All posts tagged: Baking

Churros

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I just had to share that a recipe for churros I posted on Instagram (you can follow me there for more frequent recipes, wine and cocktail goodness at @the_wine_muse) was posted in Zulay Kitchen’s blog. You can check it out here: https://www.zulaykitchen.com/blogs/recipe/churros-recipe In the meantime, here is the recipe:⁣• 1 cup water⁣• 2 tablespoons sugar⁣• 1/2 teaspoon salt⁣• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil⁣• 1 cup all-purpose flour⁣• 2 cups oil (for frying)⁣• 1/2 cup white sugar⁣• 2 tablespoons cinnamon ⁣⁣Directions:⁣1. Combine water, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan and bring to a boil. ⁣⁣2. Remove from heat and add the flour. Mix until combined. Let cool, then spoon the dough into a piping bag.⁣⁣3. Heat 2 cups of oil in a pan. Pipe dough in long strips and fry until golden brown. Flip over and fry the other side. ⁣⁣4. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Roll the fried churros in the sugar mixture until coated.⁣⁣5. Enjoy!! ⁣

Tres Leches Three Ways

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I’ll make this brief and get on to the recipes. Since I met my husband, I have thoroughly enjoyed diving in Cuban cuisine – “the food of his people,” as he calls it. Tres Leches has become a staple for celebrations for us. No matter the season, it is decadent, delicious, and delightful. So, here is a video tutorial and three recipes for Tres Leches. Enjoy! The Easy Way: 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cup white sugar 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 5 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup whole milk 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan Cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar together until smooth (about 5 minutes) While the butter and sugar are mixing, sift the flour and baking powder together Add eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the butter and sugar, and combine thoroughly …

Baking with My Three-Year-Old and Lemon Loaf

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I’ve been baking lately. A lot. I know we’re all supposed to be on the straight and narrow after the holidays, so I’m not sure what’s come over me. Except that my three-year-old keeps making requests. It would be one thing if he constantly requested cookies, but he doesn’t. He wants muffins and different types of loaves. I’m not sure where this is all coming from, but then he wants one more thing: to make them with me. Well, how am I supposed to say no? Baking with my three-year-old is a challenge, to say the least. I would love to tell you that he has natural skills in the kitchen, but he doesn’t. He just wants to do this with me because he sees me in the kitchen all the time. So, I’ve had to figure out what he can do. He likes to stir – it seems this is the basis of baking all things, and that is where I’ve started. I’ve discovered that baking with my toddler is very different from my …

The Food of My (Husband’s) People – Part Dos: Black Beans

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I’ll admit it, I never really “got” black beans.  I remember when they started regularly appearing on menus.  They were the envogue new healthy alternative protein.  I would hear people order black beans like they were something special.  Sure, I liked them, but I just didn’t understand what was so exciting about them. Enter my husband… I mentioned the time we went to the Cuban restaurant, Versailles in Part I.  He talked about the black beans that night.  I ate them.  I enjoyed them.  However, I still didn’t really understand just how delightful they could be. It wasn’t until my husband took me one Christmas to meet his family.  We arrived on Noche Buena, and the festivities were in full swing.  A family friend, Miguel had prepared the beans.  He took me under his wing and told me all about his grandmother’s recipe and the memories that came with the food. We talked and talked, and then I tasted.  These were different.  They were creamy and flavorful.  Just the aroma from them was intoxicating.  I …

My Little Valentine

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Valentine’s Day is coming up quickly.  While this traditionally has been a holiday I’ve shrugged off, my husband loves to go all out and give me roses and chocolates.  On one occasion, I got a teddy bear and the flowers.  Last year he gave me custom jewelry with his and my son’s birthstones. Needless to say, he’s changed my attitude about Valentine’s Day.  I wholeheartedly admit I love flowers and candy.  To be given those things from him makes them even more special. Usually I cook him his favorite meal for this holiday.  This year, I decided to do something different. My husband is Cuban.  There is very little that he loves more than a pastelito.  We live walking distance to Porto’s Cuban Bakery, which has all sorts of Cuban and Cuban-inspired treats.  We used to go there all the time.  It’s cheap.  It’s delicious.  The food is fresh.  The coffee is strong.  The lines are…long.  Oh…that’s right.  It usually takes a minimum of an hour to get in and out of Porto’s, even if …

The Versatility of Crepes

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I was catching up on some Top Chef episodes, when was I reminded of one of my all old-time favorite dishes during a “Quick Fire Challenge.”  The segment was centered around Chef Brooke Williamson’s tradition of making Sunday morning crepes with her son.  Of course, it was appropriately sponsored by Nutella…

The Cure for the Holiday Hangover

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It’s January.  Most of us are trying to eat better and work out more.  However, it’s generally cold in the mornings and we’re all feeling a little sluggish from the holidays. January may be the time of resolution keeping, but it is also the time of the Holiday Hangover.  For that, I like nothing more than a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. My husband and I have been grinding coffee and brewing it up in our Italian espresso maker.  Add a touch of Splenda and some 2% steamed milk, we have the beginning of a productive day.  It’s our slice of morning heaven. However, do you know what makes it even better?  A little treat. That’s right – a treat.  An itty-bitty, something yummy is the perfect way to start the day – even if it isn’t on our diet.  That’s where the Coffee Cookie comes in! I drink alcohol from time to time, as you may have guessed from the title of my blog.  On one boozy night, I had …

Macarons – Those Temperamental Little B!+(#es

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French macarons have been a long-time favorite dessert of mine.  I love the colors, flavors, and that slightly chewy, tender cookie with a fragile crust.  I heard they could be fussy, so I never tried to make them.  Instead, I left them to the French pastry experts. That is, until I caught a video on making macarons.  It looked so easy!  What could go wrong? Well, as it turns out, a lot of things. Let’s start with this:  If you read my blog or know me in person, you know I am very bad at sticking to the recipe.  I enjoy “cooking with love.”  In other words, I like throwing things together and making something yummy. The first time I made macarons, I followed the directions of the video I had watched.  These were very tasty, but the video left out a very important step: Sift, sift, sift.  Then sift again.  If in doubt, sift. As I said, the first macarons I created were delicious.  However, they were grainy.  They were completely the wrong texture.  …