cream cheese filling into each cup. Top with desired amount of lemon curd (I used about 2 teaspoons in each cup) and swirl with a toothpick.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

**Jen’s Note- These mini cakes tend to fall a bit after baking so you could leave out the curd until after baking and you would have a nice little dimple to fill with cool lemon curd.

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Sorry for the lack of posts this week, it has been a bit nuts around here. I started the Wilton 1 class on Monday night, I am super excited to get my hands in there now, so much so that I could hardly sleep Monday night! Which turned out to not be too good as I had to make sweets at 3:45 the next morning. I also got an afternoon job at one of those meal assembly places, I like it alot…the owner rocks and it never hurts to have a bit more spending (or travel) money. Add that to an increase in hours at the bakery (not that I am complaining) and I have been a bit tired and stressed.

To top it off, I was asked to make a cake for a baby shower and this one actually came through! I made the cake last night and then got up this morning to make the icing and put the whole thing together. I ended up making a simple white cake but the “wow” factor was in the icing. I made some freezer strawberry jam this weekend so I added that to a bit of buttercream and used that as the filling. For the outer layer of icing I mixed in some homemade lemon curd. I thought making this would be daunting but really the most time consuming thing is squeezing the lemons, and that goes by super fast with an electric juicer.

I kept the design simple on the cake because I have not mastered writing on cakes and I was not about to start practicing at 6am on this cake. Still I think I like the simple uncluttered look of the cake. I had some batter left over so I made some mini cupcakes (I didn’t want the hubby to feel unloved) so I was able to taste test all of the layers. I am quite happy with the outcome of the whole thing and I hope the cake was a hit!

Microwave Lemon Curd
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 cup fresh lemon juice (I strained this to keep it smooth and not pulpy)
3 lemons, zested (left this out)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a microwave safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in the microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. (Takes about 5-6 minutes) Remove from the microwave, and pour into small sterile jars. Store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator.

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This month’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge calls us all to find our inner Mexican…hmm…that sounds very wrong…anyways…it’s time to find creative and fun dishes to help us all celebrate this fun holiday.

So I decided to go with the obvious choice of salsa only because I bought a bunch of cilantro and tomatoes at the farmer’s market this week and I have just the recipe for them. I participated in a recipe swap a few month’s back and this is one of the recipes I received from my partner. I decided it was high time to put this recipe to use, I mean come on isn’t that the purpose of this challenge!

This takes no time to whip up in the food processor. I made another salsa recipe on Friday and I hand chopped everything which was way too labor intensive and resulted in a way too chunky salsa. This recipe looks like it came from a mexican restaurant and tastes wonderful. I used a can of the original Rotel which created a nice and spicy salsa, though I noticed they have a milder version as well if you want to play it safe. Now I just need a good margarita…

You’ll Never Go Back Salsa
from my swap partner Kendall

1 can Rotel, drained
1 onion (I used half of a large white onion)
1 large tomato, seeds and juice squeezed out
1 bunch of cilantro (just add to taste really)
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves chopped
juice of half a lime

1. In the food processor add garlic, onion, cilantro and fresh tomato. Pulse until there are no longer large chunks of tomato. Add Rotel, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Pulse until desired consistency.

2. Chill for about 30 minutes and then enjoy.

**Jen’s note: I found the salsa to be a bit on the watery side (probably due to the fresh tomato), so I chose to drain a bit of the juice off after I made it.

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And what did I do with all of these you ask? Well for starters I entered the Raleigh Farmer’s Market’s Dessert Contest. I figured this would be the best start to my future (hopefully) in cooking contests. I made my dessert last night and carefully drove it the Farmer’s Market this morning and then had to wait 2 hours for the results. I was fine until about 10 minutes before they were to announce the winners. I don’t know why I got all worked up, 1st prize was only $100, but I guess I can just excited about my chances, I was really happy with the dessert I made. So the panel of judges included TV weathermen and government officials and the results were read with Suzy Strawberry nearby. I won third place. I was quite proud of myself since this was my first contest and the winner was about 60 so she had some experience over me. I took home my $50 and white ribbon proudly and I look forward to the next contest…peaches!

So My Mother-In-Law got some pictures of the announcement that I will have to get from her and because I was such a ball of nerves I forgot to take a picture of the entry but I will pass along the recipe incase you find yourself with a large amount of strawberries.

A Slice of Strawberry Heaven

2 cups strawberries, divided
juice of half a lemon
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 packages (3 ounces each) ladyfinger cookies

1. In a blender, puree one cup of sliced strawberries together with the juice of half a lemon. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whip together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold whipped cream and strawberry puree into cream cheese mixture.

4. Line a 9 inch spring form pan with plastic wrap. Arrange ladyfingers around sides and bottom of the pan, standing ladyfingers lengthwise around sides of pan. Pour 1/2 of the filling into the pan, then arrange about 1/2 a cup of sliced strawberries over the filling, then place a layer of ladyfingers on top of strawberries. Pour remaining filling over ladyfingers.

5. Place the remaining strawberries, either whole or sliced on top of the final layer of filling. Refrigerate overnight and remove from pan once thoroughly chilled.

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There are a few dishes that get Evan really excited about dinner. I think he has become apprehensive some of the new dishes I have been creating because some of them have worked and some have them have been less than stellar. So on Sundays I try and make a really good meal to start the week on the right foot. He actually requested fried chicken, but I have not mastered the art of fried chicken and I just couldn’t bear the smell of grease in my house all night, nor could I imagine the oil sitting in my stomach. So I decided to make the next best thing in his mind, Barbeque Chicken Quesadillas.

These gems originated from one of our favorite restaurants in Virginia Beach, Big Sam’s. It is located a few blocks from the oceanfront and they have one of the best Happy Hour’s around. I don’t think we have actually had a full meal there, we usually fill up on calamari, wings, oysters and cheap beer. Evan tried these on one visit and was hooked, so much so that on the morning of our wedding day, instead of ordering breakfast there (which is awesome too) he begged to have these made for him.

Because we are hours from my hometown, I have devised our own recipes for these quesadillas. We eat them for dinner but they would be great for a party or even lunches. You could add in more nutritious things such as corn or black beans but I keep this recipe simple for Evan.

Evan’s Barbeque Chicken Quesadillas

1 whole chicken cooked, meat pulled off (I usually use a rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup or so of your favorite barbeque sauce (we like Stubb’s)
2 cups or so of cheddar cheese
8 flour tortillas (we use whole wheat to not feel so guilty)
cooking spray

1. In a medium size bowl, combine the shredded meat and barbeque sauce. Add more if you like it extra saucy.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray and lay down one tortilla. Spoon over chicken and top with desired amount of cheese. Top with second tortilla and press down. Flip over carefully once nicely browned (This doesn’t take very long so pay attention!) Once cheese is melted and both torillas are browned, transfer to a cutting board to cool a bit.

3. Continue with the rest of your quesadillas, you should be able to make about 4.

4. Slice each quesadilla in quarters with a pizza slicer and enjoy!

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