Ciao di nuovo! It's been another
long while since I've posted. I have not been cooking anything interesting. In
fact before making this yummy Carbonara, I made a mushy pot of black beans and
brown rice . . . trust me; it wasn't blog-worthy. Also these past few weeks
have been stressful because of constant teaching and grading. So in order
to retain the little bit of sanity I have left from my busy schedule, I still
think about my blissful months in Reggio Calabria,
Italy.
Showing posts with label pork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pork. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Monday, November 11, 2013
Southern Skim Milk/Fat-Free-Yogurt Biscuits
Due to my sudden craving for buttermilk biscuits and conflicting unwillingness to go to the store and spend money on buttermilk, I conjured up these bad boys. I am not a fan of the so-called "buttermilk substitute" of milk and lemon/vinegar (too "liquidy" compared to the real deal and not as flavorful) nor did I have lemon, so I decided to combine skim milk with fat-free, Greek yogurt and use that as a substitute.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Quesadillas and An Award!
My lame attempt to "tell a story" through a food photo. Before leaving for Brazil, his home country, my friend lent me this collection of works from Mark Twain. I cannot wait to read it!
While they tasted amazing. I was just missing one thing - salsa. There weren't anymore tomatoes in the house, and I didn't feel like going anywhere, so I had to eat them as is. If you decide to make these yummy, simple quesadillas, please make sure you have some homemade or store-bought salsa on hand. I'm sure that cold, red, flavorful concoction would amp these quesadillas up a few notches.
Versatile Blogger Award:
I was so blessed to be awarded by Lynne of Cook and Be Merry a few days ago, and I feel so honored to be awarded by such a talented blogger and food photographer. Her photos are so bright and clear; the presentation is lovely as well. I can only wish that I could photograph as well and consistently good as she does. One day I'll get there, though. Anyway, thank you so much for the award, Lynne!!
The guidelines for accepting this award are:
Thank the person who gave it to you.
Tell 7 things about yourself.
Pass the award on to 15 bloggers whom you have recently discovered and think are fantastic.
Tell 7 things about yourself.
Pass the award on to 15 bloggers whom you have recently discovered and think are fantastic.
1. On my mother's side of the family, I am an only child and was raised as such since my dad wasn't around.
2a. I changed my last name to my mother's last name so that she could get all the credit for how awesome I was to become! :D
2b. I am humble. LOL
3. Despite what I wrote in #2, I have very low self-esteem.
4. When people write or say "anyway" with an "s" at the end, my mother and I cringe.
5. I have been in a tumultuous, yet amorous relationship with a woman for more than 10 years off and on.
6. Even though I don't write well, I love to talk about grammar more than any other topic, including cooking and baking.
7. I detest watermelon and very rarely eat fried chicken despite the racial stereotype ;).
I am passing along this award to the following 15 bloggers I have recently discovered. However, I won't be hurt if you were chosen yet don't feel like participating. I know how it is.
- Hilah Cooking - I love her personality on the videos and the fact that we live in the same city.
- Namely Marly - The lady obsessed with names (including mine!) and vegan cooking. She is so lovely!
- Asopaipas - He comments on each and every post I create, and I adore him for that, the fact that his native language is Spanish, and that he shares great, simple dishes. ¡Este premio es especialmente para ti, José Manuel! Gracias por ser un lector tan fiel.
- Like Mother Like Daughters - One of the daughters of this blog was a student of mine! I adore her and the fact that this blog is written by her, her sister, and her mother.
- Jessiker Bakes - This woman loves sweets even more than I do! I love to see what she makes.
- Scrambledhenfruit - I discovered her lovely blog because of the paella pan giveaway, and she actually won!
- Baked Bree - I've been going to Bree's lovely blog for a little while now. I love how bright and clear her process photos are. I'm constantly envious of how much light she gets in her kitchen.
- Frieda Loves Bread - She makes bread as much I wish I could make bread. Seriously.
- Ambrosia e Nettare - Check out the lemon cheesecake on this blog! Complimenti, Lucia!
- Cake on the Brain - The name of the blog itself tells you why I included this one on the list. YUM!
- Jolts & Jollies - Another fellow Daring Cook! I love her process photos.
- One Cake Two Cake - The blog title lured me in. Then the photos of yummy desserts kept me there.
- TheArdentEpicure - Run, not walk to this website, and check out the enchiladas. Goodness!
- Baking Powders - I love the title and the blog. Fantastic large photos and delectable treats. YUM!
- i am mommy - I'm sure just about everyone knows about this blog. Her treats are so AMAZING!
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Quesadillas
Yield: 2-3 quesadillas
3 - 4 strips of bacon
1 1/2 - 2 Tbsps unsalted butter, separated
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste (don't use too much salt because of the bacon and cheese)
1/2 - 3/4 cups of monterey jack or cheddar cheese
4-6 taco-sized flour tortillas (homemade or storebought)
Prepare the bacon on a clean skillet. At the same time, prepare the eggs in another skillet after melting the half a Tbsp of butter. Lightly season the eggs with salt and pepper. Set the bacon and eggs aside.
Wipe the skillet that had the bacon in it clean with a paper towel, and place half of a Tbsp of butter in there. After the butter has melted, place one tortilla in the skillet; add some of the eggs and bacon. Add half (or a third if making 3 quesadillas) of the cheese on top of the bacon and eggs. Place a second tortilla on top of the mixture. Grill the tortilla for about 2-4 minutes per side until both sides have browned and the insides are melted. Repeat the process with the other tortillas. Serve with fresh salsa. YUM!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Sausage Buns and Giveaway Winner!
My supposedly fixed oven slightly overcooked my buns, but they didn't taste burnt at all.
I saw these buns on Hearty Bakes and knew that I needed, wanted, and deserved to make them pronto. The dough was easy to put together, but the instructions in the first recipe were lacking some detail for me, so I looked up another recipe on Fresh Loaf that was basically the same but with more steps. I used the recipe from the first and the shaping instructions from the second. The compilation of the two recipes is below along with some process photos.
The dough was still so soft and had just the right texture due to the mixture of bread and AP flour. For the hot dog portion, I used Nathan's hot dog wieners, which were longer and skinnier than the average wiener. Consequently, I had to make the dough rope longer. When you make these buns, make the dough rope slightly more than double the size of the wiener for proper coverage.
With this recipe, I ended up with double the amount of dough needed for 8 buns, so I plan to use the other half of the dough for monkey bread or more sausage buns. They are sitting in the freezer waiting for their purpose in life :). I hope you make these buns soon. They are fantastic. If you're a yeastaphobe, these are a pretty easy and fun introduction to making bread.
Paella Pan Giveaway Winner: According to the Random Generator, out of 51 valid entries, the winning number is 26, which is scrambledhenfruit!! Congratulations! Email me ASAP with your contact information.
I am submitting this post to yeastspotting!
Sausage Buns
Adapted from Hearty Bakes and jleung on Fresh Loaf
If you possess a scale, please weigh your ingredients instead of using measuring cups.
100 g (almost 1/2 cup) Plain Flour
1 Tbsp instant yeast
100g (almost 1/2 cup) castor or granulated sugar
1 tsp salt (I used kosher)
220 ml (~3/4 cup) warm water (110 degrees F)
75 g (1/3 cup) soften butter (I used unsalted)
16 Hot dogs or sausages (I put 16 because with 8 wieners, I still had another bunch of dough left)
Egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 Tbsp water)
Preheat oven 190 degrees C/350 degrees F.
Mix bread flour, plain four, yeast, sugar, salt in the mixer bowl, and slowly pour in water. Knead the dough till gluten is formed. Add butter and knead till dough smooth & elastic. Leave aside to prove till double in bulk.
After proof or bread has risen, weigh and slice dough in equal weight (50g each/ping-pong ball size), and shape it round. Leave aside to rest for 15 minutes.
Next, roll the dough into individual long rod shapes, and allow them to rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten. Roll out each log again and gently stretch them into thinner, longer logs. They'll need to be long enough to wrap around your sausage, so make them a bit more than double the length of the wiener or sausage.
[If you want the middle bulge of your bun to be bigger, you could also at this point taper the ends of your dough log by rolling the very ends a bit thinner until they form a point at each end.]
Wrap the log around the sausage and try to leave both ends on the bottom. That way, you can easily form a better seal by pressing the dough-wrapped sausage down on the ends. You'll want to place the shaped buns on a greased baking sheet, parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Wrap dough over the each sausage, and place them on baking tray. Cover tray with plastic wrap or a damp cloth.
Leave them for final proof till double in size, estimated time about 30 minutes. When they start to look puffy, brush them lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds and/or sea salt (if using) on top.
Brush with egg wash on top of buns, and bake buns for about 20 minutes. Bake on the middle rack of a preheated 200C (~400F) oven for 8 minutes, and then 180C (~350F) for 5 minutes, or until they're golden brown.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Old-Fashioned Bacon Meatloaf
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)



