Babycakes Cake Pops

I'm so proud of my latest purchase: Babycakes Cake Pop Maker! It was effortless and baked in no time! 

I made much more than I had originally intended so make sure you modify your recipe to about 1/4 of a batch.

I used Hershey's Chipits White Chocolate Chips to coat the cake pops and jimmies sprinkles to decorate. My older daughter dipped and decorated the pops.   

We packaged them up to share with my younger daughter's class.

Peppermint Candy Cane Bark

My children loved our bark confectionary project. We made two variations for the past holiday season: white chocolate peppermint and semi sweet/white chocolate Oreo candy cane bark.

The white chocolate peppermint candy cane bark was for each teacher and we affixed a candy cane Rudolph to the package. The pictorial can be found here: http://muminspiredby.blogspot.ca/2011/12/candy-cane-rudolph.html.

We made a second batch for family and friends for our annual Christmas brunch.

The bark looked wonderful.

And packaged up quite nicely as well. Voila, semi sweet/white chocolate Oreo candy cane bark!

You can find the recipe for Peppermint Candy Cane bark on food.com by angelcakes here: http://www.food.com/recipeprint.do?rid=15489.

Hello Kitty Theme Birthday Party

It was my daughter's 5th birthday this past October and she decided on a Hello Kitty theme for her party. 

First up, decor! My daughter and I found an idea for a Hello Kitty lantern online and decided to create something similar. The supplies were a breeze - all you need is a white paper lantern, scissors, white/yellow/black/white card stock and tape.

With the card stock, cut out ears, whiskers, eyes nose and bow. We decided to outline the ears with a black marker and bow with a dark pink marker. Affix cut pieces on lantern with tape.

Next up, party favors! We invited friends of different age categories. We decided to give the older girls Hello Kitty bike bags, the older boys Canucks hockey pucks/Pokemon and the toddlers received Hello Kitty coloring books with glitter crayons.

My daughter hand wrote her guests names on a label and we added lollipops to the craft bag.

For my favorite part, the cake! I must admit that I was a little rusty with the cake decorating. There was initially a design in mind but the creative process and time restrictions snuck up on me!

The top tier was a mess. I simply ran out of time. It is supposed to be a silhouette of Hello Kitty and I think her face, in its entirety, would have worked better.

Now, my daughters actual birthday was during the school week. She wanted to bring sugar cookies as her birthday treat to the class. This is the sugar glaze design we decided on.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Skirt Steak With Kalbi Marinade

We were fortunate to be invited to a traditional Korean dinner last summer and I was very impressed with the simplicity of the unique entree that was served.

My friend had requested that I bring two heads of red leaf lettuce to dinner and I happily complied. She served a perfectly barbecued skirt steak (with a lovely Korean marinade) and brown rice. Later that evening, she shared that the marinade was kalbi. 

We had invited my husband's aunt and uncle for dinner around the same time and I decided to serve my guests a replicated meal.

I asked a local butcher for advice on cooking instructions and serving portion for our party. The instructions were to grill the steaks for no longer than 3 1/2 minutes on each side.

I served this beautiful skirt steak with red leaf lettuce and short grain brown rice. My flavors were of course not as authentic, but still comparable.
You can find the recipe for the marinade I found below. Please note that I marinaded the skirt steak overnight.

Recipe Courtesy Food Network Judiaann Woo

Ingredients

5 pounds Korean style beef short ribs*
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup mirin (rice wine)
1 small onion, peeled and finely grated
1 small Asian pear, peeled and finely grated
4 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

Heat gas or charcoal grill to medium-hot. Drain excess marinade off beef. Grill short ribs, turning once, to desired doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Garnish with thinly sliced green onions, if desired. Serve whole pieces as a main course or cut into smaller pieces, using kitchen shears, for a starter or party nibble.

Sprinkle brown sugar over beef and mix well to evenly coat. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while preparing marinade. In a bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Transfer beef into a large sealable freezer bag (you may need 2). Add marinade, press out excess air from bags, and seal. Turn bag over several times to ensure beef is evenly coated. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

My children have been drinking fresh squeezed lemonade all summer long and this is the recipe that everyone enjoys.

Ingredients
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 5 large lemons or 6 small lemons)
1 cup of organic sugar with 1 cup of water
6 cups of water

Directions
Combine 1 cup of organic sugar with 1 cup of water in pot. Bring to a boil until the sugar is dissolved. Cool simple sugar. Squeeze lemons. Mix lemons, 6 cups of water, cooled simple sugar and serve on ice on a hot summer day!

Pavlova

I made individual muffin cup pavlovas back in June without knowing that they would be impossible to remove from the tin. Fortunately, I only required 3 pavlovas to be in tact. It turned out lovely but sweet, too sweet. The recipe is Easy Pavlova from allrecipes.com

Ever since the Easy Pavlova, I've wanted to try its chocolate counterpart. Nigella Lawson has a fabulous recipe on the Food Network which I had the pleasure of whipping up this past weekend.

My mother in-law gave us a gorgeous tea set passed down from her mother (as seen above with the larger pavlova hearts), and my daughter was excited to have a tea party together. They are a doubly gorgeous combination - we enjoyed Arnold Palmer's and individual chocolate pavlova hearts for tea this afternoon. Chocolate pavlova is the way to go. Absolutely delicious!

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

Ingredients
For the Meringue Base:

• 6 large egg whites

• 2 cups superfine sugar

• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

• 1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar

• 2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

For the Toppings:

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 4 cups raspberries

• 1 to 2 ounces dark chocolate

Directions 

Prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Draw a 9-inch-diameter circle on the paper with a pencil, tracing a round cake tin that size.

Flip the paper over so your meringue doesn't touch the pencil marks - you'll still be able to see the circle.

Make the meringue: Beat the egg whites with a mixer until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Add the chocolate: Sprinkle the cocoa, vinegar and then the chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold everything with a rubber spatula until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in.

Shape the meringue: Secure the parchment to the baking sheet with a dab of meringue under each corner. Mound the meringue onto the parchment within the circle, smoothing the sides and the top with a spatula.

Bake the meringue: Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F and cook for one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready, it should look crisp and dry on top, but when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers.

Let it cool: Turn off the oven and open the door slightly; let the chocolate meringue disk cool completely in the oven. When you're ready to serve, invert onto a big flat bottomed plate and peel off the parchment.

Decorate the Pavlova: Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter the raspberries on top. Coarsely grate the chocolate haphazardly over the top so that you get curls of chocolate rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious color and form to be obscured. You want the Pavlova to look like a frosted cake.

* I managed to pipe out 3 large hearts, 2 individual hearts, 3 individual rounds and 2 blobs with this recipe. I plan on trying the Nigella's 9" round technique next time around.

Rosemary & Thyme Rack Of Lamb

I find myself order rack of lamb when dining out but three frenched bones can hardly be called a rack. Rack of lamb has made it on my dinner rotation and I found this fabulous recipe that I loosely follow from Saveur.

Rack of lam with rosemary and thyme

INGREDIENTS

1  1 3⁄4-lb. frenched rack of lamb
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh rosemary 
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme, plus 4 sprigs
10 cloves garlic, smashed

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 450˚. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb fat side down and cook, using tongs to flip and sear the bottom and sides of the rack, until browned, about 10 minutes. Turn lamb fat side up in the skillet and scatter herbs over the top.

2. Add garlic to skillet and transfer to oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of the meat reads 130˚ for medium rare, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing into chops and serving.

* I use dry herbs, 5 cloves of garlic minced, add South African Smoke Seasoning from Trader Joe's and marinade the lamb with all of the listed the ingredients for up to 3 hours before cooking. I also roast the meat at a lower temperature, 400F for 20 minutes. Perfecto!

Honey Garlic Soy Chicken Wings

Chicken wings are a staple in our home. My usual style of cooking wings is simple - add chicken seasoning and Lawry's Seasoned Pepper, bake at 375F oven for 35 minutes.

For an Asian infused chicken wing, try this recipe:

2 dozen chicken wings

1/2 cup water

1/4 soy sauce

3 tablespoons honey

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Marinade all ingredients for 3+ hours for maximum flavoring.

This is the baked version at 375F for 30 minutes. Be careful with the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time as the marinade does tend to burn. I rotated the pan to prevent additional burning.

With the summer season upon us, I had my grill master barbecue the same marinaded chicken wings on the charcoal grill.

It took 25 minutes on the open fire but was heavily charred. There was still a tremendous amount of flavor but some of the skin was too burnt. I've read about 2 zone grilling and will have my grill master try that technique next time.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

I'm sure glad that I stumbled upon this Asian Lettuce Wrap recipe from My Recipes. My family and I have often ordered this great Chinese dish and it's so simple to put together. The children also have fun wrapping their own food which is double bonus for this mum! Give it a try, I highly recommend it.

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

1 cup bean sprouts (about 4 oz.)

2 carrots, shredded (about 1 cup)

24 large Boston or butter lettuce leaves

Soy sauce, optional

Preparation

1. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Stir in turkey and cook, stirring, until almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add broth and hoisin sauce. Cook, stirring and breaking up clumps of turkey, until turkey is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in teriyaki sauce, bean sprouts and carrots. (You should have about 6 cups of filling.)

2. Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling into center of each lettuce leaf. Serve with soy sauce, if desired.

My side notes: I added 1/2 red pepper and 3 celery stalks, omitted the bean sprouts, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the broth and turkey at 5 minutes, and added 1 tablespoon of hoisin after removing from heat.

Summer Desserts

Happy summer everyone! I offered to bring dessert to a summer barbecue this past weekend and here was my dessert menu: chocolate pecan pie from True Confections, homemade creamy lemon crumb squares and flower shaped stained glass JELL-O.

The dessert restaurant offered to add a message on the pie so I requested the wording "Summer BBQ" which turned out beautifully. Did I happen to mention that this is my husband's all time favorite dessert?

I often treat myself to a lemon square at least every season from my local bakery. This is certainly a reason to covet a recipe of my own so I did a quick search and found a handful of recipes. I ultimately decided on this recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients

• 1-⅓ cup
 All-purpose Flour

• ½ teaspoons
 Salt

• 1 teaspoon
 Baking Powder

• 1 stick
 (1/2 Cup) Butter, Slightly Softened

• 1 cup
 Brown Sugar (lightly Packed)

• 1 cup
 Oats

• 1 can
 (14 Ounce) Sweetened Condensed Milk

• ½ cups
 Lemon Juice

• Zest Of 1 Lemon

Preparation Instructions
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.

Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don’t press.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.

Serve cool.

These creamy lemon crumb squares were absolutely fantastic! My compliments to Ree, thank-you!

The last dessert was strictly for the children. I've always wanted to try rainbow JELL-O but I'm often intimidated by the whole process - it sounds too time consuming. My latest attempt was no different because instead of layering the JELL-O, I did the stained glass (or broken glass) effect courtesy of The Food Librarian. 

4 small boxes (3 oz. each) of JELL-O 
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
Directions: For each flavor, dissolve one 3 oz box of JELL-O in one cup of boiling water. Pour into a container and chill. After chilling the four flavors, cut them into small blocks.
Please note: Only add 1 cup of water to each box of colored JELL-O. Ignore the instructions on the box of JELL-O (they say to use 2 cups of water). Use only 1 cup of water so the JELL-O is firm and can be cut into blocks.
Carefully mix the blocks in a 9 x 13 pan.In a separate bowl, sprinkle 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. After the gelatin blooms, add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and cool. Pour cooled milk mixture over JELL-O and chill overnight. (It is a good idea to skim off the bubbles for a nicer finished product.)

I was so pleased with the final result. This was the perfect ending a summer barbecue! Thanks Mary - this version is a breeze!