Great weeknight sidedish - Summer Gratin

 Gratin isn't just for potatoes folks, here is a great recipe for a zucchini and squash gratin.

2 whole Zucchini - sliced thin
2 whole Summer Squash - sliced thin
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parsley
1 Tbs fresh thyme
1/4 cup cilantro
1 shallot
1 cup Swiss cheese - Shredded - use a decent Swiss
1 Tbs Kosher salt
Zest of 1 lemon

Slice all your squash and zucchini and place in a bowl with 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt, let sit for 20 minutes. After 20 min strain the liquid from your squash and try to pat dry as much as you can. Place your parsley, thyme, shallot, cilantro, and olive oil in a food processor and puree. When ingredients is very finely chopped add them to the squash along with 1/2 a cup of the shredded Swiss. Mix gently until the squash is coated. In a baking dish layer the zucchini and squash one by one until they are gone. Top with the rest of the Swiss cheese.
Bake 400 - for 35 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes after you pull it from the oven

***I served this as a side with steak but it can go with any meal and it's oh so yummy!

BLTE's a weeknight savior

This week has been a busy one. Sunday we started off with our son's very first baseball game. I now finally know why parents get so worked up over these things. Yes we were the parents in the stands yelling "That's my kid!" as he hit a line drive over the pitcher's head. Mind you the pitcher was the coach that decided he would put my son in the very back of the line up because he didn't play T-ball before he joined Coach Pitch. HA to you coach, my kid hit better than any kid on that team. Okay now that I got that out... back to my week. After baseball it was back to school week, we had open house night, had to get school supplies, take the boys to the doctor's for their checkup's, work out new child care for my youngest, and of course go to work everyday! By Thursday I was exhausted. I had forgotten to thaw out any sort of protein for dinner, I needed something quick and easy. I had a huge bag of fresh tomatoes from my dad's garden and I thought why not go with a good'ol BLT! Yes, can't go wrong with a BLT and I will add a delicious runny fried egg on top! I also had 3 potato's in my pantry that were about to grow sprouts so I decided to bake up some Parmesan garlic fries to go along side our sandwich's. It was a last minute meal, but the best one we had all week! When it comes to dinner I always like to have a plan, but usually those plans go out the door by Monday night.  As long as my family is around the dinner table that's all that matters to me :).

Parmesan Garlic Fries Recipe:

3 Whole Potatoes - Peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbs Parmesan
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper
Pre-heat oven 425
Cut your potatoes in half length wise then cut in fourths length wise. You want them to be a little thick. Toss your fries in olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Use a little oil for the baking sheet so the fries don't stick. Bake your fries for 40 minutes, turn them over about half way through. Place your hot fries in a large bowl and add your minced garlic, parmesan, salt, and pepper then toss. Make sure all your fries get coated with the parmesan and garlic.

Morning Routine

Everyday I wake up and start my day exactly the same. My 2 boys have already made their way into my room and onto my bed with every toy they can carry. Somehow they still seem surprised that I wake up when they are playing cars on my face! And the morning rituals begin, which means checking my phone, email, and facebook while still lying in bed. Once I am motivated enough to actually move I make my way downstairs (along with my kids who decide they only leave mommy's room when she does) to find my husband who is already awake and has decided NOT to start a fresh pot of coffee. You would think the first one up starts the coffee, it's not that hard and he would have a much happier wife in the morning if the coffee is already made! Come on guys it's the little strings....
I of course get right on that! I get the kids their breakfast and then I turn around and face what I already knew was coming, what is there waiting for me every morning no matter how much I clean up the night before....it looks a little something like this

This isn't my kitchen, we would never keep a fish bowl in the kitchen, but to give you an idea of what my kitchen looks like this is it. It's the never ending pile of dishes. Does this happen to anyone else? We even have a dishwasher. I don't know how it happens, I cook dinner almost every night and I clean as I go then I do the dishes after dinner or my husband does. It doesn't matter though somehow the dishes just find their way back in the sink.
I always pictured my life would be exciting, stylish, fun, and glamorous you know like on TV. Yet another realization when you get older and have kids of your own is that some of the things your parents used to say to you is actually TRUE. Which brings me to this gem of a statement that my dad would say to me when I would tell him I wanted to grow up and be like the people on TV...
"That is not real, it is not real life now turn that off and go outside and play!" He was right, but what I do know is that I still have a pretty fun life and I am the one that can make it exciting. You work hard, you play hard, and you do a lot of darn dishes.
So from now on I will face those dishes and I will face them like all the hard working mothers before me just like this....

in a little apron, heels, pearls, and my husband looking on with a smile.....hahahahahahahaha! (bottle of wine not pictured)

all the little strings

To my followers and fellow recipe lovers this is not goodbye to 3 boys and a chef, it's hello to the woman behind it. I love trying out new recipes and writing about it, but I also love 100 other things. Things that make me who I am, things that make me strive to be more. These things or all the little strings of my life that pull me in a million different directions make up my world and that's what I want to put out there. I will still be staying true to what I love most cooking/cake decorating, but I will be adding in more everyday things I run into. Trying to be a mother, wife, career woman, and still staying true to who I am isn't always easy. This blog will be for all those ladies out there and their little strings of life. So ladies from our apron strings, to shoe strings, even to our G-strings, here's to having it all and doing it in a stylish pair of pumps!

Perfect Panna Cotta

In these hot and humid summer months of the Midwest, there is only a couple things that I crave dessert wise. One is just a good old chocolate and vanilla swirl cake cone with rainbow sprinkles, and the second is anything with juicy fresh fruits of the season. I am not a fan of eating hot desserts in the summer, give me something light and refreshing! This simple to make dessert is perfect for a hot summer night, it's cool, creamy, just a little sweet, and oh so delicious. Panna Cotta is a cream custard that's usually paired with a simple sauce and fresh fruit. I love to pair mine with fresh peaches soaked in a little Brandy and brown sugar.





Perfect Panna Cotta - serves 6-8

3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 envelope powdered gelatin (about 1 Tbs)
4 ounces cream cheese (room temp)
1tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar

In small sauce pan heat your heavy cream and sugar. Bring to a low simmer. Pour your envelope of gelatin over your cup of cold milk and let set for about 2 minutes, then pour into hot cream. Let your cream and milk simmer for a couple more minutes. You want to make sure your gelatin is fully dissolved. Have your cream cheese ready in a bowl along with your 1tsp of vanilla. Pour your hot cream over your cream cheese and let sit for 2-3minutes. Using an emersion blender(hand blender), blend together the mixture until it is smooth. If you don't have a hand blender you can use a regular blender but be careful when blending the hot cream.
Pour your mixture into ramekins and place in the refrigerator until set, about 2-4 hours.

For the topping peel, pit, and dice 4 ripe peaches. Mix with 1Tbs brandy and 1Tbs brown sugar. Let peaches sit until the natural juices start to release. Spoon the peaches over the Panna Cotta and serve.

*Panna Cotta can be served either unmolded onto a plate or left in a parfait dish

Ice Cream Sandwiches - A messy success!

This past weekend my youngest son Jack turned 3! I can't believe how quickly time goes by when your older. I also can't believe I just said that, I am officially turning into my mother! Birthday's are a big deal to me and I always want my kids to know how special they are! I usually go all out and throw a big party with lots of food and I always make some elaborate cake specifically for them! For Jack's 3rd I decided against a huge cake and went with homemade ice cream sandwiches! It turned out to be one beautiful messy success! My boys are always wanting to help me in the kitchen when I am baking, so this dessert was a great way to let them be creative and feel involved. Now these can take you 10 minutes or a couple of hours depending on how much work you want to do. I will give you some ideas for the long version and also let you know the ultimate shortcuts!
First the cookie. I went with homemade chocolate chip. The boys got to get their hands dirty and that's just the thing that my boys love! They rolled up the cookies for mommy and placed them on the cookie sheet.
Short cut: Buy the cookies from the bakery at the grocery store any kind you like, you could even buy mini cookies and make bite size ice cream sandwiches.

Next the ice cream: I made homemade cream cheese ice cream. Yes it's as delicious as it sounds! Here's the recipe (you need an ice cream maker)

8oz cream cheese - room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cups sugar
1 Tbs light corn syrup

Have your cream cheese ready in a large bowl. Bring your milk, sugar, and corn syrup to a simmer. You want to simmer long enough for your sugar to dissolve about 10 min. After your milk is done simmering, pour over your cream cheese and let sit for 2 minutes. Using an emersion blender (use regular blender if you do not have emersion) blend your cream cheese into the milk until smooth and silky. Let cool fully in a refrigerator. Once your ice cream base is chilled all the way through, pour into your ice cream maker and spin until frozen.
Let your ice cream set in the freezer until it's frozen enough to scoop. You do not want your ice cream to be to soft when making your sandwiches.

Shortcut: Just buy the ice cream. Any flavor you want!

Once your cookies have cooled and your ice cream is soft enough to scoop, start to assemble your sandwiches. We had a nice little system down. I would scoop the ice cream onto the bottom cookie and Riley would place the other cookie on top. Then we chose to roll our sandwiches in mini M&M's. That was Jack's favorite part. Just make sure your ice cream is not to soft, this causes the M&M's to melt and fall all over the place. We learned the hard way!
As soon as you finish a sandwich place it directly in the freezer. That's it! You can make these ahead of time!
Also if you don't want to use M&M's you can choose any kind of candy your kids like! Get creative! It's all about spending time with your kids and getting them involved in the kitchen!
As much as I like my desserts or cakes to look beautiful, I had to put that aside and embrace the mess! It was a huge success in the Mandap house! Jack approved!
Happy Eatings!

Baby Shower Cake - Pea in the Pod

It has been a while since I have been able to post on my blog and even longer since I have had the time to sit down and make a cake that I was proud of. Last week I had the pleasure to do just that. A friend of mine asked me if I could make a cake for a baby shower she was throwing. She had sent me a few pictures of what she was thinking and one of the pictures was a cake with a pea in the pod theme. I find those cakes so adorable, so thats what we decided on and I was excited to get started! She chose simple yet elegant flavors for the cake, classic white with raspberry buttercream. I got my cake baked off and chilled, for the buttercream I just made a simple vanilla buttercream and added my raspberry sauce along with some fresh raspberries. Using a fresh raspberry sauce which is mostly just a raspberry puree not only gives the buttercream a bright beautiful color, but also gives it such a fresh and bright flavor as well. I assembled my cake with 3 layers and 2 layers of buttercream. Once assembled I gave it a quick crumb coat with vanilla buttercream and let it chill for about 4 hours so it would set. While the cake was chilling I got started on my little pea pod.

The peas I made out of cake balls. I had some left over cake batter so I baked it off and formed multiple sized balls. I popped them in the freezer and got them all nice and hard. (this blog is not sounding so much like a food blog anymore with all this talk of balls) Once they were frozen enough I wrapped them with a thin layer of colored fondant. For the baby face I just made a thin indentation for the mouth and the eyes. You can use any thin tool you have or you could just use a toothpick. I used a soft pink petal dust for the cheeks and formed the hat with fondant as well. When I made the pod I mixed fondant and gum paste together. That way the pod would be sturdy enough to hold all the peas in place.

When I finished the pea pod I set it aside to harden and pulled out my chilled cake. I covered it in a buttercream fondant. I am self taught when it comes to handling fondant so the way I do things may not be correct, but it works for me. I always make a batch of simple syrup which is equal parts sugar and water. All you do is bring the sugar and water to a boil just until all your sugar is dissolved and then let cool. I brush my cake all over with the cooled simple sugar right before I cover with fondant. This allows the fondant to stick on to the cake. I use a fondant smoothing tool to get all the sides and top of the cake smooth. After I my fondant was on I placed my pea pod on top of the cake and curled it just enough to match up with the edge of the cake. Again I used the simple syrup on the bottom of the pod so it would stick to the cake. Next I started with some of the small details that really just make the cake! I made the leaves and the curly strings at each end of the pod. For the strings I used the gum paste/fondant mixture and I just rolled them out and then started twisting. I put a small yellow flower bud at the end of the pod for a little extra color and to make the babies hat pop. I finished off the cake with a small pearl border to match the peas. I just piped those on with my vanilla buttercream and that was that!
    The cake came out better than I had imagined and it reminded me of why I loved decorating cakes so much. It may take me hours to do but the end result is always so gratifying. Sometimes I even surprise myself.

 

Happy Eatings Everyone!

Krystal

P.S. The mother to be was very happy with her cake and I was told "OMG the cake was amazing...not kidding!"