What are you making today?

I just made some Rhubarb Cake for dessert! I will let you know how it is.....

Banana on Stick

Skewer a 1/2 of banana on a fondue stick, dip in melted chocolate and roll in shredded coconut, and crushed almonds. Freeze for about an hour............then eat!

~ We made these last week............so yummy and healthy for you! They are kida hard to eat because of the metal stick in the banana, but well worth the cautious eating!

Review of Local Coffee

Last week we had the chance to stop by a new coffee shop that opened in near us. Since we have not been able to find another coffee shops other then Starbucks we thought we'd try it out. Upon our first visit we ordered there droppo, which is a cappuccino with less milk. We also bought a Carmelo and a whole wheat apple and pumpkin muffin. The apple muffin was excellent, we especially loved the moistness and not to sweetness of it. The Carmelo and pumpkin muffin were for a friend, she really liked them both. When we went home we told our mother about how wonderful it was and said we'd have to go again soon. A few days later being out doing some garage saling we decided to stop for a quick energy boost, this time we got a regular coffee, our Mom ordered the pumpkin muffin and we got a gluten and dairy free brownie. The coffee and brownie were good but their pumpkin muffin seemed a little dry. We ate a little of the brownie and saved the rest to bring back to the rest of the family, we were surprised the it was gluten free as the texture and flavor was so good. This past week we stopped once again, can't you tell we like our coffee!?!? We ordered a iced coffee with an extra shot of espresso, this was not something we would order again, the coffee tasted horrible and was not very strong. If your planning on going there to get a frappachino don't go because they don't even own a blender!


Pros:Great droppo, maybe a little more milk for our liking, brownie and apple muffins were fantastic.
Cons: Dry pumpkin muffin, iced coffee had a bad flavor,don't own a blender

A nice quick lunch for a spring cleaning day!

After posting so many not so healthy recipes in a row we have decided to give you all a break and post some good healthful ones:) We had this for lunch and thought it was worthy of a blog post. If you don't like raw fish in your sushi give this combo a try, I really liked the radishes Hannah shredded and put in it as well as the idea of putting the red pepper dip on the kelp noodles! Hannah and I like to make hand held sushi because its way easier then the real stuff and quick to make when you don't have much time, like we had today:) We have been are on spring cleaning frenzy, I think it's all the warm weather we are having. In the next couple days we will try to post some more recipes, and this time they will be healthier then the last couple we've done:)

Hand Held Sushi

Serves:2

2 sheets of nori, soy or seaweed

1/2 cup shredded radishes

1/2 cup shredded carrots

2 small green onions,sliced

1-2 lettuce leaves, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons tahini (ground up sesame seeds)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Kelp noodle salad

Serves:2

1 cup raw kelp noodles

2-4 Tablespoons of raw red pepper dip

tahini

raw seasame seeds

In a small bowl mix radishes,carrots,green onions,tahini and soy sauce. Mix till blended. Drop onto nori and sprinkle lettuce on top. Wrap up. For the Kelp noodle salad put noodles on plate and top with red pepper dip, tahini and seasame seeds. Serve the sushi and salad together. You might also want a little soy sauce for the salad as well as the sushi!

Aldo's Cheesecake

A few years ago Hannah and I played music for a wedding reception at a restaurant called Aldino's. I know the recipe comes from Aldo's:) After we finished up playing they offered us some cheesecake with fresh strawberries, if you know us we don't like cheesecake and never had, it's just to cheesy! Well this one changed our opinion of it that widely loved dessert, the creaminess and not to sweetness made it just right. When we got home we told our Mom how wonderful it was and said we would have to take her there for some very soon. We ended up going about a week later, but when the waiter gave us the cheesecake it was not the same:( Such a disappointment........2 weeks ago upon looking in the newspaper I saw a recipe for Aldo's cheesecake which looked like it might be similar to the texture of Aldino's. So this morning we made it to bring to our church potluck, of course we had to get a picture and taste it to make sure it was not poisonous:) It turned out very good, and quite similar to the one we had at Aldino's, next time we are going to change a few things around and see if we can't get a closer replica of the real thing.

Aldo's Cheesecake

Crust 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup crushed walnuts 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened Filling 2/3 cup sugar 2 pounds cream cheese (4 [8-ounce] packages), softened 2 large eggs 1 egg yolk Sour Cream Glaze 6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) sour cream 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons powdered sugar Fruit Garnish Seasonal berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) Pinch of sugar Squeeze of lemon juice Sprinkle of dry vermouth

DIRECTIONS For Crust: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-by-11 1/2-inch rectangular baking dish. Mix walnuts, graham cracker crumbs and softened butter together. Press evenly into bottom of prepared baking dish. For Filling: Mix sugar and cream cheese together until completely smooth. Add whole eggs and yolk in three additions, occasionally scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl, until eggs are fully incorporated. Carefully pour cream cheese, egg and sugar mixture over Crust and spread evenly. Bake 30-35 minutes, gently rotating pan after 15 minutes so the cheesecake will bake evenly. Remove baking dish from oven, place on a wire rack and cool completely before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating overnight or for up to 3 days. For Sour Cream Glaze: Just before serving, mix sour cream with powdered sugar. Glaze the cheesecake with a thin layer of the sour cream mixture. Using a serrated knife, cut lengthwise down the center of the baking dish and then crosswise into individual portions, wiping the knife with a damp cloth after each cut. Plate, garnish with the Fruit Garnish, and serve. For Fruit Garnish: Toss berries with sugar, lemon juice, and dry vermouth.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Makes 12 servings, each (using 2 cups sliced strawberries in the topping) 440 calories (74.0 percent calories from fat), 37 g fat, 155 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 8 g protein.

Have you ever made cheesecake?

Do you like cheesecake?

What's your favorite flavor?

We are making it for the first time today, I know can you believe that?!?!We have never made it before! We will post the recipe and pictures soon.

Coming Soon, a review!

Julia's French Onion soup

Yesterday it rained all day, and I mean All Day! So guess what was on the menu? Soup! Yes, but not just any soup, we made Julia Child's French Onion soup and boy was is yummy!!!! It had just the right amount of everything, our Mom used to make it when we were really young and I don't have found memories of it:) But we went out for it a few months back and now are hooked. If you have never tried it, now is the time you.

Update coming soon!

Sorry for the delay of updates, we have been really busy lots of sewing and not so much cooking:) The next post will be a recipe for French Onion soup, a Julia Child recipe!

The most adorable cookies!

Last week out Mom made these cute cookies with our little sister Kathryn. They got the recipe from a Martha Stewart Magazine.

One lovely cheese cake!

Look at this cheese cake!

New Poll!

Be sure to vote!

Recipe for Lemon Raspberry Tart coming soon!!!

Give Away!

Visit this website for a give away of some yummy looking GNU Bars!

Maple Walnut White Chocolate Cookies

You all probably remember that I had my wisdom teeth out a few weeks back right? Well I'm still having some problems and in the recovery process, long story:) Any ways the last 2 1/2 weeks I have had to go see my oral surgeon about every other day.....I know that's really bad! So last week since going in 2 days in a row (I believe it was) I had to go in for the 3rd time, I felt so bad for him but there was nothing he or I could do about it its just my body won't heal like it should, I deiced to make him some cookies for all the bother I had been giving him. Upon my next visit he informed me that I was to never bring cookies again because he had eaten of the 3 cookies I gave him last visit! I guess that mean's he liked them?!?! All the kids really liked them as well. So for my wisdom teeth or lack of they are finally starting to get back to normal but I still have a little pain now and again........such is life!

Esther





Maple Walnut White Chocolate Cookies

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl beat butter, sugar and maple syrup. Add egg and vanilla beat until smooth. MIx in flour, soda and salt. Quickly stir in white chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 min. or until golden brown.

Makes about 20 cookies

Cinnamon Rolls for Resurrection Day breakfast

Yesterday for breakfast I made cinnamon rolls for the first time, it has been a thing in our house for a while that I was not aloud to make them because they might just be better then Hannah's........since Hannah is out of town helping some friends I jumped at the chance to give making them a try. I used and Alton Brown recipe from Food Network with a few moderation's, they turned out gooey and full of cinnamony goodness. The dough was very yellow because of all the eggs and tasted very rich but not to sweet as it only had a 1/4 cup of sugar in the dough. I also made a cream cheese frosting instead of a sugar glaze that Hannah normally makes, I liked that superbly better. So if you have never made cinnamon rolls give them a try they are lots of fun and quite easy to make!
Esther

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from Alton Browns Recipe

Ingredients

Dough:

• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 large whole egg, room temperature
• 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
• 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
• 20 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting
• 1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 T. butter, melted for bottom of pan
• 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar for bottom of pan

Filling:

• 8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
• 2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 31/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Icing:

• 4 oz. cream cheese,softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4cups powdered sugar

Directions

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Pour melted butter into a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

HANNAH'S RECIPE:)

2pkg. Yeast
1c. warm water 105-115
2/3 c. sugar and 1t. of sugar
1c. warm milk
2/3 c. melted butter
2t. salt
2eggs lightly beaten
7c. flour

Filling:
1c. melted butter

1 3/4 c. sugar

3 T. cinnamon

1 1/2 cups walnuts chopped

Creamy Glaze

2/3 cup melted butter

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

6 T. hot water

Place warm water, yeast and 1t. sugar in a bowl. Let sit so it will get foamy.
In a mixer, mix milk, 2/3 c. sugar, melted butter, salt. And eggs; stir well. Add yeast mixture. Then add ½ of the flour and mix till smooth. Stir in enough flour to create smooth but slightly sticky dough. Knead. Put dough onto a lightly floured counter and roll dough into a large rectangle. Pour ½ c. of melted butter onto dough and sprinkle with 1 ½ c. cinnamon sugar sprinkle with nuts. Roll jelly roll style, cut in to 15 pieces.
In 2 13x9in. pans, pour remaining ½ c. butter, sprinkle with ¼ c. sugar. Place rolls in pan. Let rise 45min. Bake for 25min. more or less. Until golden brown. Cool slightly, spread with glaze.

This is the best cinnamon roll recipe we have found, we have tried others but this one is our favorite! Enjoy

Chef Hannah

Bobby Flay's Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Curd and Fresh Raspberries

This is what we had this morning for breakfast, what did you have?

Click Here to find the recipe!

Cappuccino Muffins

Check out our brothers muffin blog!