22 August 2015 S’mores on a Stick

S’mores on a Stick

August 22, 2015 By

Smores on a StickLast week was #NationalSmoresDay – who knew there was such a day!! I didn’t grow up doing s’mores in Quebec, we did roasted marshmallows, but s’mores just weren’t something we knew about.

While I love the gooey version right off the campfire, I recently made these cute s’mores on a stick for a party. They were super easy to make and looked even cuter on a serving platter.

Ingredients:

  • 10 marshmallows
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup Graham cracker crumbs

Directions:

  1. Place a Popsicle stick or other wooden skewer in the center of each marshmallows.
  2. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave for about a minute.
  3. Dip each marshmallow in the melted chocolate.
  4. Coat the chocolate with Graham cracker crumbs.
  5. Allow the chocolate to set in a cool place.

Makes 10 s’mores treats.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , ,
26 May 2015 Chocolate Lava Cake in a Minute

Chocolate Lava Cake in a Minute

May 26, 2015 By

Chocolate Lava CakesFirst off, there is indeed a reason why I’m sharing a recipe that’s completely not “from scratch” and that’s cooked in the microwave, of all things. Every Memorial Day, friends come up from Florida to celebrate with us and we’ve gotten in the habit of finding the most hands off recipes on the net and reproducing them for one of our dinners to see if our guests notice the difference. Last year, we did the embarrassing 60 Second Mixed Berry Cobbler that our friends LOVED. This year, I picked a chocolate lava cake recipe that uses a brownie mix and is cooked in the microwave. Was I doubtful this would work and would actually be edible – YES!!!

The main reason I picked this recipe is that it could be made way in advance and just cooked (microwaved) at the last minute. The addition of an extra egg over what the brownie mix calls for creates a more cakey brownie, so closer to a true chocolate lava cake. Was this the best version of this popular dessert I’ve had – nope. Was it pretty good considering the 2 minutes it took to make and the 5 minutes it took to cook – yes. I cooked 4 cakes at a time, but each cake would cook for a minute if microwaved as a single serving.

While cooking, each cake puffs up like a soufflé and once it comes out of the microwave, it deflates leaving room for a scoop of ice cream in the jars. Using good quality ice cream does improve these babies.  

PARTY TIP: You can make the cakes up to step 4 below, cover each jar with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Just bring to room temperature before continuing to step 5, the cooking part.

Ingredients:

  • 1 brownie mix (I used Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge in a family size for 9×13 pan) prepared to package directions
  • 1 large egg
  • 16 Dove Milk Chocolate Promise individual chocolates
  • Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

  1. To the brownie batter made to package directions, add the egg and stir to combine.
  2. Coat 8 (6 oz) canning jars (or other microwave-safe small containers) with cooking spray.
  3. Spoon about 1/3 of a cup of batter in each jar – it shouldn’t be more than half full.
  4. Place 2 of the Dove chocolates in the center of the batter in the jars and cover them with batter.
  5. Microwave on full power for 1 minute per cake. I cooked 4 cakes at a time for 2 ½ minutes total.
  6. Serve the cakes, topped with a scoop of ice cream, while still warm.

Makes 8 individual servings.

I used this recipe as inspiration.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , , ,

5 Must Try Delectable Holiday Treats

December 20, 2014 By
Divine Squares

Divine Squares

Homemade treats are always well-received by guests at holiday parties. Even the strictest dieters indulge during the holidays and below are top treats sure to please holiday revelers.

Please share images and comments about these holiday treats if you make them!

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Canadian, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , ,
20 December 2014 Christmas Morning Brunch Recipes from Spuntino Wine Bar

Christmas Morning Brunch Recipes from Spuntino Wine Bar

December 20, 2014 By

Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas Executive Chef, Josh Bernstein, wants to help us to impress friends and family with unique and delicious Christmas morning brunch recipes he serves at both the Clifton, NJ and the Westbury, NY locations.

Egg White Fritatta

Egg White Fritatta

Egg White Frittata

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup Clarified Butter
  • ½ cup Spanish Onion, diced
  • ½ lb Chicken Sausage, cooked and diced
  • ½ bunch Rainbow Swiss Chard, cleaned and chopped
  • 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 cups Egg whites
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Heat a 10 inch, nonstick sauté pan over medium high heat. 
  2. Add the clarified butter. 
  3. After about 30 seconds, add the onions, sausage, Swiss chard and tomatoes. 
  4. Cook for 2-3 minutes. 
  5. Season to taste with the sea salt and ground black pepper. 
  6. Mix in the egg whites and stir with a rubber spatula. 
  7. Smooth the mixture out and place into a 400° oven for 5-7 minutes.  (The eggs should be fully set and slightly browned on top.) 
  8. Slide the frittata out of the pan onto a round plate.  Cut into 8 wedges.

 

Pane Francese

Pane Francese

Pane Francese alla Spuntino

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Pane Spuntino:

  • ¼ cup Clarified Butter
  • 1 each Crusty Baguette, cut into 1” bias slices
  • 2 cups Buttermilk
  • 8 eggs
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp Sea Salt
  • 2 Cups Maple Syrup
  • Powdered Sugar for dusting

Warm Berry Compote:

  • 1 lb Strawberries, de-stemmed
  • 1 ls Blueberries
  • ¼ cup Honey
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 tbsp Mint, chiffonade

Method:

Warm Berry Compote:

  1. Cut the strawberries into quarters. 
  2. Combine the strawberries, blueberries, honey, vanilla and sea salt in a sauce pan. 
  3. Slowly bring to a boil over low heat to allow the berries to release their liquid.
  4. Let the mixture cook for 30 minutes to reduce the liquid by at least half. 
  5. Fold in the mint.  Set aside for service.

Pane Spuntino:

  1. In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt. 
  2. Whisk for 1 minute to combine well. 
  3. Dip the baguette slices into the egg mixture.  Allow to sit for one minute to absorb the batter.
  4. Heat the clarified butter in a large non-stick sauté pan. 
  5. Add the battered bread to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. 
  6. Remove baguettes from the pan and dip into the bowl of maple syrup.  Coat on both sides and place into a baking dish. 
  7. Put the pane spuntino into a 450° oven for 4 -5 minutes.  The pane spuntino will puff slightly.
  8. Remove from the oven.  Serve on top of the warm berry compote.  Dust the top with the powdered sugar.

Spuntino’s philosophy, which emphasizes fresh, locally sourced ingredients for their chef-driven made-from-scratch menu, is demonstrated in these dishes.

For more information, visit www.SpuntintoWineBar.com or at Facebook.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Breakfast, Cheese, Chocolate, Eggs, Vegetables Tagged With: , , ,

5 Easy Pies for Non Pumpkin Pie Eaters

November 17, 2014 By
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I’m just not a fan of cinnamon so pumpkin pie isn’t a pie I enjoy. Since it seems fitting to bake pies for Thanksgiving, here are five, fail-proof pies to serve to your guests or bring as a hostess present for Turkey Day!

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
18 August 2014 2nd Annual FryFest

2nd Annual FryFest

August 18, 2014 By
Fried Mac & Cheese

Fried Mac & Cheese

The second installment of FryFest is behind us. Much like the 2013 FryFest, this year’s all-fried event was held on a beautiful late summer day.

This year, we fried a few of last year’s favorites along with new items. Here’s what my brother-in-food, Danny Chin of Eat with Dan, and me served our 13 guests:

Finger Food

Corn Dogs – Veronique

Arancini (Rice Balls) – Veronique

Spring rolls -Danny

Fried Ravioli – Veronique

Poutine – Veronique & Danny

Fried Onion Rings – Veronique & Danny

Danny Chin Making Spring Rolls

Danny Chin Making Spring Rolls

Entrée

Fried Chicken – Danny

Fried Mac & Cheese – Veronique

Dessert

Fried Oreos – Veronique & Danny

Fried Candy Bars – Veronique & Danny

Zeppolis – Veronique

The corn dogs were super with a light batter of flour and corn meal giving the dogs a slight crunch with a hint of sweetness.

The Arancini might have been my favorite with a creamy risotto interior and golden brown crunchy exterior. Perfect way to use up leftover risotto.

Danny’s spring rolls are always a hit and I loved watching him roll over 60 rolls in less than 30 minutes.

Fried raviolis, or as my St Louis friends call them, toasted ravs, were a nice munchies, especially with homemade tomato sauce.

Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

For my poutine, I know this will be sacrilegious to my folks in Quebec, I ordered cheddar cheese curds from Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery in Wisconsin. More on those folks in a future post. My handcut fries were double-fried for a perfect balance of creamy inside and crispy outside – yum.

Fried onion rings were a bust this year, bad revision to last year’s yummy rings.

THE fried chicken – absolutely delicious. My pal Danny smartly chose drumsticks, thighs and some tenderloins. For me, it’s all about dark meat and the overnight buttermilk bath combined with the seasoned flour coating made for a juicy, flavorful and crispy delicacy – well done my friend!

Fried mac & cheese – yes, it’s slightly irresponsible, health-wise, but so darn tasty. I made my extra cheesy macaroni and cheese recipe for this and will do full instructions in a future post. Guest at the dinner who works with local restaurants told me I should help out some restaurants with their version after tasting mine!

Fried Oreos and bite size candy bars went into a simple, slightly sweet batter. Super tasty and a recipe will come soon – I promise.

Fried Oreos

Fried Oreos

I’d made my super easy Zeppolis last year and made them again as they were a hit. For a fun touch, I used brown paper sandwich bags, added powdered sugar to them and place 2-3 hot Zeppolis inside for each guest to shake and eat without sharing.

It was a fun night which is now followed by tons of dieting and exercise, of course. I couldn’t have done it without Danny and my friend Lisa who was a huge help with the a la minute frying.       

Have you liked Eat with Dan on Facebook? Have you followed him on Twitter? Do it now for drop-dead gorgeous food photos.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Canadian, Cheese, Chicken, Chocolate, Desserts, Entrees, Food & Wine Events, Sides Tagged With: , , , , , ,
16 March 2014 Individual Chocolate Challah Bread Pudding

Individual Chocolate Challah Bread Pudding

March 16, 2014 By
Bread Soaking

Bread Soaking

Challah Bread

Challah Bread

Rich buttery Challah bread, egg custard and chocolate – what could be better? To make this delicious bread pudding a bit more elegant for a recent dinner party, I baked it in individual ramekins.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbsp. butter, softened
  • 1 pint half-and-half
  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 loaf unseeded, day old Challah bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • ½ cup dulce de leche
Unbaked Bread Pudding

Unbaked Bread Pudding

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Butter eight 4.5-ounce ramekins.
  3. In a medium saucepan, bring the half-and-half, cream and sugar to a slow boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate has melted.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually add the warm cream mixture to the eggs and whisk until completely combined. Add the bread cubes to the custard and push them down to ensure they’re covered. Allow the bread to soak up the custard for 30-45 minutes.
  5. Ladle the custard and bread into the ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
  6. To serve, drizzle dulce de leche onto the bread puddings and top with a scoop of ice cream.

Serves 8.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts, Eggs, French Tagged With: , , ,
11 December 2013 Chocolate Rolo Cookies

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

December 11, 2013 By
Cookie Prep Station

Cookie Prep Station

When I was growing up in Quebec, Caramilk chocolate bars were some of my favorite. Basically Cadbury chocolate with gooey caramel inside – yum! When we moved to the US in 1985, Rolos were as close as it got and I began enjoying them almost as much as my beloved Caramilks.

Rolo In Cookie Dough

Rolo In Cookie Dough

When this year’s The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap came along, I knew I wanted to stuff a Rolo inside a chocolate cookie as my entry. Chocolate, caramel…need I say more?

This recipe yields 4 dozen cookies, perfect for the three dozen I needed to ship to my matches and a dozen for moi!

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. Kosher salt
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 48 Rolos, unwrapped
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
Cookie Dough Balls

Cookie Dough Balls

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the brown sugar and the cup of granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Beat until just combined.
  4. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture, ¼ cup at a time, to the butter/sugar mixture until fully incorporated – don’t overmix.
  5. Baked Cookies

    Baked Cookies

    Take a teaspoon of cookie dough and flatten it in your hand or on the counter. Wrap the flatten cookie dough around a Rolo. Once you’ve ensured the Rolo is covered completely with the cookie dough, roll the dough ball in the remaining sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets – 12 cookies per sheet. Roll the remaining 2 dozen cookies and set aside.

  6. Bake the first 24 cookies for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the sheets then move to a cookie rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining 2 dozen cookies.

Yields 4 dozen cookies.

 

Inspired by Two Peas & Their Pod

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , ,
17 November 2013 Black Out Chocolate Pound Cake

Black Out Chocolate Pound Cake

November 17, 2013 By

IngredientsI’ve had these Ghirardelli dark chocolate bars in my pantry for two weeks and they’ve been calling my name to use them in something dark and decadent. While perusing Pinterest (one of my guilty pleasures), I saw a beautiful pound cake by OMGChocolateDesserts.com that I knew would be wonderful.

Chocolate Mixture

Chocolate Mixture

I wanted that deep, dark and rich chocolate flavor so I used the dark Ghirardelli chocolate I had on hand along with the cocoa powder by the same maker. The results are sooooo delish.

Cake Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 2 ounces Ghirardelli dark chocolate (60% cocoa), chopped
  • 1/3 cup boiling water
  • ¾ cup Ghirardelli cocoa powder
  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs
Cake Batter

Cake Batter

Ganache Ingredients

  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 4 ounces Ghirardelli dark chocolate (60% cocoa), chopped
Baked Cake

Baked Cake

Cake Instructions

  1. Coat a 9” x 5” loaf pan with cooking spray or butter. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Mix the flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over it and stir with a spoon until fully melted. Add the cocoa powder and stir until well incorporated. Set aside.
  4. Cream the butter for 2 minutes using an electric mixer. Add the granulated sugar and mix for 1 minute. Add the reserved chocolate mixture and mix for another minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour mixture, a quarter cup at a time, until just blended – don’t overmix.
  5. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 6o-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  6. Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes in the pan then unmold and cool completely.

Ganache Instructions

  1. Heat the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
  2. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate in a small bowl and whisk until the mixture is uniform in color and has thickened. Allow the ganache to cool for 3 minutes then spread it over the cake

Serves 8.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , ,
9 November 2013 Cookie Dough Brownie Balls

Cookie Dough Brownie Balls

November 9, 2013 By

Brownie Cookie BallsI’m a big fan of Pinterest for all sorts of projects – baking, cooking, crafts, remodeling…A few weeks back, I saw a recipe by The Domestic Rebel for Chocolate Chips Cookie Dough Brownie Bombs that I found interesting. What could be wrong with cookie dough, brownies and a chocolate coating!?

Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers

Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers

Here’s my interpretation using one of my favorite cookie dough, fudgy brownies and the newly-launched Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers.

Ingredients

Chocolate Dipping

Chocolate Dipping

Instructions

  1. Form cookie dough into 24 balls. Refrigerate the cookie dough balls for an hour.
  2. Cut the brownies into 24 squares. Flatten a brownie square in the palm of your hand until it’s as thin as you can get it without it falling apart.
  3. Wrap the flattened brownie around a cookie dough ball. If the brownie cracks a bit, simply patch it up with thicker pieces or leftovers. Refrigerate the brownie balls for 30 minutes to firm up.
  4. In a microwavable bowl, heat the chocolate wafers until fully melted, stirring every 30 seconds – about 90 seconds (could be less depending on your microwave).
  5. Brownie Cookie Balls InsideUsing a fork, dunk each brownie ball into the melted chocolate, coating completely, and place carefully on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of mini chocolate chips on each brownie ball then place in the refrigerator for an hour to set. Place the set brownie balls in an airtight container for up to a week.

Makes 2 dozen brownie balls.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , ,
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