November 24, 2017–I was invited to a post-Thanksgiving Party. You can’t show up empty handed so made K’s famous cream cheese brownies. As always, they were a hit!
Mami Fe’s Pernil
November 19, 2017 — I had the pleasure of making Pernil with Mami Fe when she and her family visited me for her birthday in July 2017.
One of the few things I enjoy more than cooking for a party is eating. Now I can cook something I like to and get her ‘secret’ recipe for making the best pernil I’ve ever tasted!
For the uninitiated, pernil is a slow-roasted pork shoulder with the bone and the skin STILL ON. It is marinated overnight with sofrito, salt, pepper, oregano, sazón, adobo and lots and lots of GARLIC! For maximum flavor you must put the Sofrito mixture deep into the meat by way of small, deep cuts. The remaining mixture is massage all over the meat.
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Orange-Chipotle Shrimp
November 18, 2017–On one of the episodes of Dinner At Tiffani’s she made orange-chipotle shrimp for a potluck party. It looked amazing, and I can attest that it also tastes AMAZING. Shrimp, garlic, chipotle chilies, and cilantro. She served hers with sliced baguettes. I decided to make shrimp tacos! Mmmmm!
Bourbon Pecan Pie
November 16, 2017 — One of my favorite food people is Alton Brown and his cooking show Good Eats. Not only does he show you how to make amazing food but he also explains the science behind the recipe. Now you know why it works and can adjust should you not have all of the ingredients. The first time I made his Bourbon Pecan Pie was for Christmas 2016. I transported it all the way from Miami, Florida to Dallas, Texas where I was spending the holiday at Tanya’s new home with our other friend Mel and her son Chris. Surprisingly it made it through security without any of the TSA agents ‘claiming’ that it was unauthorized so that they could enjoy it for themselves.
It was time for our office Thanksgiving party so I decided to recreate this dish for my coworkers.
Spiced Pecans for the filling and the crust
Crust with the pecans and the first introduction of Bourbon!
10-inch tart pan waiting for the goodness
Filled with the spiced pecans
Bourbon and golden syrup filling
Ready to eat!
Love my Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Bakeware. Thanks M&T!
I had some dough and filling left over so I made a mini-one. I topped it with some bourbon caramel and homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Perfect for sharing or not!!
I also made one for Christmas 2016 to celebrating T’s new home in Frisco, TX.
Cream Cheese Pancakes
November 11, 2017–I used Mellissa’s basic recipe from IBIH for cream cheese pancakes. I didn’t like the way they turned out because they were more of a thick crepe than a pancake. I decided to add some almond flour, vanilla, nutmeg, lemon juice and baking powder. Fresh fruit, whipped cream, or maple syrup are perfect accompaniments. Of course you also need some spicy bacon bourbon and eggs to round out the meal.
Promiscuous Brownie
November 12, 2017 — What do you do when you have baking items that are nearing their expiration date and/or you do not have enough of a particular item? You mix them all together to form the Promiscuous Brownie–my take on Gaby’s Slutty Brownies from What’s Gabby Cooking. I had Oero’s remaining from my Halloween Oreo Cupcakes along with multiple bags of left over chocolate chips. The base is a homemade cookie dough with dark and semi-sweet chocolate chips. This layer is topped with Oreo cookies; in my case double stuff and the halloween varieties; if you’re lucky you will get a brownie with one of each! I did not want to make brownies so luck for me I still had a box of Ghirardelli’s Triple Chocolate Premium Brownie mix. This is poured on top of the cookie dough and Oreo cookie layers. I plan to serve it with a scoop of French Vanilla Blue Bell ice cream drizzled with homemade Dulce de Leche spiked with a little bourbon!
A Menage of Flavors – 12 Nov ’17
Are those Oeros?!?! – 12 Nov ’17
So why are these brownies promiscuous or slutty as they are otherwise known on the interweb? I’ll would let your imagination run wild but I think it is because…
Pasta Anyone
October 29, 2017 — So how did we get here? I was supposed to teach a pasta making class on December 9th, 2017. My schedule changed so I had to reschedule it to January 27th, 2018. That being said, I had all of the supplies and it was a very rainy Saturday so I decided since I had to be inside anyway, why not make some ravioli. I chose to prepare spinach and regular versions. The dough is your basic pasta dough except I add some freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano so that you get a taste of cheese in every bite. The fillings are Cheese (freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano, ricotta, and mascarpone) and Mushroom (shiitake, cremini, oyster, portobello, & white button with shallots, garlic, thyme, red wine, and freshly grated parmesan cheese).
Spinach Ravioli w/Cheese & Mushrooms and Ravioli w/Cheese and Mushrooms – 29 Oct ’17
November 12, 2017 — For you meat lovers I also filled some with smoked pulled pork, ricotta, mascarpone, and grated Parmesan cheese!
Pork Ravioli filled with smoked pulled pork, ricotta, mascarpone, and grated Parmesan cheese! – 12 Nov ’17
If you Google fresh pasta and fillings you will find numerous combinations or you can make your own. I had some scraps of dough leftover so decide to also make fettuccine. I now have to come up with some sauces to eat them with. I know right!
Happy Halloween!
October 29, 2017 — Since I was already in the kitchen making pasta, see earlier post, and Halloween is right around the corner; I decided to put together some cupcakes. To answer your questions…YES, that is a Halloween Oreo cookie serving as the base and YES, those are Halloween Oreo cookie crumbs distributed throughout the cheesecake! I found the recipe Halloween Oreo Cupcakes on the A Bitchin’ Kitchen’s blog.
Halloween Oreo Cupcakes – 29 Oct ’17
Fall Desserts
October 17, 2017–There is nothing like the flavors of pumpkin and bourbon to warm the bones on a cold Miami day 🙂
Bourbon Caramel Cheesecake Bars on a Graham Cracker Crust topped with Bourbon Dulce de Leche
Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Bars on a Graham Cracker-Pecan Crust topped with a Brown Sugar Cream Frosting and a Pecan
EBTKS
September 15, 2017–Finally did the baking that I said I would do last week.
Double Chocolate Cake infused with coffee, espresso powder, and rum then poured on top of toasted pecans, shredded coconut, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. A mixture of cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar, and rum is then swirled into the cake. Not for the faint of heart or non-chocolate lover. This cake has Everything But The Kitchen Sink.
