my kitchen addiction

Friday Favorites – Episode 123

2012-02-09T22:09:37Z

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner… I’ve never been a big fan of the holiday, but it is a good excuse to make some fun food. So, for this week’s Friday Favorites, I thought I’d highlight a few of the Valentine’s Day-friendly desserts that caught my eye this week. Of course, they’re great for any time, but I think they’ll be a big hit with someone special, too!(...)

Read the rest of Friday Favorites – Episode 123 over at My Kitchen Addiction™.

© Jennifer Schall for my kitchen addiction, 2009-2012. | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: brown butter, cheesecake, chocolate, dessert, ice cream, macarons, mascarpone, nutella, red velvet, salted caramel, Valentine's Day, white chocolate

Gingerbread Love Shack for Valentine’s Day (WFMW)

2012-02-07T16:15:43Z

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away… While I can’t say that I have gotten anything for my hubby yet (oops, sorry honey!), I have done some Valentine’s Day baking.

So, while I may not be the person to help you with great gift ideas for that special someone (in fact, if you have any, I’d love to hear them!), I can share a fun, kid-friendly kitchen project with you today that is sure to put you in the Valentine’s Day mood.

The holiday season got pretty busy for me in December, and I never got around to making my annual gingerbread house. So, I decided that I would make a gingerbread love shack for Valentine’s Day instead.

Usually I make a giant gingerbread house, but I decided to go with something a bit smaller this time around. I went with a simple and easy design that is easy to put together. It’s a manageable project for an afternoon. And, if you’re baking with kids, it’s the perfect size for each everyone to make their own!

Plus, if you’re anything like me, you proably stocked up on Valentine’s Day candy at Target that you will never eat (does anyone really like to eat those candy hearts with messages on them?), but couldn’t resist because it was just so darn cute? Oh, you don’t do that? Hmm… Well, just in case you were tempted by the holiday candy aisle, this is a great way to get rid of some of those festive candies. I’m just saying. But really, please tell me I’m not the only one who bought way too much Valentine’s Day candy!

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Read the rest of Gingerbread Love Shack for Valentine’s Day (WFMW) over at My Kitchen Addiction™.

© Jennifer Schall for my kitchen addiction, 2009-2012. | Permalink | 10 comments | Post tags: candy, cookies, Decorating, gingerbread, house, love shack, royal icing, Valentine's Day, WFMW, Works For Me Wednesday

Cardamom Coffee Cake

2012-02-07T14:20:40Z

When I saw this Cardamom Coffee Cake on the Red Star Yeast website, I was excited for two reasons. First, I loved that the recipe used yeast to leaven the cake, but required no kneading. I certainly don’t mind kneading dough, but I was eager to try a no knead recipe. And the second reason? I adore cardamom.

Cardamom is a spice that I fell in love with a few years ago… It has a lovely exotic floral and slightly fruity aroma that pairs really well with warm spices like cinnamon and ginger. It is great for baking, and I love to add it to almost any recipe that contains cinnamon. I love the way it adds a whole new depth to the flavor of the dish.

I will be honest… I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I made this recipe. I haven’t made many no knead recipes in the past, so I wasn’t sure what the texture of the cake would be like. But, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the cake had a nice delicate crumb and was very light in texture.(...)

Read the rest of Cardamom Coffee Cake over at My Kitchen Addiction™.

Friday Favorites – Episode 122

2012-02-03T14:32:57Z

There’s a pretty big football game this weekend. Regardless of your position on the game, you probably are planning some fun snacks to much on while you watch the game (or just the commercials). So, for this week’s Friday Favorites, I thought I’d share the game day appropriate recipes that caught my eye this week…

There’s just something about buffalo chicken that football fans seem to love. Instead of the usual wings or dip, why not try making these Buffalo Chicken Cups from Gimme Some Oven. I think they are finger food at it’s finest!
Chili is another football fan favorite. It happens to be one of my favorites, too. I like to mix it up with different kinds of chili, and this vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Chocolate from Healthy Green Kitchen has caught my eye.
Two of my favorite appetizers combine into some great party food in this next one… Check out these Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Closet Cooking. I’m betting your friends and family would devour these before the pre-game show is over.
No party is complete without something sweet. And, when it comes to snacking and football, salty and sweet is even better. I think I am going to be making a batch of these Sweet and Salty Brownies from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.

© Jennifer Schall for my kitchen addiction, 2009-2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Post tags: Appetizers, artichoke, black bean, brownies, Buffalo chicken, chili, chocolate, finger food, football, mushrooms, spinach, stuffed mushrooms, Super Bowl, vegetarian

Bacon Horseradish Onion Dip

2012-02-01T03:40:18Z

I hear there’s a big football game on this weekend… That’s right, it’s Super Bowl weekend. Of course, the Ravens are out of it now, so I’m not as excited about the game. But, I still have the commercials and the half-time show. And, of course, there’s the food.

Even if you don’t really like football, I’m guessing that you have some weekend plans to watch the game and eat some pretty fabulous food while you’re doing it. And, if you haven’t finalized your menu yet, I’ve got a great (easy!) last minute recipe for you.

I have always been a fan of dips… Especially ranch dip. My favorite snack growing up was pretzels dipped in ranch dressing. I think I ate that every day after school for a very long time. I still indulge in it once in a while, I admit.

When we were visiting family over the holidays, I discovered a new favorite dip… Bacon horseradish dip. Oh my goodness! If you look for it at your local grocery store (in the dairy aisle, near the sour cream), you will probably find it… And, I admit that it does taste pretty good. But, take a look at the ingredients before you buy it. I won’t name names, but this prepared dip has all kinds of junk in it.

All of that got me thinking… It wouldn’t be too hard to make my own version of the dip at home, sans junk. So, that’s exactly what I did. I threw in some sweet onions (cooked in bacon fat!) to up the flavor anty a bit, too. And, I have to say… I think my version of the dip is even better than the one in the store. My husband agrees.(...)

Read the rest of Bacon Horseradish Onion Dip over at My Kitchen Addiction™.

Healthy Snacking (WFMW)

2012-02-01T14:17:50Z

It’s February… How are those New Years Resolutions coming?

Actually, I’m just joking. I didn’t make any resolutions this year. And, I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t just wait until January to make small changes to your diet, life, or whatever else you feel needs improvement. Next January is 11 months away!

Instead of making big resolutions that I am likely to break (who am I kidding?), I do my best to make small changes throughout the year. One of the areas that I find usually needs the most improvement is snacking. I do pretty well with making healthy meals, but when late afternoon hits, all bets are off. If there’s any chocolate in the house (especially brownies!), I am all over it.

So, lately I’ve been focusing on making some healthier snacks. Having healthy snacks on hand certainly helps to keep me from grabbing a handful of chocolate chips from the pantry… Or eating half a pan of brownies.

It’s simple to keep snacks on hand, so today I thought I’d share a few of my favorites!

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Read the rest of Healthy Snacking (WFMW) over at My Kitchen Addiction™.

© Jennifer Schall for my kitchen addiction, 2009-2012. | Permalink | 5 comments | Post tags: almonds, chocolate chips, granola, granola bars, guacamole, healthy, hummus, peanut butter, snacks, WFMW, Works For Me Wednesday

Pretzel Praline Bites

2012-01-25T16:24:28Z

I am a huge fan of all things salty and sweet… Salted caramel? I can eat it by the spoonful. Chocolate dipped pretzels? I love them! And, I totally understand the bacon cupcake fetish…While I’ve never actually baked one, I can definitely imagine all of the salty sweet goodness.

I remember when the Take5 candy bars first came out… I believe I was in high school. They quickly became a fast favorite of mine, and I’ve had a soft spot for them ever since. I remember discovering one of the few vending machines on campus at my college that always had a few rows stocked with Take5 bars. It was conveniently located in the same building as my computer science classes, and I can tell you that I ate one for breakfast on more than one occasion.

So, when I was perusing the January issue of Bon Appétit, and I stumbled on an easy recipe for chocolate covered pralines, I knew what I had to do… I had to add them to pretzels! For me, pralines are a bit too sweet on their own. But, once you add something salty? I’m sold! Less than 24 hours after seeing the recipe, I had already gathered up the ingredients and made my own salty sweet version!(...)

Read the rest of Pretzel Praline Bites over at My Kitchen Addiction™.

Friday Favorites – Episode 121

2012-01-26T20:10:53Z

It’s that time of the week again… Time for my Friday Favorites! I’ve found quite a few great recipes this week that I want to share with you, so let’s just get right to it, shall we?

I love Italian food… Especially lasagna. I like to mix it up, though, so I’m looking forward to trying this Eggplant Lasagna from Add a Pinch. I’m thinking it will make a nice cozy dinner one night next week!
I love all things salty and sweet… And, I haven’t been able to get these Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars from Two Peas and Their Pod out of my head since I saw them.
Grilled cheese is another one of my winter favorites…You can’t beat the ooey-gooey goodness of melted cheese paired with nice, crusty bread. If you like grilled cheese as much as I do, I know you’re going to want to give this Four-Cheese Grilled Pimento Cheese and Bacon Sandwiches from Evil Shenanigans.
I love cooking and baking with citrus this time of year… It adds so much brightness and and sunshine to my recipes. I’m especially fond of citrus curds. I think you’ll love this Orange Curd from Good Life Eats and this Meyer Lemon Curd from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. They will cheer up even the dreariest winter day!
I’m always excited to find homemade versions of some of my favorite snacks. I don’t eat them often, but I do have a soft spot for Snickers bars… Especially the bite sized ones. So, I’m loving these Homemade Snickers Bars from How Sweet It Is. You will thank me for sharing this one… Your jeans will not.

© Jennifer Schall for my kitchen addiction, 2009-2012. | Permalink | 4 comments | Post tags: bacon, candy bar, chocolate, chocolate chip, citrus, cookies, eggplant, grilled cheese, homeamde, Italian, lasagna, lemon curd, orange curd, pimento, salted caramel, sandwich, snickers

Vanilla Bean Biscotti

2012-01-25T15:39:07Z

While I love vanilla extract and vanilla sugar (as I shared with you yesterday), I also love to use vanilla beans when I am baking. One of my favorite recipes is a simple recipe for vanilla bean biscotti.

It may seem strange that I love biscotti so much… In fact, sometimes I can’t quite wrap my head around it, either. I’m normally more of a chunky, chewy cookie fan. So, it’s a bit out of character that I love the crisp, twice-baked cookies with no chocolate chunks or caramel. But, I do.

The redeeming quality of the crisp (even hard!) biscotti is the way they just seem to go perfectly with a cup of coffee. Take away the coffee… And, I’m not the least bit interested in biscotti. But, there’s just something about dunking a cookie in coffee, isn’t there?

Now that I have you craving a cup of coffee… And, some biscotti to dunk in it… Let’s talk about the recipe! Biscotti couldn’t be easier to make. I discovered a recipe for Italian biscotti in the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion a while back, and I’ve been using it ever since. It’s a great starter for all sorts of different flavors, and it always turns out beautifully. I cannot say the same for other biscotti recipes I’ve tried.

These vanilla bean biscotti are particularly simple. I basically used the standard Italian biscotti recipe and subbed in a fresh vanilla bean for the vanilla extract in the recipe. They may sound a bit plain, but the flavor from the vanilla bean really adds a lot more than the extract does. Just add a cup of French roast coffee or espresso!(...)

Read the rest of Vanilla Bean Biscotti over at My Kitchen Addiction™.

Ideas for Vanilla Beans (WFMW)

2012-01-25T01:17:26Z

This time of year, I’m always looking for new ways to jazz up my favorite foods. Winter may be dreary, but I try to make sure that the food that comes out of my kitchen is anything but. And, that’s where vanilla beans come in.

Over the holidays, I was lucky enough to win a gift certificate to Beanilla.com from My Baking Addiction and Good Life Eats. I picked out a large variety of beans to experiment with in my kitchen… Bourbon, Madagascar, Mexican, Tahitian, and Tonga. I’ve certainly used vanilla beans in my kitchen before, but I had never really paid attention to the variety. Each has distinct flavors and characteristics, and I’ve really enjoyed getting more familiar with them!

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Read the rest of Ideas for Vanilla Beans (WFMW) over at My Kitchen Addiction™.