MY FIRST AWARD!

Posted in General by sallybr

We are home! No matter how great a trip is, coming back home is the best part, although I must admit the first day feels a bit like a mild hangover. But, the blogging year could not start on a better note: just before we left for our (wonderful) trip, Sharyn, from The Kale Chronicles presented me with The Versatile Blogger Award! Who doesn’t like a little praise every once in a while? Feels good…

Part of the deal of the Versatile Blogger Award is to say 7 things about yourself, so here it goes:

1. I was a premature baby, stayed in the hospital for 40 days inside an incubator, but for the first few days they kept me together with a Chinese-Brazilian baby, so that his body heat would keep me warmer. I’ve always wondered who this baby was, and where he is now, as in some way he helped me survive. Could that explain my passion for all things Chinese? 🙂

2. Every year I buy one of these calendars and use it to log my exercises. I’ve kept my exercise records since January 1998, and each month for the past 15 years I strive to exercise more than 50% of the days.

3. I am a compulsive list-maker, not only because they make me more efficient, but because I have a thrill when all items are checked-off.

4. I love to dance, and we started 2012 dancing our hearts out at a party in Maui. Phil is the first partner I have who also likes to dance, until dating him, I was always by myself on the dance floor.

5. My favorite animal is the elephant. They are amazing creatures.

6. My weaknesses: cookbooks, earrings, and black dresses. Cannot seem to have enough of them.

7. I am the personification of a honey badger in the golf course. All it takes is two bad shots in a row. Corollarium: Phil is a saint.

The award also requires that you nominate 15 other bloggers… Well, I am bailing out of that part, and instead I invite any blogger who would like to reveal 7 things about him/herself, to do so.

Thanks, Sharyn! It was fun to think about what to “reveal” here… 😉

31Dec2011

MAUI NEW YEAR!

Posted in General by sallybr

From the balcony of our place here in Maui, an amazing ballet of sun and clouds a few minutes before sunset… Have a wonderful New Year’s Eve!

ALOHA!

29Dec2011

EDAMAME DIP

Posted in Appetizers, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

T’is the season to splurge, indulge, and be jolly! But, even in time of non-stop celebrations, it’s good to have a few options of lighter food that won’t make you feel sluggish and heavy. I’ve had this recipe for edamame dip in my files for a long time, finally gave it a try the week before Christmas. Originally from Alton Brown, this adaptation was published in the blog Closet Cooking. Kevin substantially reduced the fat content in the dip by using part of the cooking liquid from the edamame to adjust the texture, instead of olive oil.

EDAMAME DIP
(adapted from Closet Cooking)

1 cup edamame beans (I used frozen)
1/4 cup shallots, diced
1/2 cup cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon yellow miso
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili sauce (I used Sriracha)
salt, if needed

Place the edamame in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Add the cooked edamame into the bowl of a food processor, together with all other ingredients. Process until it forms a paste, and adjust the consistency with some of the cooking water reserved.

Taste, adjust seasoning with salt (you may not need it, both miso and soy sauce are salty), and serve cold, with crackers or carrot and celery sticks.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This is a very nice option of appetizer for a dinner party in which the main dish might be on the heavy side. Your guests will appreciate the bright flavor, unless they are cilantro haters. Those people are out there, believe me! 😉 One of my best friends in Brazil (hello, Fabio!) hates cilantro so much that while traveling through China a few years ago, he carried a sign in Mandarin with the words: “Please, no cilantro in my food”. The herb flavor is very pronounced in this dip, so make sure and warn your guests, just in case…

ONE YEAR AGO: Gougeres

TWO YEARS AGO: Beef Wellington on a Special Night

26Dec2011

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: WHITE CHOCOLATE DIPPED COOKIES

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Sweets, Secret Recipe Club by sallybr

My third assignment for the Secret Recipe Club! When I clicked on my assigned blog – Kudos Kitchen by Renee – I melted on the spot: the front page was a post composed by her three dogs (Ivy, Nutmeg and Nell), and they had a lot to bark about! 😉

Renee is an artist (check her store at Etsy), and that alone leaves me in complete awe, because I cannot draw a tree to save my own life! In fact, back in middle school two things terrified me to the point of losing sleep: physical education and art classes. I was absolutely horrible at both, and wanted to disappear from the planet when it was time to face them. Back to blogging. I fell in love with Renee’s 4th of July cookies, and adapted them for a Christmas time motif, switching the colors to green and red. And, since I’ve always wanted to make shortbread cookies, this was a perfect excuse to bake a batch. Without further ado, and with apologies to Renee, here is my very first attempt at playing Jackson Pollock. You can understand why I was not very popular with the art teachers… (sigh)

WHITE CHOCOLATE DIPPED COOKIES
(adapted from Kudos Kitchen by Renee)

for cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cup ground hazelnuts
zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of salt

for dipping cookies
1 + 1/2 packages white chocolate morsels
3 tablespoons Crisco, divided
1 tablespoon milk
red and green food coloring

In a large kitchen Aid type bowl, beat together the butter with the brown sugar until creamy. Add the flour, ground hazelnuts, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Beat until smooth. Remove the dough from the bowl, form it into a log and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 325 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. When the dough is firm enough to handle, remove 1 inch balls and shape as a cookie, flattening the surface. Alternatively, you can slice pieces straight from the log, 1/4 inch thick. Smooth the surface and edges, and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes on until set and very lightly browned on the bottom. Remove from pan and place the cookies to cool on a rack. Before icing, place them in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Dipping the cookies: melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips and the 2 + 1/2 tablespoons of Crisco in your microwave. Check on it often and stir it occasionally until the chocolate is smooth and completely melted.

Using a fork and working with one cookie at a time, dip each cookie, turning it over to coat both sides nicely with chocolate. Place your dipped cookies on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Follow this step until all of the chocolate is used up. This amount of chocolate will be enough to coat about 12 cookies.

With the remaining 1/2 cup of morsels, melt them in your microwave again, using 1/2 Tbs Crisco and 1 tablespoon of milk to keep the consistency thinner and better for drizzling.

In two separate small bowls, divide the chocolate and color them with the red and green food coloring. Drizzle the cookies with both colors of icing, using the tines of a fork dipped in water, or if you have the right skills, a little improvised piping bag made with parchment paper.

Place the cookies in the fridge until time to serve them.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

A few things I learned from this baking adventure…

1. Run away from the small tubes of food coloring gel, because even if you squeeze the full tube of green gel in 1/4 cup of melted chocolate, the resulting icing will have a pale lime color. Go for the real McCoy, the type that you need to use a toothpick to grab the tiny amount that gets the job done.

2. White chocolate is not for sissies. When Renee says to make sure the chocolate is fully melted and smooth, she knows what she’s talking about. Lumps get together and seem to multiply at a fast rate. Then, right before your eyes, the whole thing turns into a solid mess.

3. White chocolate is not for sissies. Melted chocolate, when smooth and fluid, has a remarkable tendency to splatter. Certain types of dog fur catch droplets of icing with high efficiency, and don’t wash easily.

4. Have I mentioned that white chocolate is not for sissies? Buy more than you think you’ll need. Have a cup of chamomile tea before icing your cookies. You may need three shots of tequila after.

But it will all be worth it, these cookies were amazing! You can play with the colors to match your favorite football team, or go real artistic and draw something over the white chocolate canvas, like red hearts for Valentine’s Day! 😉

Renee, it was great to get to know your blog, hope you had as much fun as I did with your assignment this month!

ONE YEAR AGO: Sourdough Focaccia, with a Twist

TWO YEARS AGO: Merry Christmas!