Strawberries Romanoff

Salut! 

I was perusing my cookbooks, because ya know quarantine, and came upon an intriguing and quick treat, Strawberries Romanoff. I found it funny that the instructions only made up a 1/2 page in the dessert section of the Commander's Palace Cookbook. Yet they were straight forward and easy to follow. All I needed to acquire were strawberries and some cream, I already had everything else!

Recipe calls for: 

24 Very Ripe Strawberries

2 Teaspoons Sugar

8 Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream

2 Cups Heavy Cream, whipped

and 4 Ounces of Triple Sec/Grand Marnier

To start my Strawberries Romanoff, I cut up 20 strawberries, leaving 4 for garnish, and crushed them in the sugar with a fork. The juices soaked up the sugar creating a slight jam.

Then I added the whipped cream and ice cream, folding them all together. The Commander's Palace does have an ice cream recipe but we already had some vanilla bean in the freezer, begging to be eaten. I'll have to try making my own someday. 

Instantly the mixture resembled a soft cloud with streaks of pink and red. So pretty! *Be sure to whip your heavy cream beforehand, you want those soft peaks to form. Lastly, and most importantly, I mixed in the Triple Sec. For plating, I spooned the cream into wine glasses and garnished with my biggest strawberries! Voila!

OMG...guys...I created something....dreamy! Straight from the Commander's Palace Cookbook to my mouth! This fluffy divine creation was sweet and creamy. Each strawberry adding a tart flavor to the vanilla ice cream. The addition of Triple Sec took the dessert to another, more adult, level as well. Straying far from our usual chocolate chip cookies. I was so excited to have something new to devour, so was Craig!

Cheers to such a perfect treat!

-Bunny

Pineapple Kiss

Hey Summer Lovers! 

Here is a pineapple cocktail to sweeten your weekend from Sakara Life called the Pineapple Kiss. Similar to a tequila sunrise, the Pineapple Kiss is refreshing, sweet and nourishing. Pineapple is rich in vitamin C and the mint has anti-inflammatory powers! I'm not a big tequila fan but this cocktail totally swayed me!

To create this yummy cocktail you will need:

3/4 cup fresh pineapple juice 

1/4 cup coconut water

1.5 ounce blue agave tequila 

1/4 cup lime juice

Handful of muddled mint

And some pineapple slices, I chose to use cubed pineapple for convenience and snacking ability.

To start, muddle the mint and pineapple a bit in the base of your glass. Be careful...check out my face when I chipped off a piece of my stemless glass!

Next, mix the pineapple juice, coconut water, lime juice and tequila in a pitcher. It seemed silly to use a large pitcher, as Sakara suggested for this, so I opted for my mixing cup. Then you're ready to add some ice to your glass and pour the mixture over the mint and pineapple. You may also garnish your drink with some pineapple wedges. 

Voila! You have a beautiful sweet treat to soften the blow of the summer sun! As Sakara says, here's to eating clean and playing dirty. Thanks for readin!! 

Cheers,

Bunny

Love of Pralines!

Howdy!

This weekend summer decided to have one more hot day before giving in to winter. The air was thick, sticky and just plain hot! Naturally this made me think of New Orleans. I couldn't help but remember wandering those packed streets, listening to jazz and stopping to take a peek in every unique shop. One in particular had pieces of pralines to try. So creamy and perfect bites filled with pecan flavor. I'm sure the cashier noticed as I would casually pass by the tray while I perused. Missing this delish staple of New Orleans, I went to my Damn Good Sweet cookbook for a simple praline recipe and it was simply delicious. 

To start I melted butter, cream, brown and white sugar together until they reached 220 degrees. Then I folded in the pecans and turned off the heat. Next I spooned out about 2 tablespoons per praline onto a baking sheet. 

I did not have any parchment paper, so tin foil had to do. *Just be sure to use something or your pralines will stick to the pans like glue! They did get a little messy, in the future I would want to use something to shape them into more perfect circles. I wondered how Aunt Sally's did it. They had achieved praline perfection! 

It did not take long for them to cool down and stiffen. Craig did try to pick at them before hand lol! I was surprised that they were ready to serve so quickly. I peeled one off the tray and took a bite...YUM! These pralines turned out pretty well, maybe a bit too sugary but each bite took me back to NOLA. Sweet with a bit of pecan crunch. They were not as creamy as I imagined but I think that might require more cook time or more cream. Either way I found another way to eat pecans and reminisce he he! Now this hot day didn't seem so bad.

I am definitely coming back to this sweets cookbook soon!

Thanks, Bunny

Madeleines

Good Morning, 

So I lied! I ended up not making pie (yet) and went for some spongy-goodness in the form of madeleine! Besides their obvious yum factor I had been given a madeleine pan as a wedding gift (about time right!?) and every single morning my new boss comes into the office, sits down, and eats a madeleine. These were too perfect!

I found a simple recipe online and started putting my ingredients together. 

2/3 cup of flower

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel (salt)

1/3 cup sugar

Finely grated lemon zest (1 lemon)

2 eggs

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (leave a little unmelted for the pan)

2 tablespoons whole milk

____________________________________________

Alright! Onward to deliciousness!

In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. Place the sugar and lemon zest in a bowl, mix and rub together with your fingertips until sugar becomes moist. This created such a fresh lemon scent!  

For convenience, I went ahead and placed the sugar zest into my big mixing bowl and then added the eggs, giving me a lot more room! Whisk the mixture until it thickens a bit. Next add the honey and vanilla. Gently add the flour in (in three parts) and then the butter. Lastly, carefully stir in the milk. The batter will begin to look smooth and shiny. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in the fridge for about an hour. 

While you wait, butter and flower the madeleine pan. After the batter has properly chilled out, he he! spoon it into the pan and then set in the fridge for another hour. The batter will set into the molds and give it the classic madeleine shell shape! Set the oven to 400 degrees and place a large baking sheet inside for the madeleine pan to sit on. This helps to preheat the pan/process. 

Next, remove from fridge and place the madeleine pan into the oven and set your timer for 13 mins. I found that it really did not take long for them to bake, so be sure to check on them and to not leave them in too long!

After they have turned a lovely golden color (note: wait until the bumps spring back when touched), quickly remove the madeleines from the oven and release them from the pan. After a short cool-off dive in!

The madeleines were fluffy with a slight crispness on the edges. The lemon flavor was there, but not overpowering and on top of being simple to create they had the perfect amount of sweetness. Craig was pleased as well he he! So...here is another dessert that is dangerous to make, just like those pesky French macaroons! So so so yummy!!! I think I had 4 of them he he! 

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for my next creation. 

-Bunny

Ps. I brought some in for my boss, cheers Mark!