Milk |

S’mores Shake

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Kaitlin

I am so excited to share this cookbook with you. It’s an entire cookbook dedicated to Milkshakes! I have a serious ice cream addition, so it should go without saying that I love milkshakes. Although I’m never one to turn down a simple chocolate or cookies and cream milkshake, this cookbook brings milkshakes to a completely different level. Malts & Milkshakes: 60 Recipes for Frosty, Creamy, Frozen Treats has everything from the classics, to modern flavors, and even boozy shakes. The Author, Autumn Martin, is the founder of Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery in Seattle, so she knows her desserts! All of the recipes can be made using ingredients found in your supermarket, but it also includes recipes for making your own homemade ice cream if you’re feeling particularly fancy. There are so many inventive recipes in this book: eggnog, earl grey, salted caramel, and mango rose milk shakes to name a few. And those don’t even include the boozy milkshakes! My two favorite ones from that section: Chocolate Espresso Whiskey Malt and Chipotle Spice Sipping Chocolate Shake. This book is not messing around! Another favorite was the S’mores Shake. Few things symbolize wonderful summer memories like S’mores. Chocolate, Marshmallow, … Continue reading →

Slow Cooker Apple French Toast Casserole

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Kaitlin

I love recipes that make it easy to serve a bunch of people with minimal effort. A slow cooker is usually a go-to for those types of recipes but I’ve never considered using it to make breakfast before. The Ninja Cooking System is the perfect tool for it though. They sent over this recipe for an Apple French Toast Casserole and I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come so I could make it. This recipe makes 8 servings so it would be great for breakfast for a larger group but I also packed up the rest of my servings to reheat during the week. Ingredients: ½ cup butter 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup chopped walnuts ½ cup packed brown sugar ½ cup pure maple syrup 1 loaf challah bread (about 1 pound), cut into cubes 6 large eggs 2 cups vanilla almond milk (or normal milk) 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Pinch salt Confectioners’ sugar

Pumpkin Eggnog

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Kaitlin

The only upside to the colder weather, is that it is now appropriate for me to make eggnog. And not just any eggnog, but pumpkin eggnog. Pinnacle Vodka came out with a pumpkin pie vodka this year, and I’ve been waiting and waiting for the right weather to make this drink. I actually used a recipe that came from The Cookbook of Ellen M Emlen, which is a recipe book from from the 1860′s that The Historical Society of Pennsylvania found in their collection. I’ve written about this cookbook before on this blog and I just love it. One of the issues in the cookbook though, is that it is written before standard measurements were invented so the recipes aren’t easily reproduced. (For example, this recipe called for a wine-size glass of milk. White wine or red wine glass? Completely full, or what a serving in the glass would be? You get the picture.) But I figured if it was good enough for the 19th century, it’s good enough for me! Ingredients: 2 eggs 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar 2 cups milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree 1 oz pumpkin spice … Continue reading →

Mini Orange & Cardamom Muffins

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Kaitlin

This weekend, I am co-hosting a Tiny Food Party with Bridges, Burgers & Beer, another Philly food blogger, using recipes from Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park’s cookbook: Tiny Food Party. A bunch of the recipes we are making use mini muffin tins. I wanted to try out my new min muffin tins at least once before making food for the party, so I found this recipe for Mini Orange & Cardamom Muffins from a book I received last year and have used once before for a recipe (see it here) called 1 Mix, 100 Muffins. The flavors of these muffins sounded absolutely delicious. It was a lot of prep though: you have to juice and zest the oranges for the recipe. It’s well worth it, the citrus-y flavor is perfect with the cardamom seeds. Ingredients: (makes 48 mini muffins) 2 oranges 1/2 cup milk (maybe less) 6 whole green cardamom pods 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup sugar 2 large eggs 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled Begin by melting the butter over medium-low heat. Allow to cool. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line the mini muffin pans with paper … Continue reading →

Biscuits and Gravy

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Kaitlin

To my readers who come to my page looking for quick and health(ier) cooking options, I apologize for this post. I am making Biscuits and Gravy, and I can’t even pretend that there are any health benefits to this, except perhaps a feeling of pure joy as you consume it. Healthy readers, maybe we can pretend that this recipe for a Southern favorite never happened? For the rest of my readers, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Because I sure did, it was fantastic. So why the sudden move into southern cooking? Biscuits, of course! I was sent a few boxes of Robinhood Meetinghouse‘s frozen biscuits, including their original Cream Cheese Biscuit. The Maine-based biscuiteers (yes, I just really wanted to write the word biscuiteer) also make pull apart cinnamon bread, sticky buns, and mini pies. The company’s products contain no artificial flavors, colors, corn syrup, or genetically modified ingredients (GMOs). And the best part? The frozen biscuits are ready in the oven in only 25 minutes time. There are plenty of ways to use their original biscuits, but a friend mentioned one of her favorite recipes from the South, Biscuits and Gravy, and I had to try … Continue reading →

Grilled Striped Bass with Bacon Vinaigrette, Red Smashed Potatoes & Sautéed Butter-Thyme Mushrooms

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Kaitlin

Whew. By the time you say the title of this post you could have cooked most of this meal. Fish is a perfect weekday choice because it is so darn quick to cook up. I managed to make all parts of this meal in 40 minutes which was awesome! If you wanted to cut the time for this meal even more, you could doctor up some of those refrigerator mashed potatoes from the supermarket, but I really like home made mashed potatoes so I went for it. No one is surprised to hear that this menu comes from my trusty Cooking Light. Ingredients: 2 (8-ounce) striped bass fillets salt, divided freshly ground black pepper, divided 4 slices center-cut bacon 2 large shallots, finely chopped and divided 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/8 teaspoon sugar 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 pound red potatoes 2 garlic cloves, halved 1/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk 2 tablespoons butter, divided 2 (8-ounce) packages presliced baby bella mushrooms 1/3 cup dry white wine 4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme Begin with making the mashed potatoes. The original recipe has you peel and cube the potatoes. I really like the skins of potatoes … Continue reading →

Raspberry Creme Brulee

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Kaitlin

Last week, I was contacted by Walkers Shortbread about a recipe photo challenge they are hosting. Walkers asked a bunch of bloggers to make one of the recipes off their site and photograph the end result. They even offered to send me the Walkers ingredient needed to make the recipe. I came across their Raspberry Creme Brulee recipe and I knew I had to make it. It’s a traditional creme brulee, with a Walkers Shortbread crust and raspberries. How fantastic does that sound? Ingredients: 2 cups whole milk 4 egg yolks 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup heavy cream 1/2 pint Raspberries (fresh) 1 pkg. (5.3 oz) Walkers Shortbread Fingers light brown sugar, to taste Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Add the milk to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. While waiting for the milk to boil, add the egg yolks, sugar and heavy cream to a medium sized bowl. Whisk to combine. Add 3/4 cup of the boiled milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. This tempers the eggs so that they don’t cook when you add the rest of the milk. Once incorporated, add the rest of the milk in a steady stream. Take a … Continue reading →

Creamy Lemon Pasta with Vegetables

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Kaitlin

Pasta is definitely one of my weaknesses. I would eat it every day if it was socially acceptable to do so. But alas, all those carbs probably wouldn’t be best. Adding vegetables to a pasta dish always makes me feel a little bit better about my choice though. MyRecipes.com had an awesome sounding recipe for Creamy Lemon Pasta with Vegetables. Ingredients: 2 teaspoons olive oil 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup 1% milk 1 cup whole cream Zest and juice from 3 lemons 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons pepper 16 ounces spinach fusilli pasta 2 pounds trimmed asparagus 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Season with salt. Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Add the asparagus to a steamer and add it to the pot. Cover and steam for 3 minutes. Set aside. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Add the olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk, cream, zest, and juice from 3 lemons. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and … Continue reading →

Tomato Basil Soup

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Kaitlin

Grilled Cheese and tomato soup is the perfect combination of comfort foods. Rainy, snowy, or just plain crummy days are instantly better after a warm bowl with cheesy bread for dipping. Cooking Light had a quick recipe for Tomato Basil soup in their March issue that sounded so easy I had to try it. (It helped that I had most of the ingredients on hand as well!) The soup is served with toasted bread topped with melted Asiago cheese. Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I just used the whole bag shown in the photo) 2 (14.5-ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained (Muir Glen Organic is a great choice) 1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (half a container) 2 cups 1% low-fat milk Salt and pepper, to taste 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices French bread Cooking spray 1 garlic clove, halved 1 ounce shredded Asiago cheese Preheat your broiler to high. In a large pot, add the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the cans of tomatoes and chopped basil. … Continue reading →

Homemade Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Kaitlin

The simplest actions can really make your day. Sometimes all you need to turn a day around is a simple pick me up. This hot chocolate is a really easy way to put a smile on your, or your loved ones, face(s). It’s also a perfect Valentine’s Day drink! I found this cute recipe on Martha Stewart. Ingredients: (this makes 2 cups) 4 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 4 tablespoons finely chopped dark chocolate 2 marshmallows To make the marshmallows, cut the marshmallows in half. Cover the marshmallows in a sheet of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll the marshmallow halves flat. I know this looks odd. Just you wait. Using a small heart cookie cutter, cut hearts out of each flattened half. Cute, right? To make the hot chocolate, add the milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate in a small pot over medium heat. Stir frequently until the chocolate has melted and there is steam rising from the milk. You do not want to boil the milk. Pour into mugs and top with marshmallows. Isn’t this sweet? The chocolate is really rich and delicious; I … Continue reading →