~holiday giveaway!~
A giant box landed on my doorstep – I was hoping that Oprah finally decided we were bff’s and sent me a box of ‘favorite things’…turns out that was NOT the case. Still, it was just as good…
Kraft/Cool Whip sent me a lovely HUGE gift basket filled with fantastic things!
It was large and pretty and I couldn’t wait to unwrap it. Only once I started taking it apart did I notice it was FULL of amazing baking items.
Not only were there ingredients like chocolate, caramel bits, jell-o pudding and sugar – but the kicker was a gorgeous Williams Sonoma goldtouch muffin pan. I am a huge fan of this pan – it makes perfect cupcakes every time! Also included were a Williams Sonoma spatula and striped towels! Now that is a basket truly aiming for a baker’s heart!
Lucky you, Cool Whip is letting me give one of these awesome gift baskets to one blog reader!
Simply leave a comment telling me what you’re going to make for a holiday dessert. Maybe cupcakes? What about cookies?? Oh I know – mochi!!
Personally, I went straight to work and used the items to make my take on an old Hawaii potluck standard – Chocolate Macadamia Icebox Pie (recipe, here).
Whatever you make, I’m sure it will be delicious! Leave a comment on this post – you have from now until Sunday the 5th. Good luck!
Chocolate Mac Nut Icebox Pie
While I usually only bake from scratch, something that always steals my heart is Jell-o+pudding. It reminds me of when I was a kid, my mom made TONS of desserts using those products.
If you look in old skool Hawaiian cookbooks Jell-o/pudding recipes are abundant. This one is a classic that you’ll find at potlucks, family parties and it’s an all around good go-to dessert. Super easy, I also put a little twist on it. Perfect for the holidays!
crust ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup butter
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chocolate covered macadamia nuts, chopped
1st layer ingredients:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip
2nd layer ingredients:
2 (3 oz) packages Chocolate Pudding
3-1/2 cups milk
1/2 (4 oz) a container of Cool Whip
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan with melted butter. Set aside.
In a bowl, cut together the flour, butter, sugar and salt. Press the mixture into the greased pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
Now chop up the chocolate covered mac-nuts. Chop those babies coarsely – but keep them small, you don’t want anyone to lose a filling.
The chocolate covered mac nuts to give the bottom layer a little bit of richness and crunch. While the crust is still warm, sprinkle the chopped choco-mac nuts on top. The chocolate will soften and melt a bit….mmm.
In a large bowl mix together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar.
Fold in the container of thawed Cool Whip. Spread this mixture on top of the cooled crust. Place it in the fridge to set.
Now start the pudding. Mix together the two boxes of chocolate pudding with the milk. Since you are using less milk than the package states, this pudding will be a lot thicker and also set pretty quick so work fast.
Stir until thickened, the pour that on top of the cream cheese mixture and spread evenly.
Spread the 4 oz of Cool Whip on top of the pudding, then sprinkle with chopped mac nuts. Keep in the fridge covered in plastic wrap until you are ready to serve.
This is a perfect potluck party dessert!
Kraft Foods sent me a lovely HUGE gift basket filled with holiday baking goodies, Williams Sonoma towels, baking pans and treats, many of which I used for this recipe. Enter HERE to win one of your own!
Lucasfilm – Skywalker Ranch
There are three meccas of pop culture I’ve wanted to visit my in lifetime, Walt Disney Imagineering (check), Sanrio Headquarters (check again) and now my trifecta is complete because last week I visited Lucasfilm + Skywalker Ranch.
It’s every nerds dream to visit here and as you can tell by my Ultimate Star Wars party (here), yes – I am a huge Star Wars fan.
I was lucky enough to have my friends invite me up and show me around. I headed up to Marin County – just north of San Francisco. The ranch is on a windy road with a very non-descript entrance – blink and you’d miss it. To say security here is HIGH would be putting it mildly. There are no pictures allowed, so I felt weird even taking pictures outside.
First stop was Big Rock Ranch.
It’s a large lovely craftsman style building with amazing detail work. Security here was even TIGHTER because this is where the animation department is now located. It was nice to see Yoda holding court amongst the flowers.
Skywalker Ranch is on a separate property. Once again, lllllong windy roads leading up to the Ranch. Car sick bags – you might want to keep them handy.
The Ranch is a large two story plantation style building. As an architect I can appreciate George Lucas’s attention to detailing on his buildings. Much like the homage to Frank Lloyd Wright in Big Rock Ranch, the plantation ‘home’ is lovely and right out of the South.
George Lucas’s office is right there on the second floor. See him waving to me from the window? I’M KIDDING. He was up there, but certainly not waving to me. Still, that would be the funniest picture ever.
The things I saw…were awesome. Sadly, there is ABSOLUTELY no photography allowed, but being able to see the actual working AT-AT model from the movies as well as the original lightsabers actually used by the actors in each movie, I was. in. awe.
I saw the original model prototype for the Sarlac Pit, which I have to say looked JUST like my dip. Ok, maybe not but it was still fun to see.
Even cooler were the artifacts from other Lucasfilm franchises – props from Willow, the original Indiana Jones hat and whip that Harrison Ford used in the movie – but the thing that I couldn’t stop staring at was the original Holy Grail that was Indy’s treasure. That pretty much floored me. I kept going back to look at it.
There were other jaw dropping items that showed George Lucas’s true love of movies and art. Like Charlie Chaplin’s ORIGINAL HAT AND CANE. My word. That was yet another thing I couldn’t stop staring at, a true piece of cinematic history. Lining the walls were original Norman Rockwell paintings. The art collection nearly took precedence in my heart over the original working sculpture of Jabba the Hutt, it’s such a toss up. Ha!
A fascinating fact about the Ranch is that most of the buildings are underground to preserve the natural landscape, and you can see why – this place is BEAUTIFUL. For a city girl like me, I have to say I was more fascinated by the colorful trees and wild turkeys that ran freely around the property.
At one point a deer came so very close – reminding me that yes, there is such a thing as nature. See, I believe all animals are animatronic, so it’s hard for me to look at these creatures as real.
The Ranch is…serene. They have their own animals, vineyard, and grow their own vegetables and fruits to the point of holding an on site farmer’s market in the spring! They even sell their own Skywalker Ranch wine and olive oil.
We ate lunch at the on site restaurant and it was a nice day just hanging out with friends and talking, almost forgetting about what an amazing setting I was in. And of course I did some shopping…
…just a bit. Yeah…right.
I left some Yoda cookies behind, and as we made the turn by the lake called, wait for it nerds…Lake Ewok, I said goodbye to my friends and goodbye to the gorgeous landscape of Skywalker Ranch.
Tortellini + Shrimp
This is the perfect dish because the Kid loves pasta and the Baby loves shrimp. And I love when no one complains. Winner all around!
ingredients:
1 pound tortellini
2 Tablespoons butter
1 shallot, chopped fine
1 pound shrimp
2 teaspoons lemon zest
salt
pepper
Little cheese filled tortellini are perfect in this dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the tortellini according to directions. Drain, do not rinse – and set aside.
Milder than an onion or even garlic, I love shallots because they bring out the best flavor in seafood, I think.
In a skillet, saute the shallot in the butter, then add the shrimp. Isn’t it lovely how just a few seconds will give you such a nice color of pink! Season with lemons zest and salt and pepper.
Toss the tortellini with the shrimp. Serve.
It’s much tastier with a heart shaped piece of toast, wouldn’t you agree?
Really, this is the easiest dinner ever – I like to keep frozen pasta and shrimp in my freezer for a super quick meal, again – no complaints!
Whole Wheat mini pizzas
I used to make these a lot as a kid. While I do make-your-own pizzas with the kids using tortillas – English Muffins are fun too because provide a nice hefty base for mini pizzas.
Using whole wheat English Muffins is a nice way to slip in some nutrients for the kids, say if they only put sauce and meat on their pizzas. I’m talking about the Baby, here.
ingredients:
whole wheat english muffins
pizza sauce
mushrooms
pepperoni
olives
any toppings you like
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep baking sheets with silpats.
I put all the ingredients out mise en place style and just let the kids go for it. I try very hard not to tell them what to do, since they get more excited about cooking/eating when they get to do it all on their own!
I like to give one silpat lined pan to each kid, that way after they ‘build’ the pizza, you can just slip the pan right into the oven.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until everything is melted together nicely.
The kids love this dinner because they get to be so involved. And as I say, no one can complain about dinner…because they made it themselves. Ha!
Thanksgiving rundown
I love Thanksgiving and all the food traditions.
My mom is the turkey maker, and hers is the best – we look forward to it every year. We start by brining the turkey in advance, something that really helps keep the turkey moist and flavorful:
How to brine a turkey (recipe, here)
One of the best things about Thanksgiving is the dessert of course. Sure there’s pumpkin pie and ice cream, I’m not going to pass that up, but sometimes you want to do a little something different. These cupcakes combine side dish and dessert. Perfection.
Sweet Potato Cupcakes (recipe, here)
When all is said and done, and you’re preparing for going Black Friday shopping the next day – an easy way to get going is to take the leftovers and build the perfect holiday leftover sandwich.
Post holiday leftover breakfast (recipe, here)
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Chocolate Peanut Butter filled cupcakes
If are baking plain ol’ vanilla cupcakes, why not jazz ‘em up (jazz hands!) by filling them with chocolate peanut butter?! Topped with a super light mascarpone frosting – when you bite into these, I promise you, you won’t know what hit you.
ingredients:
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2-1/4 cups cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Mascarpone Frosting (recipe, here)
Let’s get this straight, there’s one place that knows peanut butter and does it right and that’s Peanut Butter and Co. in New York. You can find their products locally in your market or online.
Their Dark Chocolate Dreams
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cupcake pan with liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Carefully add the eggs one at a time until incorporated, then add the vanilla.
Now alternate milk with the dry ingredients until combined. Spoon the batter into prepped liners, bake 15-17 minutes depending on your oven. Let cool on a wire rack.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, using a cutter or a paring knife, simply cut out a little well in the middle.
Fill the well with a spoonful of the chocolate peanut butter.
Top the cupcake (covering the peanut butter surprise) with creamy, light mascarpone frosting. The vanilla cake, peanut butter and light frosting come together for the perfect bite!
Lychee Chicken
Does this recipe sound crazy? I know it does, don’t answer that. Lychee reminds me of Hawaii…and eyeballs. They’re just weird looking.
However, the fruit-i-ness of lychee makes is perfect for ice cream (recipe, here), desserts, and yes…even chicken.
ingredients:
8 chicken thighs
1 can lychee, smashed/cut up
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons sugar
1 slice of ginger
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon mirin
Lychee is a fragrant tropical fruit. You can get it fresh or in a can in the asian section of your market. So how are we going to incorporate this into chicken? Well, it’s going to act as a nice, fruity marinade.
Chop up the lychee…well, basically smash it up and bash it to release all the flavor. You’re not going to be eating it, it’s only acting as a marinade. Place the smashed up lychee in a medium sized bowl. Add the salt, sugar, ginger, soy sauce and mirin.
Place the chicken in a large freezer bag, pour the lychee marinade on top and place in a shallow pan – this is just in case the bag leaks. Marinate in the fridge for 6-8 hours.
When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with non-stick foil. Place the chicken in the pan – THROW OUT the marinade.
Bake for 35 minutes skin side down, then turn over and bake for another 15 minutes.
The chicken is moist and has just a subtle hint of the fragrant lychee. Served with rice, this is a nice easy to make dinner , something different for your typical weeknight meal.
Somen Sushi
**This won second place in the Easy Kids Recipes – Asian Noodle Recipe Contest!
Look at this closely. No…closer. That’s not rice sucka, it’s noodles! Think of it as a somen salad all in a little roll. It’s darn good too. Something different for parties or to fool your friends…
ingredients:
2 bundles somen
4 nori sheets
Cucumber sliced thin
Carrot sliced thin
Char siu, cut thin
1 egg fried thin and sliced
sauce ingredients:
2 Tablepoons sugar
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
Stir together all the sauce ingredients, set aside.
Boil somen for just 2 minutes – rinse and drain.
Separate the somen out into portions (4 nori sheets, 4 portions). I use the same nori that I use for spam musubi – on one nori sheet, spread out one portion of noodles.
You can fill this with whatever you want really. Today I just happened to have some nice farm fresh asparagus, so I rolled that with cucumber and carrot. Place the filling down about half of the way along the length of the nori.
Here’s the deal – I am a bad asian. I do NOT eat sushi, never have never will, therefore I know nothing about rolling. I’m sure there are fancy mats and devices to help you, but I just laid out a sheet of plastic wrap, put the assembly on top and hoped for the best. And it worked! I just rolled tightly, and the stickiness of the noodles sort of made the roll stick to itself.
Once it is rolled tightly, roll it in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for an hour or so until you are ready to serve. Using a sharp knife, cut straight down and into even slices.
Serve it with the sauce and you’re ready to go. These are great for parties, and so easy because you can do them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. They are a fun alternative to ‘real’ sushi!
Neapolitan MOCHI bundt
Ya heard? It’s National Bundt Day! Who knew there was such a thing – well the Food Librarian knew and she made 30 bundts in 30 days to prove it.
She even gave away my “I like big bundts” pins if you participated by making a bundt today! So in honor of National Bundt Day I wanted to do something visually spectacular. I love brown, white and pink – I make so many neapolitan things it’s crazy. Cookies, Ice cream musubi, cupcakes, Inside out ice cream sandwiches – I love those colors and it’s about time I make a bundt. That plus mochi? Well, you’ve got yourself a mighty fine dessert to celebrate National Bundt Day.
ingredients:
1 pound mochiko (1 box)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
2 cups sugar
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 Tablespoons Valrhona Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
pink gel food coloring
Mochiko is a sweet rice flour. It’s very fine, almost dusty. You can find it in most asian markets or online. It gives a familiar ‘chew’ to baked goods, reminiscent of mochi itself.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a bundt pan by greasing it with butter. Personally I never flour it, but that’s all on you.
In a medium bowl whisk together the mochiko, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Stir together the melted butter and sugar. Then add the evaporated milk. Add the vanilla and the eggs and mix well. Now add it to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Divide the batter into three bowls, leaving one bowl as is.
In the second bowl add the Valrhona cocoa powder and the chocolate chips. Stir well.
In the third bowl add a touch of pink gel food coloring just until you get a nice pink. Set aside.
In the prepped bundt pan, pour in the chocolate batter.
Top that with the vanilla (plain) and then finish it off with the pink.
Place the filled pan on a baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes depending on your oven. Check to see if it’s done by piercing it with a large skewer. If it doesn’t scream, it’s done – I MEAN, if it comes out clean, it’s done…
Let cool on a wire rack, when the bundt has cooled and you are mentally ready, turn the pan over onto a wire rack. All goes well the bunt will pop right out – let it cool off a bit more until you are ready to serve.
I just love the movement and color of the layers when you cut into it. The prettiest of cakes with that perfect mochi chew.
