Pinkberry

Okay, I'll admit it, I have an unnatural obsession with Pinkberry. Have you had Pinkberry? What is a Pinkberry you ask, it's a frozen yogurt chain that is all over new York and Los Angeles. It is very different from frozen yogurt you may have had before It has a very distinct taste, it is very tart and tastes like plain yogurt. It only comes in three flavors, Plain, Green Tea, and Coffee. Then, there are tons of toppings to choose from, berries, kiwi's, mango, granola, chocolate chips, oreo's, it even gets as obscure as Captain Crunch and Fruity Pebbles.

My favorite combos:
-Green Tea with raspberries, mango, and fruity pebbles
(that's right, fruity pebbles...don't knock it till you try it)
-Coffee with coco pebbles.

The sad news is the closest Pinkberry is in West Lake Village in Los Angeles. The good news, that's where Mike's parents live. I have to get my fix every time I'm there.

So what is the point of this mindless homage to my beloved Pinkberry??? I was having a craving for Pinkberry the other night while I was watching Project Runway at home in Santa Barbara, what to do??? Then it hit me, I could make Pinkberry at home. I had recently seen a beautiful blog post from Vanilla Basil, she had made a delicious looking Raspberry & Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. YUM. I decided to feed my Pinkberry addiction and try a yogurt version of Vanilla Basil's ice cream. The result: Spectacular!

Raspberry Cookie's & Cream FRO YO

2 cups organic plain yogurt
2 tbsp milk
1 cup of organic raspberries
4 trader joe's jo jo's or oreo's
2 tbsp organic agave sweetener (or sugar)

Combine raspberries and milk and puree with an immersion blender. Pour puree through a strainer to strain out the seeds. Combine yogurt and raspberry puree and agave. Pour into ice cream maker according to manufactures directions.
Once it's done crumble cookie into frozen yogurt and stir to mix it up. Transfer frozen yogurt into a large tupperware and freeze for 30 minutes.

PS. I failed to mention the best news EVER. A few days ago I found out that Pinkberry is coming to Santa Barbara very soon. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I may have to survive on a strict diet of Pinkberry, I may put all my money into feeding my Pinkberry addiction and go broke. Wish me luck.

Fresh Key Lime Tartlette

Mike and his best friend Jon are out sailing to Anacapa Island today. After a day of sun, fun & hard work, I thought it would be nice if they came home to a delicious summer dessert. Lucky boys.

Key Lime Tartlette with Roasted Macadamia Nut & Coconut Crust

Crust
1 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup organic brown sugar
1 tbsp organic sugar
1 tbsp organic butter
2 free range organic egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toast macadamia nuts and coconut until both are browned, about 5 minutes. watch closely to make sure they don't burn. Combine nuts, coconut, brown sugar, sugar, and butter in a food processor. In another bowl whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, this will take about 10 minutes of continuous whisking. Slowly add egg whites to the nuts mixture, gently folding them to mix together.Press mixture into a lightly buttered small tart ramekin. Cook for 10 minutes. Let cool. Keep oven on.

Fresh Key Lime Filling
(adapted from Epicurious)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed key lime juice
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 free range organic egg yolks
1 tbsp key lime zest

While tartlette crust is baking. Squeeze key limes until you get about 1/4 cup of juice (about 20 key limes.) Strain to discard seeds. Combine condensed milk and egg yolk, mix together. Add key lime juice and mix till smooth. Grate lime zest into mixture.

Once the tartlette crusts are cooled, fill the crusts with filling. Bake for 15 minutes. The filling will begin to set in oven but will still be soft. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. This will set the filling. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving. Top with coconut whip cream, a raspberry, and fresh lime zest.

Coconut Whip Cream
whipping cream
sugar
unsweetened shredded coconut
vanilla extract
vanilla bean seeds

Combine ingredients to match your preference of sweet & coconutty. Whip until soft peaks form. Cool.

Vegan Blueberry Ice Dream

Blueberry Ice Dream
2 c. organic unsweetened soy milk
2 c. organic blueberries
3 tbsp organic agave
2 tbsp lemon, juiced

In a large skillet, heat blueberries, agave, and lemon juice until the blueberries are soft. Blend the mixture with a hand blender till smooth and slowly add soy milk. (you can strain the mixture to remove the blueberry skins, but the skins have tons of antioxidants, so i keep them in.)

Cool mixture in refrigerator for 1 hour.
Add mix to ice cream maker to manufacturers instruction.

This is a delicious fresh summer treat. I am seeing blueberry ice cream & gelato all over the place. This recipe at Coconut & Lime looked delicious and inspired me to try a vegan version of my own. I am still having difficulty using soy milk in the ice cream maker. It freezes like ice milk, instead of ice cream, but it is what it is and it is still yummy. I read recently that using coconut milk yields a creamier texture, I will try that next time.

Mean Cookies

I hate these stupid cookies. I made these cookies as a part of my menu for my Grad BBQ last weekend. This recipe didn't work out so well. The flavor was good, although a bit sweet for my taste, people really liked them...but the consistency totally failed. Out of the 30 cookies that I baked, about 9 made it. The rest crumbled when I took them off the cookie sheet.
I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's website. I should have known better. Every time I make anything using a Martha recipe, it doesn't turn out right. I think the lady is a domestic goddess, don't get me wrong, but her recipe's don't ever seem to work out for me. It's strange. I think it's a conspiracy, designed to make housewives feel inferior to Martha. Jerks. Anywho, here's the recipe. If I ever venture to make these cookies again, I will try to remedy the crumbly cookie problem by adding the full egg, maybe even 2 eggs. Egg binds the ingredient together, it's weird this recipe calls for egg yolk only........my conspiracy suspicion thickens.

Carrot Cake Cookies
(Martha Stewart)

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/4 cup organic sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup organic rolled oats
3/4 cup organic carrots, grated & peeled
1/3 cup raisins
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grate carrots.
Whisk together butter, sugars, and egg yolk.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir together. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Place dough balls on a cookie sheet and gently press each one down with your palm. Bake until edges are crisp, about 15 minutes.

Rice Crispy Treat Cake

I put on a Beach BBQ this weekend to celebrate my Grad School Graduation. I know it's traditional to celebrate milestones with a cake, but I am not the biggest fan of cake. I mean, it's good, but it's not my favorite treat. I thought to myself, "It's my party and I should have a dessert I LOVE." At first I thought about trying to make an ice cream cake, but figured it would melt. Then it occurred to me that my favorite thing in the world is rice crispy treats. So, my rice crispy treat cake was born. It was really quite simple. Making rice crispy treats is a very personal thing. Some people like them gooey, others like them firm. I like them to have the perfect balance of gooey & firm. If you decide to make this cake, use whatever recipe gives you the type of rice crispy treat you like.

Rice Crispy Treat Cake

13 cups rice crispy's

6 cups chocolate rice crispy's

1 1/2 sticks of butter

4 bags of marshmallows (mini's melt faster)

Line a large stock pot with wax paper.

Melt 1 stick of butter in a large stock pot with 2.5 bags of marshmallows. Stir until marshmallows are melted into a creamy paste. Stir in regular rice crispies and stir until rice crispies are fully coated.

Transfer rice crispy mixture into the large stock pot covered with wax paper. Press mixture down VERY firmly with your fingers and hands. It needs to be compact. The mixture will be very sticky, take a butter and lather you hand in it, like you are putting on lotion...it's kinda gross, but it'll keep your hands from sticking to the rice crispies.

Melt 1/2 stick butter with 1.5 bags of marshmallows. Melt down then mix in the chocolate rice crispies. Transfer chocolate crispies into stock pot on top of the regular rice crispy mixture. Again, press down to make it very compact.

Let cool at least 30-40 minutes. Inverse the pot on to a cake dish. Cover in tin foil and refrigerate.

Everyone loved this rice crispy treat cake. It was awesome. I orgigonally wanted to make this cake 3 tiers with the bottom layer being strawberry rice crispy treats, but I failed miserably. I tried to puree 1 cup of strawberries and add the puree to the marshmellow mizture. BUT, when I mixed the strawberry marshmellow with the regualr rice crispies, the rice crispies got reallt soggy and teh marshmellows lost their elasticiy. It was wierd, the strawberry puree must have had too much moisture. OH WELL. The cake worked out well being only two layers.

A Cookie a Day Keeps the Psychiatrist Away

YUM YUM YUM! These cookies are amazing. They blow the ginger molasses cookies out of the water. I found the recipe for Cherry & Chocolate Chip Cookies in the new Bon Appetit magazine. I loved that the cherries were soaked in cherry liquor, i thought that sounded chic. I've been in cooking land the past week preparing for my Grad school graduation BBQ. I made these cookies early in the week and froze them so they would be fresh when I wanted to serve them. I only made one batch of these cookies, and I regret it. If I could eat one of these cookies a day, I would be so very happy. The combination of cherries and chocolate is delectable. It may be difficult to believe but I actually followed this recipe almost exactly...it was tough, but there was nothing I felt needed to be omitted or added. It was perfect just how it was.

Cherry & Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from bon appetit July 2008)

1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup cherry liquor
2 tbsp water
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 cups semisweet large chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil cherry liquor, water, and dried cherries in a sauce pan. Remove from heat and let cherries soak for at least 15 minutes. Drain cherries and pat dry.
Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Use an electric mixer or a small cuisinart to beat butter and both sugars together until creamy. Add eggs and both extracts and beat to blend. Add to flour mixture and mix to blend. Stir in cherries and chocolate chips. Scoop dough onto a buttered cookie sheet. Bake till browned, about 13-15 minutes.

Dive in!

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Ginger Molasses Cookies (recipezaar)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brownsugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
white sugar

Combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix ginger, butter, and brown sugar in Cuisinart until creamy. Mix in molasses and egg. Gently fold in butter mixture into the flour mixture until combined. The dough will be very sticky. Chill dough for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into small balls and roll them briefly in white sugar. Place a small piece of crystallized ginger in the center of cookie and press flat with fork.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Blueberry Upside Down Cake

For Father’s Day, Mike and I went to LA for a BBQ at his parent’s house. I spent the morning baking. YIKES! I made little blueberry upside down cakes. I was inspired by Mike’s recent birthday dinner at one of Santa Barbara’s finest restaurants, Bouchon. Our meal was AMAZING. I actually tried frog legs and it’s true, they do taste like chicken. For dessert we had blueberry upside down cake with fresh lemon ice cream. It was heavenly! It felt like the perfect summer dessert. I wanted to try and recreate it for the Father’s Day BBQ. Luckily, on Bouchon's website, they posted a recipe for a raspberry pear upside down cake. I used the basic recipe, but used blueberries instead of raspberries and lemon instead of pears.

Blueberry Upside Down Cake

2 cups of fresh organic blueberries
1 cup organic flour
½ cup organic white sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ cup butter
1 egg
½ cup whole milk
1 lemon
2 Tbsp organic white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and baking powder. I don't have a sifter, so I put the flour and baking powder into a zip lock bag and shook it for 1 minute. Set aside. Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and butter together in a small Cuisinart and blend till smooth. Add one beaten egg and blend with sugar butter mixture. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, 1/3 at a time, alternating with 1/3 of milk each time. Stirring ingredients together with a whisk. Mix it the juice from one lemon. Set aside. Mix blueberries berries in 2 T. sugar. Grate lemon rind into the blueberries and sugar.


Butter 6 individual ramekins and layer each with berries.








Cover fruit with cake batter.







Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes or until done.







Let cool 5 minutes. Invert ramekin onto a plate and top with Lemon Zest Ice Cream.

This cake got excellent reviews from the family, but it's family, they have to say they like it. Truthfully, Bouchon's version was much better. The flavors in my cake were very similar to the cake at Bouchon's but the texture seemed very different. The cake batter dripped down into the berries which gave the top of the cake a gluey consistency. I'm wondering if I should have used a thicker layer of blueberries. I also had a difficult time getting this little cakes to cook all the way through. This may be because I baked them for 25 minutes at home, and then baked them for 10 more minutes at Mike's parent house. Thankfully, the ice cream covered up the fact that the cake was slightly underdone. When the cakes came out of the over, I noticed that the cake on top cracked as it baked. If you look at the picture of the cake baked in the ramekin, you'll see what I mean. I'm not quite sure why this happnened, but I'm assuming that a proper cake does not crack. Anyone know why this happened?

For all this cakes imperfections, it was still delicious. McConnells lemon ice cream is out of this world. I am looking forward to trying this recipe again.

Apple Crumble Pie with Oatmeal Crust

I am excited! This is my first post! I was inspired to start a food blog when I saw an old friend, Ivy, blogging about her baking and cooking adventures. I thought it was a great idea and decided to start my own food blog. Check out Ivy's blog.

It was Mike's birthday last weekend, the big 27. Mike loves pie, so I figured I'd take a chance and try and bake a pie. I am not much of a baker. A good baker follows the exact recipe, no matter how hard I try, I just can't help but add my own special twist. I tend to take 3 or 4 recipes and combined them, this was the case with my apple pie.

I started with making the crust, which doubled as the pie topping.


Oatmeal Crust and Pie Topping
1 c. organic flour
1 c. organic oats
1/2 c. organic brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
dash salt
1 stick of butter

Glaze
2 tbsp organic apricot preserve
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk or soymilk

preheat over to 400 degrees.

Mix flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together. Melt 6 tbsp of butter (3/4 of the stick) and combined it with dry ingredients mixture. I mix it all together with my hands. It should be a crumbly consistency. Take half of the mixture and set it aside, this will be the crumble topping.
Melt the last 1/4 of the butter and mix it in with the crust mixture. this should give it a little creamier texture.

Grease a pie tin, and transfer the crust mixture into the tin. Press it down firmly to make it fit into the tin. You can make the crust as thin or thick as you like.

Mix together the apricot preserve, egg yolk, and milk. Use a pastry brush to brush this mixture onto the entire pie crust. this glaze will keep the crust from drying out. Save the remaining glaze to glaze the topping.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Take out pie crust to cool and reduce the oven to 350 degrees. While the pie crust is cooking and cooling, prepare the apple filling.

Apple Filling
8 organic golden delicious apples
1 c. organic sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. bourbon
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash salt
corn starch

Peel apples and slice them into thin slices. Mix sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon and toss it with the apples. Pour the bourbon over the apples and simmer the apples in a larger skillet over medium heat (I had to do it in two batches.) As they simmer and soften, the apples will release their own juices. Slowly add corn starch 1 tsp at a time, this will thicken the juices. Do this until you reach the desired consistence for the apple filling. I probably added 3 tsp or so, maybe a bit more.

When the apples have soften but still firm, about 5-7 minutes, take them out of the skillet with a slotted spoon and arrange the apple slices in the pie crust (you want the juices to be on the apples but not so much that it drenches the pie crust.) Layer the apples in the crust until it reaches the top of the crust.

Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the apple filling. Brush the remaining glaze over the crumble topping.

Bake at 350 degrees. I checked the pie every 15 minutes or so. I ended up baking it for 40 minutes or so. I knew it was done when the topping was nice and browned.

Cool the pie. As it cools the apple filling will thicken a bit.

This pie turned out awesome! Mike loved it. I served it warm with McConnell's Cinnamon Ice Cream. I have to say, it was even better when we had the pie cold the next day. I was thinking next time I make this recipe, I will make it as apple pie bars. I may also increase the apples to make more layers in the pie.