Monkey Bread

I love Monkey Bread.  Cinnamon, sugar, biscuits.  What's not to love?  I made it for my in-laws on Christmas Eve, made it with my parents on Christmas Day, suggested it to a friend who asked if I have a go-to sticky buns recipe... you catch my drift.

And since we're spending the weekend at a little house in the big woods (and since my husband special-requested it for about the zillionth time), I made it again.  Not that I'm complaining.

Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.  No wonder they call it Monkey Bread.  I could pick at this stuff all day.

And it's so easy to make.  All you need are:

• 2 cans jumbo refrigerated biscuit dough (ex: Pillsbury Grands; I recommend Homestyle)
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar

On the equipment front, it isn't much either:

• Cutting board
• Small knife 
• Bundt pan
• Large zip-top bag
• Saucepan
• Whisk

Start by preheating the oven to 350*.  Then, after opening the biscuits, cut each one into six equal pieces.

Now, here's the hard part.  (Just kidding.)  Mix white sugar and cinnamon together in a large, zip-top plastic bag.  Add biscuit pieces and toss well to coat.

Then take a good sniff of that cinnamon-y aroma and get excited.  The best is yet to come.  Arrange coated biscuit pieces equally around the pan and discard any leftover cinnamon sugar.  (The biscuits won't fill it all the way to the top, and that's a good thing.  They'll rise a good bit while baking, and take my word for it... cleaning up the overflow isn't fun.)

Cut butter into rough tablespoons and melt in saucepan over medium heat.  (The slices will help it melt faster.) Paula Deen would be proud.

When the butter is melted, add brown sugar to saucepan and stir well.  Increase heat to medium-high and allow to come to a boil, whisking well.

Gently pour brown sugar and butter mixture evenly over biscuits.  Make sure you get some all the way around.  This is the stuff that dreams are made of.

And finally, pop the whole thing into the oven for 35 minutes.

Set aside and allow to cool for five minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

Serve warm and make sure your afternoon allows for a nap.  Mine's going to be right here...

... because this is what it looks like outside.

Also.  This cabin still thinks it's Christmas.

I took that as a sign that Monkey Bread was meant to be.  Enjoy the long weekend!

Crustless Breakfast Quiche

The start of a new year usually means one thing for me: get my appetite back on track.  From Thanksgiving until Christmas, I am no stranger to indulgence.  (Come to think of it, indulgence and I are friends all year.)

I like food.  Love, even.  Always have.

You may or may not know that when I graduated from high school I weighed about 40 pounds more than I do now.  I was sluggish, had little energy and quite honestly was uncomfortable in my own skin.  And the teasing didn't help... why are girls so mean to each other?

But, I started to make better choices after graduation and slowly but surely I lost the extra weight.  No real "diet", just eating well and getting my tail off of the couch.  It took more than a year, but it's been gone (and stayed gone!) for almost a decade.  One of my greatest fears is that it will come back.

My strategy?  Moderation.  Balance indulgence with smart choices.  Starting with breakfast!  This is one of my favorite high-protein ways to start the day.  The recipe is an adaptation of "Vegetable Quiche Cups To Go" in The South Beach Diet: Supercharged.

Quick, easy, and perfect to freeze!  Just pop two in the microwave and you've got a hot breakfast.

Crustless Breakfast Quiche

One box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach
3/4 reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup garden vegetable flavor egg substitute (such as Egg Beaters)
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely chopped cooked turkey sausage
Hot sauce to taste (5 drops recommended)

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Grease a muffin pan with cooking spray.
• In a microwave safe container, cook spinach on high for 2.5 minutes.  Drain well.  (Too much liquid will make for watery quiche!)
• Combine spinach and all other ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well.

• Spoon mixture into muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes or until well set.
• Run a thin metal spatula or knife around the edge of each indentation to loosen quiche.
• Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
• Freeze or refrigerate to store.  Serve warm.

Here's to happy and healthy 2012!

Welcome... and snag some swag!

Yay!  You're here.  And I'm glad.  Take a moment and look around... Sharon at Redbud Designs did a great job, don't you think?

I can't wait to see what 2012 holds... but to start things off on the right foot, how about a serious deal from Concentrics restaurants? (You know, One Midtown Kitchen, Two Urban Licks, Murphy's, etc.)

Just join the Concentrics email database, follow them on Facebook or visit their website and you'll get $12 off at any of their five participating Atlanta-area restaurants during the month of January.

Not a shabby way to start the year.  Now, to peruse the menus for something that works on Phase I of South Beach.  (Poor Spencer.  This happens every January.  He's probably already over the lack of carbohydrates in this house...)

Up next... revamped South Beach friendly Crustless Quiche!

Save $290 On A KitchenAid Stand Mixer!

Believe it, people.  This is the BEST deal I have ever seen on a KitchenAid in my LIFE.  And we're not talking about the Artisan Series, here.  We're talking about the Professional one.  The one that I have and love and adore and forever pledge to be faithful to.  The one that holds double and triple batches, but still works beautifully on a single box of cake mix.

If anyone in your life wants a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for Christmas, this is your chance!  But move fast, because I bet these are definitely going to sell out quickly.

It's Amazon.com's Deal Of The Day, and it comes in two colors - silver or a beautiful cinnamon red.  Regularly $499.99, on sale for $259.99.  Throw in an additional $50 mail-in rebate { which brings it down to $209.99! }, a free two year subscription to Food & Wine or Travel + Leisure and you've got a Christmas gift fit for any foodie on your list!

Hurry!

Biscoff Bake-Off Recap

I've still got so much to share about our trip to Napa for the Biscoff Bake-Off, but I know I can't really blog about the fun excursions of the weekend without first giving you the scoop on the main event.

We were set up at the Williams Center for Flavor Discovery at the Culinary Institute of America.

I had my own { not so } little station....

... and an entire case of Biscoff cookies.  YUM.

Delta recorded the whole thing like Top Chef or Chopped.  Two flight attendants were there to host, and they were fabulous. Having a camera in my face didn't bother me the least bit { after all, one of the competitors greeted me with "Hey, you're the girl from that dress show!" },  but the time constraint was pretty stressful. Competitive baking is not for the faint of heart.

There were two other competitors... Atif, who brought Biscoff Baked Salmon, and Laurie, who brought Crispy Shrimp with Coco-Mango Sauce.  Both were delicious.

As you might expect, there had to be some drama.  Poor Atif was supposed to go on at 2:00, but at two 'till, when he went to take his dish out of the oven, the fish was still raw.  It appeared as if the pilot light in the oven had just gone out.

So we played musical time slots and I went first. { Life is uncertain, anyway. } I ended up kind of liking that I got to go first. It let me set the bar and not feel like I was already being compared to someone.

All three judges were very, very kind.  From left to right above:

• Herb Karlitz - Founder and President of Karlitz & Company, Producer of Flavor! Napa Valley
• Andrea Robison - Delta's Master Sommelier and host of Pairings with Andrea on Food Network { she's one of only 14 female Master Sommeliers in the world! }
• Chef Stephen Isaac - of the Culinary Institute of America, American Culinary Federation and Retail Bakers Association

Herb said, "I'm from New York and I know cheesecake. This is good cheesecake." { What a compliment! } Andrea praised that the cookie flavor remained intact throughout the dish.  And Chef Stephen noted that the cheesecake wasn't overly sweet, which was a good balance with the decadent salted caramel topping. He literally picked his slice apart, tasting the crust alone, then just the cheesecake, then the filling, the topping and finally every layer together. His palate was the one I thought would be most apt to find an error.

But the reaction was good. More than good, even. Because they unanimously chose my Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake as the winning dish!

My face hurt from smiling so much. And I won trips to Food & Wine Festival in NYC and LA in 2012. { Hello, culinary dream vacation. }

Delta will use the footage on their Facebook page, and maybe even for in-flight entertainment.  Either way, I'll definitely link to the video when it's up.

All in all, not bad for a first attempt, if I do say so myself. Now, to finish another one of these cheesecakes for Thanksgiving tomorrow. After 27 years, I've finally been asked to bring something. Guess a little external validation never hurts. : )

At least they sent me home with half a case of cookies!

The Appellation Trail

Hello from Napa Valley, California!

Mom and I are having a blast. This place is beautiful. Who knew that vineyards changed color in the fall? More on that later. First things first - food!

Last night, we were fortunate enough to attend the grand tasting of Flavor! Napa Valley... "The Appellation Trail." At first I was pretty sure we had a typo on our hands.  But after a little research { thanks, Google } I discovered that, in fact, "appellation" is word. And not surprisingly, it has to do with wine production.

Appellation - noun -\ˌa-pə-ˈlā-shən\ 

A geographical name (as of a region, village, or vineyard) under which a winegrower is authorized to identify and market wine; also : the area designated by such a name

So we "toured" the various sub-appellations of Napa, along with the food and wines they produce, all  from the comfort of the Culinary Institute.

Mom and I tasted... and tasted... and tasted.  Everything was unbelievably delicious, but these were our favorites.

Grilled Rack of Lamb over caviar potato salad by Richard Blais.  Holy wow.

Oh.  And we met him.  Such a nice guy! I so badly wanted to ask how on earth you make a milkshake with liquid nitrogen.

You know if there are sweets, I will find them.  Check out this tower of goodies from Anette's Chocolates! I loved the Himalayan Salted Caramel at bottom left. See the Chardonnay Wine Brittle, too?

Chef Michael Collins from Siena at the Meritage Resort & Spa brought a trio of delicacies - Curry Crusted Scallops, Cinnamon and Star Anise Braised Short Ribs and Seared Ahi Tuna with Dungeness Crab Salad.  Like whoa.

Then, from Gott's Roadside, there were incredible Smoked Chicken Sliders. The bread and butter pickle was "crucial", if you will. : )

Chef Dave Cruz from Ad Hoc brought Pulled Pork over Sweet & Yukon Gold Potato Cakes with Bleu Cheese Celery Salad.  I could have eaten a whole plate of the potatoes.

There was Beff Bourguignon with Creamy Polenta from Chef Philippe Jeanty and Bistro Jeanty.  Sorry the picture is bad, but it was too delicious not to show you.  I've got to figure out how to make this polenta. Stat.

There were well-known chefs everywhere we turned.  Like Masaharu Morimoto.

We tried his Congee Clam Chowder from Morimoto Napa.  It was definitely different.  Good, but different from what one would usually expect from Clam Chowder.

Last but not least, we tasted two different crostini from Michael Chiarello's Bottega.  In the foreground is Braised Rabbit { my first taste of rabbit - delish! }.  The background is NapaStyle Marinated Parmesan.  Kind of like a pesto.

Oh you know, just a usual, quiet Friday night. : )

{ Stay tuned... the actual Bake-Off is Sunday! }

It's Crock-tober!

OK, maybe it's not technically Crock-tober because it's not technically October any more. { When did that happen?  How is Thanksgiving next week? }

October or November aside, it's Crock-Pot season. And if you're looking to give one as a gift for the Holidays { or maybe snag one for yourself }, now is the time!

To get your $5:

• Purchase a Crock-Pot brand slow cooker for $24.50 or more any time between now and November 30
• Print out this mail-in rebate form { don't miss page 2 }
• Cut the UPC code from your Crock-Pot box
• Mail in your form, UPC and original sales receipt { no copies accepted } to the address listed on the form before December 31
• Your check should arrive in 6-8 weeks

Amazon has a bunch of Crock-Pots on sale right now, so combinined with this rebate you're looking at a great deal on a kitchen work horse. I have this one and adore it. Especially the "Little Dipper". Perfect for chocolate fondue and cheese dip. { Which would make for a perfect meal in my world. Chocolate and cheese. Yes, please. }

Happy shopping!