Chocolate Mousse

I'm back. I know... it's been forever. But in my defense, since last time I found out I was pregnant, with twins. Delivered twins and discovered that being a mother of 3 crazy kids is, well, crazy. But also beyond wonderful. 


But, I also have a plethora of wonderful recipes to share. And so to start off on a good note... and since Valentine's day is just around the corner...

Chocolate Mousse


‎1 lNestle's Table Cream (found in the Hispanic foods section)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 
3 egg whites ( or up to 6) 
3 tbsp of sugar (or one for each egg white used)

Melt the chocolate in bain marrie (double boiler), or you can melt it in the microwave. If you choose to use the microwave go in 15 second intervals and be sure to mix the chocolate between each interval.


Beat the egg white until they form stiff peaks, add the sugar and beat for another little while. Fold in the table cream and then fold in the chocolate. FOLD, if you mix it in, you'll destroy the consistency of the egg whites. And then your delicious mousse will be no more :o(


Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hrs. But the more you leave it in, the firmer and better it will be... And in all honesty, it's better to leave it in over night. Hard to do it in actuality, but soooo worth it!


PS: The chocolate shape decor thing is super easy to make. Melt some more chocolate, put it in a piping bag with a small circle tip, shape out whatever shape you want onto a sheet of wax paper. Let it dry completely before carefully peeling it off. The peeling is harder than the piping by the way...

Ceaser Salad

This is my recipe. It's been perfected through the years and I am proud to say it is MINE. It's not everyday that you can call a recipe your own right? Usually you got it from someone or some book and you made some variation to it or another. Not this one. Sure, it was once based on a collection of recipes. But I've made so many changes over the years (yes YEARS) that I think it's safe to say that it is mine.

And now I will share it with you!

Ingredients:

1 head of Romain Lettuce cut up to squares (you could also just buy the bagged lettuce).
1/2 cup of shredded Swiss cheese
Croutons to taste

Dressing:

3 tbs Mayo
2-4 tbs milk
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
salt to taste

For the dressing, just throw it all in a bowl/bottle and mix is well. If you like it thicker, then go easy on the mil, if you like a thinner dressing, add more milk. Be sure to make this decision after you're added the Parmesan cheese though because it will thicken up the dressing quite a bit.

In a large bowl toss the lettuce and the Swiss cheese until they are well mixed. Right before serving (or else the lettuce will wilt and get gross) mix in the dressing and top it off with the croutons.


Pair it with some sort of meat, grilled is usually my favorite, and you're got perfection!

Ultimate Grilled Cheese

What? A recipe for grilled cheese?!?!

Yes! Because why would you ever eat this:Plain old wheat bread with a slice of yucky Kraft singles on a sandwich maker... ew.

When you can eat THIS:

Delicious and fresh sourdough bread, real butter, real mozzarella cheese grilled to perfection. YUM!

Am I right, or am I right?
So go ahead, try it out, pair it with your favorite soup and have yourself the perfect low key week night (or weekend) dinner!

Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich
(makes 2)

4 thick slices of Sourdough bread.
Mozzarella cheese
butter.

Butter both sides of each slice of bread, place cheese and close.
Heat up a non stick skillet/pan. Place sandwich on pan and let it cook for about 2 min, or until it's golden brown and the cheese has started to melt. Flip if over with a spatuala, press it down to make it thiner and yummier, and let the second side cook for about a minute.

And it's done!
Enjoy it!!!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4-5 cups milk
4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 green onions, chopped
1 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Fry the bacon until browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside. You can also cook bacon in the microwave, which is how I usually do it. Get a microwave safe plate and place 3-4 sheets of paper towel, place the bacon over the paper towels and then cover it with a few more paper towels. Cook it in the microwave for 8-10 min.

Step two is making a roux. In a stock pot , melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth (that's a roux! It's a wonderful thickening agent!). Make sure that you wisk the roux constantly so it doesn't burn, you want it to cook long enough so that it turns a light caramel-ish color and that smells slightly nutty. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Be sure to add the milk slowly so you can see how thick you want the soup. Stir in potatoes, onions, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese and sour cream. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.

Serve it up and enjoy!

This is a deliciously rich and creamy soup. I couldn't believe how easy it is. I had baked the potatoes earlier in the day so it really only took me about 15 minutes to throw all of this together!

Same last words of advice for this recipe:
- DO NOT use margarine. When making a roux it'll all about the butter!!!
Don't skip out on the bacon, use less if you want to make it light, but it really makes the soup. In fact, if you love bacon like I do, I would not tie myself to the 6 slices... ;o)
- Really pay attention to the milk and roux, the more they cook, the more it thickens, so keep that in mind.

Bruschetta

After watching Julie and Julia I had a mad craving for Bruschetta.

So here is what I came up with, very easy and extremely tasty!

For the tomatoes:

4 ripe roma tomatoes
1/2 c. basil leaves
1 tbs balsamic vinager
2 tbs olive oil
salt to taste

Chop the tomatoes and the basil leaves, mix all the ingredients and let it stand.

For the bread:

2 small baguettes, or 1 regular size one
2 cups (+/-) olive oil
8-10 garlic cloves

Cut the baguette into 1 inch slices.
In a large pan heat up the olive oil. Chop up the garlic and add it to the hot oil. Let the garlic cook until it's golden brown.
Remove the garlic and add the bread slices. the bread really brown before you turn it over.

Right before serving top each slice with a heaping serving of the tomatoes and sprinkle from freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Be sure always repeat the frying garlic in the oil process with each batch of bread that you make in the pan. I ended up making two batches, one with each small baguette. With each batch I use about a cup of olive oil and 4 garlic cloves.

This is simply delicious! I hope you all enjoy it!

To accompany this delicious appetizer I also made some fettuccine alfredo (recipe to come later). Perfect combination!

Tip-sy Thursday

I here by declare every Thursday to be a "tip" day - a Tip-sy Thursday. And to start off...

How to make pancakes!


The weekend is almost here and what does that mean?!
Pancakes for breakfast - uha!

But even though these are like the most simple things to make, they can still be a little tricky.
Here are a few little tips that will make your pancake-making a whole lot easier (and tastier!)

1. In separate bowls mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients.
2. Wisk wets into the drys - do not over mix it will make the batter too tough. And some lumps are good to make the cakes soft and fluffy.
3. Add oil to a preheated pan by using a paper towel (get the towel wet with oil - not butter - and rub it on the pan).
4. Use a measuring cup to pour batter, 1/3 to 1/2 cup, then spread it out with a spoon. If you're going to add a filling like sliced bananas or chocolate chips, add it to the top of the circle.
5. Flip only when bubbles burst.


Hope these tips help you out and inspire you to make delicious pancakes this weekend. This chilly weather is quite perfect for it don't you think?! Stack of 3, butter and syrup... hum, that's the way I like it!

How do YOU like you pancakes?!

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ps: i'm really committed to being more faithful to this blog. Do you have any ideas, recipes or requests?! well, pull up a seat, grab a spoon and let me know!

Carrot Cake

In my family birthdays = carrot cake.
So naturally, for my son's first birthday I made carrot cake - Brazilian Style! Yes, it's orange, and yes it has a chocolate glaze... hummm SO GOOD!


Carrot Cake

1/2 c. oil
3 medium carrots shredded
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
3 c. flour
1 tbs baking powder

Put all wet ingredients and carrots in a blender and blend until carrots are chopped and shredded finely,and batter takes on an orange-ish tint.

Mix wet ingredients unto dry until everything if combined. It will look a little thick for a cake batter, but it's supposed to be like that. :o)

Bake on a greased/floured pan for 40 min at a preheated over (375F).

Glaze:
(you may think it's weird, but trust me, it's sooooo good!)

1 tbs butter
3 tbs chocolate nesquick (or something like it)
1 c. sugar

in a small sauce pan, melt butter and add remaining ingridients. Cook until everything is melted (about 5 min.). Pour over cake. (I recomment poking a few holes with a knife on the cake before pouring the glaze!).

Give it a try and let me know, I'm sure you will all love it!

Quindim (keen-djeen)

I'm back! As a way to redeem myself from my long absence I have a delicious recipe!

Those of you who know Brazilian pastry probably know (and love) Quindim, and also know that it's hard to make and takes a ridiculous amount of egg yolks.

Well, I'm here to tell you that there are faster, healthier and less-yolky ways to sink your teeth into these yellow delicacies!

Behold:

Quick Quindim

1 c. Sugar
200 ml Coconut milk (about half of a can)
10 egg yolks
1 1/2 c. Shredded Coconut

Mix everything well and pour unto a muffin pan that's been greased (with butter) and coated with sugar.

Bake in bain-marie at 375 F for 30-35 minutes.

Let is cool and then run a knife along the sides, then place the pan (0r bang it) upside down on a alumnim foil sheet. Place in fridge and enjoy it!

Give it a try, and let me know how you love it!

*** Bain Marie: What is bain-marie you ask?! aka water bath. It's simple - place the muffin pan in another pan (can be a cookie sheet) that's filled with water. The bottom of the muffin pan needs to be touching the water. This is done so that the cooking process occurs evenly. IT IS ESSENTIAL!

Chicken Pie - video!!!

I will add the recipe here later...

ps: don't mind the miss-haps guys... it was, afterall, my very first cooking show episode -EVER.

Spicy Honey Chicken

This is a recipe I got from Our Best Bites. I made a few little changes, to achieve something I call scumptioulicious (say that 5 times). And it goes amazingly well with a salad and dressing I will be sharing in the near future.

This is very very easy and I'm sure everyone will enjoy! It's not really spicy, it just has a little kick which goes amazingly well with the suddle sweetness brought on by the honey.

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil

2 tbs granulated garlic
2 tbs chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
2 tbs paprika
2 t kosher salt
1 t cumin

1/2 C Honey
1tbs balsamic vinegar

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (you could use breast - but really, thighs are so much better!)

Through everything in a zip lock bag along with the chicken. Shake it well and really work the seasonings into the chicken. Make sure that everything is evenly coated. Put it in the fridge until the grill is ready.

Once ready, just place the chicken in the grill and cook for a few minutes on each side until it cook through.

And that's it!

Like I said.. this is a great and easy dish... and it's even better when paired with the salad and dressing I'll be posting in a couple days.

And about the video, we've been having some technical difficulties, but it will be up soon!