CHILI time!

Hello Folks!

This past few days have been very nice and cold. It even snowed without me realizing it over night. I thought it was going to be a nice regular temperature day but nope, cold air everywhere!

So yesterday we decided to make chili, and for the first time ever there was no left over. We all literally stared in awe at the empty pot. I've always used about 2lbs of ground beef. I like my chili meaty specially since I do add beans to it, and there is always at least a little bit left over, but this time nope, zero, nada. It was actually very satisfying as a cook to see it all gone. But as promised I will post the base of the recipe to leave room for anyone who wants to make their own chili and add their own flavors.

On to the recipe:       TT= To Taste*

2 lbs ground beef
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp chili powder
1 onion med diced
6 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
6 or 7 mini sweet pepper (Red, orange, yellow. If you want instead of the mini use the large ones, in that case just 2 would be good) Roasted to remove the skin, seeded, and medium diced.
Salt and Pepper TT
Cayenne pepper TT
1 Tbsp Cumin
2 tomatoes pealed and seeded
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cans of kidney beans, drained
1 can chick peas, drained
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup of water
1 Tbsp tomato paste

1. In a large pot, add the vegetable oil, let it warm up. Add the ground beef, 1/4 cups of water and all dry seasonings.
2. Once the meat is cooked, add the onions and garlic and cook until they become translucent, about 5 min. Add the roasted peppers and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste, then add all the beans, cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes plus one can of water that the crushed tomatoes were in.
5. Cover and cook over medium high heat, let it come to a boil for 5 minuted then reduce to a simmer and cook for 6 hrs.

Serve with sour cream, cheddar cheese if desired.  Enjoy!

Cooking Chili and comfort foods!

Hello everyone,

The weather this winter has been crazy! It goes from cold to hot, some type of bug is going around. I keep hearing because of the weather, Detroit schools will be closed tomorrow. But what better way to get out of the funk that with some good old fashion comfort food?

What is your favorite comfort food?

Tomorrow I will be diving into the kitchen to cook up some home made chili. Now for me that's the type of comfort food I like to eat when the weather is this nuts. I enjoy mine, spicy, hearty and I am sure I am going to break some rules with certain people for adding this to my chili but I add kidney beans and chick peas.

I remember the first time I made it, I was still young and still learning a lot in the kitchen. One of my aunts knows how to make it so I decided one day that I wanted to try and do it. She told us that we have to make sure to grab the beans that say for chili. I thought cool easy peasy, well no. We actually grabbed the chili that you would use to put over your hotdog. Well you all can imagine how that turned out.

Remember, comfort food is not about just the taste, you got to love what you are doing for it to translate into the food. I am a big believer that feelings get transfer to food as you cook it.

Anyways, tomorrow depending how long the day is, I will somehow post the chili recipe and we are paring it with some homemade biscuits. I don't know about you guys but I am hoping tomorrow is here already!

Rice Pudding!

Hello fellow readers. Today we are going to talk about rice pudding. Have you notice that on certain days, you wake up and you crave something specifically like eggs and bacon for breakfast. Maybe a salad or a nice thick juicy burger for lunch. Maybe a nice prime rib or dinner or a simple Mac and Cheese comfort food? It can vary from spicy to sweet, hearty or creamy. Everyone's palate is different and that's what makes people have unique experience with food. What I might find to be a simple semi interesting dish, could be the most amazing, "It taste just like my grandmother use to make it," dish for you and that is what makes food great.

So today I am going to post a recipe for Rice Pudding. It is a very simple recipe, and it can be made with ingredients that you already have at home. The original recipe comes from Giada. Hers is very simple as well and maybe one of this days I will try and make it the way she has it done. I will post the link to her recipe.

Giada's Rice Pudding Recipe

I took the portion of the rice, milk, and sugar from hers and kept them the same but everything else I changed.

Our version:

-5 cups whole milk
-2/3 cups of rice
-2 Tbps vanilla extract
-1/2 cup of sugar
-1 cinnamon stick (If no stick add 1 tsp of cinnamon)

1. Combine rice, milk and cinnamon stick (powder) in a medium sauce pan, and bring to a boil. 
2. Reduce to a simmer until the rice is tender, stirring frequently so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom and them milk doesn't scorch, about 25 minutes.
3. Mix in the sugar and vanilla extract and cook until the mixture thickens.
4. Spoon mixture into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold.

Bakers Tips:
Remember, a recipe most of the time is just for you to know what type of technique the writer used. Never be afraid to change a few things to really make the recipe your own.

Cinnamon Craisin Bread

Hey everyone . Its super cold and snowy in the NYC these days an when I think of something warm and comforting to help me fuel thru the snowy sidewalks left untouched by my inconsiderate neighbors, I think of home made bread! There is nothing like the feel of making your own bread, mixing the ingredients the smell of the yeast coming back to life and growing. I bake many things but nothing warms my house like bread...that might be due to the fact I leave the oven on to help it rise and ferment but y'know what I mean right?

One of my favorite breads to make is a cinnamon raisin loaf  with a crumble topping that is to die for!
Seriously you can put this crumble on almost anything pies, cookies and muffins are my go to for ideas.

So here is the break down of the recipe.

Dough
-Milk   4  ounces
-Water 2 ounces
-Dry Yeast 7 grams
-All purpose flour 1 pound
-Sugar 2.5 ounces
-Salt 3/4  teaspoon
-Whole egg 1

Spread/filling
-Butter melted 2.5 ounces
-Sugar  3 tablespoons
-Cinnamon 2 teaspoons
-Raisins 6 ounces (can be switched out for craisins , yellow raisin etc)

Crumble
-All purpose flour 1and 1/4 ounces
-light brown sugar 2 and 1/2 tablespoons
-Cinnamon 1/2 teasppon
-Butter melted 3/4 ounce
-1 egg white to brush the top of the loaf

Procedure

1. Whisk together yeast, milk, and water and set aside.

2. In a kitchen aid with a paddle, mix all purpose flour, sugar, salt, butter.

3. Add yeast mixture and egg to flour mixture and mix until kneaded.

4. Place in a bowl, cover and ferment. (About 30 to 45 min) or till doubled in size

5. Once fermented, remove from bowl, press dough into a rough rectangular and spread butter, then cinnamon, sugar, and raisins.

6. Fold the 2 ends slightly over and roll tightly from one end to the other, sealing as you go along. Place in a buttered loaf pan seam side down.

 7. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with crumb ingredients that have been mixed together to a rough crumb consistency. Ferment at least another 20-30 min.

8. Once risen, bake at 350-375 degrees F for approx 40 minutes.

 What the crumble should look like.

 The bread will be moist from the swirl in the middle. Also keep in mind as weird as it might sound, some dry fruits produce more moisture than others and have different levels of sweetness.

This bread taste really good toasted with butter and a nice cup of coffee to go with it. Maybe a small slice of toast to go with your oatmeal. Or instead of smearing jelly and butter into a piece of toast to go with your eggs, have a slice from this bread with a little bit of butter. One less thing to have on the table. Maybe smear some peanut butter and skip the jelly.
 Pare this yummy bread with your bread pudding mix and you will have out of this world french toast!

Baker's tips

. If using craisins you might want to roughly chop them first.
. Make sure to roll the dough tightly.

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

I can't believe a year has gone by so fast and another one just started. Time sure does fly when you are busy with the Holidays, training a puppy, and baking up orders.

I have a good and delicious biscuit recipe that would go very good with either a chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, lentil soup, or just great to munch on by themselves. Those are not the only options though. These biscuits are just so cheesy, flaky, and  melt in your mouth goodness that you just want to soak up anything with it.

But before I get into the recipe I want to talk a little bit about the Grooms cake I just finish doing for a good friends wedding. The cake was Creature From The Black Lagoon inspired and I admit I had a lot of fun making the cake. It was a little difficult because I accidentally pulled my back, but my partner was very helpful with the cake (for not being a baker).

The cake was a two tier orange scented white cake, with a vanilla/ orange butter cream and toasted coconut that was dyed green and placed on the bottom sides to make it look like sea weed. The cake was delicious and the butter cream was to die for. The Clients were very happy and everyone loved the cake so much that they didn't even let us finished setting up the cake before they crowded us to take pictures. All in all very satisfying.

Now for the Biscuit recipe:     Preheat Oven to 450 degree F

1 lb     Self rising flour
6 oz     Butter
8fl oz   Milk, buttermilk or cream
1/2 tsp Salt
7oz      Grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
2 oz      Scallions or chives, chopped

1. In a stand mixer, add the butter and salt to flour on medium speed until it forms about pea size lumps.
2. Gradually add your liquid of choice enough to make a soft dough.
3. Add your cheese and choice of green onion and mix until incorporated.
4. Flour flat surface and knead dough lightly several times to help form for rolling.
5. Press or roll dough to a 1/2 in thickness. DO NOT MAKE TO THIN. 
6. Use biscuit cutter size of your personal choice or you can cut them into squares.
7. Place on sheet tray and bake for 10 min or until the bottom of the biscuit is a nice golden brown.

*Bakers Tips:
- Secret to a great biscuit is not a golden top, by that time your biscuits are actually over baked. It's a nice golden bottom that makes a good biscuit.
- The colder the dough, the better the rise, so you can pre-make and shape them before hand and bake them when needed.