I started this blog to share my recipes and techniques on how I like to cook or prepare food. I enjoy cooking and I love to make sure everyone is fed and fed well. lol I hope to be able to help with questions about different types of food and how to cook or prepare it. I also hope to share my love of food with you and for you to share yours with me.

If you would like, you can leave a comment or question for me here and I will try to answer you with-in 24 hrs.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentines Day! Death by Chocoalte! LOL

I have been raking my brain for the past month trying to figure out what to make for my little man and hubby for this most loving day. They are both chocoholics, me not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love my chocolate just as much as the next girl but my guys LOVE chocolate! LOL

A few yrs ago I made a Hot Fudge Pudding Cake that we all loved. And now of course I couldn't find the recipe! So I've been searching for it this past week and finally found it in the final hour. :-D

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake



Ingredients:

1-¼ cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1-½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1-¼ cups hot coffee
Whipped topping or Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350*. Combine ¾ cup sugar, flour, ¼ cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.

2. Pour batter into an un-greased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot coffee over top; do not stir.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes. You do NOT want it to be completely set, it is soft served from the bottom. Serve in dessert dishes, spooning sauce from the bottom of the pan over the top. Garnish with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream. Makes about 8 servings.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

So let's get started!

So let's get started. I love food and everything about it. The textures, the smells, the different tastes. I like to try different things to see if I would want to share them or to try them again myself even. I have been enjoying Sushi a lot lately or at least what everyone else calls Sushi. I discovered I have a knack for making the nori rolls with out a mat. I am pretty pleased with that, I didn't think I would be able to do it. Next on my list is Spring Rolls to try and make. I wanted to find out what exactly sushi was though, here is what I found out:

Sushi is a Japanese dish consisting of cooked vinegared rice which is commonly topped with other ingredients, such as fish or other seafood, or put into rolls. Sliced raw fish by itself is called sashimi, as distinct from sushi. Sushi that is served rolled inside or around nori, dried and pressed sheets of seaweed, is makizushi. Toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu is inarizushi. A bowl of sushi rice with toppings scattered over it is called chirashizushi.



So I will start with the sharing how I make Sushi. Here goes.....

Sushi Rice


Ingredients:

3 cups short-grain white rice (sushi rice)
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 ¼ cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Prepare sushi vinegar by mixing vinegar, sugar, and salt in a sauce pan. Put the pan on low heat and heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool the vinegar mixture.
2. In a fine strainer, rinse rice under cold running water until water runs clear. Drain for 5 to 10 minutes. Put rice in a 4- to 5-quart pan and add 3 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and cook until water is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Spread rice out in a shallow 12- by 16-inch baking pan. Please use a non-metallic bowl to prevent any interaction with rice vinegar and slowly pour vinegar mixture over it, turning rice gently and fanning it (the Japanese use a traditional fan, but you can use a piece of paper) until it comes to warm room temperature, about 15 minutes.

Next, a sushi recipe that is as simple as they come.


Ingredients:

8 ounces raw fresh tuna fillet
2 cups cooked sushi rice
1 to 2 tablespoons wasabi paste, to taste
soy sauce, to taste


Directions:

1. Slice the tuna into one-inch by two-inch rectangles, about a quarter-inch thick.
2. Take a small amount of the sushi rice and cradle it in your right hand at the base of your finger. Using your
hands, take the rice and form a rectangular shape to match the tuna slices.
3. Spread ¼ to ½ teaspoon of wasabi paste onto the slice of tuna. Place the rice block on top, and press
gently to shape the sushi. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make several sushi pieces.
4. Serve as desired.



Smoked Salmon Sushi Rolls





Ingredients:

Sushi Rice
Smoked Salmon
Cucumber, sliced into thin, long slices
Nori sheets

Directions:



1. Spread the rice onto the nori sheet, from edge to edge but in a thin layer. Next lay the salmon in a row onto the rice. Place one piece of cucumber along side of the salmon.




2. Lift the edge of nori closest to you; fold over filling. Roll toward top edge, pressing firmly on sushi roll a little at a time as you are rolling. Continue rolling to top edge. Let rest, seam side down, for 5 minutes. Slice crosswise into 8 pieces. Repeat procedure with remaining nori, rice mixture, salmon and cucumber.





You can continue making rolls using different ingredients. I made some with tuna, smoked salmon and shrimp. The extras that I added were cream cheese, green onions, avocado, green bell peppers and cucumbers. My favorite were the tuna with green onion and the salmon with cream cheese. The easiest of course were the ones that are made up of just the rice and meat. I like to dip them into soy sauce and to spread a very thin spot of wasabi on to each bit. Very filling and oh so yummy!









Hibernating for the Winter!

Well, it has been too long. I promised myself that I wouldn't procrastinate anymore. I have been taking notes and pictures of almost everything I have been cooking now for the past few months. I have to get busy now and post them for you. So, here goes......


This is what is planned for Valentines Day dinner, with Oven Roasted New Potatoes and Asparagus. The recipes for them will come later.

Greek Style Rib Eye Steaks


INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 4 beef rib-eye steaks (1 ½ inches thick)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ¼ cup crumbled feta or blue cheese
  • 2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Turn oven onto Broil. In a small bowl, combine the first five ingredients; rub onto both sides of steaks. Place steaks onto a broiler pan that has been oiled with olive oil to prevent them sticking. Depending on how you like your steaks you will turn them in about 4-6 minutes for medium rare or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare a meat thermometer should read 145 degrees F, medium, 160 degrees F, well-done, 170 degrees F). Sprinkle with lemon juice, cheese and olives. Serve immediately.