"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." ~Russel Baker

It's the time of year where as much as I love a hot breakfast, sometimes I just want something refreshing and cool to the tongue.  Tom & Wendy Lynde from the Braeside Inn Bed & Breakfast sent me this recipe for a Cranachan Smoothie. It's a Scottish recipe, which I think is appropriate since I'll be working on a video for Scottish themed book by Karen Hawkins next week. Only, after doing some research, I have to ask Tom & Wendy, "where's the whiskey?"

The Braeside Inn is located near Gatlenburg, Tennessee, in the town of Sevierville.  It's an area known for the great outdoors with hiking and white water rafting in the Great Smokey Mountains.  If you have some time to doodle on the the web, their site is pretty fun ... just a friggin huge url ... but still fun ...

InspirationComesEasyIfYouKnowWhereToLook.com

Named a Best of BedandBreakfast.com Award Winner for Best Food, 2009-2010, I was thankful this recipe was simple enough that I could make it at 4:30 am for one of my morning marathon training runs if I needed to.  Here's the scoop ...

You only need four ingredients.  Add them to a blender.  You're done.  Easy peasy, huh?  To demonstrate ... here is a "before" and "after" picture ...

Now, to be truly authentic Cranchan ... it should have raspberries ... and whiskey.

This is a breakfast-ized version (i.e. no alcohol) with berries that were in season at my local grocer.

Cranachan Smoothie

From the Braeside Inn, Sevierville, TN

This traditional Scottish dish makes a wonderful alternative for a first course breakfast fruit. Just a spoonful or so of rolled oats gives substance to this tangy, invigorating starter.

Makes 4 medium glasses:

1 ½ tbsp medium rolled oats

1-cup raspberries or frozen mixed berries

1-2 tsp honey

3 tbsp plain low fat yogurt

1) Place the rolled oats in a heatproof glass cup measure. Add ½ cup boiling water and leave to stand for about 10 minutes.

2) Put the soaked oats in a food processor or blender and add the berries. If using the raspberries reserve several berries per glass for garnish. A slice of Kiwi fruit or sprig of fresh mint can be substituted for the berries.

3) Add the honey and about 2 tbsp of the yogurt to the food processor or blender. Purée the ingredients until smooth, scraping down the side processor or blender midway through if necessary.

4) Pour the smoothie into glasses, swirl in the remaining yogurt and top with garnish.

###

How would you like for me to bring dinner to your home?

Hmm?

I can, and will!  Well ... sort of ...

Bertolli offered to throw me and my friends (and one lucky reader) a wine pairing party. SWEET!  (Read my fancy schmancy disclosure).  MY response of course was, "did someone say wine?  Mmm.  Wiiiiiiiiiiine.  Vino.  Travel to Italy?  Ooooh ... "

It's part of their Into The Heart of Italy webisodes.  (How do I get a gig working on videos like THAT!?!  Italy's calling my name ... Tuscan cowboys?  I'm so there ... ) They made it easy with their wine pairing guide.  The varietals were recommended, but it was my choice in wine.  What fun!  I have to confess ... I picked the wine first ... and THEN paired it with the food.  Pinot noir is my favorite, and Bertolli had two pastas paired with a pinot, so I went with the roasted chicken linguine.  Is it shameful to admit that I picked a wine that cost 3 times as much as dinner?  Naaaaaah!  They just suggested a pinot ... I picked La Crema.  I know it's not Italian, but I took a vine-cation last year where a guy had on a La Crema t-shirt that said "pinot envy."  Yeah ... it's that good.

I'm not usually a white wine kinda girl, but there was a new wine our local grocer was promoting and I got suckered in by the label ... Cupcake. Sweet sounding name, but not a sweet wine.  It was actually crisp and refreshing.  We were all pleasantly surprised by that one.  A lot of ooohs and aaaaahs at the table when we tasted it with the stuffed shells.

Since my friend Beth and I are training to run the NYC marathon and our increased mileage over the summer is going to require more pasta dinners, this was actually really good timing.  Well, it seemed like good timing until I got a call form my agent the very same day about a call back for a commercial where I was also going to need to model my hands.  Which means ...

A) no sharp objects and ...

B) no hot ovens that could burn fingers or wrists.

Darn. Considering just last month I nearly cut off my pinky with a new knife, this was going to be a challenge to cook for my friends, even if it did come pre-made in a bag.  So even though I had emailed my pals and offered to cook them dinner ... I showed up with my super-duper-moisturizer gloves on and a clever plan ...

My friend Beth and I did what any smart woman would do ... we drank the wine and let "the men" cook.

This is where it got real  interesting ...

Meet Jim & Mike.

Two guys that love to photograph food ... but never cook it.  In fact, if you ask either of them what's for dinner, they'll usually answer you with one word ... Guinness.  This was going to be a good lesson for them.

Good thing Beth is a goddess with a wine key and that I pre-made dessert ... 'cause we had to start with the basics.

Like ... how to open a bag.

No, no, Mike ... not with your teeth ...

Or a box cutter ...

There  we go.  They found the scissors.  Now we're getting some where.  And Beth and I are getting hungry ... and tipsy.  Jim is staying hidden from the camera.  He does that often.  Don't believe me ... check out his profile pic. Thank goodness Mike is starting to get it under control.

Or so I thought until I caught him taking at peak at the trash can ... to find the directions ...

I will confess and give the boys break here. I goofed with the wine pairings a bit.   The stuffed shells take about 45 minutes to bake in the oven ... but they were the one's I paired with the white wine which you would traditionally have before red.  The linguine only took 10 minutes ... drat.

No, no Mike.  Not the microwave.  Besides, it's the shells we need to speed up ... but they're already in the oven so we're just gonna roll with it.

Beth and I are sticking with the pinot and directing the action in the kitchen.

Mike burns his tongue.  Tsk. Tsk.

But look at that!  What the guys lack in cooking skills, they certainly make up for with their camera skills.  And thankfully Bertolli saved them too ... because it tastes as good as it looks.  Swear.  If Mac made a scratch and sniff computer screen ... you'd be enveloped by some tomato-y cheesy basil-y goodness right now.

Mike pours more wine.  Smart man.

Voila!  Dinner is served!

At first, Jim said, "not to sound cheesy, but it does taste like it came from a restaurant."  Way to make it sound like a sales pitch Jim.  Like you work in advertising or something.  I made him take another sip and another bite and come up with something more ... sincere.   After a few more sips of wine he confessed, "if I had to make this from scratch, I wouldn't.  I'd spend all day chopping and dicing and I'd probably forget an ingredient."  Now THAT sounded more like it.  Especially coming from a man that drinks Guinness for dinner.  In fact, Guinness, if you're reading ... these two boys would LOVE to do a sample tasting for you.  They take awesome pictures.  Just sayin.

Mike's only response was "Mmmmm."  I think I traumatized him by making him cook.  Give him some kudos in the comments ... I think he did a mighty fine job.

Beth's response was, "the wine and pasta is a party in my mouth."   That's a HUGE compliment, Bertolli.  She's Jersey Italian.  And no one beats her Mom's homemade sauce. No one.  In fact, I think that comment just started a Jersey-licious cold war.

This is me ... after one and a half glasses of wine.  Yeah, I'm a light weight.  And someone said something funny and made me laugh so hard I did the whole not-breathing-shoulder-shake-vein-popping-out-of-my-forehead thing.

Nom. Nom. Nom.

All gone!

So ... I promised I would bring dinner to your home ... and here's how ...

Watch the video below to take a little mini trip to Italy with Marisa and Rocco.  Leave a comment about the video below and answer the episode's clue.  One reader's comment will be randomly selected to receive the same party we had which included the following ...

• VIP coupons for four Bertolli Frozen Meals for two that will transport you to Italy in just 10 minutes
• Two, CB2 Verona Pasta Serving Bowls
• Four, Crate & Barrel Rotate Plates
• Crate & Barrel Marble Wine Chiller
• Crate & Barrel Wine Decanter
• Bertolli Wine Pairing Guide and $50 of gift cards to purchase wines complimentary to your meals

Here's the skinny ...

"In this episode, celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and actors Marisa Tomei and Dan Cortese explore Italian wine cellars, learn how to taste wine, visit Montepulciano and prepare Chicken Marsala. But you don’t need to search a wine cellar to enjoy the authentic taste of a slow-simmered wine sauce in your Chicken Marsala. With Bertolli Frozen meals you’re just minutes away from a luscious Italian experience in the comfort of your own home."

Watch. Comment. Taste. Mmm.

Deadline for contest is tomorrow night!

I guess I've gotten to the point now, after creating many a recipe (and screwing up a few dishes to boot) where I can take a peak in my fridge, throw together some ingredients and make something good.  Of course, one can never go wrong with bourbon.  It just sounds good.  Even better with a slow southern drawl ... go ahead and try it ... I'll wait ...

buuuuuuh bon.

That's right brath-ah's and sist-ah's ... this is my sweet tooth revival.

This got me thinkin about a good old southern accent.  I used to work with a girl from Alabama that could insult you seven different ways to Sunday, but her tone would have you tricked into thinking she just invited you to her house for coffee.  And then there are guys out there like Matthew Maconahay, that even without his devilish good looks could talk a girl he just met into doin somethin she woudn't wanna write home about.  Just sayin.

Out of sheer curiosity, I Googled "southern drawl" and this is what I found ...

They actually label it "Southern American English" or SAE.  It's characterized by R-dropping, use of the circumfix -in' (as in hootin' and hollerin'), and my favorite ... "yonder."   They also describe gliding vowels as a diphthong.   My thought was, "ah whaaaht?  A dip-a-thong?" I'm just gonna leave that alone.  But we'll make today's post fun by writing in an SAE accent.  It will sound sweeter.  And will probably make you hungry.  Play along with me now y'all and read it aloud.

The weekend of the Kentucky Derby, some friends-o-mine were makin mint juleps an had a gigantic bottle of whiskey on hand.  It was so enormous, that, despite the fact there were at least 10 people at their derby party garage sale coolin off with a mighty minty drink ... I'm sure they'll be plenty left that'll last until next year's derby.  I didn't think they'd mind (or even notice!)  if I stole their normal sized bottle of Jim Beam for some recipe experimentation.

On to the experiment ...

Grab y'all some peaches and a big ole loaf a bread and start layerin it all in a large bakin dish or pie pan. (This reminds me of my former boss and friend that would say "pah" instead of "pie."  She said I pronounced it "pye" instead of the proper "pah."   I do admit though, the way she said "pah" sounded like it had less calories and tasted better than pie.   Potato ... potahto ... )

Then whip togethah about a dozen eggs, a cup of milk, a cap of vanilla, some sug-ah ...

And a splash of bourbon ...

okay ... maybe a little more than a splash ...

Pour the whisked whiskey egg-y mixture over the bread and make sure all the dry ingredients get good and soaked.  You can even make this ahead of time, cover it, and let it sit in the fridge to allow the bread to absorb every last drop of the egg-y mixture.

If you are pressed for time, press the bread down with your finger.  *wink*

Sprinkle with some brown sugar.  Oh, wait ... I meant brown "shug-ah" ...

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes ... let cool ... then serve!

Several friends had texted, Facebooked and tweeted me about entering the Paula Deen recipe contest, and this is one dish that could definitely get better with cream cheese!

See how I made it in the video at the top of the post.

Bourbon Peach Bread Pudding

from Inn The Kitchen

Ingredients

And actually, it's not far off from what was the original recipe for French toast in the 1600's.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary,  back then it was made with day old bread, wine, orange juice and sugar.  Mmm.

So let us begin ...

BAKED CINNAMON FRENCH TOAST

from the Inn at Harbour Ridge, Osage Beach MO

(Serves 6 or more)

12 slices cinnamon swirl or cinnamon raisin bread (Pepperidge Farm)

1/4 cup butter or margarine

9 eggs

1 quart milk, whole milk preferred

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 TBS Grand Marnier or Chambord

Warmed preserves to compliment liquor

1) Grease 13 by 9 by 2 baking dish.  Then add six slices of bread.

2) Butter remaining bread and place with butter side up over bread in pan.

3) In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and add milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Mix well and pour over bread. Let stand overnight.

4) Place the dish of French toast in a larger baking pan to form a water bath. Pour boiling water into larger pan to a depth of 1".  Bake, uncovered at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

5) Serve with preserves, whipped cream and your favorite coffee.

###

Where is YOUR mind going with that?  I'm talking about St. Patrick's Day!  If you're the type that pulls out your green sweater and flips through your iPod to find some Celtic music to get into the spirit of things (eh uhm ... I'm not describing myself at all), then this recipe's for you.

Irish Scones.

If you want to be fancy schmancy, you could even pronounce them the way the Irish do, as "SKONS" instead of "SKOANS."  But it's more likely that your family would just look at you kind of funny and think you haven't had enough coffee quite yet.

I researched to see exactly *what* makes them Irish and to be honest I couldn't find anything definite other than the added ingredient of raisins and serving with strawberry jam and whipped cream. It's debatable where scones historically came from, but most agree it was Scotland. Just don't tell the Irish!  If you're interested in reading more about the history of this morning treat or other foods, check out the cutely named website,  The Nibble.

Scones are made with really basic baking ingredients.  I would liken them to a sweet biscuit.  Here's what you'll need ...

Add your dry ingredients to a large bowl and blend together with a whisk ...

The recipe calls for "bread soda" in addition to baking soda.  I coudn't find any at my local supermarket, so I omitted the bread soda from this batch of scones and they turned out just fine!

Add the butter in whole and "chop" it in.  You can do this best with a pastry blender.  If you don't have one, don't sweat it. You can usually find one at your local supermarket.  And who doesn't love a reason to buy a fun new kitchen gadget?

The curved wires of the pastry blender help blend in the butter ... plus it's a good stress relief exercise.  :o)

At this point, it was still a little powdery and not sticky enough to form a dough, so I added about 3 more tablespoons of butter then the recipe called for.

That did the trick!  Now I've got nice clumpy breadcrumbs.

Add a handful of raisins.  Looks like I added about 3 handfuls of raisins.  What can I say, I like my chewy bits.  I'm the type of girl that whips her spoon around to dig all the "cookie" bits out of cookies and cream ice cream and leaves a puddle of melted dairy in the bottom of the bowl.  I know I'm not the only one ... you know who you are!

Pour in enough buttermilk to bind, about a 1/2 cup.  The recipe's measurement was "enough milk" ... so I had a whole cup on hand. Buttermilk is one of those baking wonders.  If you've never baked with it before and now find yourself with a half a carton left in the fridge after making this recipe, click here for a fabulous orange muffin recipe where you can use your left over buttermilk.

Mix together with a wooden spoon.  You can also use your hands ...

... just remember to flour them up!  OOPS!  Guess I got a little zealous with my baking and dove right in without thinking.

Okay, now that my hands are nice and powdering with some all purpose flour ...

mold the dough into a disk ...

You could cut it like a pizza and make scone "wedges" which are a popular way to cut them as I did with the blueberry scones.  However, we wanted to make it a little more fun.  I asked the photographer for a glass ... he could only offer a pint ...

Well, at least it's keeping in the spirit of St. Patrick's day!

Bake your scones at 375 for about 10 to 15 minutes depending on your oven.  They should rise up just a tad.

We were baking enough for an army so I could bring them with me to the Daytime studio to share, so I found it easier to use parchment paper for easy clean up and disposable baking sheets instead of my baking stone.

If you haven't met already, I'm going to introduce you to your new best friend in the kitchen.  A carton of whipping cream.

Do you usually by the canned stuff?  If so, then you're going to squeal with delight at how easy it is to make whipped cream.  Just works out your forearm muscles a little.  And trust me, this little carton can do more than just make your coffee blonde.

With nothing but a whisk and a sprinkle of sugar you can whip it into the softest, creamiest whipped cream you've ever had in your existence.  No more squirt stuff.

Now, I really love my scones with a cup of tea.  But since my friends Jim & Beth only had English tea cups, we thought that would be sacrilige.

They've lived across the pond and swore to me that Guinness for breakfast is not just acceptable, but normal.  So, here's a toast to a real Irish breakfast for St. Patrick's Day.  Cheers!

Theresa's Iron Horse Irish Scones

from the Iron Horse Inn, Granbury, TX USA

Ingredients

12 oz all purpose flour

3 tbs butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp bread soda

3 tbs sugar

Handful of raisins

Buttermilk to bind

Directions

1) Combine flour, baking and bread soda’s.

2) Chop butter into flour and work with fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add raisins and enough buttermilk to bind the mixture into a workable dough.

3) Form a ball and knead a couple of times.  Roll out to ½ inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutter (or a glass) and place on baking sheet.

4) Bake in oven at 375 for 10 -12 minutes. Cool for a short time until they are warm.  Serve with strawberry preserve and whipped cream.

###

But this is a much better way to enjoy fruit in the morning. It's kind of like a smoothie, except this is meant for a leisurely morning savored slowly, seated at a breakfast table and sipped with a spoon instead of a straw.

At the Bloomsbury Inn, this is the first course in a three part breakfast.  Yes, their morning includes an appetizer, entree and dessert.  Isn't that divine?  Though this is the first course, it could certainly be dessert for me.

Kathleen, Innkeeper at the Bloomsbury, said that she finds it to be a challenge to find new, exciting, unique fruit options.  (I need to send her a link to my hot pink fruit breakfast!  That one wasn't just unique, it was funky!) Her cold fruit soup recipe is definitely a fun and different way of adding fruit to your morning meal.

Let's get started with cooking.  Or in this case, I should say mixing.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how simple this is to put together.

Notice that I picked "fat free" yogurt, "light" whipped cream and "lite" peaches and placed them right next to the "heavy" whipping cream.

Ha!

The recipe Kathleen gave me leaves the option open for choosing the fruit.  From berries to mango and even honeydew.  But I decided to have a peachy morning since it's the state fruit for South Carolina.

Unfortunately, peaches are not in season at the moment, so I used canned.  But you better believe I'm going to try this recipe again in the spring with some fresh peaches.

Next the sugar ... or how my Carolina relatives would say ... "shugah."

Next, a couple of dollops of yogurt.  The recipe calls for 6 ounces.  I had a big 'ole tub of it ... but figured that 6 ounces was equivalent to about 6 spoonfuls.  If you use vanilla bean yogurt, the extract is optional and probably not necessary unless you want a stronger vanilla flavor.

A dash of cinnamon.

Blend. Chill.

Serve and enjoy!

Bloomsbury Cold Fruit Soup

from the Bloomsbury Inn, Camden South Carolina

Total preparation time: 15 minutes, plus chilling time
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

2 cups fruit (peach, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango…any one of these works well…fresh is better, but canned or frozen will work when well drained)

½ cup sugar (sugar to taste depending upon natural sweetness of fruit)

1  (6 oz) vanilla bean yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract if you use plain yogurt (extract flavor based upon fruit:  vanilla, cinnamon, rum)

¼ cup heavy cream (add cream to determine consistency desired)

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

If you are using fresh fruit, carefully clean, peal, and place in the blender.  Add all remaining ingredient and blend until smooth. Chill for at least 8 hours.  Garish with whipping cream, candied/sweet-flavored nuts, fresh mint or whole fruit slices.  Serve very cold.

###

But my favorite travel collection has to be my recipes.  From bed and breakfasts to restaurants, I try and get a recipe from everywhere I go ... and sometimes even places that I've never been just so I can savor the flavor!  When ever I make these dishes at home, my senses trick me into thinking I've traveled someplace further than my kitchen.  This recipe is one of those.  Even after I run out of Kermit's Key Lime Marmalade and I just use regular orange flavored, I will still think of Key West each time I make it.

Recently I ran in the Key West Half Marathon, and afterward, no amount of post-race bagels, bananas or beer could satiate the hunger I worked up after trotting along 13 miles around the island.  We stopped by a local healthy eatery, Help Your Self, for some fresh machete cut coconut water.  And while that was an awesome island experience, my friends and I needed some calories.

That's where the Conch Republic comes in.  My Key West Islander friend, Vanessa, recommended them for their excellent sea food, gorgeous view of the water and ultimately their proximity to Kermit's Key Lime Shop for dessert.  We had had our heart set on beer and a burger at Sloppy Joes ... but I'm glad she convinced us otherwise!  The Conch Republic happens to have the best cracked conch on the island, something I've never tried before.

I had to ask, what is the difference between plain ole "conch" and "crack conch."  I've had conch fritters, which are a lot like meaty hush puppies.  But when the dish was brought to the table I quickly discovered this was the real deal.  Big chunks of tender meat deep fried to golden perfection.  I loved it.  This is a recipe I wanted.  But fresh conch is something I would be afraid to tackle at home.  Have you ever seen one?  It's like a big slimy snail that takes some major tenderizing to make it chewable.  Do you remember as a kid, those cheap toys that were water filled flexible rubber tubes (kind of like a big fat worm) and when you squeezed it would shoot out of your hands?  I imagine tenderizing conch would be something like that ... chasing a slimy snail-like sea creature around my kitchen counter with a tenderizing gavel and having it slip out of reach each time.  But when it's prepared the way these guys did, it's delish!  So instead of having a frustrating conch experience at home, I got the recipe for the "secret sauce."

At the Conch Republic, they serve their cracked conch with a simple Orange Horseradish Marmalade Sauce.  You can't get any more "Florida" flavor than with orange marmalade.  I asked our server if the chef would give me me recipe, and moments later the manager walked over with a bar coaster and four basic ingredients scribbled on the back.  PRICELESS!  That is exactly the feeling of Key West ... laid back and not fussy.

Don't believe me about the recipe on a coaster?  Well ... here it is! They always say the best ideas are the ones written on a bar or cafe napkin or coaster.

Later we walked across the street to indulge in some famous Kermit's Frozen Key Lime Pie Dipped In Chocolate On A Stick. Yes, you read that right ... dipped ... in chocolate ... on a stick.  It's divine.  While standing in line to pay for our coffee and pie, I noticed a big fat coffee table book on the counter ... National Geographic's Top 500 Food Journey's of a Lifetime, of which Kermit's was listed.  Bonus.  I now had a new bucket list to complete and only 499 more "food journey's" to go.  We took our coffee, afternoon indulgences along with the book and headed out to Kermit's patio to relax and take in some sunshine.

Want to bring some of that Florida sunshine into your kitchen?  Try this quick and easy sauce recipe below  ...

Orange Horseradish Marmalade Sauce

From the Conch Republic Seafood Company, Key West, FL

1/4 Cup Orange Juice

1/4 Cup Lime Juice

1/2 Cup Orange Marmalade

2 Tbsp Horseradish

Mix all ingredients together and use as a marinade or serve as a dipping sauce with fresh seafood or chicken.

It's actually pretty tastey with eggs in the morning too!

###

BONUS:  Do you know all the names of Kermit's Koi?

It may just be on a #TravelTuesday Trivia sometime soon!

Here are 5 great breakfast recipes for Valentines Day.

Heart Shaped Stuffed French Toast

Wikipedia's etymology says the earliest use of the term was in 1660 and was bread fried with wine, orange juice and sugar.  I'll have to give that recipe a try!  After doing a little more digging through Google, I discovered in French it is actually called "pain perdu" which translates into "lost bread."  It was a popular recipe in many countries, not just France, as a way of making stale bread palatable.  The English call it "gyspy bread" and I think I'd like to adopt that term from now on ... sounds like breakfast with an adventurous edge!  (Read More ... )

Cheddar Egg Strudel with Spinach Cream

This savory and filling breakfast is a creation of the Rabbit Hill Inn located in Lower Waterford, Vermont.  It's a simple, quick and elegant recipe that would  make a perfect savory pairing with the heart shaped strawberry stuffed French toast for romantic Valentine's Day breakfast in bed.  And speaking of romance and Rabbit Hill Inn, Peter Greenburg said, "Your room could act as an aphrodisiac,"  and Cooking Light Magazine stated they had, "sensual amenities to set the mood."  Whoa.   (Read More ... )

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

If you ever wanted dessert for breakfast, and felt a little guilty popping a single Dove's Promise's Dark Chocolate piece to melt on your tongue with your morning coffee ... then I have wicked solution for you.  A muffin.  Because even though it's chocolate, the fact that it's a muffin still makes it breakfast.  And since the stores are filled with pink hearts, chocolates and forget-me-not's, I thought this treat would make the perfect cupid's arrow  ... either for your Valentine's heart or your own.  (Read More ...)

Berry Bread Pudding

When I first met Marie with the Penny Farthing Inn, I have to confess, I thought she was "Penny."  And I kept adding an extra syllable to the end of Farthing, as in, "Farthing-ton," thinking it was her last name.  I've since been enlightened on what a Penny Farthing actually is, but I haven't worked up the courage to ride one!  Marie gave me a fantastic recipe for a Berry French Toast.  Though, it's a lot more like a bread pudding.  I love breakfast made in a ramekin since you end up with nice little individual servings of goodness. (Read More ... )

Beer with Breakfast

This was a little outside of my box as it was not an "inn" that gave me the recipe. I found the recipe on Tom's website, BrooklynBrewery.com . Having beer with breakfast intrigued me. While I have to confess that I'm not normally a beer drinker ... this was an AMAZING flavor pairing. Since I couldn't procure the Brooklyner Weisse, I just had to use a substitute (but still very tasty) beer with my breakfast.  Follow along our fun day of drinking beer and kitchen debauchery.  (Read More ... )

I have a full list of ingredients and directions at the end of the post ... but the main stars of this event are ripe red raspberries, dark chocolate chips and pink muffin cups to make them cute and girlie.

Sift together your flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Then sift the cocoa.

I should have sifted the sugar in with the flour ... but making these snow topped cocoa mountains was more fun.  I like to play with my food.

Add the brown sugar, then whisk/stir it all together.

Next start adding your wet ingredients.  Whisk your eggs together in a separate bowl.

Milk.

Chocolate chips.

Might I add that I almost had to run out to the store to buy another bag as Jim, the photographer, could not stop eating these.  What makes that even funnier is that he doesn't like sweets!  Liar.  These are bittersweet ... so I give him that credit at least.

My recommendation ... get an extra bag of chocolate and an extra package of raspberries for munching.

Here's a few facts that will take away the guilt ... raspberries are loaded with vitamin C ... chocolate is full of antioxidants and polyphenols ... eggs and milk give you protein and calcium.  Ignore the sugar and flour. They don't exist except to carry this wholesome nutrition into your body.  (wink)

Mix in the chocolate chips before the raspberries.  They're a little tougher, so you can really mix them in well.

Raspberries are fragile, so be careful when folding them in.  These were fresh, but I might even recommend freezing them for an hour so that they hold up better to mixing.

Serve on a platter for breakfast ...

Or as a single tasty treat with coffee or tea ...

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

(recipe modified from Inn at The Park's Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe Below)

2 Cups all purpose flour
2/3 Cup cocoa
1/3 Cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 Cup milk
1/2 Cup melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 package of chocolate chips
1 package of fresh raspberries

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.

2) In a large bowl, whisk or sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3) Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add all wet ingredients to flour/cocoa mixture.

4) Fold in chocolate chips. Next add the raspberries and spoon batter into muffin cups.

5) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool then dust with confectioners sugar and serve.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

from the Inn At The Park Bed & Breakfast, Louisville, Kentucky

2 Cups all purpose flour

1/3 Cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 Cup milk

1/2 Cup melted butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 package of chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.

2) In a large bowl, whisk or sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3) Beat eggs in a separate bowl, then add all wet ingredients until well blended..

4) Fold in chocolate chips. Next add walnuts and spoon batter into muffin cups.

5) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.

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]]> http://innthekitchen.com/wp/2010/01/28/chocolate-raspberry-muffins/feed/ 3 http://innthekitchen.com/wp/2010/01/27/spicy-tomato-chocolate-soup/ http://innthekitchen.com/wp/2010/01/27/spicy-tomato-chocolate-soup/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:45:56 +0000 admin http://innthekitchen.com/wp/?p=1893 Kah KOW!  It sounds like a cartoon, "pah POW," doesn't it?   As if it should be in a little white cloud star burst in a comic strip when all hell is breaking loose.   I think I'll add it to my repertoire of socially acceptable expletives.  I could have used it during our last kitchen Egg Snafu.  Instead of yelling something profane, I'll really just be screaming CHOCOLATE!   And since chocolate is a great comfort food, it will only enhance using it as a silky comforting expletive slipping across my tongue.

The irony is that my kitchen Egg Snafu was a simple 6 ingredient recipe.  One that I had done before perfectly, and then really Kah KOW'd it up this last time.  Turned it into some crappy scrambled eggs.  Then I dove into this 20- ingredient-multi-step-hard-to-find-spices-recipe and it turned out great.  Go figure?!  I guess because some of the ingredients (like Harissa and Hungarian Paprika) were not in my spice rack or immediate awareness ... and the fact that I'd be combining chocolate with tomatoes ... maybe that gave me pause and I paid more attention to what I was doing.

I found the word Kah KOW when I looked up the origins of chocolate ... the phonetic spelling of cacao.  It just jumped off the page at me.  Originally, hot chocolate was not sweet at all, but very spicy.    This recipe from Chestnut Street Inn really does it justice.  Chocolate in it's most original form ...

Savory and Spicy.

Make this as an appetizer to spice up your Valentine's Day dinner... while it's not as dramatic as my Egg Snafu ... it definitely has all the trappings of a good LifeTime or Hallmark movie.  Watch and learn ...

The character you love to hate, but still can't resist ... Harissa.  She's a spicy one.

I had a heck of a time finding Harissa.  I looked all over the supermarket.  But for you men out there, this isn't the type of character you can discover the old fashioned way.  As in  ... shopping ... physically ... in an actual store.  This one is global and high tech.  I thought I'd find it at Marx Foods.   But nope.  No Harissa.  Googled it  ... found a bunch!  And I even found a recipe to make Harissa.  Now ... I wish I would have done that BEFORE making the soup.

Enter stage left ... the stand in ...

In my creative zen at the grocery store, since Harissa was described as a North African Chili Paste, I figured some tomato paste and chili powder sounded about the same.  And while it tasted great ... it's not really the same thing.  So here are some references for you ...

Harissa Shopping Online

Recipe:  How to make Harissa

After reading the description of some of these as "hot" and "pain is good" ... I'm kinda glad I went with my homemade thought up version.  I like the taste of a little kick, but so spicy that I can't feel my tongue is no good.

And as for character development, this is the bitch in the story ... and while I have found substitute words like "kah KOW" and "Shut The Front Door" ... I haven't found an adequate replacement for the noun referenced above.  If you have a cute one, please let me know!

My fake Harissa ...

Heat oil and butter in a stock pot over medium heat ... this is the plot.

Add chopped onion and saute until translucent.  Get out the Kleenex ... chopped onion is a sure tear jerker.  What kind of Hallmark/Lifetime movie would it be without a few weepy eye moments?

Now the Italian favorite comes in and makes a squishy, but well scented, mess of things ...

3 garlic cloves.

A little spa action with the skin peel.

And now all the characters are getting thrown together in the same plot ... I mean ... pot.

Here comes the heroine of the soup story.

Hungarian Paprika.

She's also a bit spicy and mysterious ... but words like "pain" are not associated with this spice.

Add a little wine to the moment and the plot thickens.

Funny tangent ... I was cooking at my friend Beth's house and had called and asked her if that Magnum of chardonnay I saw in her fridge only a couple of days ago had about a 1/2 cup left in it that I could cook with.

Nope.

Lush.

I told her I'd bring over a fresh bottle ... she said she'd drink that too!

The plot thickens ...

Add the rest of the ingredients listed in the recipe and let it simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

And then gets whipped and turned around a bit so you have no idea where it's headed!

Side note/Sub-plot ... I actually had to blend twice ... the volume of the soup was too big for the blender.  So while you may SEE one blender shot ... know that it took two.  And ... because it was hot it sort of exploded (just a little) and got bits of red soup all over the place.  Told you there was drama.

Add the blended soup back to you stock pot ... add the greens ...

then add the hero ...

kah KOW!

Chocolate.

He's smooth and rich, and while a bit bitter, he still absolutely melts with the other characters.

Add a little honey to sweeten it up and cut the acidity.

Sprinkle on the cheese for a nice happy finish!

The End!

CREDITS

Spicy Tomato & Chocolate Soup

from Chestnut Street Inn, Sheffield IL

Yields: Approx. 6-8 Servings

2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbl Unsalted Butter

1 Onion, Diced

3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

2 Carrots, Peeled and Diced

2 Celery Stalks, Diced

1 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Sliced

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to Taste

3 Tbl Harissa (North African Chili Paste)

2 tsps Hungarian Paprika

2 tsps ground Cumin

1 tsp ground Coriander

½-3/4 cup Dry Sherry or White Wine

1-28 oz Can Diced Tomatoes

4 Cups Chicken Broth

¼ Cup Cilantro, Chopped

¼ Cup Italian Parsley, Chopped

3-4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate

2 Tbl Honey or to Taste

Queso Fresco, Goat Cheese or Crème Fraiche to Garnish

1) Heat oil and butter in a stock pot over medium high heat until butter melts.

2) Add onion and sauté until translucent, approx. 5 mins. Add garlic, carrots, celery and sun dried tomatoes.

3) Season with salt, pepper, harissa, paprika, cumin and coriander. Saute for a couple of minute to toast spices and soften vegetables.

4) Add wine and continue cooking on high until all of the liquid has evaporated. Add tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 45 mins or until the vegetables are tender.

5) Pass soup through a food mill to puree (I used a blender) and remove any large particles. Return soup to pot and place over low heat.

6) Add parsley and cilantro. Add chocolate and enough honey to balance acidity. Adjust seasoning to taste.

7) Serve hot, garnished with queso fresco, fresh goat cheese or crème fraiche.

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