How To: Simple Tilted Jell-O Shots

For a fresh twist, I added mini titled Jello Pop Shots to the Make It Pop! KSL Studio 5 dessert table.

Here’s how to make them for your own event! Detailed steps written below.

*Choose your glass. The more simple the glass the more dramatic your tilt will look.  I purchased clear mini cordials from Pier One Imports.  You can find them here.

Step One:   Make your first Jello.  You can use a traditional gelatin  or you can spice it up by adding soda pop, alcohol for mature audiences, fruit, or cream.  It’s completely up to you!  Pour first layer of gelatin into glass.  How much gelatin you pour in will depend on what glass you are using as well as how dramatic you want the tilt.  My first layer of jello was approximately 1/4 of an inch.   Once each glass is filled evenly, it’s time to tilt your glasses.  Place each glass in a mini cupcake tin (or regular cupcake tin for larger jellos) being careful that each jello is tilted in the same direction and angle.  Place jellos inside refrigerator and let firm.  Due to their mini size, my jello layers firmed up super quick.  Approximately 15 minutes.

Step Two: Repeat step one using a new flavor of jello and adjusting the tilt of each Jello in your cupcake tin accordingly.

Step Three: Repeat Step one again using new flavor of jello and adjusting the tilt of each Jello in your cupcake tin accordingly.  http://www.loraleelewis.com/blog/?p=16621

Summer Pineapple Strawberry Cooler

I am ready for summer! This recipe just puts me in the summer mood. Come-on sunshine! Pineapple juice, limeade and club soda make a refreshing drink that goes beautifully with all kinds of summer fruit. And with strawberries in season right now, they make a perfect match.

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce can frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 6-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
• 4 cups cold water * 1 liter club soda, chilled
• Ice cubes
• Fresh strawberries (optional)
• Short (6-inch) wooden skewers
• Assorted fruits such as halved orange slices, halved lime slices, orange sections, raspberries, strawberries, sliced kiwifruit, and mint sprigs

Directions

In a large pitcher combine pineapple juice concentrate, limeade, and water. Chill for at least 30 minutes. To serve, transfer fruit juice mixture to pitchers; add club soda, ice cubes, and fresh strawberries.
Serve with Fruit Swizzle Sticks, if desired.
Makes 14 (6-ounce) servings.
Fruit Swizzle Sticks: On short (6-inch) wooden skewers, thread assorted fruits and mint sprigs. Make-Ahead Tip: Up to 24 hours ahead, prepare the juice mixture and chill well. Proceed as directed.
Sit back, soak up the sunshine sipping a sweet drink and enjoy summer.
Recipe from Daily Recipes, find more fun summer drinks here.  http://www.mommag.com/local/tri-cities/2010/6/16/summer-pineapple-strawberry-cooler

Espresso Chocolate Truffles and a wish for a very Happy Holidays!

Every year around this time the same question starts popping up into my mind: what should I make for the holiday gatherings? I think everyone has atleast a few dashing staple stars; these are the dishes that you can whip up with no worries at-all, with very less preparation and they are sure to please every tummy! I am always awed by all the fellow food-bloggers who whip up these delightfully scrumptious baked goodies; seeing the pictures of which make me wish I had more of a baking woo-doo :) But with my limited baking talent all I feel comfortable taking to any holiday gatherings is usually a banana nut bread or some fruit cake!

This year though when I saw this chocolate truffles post on Yasmeen's blog I knew exactly what I wanted to make! Chocolate truffles are a type of chocolates made with a chocolate ganache inside and coated with various coatings, the most ubiquitous of which is cocoa powder but powdered sugar and toasted nuts are common coatings too. Ganache is just a fancy name for smooth melted chocolate with cream (low-fat milk or heavy cream). Occasionally ganache is flavored with flavorings such as vanilla and espresso. Chocolate truffles are named for the look-alike wild truffle fungus/mushroom variety which is a delicacy. Now the truffle-police will insist that the real chocolate truffles must be uneven and rustic to resemble the mushrooms they are named after.. but I am raised in a round and perfect laddoo tradition and what the heck I took pride in making my truffles perfectly circular and round so the pictures will look better (don't tell the truffle-police!) :D

Anyway, so here is how I made my truffles:

Recipe source: multiple truffle posts mainly Yasmeen's post, an old Joy-of-Baking article describing anatomy of a truffle and a step-by-step photo post from here.

Ingredients:

For ganache:

8.5 ounces of dark chocolate (I used Trader Joe's Belgium chocolate brand with 54% cocoa)

1/2C cream (I used mixture of heavy cream and 2% reduced fat)

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1tsp instant espresso coffee

For coating:

cocoa powder

toasted crushed slivered almonds

powdered sugar

Recipe:

(The posts linked above have a much detailed description of the method, but here is what I did in a nutshell).

1. Cut the chocolate into as many thin pieces as possible. My chocolate slab was very thick and so I chopped it very roughly into big pieces.
2. Heat the cream just until the boiling point. Add espresso and mix well.
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate pieces and let it stand for a minute. At this time if your chocolate was very finely chopped then the cream will be able to melt the chocolate. If instead you had big chocolate chunks like mine, you will need a double-boiler method to melt the chocolate. For double boiler method: heat water in a large pan to barely simmering. Place the pan holding the chocolates and cream over the simmering water and continue stirring until the entire chocolate is melted.
4. Add vanilla extract to the melted chocolate and mix it really well to get a smooth consistency. This is your ganache, cover and let it chill in refrigerator for overnight.
5. Remove from fridge when you are ready to make truffles. Place each of the coating ingredients in a separate plate.
6. Using a mellon scooper scoop out a chocolate bowl. Roll in your hands for a smoother round shape. (Heat from your hand will start to melt the chocolate making it easy to reform into a round ball).
7. Roll the chocolate balls in one of the coating plates making sure the truffle is thoroughly coated. Place  the truffle on a parchment paper.
8. Ready to serve! Serve them at room temperature or refrigerate for later use.

These were heavenly and had a perfect truffle byte! I forgot to take a photo of the truffle byte, may be next time :-)

These chocolate truffles go straight to S of the wonderful blog Art, Food and Travel Chronicles for giving me my first food blog award here! Thanks S!

   http://ginger-and-garlic.blogspot.com/2009/12/espresso-chocolate-truffles-and-wish.html

Edible Fruit Christmas Tree

I have a lot to be thankful for this season including my friends and family and all of you wonderful bloggers who encouraged me through these initial steps of my blog! Happy Holidays to all! Till next time, leaving you with an edible fruit tree that I made few weeks ago for some decoration:

(Image credit: my husband, Saurabh Deoras)

Note: Since many people asked me how this tree was made I am updating this post with the instructions on how you can make an edible tree like this one!
Source: Inspired from a supermarket holiday flier.
Material:
1 styrofoam cone (small or medium size) from your local craft store. (I got mine from Michaels).
Toothpicks
Cookie cutters with various shapes (I used a gingerbread-man shaped and a star shaped cutter)
Assorted fruits - I used green and black grapes, strawberries, kiwis, dried cranberries and a honeydew melon.
Cilantro garnish.
Steps:

1. My styrofoam cone was green in color, if you only have a white one then I suppose you could drape some green paper on a white cone or attach fruits very densely so it resembles more like a tree trunk.
2. Using the cookie cutters create various shapes out of the melon slices.
3. Attach toothpicks to the styrofoam cone. Attach one piece each of a fruit to a toothpick. (Think free-form; as the tree starts building you will know more about which fruit combinations are looking better and how densely packed you want your tree to be).
4. Continue building the tree as dense as you want!
5. Use cilantro leaves as grass garnish.
6. Enjoy your new edible fruit tree!!   http://ginger-and-garlic.blogspot.com/2009/12/espresso-chocolate-truffles-and-wish.html

BAKED FRIED CHICKEN!

This is, hands down, a family favorite! Everytime I make this everyone goes nuts! I have actually made it a lot easy! It is super easy, so it is easy for big groups! I made it for our little family. Then I made it for the weekly Lindstrom gathering at my in-laws house, which usually includes about 20-25 people. Then, because it was such a huge hit there, we suggested to Jake & Tyler (cousin), whom are both working on their "Citizenship in the Community" merit badge for scouts, that this would be a great dinner idea for the Ronald McDonald House in SLC. A few days later, we were on our way up there. Salad, bread, corn, mashed potatoes & gravy and this chicken were all on the menu. The boys worked their little hineys off and we served nearly 50 people! We cooked 4 big bags of chicken tenderloin strips, about 100 strips in all, and we knew the meal was a success when there was only 1 piece of chicken left and a lot of happy faces! :)

I am pretty sure that I have discovered the KFC secret recipe! It is DEAD ON! It is also baked...not fried and there isn't any skin! So you get to enjoy the taste of the seasoning, instead of pulling it off because of the slimy skin!

This is super easy and you are TOTALLY going to love it!

ENJOY!

{Baked Fried Chicken}

Place thawed chicken breast tenderloin strips in a bowl of milk. Let soak for 20-30 min.

Mix in a Gallon Size Ziploc or Large Bowl:  

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 T Season All

3/4 tsp Pepper

1 c. Flour

2 tsp. Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/2 stick of butter into a few pieces and place in a 9x13 pan. Melt butter in pre-heated oven.

Spread melted butter around the bottom of the pan. Lightly spray the pan, if needed, to make sure that there are no dry spots.

Shake excess milk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix. You can either shake the chicken in the bag, until coated, or dip each piece in the bowl until coated.

Place each piece of chicken in the pan.

Cook for 20 min. Turn each piece of chicken and continue cooking for 20 more minutes, or until cooked through.

ENJOY!    http://thewondertwins.blogspot.com/2011/10/mondays-menu-baked-fried-chicken.html

Ham and cheese rolls

It is no secret the carnivore and I like different things. There are, however, a few things we both love - like cheese and bread. This nifty dinner not only works in these things we hold near and dear, but it is also super quick. (Plus, you can adjust it be either vegetarian or carnivore friendly.) It is a wonderful way to throw together a meal in minutes on those days when the rest of your day has been spiraling out of control.


Start with a roll of 4 regular Pillsbury crescent rolls. Unroll them and divide the rolls in half leaving two triangles connected. You should have two rectangles. Lightly flour them and a rolling pin. Flatten the rectangles out some. Then place them on a greased cookie sheet. Top each with your chosen ingredients. This night we both had swiss cheese. The carnivore also had deli ham, while I had vidalia onions and basil. Once filled roll the reactangles. Then bake these beauties according to the directions (usually a little more than ten minutes at 375 degrees). Remove from the oven while golden brown and serve while hot.

They are buttery and satisfying. Plus, you can vary this recipe to suit anyone's tastes or dietary restrictions. Oh, and as you can see they take little time to make. This is a great meal for those nights you work late and need to through something together quick. I promise they will stop things from spiraling out of control. Nothing like a super with some of your favorite things (like cheese and bread) does the trick faster - except maybe a meal that is ready in minutes. And, this will do both.     http://www.cooking4carnivores.com/2009/08/spiraling-out-of-control.html

Italian Easter Bread

Buona Pasqua!  I've made this Easter bread for years for my kids. It's a sweet bread, made with milk and sugar and has an Easter Egg in the middle! There's a lot of Italian recipes for Easter breads, some are savory and some are sweet. This one is fun.

Italian Easter Bread

Add this recipe to ZipList!

for a printer friendly recipe, click here
Ingredients:

• 1 package Rapid Rise yeast
• 1.25 cups scalded milk, cooled to room temperature
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3.5 cups flour (approximate)
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
• 6 dyed Easter eggs
• sprinkles

 

tip: the Easter eggs do not need to be hard boiled. They cook when the bread bakes. I usually just dye the eggs right out of the fridge, without hardboiling them. Saves time. Just be careful they don't crack!
Instructions:
In a large mixer bowl, combine yeast, warm (not hot) milk, salt, butter, eggs and sugar. Add about half the flour and beat until smooth with dough hook.   Slowly add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Don't worry about how much flour it ends up being, just keep adding until the dough is not sticky anymore.  Knead until smooth with either dough hook attachment or turn out on floured board and knead. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.
Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece to form a 1 inch thick rope about 14 inches long and, taking two pieces, twist to form a "braid", pinching the ends,  and loop into a circle.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double, about an hour again. Brush each bread with beaten egg wash. Put on the sprinkles. In the middle of each bread ring, gently place an Easter egg, making an indentation with the egg.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden - about 20 - 25 minutes. Cool on rack.

** Note:  For an updated version of this bread, see my most recent Easter Bread post.  It's made with golden eggs and pearl sugar:
  http://theitaliandishblog.com/imported-20090913150324/2008/3/19/italian-easter-bread.html