Picture this

Have you ever seen a picture of something and think to yourself 'wow that looks amazing'? Well I have a lot, usually with food. Flipping through a cookbook or online and I just think I want that. Sometimes I just stop and have to make it. So the other night around midnight I started the process of making the dough for croissants. I let it sit over night in the fridge so this morning I could make prosciutto, Gouda croissants. I know right, if you saw the picture you would want it also. After I rolled out the croissants I added the toppings then rolled them up. Longer edge to smallest edge. Then I egg washed it and let it sit another hour and a half. Which is so hard when your like me and patience is not your thing. So after the longest hour and a half of my life I got to put the croissants in the oven. After only thirty minutes they were done. And can I just say, I ate two. Which isn't bad since my husband ate three. I am so glad that sometimes a picture turns out to be just as good as the real thing.

I'm going to be candid with you. I am struggling to write this week. Do you ever have those days where something so normal can be a struggle. Well, this is one of those weeks for me. Because of that reason I am cutting this week short. 

Before I  sign off I have to say have an amazing holiday no matter what you do. And remember foods amazing so do ruin all of it by over eating.

Tips and Technics

This post is going to be a few tips or technics that you may or may not know. These are a few things I have learned over the years in the kitchen.

Last week I talked about a pear pop over. If you remember I used a puff pastry. When I make the pop over I cut out what I needed and had some left over. Instead of throwing away the excess, what you can do with the left over is combine it all and roll it out again. You can make it into a smaller pop over or do something different you might not think of doing in a large quantity. I am always looking for new things to try but sometimes I don't want to make a whole item especially if I don't know how it will turn out. This is a perfect opportunity to have fun and just try new things.

What I did with my left over puff pastry is rolled it out and then cut it into squares. I then filled them with some apple slices that I cooked in some brown sugar earlier. I then connected the ends and baked the pastry off. I call it an apple pocket.

I love bacon. Which is a little odd to me since I am not a pork fan. Bacon though is a whole different meat I feel like, I would put it in its own category. What I love even more about bacon is the fat. When you put it in the pan and all the grease it makes is not something you should throw away. After I eat the bacon I collect the bacon fat in a mason jar. What is great about it is that bacon grease is high in fat. This has the great bacon flavor with a similar fat as butter. This means you can substitute bacon fat for butter. That is exactly what I did when I made warm Carmel. Instead of butter I used bacon fat, then a little brown sugar and heavy cream. I whisked that on the stove until the sugar disintegrated. Then put it in a jar to cool. What's great about this is dipping sliced apples in it while it cools. Since I had Carmel I decided to make a play on apple pie. I sliced up some apple and rolled out some fresh pie crust. I then spread the bottom of the pie with Carmel and added the apples then of course more Carmel's. While that cools you make your dinner.



Since you were able to save your butter for your dinner what I like to do is brown it. In a skillet I just melt the butter till it gets a nice brown color. This does not mean it's burnt. (Know you can burn butter that would be the next step so make sure it's browned not burnt.) Browned butter gives off a nice nutty scent, it also gets little granulates in it. Brown butter is perfect for those meals that you have had a hundred times. I added it to pasta and broccoli. This nutty flavor just changes the taste enough to make something you think was plain to something with great flavor.

A few tips on this simple meal to know is that whenever you make pasta no matter what type you always want your pasta to be al dente. This means the pasta is still a little hard. You don't want your pasta to be crunchy but not too soft either. An old trick I was always told was to take a piece of pasta and throw it on the wall. If it sticks then you know its ready. I don't like throwing my food so I just pull out a piece and eat it. I also steam my broccoli.  When you steam broccoli you don't want it to be under done or it will still taste raw. You also don't want it to soft or it just looses its integrity. To test to see if you cooked it to long you can always take a piece between your palms. If it turns to baby food when you apply pressure its over cooked. If it bounces back then you got the perfect cook time.

With these few tips and tricks even a simple dish turns perfection. Always remember scraps are the perfect way to test those items you have wanted to try out.

Pear pop over

Have you ever had a week where everything seemed to be going great?  You get to the weekend and it looks like all will be well for another week...then you wake up and your life plan has stopped in its tracks and you are left wondering, "where did it go wrong?" That was my last week. One thing that helps me calm down and get a hold of myself is food. I'm guessing food helps a lot of us get through some of those tougher moments in life.

 To help me I ate a PEAR POP OVER.
To make a pear pop over it is so simple. Peel and slice around three or four pears. Then saute them in a sugar mixture, similar to an apple pie filling. Really coat the pears so they have some color to them and are nice and soft. Then get puff pastry and line a pie tin with it. Make sure you cut off any extra pastry dough. Then line the inside with the pears. I added some sliced almonds and sugar on the bottom .                                                                  

 I also added the almond sugar mix to the top after I stuffed all my pears in the tin. Then just take the puff pastry that is hanging over and nicely fold it on top. Make sure you leave an opening on top so you can see the pear.

If you don't want to slice the pear you can always just give it a nice rough chop and make it look more rustic. What you want to make sure about is that the pieces no matter how you slice them are roughly the same size. This will insure that the pears all cook evenly. If your pieces differ too much then some might be really mushy and some might still be hard. That is the main thing you want to avoid.

Also if you don't like using puff pastry feel free to substitute it for a simple pie crust.

After about twenty-five minutes at 375 I pulled it out of the oven. You want to make sure your crust is that nice golden brown. If you pull it out to soon the bottom won't cook. You don't want raw puff pastry. You can see the middle hole has opened up some that is fine. Its so flaky and sweet when you eat it hot. Though eating it cold taste just as good.

If you want to pair it with a vanilla bean ice cream I think that would be heaven.

A picture says a thousand words

 These are a compilation of some food I have made in the past that I may not have given any attention too.
These two up top are one and the same. On the Left is a whole veggie pie. This is made with a simple pie crust and then thinly sliced carrots and zucchini. I then covered in an egg wash and added seasoning. This is a good way to eat your veggies and not feel like you're eating veggies. On the right is the same thing just individual. This could be a side dish to a meal or a meal itself.

 I may have posted on this item before. On the left is a dessert chimichanga. This means I stuffed a tortilla with cream cheese and a few other items rolled it up and deep fried it. I then rolled it in brown sugar and topped it off with fresh strawberries. If you cut it up it makes perfect bite sized dessert to share. Or you can go on the tart side and do something like what is on the right. This little tart is tart due to the raspberry mousse that is used as a filling.

 On the left is a blueberry crumb loaf. Just like New York  crumb cake this one is stuffed with blueberries. Giving it a moist taste to pair with he sweat crumb topping. If you just want sweat try what is on the right, a chocolate bread. Instead of making this bread in a loaf pan I did individual breads in soufflé dishes. This way no one fights over who gets what piece.

 Here we have old fashion donuts. For those of you who have a hard time working with yeast these are perfect. No yeast is involved. Plus for every donut you make you get a donut whole. Or you can do what I did and just make donut holes. After frying these bad boys up you give them a simple glaze. To jazz up any donut you can add different sauces or toppings.

 Here I have a couple types of cookies. On the left is a nice creamy peanut butter cookie. I know there is a lot of ways to make a peanut butter cookie but these little guys were a hit so I'm sticking with them. On the right I have what is called an Italian wedding knot. I'm Italian and I have never seen these at a wedding, and I have been to my share. Also as you can tell there not in a knot. Thats because its dough which means it can be shaped into any thing you like.

 What I have here are a few items for 4 of July. I am not a jello fan and I feel like the 4 of July is when all the jello comes out of hiding. On the left is a simple chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Then as you can see I added some fresh summer fruit and turned it into a flag. It's patriotic and semi healthy. On the right I have my take on a s'more. Instead of chocolate and gram crackers I mixed coco puffs and golden grams together into a rice crispy treat. I then topped each one off with a roasted marshmallow. This crunchy treat travels well and makes for great for large groups. Plus no fire is needed so its safe for kids.

 Getting into some breakfast foodI have two simple items to choose from. On the left is play on a quiche. Have you ever had left over bread but no sandwich items? Well, know you just slice that up and let it soak in an egg and milk mixture. Once the bread has absorbed most the liquid you pour it into a pan. Then add what ever toppings you want. I did sautéed spinach with mushroom. The I covered it in feta, parmesan, and mozzarella. Bake it until it is nicely browned for a perfect breakfast dish. On the right is an eggs Benedict. This simple poached egg is laying on a bed of spinach and bacon. The bacon gives it a nice meaty crunch which pairs well with he creamy hollandaise sauce.

The last items for today. This gets you through dinner and dessert. On the left is a casserole. That is pasta, shredded chicken, in a cream sauce. I added diced asparagus to give it some color and crunch. Then on the right is an easy ice cream. I froze banana (make sure you peel it first, I learned the hard way). So take the frozen banana and blend it. Thats it, you can add other things if you like. I added melted chocolate to give it a sort of chocolate shavings feel. Its healthy and really taste like ice cream.