Saturday, March 28, 2009

Curry Rice Krispies


by Justin Large for The Voilet Hour in Chicago
··· serves 20 ···

INGREDIENTS
· 3 tbsp. butter
· 1 tbsp. curry powder
· 10 oz. pkg. of marshmallows
· 6 cups puffed rice cereal
· 2 cups toasted, salted sunflower seeds

INSTRUCTIONS
· In a saucepan, melt butter. Add curry powder. Stir over low heat until fragrant.
· Over medium heat, melt marshmallows.
· Slowly pour rice cereal and sunflower seeds into saucepan while stirring. (For gooier squares, add fewer puffs and seeds.) Gently fold mixture with spatula until rice cereal is coated.
· Pour directly into a buttered baking dish.
· Cut when cool.

I haven't tired these out yet, but I am very curious. If you decide to try it, let me know how it goes.
Reinvented snacks are the best.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Cupcake A La Mode



A few months ago, as I was walking my dog around the neighborhood, I noticed a cupcake shop that just seemed to magically appear at the end of my street. It was the cutest and tiniest little pink and black building. Every time I casually walked past it's store front to sneak a peek through the windows, it was closed. This might have been a sign that I have had way too many cupcakes in my lifetime, but I still wanted to see what this place, called Cupcake A La Mode, was all about. I did some investigating around the neighborhood and discovered that the cupcakes are amazing, expensive, but worth it. I told myself that on a special day, I would treat myself.

After talking about this cute cupcake shop to my boyfriend a few times, he did the sweetest thing! He bought 30 of them and brought them to my birthday party a couple of weeks ago. He chose six different flavors and got five of each flavor. Just wait until you hear the descriptions...

Marshmallow Fondue: Chocolate cupcake topped with a layer of smooth, semisweet chocolate, a swirl of marshmallow cream frosting, a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs, and a gourmet chocolate covered graham craker on top.

Bella Nutella:
Chocolate cupcake topped with a layer of creamy Nutella, a swirl of chocolate hazelnut buttercream and a Rocher chocolate covered hazelnut truffle & choclate hazelnut pirrouhette cookie on top.

Love Doctor:
Chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate chunk strawberry buttercream and a chocolate dipped strawberry on top.

Chocolate Obsession: Chocolate cupcake topped with our rich, creamy chocolate buttercream icing and covered in finely grated semisweet chocolate.

Let It Snow: Vanilla cupcake topped with white chocolate cream cheese icing, covered in fresh shredded coconut with a maraschino cherry.

Hawaiian Honeymoon: Vanilla cupcake with pineapple buttercream icing, rolled in crushed macadamia nuts and drizzled with melted white chocolate.

After blowing out the candles on each of the cupcakes and making a wish, I decided to try the Marshmallow Fondue. This one was a winner...so rich and delicious. I think they all were. They were the hit of the party. These cupcakes even had the bar staff fighting with each other to try and get one. We had some left over from the party and I ate one the next night and the next night....Hey, It was my birthday...week! Right?


I know now to stay away from that place. It could get dangerous....

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

You Say Tomato


You Say Tomato is a quaint, local Kansas City restaurant. It has such eclectic appeal with it's mismatched furniture and vintage decor. We decided to try it out last Friday for lunch after hearing many people rave about the food.

When you walk in, there is a is a mini market of fresh produce and organic goodies to the left. To the right is the restaurant portion and further back, the kitchen and a large chalk board with the daily features. I chose to order the Veggie Stack which was a layered roasted veggie pie slice with no crust, only a little bit of cheese to hold it all together. It was a perfect lunch- healthy and filling. My boyfriend ordered the Chicken Salad Sandwich with Potato Salad which was delicious, as well. I had to steal a bite because he could not stop talking about how yummy it was.

I will say it is a bit pricey for what I typically like to spend on lunch, but knowing the food is good and the atmosphere, authentic, made it easier to drop over $20. After we finished our plates, we contemplated trying their Rhubarb Pie. We were both full and the line to order was too long to wait. You better believe that the next time we go there, we will get a slice of pie!

You Say Tomato...I say delicious!

White Chocolate & Apricot Oatmeal Cookies


This is a twist on my old Cowboy Cookie recipe that I grew up making. I thought white chocolate paired well with dried apricots, so I thought I would try it out.

INGREDIENTS
· 1 cup margarine/butter
· 1 cup sugar
· 1 cup brown sugar
· 2 eggs
· 1/2 tsp. salt
· 2 cups self-rising flour
· 1 package of white chocolate chips
· 3/4 cup of chopped dried apricots.
· 1 tsp. vanilla
· 2 cups oats


INSTRUCTIONS
· Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
· Cream sugars and margarine/butter
· Add eggs and mix well.
· Add remaining ingredients.
· Bake for about 9-11 minutes.


I don't like to over-bake my cookies so I check them out around 9 minutes and if they are getting a bit golden around the edges, I take them out of the oven to cool because I like them moist and chewy. This recipe makes about 3-4 dozen cookies. Let me tell you...they are pretty tasty!

Enjoy!