1. Les Cuileres by Eva Juliet {it hangs in my kitchen} 2. Gary Clark Jr. {on my iPod} 3. Infinity Scarf from Marine Layer · san francisco {it’s on my neck}
4.Veal Demi Glace from Williams Sonoma {it’s in my soup} 5. in season blood oranges {in everything I cook}
The Treats Truck, a new baking book by Kim Ima, is a surprisingly delightful and simple baking book that is perfect for all. It’s quirky design captures your interest instantly and the easy to follow baking instructions makes everyone of her recipes achievable. From the famous Treats Truck sandwich cookies to cakes and pies, this baking book has all of the traditional and delicious treats you grew up with and some new ones too covered!
After a conversation with a friend about cookies, Kim Ima’s dream was realized and soon enough the Treats Truck was born. A silver food truck turned into a dynamite baking mobile, The Treats Truck currently roams the streets of New York delighting customers with Kim’s sweet treats. After much success in the truck and The Treats Truck Stop (her bakery and cafe in Brooklyn), The Treats Truck Baking Book born.
Now, I’ve never been to visit the Treats Tuck before in person, but after reading and testing some of the recipes I can assure you it must be something spectacular. The Treats Truck Baking Book starts with simple yet delicious recipes of all of our favorite cookies from peanut butter to sugar to chocolate. Kim then lets us in on the secret of her cookie sandwiches and all of the delectable fillings. I have found the possibilities are endless! After the cookie extravaganza you will find the Treat Trucks favorite cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and pie recipes including a recipe for ICE CREAM CONE CUPCAKES (this one I need to make soon)!
The Peanut Butter Chocolate Truckers are pretty awesome!
I found The Treats Truck Baking Book to be informative, easy to follow, and a great reference for basic baking. You won’t find a gastronomical baking invention in here but what you will find is beautiful and tasty sweet treats. This one will be great for the beginning baker, home cook, teenager, college student, and practically everyone that loves to cook and bake! As Kim says on the cover, “Not too fancy, always delicious!”
Disclosure: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from William Morrow. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
I’ve been excited about this cookbook release for awhile now and when asked to review it was overjoyed to say the least. If you aren’t aware of Food52 yet, it is an on-line food community created by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, successful cookbook authors and noted women in the food world. They created a place to give “people from all over the world a way to exchange their ideas and to celebrate each other’s talents.” Food52.com was such a success that Amanda and Merrill created The Food52 Cookbook released recently and published by William Morrow.
The Food52 Cookbook: 140 Winning Recipes From Exceptional Home Cooks captures the amazing talent from the Food52.com community. For 52 weeks, recipe contests were run on the website and the winning 140 recipes create this book. The collection itself is impressive but not at all overwhelming. I think inspiring is a better word to describe the collection because every time I have opened its beautifully photographed pages I want to jump in the kitchen. The recipes are simple to follow but not “dumbed down” and I love that it includes tips for each recipe, an insight to the recipe creator, and a community review of each recipe. Living up to the name, The Food52 Cookbook is organized by seasons, an idea that is not found often in today’s cookbooks. This is how we should cook. Not by what was made and frozen five months ago but what is in season now.
This is not your average “home cook” collection of recipes but more of an extensive collection of real, whole, and simply beautiful food. With recipes such as Ciabatta Stuffing with Chorizo, Sweet Potato, and Mushrooms; Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter; Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies; Ricotta and Chive Gnocchi; and Lazy Mary’s Lemon Tart, this is a cookbook for everyone that really loves food and knows the value of cooking a good meal for their friends and family. The Food52 Cookbook: 140 Winning Recipes From Exceptional Home Cooks is definitely one of my favorites that I will be sucked into for a long time.
The Giveaway is now closed and winners have been notified. Thanks for participating! I’m so in love with this book I want to give you a copy! I have two books, courtesy of William Morrow, to giveaway to two lucky people. This is a must have for the holidays. The giveaway will end at noon (central) on Monday, November 28, 2011. Two winners will be chosen by random.org.
To enter do one or all of the following:
Good Luck!
There is nothing more simple to make that produces such an elegant outcome than a compound butter. It is one of my favorite little tricks for entertaining and always adds a pop to a dish. Placing a small bowl of compound butter on a holiday table brings an extra bit of glamor to a meal and will have your guests talking. A compound butter is basically a butter with added ingredients that produces a flavored butter and can change a meal completely! Practically anything can be combined with softened butter and it takes only minutes.
Recently, I was asked by Kerrygold, the makers of pure Irish butter and cheeses, to create a usage for their new Kerrygold Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter and Kerrygold Reduced Fat Irish Butter as part of a contest between a few selected food bloggers. Naturally I said yes. I mean how could anyone say no to butter? And Kerrygold isn’t just any plain butter but an all-natural butter that uses milk from grass fed cows.
Their new Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter is unlike that of many soft spreads out their that contain oils and additives. Kerrygold just contains two ingredients: cream and salt and I have found with it’s smooth consistency it is perfect to use for a compound butter. Their new Reduced Fat Pure Irish Butter is just as good and great to use for a compound butter as well. With 25% less fat than traditional butter and 50% less sodium, Kerrygold’s Reduced Fat Butter is a wonderful choice if you are cutting down on fat and sodium but still want natural ingredients (just cream and salt) and delicious butter flavor. The taste of both Kerrygold Softer Pure Irish Butter and Reduced Fat Irish Butter is unbelievable!
Now lets get onto those compound butters, shall we? Like I said earlier a compound butter can be made with your favorite flavors and spices. Here are two intensely delicious butters to add a kick to practically anything you would use butter with. The first compound butter is a Pumpkin and Spice Compound Butter. Perfect for the holidays or an indulgent treat on breads, pancakes, waffles, or french toast. The second is a reduced fat Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter that will add falvor and depth to sauteed, grilled, or roasted meats, seafood, and vegetables without the extra fat.
*cooks note: today I’m using both Kerrygold Softer Pure Irish Butter and Kerrygold Reduced Fat Irish Butter that come in 8 ounce tubs. One 8 ounce tub equals 2 (4oz) sticks of butter.
Pumpkin and Spice Compound Butter makes 8oz
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To serve, spread on warm toast, bread, bagels, french toast, waffles, the possibilities are pretty much endless and the outcome is incredible.
…now for the Roasted Garlic Herb Compound Butter.
Just give me a loaf of bread and a knife.
Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter makes 8 ounces
Serve right away or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Try this Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter on grilled or sauteed vegetables, meats and seafood, and pasta for a light meal or on toasted bread for an insanely good garlic bread. Enjoy!
Pumpkin and Spice Compound Butter makes 8oz
2. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To serve, spread on warm toast, bread, bagels, french toast, waffles, the possibilities are pretty much endless and the outcome is incredible.
Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter makes 8 ounces
3. Serve right away or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Try this Roasted Garlic and Herb Compound Butter on grilled or sauteed vegetables, meats and seafood, and pasta for a light meal or on toasted bread for an insanely good garlic bread. Enjoy!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Kerrygold. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
As a proper Texas girl, I have been in love with tortillas since birth. Everything is better when wrapped in a tortilla. But as a mom I have become increasingly aware of the excess and unnecessary ingredients in packaged tortillas. For the major packaged tortilla brands this includes a long list of preservatives, MSG (seriously why?!), hydrogenated oils, corn syrup (again why?) and other things that if we simply made them at home would never ever be in a tortilla recipe.
But who has the time to make tortillas on a daily basis? Not I said the fly. That’s why I was thrilled to give Tortilla Land flour tortillas a try. With five simple ingredients; wheat flour, water, canola oil, salt, and sugar, Tortilla Land Flour Tortillas are all natural, no cholesterol, no saturated fat, and 0 trans fat. A massive burrito size tortilla is the same amount of calories and less fat than most major brand taco sized tortillas I found.
Because Tortilla Land Tortillas are made without preservatives and all-natural ingredients they are packaged uncooked. Simply place on a medium high skillet and wait about 30 to 45 seconds until bubbles start to rise. Flip the tortilla and cook for an additional 30 seconds until golden. In 60 seconds you have a fresh practically homemade tortilla.
The verdict: Amazing! These tortillas reminded me of the fresh tortillas that my nanny’s mom would make and I would devour when I was younger. Thin, flavorful, and remarkably fresh, Tortilla Land Flour Tortillas are perfect for quesadillas, tacos, wraps and more. Trust me I tired them on everything. Two slippers up!
Pros:
Tortilla land also has a line of wheat and corn tortillas (that I did not get to try but can imagine they are just as good). You can find them in most major cities in the refrigerated section of your store. To find a store near you visit http://www.tortillaland.com/where-to-buy/
I enjoyed testing and trying these tortillas. Here’s a fun recipe for the entire family to join in on. Makes a good back to school breakfast treat. Check back tomorrow for a more adult friendly brunch version that we love.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Tortilla Land. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.FTC 16 CFR, Part 255
One of my favorite things lately is Postagram. I’m sure my family members and friends are getting really tired of me sending them these postcards of my awesome iPhone photography but I just can’t help it. Postagram is an app for iPhone and Android that allows you to instantly send a postcard with a detachable photo to anyone with a tap of your screen. Grab a photo from Instagram (my favorite), Facebook, or your phone, write a message, pick someone to send it to and that’s it. In 3 to 5 days your postcard arrives. Postagram usually attacks me in the wee hours of the morning when I can’t sleep and if you haven’t gotten one from me yet just wait… it’s on it’s way.
Here’s an instagram photo that went out to practically everyone, including my husband. Now the photo resides on my computer. Notice the camera lens covered with flour?
Find me on Instagram as smonkeyslippers
