Very French

I was making little sandwiches with festive “Thanksgiving” cookie cutters, and it gave me the inspiration to think of a fancy French course, at a five-star restaurant.

I sliced mozzarella cheese, and then cut it in half again. I took some brown sugar smoked ham and put it on top of one half of the cheese. I topped the ham with the other half of the mozzarella. Next, I took a petite cookie cutter and pressed out a mini mozzarella and ham creation.

To complete the French look, I used my culinary imagination, and did little dots of mustard around the plate. Carefully, with a toothpick, I pulled the dots into lines. I then took a little bit of hot relish and dabbed it in between the mustard lines. And, as a final finish, I took two green olives and pushed them in opposite directions on a toothpick, and then placed it on top of the ham and cheese combination.

And here it is!

… Very French!

xoxo Rachel

Spooktacular

It is Halloween, so I made a goolish spider web rich chocolate “flour-less” cake.

For the frosting, I mixed my own creation together with a little powdered sugar, cream cheese, and milk

 I then decorated the cake with the frosting to form a spider web. For the center I put a few semi-sweet chocolate chips. However, if you had a plastic spider on hand you could use that as well, or whatever you prefer.

Roasted Carrots and Onions

Chop fresh carrots and onions

Combine the two on a sheet pan with good olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper

Je Mange

Homemade pizza with sliced tomatoes and lettece

A grilled cheese sandwich with ham, tomatoes, and onions - a "must-try" for all cooks!

Buttery biscuits! Unfortunately I can't take credit for these - they came from a package!!! Nonetheless, they were delightful!

Coconut candy bars!!!

Volia! To make this, simply do a graham cracker crust, a coconut and sweetened condensed milk filling, and a semi-sweet and peanut butter covering.

 

xoxo

Rachel

Halloween Contest for You!

Halloween is around the corner, therefore I go into candy craze mode, although I’m a little old for that. To celebrate Halloween, I will of course dress up and go all out on a Halloween costume, and I will share my excitement with friends.

New York City is notorious for having lavish Halloween parties, with over-the-top costume contests.

So, the question is, how will you celebrate Halloween? Is there some tradition you always do? Are you working on your awesome costume for your NYC party? Do you have greats craft ideas? 

If you do, send them to me, and I will publish your post idea on my blog featuring a direct link to your blog as well. To submit your ideas, create a blog post with your ideas, and submit the direct link to that post to me through a comment on this post Halloween Contest for You! I will publish as many ideas as I think are great, so that means you can submit multiple times!

Good luck!

Casual Dinner with Friends

I had a very casual dinner with my friends; and it was so delicious. I made some homemade cheese pizza, using various cheeses to get a combination of  sharp, mild, and tangy flavors:

Mmmmm…. It was so good!

Then, using my Barefoot Contessa knowledge, I pulled out some extra vegetables I had in my refrigerator: whole organic carrots I chopped, asparagus, tomatoes, and onions. I drizzled good olive oil over it, generously added Kosher salt, freshly ground black  pepper, basil, and other herbs to bring out the flavors of the vegetables. I cooked it in the oven at 450 degrees until they were  nicely carmelized. I scraped the little black bits off the pan and added a little more Kosher salt to revitalize the flavors.

 Gorgeous!

I also served a toasty warm bakery fresh french baguette with butter, rice, salad, shrimp, and of course a few great drinks!

All in all, this was a great casual dinner that I did enjoy with some fabulous friends!

Birthday!

A few days ago my dad celebrated his birthday, so I made him a deliciously moist chocolate cake. Here is what I did to have a delicious treat!

I baked the Hershey’s Chocolate Cake recipe – which can be found on the back of any Hershey’s Original Cocoa Powder Container. 

Here is the batter: Very liquidy- don’t be alarmed!

I put the batter into two lightly floured 9-inch round baking pans.

After baking in the oven, I took out the pans and let them cool down.

I whipped up the Hershey’s Extra Dark Chocolate Frosting following the recipe found on any Hershey’s Extra Dark Cocoa Powder container. – I was all out of regular powder from baking the cake, I had some dark cocoa powder on hand, so I resorted to that recipe-

I frosted the cake, and volia! A chocolaty creation that tasted scrumptious!

Everyone certainly enjoyed this tasty treat, especially my Dad. One of my brothers even put in an order for his upcoming ”February” birthday. I can’t wait to enjoy this cake again myself!

The Cocoa Bean

The bitter bean, which creates chocolate, starts its humble life in native African countries. The Ivory Coast, or Cote d’Ivoire in French, harvests some of the best cocoa beans in the world.

Map of the Ivory Coast

I recently had the pleasure to try one of these real cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast in person! The bean is first harvested, then laid out in the sun to dry, and then to a factory that simply crushes the beans into a bottle, and then ships them off to Europe. The countries in Europe then melt down the pure cocoa and then add other ingredients to create chocolate. (Ever wonder why Belgium has the best chocolate?)

The cocoa bean drying in the sun

My tasting experience was very fun. I really enjoyed learning about the journey of the cocoa bean. However, 100% pure cocoa bean from the country itself, tastes nothing like the chocolate we have come to love. The bitter taste has great potential, but the essential experience is quite pungent.

The invention we create, chocolate!

xoxo

Rachel

Lunch at Panera

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of enjoying lunch at Panera Bread with a favorite friend.

Panera Bread is one of my all time favorite places to eat when I’m on the go. They offer high-quality, health savvy foods, and their choices are sure to be packed with flavor.

I satisfied my hunger with a scrumptious tuna salad sandwich on a moist whole grain bread. The tuna was prepared with the perfect combination of both smooth and dramatic flares. A crunchy lettuce packed with sharpness added a leafy accent. Freshly sliced red onions, and ripe tomatoes joined to create a spicy, yet cool flavor.

After enjoying my tuna fish sandwich, I indulged in a Panera classic, the French baguette, which is what I consider the best bread in the U.S.A. Crunchy, and crispy, sweet, yet, chewy, savory, and moist; a little swipe of butter only added to my delight!

For dessert, I shared a  Chocolate Duet Cookie, and a Chocolate Chipper cookie with my fellow friend. Together we enjoyed the pure bliss of their chocolaty smooth notes.

And, of course, I quenched my thirst with a “Rachel’s Signature”, Pepsi.

What a divine lunch!

Upcoming Novel

Des Dillon,  a world acclaimed writer known for his impeccable poetry, and writing craft, is introducing a new novel under a pseudonym, centered around Nazi invaded Russia during World War II.

Here is an excerpt from the book: 

“June nineteen forty-one was ending but Baltic fog still swamped the city, seeping into stones, bodies and minds.  The grey Neva dragged cold in from the marshes and Yalena Petrovna Parmonova thought summer would never come.  Then, on the twenty-first, after two days of cataclysmic thunderstorms, the fog dissolved to blue skies and Leningrad was drenched in light.  People in summer clothes poured onto the streets, their hearts filled with promise of the whitest of White Nights.”

Among his several list of prominent awards, Dillion received the 2007 Lion and Unicorn Award; which is given to only the best of British and Irish literature in the Russian language.

Chris McKinnell quotes:  “He is surely set to become one of our most powerful poetic voices”.  And indeed he shall.

You can view his poetry, awards,  and read his biography  at his own blog: http://desdillon.wordpress.com/