Archive for Recipes
How to Make Bagels at Home
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Oh yes, I love the smell of baking breads in the kitchen, and when you start adding flavors to the bread the entire house becomes especially aromatic and irresistible. On top of that, one of the hardest temptations to resist for me is eating fresh breads when they’re right out of the oven. This past weekend, I was really in the mood to bake something tasty that was a little different–hence bagels. These were amazing right out of the oven.
I created a few different variations on my original bagel recipe that I think you’ll enjoy. My personal favorite is the cinnamon raisin bagel recipe. It’s really good, and I highly recommend it. The bagel recipe described below is one that will only take a couple hours to make, versus one that may take a couple days. I’ve got to say, that if you’re willing to make your bagels over a two-day period, you’ll get a super amazing bagel; however, for those of us who prefer a more instant gratification, I think you’ll find this recipe quite pleasurable and even beyond satisfactory.
I’ve added a printable recipe at the bottom of this post. I made a few different batches of these bagels and am using mixed photos from those batches, so don’t worry if in one photo you’re looking at cranberries and in the next raisins. So, let’s make these bagels. My 3-year-old daughter, Maggie, helped me make some of these and had a lot of fun.
Make Caramel Popcorn & Win Friends Instantly
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Today I’m going to share with you two secrets: 1) How to win friends instantly, and 2) how to make a sinfully delicious batch of caramel popcorn. Lucky for me, both secrets are one and the same. Make this recipe and share it with friends and you’ll instantly have your own entourage. I’ve just gotta’ add that homemade caramel popcorn was an essential part of my childhood diet. Heck, it’s still an essential part of my “diet.” In fact, every time I think of this recipe, I hear tiny voices in my head saying, “Eat me! Eat me!” It’s not always a good idea to listen to those tiny voices in my head, but in this case I tend to make an exception.
There are many caramel popcorn recipes out there, and I’ve tried many of them. I’m happy to report that this recipe has withstood the test of time and continues to be my favorite. It’s easy to make, its sweet, and its incredibly delicious. You can make it into caramel popcorn balls and even add nuts or other candy bits; it’s also quite versatile as far as ingredients are concerned. But my favorite part about it is the sticky chewy goodness that literally melts in your mouth, even hours after it’s made and has sat on the cupboard (that is of course, if it even lasts long enough to sit on the cupboard). At parties, this caramel popcorn is always first to go.
How to Make Pumpkin-Swirl Cheesecake
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As a kid I really disliked pumpkin flavored desserts. My gag reflex would automatically kick in as I mushed the pumpkin around in my mouth. Thinking back, it must have been the texture that really turned me off–most likely a mental thing. Thank goodness though that my tastes have changed over the years, or I would be missing out on some excellent foods (Asian dishes in particular) and desserts. Although I’m still not a raving fan of pumpkin desserts, I’m getting more used to, and even enjoying a number of them. Today’s post and recipe (pumpkin-swirl cheesecake) is one of those pumpkin delights that my anti-pumpkin taste buds have taken a liking to, joining the small list of pumpkin dishes I enjoy. At the top of that list is Great Harvest’s pumpkin chocolate chip bread, which I crave this time of year.
And now that I’m in the middle of writing this post, I realize I don’t have much else to say about it. Give this recipe a try, it really is good (that’s supposed to be convincing, by the way). On another note, after taking a picture of this delicious pumpkin dessert I decided that I needed to buy some different dishes for taking pictures in the fall. I think sunflowers are a little out of season, ha ha.
How to Make Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies
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I’m not sure how they’ve done it, but somehow the Girl Scout organization has developed a bunch of extraordinarily delicious cookies–I’m a huge fan of the Thin Mints and Somoas®–and maybe it’s just me, but it seems that you can only buy them once a year. If you miss the opportunity, you’re hosed. I have a really hard time saying no to their cookies and about anybody else who comes around selling brownies, cookies, and treats. When I hear a knock at the door, I’m always afraid it’s going to be an elementary kid with those big puppy dog eyes looking up at me saying, “Hey mister, would you like to buy some cookies?” Ahhh! I’ve resisted the temptation to buy cookies and brownies from kids knocking at my door only once before… or at least I thought about it once. Yeah, that’s it. I’m sure there’s got to be some sort of self-help classes for adults like me who can’t say no to strangers.
Well for those of you who are Girl Scout Cookie addicts like myself, your once-a-year wait is over. The other day while reading an article at BakingBites.com, I stumbled across a recipe to make homemade Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mints. A few days later around 9:00 p.m. I decided to make the thin mints. I should have read the entire recipe first because they take a while to make and I was up pretty late, but it was worth it. The cookies are a pretty darn good replication of the original Girl Scout Thin Mints.
Quick Italian: Chicken Fettuccine Allegri
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The other day I came home from work a little early and brought with me an appetite worthy of Joey Chestnut. I usually eat dinner around 6:30 or 7:00, but I couldn’t wait this time around. Right around 5:00 p.m. I had the frying pans out and ready to sizzle, but had no idea what to cook. Do they have an equivalent of writer’s block for cooks? The chopping block, maybe? (Lame…) Anyway, after scavenging around in the pantry and refrigerator, I found some chicken and fettuccine noodles. “That’s a good start,” I thought. Now how do I combine the two? I looked in the fridge for some cream to see if alfredo sauce was an option…nope. But I found some butter instead and that’s when it hit me to create a chicken garlic butter sauce. My grumbling stomach would soon be satisfied.
A few minutes and spices later I’d created a refreshingly delicious Italian dish. I have no idea if there’s some sort of fine line between what classifies something as Italian or not, but hey, since this uses fettuccine noodles I decided to name it “Chicken Fettuccine Allegri” and I’m calling it Italian…so…there.
How to Make Italian Herb Breadsticks
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I absolutely love breadsticks, especially when they’re fresh out of the oven. I haven’t made too many of them in my life, but my mom used to make them often. I realized that I hadn’t made any for a loooong time the other day when my wife and I made some chicken noodle soup and realized we didn’t have any bread in the house to eat with it. The next day to eat with the leftovers, I decided I’d make some breadsticks. Let’s see, that was around 6:30 p.m. Breadsticks take about 2-1/2 hours from start to finish. I’m not sure what I was thinking… the whole family was hungry, the soup was done, and I was going to make breadsticks?
I enlisted my 3-year-old to help me mix the dough, who loved every step of the way. When dumping the flour in the mixing bowl, she’d sometimes miss the bowl and dump it on the counter. Even so, all the ingredients eventually found their way to the bowl, where we mixed them into a sticky ball of dough. We used our Bosch mixer to mix the breadstick dough–if you haven’t invested in a good table-top mixer yet, I highly recommend the Bosch brand.
