Mr. Flavor Bakes? Fudge Brownie-Banana Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae

First off, Happy Valentine's Day! It's important to show love all 365 days of the year, and we all know it's a Hallmark holiday- but it nice to be a bit more gushy on this chocolatey romantic day! We honestly do not have anything planned. We worked, paid a ginormous bill, and budgeted- how romantic! Paying bills is sexy to me...ok not really...

Saturday, my daughter wanted ice cream after a cold day's out at the playground. She really does ask for random things at random times. She asks for sausages when she first wakes up, or asks where's my doughnut before we kiss her goodnight. Haha...food is always on her mind!  Anyway, she asked for ice cream- BANILLA ice cream to be precise. For some reason when she asked for it, I became nostalgic for Baskin Robbins Hot Fudge brownie Banana Sundae. Not sure what the name is exactly, all I know is I ate it by the bucket-loads during my first pregnancy. When we told the little ones about the dessert plan, they were most certainly down.

The brownie recipe was my first successful baking recipe  a few years back. It's posted here with some changes.  This time, my husband and I agreed thinner brownies are better for this and we also added about 1/3 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to the batter. Use any brownie recipe you like. This one is a good one, though! Also, if cooking in a 13 by 9 pan bake for about 17-23 minutes.

The husband took the lead on this one and he didn't do bad at all :) Great way for us to spend some much needed time together, too. Happy Valentine's Day! This is great for anytime of the year if you ask me ;) We forgot to buy heavy cream to make whipped cream, but you don't really need it. Unless you're kinky like that ....

You will need:
A Brownie Recipe
Vanilla Ice Cream- homemade or purchased (we bought Haegen-Daaz)
2 ripe bananas
Your choice of toppings such as melted semi-sweet chocolate, toasted walnuts, whipped cream cherries, etc

Directions:
Once brownies are slightly cooled, cut 'em up, top with ice cream, sliced bananas,  melted chocolate and nuts (or whatever you want)

And voila! Easy peasy husband pleasy ;)



His toes are curlin' ;)

Enjoy!!!

Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies

Warning: These cookies are highly addictive. 

While shopping for some quick dinner ingredients Wednesday afternoon, I happened to find a display for Heath Bits on sale. I've never eaten the chocolate bar before, but for some reason, I really wanted to try it. So I grabbed it quickly before I could change my mind hurried my shopping thinking of what to do with the chocolate and toffee bits. When I got home, I checked out the recipes on  the back of the bag for some ideas for baking, but when I saw the recipe for the cookies, I couldn't go on any further! I wanted to make them soon after dinner, but the husband told me to be patient, he has a Physical Training test Friday morning. I did however make them first thing the next morning...he wasn't here and those bits were all "try me....try me NOW!"

The cookies tasted out of this world good. I mean, really, how can you go wrong with peanut butter, chocolate and toffee? The soft chewy cookie along with the slight crunch of the toffee was divine.

If you don't have these Heath Bits in your area and you live in Europe please let me know via e-mail (my e-mail is under contact me). I'll send a package to the first 5 folk who asks...I need to make it to the post office anyway.  But really this can be made with any toffee chocolate bar, just crush it into small pieces.

So no excuses not to try this people!

Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies
From the back of the bag ;-)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 T milk
1 T pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 1/3 cup Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits

Directions
Heat oven to 375°F.
Beat shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add egg; beat just until blended. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. Stir in 1 cup bits; reserve remainder for topping.

Drop by heaping teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet; top each with reserved bits.


Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until set. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely. About 3 dozen cookies.

Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins

I first saw Cornbread Jam Muffins while reading one the first blogs I discovered and fell in love at first sight, The Foodinista. I saw these and thought, dang my little ones would love this! My eldest son isn't a fan of red foods unless they're gummy/hard candy form. I don't get it either. So he didn't even want to try these, which was fine- more for me...er the rest of my family!

I found a similar recipe on Joy of Baking and made some small changes like adding whole wheat flour and using frozen, chopped strawberries. My little ones, who does love "bewwies" really enjoyed these and was angry when they were eaten up! The main culprit is Curly Sous herself.

These were very nice- good for any time of the day! My husband and I think that any other berry as the original recipe states would go very well with this! The strawberries were bursting with goodness as well! Give em a shot. They're extremely easy to put together and your little one can take the lead....

Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
4 t baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of one lemon
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup safflower, corn, or canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Garnish:
2 tablespoons white sugar (coarse or granulated)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter or spray with a non stick cooking spray 12 - 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups. Can also line with paper liners.

In a large bowl combine the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. 

In a separate bowl combine 2 tablespoons of this mixture with the strawberries.

In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.

With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Gently stir in the berries. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result. 

Evenly fill the muffin cups with batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Sprinkle with the white sugar.

 Place in the oven and bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 - 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

Note: If using frozen berries you may have to bake the muffins a little longer than the stated time.

Enjoy!!

Chorizo and Pork Belly with White Beans

Farmers hide your piggies and vegans/vegetarians beware! This soup is all about the delicious, flavorful and juicy pig. Pig in 3 different ways: we have the Spanish chorizo (from wiki): Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with smoked pimentón (paprika) and salt. It is generally classed as eitherpicante (spicy) or dulce (sweet), depending upon the type of smoked paprika used. Then we have my favorite part of the pig, pork belly, and dry cured form of pork belly called Pancetta. However, I can not find Pancetta here to save my life (Friends/Readers in Germany help a mama out, bitte?) I asked another food lover which subsitute is best, and found that Bauchspeck is a great replacement. Like Pancetta, Bauchspeck is from the pig's belly and  then dried, cured, but unlike pancetta, is smoked. To compensate for flavor, the friend suggested that I add more garlic, chili flakes and nutmeg to the recipe. It worked a treat! 





I am not sure when or why I stumbled across the recipe on the BBC Good Food's site, but I am so happy I did. We love chorizo and pork belly on their own in different ways, putting them together is perfection! I don't  have much experience with pancetta given that it's harder to find here from my own experience, but if the substitute bauchspeck is any indication of pancetta's awesomeness? I am a big big fan. 


This stew or pork convention-in-a-bowl is hearty filling and the beans adds a nice texture and believe it or not taste. You can use Cannellini beans or haricots (as the original recipe)I don't think I would love this as much without them! Even better it's simple, as it's delicious. Chop some aromatic/bellies/sausage and some aromatics add a good glug of wine, spices and water let it slow cook and infuse your home with lovely aroma and you're pretty much done until you add the beans at the end! This is definitely a man pleasing meal, but I could have ate the whole entire pot on my own. I love me some pork and beans. 






Chorizo & Pork Belly with White Beans
 Adapted  From BBC Good Food's site
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb piece of boneless pork belly , skin removed
1 T olive oil
1/4 lb pancetta or any dried cured belly meat (I used bauchspeck) thick bacon may work, too
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tsp hot smoked paprika

1/2 tsp nutmeg

pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 lb chorizo, roughly chopped
1 -14oz can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
2 14-oz cans of Great Northern Beans or cannellini, drained and rinsed
a bunch coriander

Directions
Heat the oven to 160C/310F. Cut the pork belly into large chunks. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, ovenproof casserole and fry the pork in batches over a high heat until browned all over, then remove with a slotted spoon.

Add the pancetta and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden, then reduce the heat slightly and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Stir in the paprika and chorizo also nutmeg and chili flakes if using and cook for a minute or so. Return the pork to the pan and tip in the tomatoes. Pour in the wine and enough water just to cover - about 1 cup.

 Season, cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Stir in the haricot beans and return to the oven, without the lid, for 20-30 minutes. 

Stir in the coriander

I served with a family favorite- Buttermilk Cornbread from All Recipes. I substituted 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 cup with a teaspoon on white vinegar for buttermilk. I also used 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1 cup of flour, then baked in 13 by 9 baking pan. Turned out delicious and went very well with stew. Serve with any bread you like, my parents would have used a slice of good ol' white bread. That's how we rolled. This stew and bread was enjoyed by my whole family.

Enjoy!!

Homemade Bagels and Mawa's Raspberry Cream Cheese Spread

While thanking a friend for "liking" my Facebook page, yes I am cheesy like that, the subject of homemade bagels was briefly discussed. Last year I wanted to try it, but somehow it got put to the back burner. Since the conversation, I was looking around the interwebs for  a bagel recipe and this recipe seemed to fall in my lap because I saw a link for "Bagels are a Breeze!" on my Facebook news feed. I found a recipe I thought I wanted to use, but I loved the look of this one and had all the ingredients on hand.

Like anytime I make homemade bread, my kids were impatiently awaiting the finished product. The only one willing to help was my little Curly Sous (chef) and I think she and I did a fabulous job. They have great flavor, slightly chewy but fluffy texture and was truly a breeze to make. My daughter aka Mawa made up her first recipe today as well. She demanded  delegated when it came to the cream cheese spread. She told me how much raspberry sauce, sugar, and lemons to use and ya know what? She did pretty damn good. I am proud of my Curly Sous.

Bruce Ezzell's Bagels

From Michael Ruhlman's blog

Sponge (4 to 12 hours before baking; do this before you go to bed if you want fresh bagels for breakfast or brunch, only takes a minute)

Ingredients:

500 grams flour/18 ounces/ 3.5 cups
500 grams water/18 ounces/ 2 1/4 cups
3 grams active dry yeast/3/4 teaspoon

Combine the ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix with a spoon till the ingredients are combined. Set aside at room temperature for at least 4 hours. Do this before going to bed if you want fresh bagels in the morning.

To Make the Bagels
18 grams kosher salt/.6 ounces/1 tablespoon
18 grams honey/1 scant tablespoon
18 grams malt syrup/1 tablespoon (you can substitute molasses if you wish I used molasses)
446 grams flour/16 ounces/ 3 cups
Baking Soda (1/2 tablespoon for every 2 liters/1/2 gallon water)
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt or other garnish (optional but recommended) I used onion seeds and salt

Add salt, honey, malt syrup (molasses), and flour to the sponge, the flour last.

Attach dough hooks to your mixer and mix at low speed for 8-10 minutes. This is a stiff, bucky dough so don’t walk away from the mixer if it has a tendency to walk across your counter top. I've had more than one mixer hit the floor and it is distressing. (This can also be mixed by hand.)

Once the dough is mixed remove it to your counter and cover with a cloth to let it rest for 5-10 minutes. 

While the dough is resting place a wide, fairly deep pot filled with water on the stove to heat (measure the water so you know how much baking soda to use). 

 Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.
Divide the dough into 12-13 (4 oz) pieces. Round each piece and set aside to rest for a few more minutes, covered.

To shape take each ball of dough and flatten out slightly using the palm of the hand, making a disc approximately 3.5 inches wide. Make a hole in each using your thumb and place back on the counter, covered, to rise.
After 10 minutes flip each bagel over so the bottom is now facing up. When this side begins to get slightly puffy and rounded it is time to boil. This may take as little as 5 minutes, but depending on the temperature of your kitchen, how cold your countertop is, etc., it might take longer. When the bagel looks and feels a bit puffy, it’s ready to boil.

While your bagels are in their final rise bring your water to a simmer, then add the baking soda.When I boil I typically use a pan like a wok filled with water. 

Drop the bagels 3-4 at a time into the simmering water (depending on how large your pot is). They should float immediately or within a few seconds. Let them simmer for one minute, then flip them over using a chopstick or spoon and let the other side simmer for one minute. 

Remove from the water using a skimmer or large spoon. I like to bake them on a half-sheet pan lined with parchment paper. They can also be baked on a pizza stone.
Sprinkle them with sesame, poppy seeds, salt or whatever you prefer immediately after removing them from the water, or alternately, brush with an egg wash and sprinkle after that.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 12-13 minutes or until golden brown.

These were so easy, and it didn't take long to do at all. I am very pleased and will be adding another homemade bread on my regular baking repertoire. If you don't have a scale, just measure everything as precisely as possible. The dough can be easily kneaded by hand as well!

From these bagels I made my son a quick lunch of ham and swiss

For dinner I made "pizza sandwiches". Made from the bagels with black onion seeds. I made a quick sauce using tomato puree, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, bay leaf, a splash of vinegar, red pepper flakes, a little sugar and salt and pepper. I parboiled sausage, sliced, sauteed. I added a heaping 1/2 cup of organic shredded mozzarella cheese, and broiled. Was GOOD.

I also seved them with those smiley faced potato fries. I can eat my weight in those!

Mawa's Raspberry Cream Cheese

My daughter directed me with this recipe and it yielded delicious results. I won't type the directions in Mawanese, though haha.

For Raspberry sauce

1 16 oz bag of frozen raspberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

For Wazbewwy (Raspberry) Cream Cheese Spread

1- 8 oz pack of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened (leave out at room temp for a couple hours prior)

1/4 cup raspberry sauce

2 T sugar

Juice of half a lemon

Directions

Simmer sugar and raspberries over medium low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes until thickened. Strain juice from skins and seeds through a fine mesh sieve. 

In a separate bowl, stir softened cream cheese until light. Add lemon juice, sugar and raspberry sauce; mix thoroughly.

Enjoy!!