Review | I Can Cook That

Quinoa Chicken Curry

I’m excited to share with you this recipe for Quinoa Chicken Curry, but before I do, I wanted to share a bit about quinoa.

Although quinoa seems to be a bit of a “new” super food, it has actually been around for thousands of years and was considered one of the most important crops of the Incas. This grain-like seed is really easy to cook (you cook it like rice) but is chock full of nutritional benefits. Quinoa’s high protein content makes it a great choice for vegans and vegetarians. It is also a complete protein which means it contains all the essential amino acids. Quinoa is also rich in vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin B, folate, and riboflavin. Quinoa is also naturally gluten free, and can be ground into a flour that allows for gluten free baking. Whew.

I really didn’t know much about quinoa, or how to use it. So I was excited to be given the chance to review The Complete Idiot’s Guide Quinoa Cookbook to learn more about it. The book is full of quinoa recipes, including breakfast, dinner, and even dessert recipes. I wanted to try one of the more traditional preparations of quinoa, but can’t wait to delve into the more interesting uses for it in future posts (Lemon Poppy Seed Quinoa Cupcakes, anyone?) The book had a recipe for Quinoa Indian Chicken Curry that sounded absolutely fantastic!

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken broth, divided
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 teaspoons curry powder, divided
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup frozen peas
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup nonfat sour cream
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Yields 5 cups, or about 4 servings.

White Wine Sangria Pops

I was at a restaurant on Long Island that had a drink they called a “lushee” which was basically a frozen sangria. And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Pure brilliance. I told a friend about this and we knew we had to make our own, what could possibly be more refreshing on a hot summer day? I was recently sent a cookbook that actually one-upped the concept of the lushee: a White Wine Sangria Popsicle.

The book, Poptails, by Erin Nichols of Erin Cooks, is filled with sixty pops inspired by your favorite alcoholic beverages. Recipes range from classics like a gin and tonic to fancy favorites like a cosmopolitan. There are even some awesome dessert pops like cherry cheesecake and banana split.

I was in love with this book before I even received it. What an amazing idea! Who wouldn’t want their favorite drink in iced pop form? The recipes had me imagining all of the lovely get-togethers I could have: a brunch with iced coffee and bloody Mary pops, a pool party with strawberry basil martini pops, or Christmas in July with spiked eggnog, mulled wine, and Christmas cheer pops. Sigh.

Anyways, I kept thinking back to those lushes and knew I had to try the white wine sangria pops.

I tweaked the recipe within the book a bit. For the original recipe, pick up a copy of this fun book!

Ingredients:

1 bottle white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

1 liter flattened seltzer water

1/4-1/3 cup cranberry juice (I used cranberry hibiscus)

1 tablespoon simple syrup, or to taste

1 pint raspberries

1 pint blackberries

1 pint blueberries

Note: You’ll need ice pop molds and Popsicle sticks to make these.

I wanted to start this post with the definition of seltzer, club soda, tonic water, and sparkling water. Because I always manage to mess these drinks up. And no wonder: club soda, seltzer and sparkling water are all water infused with carbonation. These can all be interchanged. Tonic water is something a bit different, it is still a carbonated water, but quinine is dissolved into the water as well. It’s quite a bit more bitter so be sure to use club soda/seltzer/sparkling water in this recipe. Or for a bit more sweetness, a lemon-lime soda would work.

Make sure to allow your seltzer water to flatten. Don’t forget this step! Unflattened carbonated beverages will explode when frozen. And that sounds like an awful waste of white wine sangria if you ask me. The book suggests opening your seltzer 8 hours prior and popping it into your fridge in a place it won’t spill.

Combine the wine, flattened seltzer water, cranberry juice, and simple syrup. I used lemon simple syrup to give a touch more flavor. Feel free to add some lemon zest to add a little extra. Add whatever mixture of berries you’d like to the pop molds. I went for one raspberry, one blackberry, and a few blueberries per pop. Fill each mold ¾ of the way full with the mixture; you need to leave a small amount at the top to allow the liquid to expand.

Note: you’ll have some extra sangria that won’t fit in the pop molds. This is so you can enjoy your creation before waiting 24 hours 🙂

Add popsicle sticks, cover, and freeze for approximately 24 hours.

To remove from the molds, fill a bowl larger than your pop molds with warm (not hot) water. Add the mold to the bowl for 15 seconds then gently pull on the top of the ice pop stock. If the pop does not release, add the mold back to the water for another 15 seconds, repeat this process until the pops come out of the molds.

These pops were refreshing and a little bit tangy. I wanted a bit more sweetness though, I might add more simple syrup next time I make them. I also would add a bit more cranberry juice so that the pops turn a very light pink color, which would probably look really nice.

What’s nice about this recipe is how adaptable it is. You can add or subtract whatever fruit makes you happy. You could use a sweeter wine, or even a (flattened) champagne. My friend made this recipe using white grape juice instead of cranberry.

There are plenty of other creative pop recipes within the pages of this book. I love the element of fun that the popsicles add and can’t wait to try more of these yummy recipes!

Yum

White Wine Sangria Pops

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 24 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 bottle white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
1 liter flattened seltzer water
1/4-1/3 cup cranberry juice (I used cranberry hibiscus)
1 tablespoon simple syrup, or to taste
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint blueberries

Instructions

Make sure to allow your seltzer water to flatten. Don’t forget this step! Unflattened carbonated beverages will explode when frozen. And that sounds like an awful waste of white wine sangria if you ask me. The book suggests opening your seltzer 8 hours prior and popping it into your fridge in a place it won’t spill.
Combine the wine, flattened seltzer water, cranberry juice, and simple syrup. I used lemon simple syrup to give a touch more flavor. Feel free to add some lemon zest to add a little extra. Add whatever mixture of berries you’d like to the pop molds. I went for one raspberry, one blackberry, and a few blueberries per pop. Fill each mold ¾ of the way full with the mixture; you need to leave a small amount at the top to allow the liquid to expand.
Note: you’ll have some extra sangria that won’t fit in the pop molds.
Add popsicle sticks, cover, and freeze for approximately 24 hours.
To remove from the molds, fill a bowl larger than your pop molds with warm (not hot) water. Add the mold to the bowl for 15 seconds then gently pull on the top of the ice pop stock. If the pop does not release, add the mold back to the water for another 15 seconds, repeat this process until the pops come out of the molds.

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Cannoli Cupcakes with Marsala-Chocolate Whipped Cream

Cannolis always remind me of my Italian/German side of the family. I can’t think of a Christmas that these little delicious desserts didn’t make an appearance. My sister was downright obsessed with them as a kid, if she got to the dessert table first, there was no chance of getting one. So when I was sent Grace’s Sweet Life: Homemade Italian Desserts, I was really hoping to find a recipe for cannolis so I could make some for her. Well, the cookbook did me one better: Vanilla Cupcakes filled with Ricotta Cream, topped with Marsala-Chocolate Whipped Cream. And to make them even better, they are topped with a mini cannoli!

Grace is a blogger over at La Mia Vita Dolce. The website is absolutely fantastic. Just the names of the recipes are enough to make your mouth water. Her new cookbook is no different. It is filled with recipes for the very traditional (Pizzelles – those Italian waffle cookies that look like snowflakes) to the super creative (Chocolate Salami, you read that correctly!) The photography is stunning. The titles of the desserts are in both Italian and English which I thought was a nice touch. (The title of the cupcakes in Italian is Piccoli Torta alla Vaniglia con Crema di Ricotta, Panna Montata al Cacao e Marsala in case you were wondering.) Grace breaks down the recipes into easy to follow steps, which is really helpful, especially for a recipe like the cupcakes I made. I changed bits and parts to her recipe just due to what I could and couldn’t find.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups cake flour (you can substitute all-purpose flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)

1 1/4 cups superfine sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup milk (I used skim milk)

For the ricotta cream:

1 1/2 cups ricotta

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

For the marsala-chocolate whipped cream frosting:

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon marsala

24 mini cannolis

Superfine sugar is just normal sugar that is ground into a finer grain. If you can’t find it in your local supermarket, just add a little more than 1 1/4 cups sugar to a food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes. Just make sure that you have 1 1/4 cup of sugar at the end.

So, I really wanted to make my own mini cannolis. I really did. But I couldn’t find anything to wrap the cannolis around to make mini ones, all the places I looked only had the metal tubes for regular sized cannolis. So then, I tried going to bakeries to ask for mini cannoli shells. They all either didn’t have any or were unwilling to give them to me without filling them first. Sigh. So the cannolis on top of these lovely cupcakes are not my own making. But, they are the best cannolis in Philly (in my humble opinion), from Termini Bakery. On to the cupcakes!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar at medium speed for about 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and egg yolks to a measuring cup with the vanilla extract. Lightly beat with a fork.

With the mixer running (if you’re using a hand mixer, you might need a baking buddy for this step), gradually pour the egg mixture into the butter mixture.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time alternating with adding the milk in two additions. (1/3 flour, then 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour, 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour). Beat until just combined after each addition.

Divide the batter evenly in the muffin cups. Fill each tin 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

To make the ricotta cream, beat the ricotta on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Add the confectioners sugar as beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the frosting, sift the cocoa and the confectioners sugar into a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Beat the heavy cream, cocoa mixture and the marsala on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until cold, about 15 to 30 minutes.

To assemble, use a pairing knife to cut a 1 1/2 inch deep cone shaped piece of cake from the center of each cupcake. Trim off the top of the cone piece into a round, flat disk that you’ll use to top off the cupcake. Add the ricotta cream to a large pastry bag (or a ziplock bag with a corner cut off). Pipe the cream into each cupcake, filling almost to the top. Top with the disks of cake.

Add the frosting to a large pastrry bag or ziplock bag. Pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake.

Top with the mini cannolis. How fun are these??

Although it seems like these cupcakes would be really heavy and overwhelming, they were actually light and airy (I have no idea how). The cannoli added a fun touch, but these cupcakes can hold their own without them.

The ricotta cream inside was fantastic. I loved the flavor of them with the vanilla cupcakes and the chocolate chips were a fun addition.

Be sure to go check out Grace’s Sweet Life cookbook!

Cherry Pie and Review of Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook

I was recently sent the Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook to review. Paging through the cookbook, I really loved the number of how-to’s included in the book. Everything from how to cook an omelette to what kitchen utensils every beginner cook needs. The recipes are really simple with beautiful photos to help you throughout; it’s basically a better version of my blog! 🙂

The cookbook isn’t just for beginners though, there are plenty of recipes that are helpful for any level of at-home cook. There is a recipe for gnocchi I can’t wait to try! (I attempted to make gnocchi once before, but they didn’t end up being happy little pillows of deliciousness; they were pretty dense. Sigh)

I decided to try to make their cherry pie. I have only made pie crust once before so I was excited to try again. Plus, I recently bought a Babycakes Pie Maker and had yet to try it out. The recipe for the cherry pie was followed by a how-to for making a lattice pie top so I wanted to try that out as well.

Ingredients:

Filling:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup cranberry juice
4 cups frozen pitted tart cherries, thawed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pie crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
7 tablespoons cold water

Note: I will give the directions as if I was making a large pie and will add commentary where the mini pie maker has different instructions. (I’m guessing most people don’t have a mini pie maker lying around!)

To make the filling, combine the sugar and cornstarch in a large saute pan.

Stir in the cranberry juice until smooth.

“Smooth” might be more appropriate

Bring to a boil, stirring for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Remove from heat and add the cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.

To make the crust, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until crumbly.

Gradually add the cold water. Start with 5 tablespoons and add 1 or 2 tablespoons more if needed. Toss with a fork until a ball forms.

Divide the dough in half with one ball slightly larger than the other. (You don’t have to do this if making mini pies.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger ball to fit in a 9-inch pie plate. When ready to transfer to the pie plate, loosely roll the dough around your roller and unroll into the pie plate. Trim dough 1 inch beyond the edge of the plate. (The mini pie maker comes with a cutter so I used that to get the correct shape. I then used another tool that comes with the product to push the dough into the mini pie plate.)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Add the filling. (For mini pies, this is about 2-4 tablespoons of the filling per pie)

The book also goes through how to make a lattice-topped pie! Roll out the remaining pastry dough into a 12-inch circle. (I just used the cutter provided with my mini pie baker). With a pastry wheel (? No idea what a pastry wheel is. Feel free to use a pizza cutter or a knife), cut the dough into 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide strips.

Take half the strips (I just went every other that was cut) and lay them across the pie in with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches between them.

Fold back every other strip.

Take one strip of dough and lay it perpendicular to the strips already on the pie. Unfold the folded strips over the perpendicular strip and fold back the strips that are running underneath that strip.

Lay down a second strip and continue the process until the lattice top is finished.

Trim the strips to fit in the pie and fold bottom pastry up over the edges of the strips and seal. (I couldn’t do this for mine, but I bet they would have looked much nicer!)

Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 45-50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack. (I baked mine for 15 minutes and cooled on a wire rack).

I was quite happy with how these turned out. I think they needed a bit more sugar, but I think I used the wrong type of frozen cherries (mine were no sugar added). I also think a little lemon zest would really up the flavor of these quite nicely.

I also made a normal topped pie

I’m so excited about the lattice top! I obviously added a bit too much filling because it spilled over, but when I make a real pie, I now know how to do the lattice on top, yay!

To sweeten it up, I just topped the mini pies with ice cream. That solved the problem!

Homemade Chipwiches

I have many childhood memories of me chasing down the ice cream truck to get my absolute favorite ice cream treat: a Chipwich. I mean, honestly, what more could you ask for in a dessert? Two chocolate chip cookies with ice cream sandwiched in between. Mmm.

So I was, well, horrified, to find out that the Chipwich brand name is no longer in existence as of 2007. At that time, Nestle bought the rights to the name and stopped all production because it competed with their “Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich.” I mean, come on. The name Chipwich is exponentially more catchy. But hey, whatever floats their boat.

Since finding out this information, I can’t get the idea of making my own Homemade Chipwiches or Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches out of my head.

I was sent an Airbake cooking sheet recently and wanted to test it out. The Airbake Nonstick Insulated sheets are pretty snazzy. They are made of 100% aluminum and are comprised of two sheets surrounding a layer of air. This is said to reduce the temperature of the metal that actually comes in contact with the food which should result in more even baking. Airbake also claims that cookie bottoms won’t burn, win! (They also have natural sheets if you don’t want nonstick)

I decided to use a recipe from David Lebovitz for Salted Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies because the only way I can think to enhance my homemade chipwiches would be to add a little salt to bring out the flavor.

Ingredients (makes about 12 hand-sized chipwiches, make cookies larger if desired):

4 ounces salted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 pint vanilla ice cream (or your favorite ice cream)
Mini chocolate chips, for decorating (optional)

Continue reading Homemade Chipwiches

Black Bean Soup with Orange Jalapeno Salsa

Every food blogger dreams of walking out of their day job and never looking back to pursue a full-time career in food. Most keep this as a fun little pipe dream to think about while sipping on their morning coffee. Michael Natkin, however, did the unthinkable. He took a sabbatical from his job as a software engineer and spent 6 months immersed in food, experiencing Italy and Israel through food with his family and interning in the kitchen at Cafe Flora. He dove into the world of food full time this year.

His blog, Herbivoracious, has been going strong since 2007. If you’ve never seen it, go there. Now. I’ll wait…. Fantastic, right?!

Michael’s cookbook based off his super popular blog, Herbivoracious: A Flavor Revolution with 150 Vibrant and Original Vegetarian Recipes, was released on May 9. Michael has been touring America to promote his book and recently came through Philadelphia. He hosted a food blogger event at the fantastic R2L, where local bloggers (like yours truly) were treated to bites from the kitchen and the opportunity to chat with Michael himself.

So, the cookbook is vegetarian. It honestly doesn’t even need to be mentioned though because the recipes inside the pages of this book are not wimpy, skimpy meals. As his blog states “You Don’t Have To Be A Vegetarian To Love This Cookbook!” and he is so right. The recipes are really inventive and sound so appetizing that you won’t even wonder where the meat is. Michael kindly allowed me to pick any recipe I wanted from the book to use for this post and boy did I have a problem. I am not exaggerating when I tell you I tagged over 50 recipes as possibilities.

see?

I finally decided on this recipe for Black Bean Soup with Orange Jalapeno Salsa when I mentioned it to my boyfriend and his eyes lit up. I altered the recipe ever so slightly, so check out the original at the link. You should check it out anyways because Michael gives some really great tips prior to the recipe.

Ingredients:

6 cans black beans
Vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle
6 mandarin oranges (or fewer, larger oranges)
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1 handful cilantro leaves
salt to taste
Sour cream

Each recipe in the cookbook mentions any dietary restrictions that are satisfied within the recipe. This soup is vegetarian, vegan if the sour cream is omitted, and is gluten-free. This recipe serves 6.

Coconut Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Muffins are the perfect Sunday baking activity to set yourself up for breakfasts throughout the week. I haven’t made a batch in so long so I’m happy I finally had time to do so! I was given the opportunity to try Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil and I thought the best way to try the oil out would be in baking. (I adapted this recipe for Coconut Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins from the 1 Mix, 100 Muffins cookbook.)

Coconut oil can be used like butter in its solid state and like oil in its liquid state. It does have a slight coconut flavor to it so it’s a great way to enhance the flavor of many dishes. These Coconut-Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins have just a hint of coconut that is really complementary to the Lemon flavor.

Tropical Traditions is also sponsoring a giveaway! One lucky reader will win their very own jar of coconut oil! Details below.

Ingredients (this recipe makes a dozen muffins):

2 cups all-purpose flour, leveled with a knife

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted and allowed to cool slightly

the zest of 2 lemons

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Note: The method I will list below is the one I ended up using for this recipe. And the reason I used this method was because I completely forgot to add in the sugar and poppy seeds at the correct time! Anyways, the muffins turned out fine. Whew.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a cupcake/muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Add 6 tablespoons coconut oil to a small saute pan over medium heat until completely melted. Remove from heat and reserve.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. (If you have a stand mixer, add the dough hook and turn it on low for a minute or two. It will break up all the chunks, just as good as sifting!)

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs.

Add the milk, melted coconut oil, and lemon rind. And mix with a whisk to combine.

Make a well in the flour mixture and add the wet mixture to the bowl.

Stir until just combined (I used the lowest setting on my stand mixer. You can just use a spatula.)

Add the sugar and poppy seeds, stirring until just combined.

Add the batter to the muffin pan. To get equal sized muffins, use a small ladle or an ice cream scoop to portion out the batter.

Bake the muffins for 20-22 minutes; you want the muffins to have risen and be slightly golden brown on top, or when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove.

So everyone knows how delicious normal Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are. The coconut oil brings the muffins from good to great!

They are so fragrant. I was having trouble photographing them because I kept trying to eat them!

There is definitely a taste of coconut present without it being overwhelming; I find that coconut can really overtake a dish sometimes.

The lemon still shines through and is wonderfully sweet (due to all that sugar!)

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

So on to the giveaway!

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil? You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

To enter, use the widget below. You have 8 chances to win (Writing a comment is mandatory, the rest are optional)! Giveaway ends this Friday, May 11 at 11:59PM EST. Good luck!

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Learning How To Cook Indian Food in Haneeda’s Kitchen

I had the best Saturday. A huge part of making it such an amazing day was the opportunity to take an Indian Cooking Class taught by Haneeda Riaz, of Haneeda’s Kitchen. Every Saturday, Haneeda hosts two hour hands-on classes to groups of 8 students or less. The classes, posted here, lay out what dishes will be taught, although Haneeda also (I believe) has private classes that can be customized.

Me and Haneeda

My mom and I headed to Glen Mills, PA to learn how to cook 5 different Indian dishes: Chicken Tikka Masala, Aloo Tikki, Cucumber Raita,Vegetable Pulao, and Mango Lassi. Our class of 7 immediately got started. The Chicken Tikka Masala needs some time to marinate so we began there, making the marinade and letting it soak for 30 minutes. We then made the sauce, broiled the chicken, and added it to the sauce.

Cucumber Raita, a cucumber yogurt-based salad, also needs time for the flavors to meld, was made next and popped in the fridge.

Next came the fun part, we got to get a little messy 🙂 To make the Aloo Tikki, a potato croquette, we had to form the potato mixture into little discs. These get sauteed up until golden and are served with chutney.

Learning how to make the vegetable pulao, a rice dish, changed my life. Hehe. We made the whole thing, vegetables and all, in a rice cooker! Needless to say, I am now the proud owner of a rice cooker.

Last but certainly not least, we whipped up the Mango Lassi, an absolutely delicious mango yogurt drink.

We then got to sit and taste our fine handiwork. Yum!

Aloo Tikki

Cucumber Raita

Vegetable Pulao

Mango Lassi

SO GOOD!

See? I wasn’t joking.

Haneeda is a fantastic teacher. Not only does she guide you through the whole cooking process, but gives every person in the class a chance to do the actual cooking. Haneeda is also full of knowledge; she took the time to show and discuss each and every spice we’d be using. She can also direct you to where to find the ingredient you used in the area. (I went on Sunday, and I fell in love with the Indian grocery store, it smells SO good in there!)

Not only do you get to sit down and enjoy the wonderful meal you just made, Haneeda sends each person home with the recipes!

So I had to show off my newly developed Indian cooking skills for my boyfriend. I made everything but the Aloo Tikki, because I forgot to pick up potatoes (whoops). So how did it turn out?

Not. Too. Shabby. If I say so myself 🙂 It was delicious! I made a whole Indian meal on my own!

I would strongly suggest checking out Haneeda’s (or honestly, any other hands-on cooking classes) to learn a new cuisine, or even something like a knife cutting class, to further develop your skills. It’s a bunch of fun, and really informative!

Many thanks tor Haneeda for the opportunity to attend her class, I can’t even begin to describe how great it was!

For more information about Haneeda’s Kitchen, head over to her website: https://www.haneedaskitchen.com/ There was also a wonderful write up about Haneeda and her classes last year, which can be found here.

Alexia Waffle Cut Sweet Potato Fries

I love sweet potatoes, especially in fry form. I just cannot turn down a delicious sweet potato fry. So I was really excited when I was offered the chance to try an Alexia Food product of my choice through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. Not only did they send me a coupon for any food product my little heart desired, but they also send a spiffy apron and pot holder; thanks for all the fun new products!

Alexia Foods has plenty of great products, including appetizers, breads, french fries, and potato and vegetable sides. I decided to try the Waffle Cut Sweet Potato Fries because it’s something I can’t make in my own kitchen. (I have, however, made pretty awesome traditional sweet potato fries in the past, if I do say so myself).

The fries can be found in the freezer section of the grocery store.The Waffle Cut fries have a seasoning of sea salt, garlic, onion, chili, black and red pepper. The fries can go straight from the freezer into a preheated oven and are ready in about 20 minutes.

I got a random normal fry in there. It was delicious as well 🙂

I decided to try mine with a Sriracha-mayo dip that I made for my sweet potato fries.

The fries came out of the oven slightly softer than I’d like, but crisped up after cooling off a bit. The seasoning on these fries is absolutely awesome. It was a pleasant surprise! I liked it so much I didn’t want to mask the taste with my dip and ended up eating most of them plain.

Alexia Food has a number of other types of fries: classic, rosemary and garlic, lemon parmesan, and sea salt sound the most intriguing to me. However, they are currently looking for a new Alexia fry flavor and need your help to choose. Now until March 30, visit the Alexia Foods Facebook page and click on the “Reinvent a Classic” tab to vote for one of four gourmet French Fry flavors.

Which one would you like to see, or which existing fry do you want to try? I think the Thai Spiced Sweet Potato fries sound amazing!

Review of Serve from American Express

I have a confession to make. I am always (and I mean always) the girl at the table of 6 who has to use a card. It’s not like these group dinners are sprung upon me, but for some reason I never have the foresight to go to an ATM beforehand. So when it comes to splitting the check, my friends and I have to write a novel on the back of the check showing how we want everything broken down and on which card. Servers must hate seeing us seated in their section. Apparently I’m not the only cash-less jerk out there because American Express now has a service, appropriately named Serve, that helps eliminate the 14 credit cards at the end of a meal. I was given the opportunity through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program to try out Serve (and obviously I’m the perfect candidate).

The even better part is that Serve is hosting a contest to win $100 deposited into your very own Serve account! Stay tuned for a chance to enter this contest!

So, what is serve?

Serve is basically a digital source of funds that you can easily transfer to and from friends, family, or anyone else. Need to pay an electrician? If they have Serve, you just transfer the funds right over. Did the holiday shopping for your parents? Request the exact funds needed and it will transfer from their account to yours. For me personally, this tool is best used for my sorting of bills when out with friends.

It’s best to think of this service as a prepaid card. You can link it to a credit or debit card, or just deposit money into it using MoneyPak.To send and receive money, it works like an e-mail. Through your Serve account, just send the money to the recipient’s e-mail account they used to set up their Serve account. The recipient then confirms the transfer and it is finished! You receive a confirmation e-mail, and they receive their funds. (Note: the money transfer must be accepted within 7 days) To receive money, the sender can e-mail you through their account, or you can request an amount by sending a request to their e-mail.

Because it is a part of the American Express family, your money is protected by American Express’ technology and security. Even better, Serve sends you a card that can be used anywhere American Express is accepted.

Serve has an app for iPhone, Microsoft phones, and Androids, allowing you to make these transfers while sitting in the restaurant. Transfers can also be done online by signing into www.serve.com. Lastly, Serve can also be used through the prepaid, reloadable card.You can even withdraw cash from ATMs (for a fee starting in January).

Signing up for Serve is free. Services included in the free account include:

Person-to-person money transfers
Purchasing online and in stores with the Serve card
Reloading your account through a checking account
The first ATM withdraw a month

Getting cash from an ATM after using your first free withdraw a month will cost you $2.00, plus whatever the ATM might charge you for using it. If you want to fund your Serve account with a credit card, you’ll be charged 2.9% of the amount transferred plus $0.30 for each transfer.This card is also perfect for college kids that need money transferred. You can make sub accounts that you can control how much money goes in and when.

There are plenty of other really cool features (including using it to track collections/donations, donating to charities, etc) within Serve, so be sure to check out the site. Their “How Serve Works” section is particularly helpful.

How was my experience?

I went out with my boyfriend, my sister, and her boyfriend. My sister and I each signed up for a Serve account (which is free, plus they give you $10 to start!) and headed out for dinner.

I did some research beforehand to make sure our restaurant choice accepted American Express, in the off chance that our cards would arrive in time for us to use them. This was surprisingly easy! I had about five restaurants in mind, and all accepted Amex. (You can tell I don’t have an Amex card myself…) I ended up choosing one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia: Koo Zee Doo.Koo Zee Doo is a Portuguese BYOB in the city run by a husband and wife. David Gilberg is the chef while Carla Gonçalves makes the desserts and amazing bread brought to your table. The restaurant has an open kitchen so you have the opportunity to actually watch the chef prepare your meal (which I love). Koo Zee Doo is the phonetic spelling of the Portuguese word for “cooked” and also refers to a traditional Portuguese dish Cozido á Portuguesa that is a meat and vegetable dish found throughout Portugal.

The menu is awesome, ranging from the tame (Steak topped with a fried egg) to adventurous (braised chicken gizzards). They also offer a 5 course chef’s tasting menu that I have not tried (yet). I know this is a review of Serve, but I had to mention how wonderful this restaurant is. If you are ever in Philadelphia, I strongly suggest checking this place out.

As expected, our meal was wonderful. The food is served family style, so the four of us got two main dishes (the steak I mentioned as well as their special of the day: Lamb Stew) and two appetizers (braised chicken gizzards and Potato & salt cold croquettes). Despite being way too full, we had to try some of the amazing desserts as well (a chocolate hazelnut bread pudding and a coconut tart with chocolate whipped cream).

After our meal, we began the fun that is check deciphering. This bill was easier than most because of the family style serving, so we basically cut the check down the middle for each couple. My sister transferred the appropriate funds to my account while we sat at the table and I was able to accept and see the money in my account before paying.My card had amazingly come in the mail, so I just handed the server the one card which paid for everyone. I think Serve works best when using the card in tandem with the transfers. If the card had not come, my sister would have still transferred the money to me, but I would have had to use a separate card and the actual charge would have been on that separate card. The server, unbeknownst to her, had just dodged a bullet of dealing with two to four different credit cards with our scribble on the back of the check. The only criticism I have is that your name is not printed on the front of the card. When the popularity of this card picks up, I think that might make it very difficult to easily determine which card is yours.

Giveaway: So here’s the part you’ve all been waiting for. You can win $100 to be credited into your own Serve account! (You obviously would need to sign up for Serve to receive the $100. Click the link below for official rules for this giveaway) To enter, just comment below by midnight on 12/25/11.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a $250 stipend to try Serve from American Express. Sign up for Serve and receive a $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found here: https://www.foodbuzz.com/blogs/4622317-win-serve-dollars-giveaway-official-rulesGood luck!

Creamy Asparagus Soup with Prosciutto

It’s about time I finished my review of Pomi! This time, I am working with their Alfredo Sauce. As a reminder, Pomi products come in boxes and are BPA-free.You can find them in most supermarkets (I was even able to find it in Reading Terminal, huge plus!)

The Alfredo Sauce would be yummy just over your favorite pasta with some fresh parsley, but I once again wanted to use the sauce a little differently to show how versatile the product is. (Don’t forget, I also have a giveaway to win a box of both the Alfredo Sauce AND the Vodka Sauce on my other post! Go check it out for details — ends Friday October, 21 12:00pm EST.)

Because it’s fall, and I cannot manage to satiate my craving for soup, I am making a Creamy Asparagus Soup topped with Crispy Prosciutto.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (I am using Melt, a butter substitute)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried parsley

3 cups chicken broth

1-2 bunches of asparagus, woody ends removed

1 box Pomi Alfredo Sauce

3 slices of prosciutto, cut into thin strips

Salt, to taste

Garlic croutons, optional

Fresh parsley, chopped, optional

Begin by preparing your asparagus. Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Take the tips (maybe about 10 of them) and reserve for a later use. Chop your shallot and garlic clove.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add ice water to a bowl.

In another pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots, garlic, and dried parsley. Cook for two minutes, stirring.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the asparagus (without the reserved tips) and cook for 5 minutes.

Pour the mixture in batches into a blender and blend until smooth.

Return to the pot. Cook for ten minutes over medium low heat, stirring occasionally.

At this stage, your pot of water should be boiling. Add the reserved asparagus tips to the boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes and drain. Move the asparagus tips to an ice bath to cool. Once cool, remove from the ice water and set aside.

While waiting for the soup to cook, add the thin strips of prosciutto to a dry saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until crisp.

Transfer to paper towels and allow to cool. When cooled, roughly chop the prosciutto and set aside.

Add the Pomi Alfredo Sauce to the pot and stir to combine. Depending on your tastes, you might want to just use half a box. If you want it cheesy, go for the whole thing; if you want it more asparagus-y (is that a word?) use between 1/2 and the full box. Cook for about 5 minutes.

To serve, top with crumbled prosciutto, 2-4 asparagus spears, and a few garlic croutons.

Oh my. This was delicious! I really wish I was able to make this in the spring, when asparagus is it’s freshest, I can only imagine how tasty this soup would be!

The Alfredo sauce complements the brightness of the asparagus and adds to the smooth texture. I loved the bites of prosciutto, which added a burst of saltiness to the soup. The asparagus spears and garlic croutons added nice crunch to an otherwise silky soup.

It’s quite nice looking too isn’t it?

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway here for a chance to win a box of this alfredo sauce (plus a box of the vodka sauce) so that you can try these tasty sauces for yourself!

Tomato Seafood Chowder &Review of Pomi Vodka Sauce

We all have those nights where we are absolutely too exhausted to cook. I tend to go straight for pasta whenever these nights come up, but recently I’ve been running low on my homemade tomato sauce. Sigh. I will of course whip up a batch of my tomato sauce when I have time, but it takes a good three hours to make!

Luckily, Pomi must have sensed my tomato sauce drought, and asked if I’d be willing to try some of their new sauces, specifically the Vodka Sauce and the Alfredo Sauce. (They also have traditional Marinara and Tomato & Basil sauces.) Not only do I get to try theses sauces, but Pomi is also going to send one lucky reader one box each of the Vodka Sauce and the Alfredo Sauce! I will discuss the giveaway at the end of this post, so stick with me!

I was excited to try Pomi. Unlike most tomato sauces, Pomi products actually come in boxes and are BPA-free. BPA, or bisphenol A is a compound used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are typically used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles, and baby bottles. Epoxy resins are mainly used to coat the inside of metal products, such as food cans. The issue is there is evidence that BPA can seep into food and be absorbed into the human body, causing damage to the cardiovascular and reproductive systems, possibly leading to cancer, diabetes, asthma and obesity. Although more research needs to be completed, it has been suggested that consumers should try to limit their BPA exposure. Pomi also uses 100% natural tomatoes (no pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified seeds are used) and they do not add preservatives or artificial flavors to the end result.

Naturally, you can used these sauces just poured over freshly cooked pasta. But I decided to also test how versatile these sauces are. To save from a ridiculously long post, the Alfredo Sauce post will be coming shortly!

I decided to use the Vodka Sauce to make a Tomato Seafood Chowder. Pomi’s vodka sauce ingredients include: tomatoes, heavy cream, vodka, onion, cheeses, garlic, basil and parsley, which sounded like a wonderful base for a soup.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup orzo, uncooked

1 medium sized yellow onion, finely chopped

1 pound raw bay scallops

1/2 cup clam juice
1/2 cup chicken broth

1 box Pomi Vodka Sauce

1/2 can diced tomatoes, optional

1 dozen clams
8 oz crab meat

2 tablespoons sliced fresh basil, for garnish

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Cook the orzo according to package instructions on the package. Drain and set aside. While the orzo is cooking, prepare your ingredients: chop the onion, garlic, basil and parsley.

In a large pot, add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion ,garlic, dried basil and dried parsley. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the scallops and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring.

Add the clam juice and chicken broth. If you want, you can sub out the clam juice for all broth. Add the Pomi Vodka Sauce, red pepper flakes, and diced tomatoes. If you do not want a chunky stew, you can leave out the chopped tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the clams and cover, cooking for 3-5 minutes or until the clams open.

Stir in the orzo and the crab meat and serve with day old French bread.

There is plenty of salt from the clam juice, chicken broth and Pomi Vodka sauce so you really don’t need to add any. Feel free to add a bit of ground pepper if you’d like.

The Pomi Vodka sauce added plenty of flavor to the soup. It created a wonderful base and tasted awesome with the clams, crab meat and scallops. I strongly suggest adding the red pepper flakes for a tiny bit of heat, it works so well with the tomatoes. My boyfriend, who was really wary of trying the chowder, ended up polishing off his bowl, and he doesn’t even like scallops!

So now, for the giveaway! As a reminder, one reader will receive one box of Pomi Alfredo Sauce and one box of Pomi Vodka Sauce, mailed to your home. Unfortunately, this is only open to U.S. residents.

To enter, please leave a comment below letting me know how you’d use one of the sauces (this one is mandatory).

For extra entries, you can do as many of the following as you please. Leave me a comment below letting me know you’ve done them, each comment counts as a separate entry!

Like I Can Cook That and Pomi on Facebook (comment saying you did so or let me know if you already do)
Follow I Can Cook That on twitter (comment saying you did so or let me know if you already do)
Tweet the following: “I just entered @icancookthat’s Pomi Sauce Giveaway! https://tinyurl.com/3c56eep” (leave a comment saying you did so below)

The winner will be chosen using random.org and will be announced Friday, October 21. All entries must be received by 12:00pm EST on Friday, October 21. Good luck!

Note: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for participating!

Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread

One of the huge downsides of my pumpkin obsession is that most of the sweets made with pumpkin really should be eaten in moderation (something I am not capable of adhering to). So I am always in search of a way to lighten the calorie intake of those desserts so that I can still enjoy them without feeling terribly guilty afterwards.

Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny recently had a post trying out a new buttery spread called Melt with rave reviews. Luckily, Melt graciously sent me two packages of their organic buttery spread for me to try out as well!

So what exactly is melt and what makes it different from other butter substitutes? Melt contains virgin coconut oil, flax seed oil, palm fruit oil, and canola oil — all healthy cooking oils and “good fats.” Typical buttery spreads are made of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which have been liked to obesity, heart disease, etc. Melt is also organic, gluten free, soy free, kosher, and has 50% of the saturated fat and fewer calories than butter. Whew.

Melt’s, well, melt point is close to original butter’s melting point, making it perfect for baking. Typical buttery spreads usually have a lower melting point, which means they tend to separate during the baking process resulting in a flat cookie. So what better way to really test out Melt’s best qualities than making a batch of Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies? I adapted this recipe from AllRecipes.com.

Ingredients (this makes 3 dozen cookies):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Melt buttery spread
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing, for drizzling:

1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons 2% milk
3/4 teaspoon melted Melt buttery spread
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Continue reading Skinny Iced Pumpkin Cookies & Review of Melt Buttery Spread

Godiva Coffee – Pumpkin Spice & Caramel Pecan Bark

I am in love with fall, it is by far my favorite time of year. It is the only time of year I can give into my love of all things pumpkins and not get funny looks. Sadly, I feel like the autumn season seems to be getting shorter and shorter, so I need to get as much “fall” food and drinks as I can. As a member of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I was lucky enough to receive two different limited edition fall coffees from Godiva: Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Pecan Bark.

The coffees are based off of Godiva’s Pumpkin Spice Truffles and their signature Caramel Pecan Bark. The Pumpkin Spice coffee has a wonderful pumpkin pie taste, with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. The Caramel Pecan Bark has notes of toasted pecan and caramel. I couldn’t wait to try them!

I decided to make two different recipes for each coffee to really test out their flavor. The weather in Philadelphia has continued to be pretty darn humid, so I made a few chilled coffee drinks. I also decided to use some of the coffee grounds to make my own Caramel Pecan Bark.

First to make the Caramel Pecan Bark. Making bark is really simple and makes a great gift or easy party dessert. I incorporated some of the coffee grinds to enhance the flavor of the chocolate.

Ingredients:
16 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons whipping cream
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Begin by chopping your chocolate. I was feeling particularly lazy so I just used my food processor.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Line a pan with parchment paper and spread the chopped chocolate evenly on top. Bake for 5 minutes or until melted. Using a spatula, spread the melted chocolate evenly so that it is the same thickness throughout.

While the chocolate is melting, make the caramel. Add the sugar to a pan over medium high heat. As soon as it begins to melt, begin to whisk vigorously until mostly melted. (see photo) Take care not to burn the sugar!

Add the butter and whisk to combine. Be careful, it will bubble!

Remove from heat. Wait 10 seconds and add the cream, whisking to combine.

If you’re not feeling particularly gutsy, feel free to just purchase caramel sauce. Making the caramel can be tricky, it took me two tries. I burnt the first one so badly that my entire condo filled with smoke! Oops.

Chop the pecans. I used raw pecans; for extra flavor use toasted.

Sprinkle the pecans over the melted chocolate.

Sprinkle on the coffee grounds and top with the caramel.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow to harden.

Break into uneven pieces, so as to resemble bark.

Yum! I think next time I make this, I think I would add just a bit of sea salt to finish it off. However, this was delicious on its own!

On to the drinks. First up is a Pumpkin Spice Martini, adapted from a recipe sent to me by Food Jaunts. She was nice enough to let me post it on here, so thank you very much! If you have a minute, be sure to check out her blog, it’s fabulous!

Ingredients:
3 oz brewed Pumpkin Spice coffee, cooled
1 oz vanilla vodka
1 oz Godiva chocolate liqueur
Ice

Begin by brewing your coffee. Set it aside and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Add ice to a shaker. Pour in the vanilla vodka, Godiva liqueur, and coffee. Shake and strain into a martini glass.

If you don’t have a shaker, you can use anything that has a secure lid. Just be sure to use a strainer over the martini glass so that no ice enters the glass.

I absolutely loved this drink, I wish more martinis tasted this good! The vanilla, chocolate and pumpkin spice flavors delivered a smooth and tasty drink.

You can add whole coffee beans to the martini glass for some extra flair if you’d like. They’ll float to the top!

In my attempt to be creative, I’m pretty sure I ended up making a chilled Caramel Pecan Bark Vietnamese Coffee. Either way, it was tasty!

Ingredients:

6 oz brewed Caramel Pecan Bark coffee, cooled

2 tablespoons condensed milk

2 tablespoons milk

A few ice cubes

Whipped cream

Extra coffee grinds or chopped pecans for garnish

Begin by brewing your coffee and allowing it to cool.

Add the coffee, condensed milk, and milk to a blender.

Add ice and blend until pureed. Pour into coffee mugs and top with whipped cream, coffee grounds, or pecans if desired.

Condensed milk is already sweetened with sugar, so I personally don’t think you need any more sweeteners in this. If you have a big sweet tooth, sub out the milk with more condensed milk.

I love how this tasted! It was more of a dessert drink than a coffee drink but I’m ok with that. The caramel and pecan flavors still shown through, making a really delicious treat.

No coffee post would be complete without Iced Coffee. This recipe takes some make ahead time, but is so worth it, so that your coffee isn’t watered down. I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman and was really impressed with the results!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Caramel Pecan Bark coffee grounds
2 cups cold water
Ice
Milk, cream, or half & half (whatever you prefer)
Sweetener, if desired

Note: you will need a cheesecloth for this recipe.

Add the coffee grounds to a container that has a lid.

Pour in the cold coffee and mix to combine.

Allow to “brew” for at least 8 hours. Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Place a few layers of cheese cloth over the strainer and pour the coffee mixture into the strainer. Give it a while to strain through. Use a spoon to press through the remaining liquid.

Add ice to a glass.

Pour the coffee into the glass, filling it just over half full.

Add your milk/cream/half & half. Stir to combine.

Sweeten the iced coffee if desired. (Note: the Caramel Pecan Bark coffee has some sweetness to it, so I didn’t think it needed any sugar)

This is perfect to serve with the bark!

I don’t think I will ever make iced coffee another way again. The flavor of this was amazing, not even a little bit watered down!

Last but not least, I decided to try a recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, right off of the GodivaCoffee.com website.

Ingredients:
6 oz brewed Pumpkin Spice coffee
3 teaspoons pure maple syrup, divided
4 oz warm milk
Whipped cream, if desired

Begin by brewing your coffee. Add the coffee to a mug of your choice and keep warm.

Heat the milk over medium heat until warm. If you’re feeling fancy, use a whisk to whip the milk until frothy. Add 2 teaspoons maple syrup and the milk to the coffee. Stir to combine.

Top with whipped cream and drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.

This is a great “fancy” coffee drink to make at home when, like me, you don’t own an espresso machine. The flavors are very similar to popular pumpkin spice lattes out there and is so simple to make!

I hope some of my experimentation will inspire you to come up with some of your own recipes. The Godiva fall coffees make for a great base. I am so excited to enjoy this coffee for the rest of the season!

Sargento Cheese Taste Test & Grilled Cheese

Cheese is a bit of an obsession of mine. I honestly cannot remember a time in my life that I did not love cheese.The first meal I ever learned to make was a grilled cheese sandwich. I was so into making them that my parent’s actually bought me a grilled cheese pan for Christmas when I was about 8. So when I was given the opportunity to do a taste test through the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program of Sargento Natural Cheese versus a processed cheese, I knew making grilled cheese would be the perfect way to test them out.

Ingredients:
4 slices of sourdough bread
1 avocado
2 tomatoes, sliced (I used Roma tomatoes)
4 slices of Sargento Natural Cheddar Cheese
4 slices of a Processed Cheese (I used American)
4 slices of smoked applewood bacon
2 tablespoons butter
Tomato soup
Optional: a few drops of Tabasco and Worcestershire

I went with the sliced cheddar cheese from Sargento so that the sandwiches would visually be the same.

To give a little background, Sargento is 100% natural cheese, made from only natural ingredients (milk, cheese cultures, enzymes and salt).

Processed cheese, on the other hand adds, emulsifiers and preservatives, making it a cheese product instead of actual cheese. The cheese is melted down to a liquid and then formed into a slice. Even more gross, some processed cheese can be in unrefrigerated storage for months. Goo. Ok, now on to the yummy part.

Both sandwiches are made the exact same way.

Begin by slicing your avocado and tomatoes.

Prepare your soup according to the directions on the label. Add a few drops of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce to add a little kick to the tomato soup.

Add two slices of bacon to a medium saute pan over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes or until desired level of crispness, turning occasionally.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to a separate saute pan over medium heat. When melted, add two pieces of sourdough bread.

I like both sides to have a little toasting, so I flip my bread after a few minutes and then top with cheese. Feel free to skip that step. Top with slices of cheese (either American or Sargento cheddar).

When the cheese is melted (about three minutes), add the cooked bacon, tomato and avocado to the bread.

Assemble the sandwich and cut in half. Serve with tomato soup for dipping.

So that both sandwiches were hot, we tried one half of each one after another. The American cheese sandwich wasn’t too bad, but the taste of American cheese could not be ignored. I found it to have a somewhat plastic-y taste to is. The sandwich also tasted like each individual part, (i.e. more of a bacon, tomato, avocado and cheese sandwich on sourdough) versus a bite of melty grilled cheese.

The Sargento cheddar, however, worked really well within the sandwich. All the flavors melded together and didn’t overpower each other. The Sargento cheese also had a wonderful gooey texture that clung to the other ingredients within the sandwich.

Honestly, there really isn’t that much difference in taste between the two, so if you are a fan of American cheese, the Sargento cheese would not be too much of a change to your palate without the fillers and almost half the amount of sodium. The real difference is the quality of the cheese as well as the end result.

Sargento offers a range of natural cheeses to fit any tastes, including Colby Jack, Swiss, Mozzarella, Provolone, Pepper Jack and Gouda (plus many more). I stuck to using cheddar solely to keep the cheeses somewhat similar. To really amp up the taste of this grilled cheese, I suggest mixing two of the Sargento natural cheeses to add more flavor (think Mozzarella and Provolone, Pepper Jack and Cheddar, etc.)

Many thanks to Foodbuzz for the opportunity to try Sargento Natural Cheese!