This past weekend, my family and I spent a most relaxing time in the Berkshires near Great Barrington. In honor of my mom's 60th birthday, we rented a lovely house in the area and spent the whole weekend chillin, cooking, enjoy the outdoors and each other's company.
Always the creative force behind something wonderful, my Mom thought it'd be a great idea to take part in a family cooking competition, not unlike Food Network's Chopped. The object of the game was to work with three pre-selected secret ingredients and make them into a cohesive dish. Of course the fun of the game is that you never know what you'll get and that the three ingredients don't necessarily go well together. Here's where we netted out - everything turning out quite well might I add:
Secret Ingredients:
Batch 1 - Oranges, cous-cous/quinoa medley, artichokes
Batch 2 - Porcini mushroom truffle cream, sunflower seeds, pomegranate balsamic vinegar
Batch 3 - Bacon, white truffle oil, Nutella
Dan and I were lucky enough to score the second batch, which made way for great opportunities to make something hearty, comforting but also sophisticated. I have to say that everyone pulled out the stops and all of the dishes were a huge success. Even though we tried to be discerning in our judging process, we ended up loving everything and congratulated each other on a job well done. Here are the goodies that came out of this fantastic competition. I highly recommend doing this on a future family trip - it'll for sure bring you closer together!
Citrus Salad with Bacon by Mira - Having the great idea of pairing the smoky bacon with something healthy such as fresh vegetables, my mom went all out. While the dish may look simple, she incorporated a very diabolical strategy of glazing the bacon in Nutella, which surprised and delighted us all.
Nutella Parfait by Paul - Being the master of parfaits, my dad accentuated Nutella as the star ingredient by mixing it with yogurt, fresh fruit and some crunchy oat cereal. Not only did he put his concoction in festive wine glasses, he cut out the fruit in a zig-zag design, which added a special touch.
Stuffed Peppers with Grilled Oranges by Peter and Fiana - Deciding to make something healthy, each bite of this stuffed pepper with a cous-cous/quinoa medley stuffing tasted wholesome. We loved all the different colors represented, including a mix of red and yellow peppers. A side of a sweet plumb reduction was a great idea for a natural sweetener, as well as the clever use of grilled oranges, that would also go nicely on top of a salad.
A Modern take on Chicken and Waffles by Dan and Fooditka - Doing what we do best, Dan and I decided to make waffles. Using lean chicken sausage as the star ingredient, we sauteed it over some red onions and then topped each homemade sunflower seed waffle with it, as well as a generous amount of the porcini truffle cream. A big handful of arugula sprinkled with the pomegranate balsamic went on top for more goodness.
One of the most amazing things we did during my recent Sweet Escape food retreat is a workshop on making common food pantry items from scratch. Not only did we make homemade ketchup and a quick recipe for strawberry jam, but also created my favorite thing - that sweet piece-de-resistance - which is Nutella.
I couldn't believe we actually got our hands on an easy, homemade version of this delicious spread, and I look forward to trying it at home, with some creative variations. The recipe I'm sharing below is based on my observation, but I'll make sure to share Alejandra's official recipe when I get it. I hope you enjoy it, and spread it on every yummy imaginable thing.
Alejandra's Homemade Nutella
Ingredients - makes a large 16 oz jar
4 cups of blanched hazelnuts
2 cups of powdered sugar
2/3 cup of cocoa (can be Dutch cocoa)
2 tsp of vanilla extract
4 tbs of hazelnut oil
A pinch of salt
Directions:
Place hazelnuts in a food processor and grind up until super fine. Add cocoa and continue to mix until well incorporated. Add salt, vanilla extract and hazelnut oil and keep mixing until everything is incorporated and forms into a creamy, spreadable consistency. You'll probably still get something a little chunky, but it tastes wonderful and just like store-bought Nutella (if not better).
After the Nutella was done, we continued to spread it on everything in sight including delicious La Briola pretzel buns, graham crackers, strawberries, and from the spoon directly. I think you get the idea, and hope you enjoy making yours too!
For those of you who've been following my Instagram feed have probably noticed I was out of town this weekend - and for a very good reason. It was my pleasure to attend my fellow food blogger, chef and expert, Alejandra Ramos' Sweet Escape retreat in Plymouth Vermont.
The weekend was catered (pun intended) to a food lovin audience, a large majority who also had blogs of their own. It was a really interesting and diverse crowd, ranging from local New Yawkers and New Jerseyans, to folks from Texas and even Australia if you can believe it. A beautiful, historic house called Good Commons was the home to this weekend's festivities and it's where the proverbial magic happened (all weekend long).
Not only did we get to take advantage of Vermont's local food culture by eating its local, delicious food, but we also got to see the town through the eyes of its many food artisans, including farmers, wine makers, fellow food bloggers and more. I'd love to get into more detail about the whole weekend, which I'll do throughout this week, revealing some exciting recipes and kitchen tricks, but first, I thought I'd whet your appetite with this rich photo post. Hope you enjoy and stay tuned for more Vermontian goodies.
Alejandra talks about cooking with maple syrup. Yum!
Wes, a Sweet Escape attendee and I massage some kale salad (and like it too!)
Our first day brunch spread is impressive!
A visit to Jersey Girls Dairy Farm
Farmer Lisa at Jersey Girls Dairy Farm
Nancy Warner's Potlicker Oatmeal Stout Jelly
It's cheese time, courtesy of Vermont Creamery
Insanely good s'mores bar - marshmallows courtesy of 240 Sweet
My bodacious marshmallow creation - roasted coconut marshmallow with dark toffee chocolate and blueberries.
Homemade nutella. Yep!
Having fun at the Plymouth Cheese Shop
Beautiful old fashioned Howe Scales at the Vermont General Store
Vermont really is picturesque
Delicious cocktail from Vermont Spirits
Hunky bartender was an added bonus!
Moscow Mule from Vermont Spirits
A delicious Latin-style dinner
Our entire Sweet Escape group
My new friend Yolanda and me
Alejandra and me
Hudson - the weekend's mascot (aka adorable troublemaker)
Happy Superbowl everyone! Hope you have something fun in store for the big game. I'm heading to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's annual, legendary Superbowl party, and as I usually do, am bringing a treat.
This year I decided to go with dessert, as in the past I've stuck to things more savory. Knowing what a sweet tooth I have, you won't be surprised that I made cupcakes with a football design, which are also flavored with Nutella. I spotted the recipe for this yummy on the My Baking Heart blog, and they looked gorgeous. While mine aren't as up to snuff when it comes to looks, I think they still came out pretty cute and the taste is definitely there.
Overall, I'd say the difficulty of this dessert is about a 6 or 7 on a 10 point scale. The most meticulous part of course is the frosting and making sure to stay within the lines of the cupcake silhouette. To ensure I kept it semi neat, I drew a circle with frosting around the cupcake and then filled out the middle. Hope you have a go at it too and let me know what you think.
Nutella Football Cupcakes as seen on My Baking Heart Blog
There's nothing like delicious, homemade baked goods to put a smile on your face, especially at a time when we all need it. Plus...it's fall-time, which is prime pie season, so why not take a crack at a delicious homemade pie and enjoy it with your loved ones?!
I just happened to see the recipe for this indulgent Nutella, peanut butter pie on the Nutella Facebook fan page (yes, I'm a proud member) and decided to make it for Paul and Jamil's big Halloween bash last weekend. Although it was a bit unwieldy to eat, Dan gave me his compliments, and I ate some too and devoured it rather quick.
The unique thing about it is that it's made using a pretzel crust, which adds a little savory to this sweet dish. My peanut butter topping came out a bit sloppy, as you can see here, but if you're into rustic things as I am, you won't mind - and it's all about how it tastes in your mouth.
Here's the recipe, courtesy of Shugary Sweets blog.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to bring you a fun
little idea for a dessert that I worked up this past weekend while visiting
friends, Matt & Kate in Florida. As
we experimented with their new panini press, I thought to make a sweet panini
to end our all-day eating fest. It
worked out quite well and I think you’ll love it too, especially if you’re
trying to end your Valentine’s Day dinner with a sweet little something.
The idea for this dish came from my favorite crepe filling, bananas and Nutella,
and I also improvised by adding marshmallows.
I sandwiched this yummy combination between two slices of sweet raisin
challah bread, spread some sweet butter on each side and pressed that baby till
it oozed with deliciousness.
After taking it out of the panini press, Dan cut it into long strips and served
it with ½ full glasses of milk, which was a lovely combination. We all devoured them in minutes, each one of
us taking at least 3 pieces of this sweet, melty treat. I hope you try it at home and enjoy it with
your favorite people.
Fooditka’s Sweet Pressed Panini
Ingredients (serves 5)
1 loaf of raisin challah bread, sliced
Nutella
2 bananas, sliced into ¼” inch pieces
4 – 5 large marshmallows, ripped into chunks or you can use the bite sized
variety
Sweet butter for spreading
Directions:
Preheat your panini press or a grill pan until it’s very hot.
Spread a generous layer of Nutella on one side of your sandwich. Layer with slices of banana and then top with
marshmallows. Then top with one more
slice of bread. Butter each side of the
sandwich and place in the pre-heated panini press or grill pan. Cook for about 5 – 7 minutes or until the top
is golden brown and all the ingredients inside have melted. It’s OK and actually quite nice to let the
marshmallow drip over the side of the bread.
Enjoy with a cold glass of milk.
The most convenient and wonderful aspect of this deal was that it was close to my daytime gig, so I was able to meet her during lunchtime. As soon as I arrived, I noticed the long line, which was growing by the minute. Although not surprised to see that, as with all free-bees crowds gather, I made sure to get a spot asap and observe the ice cream frenzy.
While on line, we were warmly greeted by a Mozilla fox mascot that you see above and got a few cool giveaways including phone stickers, pins, etc. - just some tchotchkes to keep us happy and occupied during the wait. However, we also spied the sandwiches that were progressively being given away, and they looked quite impressive and large. We were really looking forward to getting one soon.
Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwiches:
Delighted to see that there were four enticing options to choose from, we selected our sweet sandwich of choice ahead of time. Here's what was on the menu:
The Foxy Brown - Nutella toasted almond ice cream on an oatmeal cookie
The Beta - Earl Gray ice cream on a brioche cookie
The Mozilli Vanilli - Vanilla with real Madagascar beans on a chocolate chip cookie
The Chilla from Mozilla - Blood orange sorbet on chocolate cookies
Before I get into our choices and how they tasted, I wanted to also introduce the Coolhaus ice cream truck, which is officially making its debut in NYC this weekend.
Originating in LA, this new-to-the-East-Coast food truck, founded by Natasha Case and Freya Estreller boasts handmade cookies and inventive ice cream flavors, made of all-natural ingredients. Sure that their selling points are the trigger words a lot of food companies use these days such as "local, seasonal, natural," etc, but what I really found intriguing was the variety and originality in both ice cream and cookie flavors.
If you visit this truck on a regular basis, you'll be delighted to find funky ice cream flavors such as dirty mint chip, brown butter candied bacon, pistachio and black truffle, butterscotch & rosemary, Thai iced tea and more. Cookie varieties are also far from boring and include dark chocolate with sea salt, ginger molasses, lemon rosemary, vegan chocolate chip, pistachio agave and the like.
But now...about our particular ice cream sandwiches:
The Foxy Brown - You won't be surprised that this was my choice, being the Nutella freak that I am. I loved the chocolatey richness of the ice cream, and its slightly soft consistency. Appreciating the small bits of almonds that were interspersed throughout, they didn't compete with the chunky oatmeal cookie that sandwiched it - instead it was the perfect complement. The only negative was that I couldn't actually taste the Nutella - it was more chocolatey than anything.
The Mozilli Vanilli - Bo chose a classic vanilla flavor, paired with a deliciously soft chocolate chip cookie. I had a bite and loved the clean, classic flavors of the vanilla, and the lovely little black vanilla beans that decked this usually just-white frozen custard. It was a bit meltier than mine, making it slightly hard to eat, but regardless, it was pretty excellent.
If you'd like to catch this truck this weekend, you still can. Check it out this Sunday in Union Square (near West 16th Street) from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
For more info about this awesome ice cream truck and its everyday locations, check them out daily on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
www.eatcoolhaus.com
