Joyeux Kitchen: Sangria! Ole!

We had a party over the weekend and this Emeril recipe was a huge hit.  It's easy to make ahead and serve later; perfect for a busy party day!

You'll need:

• 1 (750 ml) bottle of red wine
• 1/4 cup brandy (I used apricot)
• 1/4 cup triple sec/orange liqueur
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (I used bottled)
• 2 tbsp fresh orange juice (again...bottled)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 an orange, thinly sliced
• 1/2 a lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 unwaxed apple, cored and cut into thin wedges (Oh please Emeril, where am I going to get an unwaxed apple?  I used waxed and didn't core it either.)
• 1 (750 ml) bottle of sparkling water, chilled

I also threw in a handful of tiny key limes sliced in half since I used bottled lime juice.  Combine everything but the sparkling water in a large plastic container or glass pitchers. Cover and chill completely, 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve, add the sparkling water.  This recipe is great doubled if you're serving a crowd!  I doubled it, but didn't have a second bottle of sparkling water, so I used 2 cans of Sprite.  YUM!

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse & foodnetwork.com.

Vintage Nellie Cooks -- Froot Loops Fiestas

Another treasure from Nellie's recipe box!  This one was clipped off the side of Nellie's breakfast cereal (and really, if you look at the sugar content, Froot Loops for dessert is far more appropriate than on the breakfast menu!).  These are light and buttery and the cereal stays crunchy--kids will love them.  The only note I'd add is that you have to push them flat with a fork like a sugar cookie, they won't flatten out on their own.  You could use any kids' cereal that you have on hand (Fruity Pebbles would be perfect).  Happy Monday!

Joyeux Kitchen: Taking orders today!

The big day is here!  I'm elated to announce that I'm now taking summer orders.  (You can view the original menu and post here.)  Also, Joyeux Kitchen will be a permanent page in the column to the right with a price list and a few *what might be* Frequently Asked Questions (I did a casual self-interview this afternoon). 

Let me take a load off your shoulders!  If you have a family barbecue coming up, maybe a church bake sale or Father's Day brunch, give me a shout and I'll have your treats ready in no time. 

It's contest time!
At 4pm (PST) today Lindsay and I are going to draw a fifty tiny toes follower's name out of a hat and that person will receive a FREE Joyeux Kitchen dessert of your choice (*if it has to be shipped, choices are scones, cinnamon rolls or cake balls).  So join our follower's list for a chance to win!

Don't forget to "Like" Joyeux Kitchen on Facebook!
I'll be sharing baking tips, my favorite foodie blogs, running occasional contests, and you'll be the first to know about special yummies for sale beyond what appears on the regular menu.

Friends and Family Referral Reward
If you refer a friend or family member (or your dog walker, or your checker at the grocery store) and they mention your name when they order, you'll get a credit for 15% off your next purchase.  You're eligible for a reward every time a new customer mentions your name!!

Joyeux Kitchen: Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

We love Memorial Day weekend!  It's a bonus day to have Daddy home and a great excuse to get together with family and barbecue.  These homemade marshmallows are a perfect, albeit unconventional, take on tomorrow's dessert, or you could use them as little going-away treats for visiting friends and family.  If you've never made marshmallow from scratch, you're missing out!  It's easy!   

You'll need:

• 7 oz toasted coconut
• 3 packages unflavored (Knox) gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• powdered sugar for rolling/dusting

Start your mallows by combining the gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and allow this to sit while you make the syrup. 

For the syrup, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer.  Remove from heat. 

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin.  Put the mixer on high and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes.  Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly on medium for another minute, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Sprinkle half the toasted coconut (How To Toast Coconut Tutorial) in the bottom of a 9 by 13 glass dish,  Pour in the marshmallow batter and smooth the top of the mixture with damp hands.  Sprinkle on the remaining toasted coconut.  Allow to dry overnight, uncovered at room temperature.

Remove the marshmallows from the pan and cut into squares.  Roll the cut sides of each piece carefully in powdered sugar.  Store uncovered at room temperature.  (I'll post a picture of this step in the morning!) 

I can't wait to try them toasted over the firepit!  YUM!

Original recipe from Ina Garten.



Joyeux Kitchen: Salted Caramel Buttercream

It shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you that I'm a frosting snob.  I'll just come out and say it: The canned stuff is yucky, and the film it leaves in your mouth is caused by the junk they put in it to make it 'shelf stable' (look at the ingredient list--I'm not lying).  Bleh.  Making your own is cheap and easy; even this recipe, which is more complex than most, hardly takes any time at all.  I put this particular buttercream on espresso cupcakes, creating what I like to think of as a "Caramel Macchiato on a plate".  You could also just serve it in a parfait dish, maybe, with a steaming espresso shooter. :) 

You'll need:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, softened/room temp.
• 2 cups powdered sugar

(Double this recipe if you like mounded frosting on your cupcakes, like I do.)  Stir together the granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium high heat.  Continue cooking, without stirring, until the mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and slowly add the cream and vanilla (start with a tablespoon or two), stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth.  If the cream you added was too cold, the mixture will start to separate and you'll think all is lost!!  Don't despair, put it back on the still-hot stove top and stir until it comes back together, then remove from heat.  Set aside until cool to the touch, about 30 minutes. 

Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar, and mix until completely incorporated.  Turn off the mixer, then add the cool caramel.  Beat frosting on low to combine, and then increase to medium-high and beat until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes.  Refrigerate if not using immediately (or to harden the frosting a bit).

Salted Caramel Buttercream originally from Gimme Some Oven!

Joyeux Kitchen: Maple-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls are from Ree Drummond, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman, and as far as I'm concerned, they are her greatest masterpiece.  I'm made them more than a dozen times and every person (EVERY person), after one bite, says, "These are the best I have ever had."  So...what makes them different?  Homemade cinnamon rolls are, in general, fantastic no matter the recipe, right?  You have to taste them to fully understand, but these are gooey, not dense, not too "bready", instead of the middle one being by far the best, each one is a "middle", the maple glaze is certainly a unique and welcome departure from the standard cream cheese frosting....

Warning:  Friends and relatives alike may fall hopelessly in love with you after tasting these cinnamon rolls.  They're the baked-goods equivalent of Old Spice body wash.  ("Helllllo ladies.")

You'll need:

• 1 quart whole milk (4 cups) ... and yes, it has to be whole milk.
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp if you buy the jars)
• 8 cups (plus 1 cup extra, separated) unbleached all-purpose Flour
• 1 tsp (heaping) baking powder
• 1 tsp (scant) baking soda
• 1 tbsp (heaping) salt
• plenty of melted butter (just go ahead and melt a whole box/lb.)
• 2 cups sugar
• generous sprinkling of cinnamon

Maple Glaze

• 1 (2 lb.) bag powdered sugar
• 2 tsp maple flavoring (found on the spice aisle with the vanilla)
• ½ cups milk
• ¼ cups melted butter
• ¼ cups brewed coffee
• ⅛ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover (I use loose plastic wrap) and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough--I use somewhere between 1/2 and 1 cup...it's more of a feeling than an exact science. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven or nine inch round foil cake or pie pan (I use 9 in round foil cake pans). Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans (an easy way to cut the rolls is to use dental floss for nice even slices).

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.  (If you don't want to bake them right away, at this point you could cover and put the pans in the fridge for baking the next day, or put in the freezer for future use.--See step four of the tutorial at her link.)

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls.

This recipe is easy for an experienced baker, but there are lots of steps and it is quite time consuming.  More than once I've lost track of how many cups of flour I put in and just had to wing it.  (Get ready for a shameless business plug...)  If you're dying to have some but don't have a spare six hours-ish to devote to brunch making, I'd be happy to be your supplier :).  Joyeux Kitchen taking orders starting June 1.

Joyeux Kitchen -- In Business!

Well friends, this post has been in the works for a long time. I love to bake for friends and family, and after doing it for fun for the past five years, it's time to take a big scary leap! I'm excited to announce that starting in June and stretching through the end of August, I'll be offering a small selection of my very, very favorite yummies for sale. Small orders need to be placed three days prior to your event and large orders will need to be placed at least a week in advance. Gigantic orders... well if I get a gigantic order I'll fall over dead of shock and then I guess we'll have a meeting.

Initial offerings at special summer prices:

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes with an ample mound of cookie dough buttercream frosting.

$14.00/dozen

Cake Balls or Pops

$10.00/dozen: custom colored and drizzled

$15.00/dozen: decorated

Glazed White Chocolate Apricot Scones

$8.00/dozen heart-shaped cream scones. Perfect for family brunch.

Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

Have I really never blogged these rich, gooey rolls???  Oh this is HAPPENING this week. Rolls that melt in your mouth with a lick-your-fingers maple glaze.

$8.00/pan (approx. eight rolls per pan)

Joyeux Kitchen Two-Layer Chocolate Cake

This amazing chocolate cake is my favorite from Ina Garten's kitchen. The rich, chocolate buttercream makes it the best chocolate cake you will ever eat. You will immediately want me to make you another. Photos coming soon.

$16.00 (9-inch round cake pan serves 10-12 people)

As if it could get any better, the first official fiftytinytoes contest is coming soon. We will be a drawing a lucky follower's name out of a hat, so make sure to join our followers list to be entered to win a free dessert from Joyeux Kitchen. Be EXCITED and go join our followers list now!

Also, if you've tried any of these treats from my kitchen and post a review in the comment section, I'll give you a half-dozen cake balls FREE. Are you EXCITED now?

If you have an event in mind and would like to pre-order your goodies, there are a number of easy ways to reach me. Leave me a comment here or send me a message at fiftytinytoes@gmail.com! And soon, you'll be able to "Like" Joyeux Kitchen on Facebook and send me your order that way. I've never shipped my baked goods. I'm investigating that process now.

Can't wait to share my treats with you. xo

Joyeux Kitchen: Heavenly White Chocolate Apricot Scones

I think I should preface this post by telling you that I don't really like scones.  Even fair scones.  I know, right?!  That equates to blasphemy around here!  Those darn fair scones are woven into the tapestry of Northwest life like sandals with socks.  Anyway, thoroughly unimpressed with them and the whole scone-scene. 

But theeeeeeese are another story.  These aren't just scones--they're little droplets of cream-laden heaven.  And they've been around a while!  Apparently Lindsay made them a couple years ago and brought me one and I snubbed it (because "I don't like scones!")-- Sorry Linz!  So Jenae the scone fairy brought me one a couple weeks ago, just handed it to me, no plate or anything, and stuck around to watch me eat it.  "Oh dear God.  This can't be a scone.  What IS this???" 

She shared the recipe with me, and now I'm going to share the recipe with you.

White Chocolate Apricot Scones
You'll need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream (not whipped)

Combine dry ingredients.  Add fruit and chocolate.  Use fork to stir in cream.  Knead on floured board 8 - 9 times.  Divide dough into two flat rounds and cut into traditional triangles, or roll out the dough and use a round or heart cookie cutter like I did.  Bake for 11 minutes at 425 degrees.

The glaze is the only part of the original recipe that I'm not sold on.  I made it for the first batch and it left me wanting....something.  (The original instructions: In a small saucepan, melt together 3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Brush over warm scones.)  The top picture is sugar cookie glaze on the left and butter/sugar on the right.

Soooooo, given that I'm prone to acts of lavish culinary excess, I decided to try pairing the sugar cookie glaze I used at Christmas with these scones, and the result was nothing short of spectacular.  Does it make the recipe questionably more dessert than breakfast?  Judgement call.  I'm cool with it, but I also think it's justified to eat pumpkin pie for breakfast for a week after Thanksgiving.

Vintage Nellie Cooks -- Lemonade Creamsicle Swirl

Meet Nellie
We're introducing a new miniseries on the blog today!  Last year for my birthday, Lindsay found me a sweet little treasure--an antique recipe box full of handwritten recipes, straight from (someone's) Grandma's kitchen.  Most of the recipe cards have Nellie written in beautiful flowing script in the top right hand corner (with some random additions from Helen and Florence sprinkled in--I imagine these were her neighbors, who came for an afternoon scotch in their house dresses to exchange recipes).  The picture above is straight off one of the cards in the box!  Could not be any cuter.  A lot of the recipes have faded, or the script is too swirly to decode, but there are several that are begging to be shared.

Frozen Lemonade Creamsicle Swirl
I chose to make this first because the recipe, originally titled "Chilled Lemon Pie", is identical to Doug's favorite dessert, Raspberry Swirl, with lemon exchanged for the raspberries--lovely and light for spring and Easter.  It calls for the use of raw, stiffly beaten egg whites (an old school method resulting in an extraordinarily creamy treat), which I am comfortable using, but if you aren't cool with it click the links right below the recipe for lists of acceptable substitutes (double the whipped cream, pasteurized eggs, powdered egg whites).

You'll need:

• 6 egg yolks
• 6 egg whites (stiffly beaten)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
• 1 tsp lemon curd
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pint (2 cups) whipped cream (Cool Whip if you're in a hurry)
• **3/4 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
• **3 tbsp melted butter
• **2 tbsp sugar

Prepare the crust first.  In a bowl, combine the last three ingredients with your fingers and then press into the bottom of a greased (or parchment-papered) 9 by 13 pan. 

Combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, sugar, salt, lemon curd and zest in a saucepan and cook over medium/low heat until sugar is dissolved and liquid thickens a bit.  [Side note: I couldn't tell if she wrote "curd" or "zest" so I added a teaspoon of both.  If you want to pick one you can, but both is YUMMY.]  Cool completely. 

While the lemon mixture cools, prepare your whipped cream and beat your egg whites.  Reserve a little bit of the lemon sauce for swirling over the top of the dessert.  Fold the whipped cream and egg whites gently into the lemon sauce, and pour the mixture over your crust.  Smooth the top surface with a rubber scraper/spatula.  Pour the remaining lemon sauce in a stream over the dessert, and use a butter knife to make swirls (hopefully prettier than mine).  Freeze at least four hours or preferably overnight.  When you're ready to serve, heat up the blade of a knife under hot water and it will slide right through the frozen pie.

Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum.  Stayed tuned, more Nellie next month!

Tips on raw egg substitutes:

http://www.homemade-dessert-recipes.com/eggs-and-salmonella.html

http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--2825/banana-split-dessert.asp

 (& Nellie!)

Joyeux Kitchen: Hungry Man Casserole

This is Man Food.  No frills, no fuss.  It isn't delicate or difficult or French or fat-free.  It's warm and hardy and it's one of Doug's favorite meals, handed down from his mama to me.  And the best part is that it's super quick to prepare and clean up is a cinch.



You'll need:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
• 1/4 cup diced sweet yellow onions
• 1 tsp salt
• 16 oz can of pork & beans
• Optional: additional can of black or kidney beans
• 3/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• Can of home style biscuits (not butter flavored)
• Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.  Brown the meat with the onions (I use my electric skillet).  If you're using fatty hamburger you'll want to drain the grease before the next step, but I always use turkey--no draining necessary.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour mixture into a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.  Halve the biscuits (peel them apart into two thin circles) and place rough side down on top of casserole.  [Side note: You may not need the entire can of biscuits depending on the size of your casserole dish.]  Cover entirely with shredded cheese.  Bake until the biscuits are done, 15-17 minutes.  Make sure the biscuits in the center are done, it's no good doughy.

Perfect for a fast dinner and easy to keep the ingredients on hand! 

Joyeux Kitchen: Ooooooh Samoa!

Homemade Girl Scout Cookies: Samoas

(Click here for the full recipe and come back here for my notes! :)

Doug posted this recipe to my Facebook page in January; I've been putting it off because it seemed like a bit too much of a project.  Well...it was, sort of, but it was SO worth it.  Don't put it off another second--you must make these cookies.

You'll notice that it's a multi-part recipe.  I made the "cookie" part three or four weeks ago and put them in the freezer, in anticipation of a day when I might have the extra kitchen time to cook the caramel.  I found that time this afternoon and pulled out all my ingredients, then read the recipe.  When I got to this part I was immediately concerned:

No directions for a candy thermometer???  Are you kidding?  I put my panic aside and put my faith in Jaime from The Family Kitchen.  (I have a complex about caramel these days because I botched two batches at Christmas.  Always in a hurry does not a good candy-maker make!) 

It's bubbling.

Starting to look more viscous?  Perhaps...

And then, all at once, too fast for me to even snap a picture, it turned deep amber, begged for the cream, and became luscious, velvety caramel.

The above picture is a bit cryptic, I know, but the spike on the edge of the glass is a piece of the cooked sugar--what it should look like when it's at hard ball stage (like a lollipop) and you drop it in the glass of water.  This is the first time I've done caramel this way and it was a huge success!

I didn't have time for a trip to the health food store for unsweetened coconut (you won't find it at the regular grocery store--I looked) so I used sweetened.  Came out just fine.  I added a cup....

Then I added a third-cup or so more, because it didn't look like enough.

Time for dipping!  Jaime recommends using a fork.  This was a blobby mess for me--I found the finger method to be much easier.

There was a little extra caramel after all the cookies were dipped...I ate it. 8)

This is my pastry bag, which I used to drizzle the chocolate on top rather than fiddling with a fork.  The OCD in me wanted nice even lines of milk chocolate.  I've done the fork thing before--it's a big fat pain in the rear and comes out looking all messy and discombobulated.  If you don't have a pastry bag, pour the melted chocolate into a Ziploc bag, seal it, and cut the very tip off the corner of the bag.  Presto!  :)

These little caramelicious bites of heaven were twice as good as the boxed version, and that's saying somethin'.  Yum-nomnomnomnom.