now taking requests

This week I've felt happier and more energized than I've felt in a long time, and I can wholeheartedly attribute it to this simple thing called...my blog.  I can't believe it took me this long to just sit down and make something of my passion for cooking, baking, and wine!  

I think we're at this point in our relationship now.

That all being said, I spent a large part of my week thinking about my blog.  What recipes should I make this week?  Morgan is spending the night tomorrow night and I want to make us a fantastic breakfast...shh!  For which occasions can I cook and bake next?  I got so excited thinking about the holidays, and wondering if my family would mind if I completely overhauled their kitchen and made all of the meals.  Who would enjoy certain treats the most?  Many people in my life are obsessed with pumpkin [thankfully not yours truly] and let's just say I have plenty of recipes to suffice them all.  What meal am I finally going to decide is worthy of pairing with that cabernet franc I've been dying to open since I bought it on July 4?  That one is still under serious consideration.  I need more time.

I'm not afraid to say it.  An "I <3 my blog pin" for my every blog thought.

The list goes on.  Suffice it to say, I have a million ideas for where I want this blog to go, and about a million more recipes on my priority list.  And since I'd like to keep my readers intrigued and pleasantly surprised each week, I won't divulge any of the details of my to-do list.  But what I really want is for you to tell me what you want to see on the blog, or even better, what you'd like me to make for you.  So, please, I beg of you...send me your requests. And suggestions.  And ideas.  Or just leave me a comment to say hi.  :)


love - liss

football sunday funday

If I promise to give you a fabulous recipe, will you promise not to report me to the blogging lords?  Because I'm about to backlog a recipe.  Give me a break here - my recipe index is looking pretty sad.  That pancake needs some friends in there.  

In my humble opinion, these are pretty nice friends to have.  These fudgy, creamy, fun little calorie bombs will always be there when you need some comfort and companionship.  And believe me, they'll stay with you for a long time - they're loyal little suckers.  To your waistline.  

I call them peanut butter brownie cups.  I made them one week ago (so I'm really not too guilty of backlogging) for the Giants/Colts game that I watched at Morgan and Jon's.   I knew that they both love peanut butter, and I've been aching to use my giant muffin pan that I got from Home Goods over two months ago.  So when I saw Baked Perfection's version, I knew this would be a good choice.  Oh, also...please don't tell my brother in law that I made these.  I had every intention of sending him some, since he loves peanut butter/chocolate anything more than anyone I know, but sadly, I knew these would become a huge sticky mess if handled by the USPS, and that would be a tragedy.  So I have every intention of bringing him some next time I go home...but again, don't tell him, okay?  Thanks.

mmm...Reece's Pieces.  These just ooze fall goodness.  And peanut butter.

Okay, back to the the brownies - they're my adaptation of Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownie.  This is probably the best brownie I've ever had (although I still have yet to try the iconic Baked brownie - that's my next one.)  It's super fudgy, rich, and moist.  It is not kind to your diet.  But my logic is, if you're going to eat a brownie, you better do it right.  And these do not disappoint.  (Warning: it may be too rich for some of you. Even Kevan was overwhelmed by them when I made them last Superbowl, and that guy can eat sweets like I've never before known possible. But Morgan and Jon seemed to be big fans!)

When you bake the brownies, do me a favor: take out your hand beater and beat the batter for about 30 seconds.  I had to scrap my entire first pan because the flour did not mix into the batter well enough and I had disgusting clumps of flour punctuating the chocolate deliciousness.  Also, the great thing about these are that when you test them for doneness with a fork, you don't have to worry about the centers falling and looking all sad and ugly, because you're just going to fill that crater with a huge heaping mound of peanut butter.  And then more chocolate.  mmm.  Oh, and wait until the brownies are completely cooled before adding the decorations - I didn't and mine eventually melted into the peanut butter and sank to the bottom.  I guess this still left a nice surprise for my tasters, though. :)

Yeah...don't try decorating them with sprinkles like I did - this was a dumb idea. Not as cute as chocolate chips, and definitely not as fitting and festive as Reece's.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

Brownie recipe adapted from Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Makes 18 large brownie cups

Triple Goodness Brownies:

3 sticks unsalted butter 

1 bag (11.5 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips [I use Gihardelli] 

6 ounces bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate [I use Gihardelli 60% cacao] 

5 eggs 

3 tablespoons fresh dark roasted coffee 

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract 

2 1/4 cups sugar 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

11.5 ounces milk chocolate chips (optional, if you can handle it!)

Peanut Butter filling:

2 cups natural peanut butter (I like Jif)

Reece's Pieces, Peanut Butter M&Ms, or leftover milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Melt together the butter and chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. 
3. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. If you want to add the chocolate chips, toss them in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.  Mix batter well - use hand mixer if necessary.
5. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter into each muffin tin.  Bake for 10 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 10 more minutes, until a fork or toothpick comes out clean. 
6. Once removed from the oven, take a fork and make a quarter-sized hole in the center of each brownie cup (this should be simple, as the middle easily collapses when baking.)   Fill each center with peanut butter - about two tablespoons each.  Once completely cooled, decorate with Reese's Pieces, Peanut Butter M&Ms, or chocolate chips.

Wine Pairing: Eating these on a crisp fall day doesn't really render a sweet white compatible, so I'd suggest a lighter, juicier red in order to balance out the richness of these little suckers.  I brought a bottle of Blue Fin Petite Syrah to Morgan's, which I think is mellow and compliments these pretty well (and for only $3.99 at Trader Joe's, why argue?)  But if you insist on a dessert wine, one of my favorite Moscatos is by Bartenura.  Who am I to judge if you can handle even more sweetness?  I applaud you.

lazy busy saturday

I didn't go to yoga this morning. I laid in bed until 10. I also went to bed at 9:30 last night. Why so lazy, you ask? It's been a crazy week. So, when I finally did drag myself out of bed, I declared today wasn't going to follow my usual Saturday routine - I had already come to terms with not going to yoga, and I didn't want my usual oatmeal for breakfast. I wanted pancakes. Or rather, a pancake. A really, really, delectable, hearty, fulfilling pancake. It couldn't just be any pancake, so I knew just where to look: a fellow foodie who knows and adores her pancakes. Thanks, Joy!

Joy calls hers "The Single Lady Pancake." Why? Because it makes one large, amazingly delectable pancake. Could this have met my needs any more perfectly this morning? The pancake was delicious. I did make a few adjustments, though, in order to not feel entirely worthless for not working out this morning and substituted whole wheat flour for all purpose. I made sure it was still fluffy though by sifting it 3 times with the baking powder and soda, and it still came out wonderfully. The thing that I love about this recipe is that it doesn't use any eggs! And, all of the ingredients are always stocked in your pantry, so needless to say, I still haven't left the house today. Perfection.

See? One. Big. Amazing. Pancake.

I think next time I will substitute the oil for applesauce and see how that works - it was a little dry (probably because of the WW flour), but I still loved it. I don't have any maple syrup in my apartment, but again, I wasn't too upset because it was: a) still delicious; and b) gave me less guilt at the end of the meal.

Mine isn't as pretty as Joy's. And it may have broke when I flipped it.  But it's still worth every bite, I promise.  Oh, and in keeping with the premise of the blog, although this meal would not typically be consumed during the socially-acceptable drinking hours, if one were to consume it for, say, dinner...I'd suggest a lighter sweeter white - one of my favorites is the Chateau Grand Traverse Late Harvest Reisling.  But this time, I was more than happy with a large mug of my own brewed Acacia blend coffee from Caribou Coffee.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Whole Wheat Pancake (for one)

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Makes one large pancake

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup dried oats (quick cooking or regular)

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup skim milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

banana slices

optional: walnuts, apples, or raisins as mix-ins

1. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and sugar.  Add oats.  
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, vanilla, and milk. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir to combine, careful not to overmix.
3. Heat a small frying pan and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the pancake batter (you will have to spread some with the back of a spoon since it is quite thick.) Cook over medium heat until bubbles form and pop on the surface of the pancake.
4. Cook until golden brown - about 3 minutes on the first side and 1 on the second. Remove from pan and onto a plate. Top with banana slices and maple syrup, if you have some. :) 

ground rules

I'm starting to get the hang of this blog.  There's still a lot I want to change design-wise, but that will come with time.  As for now, though, I want to lay out my goals for this blog, and explain what I'm all about.  And hopefully you'll share some of my interests and want to keep reading and try some of my recipes...

As you can guess with the name of this blog, I want to try to share with you not only my own recipes, but also some great wines that I have tried and that pair well with some of the dishes that I make.  You should probably be aware of some of my likes and dislikes before we form a deep relationship, since I'm not likely going to create recipes with things I don't really fancy.  But who knows, maybe if the right thing strikes my fancy I could widen my horizons.  This whole blog thing already makes me feel more open minded.

If you ask my family about my taste, they'd tell you that I'm super picky.  But I'd like to think that my tastes have evolved with age and become much more refined and expansive.  However, there are a few things I still can't stand after all of these years:

Onions. I know, this is such a staple in everyday cooking.  And I've made strides with them, really.  I used to pick them out of my meatloaf as a child, and now I can even put them in my spaghetti sauce.  But you'll still never see me put an onion on my burger or concoct a recipe for onion rings.  It just won't happen.

Coconut.  Seriously, I despise coconut.  Except in pina coladas....mmm.  But I guarantee that if a recipe ever calls for it, I will omit that immediately.

Nuts.  This one also dates back to childhood, and again, I've evolved to be more flexible.  But I still despise nuts in my baking - especially in brownies.  If you ask me, the only way to ruin a brownie (other than over baking it, obvi) is to put nuts in them.  Ugh...shudder.

Eggs.  And by this, I mean scrambled, poached, fried, boiled, deviled eggs.  Omelets.  Eggs benedict.  Seriously - anything with a cooked egg.  So if you ever want a recipe for any of the aforementioned meals, don't bother looking here.  I just can't do it.  If, however, you want suggestions on how to make eggs benedict with a Cadbury egg...then I'm your girl.

Alright, I think that covers the initial bases for my severe dislikes.  Now, let's discuss what really gets my heart pitter-pattering in a I-can't-wait-until-I-have-the-chance-to-make-this-again kind of way:

I could out eat you in a sweet eating contest.  I promise.  It's not something I'm proud of, but it's definitely something that I know is my weakness.  I'm powerless in front of a vanilla cupcake mounded with frosting and sprinkles.  Chocolate chip cookies.  Blueberry scones.  Dulce de leche anything.  Brownies.  Fudge.  Ok...I'm stopping now.  You get the point.

The savory things are still great, too.  I love the flavors that go into so many different cultures' food.  I've mastered everything from pizza to hummus to vietnamese catfish.  But when it comes to the savory, I usually try to "scale down" the calorie counter by substituting whole wheat flour for white, part-skim cheeses, and olive oil for butter or canola.  It definitely may fail, but sometimes when it's successful, the feeling of finishing a guilt-free meal just makes it that much more delicious.

As for wine, my wine taste is pretty eclectic. Or at least I think so.  I adore pinot noir, so I'm much more of a fruity, cherry, less-tannin-y type of red wine drinker.  Therefore, no merlot for me.  That stuff is just too dry and intense.  I am much more partial to red wine, but I do adore pinot grigio with the right meal and time of year.  I absolutely refuse to drink white zinfandel or anything in a box (clearly, but again, just had to state it for the record.)  Some of my favorite wines that I've ever drank were from the wineries in Traverse City, Michigan - maybe it's just because it's the only wine "country" I've ever visited, but they are damn good wines.  I promise you won't be disappointed by my recommendations.

Please stay tuned for some great recipes...and I promise, lots and lots of pictures.  If I've learned anything from reading over 100 food blogs, it's that nothing convinces me to try a recipe more than close-ups of oozing frosting and a beautiful presentation.

And one last thing: I want to give credit to all of the blogs that I have mentioned here for being such an inspiration to me - who knows where this blog can go, but I am so excited to begin this journey!

here we go...

Well, this is my first post on my first blog.  How exciting!  I've been wanting to do this forever, but never thought I had enough time or creativity to do it...so today when I whipped up a great breakfast on a whim, I decided that it was finally time.  I read enough foodie blogs to have a good idea of what's out there now so that I can be pretty confident I'm not creating any sort of copycat blog, and you know what?  I love cooking.  I love baking.  I love reading about cooking and baking.  And, as long as it has been since I really wrote something, I do enjoy writing.  So why not put my ideas out there and hopefully merge onto the food blog scene myself?  I have some talent.  I can find the time.  And maybe with some help, I'll make this blog super cute and hopefully be in the leagues of some of my favorite bloggers.

So, like I said, here we go...