Posts

The Defcon Cake (Recipe: Cocoa Banana Cake)

Image
I always struggle to see myself as creative, so when I come up with something great on the fly it is a special boost for me.   Lumiri and I got sucked into the scavenger hunt at Defcon's online event and many points were offered for a "Defcon themed cake".  I used only what I had on hand.... I chose a chocolate banana cake because I had cocoa and thai bananas in the house.  The resulting cake had a lovely texture, somehow crumbly but moist!  When regular bananas are used it is less crumbly but equally moist. To decorate it I used a very basic frosting recipe and colored it with gel food colors I found in the pantry.  I thinned it with water and literally painted it on with an unused foam paint brush.  I used a sandwich bag with a small hole clipped out of the corner to pipe the decorations on.   The Defcon lanyard was my inspiration, you can see it around the bottom of the cake in a few of the pictures below. Never be afraid to improvise!...
Post a Comment
Read more

Terry's 2021 Birthday Dinner (Recipe: Berry Buttermilk Soup)

Image
 I have a yearly tradition of making Terry dinner for her birthday.  Last year I made a simple eggplant parmesan, salad, and a berry chantilly cake.  Several years back I made her a 7 course dinner :)   This year I opted for something in the middle.  This year's menu: 1. Pre-dinner drinks:  Lumiri made us lethal drinks with vodka, mango, and many other liquors. They were pretty delicious. 2. Starter: Berry Buttermilk Soup - A cold soup designed to recreate something I'd enjoyed on a trip many years ago.  Recipe below! 3. Main Course: Lemon pasta with chicken and broccoli.  This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen, in case you'd like to look it up.  I would make some adjustments if I made it again, but it was delicious and both Terry and Lumiri seemed to enjoy it greatly. 4. Dessert:  Triple Chocolate Layer Cake - Another America's Test Kitchen recipe.  The top two layers were really amazing and velvety, but I might tr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Halloween Gingerbread House

Image
There weren't any events happening for Halloween this year due to COVID-19.  With little else to do Lumiri suggested we try our hands at a gingerbread house. Since this was my first ever attempt at a gingerbread house I scaled down our original idea to create something with crazy engineering and went with a simple box design instead.  For the biscuits we used a combination of traditional gingerbread and speculoos, a delicious Belgian biscuit full of warm spices.  Both recipes came from the "Christmas with Kim-Joy" cookbook that Lumiri got me for Christmas but couldn't resist giving to me early :) A few tips if you decide to attempt your own: Trim your biscuit pieces after baking (while still warm) to ensure the pieces are very square.  The biscuits will spread in the oven, so trimming will always help you get a tighter fit on your joints. Be patient letting the icing set in the joints. If you've never used the "flood" technique for icing, do a test or t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Smoked Salmon Frittata

Image
Frittata is possibly my favorite way to eat eggs.  I love that it stores, freezes, and reheats well, so if I make a large one I can put pieces in the fridge to enjoy for the next week or in the freezer to enjoy even longer.  I have a go-to recipe for frittata that I have been using for years.  I've adapted the original many times based on whatever ingredients I have on hand, or my mood of the day.  On this particular day I had the last of a really lovely piece of smoked salmon I wanted to use up.  I've also made this with lots of cherry tomatoes and cheese, rosemary ham and rosemary goat cheese, or feta and bacon.  The key is not to get too greedy with additions - pick a maximum of three additions and add a thin but even layer of each.  You want the egg mixture to completely cover your ingredients. Smoked Salmon Frittata Base Frittata 4 cups potatoes in 1/2 inch dice 6 eggs 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup sour cream 1 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper Smoked Salmo...
Post a Comment
Read more