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Recipes

October 10, 2012

Homemade Apple Cider

Homemade Apple Cider Recipe From Scratch

Last week, I had a taste of fall’s cool weather and found myself in the kitchen the entire weekend trying out a few new recipes! In Friday’s Fab Five, a list of my fall favorites, I decided that I was going to take on apple cider from scratch and the very next day I had simmering apples on the stove top and the entire house smelled like the holidays! I finally found an apple cider recipe that doesn’t start with a base ingredient of apple cider lol.

Yields: 1/2 Gallon (8 cups)

Ingredients:

8 -10 gala apples
1/2-1 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
4 tablespoons allspice

Directions:

Cut your apples into wedges {I used an apple corer and divider to blaze through the chopping process}. I did toss the cores; however, there is no need to remove the peel or any seeds that may have been left behind from coring the apples. In a large stock pot add your apples, fill with just enough water to cover the apples, and then add the sugar {I used only 1/2 a cup and it was plenty sweet}.

Wrap your cinnamon and allspice in a doubled up cheese cloth, tie {I tied it with a twisted strip of cheesecloth}, and add this to the apples and water. Boil on high for one hour uncovered checking on it frequently. Turn down heat and let simmer for two hours covered. Take off the heat and let cool. Remove the spices and mash up the apples to a pulp like consistency. A potato masher works well for this.

Once cool, pour into a strainer over a large bowl. When most of the juice has drained away, put the remainder of the pulp into a doubled up cheese cloth and squeeze over the bowl until no more juice comes out. It’s easier to strain the pulp in small batches, using new cheesecloth for each batch, so you can squeeze out as much juice as possible. At this point you can either re-strain the juice to get out the little bits of pulp that remain with a cheese cloth draped inside the strainer, or just leave it for extra flavor.

Store cider in an air tight container in your refrigerator for a week, or freeze it for later use. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove. If you end up with less than half a gallon and the flavor is a little strong, feel free to add water to taste. Add 1 cup at a time, simmering for 20 minutes and tasting between each cup until you reach desired flavor.

homemade apple cider recipe – altered from food.com

9 Comments
Beverage, Holiday, Recipes

October 1, 2012

Chocolate Lava Soufflés

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

I just finished up a recipe I found at Sugar In The Raw’s website and it turned out amazing! I’ve used this golden sugar for years, sprinkled and then torched on top of my crème brûlées for a sugary crunchy topping. I tried their Chocolate Lava Soufflés because I’ve been wanting to make a lava cake for so long now. These beautiful little soufflés are a chocolate lover’s dream – they’re so rich and creamy, and just melt in your mouth.

Read on for a step-by-step on how to make these amazing chocolate lava soufflés and for info on their fun new Au Natural In The Raw App Facebook app.

Ingredients:

8 teaspoons Sugar In The Raw^®
3 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
4 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons heavy cream, divided
2 egg yolks
4 egg whites
3 tablespoons Sugar In the Raw
3/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Equipment:

4 (3 1/4 -inch x 1 3/4 -inch) ramekins
Baking Sheet

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oven for at least 20 minutes before baking. Prepare the ramekins by buttering the inside of each and sprinkling each with 2 teaspoons Sugar In The Raw^®. Shake gently to coat inside with sugar; set aside.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 ½ ounces chocolate, butter and cocoa. Heat mixture on high, stirring every 15 seconds, for about 1 minute or until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons heavy cream and egg yolks. Combine with chocolate mixture. Set aside.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

In medium mixing bowl, gently whisk 4 egg whites. Slowly stir 2 tablespoons of egg whites into chocolate mixture with whisk, just until incorporated.

Add 3 tablespoons sugar to remaining egg whites and beat until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

Stir 1/4 beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture with whisk; gently fold remaining beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

Arrange ramekins on a baking sheet. Fill each almost to top with chocolate mixture. Bake for 10 minutes. Soufflés will puff above top of ramekins.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

While soufflés are baking, melt remaining 1 1/2 ounces chocolate in microwave-safe bowl on high for about 1 minute, stirring every 15 seconds. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons heavy cream until smooth. Heat mixture on high, stirring every 15 seconds, for about 30 seconds or until hot. Set “chocolate lava” aside.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

After the soufflés have cooled slightly, about 15 minutes, scoop centers out with a teaspoon. If you plan on serving on a plate rather than the ramekin, do not scoop all the way down to the bottom of the soufflé, as the bottom will become the top and the lava will remain hidden.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

Pour chocolate lava into the centers. If you serve on a plate, work around the sides of the soufflé with a sharp knife to loosen and then turn upside down onto plate.

Chocolate Lava Souffle Recipe

Serve with strawberries and vanilla ice cream for an amazing dessert.

Au Natural In The Raw App

The Au Natural In The Raw App is a really fun app that’s a play on their name, “In The Raw”. This app allows you to upload an image of your latest recipe, censor it with a blur tool, and then share the pic to your wall. Your friends can click on this pic to see the uncensored version, that was just too hot for your Facebook wall. So many people are posting food images to their wall, so this is a fun way to spice things up a little!

This post was sponsored by Style Coalition and Sugar In The Raw. All opinions are 100% my own. For more info, please view my full disclosure policy.

September 4, 2012

Chicken Marsala Pasta

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Hey everyone! I’ve missed you all. I took an unexpected, but apparently much needed, week off. It started last Monday with Hurricane Isaac knocking our internet out and ended with me enjoying a relaxing, yet productive Labor Day weekend.

The other day I got into the kitchen and tried my best to recreate my favorite dish from Macaroni Grill, Carmella’s Chicken Pasta, and I think I came pretty close. The dish is chicken Marsala over pasta with sauteed onions, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and I added in some chopped asparagus. It’s so good!

Ingredients:

1 pound uncooked penne pasta
1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves chopped
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 cup asparagus, stalks removed and chopped into thirds
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup cooking sherry
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large pot, bring water to a boil, cook pasta according to package directions, and drain.

Meanwhile, in a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.

In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and asparagus. Saute until onions are translucent and asparagus has softened. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Serve chicken Marsala mixture over pasta, topped with Parmesan cheese.

recipe – altered from allrecipes.com

August 3, 2012

Panko Fried Goat Cheese

Panko Goat Cheese Recipe

We eat a lot of salads at my house in the summer, and whenever my sister comes to town, we beg her to make these Panko fried goat cheese balls as a salad topper. She actually broils hers for a healthier version and it is so good over a chicken and blueberry salad! The cheese gets so melty cheesy yummy mixed in with the balsamic vinaigrette dressing and the Panko adds just a bit of crunch!

Panko Fried Goat Cheese Recipe

Have you ever tried fried goat cheese on your salad? If not, you definitely should, and keep in mind, a little goes a long way! Check out the recipe my sister uses, as well as tips for slicing the goat cheese, over at The Hungry Mouse.