Bahn Mi

I have a thing for cilantro.  And for good sandwiches.  So when my hair guy was telling me about his family recipe for Bahn Mi sandwiches my mouth started watering.  There are some great Vietnamese delis and restaurants in the area, especially by our old house, but I don't have time to drive that far.  Plus, after listening to my hair guy and researching recipes, the ingredients are pretty basic.

First, I warmed 1 c. rice vinegar with 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. sugar.  Once the sugar had dissolved, I added about 1 c. julienned carrots and 1/3 c. finely chopped white onion. This mixture needs to sit for a couple hours or overnight.

To make the chicken, I sliced up two boneless chicken breasts and marinated in 2 chopped cloves of garlic, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp five spice powder, 1/2 tsp ground pepper.  Let sit for 4 hours or overnight if possible.

I cooked the chicken on the stove and to assemble the sandwiches I took a slightly warmed french baguette and layered on thinly sliced cucumber, cilantro (I used a lot), the pickled carrots/onion mix and the chicken slices. I also squeezed a big wedge of lime over the sandwich fixings and sprinkled on red pepper flakes to get a nice kick without altering the flavor.

Presto! An amazing sandwich that would be great for lunch or dinner.  It is very light but very filling.  This sandwich can't be too unhealthy for you either... no mayo, cheese, or processed meats.  Just fresh veggies and marinated chicken (with bread and some sugar thrown in!).

This will be showing up at a future football tailgate party - pretty simple, full of flavor, and a crowd pleaser.

Cheese Danish

I've been holding on to this Cheese Danish recipe by Ina Garten for over a year now.  Waiting for the right time to try it out.  I figured I should stop waiting and just make it already.  My husband is at a bachelor party for the next four days and I'm sure the kids would love an excuse to eat something other than oatmeal or cereal for breakfast. So, today was the day!

I had everything I needed except the Ricotta cheese.  I can tell the colds my children have been suffering from is making its way to my head because I stared at this package of Ricotta cheese for about five minutes.  "Ricotta con Latte".  All I kept wondering was if this was coffee flavored?  I looked all over the packaging and then came to the realization that coffee flavored ricotta would be gross.  And that it was the name of the company's ricotta product.  I think I need some cold medicine, stat.

Cream cheese, ricotta, egg, vanilla and lemon zest get mixed together.

And become a beautiful mild yellow color.

Cut a two thawed sheet of parchment in to eight squares (four per sheet).  Put a glob of the ricotta mix in the center.

Brush an egg wash around the edges and fold up two opposite corners.  Note - I think my filling should have been refrigerated for 10 or 15 minutes to prevent it from spreading on pastry.  The waiting for the pastry sheets to fully thaw took longer than planned so my mix was a little warm.

After just 15 minutes in the oven, the danishes were ready!

Not the most gorgeous end result, but the creamy, lemony flavor of the danish was very good.  Both kids loved these and I do plan to make again.  The end product makes it seem like a very labor intensive recipe.  But with using premade pastry and a quick filling, this could easily be done the morning of a brunch or made the night before and baked the morning before an event.

Next time I may omit the lemon zest and try vanilla bean?  You could even mix in a handful of mini chocolate chips or chopped fruit?  Yum!  Thanks, Ina!  Click Here to view the recipe on Food Network's website.

St.Patrick's Day Treats

I'll be away on a girls getaway this weekend, and over the St.Patty's day holiday.  I love St.Patrick's Day and dying food green.  Green milk, green pancakes, green cookies, green whatever!  Each year I typically dye the kids' milk green and make green pancakes, followed by corned beef and cabbage for dinner with green beer (for the adults!) and a green themed dessert.  And no, we're not Irish.

To make up for being gone, today the kids and I made green cookies.  We did this last year, and my son still remembers it! So, now it has apparently become a tradition of sorts. 

We cheated and used a store bought sugar cookie mix and during the mixing process I added a few globs of green food coloring gel.  The kids rolled the dough in to balls and threw them on the cookie sheets.  I smooshed the cookies down a bit and then the kids topped with festive sprinkles.

For the girls trip I decided to make rice krispie treats.  One of the gals has gone insane and gave up chocolate and hard alcohol for Lent.  Who does that?  And when there is a girls weekend involved!? :)  So, this dessert was just for her.  I tried to be festive and make the treats green, but clearly I didn't put nearly enough green dye in the melted marshmallows.  So I added some of those festive sprinkles to the top of the treats after the cereal/marshmallow mix had been pressed down in to the pan.

Happy (early) St. Patrick's Day!

Cupcake Flop

Ever try a recipe thinking it will turn out better than the original? I did that today.  Our local newspaper printed an article that included a recipe for homemade Hostess Cupcakes.  I used to love these chocolately treats as a surprise in my lunch as a child.  How you could try to peel off the 'frosting', and eat around the fluffy filling. Chocolately, moist, and yummy.

So today I gathered up all the ingredients, made a complete mess of my kitchen (you have to make the cupcake batter, creme filling, chocolate glaze frosting, and pipe the swirls), and was totally pleased with the way they turned out.  Or should I say the way they looked.  That was until I tasted them. These little hockey-pucks of cream filled chocolate were nasty.  Neither my husband or I could finish one, which is pretty amazing... we both love sweets, and chocolate.  The cake was actually okay, but a little dense (to hold in the filling), and the filling had great flavor.  But the frosting was totally wrong, and when combined, the recipe was just a disaster!

I know Cooks Illustrated printed a make at home Hostess Cupcake recipe a few years back, and after reading through their version, I'm sure it would turn out much better. But for now, I have retired from baking knock off Hostess treats and will just buy one at the store if I am craving one (which I'm not... at least not after today!).

Mediterranean Pasta

I had a staple dinner dish that I constantly made before I met my husband, Mediterranean pasta.  It was great fresh off the stove, but worked well for lunches during the week at work.  I brought this dish up the other day in conversation and my husband immediately recalled me making this for him when we first started dating.  I haven't made it for probably 7+ years (the probable result of eating it 2x a week for months on end), and thought tonight would be a good time to try it again.

I had no recipe to go off of, so I had to wing it. I think I got pretty close.  The flavors were strong and made me feel like I had gone back in time a few years!

Cook and cut up two boneless chicken breasts (or use precooked chicken from deli).  While you boil water for one pound of pasta (I used penne), slice about 1/4 cup of kalamata olives and a couple handfuls of fresh basil.  When the pasta is done cooking, add the cut up chicken, sliced olives, basil, as well as a small jar of drained and julianned sundried tomatoes and a small package of crumbled feta.  Add a few dashes of milk to loosen it all up a bit, and serve.  Easy, tasty, and something to keep on your menu rotation!

If you want to add a bit of a kick, sprinkle some red pepper flakes in there too.

Etched Glass

Thanks again to Pinterest (the ultimate time-sucking-idea-generating-website), I discovered a new craft.  'Engraving' glass with an etching paint, creating a whole new world of possibilities for wedding, shower and holiday gifts.  Using etching paint, you can personalize glass baking dishes, trifle bowls, drinking glasses, carafes....

I have a girls weekend coming up, and for every trip each attendee brings a 'trip toy'.  These trip toys can be very personalized to the individual, to the city we're visiting, or just something the gift giver likes.  I already have a gift for my trip toy, but really wanted to make each gal their own wine glass.  It is a girls weekend after all, and I know there will be plenty of wine and cocktails (and mocktails) consumed!

I found a font I liked on my computer and printed out the first letter of each gals name. I chose lowercase to be a little more modern and fun, then printed the letters out.  I then placed the printed letters/paper on top of contact paper and heavily traced around each letter with a pencil, making an impression on the contact paper.  Using a blade, I carefully cut out the letters using the impression I had made and then carefully placed on each glass.  Contact paper is sticky, so when you'll need to move slowly and carefully - 'cause once it sticks, you'll have a little challenge to peel it off and reposition.  I learned this the hard way...  Also, make sure you really stick the contact or sticker paper on to your glass.  Use your fingernails to gently rub the edges and smooth out any bubbles. 

The glasses ready for 'painting':

The etching paint needs to stay on the glass for at least a minute.  After experimenting, I let the paint stay on for five minutes.  Then carefully wash it off.  Don't get this paint on your skin - you don't want to etch your hands! 

The finished glasses turned out even better than I had hoped. I was so giddy that I was trying to find something else to etch.  Fortunately, my daughter woke up from her nap just in time to stop my craziness.

Wah-lah!  Probably one of the coolest crafts I've done in recent memory.  I used the Armour Etch Glass Etching Cream that can be found at most craft stores.  Its a little more pricey than I expected, but using a 40% off coupon, the cream cost about $7.  I bought the smallest size possible, and I think it will last for quite a few projects! Happy Etching!

Drunk Gummies

I saw an idea on Pinterest last week.  Soaking gummy bears in vodka, creating a drunk gummy bear.  The gummies sit in some vodka for a day or two and they absorb the liquid creating a dangerously tasty 'shot'.  I of course wanted to try this, since I'm constantly reinventing the gelatin shot... But instead of using vodka which has a strong odor and flavor, I tried Malibu Rum.  Malibu's appealing scent and flavor seems similar to a gummy bear, so why not?

After two days of bears soaking up their rum bath, I tried one. Then another.  Nevermind it was only noon on a weekday, but these puppies (or bears...) were GOOD.  This is one fun trick that will definitely be used in the future. Maybe for my girls weekend in a couple weeks, and definitely for Husky Football!

Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese

I about fell out of my chair when I read the title of this recipe.  Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese.  How could a sandwich get any better!?  I immediately added the ingredients to my shopping list and couldn't wait to give this a try for dinner.

Bacon frying...

Shallots warming up.

With some Dijon.

I used spinach to toss with the bacon and dressing.

Piled it all on the bread as a nice bed for the fried egg.

And, the finished sandwich.

That Smitten Kitchen sure knows how to get my attention. Bacon. Blue Cheese.  Married in a sandwich.  A nice and rich, but not too heavy, sandwich that is great for dinner.  Click here for the recipe!

Girly Girl Cupcakes

I've been on a cupcake kick the past couple weeks.  That, or I'm involved with events that need cupcakes.  Or both.  Today I made a bunch of cupcakes for an event and some for a friend.  I am in love with the cupcake recipe from Recipe Girl.  So easy, starts from a box mix, and makes at least 30 cupcakes in each batch.  And yes, I just posted about this same recipe two weeks ago.  Its that good and easy. 

To make the cupcakes extra girly, I used pink cupcake liners, frosting that was bright pink and light pink and topped each with light pink pearls.  There were 50 middle school girls that would be at this event, so I figured I'd make my contribution to the dessert options super pink.

White Cupcake Recipe, courtesy of Recipe Girl
1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 c. water
2 Tbsp vegetable
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. sour cream
4 large egg whites
Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans - I get 30 out of this recipe, but you could probably get up to 36 by not filling the liners up as full.
In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.
Use ice cream scoop to fill prepared cupcake tins- fill about 3/4 full. Bake about 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


Cupcake Buttercream, adapted from Recipe Girl
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tbsp whole milk

Not necessary, but you can sift the powdered sugar if it looks lumpy. In a large bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter on low speed. Mix until well blended. Increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
Add vanilla and whole milk and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for desired spreading/piping consistency.  Or more powdered sugar if the frosting is too runny.

Scoop into a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes, or spread onto cupcakes.