Chocolate Rolls

Several weeks ago my mom and I made cinnamon rolls, though I never got a picture of them to put in here. Since I found them so much fun to make I decided to give it a go again. Typically I'm the type of girl that follows recipes to the tee, but I didn't want cinnamon, I wanted my dream food: chocolate. And from this desire became the birth of my new found breakfast food: the chocolate roll.

I also had to make a change to the dough from the cinnamon roll recipe because I was very low on all-purpose flour. Because of this I replaced a cup and a half of what should have been all-purpose flour with wheat flour. It wasn't a bad change though, however next time I want to try it with just the all-purpose.

Chocolate Roll Recipe

Ingredients

1 (.25 oz) package active-dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp milk

1 cup pecans

Directions

1. In a small bowl dissolve yeast and water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl combine yeast, sugar, salt, egg, and all-purpose flour. Stir well to combine.

3. Mix in the whole wheat flour 1/2 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together put it on a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

4. Put chocolate, milk, and butter in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring halfway through.

5. Lightly grease a 8x8 inch square pan. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Smear the dough with the melted chocolate and then sprinkle evenly with pecans. Roll the dough up from the edge until it forms a roll. Slice the roll into 16 even sized pieces and place them in a pan with cut side up.

6. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Vermicelli with Sauce alla Sofia

First, I must credit this recipe to Gourmet.Com. I found out my cholesterol is higher than it should be, so I've been trying to find dishes that are lower in cholesterol and bad fats than things I typically eat (oh goodbye for now red meats). So I'm trying to cut out things out of my diet that could potentially put me at risk for heart diseases. I'm too young to have to worry about shit like this, but such is life. Granted, I haven't made the decision to completely opt out of red meat, but it is severely getting cut back into things I can and cannot eat. Anyway - I decided pasta would do me some good and since I got a food processor for Christmas and hadn't used it yet, it was the best way to go!

So I found this recipe and while it looks like pesto, it isn't. However, unfortunately when I was processing the sauce, I couldn't find the damned capers. I was sad, because I think they would have given this sauce the extra kick it could have used (because I felt a little too much olive in each bite). I did add a little more salt to make up for the lack of capers. Now where they went is the question.

Vermicelli with Sauce alla Sofia Recipe

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small onion, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
4 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped
1/3 cup brine-cured green olives, pitted
2 teaspoons drained bottled capers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 lb vermicelli (thin spaghetti) or linguine

Directions

1. With a food processor running drop in garlic until finely chopped. Stop the motor and add parsley, onion, anchovies, olives, capers, salt, and pepper. Process until finely chopped.

2. With motor still running add 1/2 cup of oil, blending until incorporated.

3. Cook pasta in boiling salted water. Drain well and toss with extra 1 tsp of olive oil. Pour sauce over pasta and serve immediately.

Mango Lassi

I got a crock-pot for Christmas and I made curry in it last night, using it for the first time. Unfortunately the curry got devoured by the pigs in my family before I could capture it as well as the homemade naan I made (though I have made that before and posted a picture in here before). So I was on this whole Indian food thing. I traveled to India two summers ago for one of the best experiences of my life and have continued by fascination in the culture through my taste buds. And because I just recently watched the movie Slumdog Millionare, I was intriqued once again to experience a part of the culture.

I bought a Cooking Lite magazine yesterday and one of the recipes was for a mango lassi. YUM! I added more mango than the recipe called for because it was tasting more yogurty than mangoey. And I would also be inclined to Americanize this recipe completely and add other fruits to the mix. It's basically a delicious smoothie.

Mango Lassi

Ingredients

3 ripe mangoes, chopped up

3 cups Greek-style yogurt

1 cup 1% milk

3 tbsp sugar

pistachios

cardamom

Directions

1. Combine the mangoes, yogurt, and milk. Blend together.

2. Blend in the sugar.

3. Pour into glasses and top with several pistachios and a pinch of cardamom.

*makes 6 servings*

Cook Book Giveaway: Rachel Ray

Because unfortunately Suzanne never got back to me with a way to contact her, I chose a new winner. Congratulations jnmacdonald! In the future for giveaways I won't be counting people's entries who fail to provide me with a way to contact them. Only fair.

Pomegranate Muffins

One of the classes I'm taking this quarter is a photo class. For our final project we had to create a book of 10 cohesive images. I decided to create a cookbook of things I've baked, since that seems to be my forte lately. At first the project was so much fun, because I got to bake, but then it became kind of dull because that's all I did.. was bake. And it wasn't even baking for fun anymore, I was baking because I had to get a certain number of pictures taken.

Anyway, this is one of my photos. The first thing I baked for this project was the pumpkin cheesecake, which I've already put in here. This was my second attempt. I had never worked with pomegranates before, and while difficult to get the seeds out, it was worth the hunt! Yum!

Pomegranate Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp grated orange peel

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin.

2. In a bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in orange peel and pomegranate seeds. Make a well in the center.

3. Whisk together milk, egg, and cooled butter. Pour liquid into well and stir until batter is moistened and ingredients are evenly mixed.

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with sugar.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let muffins cool for 10 minutes before removing.

ALSO!!! Suzanne! I still need your email address. If in a few days I haven't heard from you the random number generator is going to select a new winner of the Guy Food Cookbook!

Cookbook Giveaway: Rachel Ray

So number 82 was the winning number according to the random number generator! Suzanne has won the cookbook and posted the following:

MMmmm I like the sound of these.http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/appetizer-side-dish-recipes/creamed-spinach-toppers/article.html

The creamed spinach toppers do look delish! My mouth is watering just looking at it.

Unfortunately however, Suzanne, you didn't leave your email address! Please either comment back here with your email address so I can get your information to mail you the book. If after a week I don't hear back I'm going to have to pick a new winner.

Anyway, congrats!

Cookbook Giveaway!

This month I have another cookbook to give away: Rachel Ray's "Guy Food" Top 30-30 minute meals. Whether you're cooking a meal for your significant other and want to make him something delicious, whether you're a guy yourself loving to cook, or whether you're a lady who loves the traditional 'guy food' (because hell, I know I do!) now's your chance to get your hands on this book FOR FREE!

Of course though, there will be just one catch. It's nothing hard, but I need something to make you qualify to win this book! Go to Rachel Ray's website and find one recipe you absolutely want to try - something you find innovative and creative. Leave the link to the recipe in a comment along with your email address (so if you win I can contact you). On Tuesday December 2nd (my 22nd birthday!) I will choose a winner using a random number generator. The winner will receive this cookbook in the mail!

*EDIT* If you fail to follow the rules and pick a recipe, your comment will be deleted and you will not have a chance to win the cookbook, because apparently you didn't read. If you failed to provide an email address, I hope you continue following this so if you win I can get in contact with you!