Posts Tagged ‘How to Make’

  1. A Sunny, Delicious Morning

    October 30, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    I often get asked, what’s your favorite ingredient?  That’s a toughie.  I’m partial to automatically (and most enthusiastically) exclaiming my allegiance to Butter or Bacon, but not far behind is the humble Egg.  Experts ping pong back and forth on whether or not they’re good for you, but my loyalty to the Egg remains firm.

    Legend has it that a Chef’s hat held as many folds as s/he knew how to cook an Egg, a 100-fold hat being reserved only for the heads of the most knowledgeable culinary experts.

    Eggs are affordable, versatile, convenient, and yummy!  Not to mention, they’re high in protein and have 13 essential nutrients.

    Fresh Eggs are the best and lend themselves beautifully in everything from my Quiche and Steak & Eggs to Bibimbap!

    I’m fairly unhappy when my fridge doesn’t hold any Eggs and with an abundance of them, (they had a mega-super-deal on Organic Eggs this week) I was happy to whip up another satisfying Egg based dish.

    Smothered with hot, gooey cheese, the yolks underneath are still rich and runny, spilling it’s butteriness onto a bed of robust, herbed tomatoes, happily pooling with more cheese.

    (Fyi, I had mine for breakfast, but paired with a salad and some rustic bread, it would also make for an amazing supper)!

    What else can you make with Eggs?

    • My favorite breakfast sandwich: Bacon, Egg, and Jam (crazy yes, but crazy good)!
    • Omurice/Fried Rice
    • Soft Boiled, paired with Asparagus and Cheese (another one of my fave ways to eat Eggs)
    • Frittatas
    • Crepes
    • Spanish Tortilla
    • Deviled Eggs
    • Eggs Benedict/Poached Eggs
    • Soft Scrambles
    • Custard/Zabaglione
    • Herbed Egg Sandwiches
    • Eggs in a Hole/Egg Nests
    • Breakfast Soufflé/Casserole
    • French Toast/Bread Pudding/Strata
    • Huevos Rancheros
    • Egg Drop Soup
    • Croque Madam
    • Eggs Sur le Plat
    • Steamed Eggs
    • Loco Moco
    • Cheesecake/Flan
    How to Make Baked Eggs {Shirred Eggs}

    Baked Eggs {Shirred Eggs}
     
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    Ingredients
    • 1 tb Olive Oil
    • 2 cloves minced Garlic
    • 1 ts Thyme (or Basil)
    • ½ ts Crushed Red Pepper
    • 12 oz Crushed Tomatoes (I like San Marzano)
    • Salt and Pepper
    • 1 Bay Leaf
    • 2 ts Sugar (or ½ c diced Carrots)
    • Eggs (as many as you like)
    • 2 tb Cream
    • ¼ c Parmigiano
    • Slices of Fontina, Gruyere, Mozzarella, etc
    • Fresh Tomatoes, Toast, Parsley

    Instructions
    1. In a heavy bottomed pot, slicked with oil, soften your Garlic, Herbs, and Pepper Flakes.
    2. Slowly add in your Tomatoes, season, tuck in your Bay Leaf and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
    3. Sprinkle in your Sugar.
    4. Ladle in sauce on bottom of baking dish and crack as many Eggs in as you want.
    5. Drizzle over cream and sprinkle over and layer with lots of cheese.
    6. Broil at 350 for 5 minutes (less or more depending on how you like your Eggs).
    7. Serve bubbling with fresh, seasoned Tomatoes, buttered Toast Points, and garnish with fresh flat leaf Parsley.

    Wishing you a golden delicious morning, noon, and night!

    Love,

    Your Squishy Monster

    Categories: Breakfast Breakfast Videos | 44 Comments

  2. Helloooo Autumn!

    September 21, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    Tomorrow marks the arrival of Autumn which is my absolute favorite time of the year!  Needless to say, there will be a liberal use of exclamation marks in this post.  Autumn means warm and spicy liquids, toppling over with mounds of whipped cream, flushed cheeks, fuzzy mittens, and a dazzling array of bold foliage on display.  One of my favorite Autumn-y beverages is a steaming swirl of spicy Chai in frothy milk so I figured why not make it into a cupcake to celebrate the arrival of Autumn?–yaaaaay!!!

    How to Bake Chai Cupcakes

    Chai Cupcakes
     
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    Ingredients
    • ½ c unbleached Cake Flour
    • ½ ts Baking Soda
    • ½ ts Baking Powder
    • ¼ ts fine Salt
    • ½ ts ground Cinnamon
    • ¼ ts ground Cardamom
    • ¼ ts ground Ginger
    • ¼ ts ground Nutmeg
    • ¼ ts ground Cloves
    • 1 grind of Black Pepper
    • ¼ c granulated Sugar
    • ¼ c Brown Sugar
    • 2 tb softened Butter
    • 2 tb Apple Sauce*
    • 1 room temperature Egg
    • ¼ c warm Buttermilk
    • 3 Chai Tea Bags
    • ½ ts Apple Cider Vinegar

    Instructions
    1. Sift all of your dry ingredients into your first bowl (excluding your spices).
    2. In a separate cup, steep your tea bags for at least 5 minutes. Scoot in all of your spices and let it sit.
    3. In your third bowl, cream together your Sugars and Butter. Slowly stream in your Egg.
    4. Still working with your third bowl, spoon in your Apple Sauce (if you’re using it) and also slip in your spiced tea mixture. Next, dribble in your Apple Cider Vinegar.
    5. Lastly, you want to marry your first bowl with your third bowl–sprinkle in your dry mixture in about 3 separate additions, taking care not to over mix.
    6. Bake at 350 for 17-22 minutes for standard size Cupcakes.
    7. Cool and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

    Notes
    *you can omit the Apple Sauce and use ¼ c soft Butter instead. Also, it’s best to grind your own, whole spices in a spice grinder (it makes for a beautifully spiced cake).

    You can top with Buttercream, or my favorite thing to top everything with!  Cream Cheese Frosting.

    Dust with Pumpkin Spice or Cinnamon, take a HUGE bite!! (or 3, 6, 12…) and you’re ringing in Autumn the right way, I assure you ;)

    Love & Warm & Spicy Kisses,

    Your Squishy Monster ^.~

    Categories: Cakes/Cupcakes Cakes/Cupcakes Sweets Sweets Videos | 49 Comments

  3. Pretty Woman Walking Down The Street

    August 8, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    Everyone always asks me what inspires me to make the dishes that I do.  Well to be frank often times, it’s what I’m craving, but not to go without saying that for a foodie like me, inspiration is everywhere and can be pulled from anything.  I have a one track mind in the sense that I’m always thinking about food.  What yummy thing can I put in my mouth next?

    The other night, after a long day with the Gabs, I found myself tossing and turning.  Finally, Mister Insomnia won once again and I found Pretty Woman playing on tv.  It’s always a pleasure for me to sprawl out, zone out, and allow the television to suck me into its stories.  In everyday life, I don’t watch it at all.  I find most of it to be rubbish and can’t believe some of the crap that’s considered “kid-friendly entertainment” these days.  *Rolls eyes and groans*  Don’t even get me started on the crap-quality songs that kids innocently gravitate towards.  To them, it’s up-beat and fun when really, Flo Rida wants them to blow his whistle?!

    Luckily, tv it did its job and I think I fell asleep on the couch half way through but not without seeing the part where Edward orders Strawberries and Champagne for Vivian because “it brings out the flavor of the champagne.”  Voila!  The next day found me rummaging through the fridge and pantry to whip up something that echoed the sentiments of this classy and seductive pairing.  Despite not having strawberries and only raspberries, it turned out beautifully and it’s something I want to share with you!

     

     

    Raspberry & Champagne Cupcakes
     
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    Ingredients
    Dry Ingredients
    • 1¾ c unbleached all purpose flour
    • ½ ts baking soda
    • ¼ ts baking powder
    • ¼ ts salt
    Wet Ingredients
    • 1 stick soft unsalted butter
    • 1 c sugar
    • 1 ts pure vanilla extract
    • 2 room temperature eggs
    • ½ c room temperature whole milk
    • ¼ c fresh raspberry puree
    • ⅓ c room temperature champagne

    Instructions
    1. Sift your dry ingredients together and set aside.
    2. In a separate bowl, cream together you butter and sugar. Tip in your vanilla.
    3. Slowly add in your eggs, one at a time.
    4. Stream in your milk, then your raspberries, and finally your champagne.
    5. In three separate additions, mix in your dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
    6. Bake at 350 for 17-19 minutes.

     

    Here’s how to make the Buttercream.  Just omit the cream and sub in Champagne.

    You can find the edible “sparkle or glitter” at your local craft store.  I found mine at Michaels.  Additionally, vodka works better than water.

    Love & Fancy Pants Cupcakes,

    Your Squishy Monster ^.^

     

    Categories: Cakes/Cupcakes Cakes/Cupcakes Sweets Sweets Videos | 20 Comments

  4. Berries + Mascarpone + Chocolate

    July 31, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    Oh yes, you done heard right.  Mix it all together, and whatdya have?  A fat slice of chilled Mascarpone Cream with a Cookies and Cream crust, studded with lots of fat and gorgeous berries (and pssst, go crazy with the Ganache drizzle)! ;)

    Chocolate Berry Mascarpone Tart

    Chocolate Berry Mascarpone Tart
     
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    Ingredients
    • 25 crushed Oreo Cookies
    • ½ stick melted Butter
    • 8 oz room temperature Mascarpone Cheese
    • 1 ts Vanilla Extract
    • ¼ c Agave
    • 8 oz Organic Heavy Whipping Cream
    • 3 tb Powdered Sugar
    • 2 ts Almond Extract (or Vanilla)
    • Lemon Zest
    • Berries
    • Optional: Melted Chocolate or Ganache

    Instructions
    1. Combine your cookie crumbs with your butter and press down into your pie/tart pan.
    2. Spoon your softened, room temperature cheese into a bowl and beat it with your vanilla and agave. Set aside.
    3. In a separate bowl, whip up your cream, sugar, extract, and lemon until it reaches stiff peaks. Using a whisk attachment and building up your speed helps. Additionally, whipping it up when it’s cold is easier.
    4. Fold in your whipped cream to your cheese mixture. Dollop this mixture into your prepared crust.
    5. Dot with lots of fresh berries on top and drizzle with chocolate. Chill for at least 4-6 hours before serving.

    I envision that this might be a fabulous addition to a mid-week meal…something bright and summery to look forward to perk you right up on, let’s say, a Wednesday.  Wednesdays are funny because you’re so close to the weekend, you can almost taste it but yet, you can’t celebrate it just yet *face palm*  You quickly realize you’ve got two more freaking days left, lol.

    Make this tonight, pop it into the fridge and your belly may want to write me a thank you card tomorrow.

    So, grab a glass of red and dig in, my friend!  To hell with Wednesdays!

    Love,

    Your weekend enthusiast friend,

    The Squishy Monster ;)

    Categories: Chocolate Chocolate Pies/Tarts Pies/Tarts Sweets Sweets Videos | 30 Comments

  5. No Eggs or Butter?

    July 11, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    Your wallet + your veggie friends will love you!

    I don’t know about you, but in my house, I go through eggs and butter like water.  There’s nothing more satisfying than opening up a door to a fully stocked pantry, cupboard or fridge but on sadder days, I have [maybe] a 1/2 stick of butter and an empty carton of eggs.  Confession #564, I’d rather have a well stocked pantry than a Carrie Bradshaw closet.  I wish the neighborhood would allow me to keep hens :( I know that not everyone feels this way (for a variety of reasons), but I happen to love eggs.  I use them often when I bake and love them any which way to eat.  I also found out today that I’m hypoglycemic so that instant burst of protein is always nice (per doctor recommendation but no worries, no diabetes, nor is it something that runs in my family).  We typically use Eggland’s Best.  Last week, with my coupon + sale I got an 18-carton for $2.  To give you an idea of how quickly they’re gone, I was fully stocked on Monday, out by Thursday–eek!

    So, on those days that you don’t feel like running out (or you’re a vegan–kudos to you because I never could figure out how to maintain it), these are my go -to.  Quick, easy, and indulgent, these will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.

     

    Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

     

    Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
     
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    Ingredients
    Vegan Chocolate Cake
    • 1½ c unbleached Flour
    • 1 ts Baking Soda
    • ½ ts fine Salt
    • 1 c warm Water
    • 1 c Sugar
    • ½ c unsweetened Cocoa
    • ½ tb Instant Coffee
    • ⅓ c Canola Oil*
    • 1 tb Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 2 ts Vanilla
    Peanut Butter Frosting
    • 1 c creamy Peanut Butter
    • 5 tb Spectrum/Earth Balance Shortening or Butter
    • ¼ ts fine Salt
    • 1 ts Vanilla
    • 1 c Powdered Sugar
    • 2-3 tb Coconut Milk**
    Optional
    • Melted Chocolate/or “Ganache”***
    • Chopped Peanuts

    Instructions
    1. In your first bowl, sift in your flour, soda, and salt.
    2. In your second bowl, whisk together your water, sugar, cocoa and coffee.
    3. In your third bowl, beat together your oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Next, blend in your second bowl (to your third bowl) and slowly sprinkle in your first bowl (in three separate additions or so).
    4. Remember not to over mix and bake at 350 for 17-22 minutes.
    5. For the frosting, cream together your peanut butter and “butter/shortening.” Add in your salt and vanilla. Slowly add in your powdered sugar and alternate with your “milk.” Add in more “milk” or powdered sugar as needed.
    6. Finish off by pressing chopped peanuts on top and drizzle over with chocolate.

    Notes
    *you can sub with the same amount of apple sauce. This will create a chewier vs softer cake. **You can use whatever dairy substitute you’d like. ***I used Trader Joe’s chocolate which is non-dairy.

     

    Showin’ love to my Vegan Peeps ;)

    Love,

    Your Squishy Monster ^.^

    Categories: Cakes/Cupcakes Cakes/Cupcakes Chocolate Chocolate Sweets Sweets Videos | 27 Comments

  6. 4th of July Layer Cake

    June 28, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    My baby brother did his entire dorm room in patriotic Red, White and Blues.  We all celebrated with an American feast when Mom and Dad got their citizenship.  We’re a family that’s proud to be American.  Though, the bittersweet irony of this post in relation to my last post can be pointed out.  :(

    Le sigh, I digress.

    In the South, we take our BBQ pretty seriously so while everyone else focuses on the coming carnivorous feast (sorry veggies), I’m always the designated dessert-bringer.  I’ve always thought that sugar cookies encrusted with hardened “frosting,” embedded with miscellaneous shards of pointy triangles that were once part of a star were blasé, so I took to bringing cakes to celebrate.  Confession #765, I’ve never had a birthday cake, but in my mind, cake = celebration.

    Now, of course you can enlist the help of fondant to create a neater presentation but golly do I hate fondant (oh, was I not suppose to admit that)?  Admittedly, it looks great but I’m more interested in how something tastes.  A good friend of mine who now lives  upstate works in a bakery and churns out fondant cakes regularly for clients weddings, showers, etc but for her own wedding, she scrapped the play-doh and slathered her tiers in good, old fashioned buttercream.  If ya’ll completely disagree, just let me know and I will consider doing a fondant tutorial.

    For the past 3 years, I’ve done a variation of this cake whether it be in cake or cupcake form so if you’re not looking to wait around for its assembly, be my guest to take the individualized portion route instead.

    Red White & Blue Cake

     

    To watch the assembly of a different kind of cake:

    Fresh Strawberry Layer Cake

     

    Red White & Blue Cake
     
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    Ingredients
    For the Cake:
    • 2 sticks + 2 tb soft, unsalted Butter
    • 2 c Sugar
    • 2 ts pure Vanilla Extract
    • 9 room temperature Egg Whites
    • 3 c unbleached Flour
    • 4½ ts Baking Powder
    • 1½ ts Salt
    • 1½ c room temperature whole Milk
    For the Buttercream:
    • 4 sticks soft, unsalted Butter
    • 6-8 c sifted Powdered Sugar*
    • 2 ts pure Vanilla Extract
    • 1/s ts fine Salt
    • 2-4 tb Cream

    Instructions
    1. In your first bowl, cream together your butter and sugar. You want to cream for at least 5 minutes and reach a pale, fluffy blonde color.
    2. Tip in your vanilla and slowly stream in your eggs.
    3. In your second bowl, sift in all of your dry ingredients. Slowly add this to your first, “wet” bowl.
    4. Alternate with milk but begin and end with your dry bowl.
    5. In a third bowl, break up your butter with your mixer and slowly add in your sugar (1/2 c-1 c at a time). Add in your vanilla and salt and cream as needed.

    Notes
    *6-8 c depending on how sweet you like your Buttercream (pay attention to consistency as well). Remember to measure it out after you sift it, not before.

    Now for those of you that are concerned about food colors, here are a few alternatives to consider:

    Natural Food Dyes: the only downside to these are that I found them to be a bit pricy and I went through mine in a couple months.

    Homemade colors can be extracted from natural sources.  The only cons for me: sometimes, it takes more to attain a brighter depth of color but this can possibly be taken care of with produce that is naturally richer in pigment and “stain” effortlessly (like beets) and sometimes this can impact the consistency of my batter/frostings not to mention, I always get paranoid about the taste bleeding in.  This can sometimes be combated by utilizing a juicer to expel it’s liquid instead of blitzing them in a processor.

    Red/Pink Options: Currants/Cranberries, Pomegranates, Cherries, Raspberries, Beets, Hibiscus Flowers/Tea, Red Wine

    Blue/Purple: Blueberries, Blackberries, Acai, Grape Juice

    Green: Kale, Spinach

    Orange/Yellow: Carrots, Turmeric Powder, Saffron

    There are other options, but these are just what I’ve experimented with before.  Additionally, crumbled, freeze dried fruits are nice to work with but again, can be expensive.

    I realize that it’s a bit early to be thinking about the 4th of July but what am I if not a bit of an overzealous Squishy Monster? ;)

    Love Always,

    Your Squishy Monster

    Categories: Cakes/Cupcakes Cakes/Cupcakes Holidays Holidays Sweets Sweets Videos | 38 Comments

  7. Butter is Better

    May 20, 2012 by The Squishy Monster

    Daintily petite and perfectly golden brown, these make you feel gigantic (or no, is that just me)?

    I don’t know about you, but I love tiny things.  When I’m not so bashful, I may just very well share my collection of teeny-tiny things with y’all, but for the moment, the very thought makes me feel silly and not very “grown up like.”

    My friend and I were going for a walk the other day and upon approaching this soft looking hill fuzzed over with lush green grass, I thought to myself how nice and fun it would be to roll down the hill, like we were Children again.  Needless to say, before I even finished the sentence, my friend laughed about it and we walked on.  *sigh*  It’s like the older you get, the more and more magic seems to dissipate so rapidly until you can’t even remember what “magic” means.  There’s magic in pretending to be a Pirate or a Fairy Princess…there’s even magic in rolling down the hill just to experience the closeness of the earth to you and the clean fun of doing something as ordinary as just rolling.

    Madeleine’s remind me of all the Tea Party’s that I never had.  They’re plump and gorgeous, so ridiculously easy to make but sure to make your little ones happy–happier, still if you dip them in Chocolate ;)

    Madeleine’s a Petite French Butter Cake
     
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    Ingredients
    Wet Ingredients:
    • 3 room temperature Eggs
    • ½ c cooled, melted unsalted Butter
    • ⅓ c Vanilla Sugar (or plain, granulated)
    • ⅓ c Honey + Zest of Orange
    • 1 ts quality Almond or Vanilla Extract
    Dry Ingredients:
    • 1 c Flour
    • ½ ts Baking Powder
    • ⅛ ts fine Salt

    Instructions
    1. Blend all of your wet ingredients together.
    2. In a separate bowl, sift together your dry ingredients.
    3. Slowly fuse your two bowls together in 3, separate additions.
    4. Allow your batter to rest for 2-3 minutes. In a well greased/buttered/floured scalloped Madeleine pan, drop in your batter, taking care not to overfill (as these will swell).
    5. For my miniature pan, I baked them at 375 for 6-8 minutes. Increase this by 3-4 minutes when using a larger/standard Madeleine pan.

    I thought about it and decided that to encourage the happiest of Children, these should be served however which way, but at a grand ole’ Tea Party…

    and invite me!

    XOXO

    your waiting patiently for an invitation,

    Squishy Monster ^.^

    Categories: Cakes/Cupcakes Cakes/Cupcakes Cookies Cookies Sweets Sweets Videos | 19 Comments

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    Welcome to The Squishy Monster!

    Here, I'll share the stories of my on going love affair with food as well as step-by-step tutorials/cooking videos featuring original recipes. I'm a firm believer that despite our differences, our one commonality as humans? Food.
    I'm 100% Southern & 100% Korean. My name is Angela and my friends call me The Squishy Monster.

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