Carrie: ICBC Pudding

The secret ingredient a couple weeks for ICBC was pudding. I don't actually like pudding, so I didn't eat any of this pie, but the Tuesday night dinner crew finished off the whole thing so I feel safe recommending it. The preparation was super easy too, which is another big plus for it. I'm going to put it on the Tuesday night dinner dessert short list. I found the recipe on FoodGawker, and it comes from chaos in the kitchen. One of the reviews of the pie was that it was pretty sweet, so you could probably take the sugar down just a notch.

Chocolate Pudding Pie (from chaos in the kitchen)
1 pie shell, prepared and baked
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp cocoa
2 Tbsp butter, chopped
1 tsp vanilla

Combine milk, egg yolks, sugar, salt, flour and cocoa in a cold saucepan. Stir thoroughly to combine.
Turn heat to medium, stir constantly until thick but do not boil.
Once thick, remove from heat, stir in butter and vanilla. Let mixture cool slightly and pour into baked pie shell. Chill. I served it with a spoonful of Cool Whip. Enjoy!

Ice Cream Pie

This ice cream pie recipe comes courtesy of Gimme Some Oven, and I think I found it via FoodGawker. Anyway, it is the easiest dessert I've ever made, probably, and was delicious. It's a fun dessert because it's really easy to customize however you want. All you need is a half gallon of ice cream, one 9-inch graham cracker or cookie crust, and your favorite toppings (cookie crumbles, nuts, candy pieces, etc). Let the ice cream thaw just slightly, then put about a 1" inch layer of ice cream on top of your crust, add a light layer of toppings, then another layer of ice cream, then another layer of toppings. Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer until ready to eat. I made this Tuesday morning and served it at Tuesday night dinner. This ice cream pie was made with a graham cracker crust, French silk ice cream, fudge-striped chocolate cookie crumbles, and pecan pieces. I think this might have to be a new go-to dessert.

Carrie: ICBC Blackberries

A couple weeks ago the secret ingredient was blackberries. I'm actually not overly fond of blackberries; of all the berries, it's probably my least favorite. However, a couple days after learning what the secret ingredient was, The Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for blackberry cheesecake. It seemed a little like fate to me. So last weekend when I decided to go on a cooking frenzy, I decided I wanted to make the blackberry cheesecake. However, I didn't make it through everything I wanted to make for my cooking frenzy and held off on the cheesecake until Monday night so I could serve it for dessert at Tuesday night dinner. The cheesecake ended up being absolutely delicious. It's definitely a win, and the blackberry sauce looked so pretty on top. I also finally used my springform pan that I got last year from Whitney, and it was amazing. Oh my goodness. It was pretty cool just popping the cheesecake out of the springform.

Blackberry Cheesecake (adapted recipe from The Pioneer Woman)
For Crust
one box of nilla wafers
one stick of butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla

For Filling
three 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups of sugar
4 whole eggs
1/2 cup of sour cream

For Topping
2 cups of blackberries
1/2 cup of sugar
2 Tbsp of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place wafers into a food processor and pulse into crumbs then add melted butter and vanilla and pulse until combined. Pour into a 10-inch springform pan and press crumbs into the bottom. If it comes up on the sides a little, that's okay.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add sour cream and mix again. Pour mixture over the crust, smooth the top and bake for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Turn off oven, open oven door and allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven with the door opened for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

For the topping, add all the ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour the topping over the cheesecake and allow it to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Mini Cheesecakes

I didn't actually eat one of these mini cheesecakes, but the reviews of them came back positive. I made these for the neighbors and brought it over to them the night of their housewarming party. I like individual-size desserts for parties because there's no need to slice anything, and people can just hold it in their hands and eat it. I thought these were especially cute and adorable as well as relatively easy to make. I'd make them for a party again for sure.

Mini Cheater Cheesecakes (Recipe from Delish)
18 vanilla wafers
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 18 muffin tins with cupcake liners and drop a vanilla wafer in the bottom. In a bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Fill the liners 2/3 full with cream cheese mixture. Bake for 17 minutes. Top each with fruit of choice.

Chocolate Chip M&M Blondies

For the dessert at the bridal shower, I decided to make something really super simple. I'm really just not a dessert kind of gal, and the simpler the dessert, the better in my opinion. So I made these delicious chocolate chip M&M blondies and served them with some mint chocolate chip ice cream. Not fancy by any means, and I probably could have selected something that would have matched the rest of the menu a little better, but in my opinion, the blondies were still delicious.

Chocolate Chip M&M Blondies (recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup mini M&Ms

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
Whisk flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. In another bowl, stir together the melted butter and brown sugar. Stir until smooth. Add in the egg and stir. Next, stir in the vanilla until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir until the ingredients are combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and M&Ms. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 23-25 minutes.

Becky: ICBC Strawberries

Strawberry Tiramisu

Ingredients:
-3/4 lb. (1 1/2 cups) Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
-3 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, divided
-1/1/2 cups heavy cream
-1 pint strawberries, rinsed and hulled
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup orange juice
24 sponge ladyfingers

Directions:
In medium bowl, whisk Mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 tablespoon of the orange liqueur until well blended. In large chilled bowl with electric mixer at medium speed, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form; gently fold whipped cream into Mascarpone misture until blended. In blender or food processor, blend together remaining liqueur, strawberries, sugar, and orange juice to a smooth puree. Pour strawberry mixture into shallow bowl.
Dip 12 ladyfingers in strawberry mixture to coat; arrange in a 9-inch square glass dish, side-by-side, in 2 rows touching. Spread 1/2 of the strawberry mixture evenly over rows. Spread 1/2 of the cream mixure on top. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers; arrange over cream layer. Spread with remaining strawberry mixture. Spread with remaining cream, smoothing top with spatula. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
To serve, cut into 9 squares. Place on dessert plates and dust each with cocoa powder; top with a sliced fanned strawberry.

Since this was my week to pick an ingredient, I decided to go a little all-out. This recipe was taken from the Best of the Best from Colorado Cookbook, by Gwen Mckee and Barbara Moseley. All in all, this recipe was a little pricey. For instance, the Mascarpone cheese, orange liqueur and the ladyfingers were all over $5, plus I had to go to a specialty Italian market to get the ladyfingers, but it was all well-worth it in the end because it was AMAZING, and it looked beautiful when it was all ensembled.
I did cut the recipe in half though, because I figured that if I didn't it would be way too much for me, my husband and daughter to eat and that too much of it would go to waste. If there was a party that we were going to, however, I would definitely make this to bring along. I also goofed up a little in making this. I realized too late, after I had already ensembled the whole thing, that I had forgotten to add the granulated sugar to the strawberry mixture. I was afraid that it wouldn't taste as good, but I really don't think it made that much of a difference because the whipped cream was already very sweet. Or if it did, it was still delicious. It tasted a lot like the strawberry shortcakes that my mom used to make when I was a kid. All in all, I definitely recommend this recipe to serve at a party if you want to go to a little bit of extra effort in getting all the ingredients. Putting it all together was very easy though. In my cookbook, it noted that this recipe should get rave reviews from guests, and I can definitely see (and taste) why!

Favorite Foods: Egg Custard Tart

Can you tell I've been expanding the range of this blog? I figure we can do more than just cook and that it's all an appreciation and love for food, so I've been sharing more food-related things I love. I promise we'll never stray away from food, even if I occasionally stray from cooking. But truthfully, I eat out as often as I cook, and every once in awhile, I just have to tell you about the great things I'm eating that I didn't cook. Like this egg custard tart. This might not be the most amazing picture, but egg custard tarts are the most delicious dessert.

I always get them when I go to dim sum, which I always describe as a Chinese brunch. Think tapas or small plates, where you're getting many different small dishes. Dim sum is also fun because it's servers pushing carts around with these small dishes to your table and you picking and choosing from their carts. That's probably a really poor description, but suffice it to say, dim sum is delicious and a fun eating experience. I have terrific memories of going into Philadelphia's Chinatown with family and eating dim sum and then eating egg custard tarts or going to the bakeries and getting these.

I was craving dim sum so I took a few friends with me to Gee's Garden in Tucson and introduced them to the concept and now they're big fans. Gee's Garden, by the way, is alright food. It's nothing like Philadelphia. This photo is from last week's brunch. As it turns out, dim sum is also fabulous after a late night evening of drinks and dancing.

Snickerdoodles!

The first time I had ever a snickerdoodle was when a good friend of mine came to Tucson for a visit and brought cookies from her mom. Don't be shocked when I tell you that I was about 19 at the time. Apparently, snickerdoodles just weren't to be found in my childhood and that is a shame because they are delicious. And I don't even really care for cinnamon! I have got to stop baking cookies with ingredients I think I don't like. But here is a snickerdoodle recipe from my handy-dandy Better Homes & Gardens, 14th edition cookbook. Also, best cookie name. Ever.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (lacking this ingredient, a quick google search told me I could sub in three times the called for amount with lemon juice; that would be 3/4 teaspoons lemon juice)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

In a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar (lemon juice). Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

1 box pound cake mix

Eggs and milk as per box

1 can strawberry pie filling

1 can whipped cream

1. Preheat oven as per box.

2. Mix batter as per box.

3.  Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into the bottom of your lined cake cups.

4.  Spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling over batter.

5 . Cover filling with another tablespoon of batter.

6. Bake as per box (my mix took 35 minutes at 350).

7. Remove cupcakes from pans, let cool.

8. Once cool top with whipped cream.

---Review---

Pretty good. My pie filling tasted a bit like jelly, so maybe next time I will make my own filling (cut strawberries into slices, cover with sugar, let sit overnight in fridge). I used the new canned Cool Whip as a topping and cut x's into the top of each one before putting it on so that it would melt in a little.

I enjoyed it and believe that the recipe would work well with any type of pie filling (next time I'm going to try cherry, which is my favorite type of pie).