Giada's Gianduja Souffle with Hazelnut Liqueur

***I wanted to make something special for dessert on Valentine's Day. I saw Giada make these about a week before, and I knew that I had found what I was looking for. I'd never attempted a souffle before....I was a little intimidated, but I was up for the challenge! ;) The hazelnut liqueur really adds a nice pop to this recipe. I did use Frangelico like she recommended. The souffle itself was a wonderful, light texture....and then you get down to the chocolate hazelnut ball at the bottom of the ramekin....YUM-O! I found the cutest heart-shaped ramekins at Michael's...they were perfect!***

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon sugar, plus 1/4 cup

1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur (recommended: Frangelico)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 ounces milk chocolate, chopped, plus 6 ounces chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

Pinch salt

4 eggs, separated

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degree F. Butter and sugar 6 (6-ounce) ramekins.

Heat the butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, hazelnut liqueur, and vanilla in a double boiler over medium heat until the butter melts. Remove the butter mixture from the heat, add the chocolate, and let sit until it melts, about 3 minutes. Place the chocolate mixture in a pie dish and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up. Use a spoon to form the chilled mixture into 6 evenly-sized balls about the size of a walnut. Reserve in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, place the flour in a double boiler and slowly whisk in the milk. Add the salt. Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks and continue to whisk constantly. The mixture will thicken to the consistency of mayonnaise in another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat. Stir in the 6 ounces of chocolate and set aside to let the chocolate melt.

Place the egg whites in a large bowl with the cream of tartar. Using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites until soft peaks. Gradually add in the 1/4 cup sugar and continue whipping until firm peaks. Fold the egg whites into the warm chocolate mixture.

Place a ball of the chilled chocolate mixture in each of the ramekins. Spoon the souffle mixture over the chocolate balls and up to the rim of the ramekins. (At this point the souffle can be covered and kept refrigerated for 2 days.)

Place the ramekins in a hot water bath and bake until golden on top and the souffle has risen, about 30 minutes (40 minutes if refrigerated). Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/

S'MORE BROWNIES!

One word: YUMMOLICIOUS!

The photo for this recipe on the Food Network site made my mouth water! These brownies really do taste like s'mores. They are a little tricky to eat because the marshmallows are so sticky, but believe me....it's worth the trouble! After reading the reviews for the recipe, I made a few very minor adjustments...you'll see them below.

Crust:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I added a little extra butter-1 tbsp- to avoid a dry crust)

1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch fine salt

Brownie:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

4 large cold eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

***I also added about 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil to keep the brownies moist***

Topping:

4 cups large marshmallows

Directions:
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.

For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Chicken & Asparagus in White Wine Sauce

***Here's another great recipe from Cooking Light. Although the chicken isn't baked, it still tastes pretty light....not greasy. I served it with asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. I usually have bad luck when trying to cook asparagus, but this time it actually came out tasty...yay!***

Ingredients:
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken breasts evenly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done.

Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add wine, broth, and garlic to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes. Add asparagus; cover and cook 3 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender.

Remove from heat; stir in parsley and juice. Serve asparagus and sauce with chicken.

Source: http://www.cookinglight.com/

A Lil' Bit About Me...

This should be fun! I've been tagged by Deborah at http://workingwomanfood.blogspot.com/ as part of an "About Me" post....exciting! Here we go...

These are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.


As you probably know by now, I love photos! So, I felt that I had to include some in this post. Here are a few of me when I was little....including fact #1.


#1. When I was little, my favorite toy was "Monk Monk." LOL. I still laugh about this. That monkey went EVERYWHERE with me....from shopping to the Bahamas....Monk Monk is well-traveled. =)

#2. I married my wonderful husband in May 2006. Here we are on our wedding day...the best day of our lives...so far!

#3. We have 2 dogs....Lady and Hannah. They are so much fun and are the sweetest dogs in the world!

"Lady"
"Hannah"
#4. My favorite movie of all time is "The Wizard of Oz." In fact, I wore a custom pair of ruby red slippers under my wedding gown. They were hidden under my ballgown skirt, so they were my little secret. ;-) Here they are...our wedding took place at our family home....that's it in the background. After all, "There's no place like home" for a wedding....heh.

#5. And finally, some shameless self-promotion. :-)
I am a Relocation Consultant for a large moving company called Armstrong Relocation. We're an award-winning agency for United Van Lines. So, if you know of someone that's moving....no matter where....I can help! We do local, long-distance, and even international moves. So, feel free to contact me for info!
Phone: 205-229-8837
E-mail: cward@goarmstrong.com

Here are some links to 5 of my favorite food blogs...be sure to check them out!:

1. MrsPresley - http://good-eats-n-sweet-treats.blogspot.com/
2. Elle - http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/
3. Katie - http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/
4. Melanie - http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/
5. Deborah - http://deborahsw.blogspot.com/

Fried Green Tomatoes!

Here's another classic Southern dish. Fried green tomatoes have always been a favorite of mine. I like them best when they're nice and crispy. The Creole seasoning in this recipe adds a nice little "kick" also. I served these with the Shrimp in Lemon Butter posted below. Yum-O!

And of course, anyone in the Birmingham area HAS to head over to the Whistlestop Cafe to try their fried green tomatoes...Yes, that's the very same Whistlestop Cafe from the movie! Theirs are heavenly! Check out the blog at: http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/ and leave a "Hey Y'all" for Sandi. =)

Ingredients:

3 large green tomatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

1 tbsp. salt

Hot tap water

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tsp. Creole seasoning

Canola Oil

Directions:

Combine tomato slices, salt, and hot water in a baking dish; let stand 30 minutes. Drain.

Combine flour, cornmeal, and Creole seasoning in a shallow dish. Dredge tomato slices in cornmeal mixture, shaking off excess.

Fry tomato slices in a large skillet of canola oil on medium-high heat until golden brown. Remove tomatoe slices from skillet and let drain on a paper towel. Season with salt.

Source: Southern Living magazine

***I keep any left-over cornmeal mixture in a ziplock bag and re-use it. It can also be used to make fried okra and fried pickles!***