Watts for Dessert

Nutella crepes are a wonderful thing. I made these delicious beauties using my crepe pan I bought in Paris this summer at E. Dehillerin. It was a wonderful store to peruse with all sorts of kitchen pans and utensils. They have an extremely old school way of doing things but were very helpful and patient with us English speaking Americans. How could i not buy a crepe pan in Paris? Of course I had to buy one for my sister too. 

I used a basic batter but it was a bit thick and will add a bit more milk next time. I’ll continue to work on my crepe skills. The combination of flavors and add-ins are endless.

1 C flour 1 1/4 C milk (I would suggest adding an additional 1/4 C) 3 eggs slightly beaten 2 tsp butter, melted Pinch of salt

I'm sure you have heard this before but I love the fall season. There are so many great fall flavors and I cannot wait to dive into them all in the next couple of weeks. This weekend I had some day old sour dough rolls and some extra time on my hands. I decided to whip up some cozy french toast. It was perfect for a brisk fall morning. Here's what you are going to need:

2 sour dough football rolls (any day old crusty bread will do) sliced 2 eggs 1/4-1/2 half-n-half 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp cinnamon

Whisk together the eggs, half-n-half, vanilla and cinnamon in a small, shallow baking dish. Place the slices of bread in a single layer and let soak for 10 min on each side. 

**While my bread was soaking, I impulsively sliced up an apple, sprinkled the slices with cinnamon and heated them through until soft. I added the slices to the plate before layering the french toast. 

Preheat and lightly grease your frying pan or griddle to a med-high heat. I used a cast iron skillet which gave the french toast a nice, golden brown crust. 

Pan fry your french toast until it is golden brown on eat side. About 4-5 min. 

Top the french toast with cinnamon sugar or pure maple syrup. Enjoy immediately with a great cup of coffee (recipe coming soon).

My first Foodie Pen Pal post! This was my first time participating in Foodie Pen Pals and when my pen pal reached out to me I wasn't really sure what to tell her. I ended up asking my pen pal to send me local foods or products. I’m interested in eating locally sourced food in my area and supporting local vendors so I was curious what Idaho had to offer. I was super excited when I opened my package and saw all the goodies. Jalapeño jam is actually one of my most favorite things ever and I make it all the time. The one my foodie pen pal sent was great. I’m excited to make the donuts next!

During the spring and summer months, I tend to find myself over buying produce at the farmer's market just because everything look so good and fresh. I recently stumbled across a huge bag of tomatillos. I enjoy the tartness of the tomatillo and wanted to use them in an interesting way. I decided to make a chutney. I googled some flavor ideas but really ended up just adding what I had and wanted. And man did it come out tastey! I put this over some rice for an easy and simple meal. Feel free to adjust the quantities to your liking. I bet this would also be delicious over fish or shrimp.

Here's what you'll need:

6 medium sized tomatillos, husks removed and chopped 1/2 C Vadalia onion, chopped 1 clove of garlic, minced 1/2 in fresh ginger, minced 3 heaping Tbs brown sugar 1/4-1/2 Red bell pepper, chopped 1 tps finely chopped jalapeno 1/4 C white vinegar Zest of 1 lime Splash of balsamic vinegar Salt & pepper to taste

In a cask iron skillet, add the tomatillos, onion, garlic, pepper, and ginger and cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add jalapenos and brown sugar. Then add in the vinegars and cook on medium heat for 25 minutes or until the chutney thickens. Add the lime zest and season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

So I recently joined this bakers group. The purpose is to challenge ourselves with flavors and combinations. I'm super excited about this since all the members are either professional bakers that do this for a living or are seriously into baking on the side (like me!). I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

Our first meeting is next week and the "secret" ingredient is lavender. This is the first time I have ever used lavender as an ingredient and it definitely will not be my last. The aroma alone is enough for me to start using it in the kitchen more. I started off easy making a simple syrup. Simple syrups are great for cocktails, whipped creams (which is where I plan to use it), and as sweeteners for other beverages like iced teas. I plan to try it in a batch of marshmallows soon. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out. 

Simple syrups are nothing more than equal parts water and sugar. Obviously I flavored mine with lavender but ginger, herbs, spices and different zests would work great too. 

Here's what you are going to need for a lavender simple syrup:

1 C water 1 C sugar 3 Tbs dried, whole lavender flowers*

*Make sure that the lavender you purchase is food grade and not intended for other uses.

Combine the water, sugar and lavender in a sauce pan and heat on med-high until all the sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a glass jar or other container. Be careful the solution will be hot.

If you plan to use this right away, you can strain the syrup as you are pouring the solution into your jar. I poured the syrup, flowers and all, into my jar and stuck it in the fridge. As you let the syrup sit with the flowers in it, the flavor will grow stronger as well as the color. 

Try this out and let me know what you think! 

In addition to a nice floral flavor, lavender has some great health benefits. It is frequently associated with having calming effects and can help lower heart rate and blood pressure. Lavender is also a natural antibiotic and detoxifier and can also be used to aid in digestion, aches and pains, and fevers. 

Cupcake Bouquet! There are about 32 lemon flavored, mini cupcakes w/vanilla buttercream piped into roses. I made this for my cousin’s fiancé’s bridal shower.

I am always looking for veg options when I cook. When I saw this sweet potato recipe I immediately put it on my list of things to make. I love sweet potatoes. I had a couple on hand already and since I was making slider sized burgers, all I needed to go out and get were the buns. This recipe is also pretty flexible so feel free to mix up the additions. Here's what I used to make these sweet potato burgers:

1 Med-large sweet potato, roasted 1 Can white Cannelloni beans, mashed 1/2 Apple, finely chopped 1/4 Onion, finely chopped 1/2 Jalapeno, finely chopped Cinnamon Salt & Pepper

Mash everything together. The dough should be soft but mold-able. If the dough seems a bit loose sprinkle in some flour. 

Form patties. If you choose to bread the burgers (which I did not this time but may try next time I make these) put the burgers in the freezer for about 20-30 min. 

Pan fry the sweet potato burgers.  I used my cast iron skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Flip the burgers after the first side browns. The burgers can get a bit soft so be careful when you go to flip them over.

Top the burgers with anything you want. I did sliced onion and cheese. Tomato and lettuce would also be good options. 

Enjoy! 

Well the 3rd annual Cupcake Smash has come and gone. The weather could not have been any better! It was beautiful and sunny and led to some not so delightful tan lines. The event raised over $15,000 for Philabundance! I also am proud to announce that I came in 2nd place AND received the people's choice award for the pro division! For those of you that were unable to make it, my cupcake was called "Cupcake Gone Wild" based off of PYT's Wild Shark Burger of the week. It consisted of a pineapple cake, jalapeño pepper jelly filling, and an avocado cream cheese icing.  Delish. 

Here are some pictures of the day. I had a blast! Thanks to all my friends and family who came out to support me.

I am so thankful that the sun is shining and that spring is here! This past weekend my friend Megan, from "Firefly Flowers," and I had a little photo shoot to celebrate the nice weather. I whipped up some marshmallows and cupcakes and wrapped them in individual baggies with colorful ribbon and flowers. Megan put together some super adorable flower arrangements using burlap. If you ever need flowers for a party, baby shower, wedding, etc definitely call her up! She is super talented and very personable. You can check her out on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/FireflyFlowers?fref=ts 

Stay tuned for my marshmallow recipe coming next week!

I can't believe it's already April! The Cupcake Smash 2013 is coming up quickly. This weekend I tested out some flavor combinations and fell in LOVE with the Avocado cream cheese icing I created. The beautiful green color and smooth texture really make this icing standout. I will definitely be making this again soon.

Here's what you are going to need:

1 medium sized, ripe avocado Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon 1 1/2 packages of cream cheese (12 oz.) 1 1/2 C Confectioner's sugar 

Beat together the avocado and lemon juice. Add in cream cheese and beat until smooth. Slowly add in the confectioner's sugar until icing is smooth and fluffy.

The Sweets & Treats event benefiting The Food Trust was held on Saturday. It was a great time! There were so many options to create all sorts of cupcakes to enjoy. I also won one of the raffle baskets! All around great night. Here are a couple pictures that I snapped with my iphone so sorry they're not the best quality!

This event was a great success last year and is sure to be even better this year! I will be participating again so stop by my table! Have a suggestion for what type of cupcake you would like to see/eat? Let me know in the comments below!

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For more information & where you can buy your tickets check out the Philabundance website: http://bit.ly/UHcOvG                          

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Valentine's Day is next month so I decided to make up some Valentine's Day themed baked goods. Whenever I am making cupcakes, I typically have a few left over. Today I'm using some extra red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese icing and making heart shaped cake pops. I add enough cream cheese icing to the cake pieces to form a dough that is mold-able. Be careful not to add too much icing because then it gets too sticky to handle. Once the cake pops are formed into the shape of your choice, pop them in the freezer for at least 30 min to let them harden. They will be much easier to handle and dip in chocolate. Here's the super fun part. Dip the pops in melted chocolate so the entire pop is coated. Work quickly and sprinkle all sorts of colored sugar and other decorations all over your pops. Let the chocolate cool and harden and enjoy!

I really enjoy coming up with new combinations of cupcakes with seasonal flavors. These may be my new favorite cupcakes. The combination of the crumbly crust, moist cake, and sweet and tangy icing is just heavenly. The graham cracker crust adds a surprise of texture and spice to the cupcakes that's just wonderful. Definitely try this next time you are making cupcakes!

 Here's what you need:

1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs 1/4 C sugar 6 Tbs butter melted 3/4 tsp cinnamon

First mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Evenly distribute the mixture into a lined cupcake pan. This recipe yields 12 cupcake crusts. 

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 6 min. The crust should be nice and golden brown around the edges. Allow the pan to cool.

Fill the cups with any flavor of cake mix you would like. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.