Luckily, I had the camera right on hand for Julian's first raspberries.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Bar of the Month: Fudgy Malted Milk Brownies
So, here they are and they look wonderful and taste delicious (according to Vince)! And thanks to Courtney who was visiting and helped. Never have you seen such Whopper cutting in your life!
Bars:
4 oz 70% to 72% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut up
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder (I used chocolate ovaltine.)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 yolk, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped or 1 cup white baking chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut up
1/2 cup malted milk balls, halved
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9-inch square baking pan with foil; spray bottom of foil with cooking spray.
2. Microwave bittersweet chocolate and 10 tablespoons butter in medium bowl on medium for 1 minutes and 30 seconds; stir. Continue microwaving in 15-second increments until completely melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature.
3. Whisk flour, malted milk powder and salt in small bowl.
4. Beat eggs and egg yolk in medium bowl at low speed 15 seconds or until blended and slightly frothy. Beat in sugar in steady stream 15 seconds or until combined. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla 15 seconds or until just combined. Stir in flour mixture until just blended. Spread in pan.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch from side of pan comes out clean and when inserted in center comes out with a trace of chocolate. Cool completely on wire rack.
6. Meanwhile, combine white chocolate, cream, and 1 tablespoon butter in medium heatproof bowl. Bring small saucepan of water to a simmer; remove from heat. Place bowl with chocolate mixture over water (bowl should not touch water). Let stand until ingredients are almost melted; stir until melted and smooth. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes or until spreadable consistency, stirring occasionally.
7. Spread frosting over brownies; top with malted milk balls, cut-side down. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.
*Notes: I made a double batch, so I used a 9x13 pan. Also, I find that if you are going to use foil, you have to spray the heck out of it with cooking spray. But when you do, the bars come off very easily.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Stormpooper Julian
It's that time again, folks! Can you believe it?! We hardly can't. Today Julian is four months old.
For Vince's first Father's Day, when JB was still just our little unknown Jellybean, I bought Vince a Stormpooper onesie for JB. I'm sure you all know about Vince's love of Star Wars, and he is so excited that JB can finally fit into the Stormpooper onesie!
Julian was really tired when we were taking these pictures, but you can sure tell that he's getting more interactive with his surroundings.
And of course, sometimes he just needs a good sleep.
Julian found his tongue this month too!
Needless to say, we are loving being parents! And we're one big happy family. This is probably only the first time that we will scare our kid!
For Vince's first Father's Day, when JB was still just our little unknown Jellybean, I bought Vince a Stormpooper onesie for JB. I'm sure you all know about Vince's love of Star Wars, and he is so excited that JB can finally fit into the Stormpooper onesie!
Julian was really tired when we were taking these pictures, but you can sure tell that he's getting more interactive with his surroundings.
And of course, sometimes he just needs a good sleep.
Julian found his tongue this month too!
Needless to say, we are loving being parents! And we're one big happy family. This is probably only the first time that we will scare our kid!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Photos...until something interesting happens
Not much is really going on in our world, so I thought I would post some pictures to give you something to coo about until his four month update in a week or so! Enjoy!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Bar of the Month Club - a monthly feature
For quite some time, I have been considering starting a food and cooking blog. I absolutely love to cook and love to share recipes, and I love to read other people's blogs about cooking. But I also know that my reality is such that I barely make the time to keep up one blog, much less TWO. So, I am going to start by occasionally sharing recipes and such on this blog.
When we first started dating (on our first second official date), I made Vince Oatmeal Freckles for his birthday. I contend that this is the point at which Vince fell madly in love with me. (Perhaps he would tell a different story.) Regardless, he made it clear that he loved my cookies. After a while of dating and then marriage, I stopped regularly baking for him. And so for Christmas 2008, I gave Vince a "Cookie of the Month" Club for part of his Christmas present. Once per month he could pick any cookie recipe that he wanted, and I made those cookies. It was a lot of fun, and I got to cook and be creative.
To shake things up a bit, this past Christmas, I gave Vince the "Bar of the Month" Club. Now that sounds like we'll be drinking a lot, but I thought the name "Brownie of the Month" sounded too limiting. I offered to make him any bar that he would like. In January he went for Cream Cheese Brownies. But I had not yet thought about posting these on the blog, so if you want the recipe, email me! And just when he was deciding on what he would choose for his February selection, we got a Cooking Club magazine in the mail with "five decadent bar recipes." Score! And thus he chose for February: Chocolate-Caramel Crispies.
Chocolate-Caramel Crispies (Makes 16 bars)
6 Tablespoons of water, divided
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 (11oz) bag of caramel bits or 40 unwrapped caramels (from 14oz bag), divided
25 marshmallows (not miniature)
4 cups crisped rice cereal
4oz 60% to 62% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1. Line 9in square baking pan with foil; spray with cooking spray.
2. Bring 1 tablespoon of the water and 2 tablespoons of the butter to a simmer in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in half of the caramel bits until melted and smooth. Add marshmallows; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cereal until well-combined. Spoon into pan; pat into corners. With well buttered fingers, smooth top.
3. Bring 4 tablespoons of the water and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to a boil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle over bars.
4. Microwave remaining caramel bits and remaining 1 tablespoon of water in small microwave-safe bowl 1 minute or until melted and smooth, pausing ever 20 seconds to stir. Drizzle in larger bands over bars. With tip of knife, swirl caramel and chocolate into decorative pattern. Let stand until set. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.
*Note...I have yet to really figure out how to take good pictures of food, so hopefully, as these features progress, so will the photography.*
Also, use more cooking spray than you think you need. The caramel in the rice crispies makes this recipe extra sticky!
When we first started dating (on our first second official date), I made Vince Oatmeal Freckles for his birthday. I contend that this is the point at which Vince fell madly in love with me. (Perhaps he would tell a different story.) Regardless, he made it clear that he loved my cookies. After a while of dating and then marriage, I stopped regularly baking for him. And so for Christmas 2008, I gave Vince a "Cookie of the Month" Club for part of his Christmas present. Once per month he could pick any cookie recipe that he wanted, and I made those cookies. It was a lot of fun, and I got to cook and be creative.
To shake things up a bit, this past Christmas, I gave Vince the "Bar of the Month" Club. Now that sounds like we'll be drinking a lot, but I thought the name "Brownie of the Month" sounded too limiting. I offered to make him any bar that he would like. In January he went for Cream Cheese Brownies. But I had not yet thought about posting these on the blog, so if you want the recipe, email me! And just when he was deciding on what he would choose for his February selection, we got a Cooking Club magazine in the mail with "five decadent bar recipes." Score! And thus he chose for February: Chocolate-Caramel Crispies.
Chocolate-Caramel Crispies (Makes 16 bars)
6 Tablespoons of water, divided
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 (11oz) bag of caramel bits or 40 unwrapped caramels (from 14oz bag), divided
25 marshmallows (not miniature)
4 cups crisped rice cereal
4oz 60% to 62% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1. Line 9in square baking pan with foil; spray with cooking spray.
2. Bring 1 tablespoon of the water and 2 tablespoons of the butter to a simmer in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in half of the caramel bits until melted and smooth. Add marshmallows; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cereal until well-combined. Spoon into pan; pat into corners. With well buttered fingers, smooth top.
3. Bring 4 tablespoons of the water and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to a boil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle over bars.
4. Microwave remaining caramel bits and remaining 1 tablespoon of water in small microwave-safe bowl 1 minute or until melted and smooth, pausing ever 20 seconds to stir. Drizzle in larger bands over bars. With tip of knife, swirl caramel and chocolate into decorative pattern. Let stand until set. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.
*Note...I have yet to really figure out how to take good pictures of food, so hopefully, as these features progress, so will the photography.*
Also, use more cooking spray than you think you need. The caramel in the rice crispies makes this recipe extra sticky!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Three Months Old
We can hardly believe that Julian is now three months old! He is so much fun and is growing his personality. And we love it! We are one of the lucky ones to have a baby with such a sweet disposition who is a great sleeper as well. Here are his three month Jedi shots.
Julian is also rolling like a madman. We thought it was a fluke at first, but he has proven to us that rolling is now his specialty...at least from his tummy to his back. On this video he rolled twice, but then he went on to roll about ten more times and even rolled to his other side. This kid cannot be stopped.
Where he once hated tummy time, he enjoys it a lot now because he can get a better look at the cats and the dog.
And just for fun, he does sometimes make funny faces...
Julian is also rolling like a madman. We thought it was a fluke at first, but he has proven to us that rolling is now his specialty...at least from his tummy to his back. On this video he rolled twice, but then he went on to roll about ten more times and even rolled to his other side. This kid cannot be stopped.
Where he once hated tummy time, he enjoys it a lot now because he can get a better look at the cats and the dog.
And just for fun, he does sometimes make funny faces...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)