Vegas, Aioli Sauce and Chocolate!

Where have I been? Busy, busy, busy.

I have been doing a lot of projects, some around the house, getting ready for spring. Busy with birthday's, marriage retreat, spring break with kids, and planning future events...wedding, women's brunch and dinners. I also spent 6 days in Vegas with my husband for a work related conference.

Vegas

The flight was fine and the weather was perfect for a Washingtonian. We stayed at the Bellagio and enjoyed their buffet our first night there. I recommend the buffet, the choices are endless and the food is wonderful. If you are looking for something light and healthy they have a selection of fruits and fresh berries as well as some tasty salads. For dinner I had a large salad and some chilled shrimp....yum yum.

They had a selection of tasty meats from roasted turkey breast to Kobe beef. I also spied some beef Wellington. There was more to choose from but the meat counter was pretty busy.

The seafood was delightful which included shrimp, as I mentioned before but also included swordfish, tuna, calamari, King crab and Snow crab legs among other delightful and tasty choices.

Now let's talk desserts!
They had a very large selection of mini desserts. A great way to sample a variety without going overboard. I just did some window shopping and only indulged in a small bite of my husband's strawberry cheesecake and key lime pie, both were very good.

The view from our room...........

PLANET HOLLYWOOD
and Aioli Sauce Recipe

Mine and my husbands first visit to this Hollywood movie inspired restaurant. The atmosphere was inviting and we enjoyed looking at the paraphernalia and hand prints with their owners John Hancock.

On our way through Caesar's Palace someone handed us a free appetizer for Planet Hollywood, just the place we were looking for. We enjoyed their famous chicken fingers for our appetizer that had a coating I couldn't put my finger on. I first thought it had cornmeal in the batter. So I asked our waitress and she said they use Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops cereal. A strange combination but it rocked those chicken fingers...we ate them all!
Our first meal we dined on chicken sandwiches. I believe mine was called Tuscan Chicken Sandwich that had a wonderful pesto, very tasty. My husband had the Chicken,Avocado and Swiss Sandwich. He couldn't stop talking about it or make some kind of " mmmmm" sound, the whole time he was eating. We enjoyed it so much we decided to return the
next day.

Dinner the next night was no let down. My husband ordered the fish taco's filled with tuna and a mango salsa. I ordered the Penni, Chicken and Broccoli with a roasted garlic basil cream sauce. My husband said that all though the taco's were good, the chicken avocado sandwich was much better, he still talks about!  I forgot to mention his sandwich came with an Aioli (ay-OH-lee or i-OH-lee) sauce, which he probably would have drank if she had brought him a larger serving LOL!

Here is a recipe for a classic Garlic Aioli Sauce....


4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped fine
2 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon salt (sea salt, if you have it)
1 cup virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cold water
1 teaspoon lemon juice


Using a mortar and pestle grind the garlic and salt into a paste. If you do not have a mortar and pestle you can use a food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl and whisk in the egg yolks, Dijon mustard, cold water and lemon juice. Continue whisking until well combined. When adding the olive oil, you must whisk it in very slowly. A little at a time to emulsify the mixture properly. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

This is great for a number of things, my husband loved it on his chicken sandwich but he also dipped his fries in it.


BOBBY FLAY'S MESA GRILL

Later in the week we had reservations for the Messa Grill. I was so excited to eat a Bobby Flay's and have my wonderful husband to share it with. For our appetizer we enjoyed the chicken quasidilla..very tasty. For the entree we both ordered the seven spice chicken which came with pesto mashed potatoes, soooo good! Now, I had to have the whole Mesa Grill experience by including dessert at the end of my meal. Of course me and my husband were full from our dinner, so I ordered it to go. A coconut lover like myself, could not pass up on coconut cake. Our waitress was so excited that I ordered the coconut cake, she said it was the best and one of her favorites. Well.......it wasn't worth the $12.00 or $13.00 dollars we paid for it. What a let down following a delightful dinner. The cake was dry and I'm sad to say not a whole lot of flavor. The pastry chef creation sure didn't live up to the rest of the tasty menu of a Bobby Flay restaurant.

I would go again, but I would pass on the coconut cake.


JEAN PHILIPPE PATISSERIE at the BELLAGIO

I had heard so much about this pastry shop at the Bellagio. I had to stop and try one of the wonderful desserts. The chocolate fountain was a marvel and I wish I had my camera with me on this day so I could show you. You can see his fountain on his website at, http://www.jpchocolates.com/

My choice after much thought and waffling was made. I decided I would try the chocolate mousse. It was drenched in a shiny dark chocolate ganache and topped with a pink french macaroon. The macaroon was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. As my spoon dived into the mousse breaking the ganache barrier it revealed a rich, smooth and decadent dark chocolate mousse. It sat upon a delicate thin shortbread wafer. It's small size may look disappointing but a little of this dessert goes a long way. Two thumbs up!

Over all we had a great time.       

Easy Beef and Noodles

What was I watching?......oh some show and they were making beef and noodles. It looked so good I had to whip some up. But I did not have everything the recipe called for, and I was to lazy to hop in the car and go shopping.

So like any good cook I used what I had:
Rump Roast almost 2 pounds; 1 small onion; 4 oz. can of mushroom pieces with stems; 4 packs of mushroom gravy and egg noddles.

Season the roast with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I browned the roast in a couple of tablespoons of oil and placed it in my favorite baker. Tossed the mushrooms into the same pan with a little butter and cooked the mushrooms until brown.

Put those on top of roast and then topped that with fresh chopped onions. Mix the mushroom gravy according to the packet instructions, and pour it over the roast. Toss in a couple of teaspoons of dried rosemary. Put the cover on and roast until cooked through.....the meat fell apart it was so good.

When ready to serve, I boiled off the egg noodles; drained and placed them on the serving dish. I shredded the beef with a couple of forks and stirred to combine with gravy. Pour over your egg noodles and enjoy with some good crusty bead and butter. 

  

Ryan Dungey Cake

So a friends hubby was turning the big Three O this year. She wanted to have a grand surprise party and of course a great cake. Justine the birthday boy, is a big fan of Ryan Dungey. A fab dirt bike racer, if your not sure who he is.

So after considering several options from a carved cake, to using a buttercream transfer. I decided on an frosting sheet. I found a pic of Ryan Dungey and went to my local bakery and they printed the pic on the frosting sheet.

Next I made copies of Dungey sponsors to tie the whole theme together. They were made of gum paste and fondant. For the Makita I used gum paste that I tinted red. I rolled it out and using a paring knife I cut around a template I made.

When working with gum paste you want to work quickly, as the gum paste dries very fast. Fondant you can take more time with, but you must cover any gum paste and fondant you are not using, with Saran wrap to keep it from drying out.

The next piece was the Rockstar symbol, I used gum paste for this as well. I tinted some dough with yellow gel food coloring and rolled it out and used a template I made to cut out the image. 

I used a pencil to draw a boarder about a 1/4 inch from the edge. I cut out the double R's of the template using a crafters knife.  Taped it down over the gum paste star and painted it with black gel food coloring.

I then painted the boarder with food gel as well....

I did the same for the Fox symbol......

This is the completed piece (sorry for the poor quality pic).......

For the Nike symbol I used both gum paste and fondant. I didn't have anymore white gum paste so I made do with what I had. I then painted the swoosh with food gel.

I rolled out yellow gum paste and used to different sized circle cookie cutters to get the yellow ring and then filled it in with white fondant. I used cookie cutters to make the Target symbol too.   

For the checkered flag I cut a piece of gum paste in a slanted rectangle.
To get the curve of a flag I placed the gum paste on top of chopsticks and used the handle of a pairing knife to hold up one edge to give it a slight curl. (as shown below)

The cake it self was a half sheet, three layers of chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling, and frosted in vanilla buttercream.

The finished cake........

 

More French Toast, Please!

Well what can I say about french toast? A wonderful versatile dish, straight from the pan to your plate, baked, stuffed, caramelized, sweet or savory.  Whether you use white bread, french bread, croissants, or one of the many flavored variety breads on the shelves today. The options are endless and delicious.

Here at the Niebuhr house we enjoy it, not just for breakfast but for dinner as well, slathered in maple syrup and butter. Grace hasn't been said yet and my kids are anxiously waiting forks in hand, to dive into the golden stacks. This is one meal you won't hear me saying "Finish your dinner." The picture above is french toast I made with maple brown sugar bread...needless to say there were no leftovers.

The History
According to Food Timeline, french toast was created by medieval European cooks, but recipes for french toast can be traced back to Ancient Roman times. French toast as we know it is also know by many other names, for example: German toast, American toast, Spanish toast, Nun's toast, Cream toast, Amarilla, Poor Knights of Windsor, Roman bread, pain perdu...
For more information please visit Food Timeline.

The Recipe

It starts with your choice of bread, many people like to let the bread sit out over night to dry out a bit. This allows more of the custard to be soaked into the bread, and who doesn't like that? I find dry bread (or stale) tears less easily when taken from the custard mixture to the pan.

My basic recipe is 3 large eggs, 1 cup of milk, dash of salt, teaspoon of vanilla and on occasion a teaspoon of cinnamon, about 8 slices of bread.
But.......my most requested recipe is my Stuffed French Toast.




Stuffed French Toast

1 loaf of sliced French bread
6 large eggs
1 ½ cups half and half
1 ½ cups milk
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon clove

Filling:
2- 8 oz blocks of cream cheese at room temp.
3 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup of your favorite jam
1 cup fresh fruit, cut into one inch pieces (optional)....I like to use a combination of fresh fruit and jam

• Pre-heat oven to 350E
• Spray a 13 x 9 in. baking pan with cooking spray, set aside.
• Slice the french bread into 1/2 inch slices, set aside

For the Custard:
In a large bowl whisk the eggs, half & half, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove until well blended; set aside

For the Filling:
In a medium bowl stir together softened cream cheese, vanilla, eggs and sugar until smooth. If using BOTH jam and fruit, combine in a small bowl and mix.

In your 13 x 9 inch pan, arrange bread in a single layer. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the bread and top with half of the jam and/or fruit mixture. Add another layer of the cream cheese mixture, fruit, and remaining bread. You should end up with three layers of bread and two layers of filling.

Pour custard mixture evenly over bread, make sure you get the edges and corners. I like to push down all the edges to make sure it is covered in custard. Cover with Saran wrap and refrigerate over night or at least 4 hours.
Take out ½ hour before baking and allow to set out at room temp. Place pan on cookie sheet, to avoid spill overs.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until clearly set in the middle- it will puff up. Take out of the oven and let set for 5 minutes before cutting into.

Because of the filling, this recipe requires no syrup. But, if you like here is a recipe for a great topping you mix and add just before baking.

Topping

1 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoon dark corn syrup
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Prepare this topping JUST before baking french toast.

In a small pan over med-low heat, melt butter. When butter is melted remove from heat and add vanilla, dark corn syrup, dark brown sugar and pecans; stir until combined. Spread topping evenly over french toast. Bake as directed.

I love serving this with roasted potatoes and a side of fresh fruit.


Please try this recipe and leave a comment. I would love to hear from you!

Enjoy : )

Making Parchment Circles

I love parchment paper, it is one of my favorite kitchen tools. I use it for baking as well as cooking, I line my cookies sheets and cake pans rectangle, square and round.

I learned this technique many many years ago, for cutting round parchment circles to be used in round cake pans or tart pans. I hope you find this useful.

Happy Baking!

     

My Checker Board Birthday Cake

So I celebrated my birthday on February 1st, and as usual I made my own birthday cake. This year I wanted to try my hand at a checker board cake. I chose chocolate and yellow cake with my creamy chocolate frosting. I have pictures to guide you through each step.

There are three ways, that I am aware of, to create a checker board cake. One is by baking two types of cake and cutting and layering to get the checker effect. The other is placing the two different cake batters (alternating) in the same cake pan and baking to create the same effect. And the other is purchasing a checker board pan set. It comes with a pan and a ring that is broken into several rings. You would put the batter, alternating colors, into the ring divider then remove the ring and bake.

I chose to do the first.

First pick the two cake types you like, be sure they are not to close in color.
Chocolate/white, red/white, or tint white cake pink/blue for a baby shower or yellow/light green for Easter or dark green/white for St Patricks day. Be creative and have fun!

I like to bake my cakes the day before and once they have cooled completely I wrap loosely in Saran wrap and allow it to sit out over night. This allows the cake to set up and is easier to work with.

                                                                                              
One of my favorite tools is a cake leveler. You can purchase this from a craft store in their cake decorating isle. It's quick and insure even layers. It has a bent bar with a wire strung between the ends. On each end are little notches allowing you to adjust the wire to the height you desire. Adjust the wire so that you cut away just enough of the top of the cake to make it level.
Using a sawing motion (back and forth) level the top of your cake using your leveler or a knife if you prefer


When using a leveler, place your hand on top of the cake as you get closer to the edge place you hand on the side of the cake opposite you. Allow the wire to press against your fingers as you work the leveler through the outer crust of  the cake. The wire will not cut you, but this will insure you don't break the edge of the cake.

 I usually save the tops of the cake for my husband and boys to snack on. This allows me to finish the cake with less interruptions : )

Next, adjust the cake leveler and *torte your cake into two even layers. Repeat this process with the chocolate cake. You will have four layers, two yellow and two chocolate.

(*torte: slicing cake into thinner layers)

Now for the rings.

I used a saucer and two metal cookie cutters, use whatever you have handy. You can see the difference in size from the picture below.

I started by placing my saucer centered on a single cake layer and I carefully, I cut around the saucer using a paring knife. I removed the sauce and using the larger cookie cutter I centered it inside the first cut and pressed down to cut the center out, then again with the smaller cutter I lined it up in the center of the second cut and cut the very center of the cake. Repeat with the chocolate cake. 

Now the fun part!

Carefully remove the cake rings from the center of each cake and replace them, alternating in color. Putting frosting in between to secure them together. I filled a pastry bag with frosting and piped a line inside of each ring then smoothed it out with my cake blade.

When finished your cake layer should look like this...............

Apply a layer of butter-cream over the completed cake layer then start the process again.

If your cake ring breaks as you are stacking them, don't worry just glue pieces together with butter-cream.

Be sure to alternate each layer:

If the bottom layer has a chocolate outer ring then the layer on top should have a yellow outer ring, the third will have a chocolate outer ring and the final layer on top should have a yellow outer ring. See the example below.

When you have filled and stacked the layers, cover cake with butter-cream and decorate as desired.

Slice, serve and wait for the ooh and ahhs. Then enjoy a slice yourself with a big glass of milk.

I hope you will try to make a checker board cake yourself, if anything people will be amazed at what you did and will ask "How did you do that?"