Fall Fan Blog Give-Away

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Sherrismiles

 The Kitchen Prescription has reached over 500 likes. To celebrate this great milestone and to show my appreciation I have decided to hold a Fall Fan give away.  When I started out on my blogging journey almost 5 years ago, I had no idea I would end up here, of all things, an avid Foodie and Food Blogger.

When I created The Kitchen Prescription Fan page this past Spring, I had no idea it would take off the way it did. It’s only because of all of you, my readers and Facebook fans, that I’m able to enjoy blogging and posting on Facebook (and let’s not forget about Twitter) as much as I do.

Recently, I started bringing in a little income through Social Spark blogging about Food Sponsored Blog Topics that I feel relate to my blog content.  Not that I’ll be quitting my day job any time soon. Hehe.  I thought long and hard what I wanted to do with the money that I’m bringing in.  The only answer that came to mind (okay, it wasn’t the ONLY answer but it was the best answer) was to reinvest that money back into by blog by periodically hosting my own unsponsored give-aways.

Welcome to my first Fall Fan Blog Give-Away. The give-away will include a set of Wilton Halloween cookie cutters, a set of Wilton Fall cookie cutters, 3 Wilton decorating tips, and a bag of Tootise Caramel Apple Pops with assorted Apple Orchard flavors

Rules and details of Fall Fan Blog Give-Away (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY):

This give-away is open to U.S. and Canada Residents only. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced October 16th 2011 around 12:00 p. m E.S.T. The winner will be posted here on the blog and announced on Facebook and Twitter throughout the day. Winner will email me their address and prizes will be mailed out. In the event the winner doesn’t respond in a reasonable amount of time, I will then randomly choose another winner, and so on and so forth.

All entries must be comments LEFT HERE ON THE BLOG for them to count. If entering more than once, each entry must be in a SEPARATE COMMENT for it to count.

For 1 Entry: Like me on Facebook if you haven’t already and  come back and leave a comment and tell me why you want to win this give-away.

For 1+ Entry: Friend me on Twitter if you already haven’t and come back and leave a separate comment with your Twitter handle.

For 1+ Entry: Tweet this give-away and leave a separate comment with your Tweeted link.

For 1+ Entry: Share this blog give away on Facebook and leave a separate comment stating you did so.  If you are sharing on FB through my posted link you must come back and leave the comment here.

Good Luck to you all and thank you for making my blogging, Facebook, and Twitter experience more fun. It wouldn’t be the same without any of you. Sure, I’d still blog, but it’s more fun when you have readers who interact and comment.  For that, I’m dearly indebted to you all.

 

October 16, 2011: The winner has been randomly chosen using the WordPress plug in “And The Winner Is” ….and the winner is Julie Grimberg! CONGRATULATIONS you have won the first TKP fan give-away. Happy Baking. Please contact me at sherrismiles1225@gmail.com and leave your address so I can mail out your prizes. Happy Baking and Decorating!  In the event, Julie doesn’t get back to me in a reasonable amount of time based on my discretion, I will randomly choose another winner. Thank you all for entering and participating.  I appreciate you all. Stay tuned for more give-aways.

Posted in Baking, Blogging, Contests, Cookie Decorating, Cookies, Give Aways | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 88 Comments

Fall Cut Out Cookies

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Sherrismiles

Fall. One of my favorite times of the year. The change of colors, the cool crispness in the air, the smell of pumpkins, apples, and cinnamon. I absolutely can’t get enough of it.

This post is best described with few words.  Fall should be enjoyed for it’s scenery and beauty. (Plus I’m just too lazy to post all the pictures individually tonight…hehe.) You can find the recipe for my cutouts and buttercream frosting here

Happy Fall Everyone!

 

Posted in Baking, Cookie Decorating, Cookies | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

T.G.I. Friday’s Entrees for One

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Sherrismiles

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of T.G.I. FRiDAY’S. All opinions are 100% mine.

It’s Fall and that means Football Season is here. My boyfriend has season tickets to his favorite pro team which means there are nights I spend eating alone.  While I will cook a meal just for me, most times this is an opportunity for me to relax and take a night off from cooking.

That’s why I was excited to find out  T.G.I. Friday’s was introducing a new line of frozen entrees just for one.  How many times have you perused the frozen food isle and finally chose the perfect dinner that you thought was a healthy choice and looked appetizing on the box, only to cook it and feel dissatisfied with the taste? Me too. More than I care to admit.

The new line of T.G.I. FRiDAY’S “Entrées for One” solves frozen food boredom with nine new entrées inspired by the bold and fun flavors of the famed T.G.I. FRiDAY’S restaurants. From Sizzling Steak Fajitas to Cajun-Style Chicken Alfredo, the new varieties infuse a fresh new flavor and shake things up in the frozen food category.

I chose the Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo entree.  It’s convenient packaging makes it easy to cook. It contained a reasonable portion and calorie count, and most of all, it tasted like restaurant quality food. I wasn’t disappointed in any way. The pasta tastes al dente,  the Alfredo sauce is rich and creamy, the chicken has a seasoned grilled taste, and the broccoli florets are crisp.  I can’t remember the last time I had crisp broccoli in a frozen meal. Did I mention the price is pretty awesome too?

I love it when a meals represents itself on a plate as well as it does the box and tastes as delicious as it looks. That makes me a repeat buyer of a product!

T.G.I. FRiDAY’S wants you to make your own freezers at home a bit more fun by decorating them with their own unique flair, and uploading a picture on Facebook for a chance to win cool prizes, including a home theater makeover. Visit  Fun Freezer contest     on Facebook like them and enter to win.

Don’t forget there are nine different T.G.I. FRiDAY’S “Entrées for One” and don’t forget to decorate those freezers and enter the Fun Freezer contest

Choose your favorite entree and Bon Appetite my friends.

Visit Sponsor's Site

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Caramel Pretzel Cookie

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Sherrismiles

This cookie was born because although I love a good peanut butter cookie , I find it well… a little boring. What’s better than peanut butter in a cookie? How about chocolate chips, caramel, and some pretzels? That’s. what’s. up!

A few months ago my boyfriend requested some peanut butter cookies. I hadn’t made them in years. In fact, I didn’t even have a recipe for them.  He reminded me that when he bought me my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer last Christmas that he had found a Peanut Butter cookie recipe in the user’s guide and suggested I try it.

So I did. Guess what? It was one of the worst…if not THE worst cookie I had ever baked. It was dry and tasted like a mouthful of sand.  I felt really bad and embarrassed to call myself a baker.

I promised I’d make it up to him and find the most awesome peanut butter cookie recipe there was (and add my own flair to it.) I did a lot of online blog and recipe researching and came across this peanut butter cookie recipe over at smitten kitchen

I could tell from the 300 and some comments that I  had read, that it was a winner.  So I set my sights on that recipe and set out to make it my own by using the base ingredients.

I adjusted the recipe to my liking by using Peter Pan Honey Roasted peanut butter, added about 1/4 to 1/3 more cup flour for a soft and chewy cookie, and cut out the sugar coating. I also substituted dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar. Makes recipes richer and more flavorful. Then I added some chocolate chips. Cut up some Kraft caramels, and broke some thin pretzel sticks in the dough.

Can you say peanut butter cookie AWESOMENESS?  Check out the insides…

Soft and chewy. Salty, sweet, and gooey!  Just the way I like it.

Posted in Baking, Cookies, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Chocolate Strawberry Cake Done Two Ways

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Sherrismiles

I recently made both of these chocolate strawberry cakes. One for my daughter’s 18th birthday. The other for my friend who was ready to give birth to her second child and needed one last girls night out before she exploded.  Or maybe that was me who felt that way. Either way, this one cake was a hit done two ways.

 

Chocolate Strawberry Cake Done Two Ways
5.0 from 1 reviews
Print
 
Recipe type: Dessert
Author: Sherri at The Kitchen Prescription (dot) com
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 50 mins
Total time: 1 hour 50 mins
Serves: 6-10
This is one great cake done two ways.
Ingredients
  • CHOCOLATE CAKE:
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 package Chocolate Jell-O Pudding
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (Hershey’s )
  • 1 stick salted butter room temperature
  • 1 cup warm milk (microwave for 40 seconds)
  • 1 egg room temp (soak in warm water for a minute or two)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • STRAWBERRY FILLING:
  • 1 container ripe fresh strawberries
  • Baker’s Milk Chocolate Discs if you are making the chocolate covered strawberry cake
  • 1 jar strawberry preserves
  • FROSTING:
  • 2 Cans Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate canned frosting
  • Wilton pink sugar pearls
  • BUTTER CREAM FROSTING
  • 3 tablespoons room temperature butter
  • 2 teaspoons soft cream cheese
  • 2-3 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
  • 4-6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (always use least amount of cream and add more if you feel frosting is too dry or stiff this requires practice to get it to your liking, consistency, and taste)
  • Wilton Rose Food Coloring gel/paste (I use toothpick to apply to frosting)
  • OTHER TOOLS NEEDED
  • Wilton 2D Large Drop Flower Tip
  • Wilton #5 Writing Tip
  • Wilton #22 Open Star Tip
  • Disposable piping bags
  • Small metal spatula
  • 9″ round cake pan
  • Large serrated knife
  • Patience (haha. A little TKP humor there)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
  2. Spray one 9″ round cake pan with non stick spray and lightly dust with flour
  3. Mix butter in stand mixer or with hand mixer on med speed until it has a frosting like consistency
  4. Add dry ingredients
  5. Add wet ingredient and mix well until all lumps are out.
  6. Pour batter into cake pan. Should be 2/3 full
  7. Bake at 350 for about 40-50 minutes (the pudding mix will take this batter longer to bake so keep a close eye on it. Don’t over bake and do your toothpick test)
  8. Cool cake (I put mine in freezer for about 20 minutes)
  9. While cake is cooling make BUTTER CREAM FROSTING
  10. Whip butter and cream cheese in stand mixer (or with hand mixer in bow)
  11. Add a cup of confectioners sugar one at a time
  12. Add strawberry extract and a couple of tablespoons of whipping cream
  13. Mix
  14. You may not need all of the confectioners sugar or whipping cream. Just try to get a stiff but creamy consistency. Don’t be afraid to get those fingers in there and taste.
  15. Add a little rose gel to frosting and mix on low until mixed well and you have the color you desire
  16. Cover with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out.
  17. Slice cake in half with serrated knife
  18. Carefully lift off with the knife and spatula. Place aside for later use.
  19. Take enough Duncan Hines mild chocolate frosting out of the container to pipe a circle damn around the top edge of cake. Put in small bowl and add a few tables spoons confectioners sugars to stiffen up frosting.
  20. Mix with small flat metal spatula
  21. Put in piping bag with 2D tip and pipe a circle damn around outer edges of top (this will help hold in your filling so it doesn’t leak out of the sides)
  22. Spoon on jar of preserves in middle and spread
  23. Place a layer of sliced strawberries on top of preserves.
  24. Place cake top carefully back on top.
  25. Do a crumb icing and smooth as flat as possible with spatula
  26. Now you are ready for to decorate. (this is the fun part!)
 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry S and Circle pattern Cake Topped with chocolate covered strawberries.  (A quick tip: don’t wash your strawberries. Use a wet paper towel to wipe them off. Washing them makes them break down quicker.)

I used the #22 Open Star tip and just piped a drop star pattern around the bottom of the cake. Next I went around the top of the cake with the same tip and make the zig zag pattern. Who knew one little tip could produce so many cool patterns? Next, switch out tips (you can do this if you have a couple attachment and your tips are not too big. It won’t work for the Large 2D tip but you’re not using that one for this cake anyway.)

I also gave you the quick tip in the recipe box for holding in your filling so it doesn’t leak out the side of the cake. The last thing you want is a beautiful cake that is leaking it’s contents down the sides.

Once you are switched over to #5 writing tip, simply make an S pattern and then alternated with the circular pattern. Lastly, I topped off with the chocolate covered strawberries.

It was a hit with my daughter. She loved it.

Next we move to the Hydrangea rosette cake. One of my absolute favorite patterns to make. It brings so much class to any social event. People will think you spent hours creating this, but it’s the Wilton 2D tip that does all the work for you.

To pipe the hydrangea and rosette pattern, please refer to this previous blog here. Also, that blog will instruct you on the crumb icing layer we talked about in the recipe box above.

Use the milk chocolate icing as is to do the crumb icing. You want it to be soft and smooth so it will spread easily over the cake. Try to get as smooth a surface as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect on this one as the decorations will cover the crumb layer.

Another quick tip: Have two 2D tips on hand if possible that way you won’t have to wash the tip before using with the chocolate frosting.

Fill a piping bag with the butter cream and pipe your rosettes around the cake.

Take, the rest of the milk chocolate icing and add confectioners sugar until you get a stiff but creamy consistency. You don’t want the icing so soft that it begins to melt in the bag from the warmth of your hand. It need a stiff consistency to hold its shape.

Fill a piping bag with chocolate frosting and pipe hydrangea pattern on top of cake. Every so often stop and apply your pink sugar pearls to center of the flowers with a pair of tweezers. If the cake begins to stiffen the pearls won’t take as well.

Once top is done begin on bottom of cake sides and move with rows of the pattern. Don’t forget to stop and add your pearls.  Or you can choose to leave them off.

Done. Now stand back and look at what you created! All by yourself!

Ready to box it up and take to that special event? This one’s headed to GNO (Girls Night Out.) What’s better than getting a homemade cake made with love? Eating it!

I invite you to come back and share a link or picture if you try one or both. I love seeing other readers’ creations.

Posted in Baking, Cakes, Desserts, Recipes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Chicken Enchiladas

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Sherrismiles

“Hola! Como estas? “Muy bien gracias. Y tu?”  That’s about the extent of my Spanish speaking skills from 4 years of high school Spanish 20 some odd years ago. Seems a life time ago. Well, I may not be able to speak Spanish muy bien, (it’s more Spanglish) but, I can shovel in la comida like there’s no manana.

I absolutely love Mexican food. I mean REALLY LOVE it, as in… eat it every night! I about die waiting for Taco Tuesday night. My niece recently moved to South Florida to attend Law School, so Taco Tuesday has become a tradition for us. I’ll be sharing that recipe some time soon.

But today, I thought I would share my chicken enchilada recipe with you.  If you love Mexican as much as I do, I’m pretty sure you will love this recipe.

This is a great meal for prepping the night before, (especially if you are preparing a chicken dish) so you can come home from work and just pop it in the oven.  As always, you can put your own spin on it or tweak it to your likings. Such as adding beef, steak, or pork.

Chicken Enchiladas
4.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Recipe type: Main
Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription (dot) com
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 55 mins
Serves: 4
You can use your favorite meat (or veggies if you are vegan) like chicken, steak, beef, or pork.
Ingredients
  • CHICKEN ENCHILADAS:
  • 4 skinless boneless thin chicken breasts
  • 4-5 large flour tortilla wraps
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1 jar queso dip
  • 1 jar salsa
  • 1 can of Old El Paso enchilada sauce
  • 1 jar Ortega mild (or medium) taco sauce
  • 1 bag shredded Mexican blend or cheddar cheese
  • 1 box of Rice A Roni Chicken flavor
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In small sauce pan open enchilada sauce and pour in about half of your taco sauce and heat on low.
  2. Dice half the red onion and toss in sauce to simmer
  3. Cook chicken flavor Rice A Roni according to box directions
  4. In another small sauce pan add 3 spoonfuls (large tablespoon) of queso dip and 1 1/2 spoonfuls of salsa.
  5. Heat on low heat. Stir occasionally.
  6. Sear chicken breasts (salt and pepper to taste) on George Foreman grill, outdoor grille or skillet (grill) pan. Don’t cook all the way through as you don’t want you chicken to become dry.
  7. Slice and place in a frying pan on low heat
  8. add more onions in pan if desired
  9. Pour on queso and salsa mixture over chicken and coat well on low heat. If needed add more queso and salsa.
  10. Spoon chicken and cheese mixture into middle of a flour tortilla
  11. Spoon on some rice
  12. Add some shredded cheese and fold over ends and roll tortilla
  13. Place bottom side down in large glass dish
  14. Either cover and place in fridge till next day if prepping overnight. You can just heat up your enchilada sauce the next day don’t bother prepping it if not using the same night. Otherwise, preheat oven to 350 degrees
  15. Pour desired amount of enchilada sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese.
  16. Cover with tin foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes on 350 degrees. Just enough to heat through.

Plate and serve. You can garnish with raw onions, as I like them, or olives, and sour cream. To make them extra fattening!

Me gusta cocinar enchiladas! (I like to cook enchildas.) See you even learned a little Spanish today!

Posted in Dinners, Family, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Banana Bread

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Sherrismiles

When life hands you over ripened bananas, make banana bread. Can’t you just smell it? No? Come a little closer.  Careful. It’s hot.

Okay, obviously you can’t actually smell it, but trust me, it smelled amazing.  This was tonight’s product of over ripened bananas sitting on my counter. I picked them up to toss them out, and heard that old adage run through my head. “Waste not, want not.”

So out came the flour, eggs, and bread pan.  This is such a simple  delicious recipe and most often times, everyone has the ingredients on hand in the pantry or kitchen.

Here’s my quick and easy recipe for Banana Bread. I literally whipped this up after work this evening.

Banana Bread
Print
Recipe type: Dessert Bread
Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription dot com
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Total time: 55 mins
Serves: 8-12
You can use nuts or berries. Whatever you have on hand. Tonight, I was without nuts and berries.
Ingredients
  • BANANA BREAD:
  • 3 Over ripened bananas
  • 1/4 cup butter ( I use salted butter)
  • 2 Cups flours
  • 1 Cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 5 Tablespoons milk
  • Nuts and berries optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Spray non stick pan with Pam (or if you’re lazy like me and hate to wash pans, line with tinfoil and spray. No muss. No fuss.)
  3. Peel and break up bananas into quarters in a mixing bowl
  4. Mash up bananas with a fork
  5. Stir in room temperature butter
  6. Add rest of dry ingredients
  7. Add rest of wet ingredients and mix well.
  8. Add optional nuts or berries
  9. If too dry add a little more milk but it should be a doughy/wet consistency
  10. Spoon into bread pan
  11. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or when toothpick comes out clean

I just remembered I had some left over strawberries in the fridge which would have been amazing baked into this.  I’ll have to try it next time. It will be a nice delicious breakfast because now I will slice the berries up over the bread in the morning.

Do you prefer your banana bread with or without out nuts? Berries or no berries? Do tell.

Posted in Baking, Breads, Breakfast, Desserts, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Homemade Meatballs and Sauce

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Sherrismiles

Mangia! Mangia! That’s Italian for “get your grub on!” What’s more Italian than meatballs and sauce? When my kids were little Sunday was usually a consistent pasta day with meatballs and sauce.  It was our time to sit down to a family dinner and savor the day before the crazy week began again.

Now that they are grown it’s not something I make as often. Although you couldn’t tell by my waistline.  The smell wafting through the house brings me back to the days the kids were little and elicits fond memories.

I still remember the first time I attempted my home made sauce at the tender age of 21.  I didn’t have the internet or google to find me an easy recipe to whip up. I got on the horn and called up my sister-in-law. She gave me the basics and over the years I perfected it to my own unique taste.

Everyone has their own secret ingredient that makes their sauce unique. Mine is cream cheese and brown sugar.  It gives the sauce a creamy sweet taste.  I’ve been adding it to my sauce since my 23 year old was a baby.

I hope you enjoy my family meatballs and sauce recipe as much as my family does.

Homemade Meatballs and Sauce
Print
Recipe type: Main
Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription dot com
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 3 hours
Total time: 3 hours 45 mins
Serves: 4 to 8
I’m sharing my family secret sauce.I also add some hot sausage to flavor the sauce with a spicy kick. Mangia! Mangia!
Ingredients
  • MEATBALLS/SAUSAGE:
  • 1 lb of ground beef 80/20 (you can mix pork for a leaner meatball)
  • 1 small chopped red onion
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan and ramano cheese
  • 1/4 cup Progresso Italian bread crumbs (I usually just eyeball mine so I’m giving you an estimate)
  • 1/4 cup of Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon garlic (use fresh if you want also you can use more or less of any of the ingredients)
  • Italian seasoning
  • sea salt
  • pepper
  • oregano
  • pinch of garlic salt
  • Splash of garlic milk
  • 3 HOT SAUSAGE LINKS: (cooked separately to flavor sauce)
  • 1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • drizzle of oil oil
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • tablespoon small chopped red onion
  • SAUCE:
  • 1 large can of Dei Fratelli Sauce (add 1/2 can of water after emptied into pan)
  • 1 large can of Dei Fratelli Puree
  • 1 small can tomato paste (smallest can available)
  • 1 small chopped red onion
  • Sea Salt
  • Pepper
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Oregano
  • approximately 1 cup of parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 2 small spoonfuls soft cream cheese
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar (add to you get your desired sweetness)
Instructions
  1. MEATBALLS:
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  3. prepare cookie sheet with tin foil
  4. put all meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl
  5. mix all ingredients with freshly washed hands of course
  6. roll meatballs and place on cookie sheet
  7. bake at 350 for about 12 to 15 minutes
  8. SAUSAGE:
  9. Preheat a med side frying pan on med flame on stove
  10. Drizzle pan with oil oil
  11. Slice sausage diagonally into about 4 pieces and add to pan
  12. add onion, garlic, and seasonings.
  13. Cook until just about done (will finish cooking in sauce)
  14. Add your tomato paste to pan to marry all the flavors and cook on high for about 2 minutes stirring constantly
  15. SAUCE PREPARATIONS:
  16. Stove on med heat
  17. Pour the contents of you sausage and tomato paste into a large deep sauce pan
  18. Add onions and garlic
  19. Add can of tomato sauce and tomato puree and
  20. Add 1/2 can of water
  21. Stir the sauce and mix together
  22. Add all your seasonings and taste (it’s better to add less initially and then add more if you need it)
  23. Add Parmesan cheese
  24. Add cream cheese
  25. Add brown sugar
  26. you can add a small carrot to soak up the acidity of the sauce too. It’s an old Italian trick my sister in law taught me.
  27. Stir all your ingredients and make sure all lumps are out and and cheeses are melted.
  28. When meatballs are done drain off any grease and add to sauce.
  29. Cover sauce and simmer for at least 2 to 3 hours. I let mine simmer almost 4 and stir every so often.
  30. Serve over top your favorite pasta

What’s your secret sauce ingredient?

Posted in Cooking, Dinners, Recipes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Who’s Up for Solving this Fruit and Cheese Mystery?

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Sherrismiles

The Rubik’s Fruit Cube. Have you seen it?

More importantly, can you solve it? It’s beautiful!  It’s a watermelon, kiwi, and feta cheese appetizer. I’ve been been pulling my hair out trying to google where this originated. I ran into it on a facebook page that had a link that someone found on Pinterest and from there the mystery began.

I found a Rubik’s Cubewich, but you have to buy the book to find out how to make the sandwich. Fatlottagood that does me. Who could eat that sandwich anyway? I mean, take one bite into that thing and you’ll have a lapwich.

Anyone want to take a stab at where this came from and what gadget would cube your fruit and cheese so it’s all uniform? How do you think it stays together?  If I assembled this masterpiece, I’m not sure I’d even let anyone touch it. I could easily see someone going to grab a piece and me screaming,  “No, don’t eat that! It’s a centerpiece!” Like Meg Ryan yelling at Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail.  “What is that? What are you doing?  That caviar is a garnish!”

http://youtu.be/qoQxxSj5P4Q[/youtube]

Seriously, I wish I could find at least one Food blog or Foodie out there that attempted this and gave away the secret.  I’m up for the challenge.  Any other takers? Anyone? I’ll let you know how it turns out. To be continued…

Update: Here is my version of the Rubik’s Fruit Cube.

The colors aren’t as vibrant.

Overall, I am pleased with how it came out. It can be replicated. How did I do it you ask? Well, you’ll have to figure that out on your own. After all, you’re supposed to solve a Rubik’s cube.

Just kidding. I’ll be nice and share how I replicated this. I purchased the square fondant cutters at Michaels and used the smallest cube cutter in the pack.

It was the perfect gadget!

Rubik’s Fruit Cube
Print
Recipe type: Appetizer
Author: Sherri @ TheKitchenPrescriptiondotcom
Prep time: 25 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 2
Perfect light summer appetizer and centerpiece.
Ingredients
  • 1 pound of watermelon
  • 2 kiwi
  • Small block of feta cheese
  • Spearmint Sprigs
Instructions
  1. Cube the fruit and cheese
  2. Alternate the fruit and cheese pieces
  3. I broke off toothpicks and placed them down the center to hold the cubes in place
  4. Garnish with spearmint sprigs

Remember earlier when I said I wouldn’t let anyone eat it? That part is true because after I was done photographing it, it was gone in 2.3 seconds by yours truly. It was DEElicious! Light and refreshing.

 

Posted in Appetizers, Fruit, Light Eats, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Sherrismiles

These orange creme filled cupcakes brought back memories of me as a child chasing down the ice cream truck to get an Orange Creamsicle. Ohhhh, the nostalgia of ripping open the wrapper on a hot summer day and biting into the cool creamy vanilla ice cream center.  It was a conflict between taking my time to savor the sweetness and beat the heat before it melted in my hands.

I still hear the ice cream truck going by our street sometimes, but I haven’t chased one down in years. Maybe I should add that to my bucket list :) It’s always good to have child like tendencies even as an adult.  There is a little kid in us hiding somewhere, and I like to coax mine out every so often.

I think I accomplished that when I bit into one of these last night.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm it was so delicious and instantly brought back those familiar memories of Ohio summers.  No school, no worries. Days filled with endless swimming and only keeping an eye on the clock for the ice cream man and the music blaring out of the megaphone on the top of the truck.

Here’s what you need to recreate this wonderful summer memory.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
5.0 from 2 reviews
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Recipe type: Dessert
Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription
Serves: 12
These will take you back to the days of chasing the ice cream truck down the street. Recipe Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
  • Cake Ingredients:
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 small container orange creme yogurt (keeps cupcakes moist)
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (can use 100% store bought juice if desired)
  • 1 whole orange zest
  • small amount of orange gel paste (can mix together red and yellow or use regular food coloring)
  • Whipped Creme Filling (so easy it’s scary)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (or confectioners sugar)
  • Orange Butter Creme Frosting:
  • 6 tablespoons butter (salted)
  • 2 teaspoon light soft cream cheese (optional)
  • 2 lbs confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 orange zest
  • I whole squeezed fresh orange juice about 4-6 tablespoons (or 100% store bought orange juice)
  • red and yellow gel paste coloring
Instructions
  1. Cake Directions:
  2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
  3. In stand mixer with flat paddle cream together butter and sugar.
  4. Replace flat paddle with whisk attachment
  5. Add eggs one at a time and whisk well on med speed.
  6. Add flour, baking power, salt, and orange juice
  7. Add remaining ingredients (yogurt and orange zest)
  8. Mix on high until all lumps are out and you have a pancake batter like consistency.
  9. Fill a large gallon Zip-loc bag with batter.
  10. Snip off small corner tip and fill 12 cupcake liners 2/3 full
  11. Bake until toothpick comes out clean or cupcakes spring back to finger touch (be careful don’t burn those fingers!)
  12. Cool completely (I like to put mine in the freezer. They will take about 10 minutes to cool.)
  13. Whipped Creme Filling
  14. Make sure your mixer and whisk are ice cold (Place them in freezer for about 5 minutes)
  15. Use very cold whipping cream (this ensures the best results)
  16. Mix whipping cream on slow speed and increase to medium, then high once it starts getting thick.
  17. Just before it reaches peaks stop mixing
  18. Add vanilla and sugar
  19. Mix until peaks form on whisk. Careful not to over mix.
  20. Now fill cupcake centers with whipped creme. (I used a disposable piping bag and a Wilton long tip but to get the most amount of creme filling in the center, I recommend cutting out center with a parring knife at a 45 degree angle. Fill and replace top of cupcake.)
  21. Orange Cream Cheese Butter Cream Frosting:
  22. Cream butter and cream cheese (cream cheese can be an optional ingredient.)
  23. Add about 1 lb confectioner’s sugar
  24. Zest about half the orange into mixing bowl
  25. Cut orange in half and squeeze into bowl
  26. Mix on slow, to medium, to hight speed until smooth.
  27. Keep adding confectioner’s sugar until you get a smooth and stiff frosting.
  28. Divide frostings equally in two mixing bowls or plastic containers.
  29. To one bowl add some equal amounts (toothpicks work great for this) of red and yellow food coloring gel/paste (this will make a beautiful orange color.) Mix well.
  30. Add to the other bowl of frosting a toothpick full of yellow coloring gel/paste. Mix well
  31. If you need to add a little more sugar to stiffen up your frosting it’s okay to do. Just mix well with a knife or spatula.
  32. Use a disposable piping bag and a Wilton 2D large drop flower tip.
  33. Fill bag on one side with orange frosting and other half of bag with yellow frosting. Twist bag and if needed squeeze out some of the frosting until both yellow and orange come out of tip.
  34. Start in middle of cupcake holding tip at a 90 degree angle (straight up.) Squeeze a little pressure and then go in a counter clockwise direction (inside to outside) until the entire cupcake is covered.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

 

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Posted in Baking, Cupcakes, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments