Showing posts with label Giveaways. Show all posts
A Giveaway!
in Giveaways, Holiday Wishes on Wednesday, October 24, 2012
There's a lot to celebrate in October!
First I want to wish all of you a fun and scary Halloween!
Second, I have been blogging two years this month. It went by in flash, didn't it? So fast, I even forgot to celebrate my first year blogging last year! So to celebrate this blogoversay, I'm going to have a giveaway. Four fabulous cookbooks for four fabulous readers!
Drum roll, please....
How about that? Isn't this a super giveaway? Maida Heatter....Rose Levy Beranbaum.....Nigella.....and Dorie!
To win one of these lovely cookbooks, just leave a comment letting me know which cookbook is one you've always wanted and if you become a follower, you'll get two entries! (Please leave a separate comment for each.) And make certain I have your email address.
Have a lovely holiday week. I'll announce the winners on November 5th.
Pear Amaretto Crumble Cake and the Giveaway Winner!
in Breads and Muffins, Cookbooks, Giveaways on Friday, August 24, 2012
We're back and we had a wonderful time! I'll do a post soon on the trip.
I find out tomorrow about the wrist. Keep your fingers crossed for me....I am sick and tired of this cast!
Will be visiting all of you ASAP.
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I hate to say this in print, but September is nearly upon us. Good grief. And in September I am hosting a coffee and meeting for 40 women which means gracing my table with muffins and sweet breads. I'm getting really bored with my old standbys so have been searching for some new and unusual recipes. And did I ever hit the jackpot with my new Ottolenghi cookbook. What a gem!
I found two to use, but the Pear and Amaretto Crumble Cake was my first experiment. Doesn't that sound wonderful? I made two small cakes with the recipe and gave some to two of my most trusted critics...they'll be totally honest.
This crumble cake is moist, has the most marvelous flavor and is filled with lovely sweet fresh pear chunks. Comfort food. Fabulous with tea or coffee. And I got enthusiastic seconds from my friends. So that's #1. I still have one more to try in this book and then I think I will also serve financiers. And maybe some really delightful creamy lemon bars for those serious sweet lovers. Do you think perhaps I should add some healthy fruit?
Pear and Amaretto Crumble Cake
Ottolenghi, The Cookbook
Ingredients for the cake:
melted butter and fine bread crumbs for the baking pans
1/2 apple, peeled and diced
1 pear, peeled and diced
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
1- 3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon cloves
generous 1/4 cup almond flour
3 eggs
2/3 cup sunflower oil
1- 1/4 scant cups sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for the crumble:1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
7 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Method for the cake:
Preheat oven to 340°.
Grease two small loaf pans and then sprinkle with fine bread crumbs
Mix the apple, pear, walnuts, lemon zest and Amaretto. Set aside.
Sift together the dry ingredients, including the almond flour.Separate two eggs and mix the two yolks with the whole third egg. Beat the sugar and sunflower oil for about a minute. Add the 2 yolks and the whole egg. Add the dry ingredients, followed by the fruit mixture. Stop the machine as soon as everything is incorporated.
Beat the eggs whites with the salt until stiff peaks form. Fold into the batter carefully. Divide into the two loaf pans and top with the crumble. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Method for the crumble:
Mix the flour, sugar and butter together in a bowl only until the butter is incorporated. If you beat it too long, it will turn into dough.
Last but not least, The End of Summer Giveaway Winner: The lucky winner is: Sam from My Carolina Kitchen. Congratulations, Sam! Please email your mailing information to bsmithw@gmail.com so I can get your delicious fruit jams in the mail today!
Vacations and Giveaways!
Thanks everyone, for all your kind comments regarding my broken wrist. I am constantly amazed at the caring and support that pours forth from our blogging community for even the most minor problems (which this is). You are the best! :)
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We're going on a short vacation to the Turks and Caicos. Providenciales to be exact.
Ahhhhhh. Will you look at that! Pink sand and vivid blue ocean.
Can there possibly be a down side? Well, yes, three. #1: it's hurricane season and August and September are when they tend to hit Florida and the northern Caribbean. And # 2? I'm going with a cast on my arm! Damn. Last but not least, I won't be visiting your blogs until I get back. I need a rest from everything. I know you'll understand.
But I'm going to leave you with two things:
A Summer Giveaway!!
From American Spoon in Northern Michigan, my old stomping grounds, I give you their summer gift package.
Please go to their website to check out this wonderful company. I was there when they started as just a little storefront in Petoskey. How they have grown!
This is a perfect way to celebrate the end of summer....with a gift assortment of the fabulous fruits of the Michigan summer to cheer you with warm memories through the long winter ahead!
Flavors include: Early Glow Strawberry Preserves, Red Haven Peach Preserves, Blueberry-Lime Preserves, Leelanau Apricot Preserves, Sour Cherry Preserves, Bartlett Pear Preserves, Neva Betta Whole Wheat Crackers and Neva Betta Original Crackers.
To win, just leave a comment and if you become a follower, you'll get two entries! (Please leave a separate comment for each.) U.S. only, please.
I'll announce the winner on August 25th.
And the last thing I'm leaving you with? A lovely little recipe that I've made for years and years. You can get the kids to help you make them on a rainy day. Make a bunch and freeze them. It just can't get any simpler than this. And do they ever taste great. Shades of the 60's!
Cheddar Olives
Ingredients:
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (your choice)
a jar of small pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained and patted dry (about 24)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Drain the olives well, and dry them completely with paper towels. Set aside.Combine the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well until a dough forms. You can knead it with your hands, if necessary, until it has the consistency of play-dough.Pinch off a small amount of dough, flatten it, and wrap it around a dry olive. Being careful not to squeeze the olive, pinch off any excess, then roll it in your hands until smooth. Continue until all the olives are covered.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. OR freeze, wrapped tightly, and they will last for months. Bake straight from the freezer for 20 minutes.
Rhubarb Fool and a Father’s Day Giveaway!
"The English love a good fool, and a fruity old fool is even better. No, not the human kind — though they do delight in those as well — it's a fool for dessert."
Isn't that a great quote? Sorry I can't remember where I found it, but I can sure tell you about fools...
A fool is a traditional English dessert involving a puree of tangy, tart fruits mixed with sugar and whipped cream and chilled before serving. Supposedly the name of this dessert comes from the French verb fouler meaning pressed or crushed, and refers to the combination of crushed fruits and thick cream. It's a dish that's simple yet elegant. Fools, which date to the 1500s, share their British ancestry with syllabubs and trifles and may have laid the foundation for ice cream. They were custards originally, swirled with cooked and pureed fruit.
The British countryside is a paradise for berry lovers. It offers gooseberries, red currants, strawberries, raspberries."Blackberry fool was quite common; blackberries would have been in the hedgerows in August. Gooseberry also was common because they grew everywhere and they were easy to cultivate in your backyard." Of course nowadays, any fruit can be used: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, mango and kiwi, as well as other seasonal fruit. Like rhubarb!
When making fruit fools please keep in mind that anytime you use fresh fruit there is no way to know, without tasting, the exact amount of sugar needed. So tasting is very important here. Make sure you taste the sweetened puree and adjust the sugar as needed. The same is true when you mix the puree with the whipped cream.
I think you'll really like Nigella's recipe...after all, who would know better about making a fruit fool than a British chef?
Nigella Lawson's Rhubarb Fool
To quote Nigella: "Make sure you use the rosiest, reddest rhubarb you can; that monster stuff, dredged up almost khaki at the very end of August, will not quite do here. And it's hardly seasonal to mention it, but of course the pinkest, purest, pucest stalks are the forced kind. No matter, you will want to eat this whenever you can. If you haven't got any vanilla sugar to hand (though you can have, just by leaving a vanilla pod or two in a jar of caster sugar for a few days, even less if you cut the pod up), use ordinary caster sugar and add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the cream when you whip it."
Ingredients:
1 kg ( a little over 2 pounds) rhubarb, trimmed and coarsely chopped
300g (1 1/3 cups) vanilla sugar
500ml ( I used 2 1/4 cups) double (heavy) cream
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Mix the rhubarb and vanilla sugar together in an ovenproof dish. Do not add water. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the fruit is completely soft. Drain in a colander, or sieve, and pour the juice (you should have about 2 1/4 cups or so) into a saucepan, then heat and let bubble away until reduced by about half. Pour into a dish and leave to cool; do not, however, refrigerate as the syrup might crystallize and lose its fabulous bright clarity.
Puree the fruit until totally smooth, then cool and chill this as well.
Whip the cream in a large chilled bowl until lusciously thick but not stiff.
Carefully fold in the rhubarb puree, then some of the reduced juice, so the mixture is streaked, rather like raspberry ripple ice cream. Pour some of the reduced syrup on top and then put the rest in a glass jug so that people can add more, if they want, as they eat.
Serves 8.
A Father's Day Giveaway!
Here's a way to give your dad, your hubby or even yourself a super yet practical gift for Father's Day. Does he love to grill? Do YOU love to grill? Then this grill set will be perfect for you both! The set includes 4 in 1 spatula, fork, tongs, basting brush, 8 corn holders, 4 skewers and case and a 5 year warranty.
To enter just leave a comment and tell me what your family loves to grill. If you want a second chance to win, become a follower. The contest will be open until midnight Saturday, May 22 and I'll use the random number generator to choose the winner.
Sorry guys, but this giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. (No P.O. boxes please.) Good luck!
Isn't that a great quote? Sorry I can't remember where I found it, but I can sure tell you about fools...
A fool is a traditional English dessert involving a puree of tangy, tart fruits mixed with sugar and whipped cream and chilled before serving. Supposedly the name of this dessert comes from the French verb fouler meaning pressed or crushed, and refers to the combination of crushed fruits and thick cream. It's a dish that's simple yet elegant. Fools, which date to the 1500s, share their British ancestry with syllabubs and trifles and may have laid the foundation for ice cream. They were custards originally, swirled with cooked and pureed fruit.
The British countryside is a paradise for berry lovers. It offers gooseberries, red currants, strawberries, raspberries."Blackberry fool was quite common; blackberries would have been in the hedgerows in August. Gooseberry also was common because they grew everywhere and they were easy to cultivate in your backyard." Of course nowadays, any fruit can be used: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, mango and kiwi, as well as other seasonal fruit. Like rhubarb!
When making fruit fools please keep in mind that anytime you use fresh fruit there is no way to know, without tasting, the exact amount of sugar needed. So tasting is very important here. Make sure you taste the sweetened puree and adjust the sugar as needed. The same is true when you mix the puree with the whipped cream.
I think you'll really like Nigella's recipe...after all, who would know better about making a fruit fool than a British chef?
Nigella Lawson's Rhubarb Fool
To quote Nigella: "Make sure you use the rosiest, reddest rhubarb you can; that monster stuff, dredged up almost khaki at the very end of August, will not quite do here. And it's hardly seasonal to mention it, but of course the pinkest, purest, pucest stalks are the forced kind. No matter, you will want to eat this whenever you can. If you haven't got any vanilla sugar to hand (though you can have, just by leaving a vanilla pod or two in a jar of caster sugar for a few days, even less if you cut the pod up), use ordinary caster sugar and add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the cream when you whip it."
Ingredients:
1 kg ( a little over 2 pounds) rhubarb, trimmed and coarsely chopped
300g (1 1/3 cups) vanilla sugar
500ml ( I used 2 1/4 cups) double (heavy) cream
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Mix the rhubarb and vanilla sugar together in an ovenproof dish. Do not add water. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the fruit is completely soft. Drain in a colander, or sieve, and pour the juice (you should have about 2 1/4 cups or so) into a saucepan, then heat and let bubble away until reduced by about half. Pour into a dish and leave to cool; do not, however, refrigerate as the syrup might crystallize and lose its fabulous bright clarity.
Puree the fruit until totally smooth, then cool and chill this as well.
Whip the cream in a large chilled bowl until lusciously thick but not stiff.
Carefully fold in the rhubarb puree, then some of the reduced juice, so the mixture is streaked, rather like raspberry ripple ice cream. Pour some of the reduced syrup on top and then put the rest in a glass jug so that people can add more, if they want, as they eat.
Serves 8.
A Father's Day Giveaway!
Here's a way to give your dad, your hubby or even yourself a super yet practical gift for Father's Day. Does he love to grill? Do YOU love to grill? Then this grill set will be perfect for you both! The set includes 4 in 1 spatula, fork, tongs, basting brush, 8 corn holders, 4 skewers and case and a 5 year warranty.
To enter just leave a comment and tell me what your family loves to grill. If you want a second chance to win, become a follower. The contest will be open until midnight Saturday, May 22 and I'll use the random number generator to choose the winner.
Sorry guys, but this giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. (No P.O. boxes please.) Good luck!
A Mother's Day Giveaway!
What's your all-time favorite cookbook? Is it on the Beard Foundation's just released list of essential baking books?
In alphabetical order:
1. "Baking: From My Home to Yours," by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006).
2. "Beard on Bread," by James Beard (originally published 1973; reprinted by Knopf, 1995).
3. "The Book of Great Desserts," by Maida Heatter (Andrews McMeel, 1999).
4. "The Bread Baker's Apprentice," by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed, 2001).
5. "The Cake Bible," by Rose Levy Beranbaum (William Morrow, 1988).
6. "Classic Home Desserts," by Richard Sax (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000).
7. "Cocolat," by Alice Medrich (Warner Books, 1990).
8. "The Fannie Farmer Baking Book," by Marion Cunningham (Gramercy, 1996).
9. "Great Pies and Tarts," by Carole Walter (Clarkson Potter, 1998).
10. "The Italian Baker," by Carol Field (William Morrow, 1985).
11. "Martha Stewart's Cookies," by Martha Stewart (Clarkson Potter, 2008).
12. "My Bread," by Jim Lahey (W.W. Norton, 2009).
13. "The Simple Art of Perfect Baking," by Flo Braker (Chronicle, 2003).
Most of us probably own the first two, but I loved to see Maida Heatter next as she is my dessert guru and I own ALL her cookbooks! (She was also on their Core Collection: 20 Essential Books to Build Your Culinary Library” released in 2007.) And does anyone make a better cake than Rose Levy Beranbaum? And who makes a better cookie than Martha Stewart?
Just in time for Mother's Day I'm giving away a cookbook to one of my readers. And what a fabulous cookbook it is, too! It may not be on the Beard Foundation's list, but it has won a James Beard award. It's one of my favorites: Savor the Moment from the Junior League of Boca Raton, Florida. And you get a CD-ROM to go with it!
Look at the awards it's received:
2001 James Beard/Kitchen Aid Book Award
2001 ForeWord Magazine -2nd Place
2001 Benjamin Franklin Award Finalist
2001 Writer's Digest "National Self-Published Book" Award Honorable Mention
2001 Independent Publisher Book Award-Finalist
2000 AJLI-Honorable Mention
A lovely hardcover book, Savor the Moment is a treat for the visual senses. The Junior League of Boca Raton, Florida published it in January of 2000. Great photography and design are a big part of its' continued success, but let's face it, the recipes have got to be meticulously researched, tested and rated sublime to rack up sales. The photographs by Dan Forer are breath-taking… with rather enchanting and unique mise-en-scènes. And you don’t need to live in Boca Raton to appreciate them either. The book highlights special menus aboard a yacht, playing croquet, in a garden on the grounds of our Morikami Museum, on a polo field, in local homes and a picnic under a beachside gazebo. The vignettes go on page after delightful page- in color and in exquisite taste.
I seem to be rambling on about the visuals rather than the flavors but let me reassure you: while the photography is first class, so are the recipes within. Everything gels perfectly to form a superb cookbook. And what’s really sweet about this book ( and all other Junior League cookbooks) is it raises funds directly benefiting community projects.
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment at the end of this post. Would you like two chances to win? Then become a follower on my blog! It's open to anyone and entries will be closed at midnight on April 27th.
I'll announce the winner on April 28th at the end of my Derby Day post. The winner will be picked out of my lucky Derby Day hat by my totally unbiased son. (Who doesn't even read my blog, let alone yours!)
Good luck!
In alphabetical order:
1. "Baking: From My Home to Yours," by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006).
2. "Beard on Bread," by James Beard (originally published 1973; reprinted by Knopf, 1995).
3. "The Book of Great Desserts," by Maida Heatter (Andrews McMeel, 1999).
4. "The Bread Baker's Apprentice," by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed, 2001).
5. "The Cake Bible," by Rose Levy Beranbaum (William Morrow, 1988).
6. "Classic Home Desserts," by Richard Sax (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000).
7. "Cocolat," by Alice Medrich (Warner Books, 1990).
8. "The Fannie Farmer Baking Book," by Marion Cunningham (Gramercy, 1996).
9. "Great Pies and Tarts," by Carole Walter (Clarkson Potter, 1998).
10. "The Italian Baker," by Carol Field (William Morrow, 1985).
11. "Martha Stewart's Cookies," by Martha Stewart (Clarkson Potter, 2008).
12. "My Bread," by Jim Lahey (W.W. Norton, 2009).
13. "The Simple Art of Perfect Baking," by Flo Braker (Chronicle, 2003).
Most of us probably own the first two, but I loved to see Maida Heatter next as she is my dessert guru and I own ALL her cookbooks! (She was also on their Core Collection: 20 Essential Books to Build Your Culinary Library” released in 2007.) And does anyone make a better cake than Rose Levy Beranbaum? And who makes a better cookie than Martha Stewart?
Just in time for Mother's Day I'm giving away a cookbook to one of my readers. And what a fabulous cookbook it is, too! It may not be on the Beard Foundation's list, but it has won a James Beard award. It's one of my favorites: Savor the Moment from the Junior League of Boca Raton, Florida. And you get a CD-ROM to go with it!
Look at the awards it's received:
2001 James Beard/Kitchen Aid Book Award
2001 ForeWord Magazine -2nd Place
2001 Benjamin Franklin Award Finalist
2001 Writer's Digest "National Self-Published Book" Award Honorable Mention
2001 Independent Publisher Book Award-Finalist
2000 AJLI-Honorable Mention
A lovely hardcover book, Savor the Moment is a treat for the visual senses. The Junior League of Boca Raton, Florida published it in January of 2000. Great photography and design are a big part of its' continued success, but let's face it, the recipes have got to be meticulously researched, tested and rated sublime to rack up sales. The photographs by Dan Forer are breath-taking… with rather enchanting and unique mise-en-scènes. And you don’t need to live in Boca Raton to appreciate them either. The book highlights special menus aboard a yacht, playing croquet, in a garden on the grounds of our Morikami Museum, on a polo field, in local homes and a picnic under a beachside gazebo. The vignettes go on page after delightful page- in color and in exquisite taste.
I seem to be rambling on about the visuals rather than the flavors but let me reassure you: while the photography is first class, so are the recipes within. Everything gels perfectly to form a superb cookbook. And what’s really sweet about this book ( and all other Junior League cookbooks) is it raises funds directly benefiting community projects.
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment at the end of this post. Would you like two chances to win? Then become a follower on my blog! It's open to anyone and entries will be closed at midnight on April 27th.
I'll announce the winner on April 28th at the end of my Derby Day post. The winner will be picked out of my lucky Derby Day hat by my totally unbiased son. (Who doesn't even read my blog, let alone yours!)
Good luck!
THE WINNER IS…
in Giveaways on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Thanks to all of you who entered the CSN Le Crueset giveaway! There were over 100 entries to win this great $60 voucher. I used Random.org and the winner is Dishesdone @ There’s Always Thyme to Cook. Dishesdone, please email me (mzpst@att.net) so that you can receive the wonderful CSN LeCrueset prize!
Thanks again so much to all of you who entered and congratulations to Dishesdone!
Cupcakes for Easter and a Mother's Day Giveaway
Planning an Easter dessert that's new, scrumptious and fun for all ages is pretty simple what with all of you to turn to. So many great ideas! Have you ever seen so much coconut? Coconut Easter eggs, Easter coconut macaroons, coconut-laden Bunny cakes, coconut pound cakes, regular old fashioned coconut cake and chocolate eggs sitting in coconut nests. Carrots make perfect sense. But coconut? Is it supposed to be bunny fur? Or perhaps it's supposed to be grass, albeit the color is a little off. Maybe both.
Luckily, a slice of coconut cake makes my mouth water any time of year. So I thought for Easter dinner I'd make these little coconut cupcakes and plop my happy bunnies right on top. (Who wouldn't be happy sitting in a pile of frosting?) These little cupcake gems have rum in them and orange juice, which frankly sounds like a good drink to me. And yes, there actually is one: it's called a Cuban Screw or Coconut Cuban Screw. :D Anyway, the rum in these cupcakes really isn't that strong and I suppose you could leave it out if you wanted to. But the little bunny hopes you won't.
Coconut Orange Cupcakes
From The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark
Ingredients for the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
finely grated zest of one orange
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream
Ingredients for the soaking syrup:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 1/2 tablespoons Malibu rum ( a rum made in Barbados with natural coconut extract, which I didn't have so substituted dark rum)
Ingredients for the coconut buttercream:
3 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 tablespoons cream of coconut
6 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
pinch of fine sea salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon dark rum
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated unsweetened coconut, toasted (To toast, I used a dry frying pan on the stove, stirring constantly)
Method for the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325º. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In an electric mixer bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, orange zest and vanilla until light and fluffy. (about 5 minutes) Beat the eggs in one at a time. Then alternate the flour and sour cream three times on low speed until just combined. Divide the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on rack.
Method for the soaking syrup:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the granulated sugar and water. Cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the orange juice and rum.
Method for the buttercream:
Place the egg yolks in a bowl. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a small saucepan. In the pan, heat the coconut milk and coconut cream until it reaches a simmer. (one bubble is enough) Drizzle the mixture slowly over the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return the coconut/yolk mixture to the pan and stir over low heat until slightly thickened. The mixture should be 160º but not go over 180º or it will curdle.
Using a fine mesh sieve, strain into a clean bowl to stop the cooking, stir in the salt and refrigerate covered until thoroughly chilled.
In an electric mixer, beat the butter with the confectioners sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the rum and vanilla extract. On low speed, gradually beat in the cold coconut/yolk mixture until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the coconut.
To assemble:
Halve the cupcakes horizontally and brush both side with the soaking syrup. Spread the buttercream on the bottom halves, replace the top halves and spread about 2 tablespoons of buttercream on top. Sprinkle with leftover toasted coconut.
And now for the Mother's Day Giveaway!
I've got 4 cookbooks to give away!
Two of Heidi's Super Natural Cooking:
And two of Kim's Good to the Grain:
To win one of these marvelous cookbooks, all you have to do is leave a comment about how you cook with healthy grains. If you become a follower, you'll get two entries. (Please leave a separate comment for each.) Sorry guys, but U.S. and Canada only, please! And make certain I have your email address. I'll announce the winner April 25th so you don't have much time. After all, I want you to get this in time for Mother's Day!
A CSN GIVEAWAY and a Zucchini Gratin
in Bacon, Bell peppers, Entree, Garlic, Giveaways, Jalapeño peppers, Monterey Jack, Mushrooms, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Side Dish, Tomatoes, Vegetables, Zucchini on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Gratins are a delicious way to prepare fresh summer vegetables to serve your family or guests as a side dish. I can eat this as the entrée though, with a crisp salad and crusty bread. There is no need to peel the vegetables. Start by sautéing the mushrooms, onions and garlic. Slice the vegetables, layer them in a dish, add the bread crumb and cheese topping; bake for a great dish. Omit the bacon for savory vegetarian meal.
Speaking of layering vegetables in a dish, the oval Le Creuset Stoneware Au Gratin dish Mom gave me years ago is perfect for this recipe. It’s shallow, bakes the dish evenly and looks great going from the oven to the dinner table. This is a wonderful thing which leads me to something wonderful for all of you good people out there ~~~~
We all love getting a package in the mail and I’m sure you’d love receiving a Le Creuset product of your own! Sean at CSN Stores kindly offered me a $60 voucher for a Le Creuset giveaway. How about that? $60! It excited me and I can’t even win it but, I am very excited about it for you!
I’m sure most of you are like me and could really use this $60 voucher to get that special Le Creuset product you’ve always dreamed about. Their products are of the best quality and style in gorgeous colors, making them a great durable product. I know as I’ve had my Le Crueset Au Gratin dish for many years!
Here are the rules:
1. This giveaway is open only to U.S.
2. You must be a follower of this blog by using Google Friend Connect.
3. Leave a comment on this post telling me you are a follower.
4. Look at the Le Creuset site on the link above and tell me what you’d like to win and in what color.
Entries will be received through midnight, Wednesday, August 18, 2010.
The winner will be picked by a random number generator on Thursday, August 19, 2010.
Good luck and I hope you win!
Now, for the recipe:
Into the oven
Voila! Dinner time!
Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Red Bell Pepper Gratin
Ingredients:
3 slices bacon, fried crisp
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 zucchini, sliced
2 yellow summer squash, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
½ jalapeño pepper, chopped
1 tomato, sliced
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon McCormick’s seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
1/3 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Method:
Fry bacon. Set aside. Drain drippings from skillet.
Spray a shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a skillet in olive oil, sauté the mushrooms, onion and garlic until liquid is rendered. Set aside.
In a large bowl, place zucchini, squash and bell pepper.
Add salt, pepper and thyme.
Mix well.
Add mushroom, onion mixture and combine.
In the baking dish, assemble the vegetables in a single layer, almost standing up.
Add tomatoes throughout the dish.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine bread crumbs and cheeses.
Toss with remaining olive oil.
Remove baking dish from oven.
Scatter crumbled bacon over top.
Sprinkle bread crumbs over top.
Return to oven for 15 minutes or until golden on top.
Pam’s note: After the dish baked and before adding the bread crumbs, I tilted the dish and drained the juice in the bottom with a baster. Bill told me this is one of the best “ad-lib” dishes I’ve made after visiting the farmer’s market and selecting the great veggies. It was delicious!
ENJOY!!!
THE WINNER IS….
in Giveaways on Wednesday, March 28, 2012
I want to thank you all so much who entered the contest for the great cookbook, Street Food Chicago!
I used a random generator and the winner is Betty Ray!
Betty Ray please email me your mailing address and the wonderful cookbook will be yours soon. You have 48 hours to contact me; if not, another winner will be selected. Contact me at pst404@gmail.com.
Thanks so much to all of you again for participating!
Congratulations, Betty Ray!
It’s Give-Away Time!
in Giveaways on Tuesday, March 20, 2012
In honor of having over 200 followers and to show my appreciation, I’m having a give-away! That’s a lot of new great friends I like sharing my kitchen corner with and then visiting your wonderful blogs to learn about your corner of the world in return.
Since my blog is about cooking and I live in the Chicago area, the give-away is a Chicago Chicago Chicago
So to celebrate all you wonderful people out there, here are the simple rules:
· The contest is open to everyone.
· You must be a follower or sign up to become a follower of my blog.
· Leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite food is.
That’s easy enough, isn’t it?
The contest ends on Tuesday, July 27th at midnight CDT and the drawing will be done using the random number generator on Wednesday, July 28th.
I thank you all so much for reading, commenting and following my blog! You are the best!!!
Good luck!
Chocolate Stout Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and the Giveaway Winner
in Cakes, Giveaways, Holiday Wishes on Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Well, it's not green, it's not corned beef and cabbage, it's not Irish soda bread but when I saw this in Donna Hay a while back the only thought I had was: gotta make this for St. Patrick's Day! You chocolate/peanut butter lovers are going to love this cake! Kind of tastes like Reese's in cake form WITH stout, do you believe? And the texture is heavenly. I love the idea that it's in loaf form too. Now I'm doing this just for you for St. Paddy's Day because I am NOT a chocolate with peanut butter lover. Of course, I'll not have any problem passing this cake around to friends!
Chocolate Stout Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Donna Hay magazine, 50th Birthday issue
Ingredients:
1 cup stout beer
225 grams butter, chopped
3/4 cup cocoa, sifted
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups superfine sugar
Frosting:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
80 grams butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup coffee cream
Method:
Preheat oven to 325 F. Place stout and butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve butter. Remove from heat, whisk in the cocoa and set aside.
Mix together the flour, baking soda and sugar.
Whisk together the eggs and sour cream and add to the stout along with the flour mixture. Whisk to combine. Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan 21 by 10 by 7 cm lined with parchment paper. Bake for one hour and 20 minutes or until a cake skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out on a rack to cool completely.
For the frosting:
Place all the ingredients except the cream into an electric mixer and beat for 6 minutes or until light and fluffy. (It didn't take 6 minutes)
Beat in the cream until smooth. Frost the cake. Serves 6-8
May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
Sláinte!
I am joining the Third Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl March 15th at Kathleen's. Check in with her on Tuesday to link up!
And now for the giveaway winner: Congratulations, Velva from Tomatoes on the Vine!
You've won Gabrielle Hamilton's book. Please email me at bsmithw@gmail.com with your mailing address so I can get your book in the mail ASAP!
A St. Patrick's Day Giveaway! And Some Bonny Irish Scones.....
in Breads and Muffins, Giveaways on Sunday, March 4, 2012
I'm a scone fanatic. I admit it. So I just had to make these in honor of St. Patrick's Day; they're practically the only kind I've never tried. I made soda bread last year (although I didn't post it; I got side tracked with a cake, LOL) but with company coming, I thought it might be fun to serve these for breakfast. Always better to get a few more opinions anyway.
I love the two kinds of raisins and the caraway seeds. While walnuts are not my favorite, they seem just right in this recipe. I didn't even consider using pecans. Just enough sweetness in these scones, but not too much. From one of my favorite cookbooks, Once Upon a Tart. With a bit of jam or honey, these are wonderful.
Irish Soda Scones
From Once Upon a Tart by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau
Ingredients:
4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablepoons ( 1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dark raisins
Method:
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and sugar to mix. Add the butter all at one time. Run the processor for 15 seconds. You want the mixture to look grainy like moist crumbs and with no chunks of butter. Pulse if you need to (I didn't) but don't overwork the dough. Dump the crumbs in a big bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and add the buttermilk, caraway seeds, walnuts and both raisins. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until there is no flour visable. I did this with my hands.
Using your hands or a 1/2 cup measure, scoop the batter onto the parchment paper, leaving 2 inches in between scones. (I rolled out the dough on a floured board and cut into squares.)
Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool for a couple moments, then transfer the scones to to the rack. Makes 12 scones.
Now.....on to the giveaway!
Have you ever been to Prune in New York City? Then you will have enjoyed Gabrielle Hamilton's extraordinary food. She's the owner and chef and also happens to be a trained writer (M.F.A., University of Michigan); you'll love this memoir of her unorthodox trajectory to becoming a chef. You also might enjoy this article she wrote in Food and Wine.
And here's a couple quotes from a review in Grub Street New York:
"And that’s the beauty of this book, really — in this age of celebrity restaurateurs being turned into bobble-head dolls and robotic reality-show judges, it’s refreshing to read the memoir of a chef who admits to being only human."
Mario Batali: “I will read this book to my children and then burn all the books I have written for pretending to be anything even close to this. Then I will apply for the dishwasher job at Prune to learn from my new queen.”
"And that’s the beauty of this book, really — in this age of celebrity restaurateurs being turned into bobble-head dolls and robotic reality-show judges, it’s refreshing to read the memoir of a chef who admits to being only human."
Mario Batali: “I will read this book to my children and then burn all the books I have written for pretending to be anything even close to this. Then I will apply for the dishwasher job at Prune to learn from my new queen.”
Her book is newly released and I've got a copy just for you!
To win this fabulous book, just leave a comment letting me know the name of your favorite restaurant (no matter where) or which one you've always dreamed of trying. If you become a follower, you'll get two entries. And if you've actually been to Prune, you get a third entry! I know, that's not fair, but definitely worth three entries! (Please leave a separate comment for each.) And make certain I have your email address. I'll announce the winner March 14th.
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