Without further ado:
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Recipe - sweet potato pancakes with cinnamon and bacon
Just made this this morning. Good stuff. Enjoy.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 egg whites, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups milk
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon grated orange rind (optional)
4 strips of bacon
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron
Special equipment: waffle iron
Directions
Put cubed sweet potatoes on one half of a baking sheet and the bacon strips on the other half. Place the sheet in a 400 degree pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet, place the bacon on a paper-towel-lined plate, and place the sweet potato in a food processor. Process the sweet potatoes until chopped well (20 to 30 seconds). When bacon is cooled, cut into somewhat thick pieces (1/4 inch maybe). Set potatoes and bacon aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.
In another bowl combine the sweet potatoes, milk, brown sugar, butter, bacon pieces, and grated orange rind. Stir the sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture and thoroughly combine. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold egg whites into batter 1/3 at a time. The batter will be thick. Using a No. 20 disher (scoop), place 2 scoops of batter onto a preheated, oiled waffle iron, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 egg whites, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups milk
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon grated orange rind (optional)
4 strips of bacon
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron
Special equipment: waffle iron
Directions
Put cubed sweet potatoes on one half of a baking sheet and the bacon strips on the other half. Place the sheet in a 400 degree pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet, place the bacon on a paper-towel-lined plate, and place the sweet potato in a food processor. Process the sweet potatoes until chopped well (20 to 30 seconds). When bacon is cooled, cut into somewhat thick pieces (1/4 inch maybe). Set potatoes and bacon aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.
In another bowl combine the sweet potatoes, milk, brown sugar, butter, bacon pieces, and grated orange rind. Stir the sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture and thoroughly combine. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold egg whites into batter 1/3 at a time. The batter will be thick. Using a No. 20 disher (scoop), place 2 scoops of batter onto a preheated, oiled waffle iron, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Spaccanapoli Video
Wow, we've been terrible about posting the last while. We haven't even posted our Italy vacation pics. Well, those will follow, but we'll start things out with a video. It's us traversing Scappanapoli (a street) in Naples, Italy. Enjoy.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
BYU v. Oklahoma
BYU, locked in an epic struggle with OU,
who lives in their Big 12 bubble,
and squashes them into, as it were, a mud puddle
Bad poetry, great game. Go Cougars!
who lives in their Big 12 bubble,
and squashes them into, as it were, a mud puddle
Bad poetry, great game. Go Cougars!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Maple Ice Cream Topped with Bacon
I know, I know. It sounds strange to put bacon on ice cream. It's not, really. Think about a big breakfast in which you have pancakes and bacon on the same plate. You always end up getting some maple syrup on your bacon, and it tastes good. This is the same dang tasty concept.
Ingredients
1 cup Grade A or B maple syrup
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
Pinch salt
4 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
4 to 6 strips bacon
Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the maple syrup to a simmer and cook until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, reduced maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, to the hot cream. Return to medium-low heat and cook, whisking, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Whisk in the maple extract. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
Remove from the refrigerator and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
About 15 minutes before serving, fry 4 to 6 strips of bacon (or however many you desire really). When crispy, remove bacon from pan and let rest on a paper towel for 3 to 4 minutes. Cut or crumble bacon into small pieces.
Place ice cream in bowl and top with as much bacon as you wish. Enjoy.
(Attribution: The ice cream recipe is from Emeril Lagassi. The idea to combine bacon with it is all mine.)
Ingredients
1 cup Grade A or B maple syrup
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
Pinch salt
4 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
4 to 6 strips bacon
Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the maple syrup to a simmer and cook until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, reduced maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, to the hot cream. Return to medium-low heat and cook, whisking, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Whisk in the maple extract. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
Remove from the refrigerator and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
About 15 minutes before serving, fry 4 to 6 strips of bacon (or however many you desire really). When crispy, remove bacon from pan and let rest on a paper towel for 3 to 4 minutes. Cut or crumble bacon into small pieces.
Place ice cream in bowl and top with as much bacon as you wish. Enjoy.
(Attribution: The ice cream recipe is from Emeril Lagassi. The idea to combine bacon with it is all mine.)
Monday, August 24, 2009
Easy Homemade Nutella
Nutella is one of Italy's crown culinary jewels. Well, it's not really a jewel. In fact, it's more like crack than anything. Once you have nutella, you want more, more, more. Unfortunately, the American industrial version is akin to crack-lite: passable, but nothing you would sell your mother for. Because of this, I set out to make a good, easy homemade nutella. The following is what I came up with. It's not perfect, but it certainly satisfies me and the fam for now. Enjoy, and comments are welcome.
The thing you have to keep in mind with this recipe is it’s going to taste different than Nutella from Italy. For example, the first ingredient in Italian Nutellas is zucchero (sugar), and the second is olio vegetale (vegetable oil). Hazelnuts don’t come in until number 3, and cacao is number 4, right above lowfat powdered milk. By contrast, this recipe has equal parts hazelnuts and powdered sugar, and milk is used as a thinning agent more so than vegetable oil. The result: a much more hazelnutty tasty. Keep in mind, however, you’ll never quite get that smooth absolutely consistency you get with industrial machines. But that’s okay, a little mouth feel is good.
Ingredients
1 cup of raw hazelnuts
5 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil (or some other neutral oil)
5 tablespoons whole milk, more as needed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Toast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Let the hazelnuts cool down for about five minutes, and then place the hazelnuts between two kitchen towels and rub until the skins come off (you may have to do this with your hands if they don’t cooperate). (Note: if you don't want to roast and peel the hazelnuts, just buy a bag of chopped hazelnuts at the store and blend those. They have some skin on them, but that's okay.)
Place nuts in a food processor and blend in 45 second intervals, stopping to wipe down the bowl after every interval. You should get a pretty smooth mixture after about 5 cycles, but keep in mind it won’t be as smooth as peanut butter or the Nutella you buy in the supermarket. Add the cocoa, sugar, oil, and milk, and salt and mix for another 45 seconds. If the mixture is too firm (you want it to spread easily), add another tablespoon or two of either vegetable oil or milk — your choice.
Now, enjoy. I would try to use your nutella within a week, which shouldn’t be difficult ;)
The thing you have to keep in mind with this recipe is it’s going to taste different than Nutella from Italy. For example, the first ingredient in Italian Nutellas is zucchero (sugar), and the second is olio vegetale (vegetable oil). Hazelnuts don’t come in until number 3, and cacao is number 4, right above lowfat powdered milk. By contrast, this recipe has equal parts hazelnuts and powdered sugar, and milk is used as a thinning agent more so than vegetable oil. The result: a much more hazelnutty tasty. Keep in mind, however, you’ll never quite get that smooth absolutely consistency you get with industrial machines. But that’s okay, a little mouth feel is good.
Ingredients
1 cup of raw hazelnuts
5 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil (or some other neutral oil)
5 tablespoons whole milk, more as needed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Toast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Let the hazelnuts cool down for about five minutes, and then place the hazelnuts between two kitchen towels and rub until the skins come off (you may have to do this with your hands if they don’t cooperate). (Note: if you don't want to roast and peel the hazelnuts, just buy a bag of chopped hazelnuts at the store and blend those. They have some skin on them, but that's okay.)
Place nuts in a food processor and blend in 45 second intervals, stopping to wipe down the bowl after every interval. You should get a pretty smooth mixture after about 5 cycles, but keep in mind it won’t be as smooth as peanut butter or the Nutella you buy in the supermarket. Add the cocoa, sugar, oil, and milk, and salt and mix for another 45 seconds. If the mixture is too firm (you want it to spread easily), add another tablespoon or two of either vegetable oil or milk — your choice.
Now, enjoy. I would try to use your nutella within a week, which shouldn’t be difficult ;)
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